15. Gio
15
GIO
I 'm on my third cigarette, standing outside Roquel Lee's shitty ass duplex when I realize—I'm acting just like Lex. Minus the whole technological genius shtick, of course. Dropping the mostly burnt-out cig to the pavement, I crush it under my foot and leverage away from the big green pad-mounted transformer box I'd been using as a seat for the last thirty minutes. Instead of going straight up the front steps of the residence, though, I circle it—all while keeping an eye on the neighbors.
A couple of guys sit out on the front stoop despite the fact that it's well past dusk. They watch me, too. I don't lift a hand or wave, though. Even if I don't know them by name, when I'd parked down the street and ambled my way up to where Prep Girl's been staying for the last few weeks, I'd seen the way they'd looked at me. The recognition. They know who I am and they know who I work for. It rarely pays to be Darrio Vargas' son, but it appears now is one of those times.
I hate that Juliet has been staying here. As if the dilapidated old homes and duplexes that line the street with their overgrown yards and car frames on cinder blocks aren’t enough. The fact that the guys on the stoop don't even bother to call out a warning or approach me to demand what I'm doing here when they have to know two teenage girls are living next door makes my upper lip curl back away from my teeth. I could be here for any reason.
All that talk about people helping others in need is bullshit. The more people there are around, the less likely anyone is to help.
Sidling up close to the side of the house with its peeling paint and dirtied windows, I halt as a light comes on further down the wall. Creeping towards it, I pause before peering inside.
Juliet appears, fresh faced and rosy from an obviously recent shower. She's got a towel wrapped around her luscious body, and her wet hair hangs in disarray around her face.
Ah...fuck. I'd meant it when I told Lex I hadn't expected anything to happen between Prep Girl and me tonight. I'm here to talk, not … what I'm thinking now as she turns away from the window and drops the towel. My cock hardens in my jeans, pressing hard against my zipper with a harsh throb. My lungs expand and inflate as the sight of her backside, rounded and thick, draws my attention.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck! I can't draw my eyes away though as she bends over and rummages around in what looks like a duffle bag. Definitely not her old one since that one is still over at Nolan's house along with her computer.
The curve of her ass disappears a moment later as she straightens and pulls on a large gray t-shirt. I blow out a breath and before I can pussy out or keep watching her like a creep, I knock on the window. I hear the curse she lets out through the thin glass pane as I whirl to face her. Then her eyes zero in on where I stand.
Shock covers her features and then anger. I take a step back as she storms over, her hands going to the latch on the window. Flicking it and gripping the bottom, she shoves it up.
"What the hell do you think you're?—"
"Back up," I say, cutting her off.
Juliet gapes at me and I take my chance before she thinks to slam the window again and lock it against me. It wouldn't do much good. I could still get in, but I'd rather not have to use those skills if I don't have to. It'd be a waste of time.
I set both of my hands against the sides of the window, and Juliet jumps back as I pull myself through the opening and step into the bedroom. The second I'm inside the much warmer interior, I turn back, shut the window, and lower the blinds.
"You should really make sure you don't have any peeping toms before getting naked," I warn her. If I could see her clearly through the window, then so could the neighbors.
"Are you fucking with me?" I turn at the sharp sound of her question. A few feet away with her arms crossed under her tits, Juliet glares daggers at me. " You're the peeping tom!"
"This time," I say. "But what if it wasn't me?"
She snarls and whips away from me, going to the door and yanking it open to reveal the darkened hallway behind. "Get the fuck out!" she demands.
Instead of taking her obvious indication, I shuffle over to the bed and take a seat as I unzip my jacket and shrug it off. My cock strains against the inside of my pants and the more I look at her, the harder it is to ignore. Standing there in nothing but that too thin t-shirt, she looks like a walking wet dream.
"We need to talk," I say, hoping my calm tone will ease her own reaction to my sudden intrusion.
She shakes her head. "We need to do no such thing," she replies, releasing the door to gesture wildly to the hallway. "Did you not hear me ask you to leave?"
"Well, you didn't seem like you were asking."
She's so cute when she grinds her jaw like that, but I have a feeling that mentioning it might get a fist in my face. "You're right," she snaps. "I wasn't asking. I was telling you. Leave ."
I relax back on the mattress, putting both of my palms out and propping myself up quite comfortably. "The only way you'll get me to do that is if you actually sit and have a conversation with me."
Her blue eyes narrow on my face and I can practically hear the wheels turning in her head. I work my jaw, pressing my tongue into one side of my cheek and then the other as I wait for her verdict. The soreness from the bruises has lessened considerably, but as Nolan predicted, I haven't been able to play football since getting jumped. The muscles under my skin bunch and jump with barely repressed energy as I scan down the length of her body.
The t-shirt stops just shy of what I know is the softest most delicious place on a woman, on this woman.
You're here for a reason, dipshit, I remind myself. It's fucking hard to remember that that reason isn't to find my way between Prep Girl's thighs to the core I know isn't covered by any-fucking-thing since I interrupted her before she could put on underwear. Had it been intentional? Maybe. Did I regret it? Not one fucking bit.
Her hand falls away from the door and I know I've won. A grin spreads my lips wide. "You're such an asshole," Juliet mutters as she moves back to her duffle bag.
Panic infuses me. No, no, no. Popping off the bed in a quick move, I wrap an arm around her middle and yank her against my chest. Her backside brushes against my hips and abdomen and she freezes.
" Gio ." My name is a warning on her tongue. I’m a bad, bad man because it does nothing to deter me. In fact, the danger lacing her tone only makes my cock jump and press harder into her ass. I stifle a groan and lower my head to where her shoulder and neck meet.
“I’m not going to do anything you don’t want, Prep Girl,” I murmur against the coolness of her skin. She smells so fucking good—like some softly scented shampoo and conditioner. It makes me want to lick her, to see if she tastes just as good as she smells.
She laughs, but the sound is anything but amused. “Bullshit.” Her smaller body squirms against me, and all she manages to do is wiggle that delectable ass against my cock. “Let go!”
“I promise,” I assure her. “Nothing you don’t want.” By the time I get her on her back and my mouth on her pussy, she’ll be begging me to take her the way she deserves. Straight to heaven and back.
After a few more struggles, an elbow to the gut and almost to the face, I wince and tighten my hold. “Don’t be too rough on me, Prep Girl,” I say. “I’m still healing.” It’s a lie, but she doesn’t need to know that. The only injury of any concern is the one to my head, but that’s not the part of my anatomy I’m worried about at the moment.
Juliet stills and stops fighting my arms. “Are we alone?” I ask, flicking a look to the door. The texts Lex had shown us said that Roquel would be out tonight, but I don’t know for how long.
Juliet blows out a long breath. “Yes,” she admits. “We are.”
Good . Before she can demand to be released again, I drag her backwards and kick the door shut on our way back to the bed. I sit on the edge of the mattress, tugging her into my lap, and squeeze her closer.
“Gio, you can’t do this.” Juliet’s voice is steady as her hands move to my forearms where they’re pinned on her waist. I nuzzle against her throat.
“Tell me about your dad.”
She stiffens in my grip, and the reaction makes it easier to lift my head. I glance up, noticing one of those cheap long mirrors. It’s the kind I’ve seen girls get to hang on the back of their doors. This one, though, is propped against the wall across from us and it gives me a direct line of sight to her face.
Eyes closed, dark lashes throwing shadows down her cheeks, Juliet bites down on her lower lip. The ripple of pain is so obvious on her expression that I know she doesn’t remember the mirror, because if she did, there’s no way she’d show me that look.
“Prep Girl…” I lift one arm away from her middle, and her eyes dart open. She releases her lip as I gently nudge her chin over so that I’m no longer using a reflection to look at her. “Tell me.”
She shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it does.” Pressing my forehead to hers, I will her to hear my words, to actually fucking listen . “Everything you feel matters. What happened?”
“The same as always,” she says. “He denied the crimes. Tried to convince me that he’s innocent.”
It’s clear from the weary twist of her lips that she doesn’t believe it, but since Allen Donovan contacted Lex’s alter ego, I’m starting to wonder if maybe he’s telling the truth. Is it possible that her father is innocent? That someone else is responsible for the embezzlement? If so, who?
“He didn’t know about my mom, though.”
I frown, lifting my head away from hers. “Your dad didn’t know that she left?”
Her lips purse. “No, I thought that was weird. I was sure Morpheus had told him—they’ve been in contact or I thought they had. Morpheus was pretty insistent that I talk to my dad.”
“He also wants you to move in with him,” I murmur absently as I draw a lock of her still wet hair over her shoulder and toy with it. “Maybe he was hoping if your dad found out about your mom being gone from you that he’d insist you stay with his friend.”
Juliet shakes her head as if clearing it, and the blue strand of hair is ripped away from me. “He said that Morpheus wasn’t taking his calls anymore—I’m not surprised. He’s still fixing everything that happened with the company. So many people lost their jobs, their savings…”
It’s the very reason why the town of Silverwood hated her. Because Juliet is the last Donovan in their line of sight, the last one they can blame even though they all know she’s an innocent. I let my hand fall to her thigh, gripping it and feeling smooth skin under my palm where the t-shirt has ridden up.
“What else?” I force the question out before I can distract myself with her body. I did come here for a reason and it wasn’t for sex. Maybe I’ll get the second, but the first needs to come as a priority.
Juliet shifts on my lap, her ass wiggling against my cock in a way that makes my head fill with hot air and want to explode. Gritting my teeth, I clamp my hand harder against her leg to stop the movement.
“Dad thinks I’m staying with Morpheus,” Juliet admits. “I didn’t tell him any differently. He’s got enough to deal with in prison than to think I’m not taken care of.”
I lift my head and look around the room before passing her an arched eyebrow. “You’re not taken care of,” I remind her. “You would be if you came back with me.”
An angry growl erupts from her throat and Juliet bursts out of my arms, standing and whirling to face me in the next instant. I sit there, rather stunned and frowning at my now cold lap. “I fucking knew it!” She snarls at me, baring her teeth. “You’re here to try and convince me to move back in with Nolan!”
I sigh and lean back on the mattress once more. “You have to admit it would be the smart move,” I tell her. “You can’t stay with Roquel forever, and there isn’t a place in Silverwood that will rent anything in your price range anymore.”
Shoving a hand through her hair, she turns and paces away from me. A moment later, she flips back around and glares at me. “I know what I’m doing,” she says. “You can’t manipulate me into doing whatever you want. I can take care of myself.”
Ah, but she didn’t deny my claim, and the fact that she hadn’t tells me she knows just as well as I do that she’s quickly running out of options. I sit forward, balancing my elbows on my knees as I look up at her.
“You can trust me, Prep Girl,” I say.
She snorts. “Sure, but what about your boys? They burned down my apartment building just to keep me from going back, G. That’s not sane. You have to know that.”
“You don’t know that they’re the ones who did it,” I tell her. “They swear they didn’t, and I believe them.”
“Of course you do!”
I press my tongue to the inside of one cheek to keep from cursing and after a beat, I reply. “Those apartments were falling down anyway,” I remind her. “They were a health and fire hazard. There were five other units in that building alone—you can’t say it’s not possible that someone else might have accidentally done something to cause the fire.”
“The timing is too coincidental.”
The hard set of her jaw means it’s time to pull out the big guns. Standing from the bed, I take two steps towards her and she backs up, her spine hitting the wall. “Fine,” I snap. “You want me to give you something more substantial?”
Dark-blue eyes glare up at me. “ Yes .” The word is a hiss from lips I want to slam my mouth down on. Instead of doing just that, though, I reach into my back pocket and withdraw my phone.
I swipe through the messages and find my email folder. It had taken longer for Silverwood’s fire department to upload the information on the fire than it had for Lex to hack it, but now I’m glad I asked him to do so. Once I have the document pulled up on the screen, I find her eyes with my own.
“What will you give me if I prove to you that the guys didn’t burn down your apartment?” I ask.
She blinks. “What?”
“What will you give me?” I repeat the question, arching an eyebrow.
She snorts, the back of her head bumping against the wall. “Nothing—because you can’t prove it.”
I wiggle my phone in front of her face, not yet showing her the screen. “Then you have nothing to lose,” I tell her. Before she can deny it yet again, I reach up with my free hand and curl my fingers around her throat. It moves against my palm, the warmth of her skin seeping into me. I dip my head closer, hovering just above her mouth.
“Make a deal with me,” I whisper. “I prove you wrong and you give me three wishes.”
Her cute little nose wrinkles. “What am I, a fucking genie?”
My lips stretch into a smile. “Maybe one of my wishes will be that you wear those sexy little see-through pants and that bra for me.”
She rolls her eyes. “You can’t prove it,” she says.
“ So confident.” It’s a taunt and she knows it.
With a huff, she slaps her palms against my shoulders and pushes me back just enough to rip the heat of her breath away from my lips. I pout, but in the next instant, she holds out her hand. “Fine,” she snaps. “If you honestly think whatever you have will prove their innocence, then I’ll agree to your little deal.”
My chest squeezes tight and I crowd back into her, pushing her hand down as I pin her to the wall with my hips. “You swear?” I demand.
With gritted teeth, she narrows her eyes on me. “Yes.” Another hiss that I want to kiss away. Biting down on my lip, I contemplate pushing for more, but decide against it.
Instead, I hand the phone over to her and take a step back. Her eyes go to the screen and her brow puckers as she begins to read. The rush of satisfaction that comes over me as her eyes widen and she swipes down the document straight from the fire department—with the official county fire marshal signature and everything—is the same that I get when I win a football game.
“No.” She shakes her head, darting a look up to me and back to the phone screen again. I take another step back and reach over my shoulder. Gripping a fistful of the fabric of my t-shirt, I pull it off my head and toss it to the floor. The next time her eyes find mine, they drop to my bare chest.
I already know what I’ll have for my first wish.
“How the fuck did you get this?” she demands.
I shrug. “I know a guy.”
“This can’t be real. I don’t believe it.”
“It’s real,” I tell her. “If you want, I’ll take you to the fire department myself and we can talk to the guys who put it out.”
“This says that the fire was caused by a defective heating unit,” she says as if she can’t believe it.
“You can’t be all that surprised,” I tell her. “It was a piece of shit building. The Ritchies hadn’t done upkeep on them in a long time, and their maintenance department was a joke. Your door and balcony was still fucked after weeks of putting in the work request.”
“You… you must have faked this.” She pushes away from the wall and walks towards me, tossing the phone on the bed, and levels me with a suspicious look.
“I didn’t have to,” I say honestly. “Now, for my three wishes.”
Juliet crosses her arms. “Let me guess,” she snaps. “A blowjob?”
Does she really think I’m that crass? I mean, hell yeah, I’d take a blowjob from her plush lips in a heartbeat, but considering the fact that Lex was the one that dug up that information I’d used against her, and the request he’d asked of me earlier today, I’ll be taking something else. I reach for the cell phone and click away from the document.
“You can’t seriously think that’s enough to convince me that Nolan and Lex didn’t burn down my apartment.”
I turn my body so that she can’t see what I’m doing as I pass around her, clicking across the screen of my cell phone until I come across the camera app. Hitting record, I stop in front of the chipped dresser and set it down, propped against a stack of textbooks.
“I think you’re a smart woman,” I say, pivoting to face her again sans phone. Her expression is furious.
“That’s not enough evidence or proof to consider them innocent.” Each word is biting and angry. She’s a wounded animal backed into a corner, and I have every intention of petting her until she purrs just right for me.
“Are you backing out of our deal?”
Her head comes up and she blinks at me. “I…” No. She can’t. She knows it and so do I. Whether Juliet wants to admit it or not, she’s just like us. Her word means something to her. There is always honor amongst thieves and liars, you just have to find the line you’ll never cross, and this is one for her.
“Take off the shirt,” I say, moving past her. Ocean eyes follow me as I slowly sink down onto the floor and spread my legs. The muscles of my abdomen ripple as I pat the floor in front of me. “And come here.”