Chapter 17 Gio
GIO
Starting abruptly from a deep, satisfying sleep, my eyes fly open, my body tensing instinctively as Stephanie sits bolt upright beside me.
I must have drifted off shortly after she did, but now she looks wide awake, her eyes wild as her head snaps in both directions, as if searching for something.
“Hey, you okay?” I ask, sitting up and reaching for her gently.
My fingers brush her shoulder, and she jumps, spinning to look at me.
Then she bursts into tears.
“I had a horrible nightmare,” she sobs, covering her face with her hands.
“Hey, it’s okay. You’re okay,” I reassure, gathering her into my arms.
This time, my touch doesn’t startle her, and Stephanie buries her face in my chest, her shoulders jumping with each racking sob.
“Shh,” I soothe, gently stroking her hair as a fist grips my heart like a vise. “You want to talk about it?” I suggest, wishing I could do more.
Stephanie shakes her head against my chest, and I can feel her starting to calm down now that she’s more awake.
Slowly, her breathing steadies, her sobs tapering into soft sniffles as she leans into me for support.
Sighing, I scoot back to lean against the headboard as I continue to hold her, murmuring reassurances until she stops trembling in my arms.
“Sorry,” she breathes, looking up at me with tears in her eyes that she quickly dashes away.
“It’s okay,” I say, running the backs of my knuckles over her tear-stained cheek. “Do you get nightmares often?” I press gently. She never did in the past, so I wonder if they’re a side effect of what happened to her.
But Stephanie shakes her head, and the grip around my heart eases slightly. “No, this is a first. I mean, I do tend to have vivid dreams, but they’re usually good ones.”
Even in the dim moonlight filtering through the window, I can see the deep blush that stains her cheeks, and instantly, I’m dying of curiosity.
“What do you normally dream about?” I ask, amusement tugging at the corners of my lips.
“Nothing,” she says too quickly, dropping her gaze to my chest.
“Mm-hmm. You’re not getting off that easy,” I press playfully. “And the fact that you don’t want to tell me means I want to know even more.”
“Get used to disappointment,” she says, making my heart skip a beat.
“No, no. That’s not the way this works,” I tease softly, glad when I can feel her cheek lift into a smile.
“And what are you going to do about it? Torture the information out of me?” she throws right back at me, her eyes narrowing as they meet mine once more.
If only she knew. I have tortured men for information I cared about less before. In her name, when I was trying to find her, I did unspeakable things to try and reach her in time.
And the innocent way she throws around the word “torture” reminds me of what different worlds we come from—of how foreign and fantastical mine always felt to her.
But for her, there are other means than violence to get what I want, and I know the exact buttons to push if I’m going to get it. “Absolutely,” I confirm, shifting us suddenly until her back finds the bed and I’m hovering on top of her.
Stephanie’s breath catches, her palms flying to my chest in shock as she looks up at me with wide-eyed surprise.
Every hint of distress is gone, and truthfully, as much as I want to know what her dreams are about, I just wanted to take the pain away—to distract her from whatever her nightmare had been about.
“Tickle torture,” I warn, one hand sliding down her ribs to the spot I know gets her every time.
She gasps, the sound appalled. “You wouldn’t,” she dares me.
“No?” I quirk an eyebrow, adding pressure beneath my fingertips to test the waters.
“Gio!” she hisses, her hand flying to mine, and I flash her a wicked grin.
“There’s an easy way to avoid all this unpleasantness,” I tease. “Just tell me about your good, vivid dreams.”
A flash of defiance lights her eyes, and I get a glimpse of that same spirited woman I fell in love with ten years ago.
My pulse quickens, excitement thrumming through my veins, and if I weren’t so determined to find out what she’s trying to keep from me, I would steal a kiss from her right here and now.
“Do your worst,” she says, lifting her head off the bed as she glares rebelliously.
“I was hoping you’d say that,” I growl, and I race my fingers over her abdomen, adding just the right pressure that I know she can’t stand.
Stephanie yelps, then bites her lips together to muffle the sound as she starts to squirm.
Her hands fly into defense mode, slapping harmlessly against my skin as she tries to push me away.
I chuckle darkly, continuing the playful torture until a peel of laughter rushes from her when she can’t hold back any longer.
The sound of it fills me with a kind of joy I never thought I’d feel again, and I savor the moment, awestruck by the realization that Stephanie is in my life once again.
I give her a break from the tickles—mostly because I know she won’t want to wake Jackson in the other room with her uncontrollable giggling.
And she breathes heavily, her bare chest rising and falling rapidly as her hardened nipples stand out like mountain peaks, begging for attention.
“Are you ready to tell me what I want to know?” I ask darkly, letting a hint of a threat edge my tone.
Stephanie hesitates, her eyes flitting to the side, as if she’s contemplating trying to run away.
Before she can make a move, I roll on top of her, snagging her hands and trapping them above her head as I pin her down with my body.
Then I trade her palms to one hand, holding them together as I slide the other down the curves of her body to tickle her once more.
“Okay, okay!” she whisper-yells. “I’ll tell you.”
With a wolfish grin, I relax my fingers as I look down at her, suddenly intensely aware of how connected our naked bodies are and the way her soft skin brushes against mine with each ragged breath.
Stephanie’s eyes darken, dilating as our chemistry turns more sensual, and her gaze flicks down to my lips for the breadth of a second before coming back up.
“I have… sex dreams,” she admits haltingly, that beautiful blush returning in full force. “Some strong enough that I’ve woken from an orgasm.”
Holy hell, that’s hot. Just picturing it makes my cock hard.
“Tell me about these dreams that turn you on so much,” I murmur, pulse throbbing with anticipation. I want to hear all about the fantasies her subconscious might dream up.
“Well, for a long time, it was just some man whispering romantic things to me. I liked it when we… got intimate, even though I never saw his face. But lately…” Stephanie falters, her blush intensifying, and she shakes her head as if she’s about to clam up again.
“Lately what?” I press gently.
“Well, lately… it’s been you in my dreams,” she whispers, and she bites her lower lip, her expression suddenly shy.
God, this woman is going to be the death of me.
She makes me feel as if my heart might just burst inside my chest.
I’m overcome by the idea that maybe she’s been dreaming about me—her subconscious remembering our time together, even if she doesn’t.
And when I came back into her life, maybe that’s when, on some unconscious level, she could remember I was the one she was with.
I want it to be true so badly that it hurts.
I want to be the man in her dreams, the one who can bring her to climax without even touching her.
And the fact that she has dreamed about me drives me wild.
Peering into the deep green depths of her eyes, I soak up the nervous anticipation there, the hope that her confession won’t somehow drive me away.
And I can’t resist her for another second.
Leaning in, I capture her lips with mine, my tongue stroking out, demanding entrance that she gives me willingly.
Our tongues tangle, and I groan as searing need burns through my veins.
Her thighs are already spread for me, my hips resting against their peak from our momentary wrestling, and my cock swells between us, pulsing to be inside her.
Stephanie seems just as eager, her body rolling beneath me as she grinds her hips forward.
Her lips are so inviting, soft and sweet like honey as our kiss turns violent.
Her fingers curl around my thumb, reminding me that I’ve trapped her hands above her head, and I take advantage of her defenselessness.
My lips trail down the curve of her neck and chest to take one taut nipple between my teeth, and with my free hand, I reach between us to stroke the slick line of her seam.
Stephanie gasps, the sound sensual and alluring as her back arches, her breast pressing against my mouth.
“Oh God, Gio,” she whimpers, then she moans as I slide two fingers inside her.
She’s still wet from our last simultaneous release, and I glide easily into her channel, curling my fingers to stroke that spot I know she likes once I’m buried in her to the knuckles.
With a sharp inhale, she rolls her hips, grinding her clit against the heel of my hand, and I smile against her soft, supple flesh.
Then I bite down softly on her nipple.
She cries out, her walls clenching around my fingers, and I stroke more adamantly, shifting my hand so I can circle her clit with the pad of my thumb.
I can tell she’s getting close when she starts to tremble, her thighs quivering around me as her breaths come in shuddering gasp.
Switching to the breast that hasn’t received my attention yet, I suck the taut nub between my lips, suctioning it there as I flick it with my tongue.
“I’m gonna come,” Stephanie exhales, her voice laced with pleasure and relief, and a moment later, she’s throbbing around me, her pussy milking my fingers, guiding them deeper.
I can feel the tension in her body unwinding beneath me, and my cock throbs.
“God, I want you.” Her name is on the tip of my tongue, and I bite it back just in time as I drag my lips back to hers.
Stephanie doesn’t seem to notice as she nods, lifting her head off the bed to meet my lips in a scintillating kiss.