Chapter 25
TWENTY-FIVE
GINO
Once I heard Juliet leave the house, I knew I needed to come clean to my sister.
I have no idea where Juliet is going, and I know I could easily find out.
Before I have a chance to call my sister or walk to her house, the front door of my house opens, and Vanessa walks in, Alonso following behind her.
“Hey, Gino,” she says, walking into the kitchen. She looks around. “Where’s Juliet?”
“Out,” I grumble.
“Oh shit, did you two get into a fight?”
“You could say that,” I mumble.
“Gino, what did you do?”
“I’m an asshole.”
“Well, I know that,” she says flatly.
“She found out about how I’ve been paying her bills—”
“Gino,” she chastises.
I notice Alonso has left the room for this conversation. We all know Vanessa will call me out on my bullshit, just as Juliet does, but Vanessa has a way of doing it that only a sister can.
“Seriously, that’s an invasion of privacy.”
“Mateo does it.” The mention of my best friend and her husband makes me tense for a second because I am no closer to finding him.
“For starters, he told me that he was paying for everything before he did,” she says.
Damn it. Why does he have to be so honorable?
I grumble. “Your husband tries too hard to please you.”
She smiles. “No, he doesn’t have to try. But Gino, why did she think you weren’t paying for things?”
“I never told her. She’s fiercely independent like you. And she isn’t someone to allow for someone, especially a friend or partner, to handle things for her,” I say.
“Are you sure about that? I’m independent, but the second Mateo started handling things for me, buying things, and just being there, I allowed myself a different kind of independence. An independence where I didn’t have to think about the day-to-day and I could enjoy life,” she explains.
“When did you become wise?” I ask.
“I say I get it from Aunt Lucy.” She grins at me.
Lucy has become a de facto mom to all of us, but most definitely my sister. Lucy raised her after her mom died, just like Mateo’s mom did for me.
She looks at me flatly. “Seriously, why didn’t you mention anything to her? If you knew all of that about her, why didn’t you tell her when you started dating?”
“Because we aren’t dating,” I mumble, waiting for the onslaught of my sister’s anger.
“I’m sorry, what was that?” she asks, extending her neck, thinking to have heard me wrong. “Did you just say you aren’t dating? Did you two break up?”
“No, technically, we were never dating. We pretended to date because of the messages she was receiving. I thought it could protect her, and then you were so excited, so we’ve kept it up for the last few months,” I explain.
“Well, that doesn’t make this worse at all,” she says sarcastically.
“How does it make it worse?” I ask, sighing and pinching the bridge of my nose.
“She's going to think the only reason you want a relationship is to have more control over her.”
“Are you not mad?” I ask hopefully.
“Oh, I’m pissed. Why did you lie? You could have just said something, and I would have gone along with it.”
“I’ve ruined your life, Ness,” I whisper.
“You haven’t ruined anything; Lorenzo has done that all on his own,” she replies.
The front door opens and closes, and I know it’s Juliet from the drifting scent of her perfume.
“I’m going to review some inventory in the medical room,” Vanessa quickly says and starts to walk to the basement, then turns and looks at me. “Gino, apologize and be nice.” I nod as she shuts the basement door.
I stand leaning against the counter, waiting for Juliet to enter. She turns the corner and stops when she sees me.
“Hey,” she breathes out and gives a soft smile.
“Jules, are you ok?”
She looks around and sighs, probably looking to see if anyone is within earshot. “Yeah, umm, can we talk? Like really talk?”
“Sure, do you want to talk here or—”
She cuts me off. “Your office.”
Shit. Is she going to leave? She rarely wants to talk in my office; she’ll come in to drop off food or for brief conversations, but rarely stays.
She turns, and I follow her.
Once we get into my office, I close the door, and as soon as I turn, Juliet is right there. So close to me I can see her breathing nervously.
She hesitates for a second, and I’m in a bit of shock that I don’t notice her hands go around my neck until she whispers, “I’ve been wanting to do this for ten years,” then she claims my mouth in a searing kiss.
This kiss is different from the one we had this morning. It’s rough, intense, and she’s not holding back at all.
I grab her waist and pull her closer, taking control. I turn us and push her against the door.
Moving my hand, I lock the door.
I cage her in, putting my hands on either side of her head. “There is no going back from here. The second we go past this point… You. Are. Mine. Do you understand?”
She nods her head, giving me all the confirmation I needed.
I grab her wrists and pin them above her head. I continue to roughly kiss her, only pausing for us to breathe. My hard-on wants to completely tear my slacks, but I need to get her ready before that.
I release her hands and take a small step back. She opens her eyes, looking at me with the same hunger I have for her.
God, she’s perfect. Everything about her is perfect.
I look down at her cream-colored blouse, which is showing her tits and body perfectly. “Where did you go?” I ask.
“I went out,” she says, out of breath.
“Where?”
If she doesn’t want to tell me, I will find a way to get it out of her. Maybe I’ll stop what we’re doing until she tells me.
“I was at Cambio’s.” She pauses and purses her lips. “I had lunch with Lucy and Francesca.”
“Why?” I ask.
There’s nothing wrong with her choice, but she’s never done it before. Hell, she’s never gone out to lunch with anyone other than Vanessa.
“I wanted advice on all of this.” She points between us.
“Advice on what?”I ask.
“Gino, you aren’t obtuse. I wanted advice on how to handle you controlling my finances.”
“I don’t control your finances—”
“You may not think that, but paying for everything without my knowledge is controlling.” She gives me a look I know all too well from her. It’s her bullshit detector look. She will know if I lie.
“Fine,” I grumble. “I’m sorry, that wasn’t my intent. I didn’t want you to have to worry about anything.” I rub my hand over my face.
She smiles at me. “I think that was one of the most genuine apologies you’ve ever given me.”
I gape at her. “Juliet, I have definitely apologized before.”
“You have, but not like that. You just want to get in my pants, so you’re going to make it as real as possible,” she snorts.
“Bella, I’m sorry. If I knew you wouldn’t have appreciated it, I wouldn’t have done it,” I reply.
“I appreciate it, but I would have liked to know about it.”
“I’ll know for next time,” I wink at her, and I lean back, grabbing her hips. “Can we please go back to what we were doing?”
“Yes,” she replies. She bites her bottom lip, and I’m about to come undone.
“Please tell me I can do what I want now?” I ask.
She blushes and nods her head.
“Thank God,” I mumble.
I lean in and kiss her again with intensity, and it is not sweet; I want it to be messy. I want her to release her control to me.
“I’m going to ask you, honestly, can I take the reins here?”
“Yes,” she says breathlessly.
This is why she’s perfect for me—before our one sexual encounter, she had heard stories of what I’m into when it comes to sex. Our first time wasn’t close to the control I like to have. I let her run the show mostly then, but this time it’s all me.
“I’m going to take it moderately easy on you. I’m out of practice since it’s been a while since I’ve done this with anyone.”
She doesn’t know it yet, but the last time I’d done anything sexual with anyone was two years ago, with her.