Page 36 of Protecting Gina

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

With the car unloaded, Cass headed upstairs to grab a shower before dinner. Gina was unsure if their decision to keep Cass in the dark about their relationship had been a good idea. It seemed like Cass didn’t have a clue, and she hoped Cass wasn’t angry when she figured it out.

Gina liked the house and felt like she could live here. She was moving down the hall to the room they’d declared hers when Wave caught up to her and took her hand.

Gina stopped walking and turned to face him. “Hey.”

Wave moved even closer, and instead of backing up, she moved to him and slid her arm around his waist. Then his lips were on hers, her hands running down his back.

The kiss ended, and he didn’t step back. “Hey, yourself. Are you okay sleeping in my room?”

A giggle escaped her lips, and she leaned in, pressing her body against his. The deep moan rumbling through him brought heat to her. She pressed her lips to the spot just below his ear before she whispered, “Of course. I wouldn’t imagine sleeping anywhere else.”

His arm tightened around her waist, and she could feel the hardness of his erection pressing against her. She closed her eyes, trying to gain control of her senses. If they were alone, she would pull off her clothes and beg him to take her at that moment. She needed to chill out, so she stepped away and dropped her arms from his waist.

“Cass will be down in a moment.”

His lips twisted up to the side. “You’re right. I think I need to cool it until bedtime. But once we’re alone tonight, I’m all yours.”

She couldn’t squelch the smile or the giggle. “I’m glad to hear. Because I really want you.”

The sound of Cass’s shower stopped, and Wave stepped back. “I’ll be out in a moment. Jump told me there was pizza in the freezer and that they went grocery shopping for a few essentials. We’re at least set for a few days.”

“That’s great. I’ll start heating the pizzas up.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Someone needs to. And I don’t mind. I’ll get things ready, and then we can eat. Hopefully, Cass will want to go up early, and we can get into your room.”

His gaze held hers, sending a shiver straight through her. “Hopefully.”

She took another step back, wanting to get enough distance between them that she didn’t automatically jump into his arms. He stepped into his bedroom and closed the door, giving her some relief.

After a deep breath, she headed into the kitchen and pulled out two pizzas from the freezer to put into the oven. She was in the middle of getting them in the oven when Cass came downstairs.

“Oh, good, pizza. I’m hungry.”

“So am I. I’m glad these are here for us. The last thing I want to do is head to the store.”

Cass plopped down on a stool. “Ugh, I hated grocery shopping. There were times I found some cool stuff. One thing about my mom not doing the shopping was finding new things to try. I found some vegetarian Indian things—no, I don’t know what they were really called, but they were delicious. I also learned that I like hummus.”

Gina nodded. “When I first left home, I found so many foods in the grocery aisle that I’d never heard of before.”

Cass giggled. “I learned how to make some things, but mostly I ate a lot of frozen food.”

“We can buy some food to cook together. I’m not sure how much I’ll be working, or even if I can get a job, but until then, we can work on recipes.”

“That would be fun. I’m only taking a few classes, but I’ll need to study, too.”

Gina nodded. “I’ll need to spend some time applying for jobs, but I’ll have more than enough time to cut vegetables and get things prepared.”

Cass moved to get a glass of water before leaning against the counter. “I like this. I was on my own so much, and then I was taking care of Mom. I’ve never really had anyone who was there for me like this.”

Gina reached out and took her hand. “I like this, too. We’ll all learn to live together. When I start working, it will be harder, but I think it will be good.”

Wave stepped into the room. “Hey, the pizza smells good.”

Gina glanced over her shoulder and checked the timer. “It looks like it has about five minutes left.”