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I pushed that negative thought to the back of my mind. Way back, so that hopefully it didn’t show its ugly face again.
Gia eyed me speculatively. “This guest house, it’s separate from where you stay?”
I nodded. “Completely separated by a pool and hot tub.”
She raised an eyebrow, her tears forgotten. “You have a hot tub?”
“Yes, but we probably shouldn’t use it tonight. I’m not sure you could keep your hands off me.”
Her lips slid into that sexy sweet smile. “Who said anything about sharing the hot tub? I could take a dip by myself. Problem solved.”
My hands went to her hips and I pulled her closer. “I have a rule though. No beautiful women named Gia in my hot tub without supervision.”
“Hmm. Maybe you can watch, then. From outside the hot tub.”
“You’re teasing me,” I whispered, dropping my mouth to her ear, “but that would make my entire night, just watching you in the water, drops sliding over your smooth skin in all the ways I couldn’t.”
She sucked in a hard breath. “You’re right,” she murmured. “We should probably stay far away from the hot tub. For now.”
“For now.” I dropped a quick kiss to her lips and took her hand, leading her down the stairs to the tunnels.
I needed to get her safe and then I would deal with all these feelings that knotted my stomach.
***
The fire pit on my patio blazed between us as Gia lounged on the sofa nearest the pool. I stayed a safe distance away from her in order to keep my inner promise not to get too attached.
But as I listened to her talk so passionately about her platform, and her stance on the way women’s bodies have been criticized to the point that many can’t feel comfortable enough to enjoy the simple moments in life… I knew it was going to be impossible not to fall for her.
“Like swimming in the ocean,” she continued, her wine glass dangling from between two fingers, “or riding a rollercoaster. They’re too worried someone will be offended by their body in a swimsuit or that they won’t fit in the coaster car.” She laughed. “Or that the safety belt won’t latch.”
The irony wasn’t lost on me.
“But you don’t worry about those things,” I said, remembering how dismissive she’d been when that very thing happened to her, how confidence had practically oozed from her.
Gia shook her head. “No, I do too. That’s the point. We all do. But everyday, I choose to think better about myself. To remember that my worth doesn’t correlate with how I look. And as I make those choices, I let the world see the process. Because if I can do it, if I can believe my body is something to be proud of, then anyone can.”
“Your body is gorgeous though.” I wasn’t hitting on her. Not flirting like I’d done before. This topic was important to her, and I wanted to understand it. “Do people ever wonder why it’s you taking this stance and not someone else?”
She nodded. “Oh, sure. Yeah. I get the comments about my being too thin or too whatever to be saying these things.” She snorted. “As if there’s a weight limit on feeling like you're not good enough. I ignore that noise. I’m not into the comparison game. If you want to learn to love yourself the way you are, then my space is for you.”
As I stared at her through the flames, they bathed her skin in warmth even as her pale eyes shone bright. Watching her light up as she talked made my heart swell.
“You know,” she mused. “I’ve never said all this to a man before. Never just opened it up like that. Probably because whenever I’ve tried to, they zoned out before the second or third sentence. But you’re good, Sloane. You’re either actually interested in my plight or you’re very good at listening. Both put you in the good-guy column.”
“Oh, no. This sounds like the beginning of a sad story,” I said, only half joking. “Being labeled a good-guy might as well be the kiss of death for all future romance.”
She laughed, leaning forward so that the flames flickered in her eyes. Gia was the sexiest woman I’d ever spent time with. I’d barely touched her. Only kissed her twice. But she was already so ingrained in my mind that I couldn’t imagine how empty my life would be when she was gone.
I swallowed the knot in my throat.
“Oh, Sloane,” she murmured, standing to walk over to me. “You’ve been in the company of all the wrong women if you believe that. Don’t you know that the hero always gets the girl? And you’ve been mine twice tonight.”
She lowered herself onto my lap, her legs over one side, and I went instantly hard. She could feel it, surely she could. But she made no mention. Instead, she cupped my cheeks and eased her mouth softly onto mine, sliding her tongue across my lips and then my teeth before I opened to meet her.
Dear god. She tasted like hot, sweet candy. One of the confections that could be bought on the boardwalk. I wrapped my hands around her hips to hold her in place as I let myself fucking drown in her seductive kiss.
Eventually she pulled back, smiling down at me with an expression I hadn’t seen her use before. The sassy, humor she clothed herself in was completely gone. In its place was something I could only describe as awe. Like when a baby learns to walk for the first time. Everything was new and amazing.
I could relate. Because I felt the same way.
I was about to say so when she eased from my lap and bent down for one more quick kiss.
“Until tomorrow, my hero,” she whispered.
And then I watched her walk to the guest house, never taking my eyes off her until the door separated us.
