“Of course, you did,” she assured him.
“Well, she sure pulled away in a hurry,” Justin complained.
“She thought she’d hurt you,” Gia said solemnly. She hesitated, and then added, “Of course, now she feels just horrible and her guilt is twofold.”
“Twofold?” he asked with a frown.
Gia nodded. “She feels bad because she fears she hurt you, and she is experiencing a great deal of guilt. One, because she feels that she was unfaithful to her husband by responding to your kisses.”
Justin ran a weary hand through his hair and shook his head. He didn’t like the idea that she was feeling guilty about the kiss. She hadn’t chosen it. They’d pretty much forced it on her. Actually, it had been pretty much forced on both of them since there was no way in hell he would have stood by and allowed Dante to try to build that kind of fire in Holly, and Dante had known it.
“Yes, Dante was very naughty,” Gia murmured, apparently reading his mind. “He wanted you both to have a little taste of what you could have together. Holly so that she knows what she is missing, and you so that you understand just what you are fighting for here and take it seriously.”
“He told you that?” Justin asked with surprise.
“No. I read his mind,” she said with amusement. “Dante and Tomasso are easy for me to read.”
“Right, well Holly won’t think about what she could have with me so long as she’s suffering guilt over what she considers being unfaithful to her husband,” Justin said grimly and was quite sure it was true . . . although he couldn’t say how he knew that about her. “And I could be in trouble for it. Kissing her and rousing the life mate passion could be considered undue influence.”
“Dante forced you. It wasn’t your idea,” Gia argued.
“I could have let him kiss her.”
“Few immortals could stand by and allow another immortal to kiss their life mate. Nor would they expect you to.”
“I hope you’re right. Otherwise, my favorite body part might be in peril.”
“I thought you had decided her kiss was worth losing body parts and growing them back?” she said with amusement. “I’m pretty sure I read that from your mind when she stopped the kiss.”
“Stay out of my head,” he snapped and then, sorry for snapping at her when she was just trying to help, ran a weary hand through his hair and admitted, “Yeah. I thought that, and still do. But having to grow back a body part once is a different story than having your dick shredded over a hundred times. With the healing time in between, it would mean agony for—-Hell I don’t even know how long,” he muttered, fighting the urge to cross his legs and cover his groin protectively with his hands. “Besides, I don’t want to lose my job.”
“Why would you lose your job?” she asked with surprise.
“The council tends to frown on having Enforcers who break our own laws,” he said dryly.
“Oh.” She bit her lip briefly and then said, “There is another reason Holly feels guilty, you know.”
Justin’s eyebrows rose slightly. The comment was so out of the blue . . . and he’d thought they were done with that part of the conversation. It seemed not, he thought and asked, “What reason is that?”
“Because thoughts of your one kiss bring on her fangs, while memories of all of her husband’s kisses do not,” she said quietly.
Justin’s head jerked up at these words, his mind whirling. This was good, wasn’t it? Not the guilt, of course, but that his kisses did what her husband’s couldn’t. At least the memories of them. Of course, as her life mate he’d known his kisses would have more affect than her mortal husband’s, but it surprised him that her husband’s kisses didn’t stir enough passion to bring on her fangs. That was rather interesting, actually, and telling.
“Well,” Gia headed for the door. “I came to tell you that we are ending lessons for the day and taking Holly shopping.” Pausing at the door, she glanced back and added, “And to see if you want to join us. The boys want more food and Holly needs clothes.”
Justin considered the matter briefly and then shook his head. He wasn’t going to get to woo Holly with Gia and the twins along. But their absence would give him the chance to move his wooing campaign ahead in other ways.
“You go on,” he said now, a smile pulling at his lips. “I have things to do around here.”
Gia peered at him curiously. Reading his mind, no doubt, he thought when concentration filled her face. After a moment, she smiled faintly, and nodded. “Buona fortuna amico mio.”
Justin merely grunted as she closed the door to his room. “Good luck, my friend,” she’d said, but he didn’t need luck. He had a plan.