She could see the fire in his gaze. Desire warred with trepidation. He cared about her kids and that was the most important thing. That was the only thing. She smiled and brought a hand to his face.
“They’re the ones having sleepovers. Your mom and my dad are taking Aurora for the night and Evan is staying over at a friend’s house.”
“Tonight?” He said the word with hope and fear.
“Tonight.”
“Are you sure?”
Gia nodded. “No.”
“Your head is saying yes, but your mouth is saying no.”
“Maybe you can change my mouth’s mind?” she whispered, brushing against his lower lip.
Beckett groaned and pulled back an inch. “Gianna, I want this so badly. But only if you’re sure. There’s a lot at stake.”
“I really like you, Beckett. If you’re a mistake, I have a feeling you’re going to be my favorite one.” She ran her hands through his hair, tugging him down until her lips met his.
20
Beckett let them in the front door of his house. He took his coat from her shoulders and hung it in the foyer closet.
Gia clasped her hands in front of her and tried to smooth out her breathing. Her nerves were spiraling out of control inside her. She had told him she’d meet him here, but he’d waited for her outside the studio until the kids were packed off and good-byes said. She’d wanted the quiet of a solitary walk, maybe she would have taken a few moments at home to check her makeup, give herself a pep talk.
But here she was. In Beckett’s foyer, trying to not have a heart attack.
“Do you want a glass of wine?” he asked. His voice was soft, low.
She surprised them both by shaking her head. “I want you.”
His reaction was swift, instantaneous. He crossed to her and buried his hands in her hair. Beckett’s mouth captured hers in a demanding blaze of need.
She whimpered against his mouth and dove into the fire after him. Her fingers dug into his shoulders. They were moving backward, but Gia didn’t care. Her back met the front door with an unceremonious thump and she yelped.
“Sorry,” he whispered against her mouth, stealing her breath. But he didn’t move back an inch. She was sandwiched between the door and the unyielding weight of his body and she wanted more.
His hands chased her curves and Gia melted under his touch. She felt him, achingly hard, against her stomach. He groaned when she slipped a hand between their bodies to touch him through his jeans.
“Wait, wait,” he commanded when she opened the button of his pants.
He grabbed her hand and stilled it. “Just wait,” he said, his breath ragged. “Birth control?” he asked.
“Pill. We’re good,” she assured him. When she rose up on her toes to take his mouth again, he gripped her shoulders.
“Wait,” he said again. His hand held her firmly against the door. “I’ve thought about this for … a long time. I don’t want to just rip your clothes off in the foyer.”
“What do you have in mind?” Gia said, her chest rising on short sharp gasps of air.
“Give me five minutes, okay?”
“I live with kids,” Gia reminded him. “I don’t care if you have dirty underwear on the floor.”
He grinned. That quick, charming smile that went to her gut like a shot of whiskey. “Stay here. Don’t move.” Beckett took the stairs two at a time.
As soon as he was out of sight, Gia brought her hands to her flushed face. She took several deep breaths to steady herself. She and Beckett Pierce were going to …
It had been so long for her. What if she’d forgotten what to do? What if the sex was terrible?
She immediately shook that fear from her head. If the kisses were that devastating, sex was guaranteed to be better than good. She brought her fingers to lips swollen from his kisses. Way better.
“Gianna?” Beckett appeared at the top of the stairs.
She climbed the stairs, taking her time, her gaze never leaving his face. She wanted to commit this moment to memory. Her choice to go to him, the anticipation of all that was to come. She saw want and need in his eyes and something else that simmered just beneath the surface.
He held out his hand and she laid her palm in his.
“Mine.”
She thought she heard him whisper the word, but dismissed it, when she realized she couldn’t hear anything over the thudding of her heart in her chest.
Gia was shaking with nerves, with need, with anticipation. In her head there was only room for the now. No doubts, no to-do list, no responsibilities. There was only Beckett. Only her.
He drew her down the hall to the front of the house and the empty bedroom she’d visited once before. The bookcase was ajar, light flickering from beyond.
“Beckett,” she breathed as he led her inside.
There were gas sconces built into the wall that she hadn’t noticed in the dark. They were lit now and joined by a dozen candles that flickered on stairs.
He brushed her hair away from her neck and over her shoulder. “I’ve thought of you here like this since that night.”
Her eyes fluttered closed as his lips fed on the flesh under her jaw. “I bet I wasn’t dressed as a witch in your fantasies.”