Gio (Steel Demons MC #6)

Chapter 15

Harper

“Y ou know you can’t spend every single day here watching over me, don’t you?” There was laughter in my voice as I looked over at Gio who sat hunched over a round table, gaze fixed on something on his phone. In the two and a half weeks that I’d been staying with him he was an almost permanent fixture at the corner table of the small office I’d been given use of while I was working at the Regency.

He shrugged before looked up and his gaze slammed into mine. “I don’t have to be here every day, just the days you’re here.” He flashed that irresistible grin never failed to put a smile on my face. “And you said today was a short day. Right?”

I shook my head, a teasing grin lifted the corners of my mouth. “The one guy who actually listens to me is my bodyguard,” I mumbled, more to myself than to Gio.

He barked out a laugh. “First of all, I’m glad to see that your taste in men has improved. Second of all, I am so much more than your bodyguard.” The teasing glint in his eyes turned them more gold than hazel and there was an answering pulsing between my thighs.

“So much more? How so,” I asked even though I knew I was playing with fire. Gio wasn’t just an arrogant biker, he was funny and charming and protective. He cared about me, and he made my body sing. He was just… more than I ever gave him credit for. “I’m waiting?”

He wiggled his brows. “If you need an explanation, I’m happy to go lock that door and show you what I mean.”

Yes, please. That’s what I wanted to say, instead I shook my head and turned back to the finalized guest list. “Maybe later. We still have an hour of work to do.” I had to focus on the work because if I didn’t then I would be forced to think about how terrified I was to even set foot inside The Regency, and if I thought about that I might just pack my bags and head back to California on the next flight. And that would derail my career which just might send me back to Steel City.

A prospect that wasn’t as unappealing as it was a few weeks ago.

So I was determined to buck up and deal with the fear. I had Gio and the Steel Demons at my back and if that wasn’t enough then nothing would be.

“Okay, I’m done.” It was a little longer than an hour, which explained why Gio’s expression of relief was so dramatic it teased a laugh out of me. “Ready to go?”

“Yep.” He jumped to his feet and shoved his phone into some hidden pocket in his vest. “Let’s get the hell out of here.” He snatched my hand and clasped our palms together. “How do you spend your days inside these windowless rooms?”

It wasn’t the first time someone posed that question to me, and I always gave the same answer. “You don’t notice it after a while.”

“You grew up in the sunny desert and now you live in the sunniest fucking place on earth, no way it doesn’t bother you.” He pulled me close when a group of tipsy men stumbled out of one of the gaming rooms.

He was right but the truth was sad. It was pathetic. “I spend more time in those windowless rooms than the sunshine so actually this,” I waved towards the sky, “is more jarring than ballrooms.”

“Hmph,” he groaned and handed me a helmet.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.” He made his eyebrows jump before turning away to throw his leg over the bike. “Come on.”

I was curious to see what this surprise was even though I was pretty sure it was just sex, which was amazing because sex with Gio was always amazing. In fact it surpassed that mild word every single time—mind-blowing was more like it. It’s temporary, I reminded myself even as I hung on tight and pressed my body to his, though as I’d been staying at his place for coming up to three weeks, I was getting a bit too used to being around him. Being on the back of Gio’s motorcycle was always such a rush, a thrilling and terrifying rush that left me breathless and a little wobbly in the legs when we arrived at our destination.

***

I’d thought he was taking us to the clubhouse but then he headed out of town towards the warehouse district. Eventually we went down a dirt track and pulled up at a large building. I jumped off and looked up at the building with metal and wood twisted to make a skull, the words above and above it declared it to be Demon Head Guns. “Is this your place?”

Gio flashed a proud smile and nodded. “It belongs to the MC so yeah it belongs to all of us.”

That was an interesting bit of information. “Right. You’ve been with me so you’re probably not getting a lot of work done.”

His lips tugged to one side, and he hooked an arm around me and led me inside. “I’m not bringing you to work with me, Harp. This is for you, and for me.”

I stopped but Gio pushed me ahead with a short laugh. “How’s this for me? I don’t own a gun and I don’t want to know how to shoot one.” My heart pounded against my chest so loud it almost blocked out the sound of guns being fired beyond that giant metal door.

“You don’t own a gun, yet. And you do need to learn how to shoot one because it could be a matter of life or death. Like you said I can’t be around you twenty-four-seven even if I want to be, and this way we can both rest easily knowing you can handle some shit if it goes down.”

My heart went completely still, and his words sank in. There would inevitably come a time when Gio wouldn’t be at my side and even if that time never came there might come a time when he couldn’t do it all on his own. I would have to step in and don my own cape to help save myself. I didn’t like it, and it scared me shitless, but he was right. “Okay. Fine.”

His smile brightened and his chest puffed out proudly.

“But if I don’t like, we stop.”

“You’ll love it, I promise.” He dragged me towards the door and punched in a code. “It’s nice when there are no life-or-death consequences on the other side.”

“That sounds like bullshit but I’m here and I’m willing to give it a try.”

Of course Gio was a good teacher, and he went through the motions to teach me about gun safety, how to load and unload the damn thing. It was all very mechanical, and his bland delivery helped take the mystery out of the murder machine. Eventually I was ready to give it a go.

“Got it?”

I nodded. “Yep, I think so.”

“Good.” He smiled and nestled up behind me, cradling his hands around mine. “Get a feel for the gun. Grip the metal and let the weight of it sit in your hands.” His words came out on a grunted whisper. “Yeah, just like that.”

I barely suppressed the shiver that his breath words sent down my spine. “Okay. Now what?”

“Now line up your shot. Aim for center mass. It’s the biggest part of the body and increases your chances of landing a bullet.”

“Okay. Squeeze the trigger slowly and keep your hands steady.”

I sucked in a deep breath, and I let it out slowly while I squeezed the trigger. The whole world slowed down as I watched the bullet travel down the alley before it tore through the paper target. “It landed! It landed!” I jumped up and down and spun to find Gio right in front of my face. “Did you see that?”

He wore a heart-stopping smile. “Yeah, I saw it. Great job.”

“Thank you.” I took a nervous leap forward and wrapped my arms around his waist. “Thank you,” I whispered again.

“You liked it didn’t you?”

I shook my head. “It’s way too loud and even now my heart is racing like crazy. Honestly? I hope that I never have to shoot a gun but, but it feels really good knowing that if I need to I can.” I hugged him again. “That means a lot to me, Gio.”

His arms went around me and squeezed tight. “Anytime, babe.”

I smiled and took a step back to practice loading the gun on my own. “Babe? Is that what you call your women?”

He laughed. “I don’t call them.”

I glared at him. “Seriously?”

He nodded and shrugged nonchalantly. “They know the score so no one’s feelings are getting hurt. I’m not a bad guy.”

“I know you’re not it’s just, that sounds callous and gross.”

“Now you sound like your brother.” His smile dimmed but only for the questions of seconds. “What about you?”

“What about me?” I fumbled with loading the magazine, grunted a curse and tried again.

“Tell me about your life in California.”

I didn’t want to share the details because they were depressing as hell and hearing them out loud sounded downright pathetic. “Not much to tell. I have a few friends, but I work too much to actually spend any time with them. There’s no one special and there hasn’t been, not even a pet.” I was too scared to look up because I didn’t want to see pity in his hazel eyes. “I can hear you thinking, Gio.”

He sighed. “It’s just that it doesn’t sound like you. When I thought of your life out there, I thought you were happy and full of life with lots of friends, maybe a chubby cat who left hair all over the place. Movie nights at your place, beach parties and road trips.”

I sighed heavily and took aim at the paper target once again. One steadying breath and I squeezed the trigger three times and then three more times. “You really imagined my life like that?”

“Yeah. Of course I did. You were meant to have that life, Harp. I don’t like that you don’t have it.”

I laughed and turned to face him. “The picture you painted does sound pretty nice.”

His gaze was serious. “Have you considered working for yourself?”

“I have,” I admitted with a nod. “But I’m not ready, at least I don’t feel as if I’m ready. I have some contacts but not enough to rival the big names, and I’m not sure my connections with vendors are enough to get priority over other event planning companies.” I had given it quite a lot of thought over the past twelve months and I was pleased he was so attentive and caring about my career. None of my other boyfriends— not that Gio was my boyfriend—had ever even asked me about work.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

I shrugged. “You’re just really sweet, Gio.”

He rolled his eyes, but his cheeks went a little pink. “Yeah, that’s me. Sweet as pie. Come on.”

I watched him interact with the guys working the gun range and the store and it reminded me so much of the boy I crushed on throughout my teenage years. He was charming and friendly, so damn personable that everyone around him felt better just by interacting with him.

After I’d handed the gun back and we’d left the range, we stopped beside his bike and he turned to me, circling his hands around my body. “Okay, ready to head home?”

I shook my head as my breath hitched and put my hands on his shoulders. “Not yet.” I pressed my lips to his and he groaned, letting his hands slide down until he was gripping my ass. I pushed closer, deepening the kiss until I was hot and needy and ready to jump him right there in the parking lot.

Gio pulled me close enough that I felt his cock, long and hard against my belly. He growled again and kissed a trail of heat from my mouth to my throat.

I moaned and ran my fingers through his hair, tugging just enough to get his attention. “How fast can we get back to your place?”

He flashed a wolfish smile and put the helmet on my head before he jumped on the bike and motioned for me to join him.

I did, smiling at the cool wind on my skin as Gio pushed his bike to the limits in a hurry to get us home.