Perfect Match (Vice Club Nights #2)

Epilogue - Gio

Two Weeks Later

“ B reathe in deeply,” Tori tells the Pilates class. “And out again.”

It’s not an easy task when the husky tone of her voice reminds me of this morning when I was buried deep inside of her and she was begging me to give her another orgasm. A request that I was more than happy to fulfill. But now is not the time to be having these thoughts, not while I’m lying on my back in a room full of my friends and a bunch of women who as members of the club might enjoy a little too much seeing my cock growing harder. I chance a look at my watch, only five more minutes.

I squeeze my eyes closed, trying instead to concentrate on the presentation Ant and I will be giving to the board in two days. The audit continues and we won’t have the final report on that until the new year, but after the marriage contract mess, we’ve finally been able to direct our full attention on renegotiating our global distribution channel contracts across the entire company. It will save millions annually and that should guarantee the board’s acceptance. Well, it should if our father doesn’t try to sabotage our efforts … again.

My breathing becomes steadier and, more importantly, my embarrassing reaction to Tori’s sexy voice has mostly disappeared. Until Tori, who has been walking amongst the group, reaches my side and squats low next to me.

“You okay there … big guy?” she whispers, deliberately teasing me now. I swallow down a groan that would draw attention to me and blink one eye open in warning. The cheeky smile which tips her lips up slightly at the corners tells me she knows exactly what she’s doing to me.

“Behave,” I growl the single word. Her smile widens and for me, it’s like the sun rising on a perfect summer’s day, even though through the windows at the end of the room it’s a dark, cold November evening. She beams, truly in her element running these classes, and I’m glad I got to see her doing what she obviously loves, even if most of the time I haven’t been able to stretch into half the positions.

“Laters,” is her only response as she spins on her heel and struts back to the front of the class. I watch every step and sway of her hips.

Tori owns me completely, my thoughts, my actions, and my heart.

Nearby, Ryan coughs out a laugh. “Big guy, hey?” he mutters so low I only just catch the words.

I tip my head in his direction and give him my fiercest scowl. Ryan likes giving me shit about how hard I’ve fallen for Tori, but I know it comes from a place of understanding given his feelings for her twin.

My head drops back onto the rubber mat, and I close my eyes again. The truth is I wear my love for Tori like a badge of honor because I want everyone to know she’s mine. I know I’m the luckiest man alive when she’s in my arms and telling me she loves me. Especially when I remember how close I came to losing her forever.

Tori is everything to me. And every day that she shows me her amazing spirit, strength of character, and enormous resilience, I fall more in love with her. She’s recovered quickly from the physical and emotional effects of the kidnapping—better than I have.

My eyes open and I immediately search for her in the room while I breathe through the sudden spike in my heart rate. I still have nightmares about Tori’s rescue and how easily the result could have been different. A familiar chill races up my spine at the memory of her battered, unconscious body lying on the tiled factory floor in a pool of her own blood and fearing the worst. Hopefully, one day the image that has become a jagged scar on my mind will begin to fade, replaced by many more happy moments. From across the room, our gazes connect and, as if she senses my need to hold her, she moves toward me again.

“Now slowly curl up to standing,” Tori directs the group, and by the time I’m on my feet, she’s beside me again and saying more softly, “Another deep breath in.”

“Now give yourselves a round of applause,” she says with more strength in her voice to rise over the clapping before ending with, “And thank you all for coming.” Today has been her first day back, and from the enthusiastic response of the group, I’d say it’s been a huge success.

She places one hand on my chest around the area of my heart and the panic brought on by the memories subsides with my stuttered exhale.

Our eyes lock together like magnets, hers awash with emotion, and I place my hand over hers before dropping a light kiss to her forehead. “Well done, bella.” She steps closer and I breath in her wildflower scent; it’s like we’re the only two people in the room.

The haunting image of her broken body has been replaced by the reality of the healthy, beautiful woman before me. And slowly, the fear of losing her fades back into the recesses of my mind. The more we’ve talked about what happened that night, the easier it’s become for both of us to deal with the aftermath. When I hold her close or when her warm touch seeps through my skin, finding it’s way to my heart, there’s no space left for anxious thoughts or what-ifs. Everything quiets when Tori is with me.

Our friends gather around us as the other clients roll up their exercise mats and slowly leave with a wave or a shouted thank you to Tori.

“I can’t believe how hard that was,” Ryan grumbles, and Charli throws a small towel at him. He catches it easily before burying his face in it to wipe at the sweat beading his forehead. I’d find it hilarious that the former Navy SEAL was hurting, if I wasn’t also feeling the burn in my own muscles. Like Ryan, this was my first Pilates class, and I stupidly thought I could handle it with my regular boxing and cardio sessions keeping me fit. I was so wrong.

“You poor baby,” Charli teases, rubbing slow circles on Ryan’s chest to placate him. “Pilates is just a different way of exerting your muscles.”

“Yes, poor baby,” I joke, hoping that nobody will notice how exhausted I feel.

Tony’s eyes narrow as he folds his arms across his chest and sizes up Ryan and I. “You two are an embarrassment and should know the importance of cross-training.”

“Let’s see how good that cross-training is when we’re sparring next time,” Ryan responds, but Tony has already turned and is wandering off toward the showers, chuckling under his breath.

The guys, like Tori and Charli, are martial arts experts, and I know from what Tori has told me in the past they would often all train together. It’s going to be a few more weeks before the doctor gives her the all clear to join them again, as BJJ is more physically demanding on her body than Pilates. But when she can spar again I’m looking forward to seeing my warrior woman in action.

Tori gives Charli a hug. “Thanks for filling in for me so I had a class to come back to.” While Tori has been recovering, Charli was running some of her classes along with one of the other instructors.

“Honestly I think half the people just thought I was you.”

To strangers, the girls may seem identical but when I look at Tori, I see the differences that make her unique and special. I’ve memorized every detail, from the faint freckles on her nose to the varying flecks of warm brown in her eyes, the tilt of her head when something is bothering her, and how one side of her mouth tips up into a smile before the other. But most of all it’s her heart that I recognize above all else. That’s where our connection begins and ends.

“Hey, sis, I’m going to have to go if I want to shower and eat before my shift starts. You know the boss can be a real pain in my arse if I’m late.” Charli steps back to stand beside Ryan, and taps him lightly on his chest. “Except of course when he’s the reason I’m late.”

Ryan’s brows shoot high. “Seriously you’re blaming me now for making you late. Funny I don’t remember it that way yesterday.”

Charli places her hand over his mouth. “Don’t give all our secrets away or I’ll make you do another advanced Pilates class.” She slips her hand into his and leads him away.

A laugh bursts from my lungs until Charli’s words sink in, and when I turn to face Tori, her smirk heightens my suspicions. “You said that tonight’s class was a beginner’s Pilates class.”

She shakes her head, grinning. “No, I never said that. I think that was your assumption.” I should have remembered the sisters do have one identical trait: their wicked sense of humor, and Ryan and I have fallen victim to it again.

“You girls planned on making Ryan and I suffer didn’t you?”

She touches her hand to my cheek. “Sorry, it was more to force Ryan to admit that Pilates can be hard after he told Charli he thought the class would be too easy.”

I pull her closer with my hands on her hips. “So I was just collateral damage?” I tease, and her soft lilting laugh warms my heart.

“Come on, I’ll buy you a juice to make up for it. You do look a bit sweaty,” she says in an exaggerated whisper, even though we’re the only two remaining in the room.

I release her hips to hook an arm loosely over her shoulders to walk her toward the door. “Shhh … don’t tell Ryan. And for the record I’m going to need more than a juice as compensation.”

“Okay how about a back massage too?”

“Full body massage as a bare minimum,” I counteroffer.

“Deal,” she agrees, and every one of my stretched muscles now feels worth it.

We stop at the vending machine which holds a choice of fresh juices that are refilled at the start of each day—another of Tori’s great ideas. And I can now see why the introduction of the classes and even the ice-cold fruit juices work. But when Tori bends to collect our juices from the machine, she winces. Her bruises may have faded but those punches and kicks she took to the ribs still cause her some discomfort. Today has been a long first day back at work for her, and I would have preferred her to have another week off. But my girlfriend is tough, and when I made the suggestion, she said she was used to taking hits from Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

“Let’s take these juices to have at home.”

Her shoulders droop and her gaze drops to the floor. I step closer to lift her face back to mine. “Bella, what’s wrong?”

She tilts her head to the side. “I’ve been thinking that maybe it’s time I returned to my own home … especially now that I’m back at work.” She reaches up to remove the band from her ponytail. I think it’s so she can hide from me behind the dark curtain of hair.

My palm threads through the silky strands, drawing them back from her beautiful face. “Tori, my home is where you are and if that’s in my apartment or yours, I don’t care. I just want you beside me when I go to sleep at night and when I wake up the next morning. I love you and that’s not a temporary thing, it’s forever.”

One perfectly shaped brow rises. “You would live in my tiny apartment? With Sadie on the other side of a very thin bedroom wall and one bathroom for the three of us to share?”

“Well, it wouldn’t be as comfortable as my Manhattan penthouse but if that’s what you’d prefer, then yes I would.”

She reaches up to hook her hands behind my neck. “Wow, you really must love me.”

“Bella, what do you think I’ve been doing and saying for weeks. Maybe you need a reminder,” I suggest with a waggle of my brows.

Rising up on her toes, she places a light kiss on my lips. “Maybe I do. So how about we go back to your apartment and when you finish reminding me how much you love me, then we’ll talk about our living arrangements again.”

***

A few hours later, we’re lying naked on the large sectional in my living room with a blanket thrown over us.

We didn’t even make it to the bedroom tonight. I’d had her stripped bare and her legs wrapped around my head in moments, my mouth sealing over her clit, pleasuring her. Tori’s nails dug into my hair as she crumbled beneath the force of her orgasm. Then I’d carried her to the sofa where I made love to her more slowly, teasing more moans from her sweet lips.

“The view is pretty nice here,” Tori murmurs into my chest. The large floor-to-ceiling panes of glass in my living room provide breathtaking panoramic views over the Hudson River.

“So you could get used to it?” I ask, grinning.

She props herself up to rest her chin on her hands in the center of my chest. “We couldn’t have sex on the sofa at my apartment. And I like having sex with you here or over there.” She nods toward an armchair that earlier in the week I had her bent over while I filled her.

“Go on say it. Say you’ll move in with me.”

She rolls her eyes, and her sham annoyance is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. “Gio, I will move in with you. And it’s not because your penthouse is ten times bigger than my apartment or because I want to have sex with you on every surface in this place. But purely and simply because I love you and I want to wake up every morning next to you too.”