Beast I Can’t Tame by L.K. Shaw

Chapter 29

Francesca

Warmth surrounds me.There’s a hard body at my back. For a moment, panic threatens, but then everything from last night comes rushing in. Gio coming to the house. Making love. The police station. God, his mother. My heart breaks for him, because despite the insistence that he didn’t feel anything, there had been so much pain in his eyes.

Gio brushes a soft kiss on my shoulder. I turn in his embrace. Dark circles are under his eyes as though he didn’t sleep at all. I run my fingers gently over his forehead, smoothing the lines that linger, and down his cheek. “How are you feeling?”

“Wrung out,” he says, his voice rough with fatigue.

I can only imagine. It was an awful night and I don’t expect today to get much better. Arrangements will have to be made. “Did your mom have any other family that needs to be notified? Any brothers or sisters? Parents?”

Gio shakes his head. “Not to my knowledge. Growing up, it was always just Beatrice and me. I asked once about her parents, and she told me she was dead to them.”

I feel sorry for her. And him. I’d be lost without Pierce and Jacob. I lean up and brush my lips across his. “We’re your family now.”

He gives me a grateful smile. “I should probably call Jacob.”

Gio sits on the edge of the bed and picks up his phone. I sit up and listen in on his side of the conversation.

“It’s Giovanni.” Pause. “Beatrice is dead.”

There’s a bark of sound from the phone, but I can’t make out what Jacob said.

“Cops called me late last night. Apparent drug overdose, but they can’t confirm it until the lab report comes back.”

There’s another long pause, and Gio swallows.

“Thank you,” he says and ends the call. He rubs his hands down his face before turning back to me. “Apparently Jacob had men watching her apartment. He’s going to check with them and see if they can find out who her dealer was. Said to give him a few days.”

“Can I help you with the arrangements? I have a lot of contacts I can reach out to. You shouldn’t have to do this by yourself.”

Giovanni scoots closer and cradles my cheek. “Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

My hand covers his. “You’ll never have to find out.”

I lean into him, brushing my mouth across his. He deepens the kiss, and I can taste his pain and sadness. The only thing I can do to try and soothe it, is to take all the love in my heart and wrap him up in it. With every swipe of my tongue against his, every nip of his lip, every caress made by my hands, I shower him with love.

Passions quickly rise and soon, he’s filling me once again. His thrusts rough, and he clutches me tight. I hold him close, whispering comforting words in his ear, as he picks up the pace. There’s no coordination. It’s raw emotion, and it should terrify me how he’s taking me, but this time is for him, not me. I’ll give him whatever he needs.

It doesn’t last long, and within minutes, he’s spilling inside me, his breath ragged against my neck. I brush away his whispered apologies, and merely run my hands up and down his back, letting him know I’m here. Everything is going to be okay. His weight is heavy, but I don’t complain. At last, he rolls off me and throws an arm over his face.

“I’m sorry,” he says again, still not looking me in the eye. “I didn’t even make you come.”

I turn on my side and prop myself up on my elbow, reaching over to place my hand on his heart. Directly on the crown crest. “You don’t have to apologize. I know you’ll make it up to me next time.”

We remain like that for several minutes before Gio finally stirs. He sits up on the side of the bed with his back to me. His entire body is rigid. I reach out and run my hand across his skin and he flinches. I draw it back.

“I need to run to my apartment,” he says, his voice muffled.

“Would you like me to come?”

He shakes his head. “No. I think I just need to be alone for a little bit.”

That stings a little, but I’m trying to be understanding. “Please don’t shut me out. You don’t have to go through this alone.”

Giovanni twists and leans back to kiss me. He pulls back and stares into my eyes. “I love you.”

He rises from the bed and begins to dress. “I’ll call you later,” he says, giving me one more brief kiss before heading out the door.

Needing something to keep me occupied, I call for Soren and then take a quick shower. Once he arrives, I have him drive me to Brenna’s, so I have someone to talk to and keep me company.

She answers her door after a moment. “Hey,” she greets me with her usual smile. “It’s early. Even for you. Everything okay?”

“Not really.”

Her smile fades. “Oh, no. Come on. I’m just getting ready to fix breakfast. Jacob left in a hurry for some meeting.”

I follow her toward the kitchen. “Yeah, I know.”

Brenna glances over her shoulder at me in surprise. “What’s going on?”

She heads to the fridge while I park myself in the stool at the island. “Gio’s mom is dead.”

“What?”

I nod. “The police called us sometime around one and we went to the station.”

The stunned expression remains on her face as she closes the fridge and plops in the seat next to me. “Oh my god. That’s a lot to unpack. First, what was Gio doing at your house at one in the morning? Second, his mom is dead?”

Nothing about this situation is funny, but I can’t help but smirk. “What else does one do in the middle of the night with the man they’re in love with?” My expression falls though. “It was one of the best nights of my life, but also ranks right up there with a pretty crappy one.”

Brenna reaches out for a hug. “I’m really happy for you and Gio. That’s terrible about his mom, though. I’m so sorry. Oh, was that Gio who called this morning? Jacob left immediately after.”

“Probably.”

She sags in her seat and rests an elbow on the island, propping her head up. “Is Giovanni all right?”

“Not really, although he won’t admit it. I think he’s more upset than he let on. Beatrice wasn’t the best mom, but she was still his mother. Right before I came over here he left to go home, saying he wanted to be alone. I tried to go with, but he didn’t want me there.”

“Men don’t want their women to see them vulnerable. It’s like they have to be strong all the time. I’m sure he didn’t mean to hurt you by leaving. God, I can’t even imagine how he must feel.” She rises from her seat. “Alright, let me make us some lunch and then you can tell me about you and Gio.”

The two ofus sit on the couch, soft music playing so it’s not so quiet in here. I’m curled up in the corner hugging one of the bright multi-colored pillows to my chest, sipping a mimosa.

“So after the raid, he showed up at your house?” Brenna asks.

“Yeah. His emotions were already fragile after that.” I glance over at her and lower my voice. “He killed someone.”

Her eyes bug and she covers her mouth. “Oh god. Poor Gio.”

“One thing led to another and, well, it just happened,” I say with a small shrug. “Afterwards, we were talking about the future and his phone rang with the news.”

“It must be serious, then, between you guys?” Brenna asks.

“I love him. And he loves me. There isn’t anyone else for me, but him.”

She takes a drink. “I’m so happy for you guys. I kept waiting for you to realize he was in love with you. We all saw it but you.”

“I don’t think I was ready to see it. Not then, anyway. But I know that Gio is who I’m meant to be with,” I say with conviction.