“Please,” she mutters.
I’m not very good at flirting, or joking, or making people relax. I think back to yesterday’s run, and our time on the patio sipping wine. We were both relaxed—without having any orgasms. What is it that calms her?
Talking. Great. I hate making small talk. I rub my chin while I try to come up with a conversation starter. All I can think of are compliments on her body, how much I want to fuck her, or questions about her father’s estate. None will get the reaction I desire.
I smooth out my wrinkled lapels again and remember the box in my pocket. I pluck it out and hand it to Gia. “Here. You’ll need this.”
She turns to me and frowns at the black velvet box in my hand. “What is it?”
“Open it.”
She continues eyeing it, then licks her lips before biting the bottom one. I’m not a lip man. Unless they’re on my cock. I don’t fantasize about my mouth on anything but a woman’s pussy or her breasts. And even then, my fantasies are limited. There’s a short range of body parts I allow my mouth to touch, but Gia tempts me from head to toe.
I want to taste her ear lobes, the soft skin behind her neck, and those fucking pink lips of hers. I want to taste them. To run my tongue where she so frequently runs hers. Kissing is intimate. Kissing crosses the line. A line I refuse to even come close to.
I have more self-control than the average man and make myself look away from her mouth.
Gia stares at the box and still doesn’t reach for it. With an annoyed sigh, I open it and turn it toward her. She gasps and places her hand over her chest.
“It’s...”
“A ring.”
“A ring,” she repeats. “Um. I don’t...”
“Gia.” I don’t mean to come across quite so annoyed, but she’s wearing down my patience. “If you’re going to marry Stone Parlatore, you’re going to need a ring. No one would believe I’d proposed without giving you a diamond.”
“Oh,” she sounds almost disappointed.
“Is it not to your liking? I didn’t have a lot of time or options. The two jewelers I preferred couldn’t come out to the island for another week, so I flew to Milan yesterday and selected from their inventory. You can custom design something more to your preference later. This will have to do for now.”
I don’t know what she expects. The cut and clarity of the four-carat square diamond is flawless.
“Rocco, it’s beautiful. It’s just so...it must have cost a fortune.”
Rocco.Her concern about cost would have had me laughing if she hadn’t called me Rocco. The other few times she’d used my given name had been with intent. I don’t know what the meaning behind it is this time.
“It should fit.” I take it out of the box and hold it out to her.
She touches her hand to her mouth as if really starstruck before taking the ring and slipping it on her finger. “Should I be freaked out about how well you knew what size clothes to get me, and now the size of my finger?”
“I do my research, Gia.”
“Thank you. It’s stunning.” She holds her hand out in front of her, examining it, and a genuine smile forms on her lips.
I can’t help the male pride I have inside at making her smile like that.
“I promise to take good care of it. I’ll return it to you at the end of...when you’ve taken care of business.”
The unfamiliar bubble that has me smiling instantly pops at the thought of her leaving me any time soon.
“You can keep the ring. As payment for putting up with the rod up my ass, as you like to say.”
“If we’re talking about compensation for that, you’re going to owe me a lot more than this measly little rhinestone.”
I rather like the teasing behind her words. The way the dim airplane lighting dances in her eyes. The giggle that escapes her lips.
The phone rings next to me and I pick it up, listen, then hang up. “We’ll be landing in ten minutes.”