The Roman's Woman (A Singular Obsession Book 4) (13 page)

“Hide until he leaves town.”

“You can’t. He’s your lab’s biggest donor.”

Sophia groaned. “I had forgotten all about that. I’m not going to be able to avoid him. I can’t even show him how mad I am. The lab is depending on his funding this year. If he pulled it at this stage, we’d be crippled. Alan would never forgive me.”

“I doubt Gio would be that vindictive.”

“One can only hope.”

Kelly stood and opened the second bottle of wine she brought. She poured Sophia a very full glass.

“Here’s to hope,” Kelly toasted.

Sophia straightened the skirt of her dress and made a face at herself in the mirror. She was standing in the bathroom in one of Oxford’s most exclusive restaurants. Alan had called her at home, asking—no begging—her to join him for dinner with their biggest donor.

He apologized profusely for making her give up her Saturday night, but they both knew there was no way Sophia could avoid it. Gio had given them a lot of money.
A veritable buttload—and she had received the lion’s share. Dinner was obligatory. The only way she could get miss it was if her eyes were bleeding.

Just let me get through this in one piece. Speaking of which…

She looked down at her dress critically. The simple sheath was loose and too boxy. Most of her clothes were. It had never bothered her before. However, having to walk into a four-star restaurant, knowing that a billionaire banker was waiting for her, made her wish she had gone shopping.

For a second she had considered wearing her white dress, but she nipped that idea in the bud. And there was no way in hell she was wearing the black one he’d given her. So instead she was wearing this dark green sack—a choice she was regretting now.

Doesn’t matter.
At least this way he couldn’t assume she dressed up for him. Gritting her teeth, she gave herself a little pep talk before walking into the dining room.

They were seated at a prime table. Gio stood as soon as he saw her. He seemed relieved, and she felt a twinge deep inside that he cared that much, in spite of herself.

He wasn’t the only one that looked relieved. Alan jumped up as well, his friendly face splitting into a grin. But the sweat on his brow betrayed his concern. It was unnecessary, though. There was no way she’d hurt the lab by skipping dinner. She would be professional until it killed her.

“Here’s our girl,” Alan said in a loud voice when she reached the table.

Too loud
. Several people turned to stare at them as Gio hurried to pull out her chair. Her inner feminist chafed at being called a girl by her research partner, but she bit her tongue. Alan was nervous, and with good reason.

He proceeded to show it by making nonstop conversation for a few minutes before his cell phone rang.

“Oh, really, are you stuck?” Alan said. “All right. It’s not a good time but if you’re stranded, you’re stranded. I’ll be right there.” He hung up the phone with a good imitation of true regret. “I’m so sorry, but I have to leave. My daughter is having car trouble.”

“That’s fine. We completely understand,” Gio said, not bothering to look at him.

His eyes hadn’t left her face since she’d sat down and it was starting to make her squirm. Looking away, she blushed while Alan sputtered a quick goodbye before making his escape.

The silence that followed was broken by a waiter requesting their order. Gio asked for a wine she didn’t recognize, but it seemed to terribly impress their server.

“Are you okay? Is your cough better?” he asked.

The concern in his voice was unsettling. “It’s gone, thank you.”

“I didn’t ask Alan to do that, by the way.” He leaned forward to pour her some wine.

“Of course not,” she replied dryly, taking the glass.

“I promise you, I didn’t say a thing. Not about us.”

She laughed. “I think the way you were carrying on, screaming like a fishwife over a little spilled acid was kind of a big tip-off that there was an
us
.”

He ignored the insult. “Is there still?” he asked softly.

Taking a large sip, she leaned back in her chair and stared at him. “Why do you even want there to be?”

She was at least four sizes too large to be billionaire girlfriend material. She and Kelly had Googled his ex-wife right after he left the day before. The woman was a stick insect…of the gorgeous blonde variety. Seeing the photos had made Sophia sick to her stomach despite Kelly’s assurances that Maria Gianna was too skinny.

Gio was giving her a look of mingled frustration and something else she couldn’t quite define. “I want a second chance. I promise I won’t need a third.”

Some deep dark part of her soul thrilled at his words, but it was buried under layers of apprehension and distrust.

“
Why
?”

His hand fisted on the table. “I—because you’re amazing. Your research application was head and shoulders above everyone else’s. I couldn’t forget what you said about why you were pursuing that line of research…By the way, did you ever find out if your mother’s sample tested positive for the parasite?”

Sophia swallowed over the sudden lump in her throat. “Her results were inconclusive,” she said, her throat tightening.

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

She gave him a small nod. “So you were so impressed by my big brain you simply had to meet me?” she drawled sarcastically.

He cocked his head and flashed her a devastating smile. “Well, after I saw you in that white dress and almost swallowed my tongue, meeting you became a top priority.”

Her blush crept down all the way down to her chest. Even her décolletage was red. She snuck a glance at Gio’s face, but he was politely looking into her eyes.

“I find it hard to believe I’m your type,” she said.

He frowned and toyed with his fork. “Why is that?”

“I’m not some skinny fashion plate. I don’t dress to show off my body. That white dress is the exception, not the rule. I wouldn’t look right on a billionaire’s arm. I saw pictures of your ex-wife. She’s like a size zero.”

“Sophia, that hardly means I only like skinny women. In fact, I always thought Maria Gianna dieted too much. I’m more egalitarian in my tastes than that.”

“So you’ve dated fatties before?” she asked, her eyebrow raised.

His brow creased. “You’re
not
fat. I love your curves. I think you know that…and in case you’ve forgotten, I’d be more than happy to demonstrate my enthusiasm for them,” he said, his face sharpening with a predatory hunger that sent a shiver down her spine.

The waiter arrived with their meal, saving her from having to respond to that. She picked at her meal, blushing awkwardly whenever she caught his heated gaze.

He gave her a break for a little while, discussing the lab and its research. Apparently, Alan had given him a tour after she’d gone home yesterday and he was eager to discuss their recent findings and the current state of science in general.

“I do think it’s a double-edged sword that we get so much money from private sources these days,” she said, warming to a topic that she often discussed with her colleagues.

“So I should take my money back?” Gio asked with a glint in his eye.

Sophia’s laugh was a higher pitch than normal. “Bite your tongue. Alan would have me drawn and quartered if he heard you teasing like that. No, I meant that it’s a shame government funding of research has stagnated in the last decade. It’s not a priority in tough economic times. Politicians forget that science funds innovation and industry. And scientists themselves have become extremely conservative when it comes to what research topics they pick since so much depends on getting the next grant. Innovation is dwindling across the board. Cash-strapped labs can’t risk being on the bleeding edge anymore. Most of the time they have to have the research half-done to obtain the money in the first place—to prove a project’s viability. At the same time, having to answer to private donors such as yourself comes with its own set of pitfalls.”

“Like having to have dinner with your benefactors?” he asked with a wry twist of his lips.

“If only it stopped there,” she said, choosing to take his question at face value as they finished up their meal. “Not only do we get accused of conflicts of interest—sometimes with good reason if you do pharma research—but private donor money can come with a lot of strings. The Morgese Foundation doesn’t have this reputation, by the way. I’m thinking of experiences other colleagues have had.”

He nodded and ordered coffee from the waiter before answering. “I’m glad the foundation has good word of mouth. That work is important to me.”

She drummed her fingers on the table. “So, since it has come up, I have to speak to you about the money. I need to know that whatever happens between us, it won’t affect the lab’s funding.”

Gio perked up. “Does that mean you’re considering going out with me again?”

“No—I mean I don’t know.” She bit her lip. “God, just answer the question, please.”

He sat up straighter. “Do you honestly believe I would jeopardize your livelihood or that of the people you work with for any reason?”

He sounded angry. Slightly ashamed, she shook her head.

Gio’s shoulders drooped. “You earned that grant. You deserve it, and I’m not going to take it away because you don’t want to be with me anymore.”

He sounded heartbroken.

“I didn’t say that.”

He leaned forward. “So…dinner tomorrow night?”

“We’re having dinner now,” she reminded him.

“And tomorrow night, too?” he asked in a hopeful voice.

His boyish grin was completely disarming. Steeling herself, she took a deep breath. Despite what he’d done and her petty desire to continue punishing him, she did miss him. What if she gave him another chance?

He would be on probation, of course, and this time she would be vigilant. She wouldn’t take anything at face value. If he lied to her again, she’d take Kelly’s advice and kick him in the balls. And she could kick
really
hard.

“If we do this, we start over. You get one, and I mean
one
, more chance,” she said, holding up her index finger.

Gio put both hands on the table, his shoulders dropping in relief. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet. When I said start over I meant from the beginning.” She took a surreptitious look at their fellow diners and leaned in. “That means no sex. As of now, we are strangers who are on their first date.”

He was unfazed, an irrepressible grin lighting up his whole face.

“I’m serious,” she whispered. “
No sex
.”

That lasted about a week.

Damn Italian must’ve drugged me.

Sophia gripped the counter she was sitting on with one hand. The other was busy pulling the hair on Gio’s head, which was currently buried between her legs.

“Oh, God!” she cried, as his tongue circled her clit before biting down on it gently.

One of his hands was stroking her pussy lips, two fingers buried deep in her sheath. She shuddered and moaned as they stroked a sensitive spot.

She didn’t know how this had happened. They had been arguing just a minute ago in the car. Richard had been calling about her father’s Chevette again, instigating yet another argument between her and Gio when all of a sudden they had been kissing—a heated clinch with tongues and teeth that had them climbing all over each other in the backseat of his town car.

Thank God it had tinted windows.

Getting to Gio’s place was a blur. She barely recalled being ushered out of the car. His hands had been busy under her skirt, and she had come close to being fucked in an elevator.

It had been a long ride to the penthouse.

She remembered him opening the door to the place, but for the life of her couldn’t remember how she’d ended up sitting on the marble countertop in the kitchen getting oral from a billionaire.

Gio had been lent the glorious apartment by a friend of his from university so he could stay in town to “court” her. The place was ridiculously large with a dozen rooms, including a private gym and a home theater. Last night she had watched a blockbuster new release in there snuggled in Gio’s arms.

It had taken Herculean strength to go home to her cold bed alone yesterday. She was proud of the amount of willpower she’d displayed around him. But her resolve to take things slow flew out the window mid-fight.

“We have to stop settling arguments this way,” she managed to say between breathy little moans.

His laughter sent delicious little vibrations up and down her pussy. She buried both hands in his hair and held him closer, her hips pumping up helplessly. Worried that he was in danger of suffocating, she tried to back up, but his hands moved to hold her against his mouth. He sucked and licked in an aggressive rhythm that made the blood pound in her ears in a matching beat.

When his tongue stabbed into her, she tightened and throbbed around him. A broken sob escaped and her hands trembled on his head as he snaked in and out of her channel, extending the ripples of her orgasm until she was limp.