Toxic Bad Boy (24 page)

I spun, snatching her hips
and pulling her against me. “You planning on breaking up with me
again?”

“
No,” she said quietly. “I
like it, by the way.”

“
It’s a good thing I won’t
ever let you go.” Brushing her smiling lips with mine, I said,
“Tell me you love me.”

“
No,” she said again.
Grabbing a short fuzzy robe, she wrapped it around the body that
drove me insane with desire. “I’m going down before my dad comes
looking for me.” She closed the door only to peek back inside and
whisper, “I’ll bring you breakfast.”

Smiling to myself, I went
into the backroom and glanced over my shoulder with my back to the
mirror. The artwork was of the picture I’d drawn of Gianna last
year. It portrayed her as an angel, her head tilted slightly down.
Ian had teased the crap out of me when he’d first seen it in juvie,
but he’d given up when he realized it didn’t bother me.

As a wedding present
someday, I planned on adding her name to it.

I moved to her bedroom
window to watch for when her dad left. The moment his SUV pulled
out of the driveway, I returned to the bathroom to start the
shower. Smirking, I left the door to the bathroom open and while
taking my shower. Through the wet glass, I saw when Gianna came
into her room, coming to a halt as she saw me.

If I was going to help her
overcome her fears, arousal was a good place to begin. She moved
away from my sight, likely placing the plate and glass she carried
onto her desk.

I turned off the shower
and wrapped a towel around my waist. She sat at her desk gazing at
her laptop screen. Drying off, I dressed, figuring she’d had enough
for now. As I went for my breakfast, I kissed the top of her head.
“Thanks, princess.”

She shifted in her chair
to watch me eat. “What do you have going on today?”

“
Spending time with you.
I’m surprised your dad left you alone.”

She blushed, biting her
lip. “I told him you were on your way to pick me up and we were
hanging out with Cece and Dante today.”

“
Liar,” I whispered
scandalously, stabbing a piece of French toast. “Get ready. We’ll
stop by my place so I can change clothes.”

She stood, going into her
closet. “Where are we going?”

“
To drop off a
painting.”

Her face careful, her
words hesitant, she asked, “At the gallery?”

After yesterday, it
wouldn’t be somewhere she’d want to go. “At the warehouse where
they store art. Their preparator, Tyler, runs it and handles their
inventory.”

She disappeared back into
the closet. “Okay.”

I wouldn’t mention that
Norah made trips to the warehouse sometimes on errands for the
gallery owner or manager. It was unlikely she’d be
there.

*****

The small warehouse was on
the outskirts of downtown Denver, in the middle of an industrial
area. Across the street were several businesses related to granite
and home remodeling.

I’d picked up the painting
when we dropped by my dad’s place. Gianna had seen my little studio
set up in the basement. I did some of my painting at my mom’s
apartment but it was convenient to also have a place to work at my
dad’s.

I didn’t think Jim would
want to use this particular painting of a depressed kid in solitary
for suicide watch, his wrists already covered in bandages from a
failed attempt. Who would want to buy it? It wasn’t something a
person could hang over the fireplace. Jim swore the
rawness
of my art would
appeal to a certain type of buyer, but I didn’t see it.

When Gianna saw the
painting before I wrapped it, all she said was, “That’s sad.” Blue
eyes had searched my face, I wasn’t sure what for.

The only other vehicles
parked in front of the warehouse were a black van and a white truck
Tyler used to transport the art. I’d set up a time with him
yesterday to make sure he’d be here.

Gianna stood a few feet
away as I retrieved the painting from where it lay in my trunk.
“You’re so grown up,” she said with a thoughtful look. “I’ve never
even had a job.”

I stopped in front of her,
holding the painting. “You don’t need to work. I’ll support
you.”

She made a face. “I
already have a daddy, Caleb.”

“
I’m serious, Gianna. When
we move in together-”

She interrupted. “Move in
together? Are you crazy? My parents would kill me.”

“
I’m not talking about
right now, when we start college or after our first
year.”

“
Oh.” Her lips adorably
formed a circle on the word.

“
Come on, Tyler is
waiting.”

She jogged ahead to open
the heavy metal door for me and I took the opportunity to check out
her ass in the skirt she wore. Tyler as nowhere in sight, so I
carefully placed the painting onto a worktable.

From what I understood,
Jim Doran, the gallery owner, was a collector himself. He was
loaded and the gallery was basically a hobby for him.

Along with the rawness of
my paintings, I knew my actual talent was raw too. But the gimmick
of a juvenile delinquent who painted the reality of youth
corrections and city life would gain exposure for the gallery. If I
decided to make a real career out of it, I’d have to go into an art
program to mature my talent.

Tyler came from one of the
aisles carrying a wrapped sculpture. “Hey, Caleb.” In his
mid-thirties, Tyler had worn gray coveralls each time I’d seen
him.

I moved to help him place
the sculpture onto a dolly. “I put the painting on the
table.”

“
Okay, thanks.” Tyler
noticed Gianna standing near the door. “Who’s this?”

I held out my hand. “Come
here, baby.” Gianna approached, taking the offered hand. “This is
my girlfriend, Gianna. Gianna, this is Tyler.”

“
Hi,” she said, slipping
her hand out of mine to shake the hand he’d ripped a work glove off
of.

“
Nice to meet you,
Gianna.”

I realized the moment he
recognized her from some of my paintings, especially the one of the
attack. I shook my head minutely and he got the message.

“
Is this the last one?” he
asked, going over to the painting to uncover it.

“
I think so,” I told
him.

Tyler covered it back up.
“Jim plans on coming down here next week to make his final
decisions on yours and Sydney’s pieces.”

I was curious about the
other artist’s work. I’d met her at dinner one night, but I’d yet
to see her paintings. Jim said she had a different style, but that
her work would complement mine.

“
If I paint anything else,
I’ll give you a call, Tyler,” I said before letting the man get
back to his job.

“
He seemed nice,” Gianna
said as I opened her car door.

“
I like him. Now, what do
you feel like doing for the rest of the day?”

“
Can we go to the zoo?”
Her expression was hopeful and I couldn’t deny her.

“
Of course,” I answered,
shutting the door before she could glimpse my lack of
enthusiasm.

So we went to the zoo and,
for the first time ever, I felt sorry for the animals locked in the
cages. I could relate. When I got home that night I started a new
painting. It depicted Ian wearing black and white prison stripes
and looking dejected while locked in the gorilla cage at the
zoo.

A
sign posted outside the cage said,
Don’t
feed the animals
.

“
A thing of beauty is a
joy forever: its loveliness increases; it will never pass into
nothingness.”

-John Keats

CALEB

I drove my car into a
parking garage near the Italian restaurant we were meeting our
parents. Downtown was less busy on Sunday evenings, most people at
home relaxing before the coming workweek. Gianna sat in the
passenger seat in a dress and heels which I thought could be put to
better use than dinner with family.

Finding a spot on the
second level, I cut the engine and ran a hand up her silky thigh.
“Spread your legs, baby.”

“
Stop it, Caleb. Don’t get
me all flustered before we meet them,” she scolded, pushing my hand
away.

She made to open her door.
“Stop, wait until I come around and open it for you.”

With an arm around her
waist, I led her to the restaurant. I gave the hostess my dad’s
name and we were ushered to a table in the middle of the place. My
dad and Gianna’s mom sat across from each other and I wondered if
it was by design so Gianna and I would be forced to do the
same.

“
Hi, honey,” Julie said,
getting up to kiss Gianna on the cheek.

My dad greeted us, staying
seated.

Pushing her chair in, I
took my own seat and leaned forward with my elbows on the table.
“Let me guess, you two are hooking up again?”

“
Caleb,” my dad began,
only for Julie to finish.

“
Your dad and I still love
each other very much. We’re trying to work things out.” Her smile
creeped me out. She hadn’t smiled genuinely at me like that since
before she found out I was fucking her daughter.

Gianna looked as weirded
out as me. “Mom, are you guys getting married again?”

“
Those lawyers were a
waste of money,” I muttered, earning a reprimanding look from my
dad.

My dad answered Gianna.
“If things go in that direction, you two will be the first to
know.”

Gianna smirked at me. “So
we’ll be stepsister and stepbrother again?”

I winked at her, making
her giggle. “Does Chance know?” I asked my dad.

When he nodded with a grin
I knew that conversation had gone well. “He’s excited for
us.”

Looking Julie in the eye,
I had to test her. “Well, you’ll be my mother-in-law one day, so
may as well add stepmother to that.”

Did her fingers whitened
as she clenched them around the stem of her wine glass. “Caleb,
your dad said you have a show on the 12th?
Congratulations.”

Ah, so Julie was seeing
the possibility of green in Gianna’s future. Did that make me more
palatable as a future son-in-law? “Yes, the show will co-feature
another artist. You’ll be coming?”

Her eyes moved to my dad.
“Your father asked me to come with him.” My mom would enjoy that.
She no longer loved my dad, but she couldn’t stand
Julie.

“
Dad is coming, too,”
Gianna informed them of something I already knew.

“
Will you be going to an
art school after you graduate?” Julie asked me.

Keeping eye contact and
resisting looking at Gianna, I told her, “I’ll go to whatever
college Gianna does.”

“
That should be the other
way around, Caleb,” Gianna said. “Your art is important and I don’t
even know what I want to major in. If you go to an art school, I
could attend a regular college nearby.”

I reached for her hand
across the table. “They’d have to be close. It’d be easier for when
we get an apartment together.” Gianna glared at me, suspecting I
was trying to rile her mom. My eyes darted to Julie to take in her
reaction.

Her face was carefully
blank and I knew whatever she was really feeling couldn’t be good.
She forced a smile for my dad. “Scott, don’t you think the kids are
too young to discuss moving in together?”

From my dad’s concerned
expression, I knew he agreed with her. “Caleb, you two haven’t been
together long enough to think about cohabitation or
marriage.”

I shrugged. “Fine, we’ll
talk about it again after we graduate next spring.” I’d had my fun.
Julie had to at least pretend to tolerate me dating her daughter if
she wanted to win my dad back. Whether or not she ever approved of
me no longer mattered, never really had.

“
So, Gianna,” her mom
began cheerfully in an obvious change of subject, “Tell me about
Cece’s invitation to the Colorado Ballet Academy.”

Keeping a straight face,
Gianna said, “She turned it down.”

“
Why it the world would
she do that?” her mom asked.

Because Dante knocked her
up.

Instead of the truth,
Gianna lied, something she’d gotten in the habit of doing a lot
lately. “She doesn’t think she can handle the pressure.”

My girl looked at me, her
face turning red. Had she been this bad of a liar the night she’d
claimed to be with Gage? Thinking of Gage pissed me off. Gianna
informed me earlier that she’d be hanging out with him tomorrow. It
made me extremely unhappy, but I’d declined the invitation to see a
movie with them. If I beat the crap out of him, Gianna would be
angry with me.

The memory of what I’d
done with another girl in a theater recently popped into my head.
Perhaps I’d join them after all.

“
That’s too bad,” her mom
said sincerely.