“What are you thinking?”
Ildaria gave a start of surprise at G.G.’s question as she was drawn back to the present. She opened her mouth to answer,but then closed it again. She didn’t want to talk about her fears for the future. She didn’t even want to think about it.
“Angel,” he said quietly. “We’re life mates. Partners. Your burdens and worries are mine too now, and mine are yours. Tellme what is troubling you.”
Much to Ildaria’s amazement, she felt tears sting her eyes and threaten to fall. She had been on her own for so long, withno one to care let alone help or share . . .
“Please,” he entreated gently.
That was her undoing. The words came out like champagne from an uncorked bottle, flowing so quickly she didn’t even realize she’d reverted to Spanish in her upset until G.G. interrupted gently with, “English, please, love. I promise I will learn Spanish eventually, but right now I haven’t got a clue what you’re telling me and I think it’s something I need to know.”
He called me love, Ildaria thought, her mind a little dazed. They were life mates, had been having shared sex dreams for three weeks, and datingfor one. She knew love would come. It always did between life mates, but she was sure it couldn’t come this quickly. He wasjust using the word as an endearment. She was sure he didn’t mean he loved her. But she wished he did. She was already halfin love with him, if not wholly. G.G. was the calm in the storm that was her life. He was steady as a rock, compassionateand yet strong. He cared, and not just about her. He cared for his employees and customers too. He listened to all of thempatiently and with concern. She’d witnessed that several times the past three weeks. His employees took their problems tohim, but so did the customers, all of them knowing he would listen and offer sage advice. It had made her proud each timeshe’d witnessed it. He was a good man.
He was also a good boyfriend. He was sweet and considerate with her, and while he was the only lover she’d ever had, Ildariawas quite sure she couldn’t have asked for a better one. In the shared dreams he had been tender, giving and passionate, alwaysensuring she found her pleasure first.
Of course, life mate sex had been a little different. There he had been demanding and almost rough, but then so had she. As life mates it was impossible not to be. They became rutting animals, fighting together toward the blessed release awaiting them. In comparison to the shared dreams, life mate sex was also incredibly fast; a hurricane sweeping the surface of their minds, as opposed to the building waves of shared sex creeping up the shore.
“Angel?” G.G. said, drawing her back to him in the here and now. “What were you worrying about?”
“If Lucian and your father cannot make Juan leave me alone, I will have to run and hide again,” she said finally.
“If that happens, we will run and hide,” he said firmly.
“But you would have to give up your family and the Night Clubs, and you would have to shave off the Mohawk and grow normalhair so that you did not stand out,” she pointed out miserably. “I could not ask that of you, G.G. I could not subject youto the kind of life I have had to live for so long. It isn’t right. I—” Her words broke off in surprise when he suddenly claspedher face in his hands.
“We are life mates now, Ildaria,” G.G. said firmly, his tone brooking no argument. “Your problems are mine and mine are yours.If you have to run, I will run with you. Wherever you go, I will follow, and I’d leave everything behind to do it. Do youunderstand?”
Ildaria stared at him for a long moment as his words ran around and around her head and then melted and dropped down intoher heart. They made her feel . . . cared for. She was no longer alone. She felt loved, a feeling she hadn’t enjoyed for avery long time.
“Do you understand?” G.G. asked again when she was silent for so long. “You are mine. Wherever you go, I go.”
“Si, wherever I go, you go,” she said finally, and then vowed, “And wherever you go, I go too.” Ildaria watched the solemnityin his face give way to a smile and then she shifted on him, pushing herself up to a sitting position. The movement made themboth catch their breath as she unintentionally shifted on his shaft and squeezed it, sending a wave of pleasure through theirbodies.
“Damn,” G.G. growled, his hands reaching for her breasts and cupping them as if he couldn’t resist, even as he asked, “Areyou all right, Angel?”
Ildaria knew he was asking if she felt better about the possibility they might need to run, but between his hands caressingher breasts and his growing erection inside her, her body was feeling pretty damned good too and she moaned, “Si,” throughthe pleasure mounting inside her and covered his hands, urging him on. She then tilted her head back and closed her eyes,her hips shifting against him again, and then again, making them both groan. She’d never done this before, and had no ideaof rhythm or technique, she just moved in the way that gave her the most pleasure, giving them both pleasure she knew as G.G.continued to grow inside her. God, he was so big . . . everywhere. At least, it seemed to her that he was as she stretchedaround him. Then G.G. shifted his hands to grasp her hips and began to help, leaving her to clasp her own breasts as she rodehim.
The pleasure overwhelmed them even more quickly this time. It seemed to Ildaria that she was just getting the hang of what she was doing when a
