Gia,” he told her, taking her feet between his hands, massaging his thumb against the arches. Kai grinned when she closed her eyes, purring against the sensation of his touch on her feet.
“What’s sad?” she asked, eyes closed as she sipped her drink. “Me not dating?” She shook her head, releasing a low moan when Kai rubbed harder. “It’s…it’s survival.”
“No one to take you on dates…”
“I can take myself out,” she told her, smiling when he sighed.
“No one to massage your feet.”
She opened her eyes, a slow smile forming over her plump mouth. “I have you for that.”
“But we aren’t dating?” She shook her head, pulling on her foot, stopping when he held it tight. “Not finished.”
“Less talking then.”
“I can talk and rub at the same time. Besides, you owe me an explanation.” She bristled at the comment and he knew his mistake. That Joe asshole had claimed Gia owed him too. She was right no one owed her. They expected. “I just mean,” he started, working the pad of his thumb deeper into her foot, moving from the arch, to the heel, “that you’ve gone a long time not speaking to me, avoiding even basic eye contact with me.”
“It’s been a busy season.”
“I’ve missed you.”
Gia seemed surprised by his confession, pausing before she took another drink to watch him over the rim of her glass. “You shouldn’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t date,” she explained, closing her eyes when they’d begun to glisten. She blinked quickly, her lashes fluttering, reminding Kai of a fan. “Because I can’t give you what you want. I’m…only good for friendships.”
“Friends?” he asked, the disappointment he felt threatening to suffocate him. Kai never got friendly vibes from Gia. He never got anything but heat and passion and chemistry so thick it felt nuclear. When she nodded, not bothering to answer, Kai tested the waters, moving his hand away from her feet, rubbing along her calve like he’d done that night on his balcony. She’d been so amendable then, so receptive. That hadn’t felt like just a friendly moment.
Neither did this one.
Gia watched him, her eyes shifting, gaze steady on the slow movement of his fingers as he rubbed her leg, enjoy how soft her skin was, how warm. “I can be your friend, nani.” Kai moved closer, pressing his hand against her thigh, tickling the skin there. “I can be more than a friend if you want.” Kai kept his gaze on her, staring, smiling at how still she became when he leaned forward and kissed her knee, then moved her legs apart, holding one in his hand as he knelt in front of her to press his mouth against her thigh. “Haven’t you ever had more than a friend?”
“Once,” she admitted, slipping her gaze to his fingers as he brushed them against her thigh, then back up again when he moved his hand underneath her robe. “It…didn’t…take.”
“Maybe,” he said, pressing his palm next to the inside of her thigh, closing his eyes in a long blink against the warmth he felt there. “Maybe you should find another more-than-a-friend. I could…”
“No,” Gia said, moving her hand to his wrist and Kai stopped to watch her. He waited, wondering if she wanted him to stop touching her altogether. But Gia swallowed, her breathing increasing when he leaned forward to rest an elbow on the arm of the chair. The movement brought him closer to her. It made the space between them warm and sweet and small. “I…don’t want that. Not again.”
“No?” he asked, understanding more about her than he ever thought he would when she nodded. There was a lot she didn’t say that spoke more than any explanation, or anything she could tell him about what that Joe asshole had wanted from her. “Okay, Gia…”
“Kai…what are you doing…”
He smiled, the gesture slight. Then he leaned forward, keeping his mouth in front of hers, close enough to smell the bourbon from her breath and the heat of that sharp liquor. She would taste delicious. He knew it.
“I’m being friendly.”
“He didn’t…” Gia shuddered, her breath in a low gasp when Kai turned his hand to skim a knuckle over the front of her pussy, teasing her. He liked how she moved when he did that, how just that slight touch made Gia arch against him like she wanted more. “Joe…said I was cold.”
Kai’s laugh was quick, and it sounded sharp even to him, but he put Joe and his stupid comments out of his head as he brushed