Did The Woman Even Know?
Gio’s dick was on high alert, and his balls were aching like a fucker. He was rethinking his bright idea of having Violet curl up against his side as they watched the movie. The invite earlier was an act of desperation just to get some alone time with Violet. Let her get used to him and learn about him, same as he would with her. He hadn’t expected what her heavy breasts would feel like against his side. They were soft, and one of her hard nipples pushed against his skin.
A few more minutes and his cock was going to peek up from the waistband of his loose sleep pants. He was a commando kind of guy so even if he had thought about underwear the most he had were boxers he occasionally slept in. Those wouldn’t be any protection or cover for his hard-on.
She was acting like it was nothing. For all she cared, she could be curled up to one of her girlfriends watching the movie. He claimed not to be vain, but he discovered he really was. He’d almost thought she was interested because when he’d answered the door, she’d stared at his stomach with a bit of awe or what he thought was awe. She was short, so when he opened the door, the first thing she’d see were his upper abs which were at her eye level, and he had taken off his shirt to tease her—to see if her hazel eyes turned dark with lust. Again nothing.
He sighed as he raised his hand and rested his cheek on his palm. Women liked him. When he flirted they returned the interest, what about him was so unattractive to Violet that she looked at him like a girlfriend with fucking chest hair?
Maybe he should’ve made himself clearer that he wanted movie night to be somewhat of a first date.
“You okay, you tensed up, am I too heavy?”
“No, you’re perfect, keep watching the movie I need to use the bathroom.”
She instantly sat up and moved out of his way, allowing to him push to his feet. He made his way to the downstairs bathroom. He closed the door and rested his hands on the cool sink. He studied himself in the mirror, turning his head left to right. Because of his job and needing his mask to have a seal, he never let his facial hair get to be more than a little scruff. He knew some of the guys wore beards, even some of his brothers did, but he’d always avoided a beard. Better safe than sorry.
His body was powerfully built, and he worked hard to keep in shape because again his job required it. Everything he had done was for his job, but he was tired of coming home to an empty house, and going to bed alone every night. He was in his late thirties, the second to oldest of his brothers, and he hadn’t had a girlfriend last more than a handful of months. His job was important, and it took a lot of his time, but he took pride in it.
He just didn’t understand Violet. Didn’t she even know he liked her?
He washed his hands and splashed water on his face, then exited the bathroom. He returned to the living room and froze behind the couch. Violet was curled up in a ball fast asleep. He smiled as he softly walked around the sofa, and he gently moved her until he could sit back down. He rested her head on his thigh and then pulled the blanket from the back of the couch to place it over her. He combed his fingers through her soft hair; it was thick and heavy in his hand.
She looked so cute in sleep. Her usual irritation was nowhere to be seen, plus that adorable little twitch under her eye—shit, he had it bad if he thought her eye twitch was adorable. Against his better judgment, he liked her, weird quirks, rage and all.
He knew part of her story from when he’d eavesdropped on her and Lauren. It wasn’t a home life that fostered a sense of self-worth. He had a feeling that growing up with a father and brothers who used violence as a means of establishing a hierarchy that she didn’t see herself as a woman. Even with her pretty dresses and cute shoes, she was just one of the guys.
He thought back to the way she looked when he’d walked into the lobby of the hotel. She’d worn a beautiful, long sheath of silk that flowed over her curves and sexy little stiletto heels. Her cleavage on display for all to see and he had hated that anyone else saw her like that.
Never one to be possessive of a woman, it had taken him by surprise, and he’d wanted her to spend the evening with him. He loved her in that sexy dress from earlier, but to be honest, her in a baggy t-shirt and sleep pants, with yellow ducky slippers was just as much of a turn on. The fact that she wasn’t wearing a bra and her breasts bounced with every breath or step she took made it better. He was a big man, and he knew her curves would overflow his hands, but she was tiny too. He felt protective of her.
He jerked his phone off the end table before it rang a second time and answered.
“Hey, Ma,” he whispered.
“Oh, am I disturbing you?”
“No, my neighbor came over to watch a movie, and she fell asleep. I didn’t want to wake her. What’s up?”
“A woman neighbor? Want to tell me something, Son?”
He quietly chuckled at his mother’s amused tone. One thing him and his brothers learned growing up was that their parents would always be there. As long as they were doing what made them happy, then they’d always be proud of them.
“No, I don’t. Especially not right now.”
“Deal, I’ll wait until she isn’t around to drag all the information out of you. Is this the woman Renz said brought you donuts at the house and you were rude?”
“I wasn’t rude to her, Ma. Renz shouldn’t be telling stories.”
As he spoke, he kept stroking his fingers along her arm, then down to her hip and retraced the path. The motions soothed his chaotic thoughts.
“I’m just going to say, me and your father didn’t raise you to be rude to ladies.”
“I know. So, what are you doing calling me after midnight?”
“You have graveyard shifts coming up, so I wanted to make sure you were staying awake.”
“I am, that’s why I invited Violet over to keep me company. She’s an event coordinator. Shit, I should’ve asked if she had to work tomorrow.”
“Let her sleep a bit longer and then you can wake her and send her home. Unless you carry her upstairs and tuck her in with you for the night.”
“Is it weird that my mother is trying to get me to take my female friend upstairs to bed?”
“No, because I know my boys, and we never made you and your brothers ashamed of sex.”
“Hold on.” He took a quick picture of Violet and sent it to his mother. “There, to appease your nosiness.”
He chuckled softly at his mother’s girly squeal and shook his head.
“She’s so cute, Son. You must bring her to visit so I can meet her.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Don’t be mean to me…I’ll tell your father.”
“I’m almost forty, and you’re still pulling the I’m going to tell your father card.”
“Yeah, it’s always worked. Okay, your dad is glaring at me. He keeps reminding me he’s retired and I don’t have to stay up all night anymore.”
“Get some sleep, Ma, tell Dad hi, and I love you both.”
“We love you too, Son.”
He disconnected the call and set his phone aside; then he looked down at Violet to find her watching him. The back of her head rested on his thigh.
“Hey, shit, I didn’t mean to wake you.”
He hadn’t wanted to wake her because he knew as soon as she did she’d want to go home. He was enjoying her company even with her asleep. He loved having her presence in his house. He imagined this was what it would be like to have a girlfriend.
“You didn’t.”
“You okay?”
“Yeah, I better get home.”
She started to get up, and he laid his arm across her to keep her in place. His forearm snug between her breasts. The blanket molding to them and he almost shifted his arm to curve his hand around the plump side. He wanted to test the weight in his palm and strum his thumb across the clearly hard nipple.
“You have to work?”
“No, weekends are my own when I don’t have to attend events. I don’t have another one until next Saturday.”
“Then just lay there and watch the movie, I’ll wake you when I head to bed.”
“Your parents still tell you they love you?”
She had a blank look on her face.
“Yeah, every time I see them or we talk.”
“I thought that was just on TV.”
“Your parents didn’t—”
“My mom thought I was too short and frail, so my dad and brothers took it upon themselves to toughen me up. By the time I was ten, I could take a punch with a smile.”
It broke a piece of him at how easily she spoke of being abused by her parents and siblings. The part of him that wanted to care for her—make her his—urged him to try and erase the bad. He couldn’t do that, though. The past he had begun to hate was what made Violet her, and despite first impressions, he liked the odd woman.
“Baby, that’s not how families are supposed to work.”
“I know that. I told some friends at school. I think I was eleven or so, and they asked about a black eye. I told them with pride that my brother looked worse. They looked at me like I was weird.”
“There’s nothing wrong with you, baby, just because you’re short doesn’t mean you’re frail.”
“The top of my head only reaches the top of your stomach.”
“Nothing wrong with that, not everyone can be freakishly tall like me.”
He felt lighter when she smiled, but he didn’t like the way she turned away to hide it.
“Where are your parents?”
“Mom is a pit boss in Vegas. I haven’t talked to her in a few years. Dad is in court-ordered rehab. My brothers are in jail, three of them are in for a drug deal that went bad, and the other is in for beating his wife. I sold most of my stuff to move her across the country and get her settled before he comes up for parole.”
“Why did you have to sell all your stuff?”
Violet had a deep layer of sweetness that not everyone was privileged to witness.
“I went to Dad for the money that I’d had stashed for emergencies. He’d found out about it, cleaned it out, so I went to get it back. It didn’t go down quite like I thought it would.”
“What happened?”
“You never forget the day you come face to face with the barrel of a shotgun.”
“Violet.”
“Don’t fucking pity me. I can take care of myself.”
“Yeah, you took me down, and not many people can do that.”
“I probably took you by surprise. A five-foot, size twenty woman coming at you. I wish I could remember the look on your face.”
Her laugh was loud and made her breasts sway, and her cheeks turned pink with amusement.
“You blackout often?”
Her brow furrowed as she seemed to think about how to answer. “No, first time I remember doing it, but it could’ve happened before. I get mad a lot.”
“Have you been mad tonight?”
This time he knew she was thinking. He registered her confusion, and he knew her answer before she even parted the curves of her mauve-colored lips.
“No.” She appeared shocked by her own answer. “I’m always mad. You learn to hide it well, but I haven’t been angry once. It’s—”
“It’s what?”
“Weird.”
“Good weird?”
“Yeah, good.”
Violet didn’t sound convincing with her answer.
“Why don’t you come to dinner at my parents’ place? They do it every Sunday. We show up when we’re not working. Right now, I plan to go next week. Want to come?”
“Really? Meet your family? Do you think that’s wise?”
“My family will love you. Say yes and then I won’t have to bug you all week.”
“I guess I can do that.”
“Neither of us paid much attention to the movie, so I’m going to restart it. If you fall asleep again, I’ll just cover you up and leave you on the couch.”
“Okay.”
She was quiet after that, and he restarted the movie from the beginning. He was too aware of her, every breath she took. The movements of her body next to him. He even lifted her hair as he stroked it just to feel the softness of it against his stomach. He didn’t hide it when his body reacted, but he also didn’t point it out. When she stretched her right arm over her head to lay across his knees, he took her hand in his and laced their fingers. It was torture, but he wouldn’t change it. He wanted the little woman in his bed, but he’d be patient and give her all the time she needed. Maybe he’d finally found his one.