by Vi Lily
“Nice to meet you, bella donna,” he murmurs, his voice a rich baritone with a soft Italian accent. His golden eyes twinkle against his olive skin, like he knows exactly how he’s affecting me.
Ohmygawd. I don’t want to throw my panties at the guy; I want to yank them over his head, tie them under his chin and stake my claim.
I swallow, speechless, and Gio sees it. His grin widens and I realize that I’m giving the man-whore ammunition to use against me. Hell no. I ain’t some skeeza he can schmooze.
Well, I am, but he doesn’t need to know that.
I straighten and look down my nose at him, which is damned hard considering he towers over me. Of course he does, because even kindergarteners are taller than me. For some reason, that makes him laugh.
He turns and puts his elbow out for me to take. “Shall we, piccolina?” I frown at him and ignore his arm.
“It’s Chloe,” I tell him, then turn to give a surprised Sal a hug. He stiffens against me for a second, then relaxes and pats my back kind of awkwardly. Maybe they don’t hug in the afterlife.
Well, that’s too damned bad, cuz I’m a hugger.
“Guard yourself, little one,” Sal whispers in my ear, which is kind of funny, considering he’s only got me by a hand width in height. “Gio can’t be trusted with your heart.”
“Okay,” I murmur in agreement, even though Sal’s warning is unnecessary. I just met Gio; it’s not like I’m planning on falling in love with him or anything. I just want to decorate him with my lingerie.
I kiss Sal’s cheek — further shocking the poor guy — then pick up my extra uniform and walk through the door that Gio’s holding open. He takes the uniform from me, then puts his hand on my lower back as he leads me down the hall. I sort of want to protest him taking liberties with my spine and all, but I’m secretly liking it. Not that I’m going to let him know.
He’s my type — smooth, sexy and gorgeous. The kind of guy I’ve always been super attracted to.
Now, apparently my type is male.
It was rare that I could attract the Gios in my world, but it happened occasionally. Usually, though, they would show interest, then lose it quickly whenever Tabby strutted her slut butt up.
I really wish those were the things I’d forget from my before life. I need to let go of those hard feelings.
Gio leads me down another fifty miles of maze — that may or may not be a slight exaggeration — and then we cross a big courtyard with a huge fountain. There are a lot of students here and I see a lot of strange looks directed our way. I assume they’re looking at me, the new student. I’ve never been the new kid in school, as far as I remember, but I do know that I hate being the center of attention. It’s super uncomfortable and I stare at the ground.
Gio seems to sense my discomfort. He wraps an arm around my shoulders and bends to murmur in my ear, “They are staring because you are so beautiful, piccolina.”
I roll my eyes and elbow him in the ribs. “Yeah, sure, Romeo,” I tell him. He grins.
“It’s Giovani,” he corrects. I give him a look that says No kidding.
“I’m pretty sure they’re wondering why the campus man-ho is with someone like me.”
He cocks his head, confusion on his face. “Like you?” he asks, totally ignoring the “man-ho” comment, like he totally owns it. “What do you mean?”
I shrug, bumping his arm from my shoulders, which he then moves to my waist and pulls me even closer to his side. I ain’t gonna lie — it feels damned good to be so close to such a gorgeous male.
“I’m plain,” I tell him. “Not exactly model material.”
He laughs. “Plain? I can assure you that is not the case. I can imagine painting your beautiful body while you pose for me. Preferably nude,” he winks and I feel my cheeks heat up.
“Already, the thought of your culo bellisimo will be keeping me up at night.”
I’m pretty sure one of those words means “ass,” especially since he’s seen it up close and personal. And I didn’t miss the emphasis he put on the word “up.” I smirk at him, but don’t comment.
Gio leads me to another section of what I think is the same building, with the courtyard in the middle.
“How many buildings are on campus?” I ask him as he opens the door and motions for me to go before him. Guess chivalry isn’t quite cold in the ground her after all.
“I do not know,” he says with a slight shrug. “I never really counted. Maybe thirty or so.”
Wow. That’s a lot. I’m never going to find my way around here.
I must say that out loud, because Gio grins at me. “I will be more than happy to be your escort, piccolina,” he purrs. Seriously, what’s with all the purring these people do? It’s like the afterlife is full of felines.
“What does that mean?” I ask. “Pee…pee… whatever you said.”
Gio laughs as he leads me up a set of stairs. Great, yet another floor of hallways to get lost in.
“Piccolina,” he supplies as he turns a corner, meaning we’re going up more than one story. “It means ‘little one’.”
I roll my eyes. Sal had called me that too, except in English. The short nicknames apparently followed me into the afterlife. Super.
We pass a couple going downstairs and they give us the same looks that we got out in the courtyard, except these people look even more shocked. I want to give them the bird, but I manage to keep my fingers contained. For now.
After going up one more story, Gio leads me down another hallway. This one has a stone floor to match the walls, but it’s smooth, like it’s been sealed or something. Less things to trip me, thankfully. I’m not sure if my klutziness is still a thing in my new “after” body. Gawwwd, I hope not. My lack of grace is pretty legendary.
After walking in silence for a few moments, Gio clears his throat. “Why did you choose to be a Reaper?” he asks with hesitation in his voice.
I don’t answer right away. I’m not sure I want to admit it was because of yet another hot guy that I was attracted to, because that frankly squeals “I’m a dumb bimbo!” complete with twirling my hair and mouth breathing.
“Well, it was that or plant flowers with Mother Nature. That sounded too boring, so I picked Reaper.”
Close enough to the truth. Gio doesn’t look like he completely buys it, but thankfully he doesn’t question me.
The next hall we turn down is lined with doors that have what look like keypads next to them. It’s kind of weird to see technology mating with medieval stuff.
I watch as a girl a few doors down puts her hand on the pad and the door pops open. She starts inside but then sees us. I swear, her mouth drops to her chest, then her eyes give me the up and down. Apparently, she doesn’t like what she sees, because she scowls, steps inside and slams the door behind her.
Wonder what the hell that was about.
He leads me up another flight of stairs, then to a door at the end of the hall. I watch as he punches in some numbers, reaches down to take my hand — first kissing my knuckles, making me grin like an idiot — then he places my hand against the little screen above the numbers. The thing lights up, I assume scanning my hand, and then it blinks and the door pops open.
Gio motions me through the door before him. I’m shocked to see that it’s actually an apartment, and a rather modern-looking one too. I had figured it was going to be like a college dorm room on the other… facet, or even like a dungeon cell given the fact that we’re in a freaking castle. Thankfully, I was wrong.
There’s a small kitchen, an eating area, a living room and a door that I’m assuming leads to the bedroom. Everything is decorated in soft greens and blues. It’s soothing, comfy looking and… perfect.
“Beautiful,” I murmur. “And peaceful. Soothing.” I look back at Gio and he gives me a soft smile.
“Sì, it is because these are the Fae dorms. The colors are those of the earth and sky. They are very calming.” He’s right about that, and it makes me want to send Ca
ss some flowers or something, for sending me to these dorms. It also makes me wonder what the Reaper dorms are like. Probably gray and black; stormy, like Samuel’s personality.
I guess that isn’t really fair, but dang, that guy managed to irritate the crap out of me today, so I’m not feeling too charitable.
There’s a small table and two chairs in front of a wall of draperies made from a silky looking material with emerald and sapphire swirls. I move over to it and push the drapes back at the edge to peer out.
“Wow,” I breathe. The view is incredible. It overlooks the vast campus with the deep green grass, abundance of trees and gorgeous medieval-looking buildings, but in the distance I can see some sharp, snow-covered mountain peaks. I make a mental note to visit those mountains one day.
Gio walks over and drapes my uniform over one of the chairs, then he moves up beside me and reaches around for a cord that opens the wall of curtains.
“The windows are made to be one-way,” he murmurs in my ear as he drapes an arm over my shoulders. “You can stand here naked and no one will be able to see you.”
I laugh. “I’ll have to confirm that,” I tell him with a side glance and a smirk.
He puts his other hand over his heart and manages an overly dramatic wounded look. “You do not believe me? I am crushed,” he whines.
“I was hoping to stand below and serenade you, knowing that you were clothed in nothing but your creamy, soft skin,” he murmurs as he runs a hand up my arm.
I roll my eyes and laugh, causing him to grin down at me. We then turn to appreciate at the magnificent view before us.
“It’s so weird that everything in the afterlife is basically the same as it was… before,” I murmur. “I mean, nothing really looks different. The landscape, sky, people…”
I sense him nodding, even though my eyes stay fixed on the landscape beyond the window.
“Sì. It does seem odd, at first. But when you learn about the different facets, and how the worlds coexist, you will understand. There are facets, however, that are very different than this or the earth facet.”
I tilt my head back to look at him. “Which ones?”
Gio shakes his head and a dark look comes over his gorgeous face. “It would be better that you never experience those,” he says somewhat mysteriously, then turns and walks toward the kitchen while motioning for me to join him.
Huh. Makes me wonder what he’s not telling me.
I walk into the kitchen and I’m surprised that it’s a lot larger than I thought at first. With white appliances and very pale green cabinets, it looks stylishly modern, especially after all the castle décor I’ve seen today.
Gio points to what looks like a very high-tech panel on the far wall. It’s similar to the keypad by the front door, but a lot bigger. He presses his hand against it and the display lights up.
“This is where you place the order for the groceries you wish to have,” he tells me. “Just about anything you can think of, give your selection, and within minutes it will show up in this cabinet.” He points to a cupboard next to the display.
My eyes widen for like the millionth time today. “Seriously? Whoa… beam me up, Scotty,” I breathe. This is some serious high-tech stuff. Or maybe it’s more magic or something.
Gio laughs. “I know it is a lot to take in, bella donna, but you will find that the afterlife is less… complicated than life was for you before. Money is no longer a consideration, transportation is always available, living quarters are provided, as well as food,” he says as he gestures to the panel.
Wow. Okay, so maybe death isn’t so bad. If only I could figure out why I’m lusting after every freaking guy who looks my way, then maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.
Gio seems to sense my thoughts, and I swear, despite what Samuel said, I think that people can read my mind. He takes a step toward me and I automatically take a step back. We do this several more times until my back bumps against a cabinet. He reaches out to place his hand against the cabinet by my head and moves the other to cup my cheek. I resist the urge to lean into his hand.
Barely.
“You are such a beautiful girl,” he murmurs. “So full of life, even after death. I have not met anyone so fresh in years, even those as new to the afterlife as you. You still have joie de vivre.”
His twenty-four karat eyes search mine as I barely suck in enough air to not faint.
And my mind wanders to the fact that I am breathing. I mean, how weird is that? I died, I’m now in the afterlife, but I’m breathing? I’m pretty sure my heart is still beating, if the pounding going on in my chest is any indication. That’s just so strange…
“Where have you gone, bellissima bambina?” Gio purrs. I shake my head a little and force my mind back to the here and now and the fact that Signore Hottie Hotterino is inches away.
I laugh a little, embarrassed. “I was just wondering why I’m breathing,” I admit. “I mean, I thought we were dead, but we’re eating, drinking, breathing—”
“Lusting,” Gio interrupts with a grin. I can’t help it; I grin back.
“Yeah, that too,” I murmur as I glance at his perfect mouth. Kiss me…
With that admission, his eyes change, darkening to an amber color. Another oddity.
He bends down to me, touching his nose to mine. “I am glad to hear this is a mutual attraction,” he murmurs.
I put my hands on his chest then, an illusion of keeping my distance. Like I want to, I mentally snort. That illusion of distance poofs like a soap bubble, though, when I lean closer and open my mouth to tell him that he’s crazy; of course I’m attracted to him. There isn’t a single hetero or bi- woman who wouldn’t be.
He’s an Italian stallion, and I want to saddle him up for the ride of my life.
Before I can get the words out, though, his lips are on mine and all my thoughts pack up and move down south. They’ve planted an umbrella in the sand under a palm tree and just ordered a pitcher of margaritas.
Brain is on a tropical vacay.
I moan as his mouth moves seductively and his tongue finds mine.
Day-umm… I’ve been kissed a lot. Probably a lot more than most. I love kissing. Since I was never ready to give up the cherry, I made it my mission to be a great kisser. Even to the point that I’d embarrass myself by asking for helpful hints from my kissing partners. I got a lot of great advice over the years.
But I have never, ever, had my mouth made love to like Gio’s doing right now. I mean, holy hell, who needs to have sex when you have an Italian god-like creature using his tongue on you like you’re the sweetest thing he’s ever tasted?
And yeah, I’m totally ignoring that innuendo.
I know I don’t have any reference since I never did anything more than seriously heavy “petting,” but if sex with Gio is more intense than face sucking with Gio is, no way would I survive it. I already feel like spontaneous combustion is happening at any minute, since I’m pretty sure my cooch just asked my hormones for some matches to light a bonfire.
He wraps his arms around me, trapping my hands between us. I push my fingertips into his hard pecs and curl them. The feel of his muscles, the width of his shoulders, his height… it all combines to do something weird to my senses, like every single feminine wire I have just short-circuited and fried my vacationing brain.
But with the brain sunning itself on a beach somewhere, I can’t think. Hell, I don’t want to think. All I want to do is feel Gio against me, around me, inside me…
My eyes fly open in shock. I can’t believe I just had that thought. What the hell is wrong with me? Once again, I’m totally infatuated with a guy I just met. That’s twice today, and three, if you count Toru, which I’m totally not, only because I haven’t actually met him yet. But with Gio, I’m oh-so-ready to hand my V-card to him, ask him to punch it and sign me up for the frequent visitor program.
He must sense my thoughts, because his eyes open and I’m startled to find myself staring at his golden irises. F
rom this close proximity, I can see that his eyes have several different colors, from an almost lemon yellow to a bronze color. They’re gorgeous, especially when they crinkle at the corners as he smiles against my mouth.
Gio pulls back a bit and runs his thumb along my cheekbone. “You left me again, bella donna.”
I grin, knowing my cheeks are flaming red. “Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking I, um, well, that it’s crazy how attracted I am to someone I just met,” I amend. No way am I going to admit that he’s the third guy today to fall under the Chloe Crush Radar.
Gio smiles and moves his other hand to my left cheek. As he holds my head in his big hands, I think about the fact that he could pop my skull like a balloon.
“Can we die… in the afterlife, I mean?”
He gets a very confused look on his face, then barks out a laugh as he straightens. “It is certainly intriguing the way your mind works, piccolina.” He shakes his head, as if he can’t quite figure me out. That’s okay, I can’t quite figure me out either.
“We do not die again, per se, but we can … end.”
Okayyy. I try to cock my head to the side, but he’s still holding it, rubbing his thumbs over my cheeks. It’s the most affection I’ve had in a long time. I think. Still can’t remember a big chunk of my past, which I’m sure revolves around forgotten family.
“So, you couldn’t kill me? Like, couldn’t squeeze my brains out of my ears or something?”
Gio laughs. “No, sweet girl, I could not. Nor would I want to. You are too prezioso.”
Okay, I speak about twelve words of Italian, and those are all food related, but I am pretty sure I can translate that word. And, uh, wow!
Gio steps away from me then and I sort of stumble towards him. I didn’t even realize he was basically holding me up. I must have been leaning on him, which figures, considering my legs have turned into licorice ropes. Well, maybe string cheese, since they’re wider and whiter than licorice.
He grabs my elbows and chuckles like he knows what he’s done to me, which I think is kind of a jerk move on his part. But he’s probably used to girls throwing themselves at him, so I guess he’s entitled to be arrogant about it.