Italian Stallions by Karin Tabke, Jami Alden Read Free Book Online

we’re a bit beyond the acquaintance stage.” His left hand squeezed her thigh, but he did not demonstrate to her just how acquainted they were. She liked that. He was sexy as all get out, but he didn’t force himself on her. Indeed, she had practically jumped him. Gianna pushed off of his lap and suddenly felt very naïve and very foolish. She was not the sexy siren she pretended to be. If she saw him again, he’d see past the expertly applied makeup and borrowed clothes and see her for the fake she was. Panic rose, as well as sudden humiliation. Who was she trying to kid? She was Gianna “Madonna” Cipriani. She was too set in her ways to change now. And if she chose to later on? It would be on her terms and at a much slower pace. Gianna looked hard at Gabe. He was the kind of guy who had trophy girlfriends. Not good Catholic girls.
    “I…um…I made a mistake. I need to go.” Gianna literally climbed over his lap to get away. As she did, her wrist snagged on his shirt. Her bracelet! She tugged it, freeing herself, then moved as quickly as she could away from him.
    A shiver of panic tore through her as realization settled in. Not only had she nearly had sex with a stranger, but she had also been given an ultimatum by Tucci. An ultimatum she could not deliver even if she wanted to.
    Gianna almost cried as a cab pulled up in front of her like a magic coach sweeping her away from a Prince Charming who would find out Cinderella was really an imposter. And one with a price on her head to boot.
    Gianna looked over her shoulder to see Gabe running from the club, looking both ways for her. She ducked and said, “Lombard and Columbus.”
     
    Gabe stood at the curb and watched the yellow cab hurl itself into the brisk traffic. He brought his right hand up and looked at the dangling gold charm bracelet. A soft whiff of musky scent swirled around his nose. Gianna’s sexy applied scent mingled with her natural scent. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. His blood quickened and he smiled. She had turned out to be a very nice unexpected perk. He opened his eyes again just in time to see a black town car take off in the same direction as the cab.
    “Fuck!” he muttered. On the run to his car, he pulled his cell phone out and called Gordo. “If you’re anywhere near Ciao Bella, hightail your ass over there and look like a drunk hanging out at the back entrance. Our girl is being hunted. I’ll be there in ten.”
    “I’m around the corner at Lucia’s.”
    Gabe hopped into his cover car, a sweet little Carerra. Compliments of Search and Seizure. Not his natural style, but for a hot-shot real estate developer, it worked.
    Gabe downshifted, taking the corner of O’Farrell and Mission at forty-five miles per hour. His urgency to get to Gianna disturbed him. Not that he wouldn’t break his ass to save any victim, but he realized there was more to it with his Cinderella. In the time between seeing her at the cemetery and her bold moves on him at the Kat’s Meow, she had made an emotional impression on him. She was that fresh breath of air in a stale bar. A clean slate. Normal, natural, and uncomplicated.
    His life was a quagmire of complications. From his parents’ acrimonious divorce when he was twelve to his own less-than-civil divorce five years ago, topped by the undercover work these last few years. He’d lost count of how many IAs he’d managed to back out of. At thirty-five, he was tired of all the bullshit of constantly being on, of the lies and the sleight of hand.
    He banked the next corner at fifty-five and downshifted. He couldn’t help the grin that broke out across his face. The power of the sports car vibrating beneath him coupled with the sensitive handling and the remnant of the hard-on induced by Gianna Cipriani warmed his entire being. He loved the rush, the feeling of excitement, the not knowing what was hiding around the next corner. He didn’t fool himself; as much as he disliked some things about