Page 53 of The Bonventi War

As we get dressed and the haze of lust starts to settle, my brain finally catches up to what just happened.

Oh, shit.

All that sexy talk, all that heat, but… fuck.

No condom. No barrier. Just him.

I swallow hard, moving on autopilot as I reach for my bra. My gaze flickers toward the bathroom, where my birth control pack sits, waiting.

Under no circumstances can I forget to take my pill tonight.

But then—a thought sneaks in, uninvited, unhinged.

What if I did?

The idea is so irrational, so utterly insane that I almost laugh out loud at how ridiculous it is. Almost.

Of course, I'm not skipping it. That would be crazy.

Right?

I shake the thought away, brushing it off as nothing but post-sex brain fog. A hormonal blip.

"Everything alright?" Gio's voice snaps me back to reality.

I force a smile. "Yes, of course. Just trying to catch my breath."

His eyes narrow slightly, studying me.

"You sure that's all?"

I let out a light laugh, waving him off as casually as I can. "Positive."

Definitely not thinking about skipping my pill. Nope. Not me. Not at all.

I go to pick up my dress, but before I can reach it, he sweeps me off my feet, tossing me over his shoulder.

I yelp, then start giggling. "What the hell are you doing, crazy?"

He smacks my ass as he carries me down the hall. "I'm staying over," he says, tossing me onto the bed.

I push up onto my elbows, raising one eyebrow. "Oh, for my protection, right?"

Gio laughs. "Exactly."

I lift my leg, pressing my foot against his bare chest just as he tries to climb onto the bed. "Mmm. Just like how tonight wasn't a date?"

He stills for a second.

"Tonight could've been a date if…" he pauses, his grip firm as he kisses the inside of my ankle, "you say it was."

I bite my lip, hiding my smile. "Then it was a date."

He smiles and tries again to climb into bed. I press my foot against his chest once more.

"Not so fast," I tease. "If you want to sleep in my bed, I need the real reason. Otherwise," I wave a hand toward the door, "you canmarch your ass right back across that hall and sleep in your bed. Alone."

Gio laughs, but his dark gaze sharpens. He grabs my leg, pressing a kiss to my calf before climbing on top of me.