Free Italian Stallions by Karin Tabke, Jami Alden Page B

me. I can take it like a man.”
    Gianna almost choked. Her eyes scanned his face; she wanted to tell him it wasn’t him. No, he was what schoolgirl wet dreams were made of. It was her, pure and simple. As usual, when it came time to do something for herself on a purely selfish level, she balked. She’d been the insignificant Madonna for so long, she didn’t know how to accept attention. She wasn’t comfortable with it. When her breasts emerged one day, Papa explained she was cursed with the body of Sophia Loren, but God showed her mercy when he gave her a plain face. It would keep the boys from panting at her doorstep, and in so doing save herself from a world of hurt. Because, he told her repeatedly, the boys only wanted the goodies. And they would promise the world to get them. Gianna hunched back into the padded leather booth but continued to contemplate the man next to her.
    He was exquisitely constructed in a rugged manly way. Every hard sensuous line of his face flowed effortlessly into the other. His black hair held the unruliness of a boy, yet the fire that burned in his eyes was that of a full-grown man. A man who made passion a way of life. A man used to having the crème de la crème between his sheets.
    Not her.
    What could he possibly see in her? As she traced his face with her gaze, she wished she were braver. Exciting. Lusty.
    “I’m not cut out for this kind of stuff. I’m a frigid ice queen. And I’m okay with it.” The minute she said the words, she felt like a complete idiot.
    Gabe slowly moved toward her. A flirty smiled tugged at his lips. New heat rushed her cheeks. He knew she was looking for an out. And he wasn’t going to give it to her. He reached out a finger and traced the subtle curve of her jaw. She couldn’t help the warm flush that flashed in its wake.
    “Does an ice queen respond like that?” He drew her closer to his chest. Warmth emanated from him. She just wanted to melt against him and let him make love to her until she couldn’t move. He pressed his lip against the shell of her ear. “Does a frigid woman’s skin warm like yours is now?” His fingers swept her collarbone. The warmth of his lips followed.
    Gianna moaned against the pressure of his lips.
    “Gianna, there is nothing cold about you. You’ll have to come up with a better excuse to keep me away.”
    How about that she was embarrassed as hell by the fact that she was a twenty-seven-year-old virgin? Maybe she should hire a pro to pop her; then she could enter a sexual relationship with confidence.
    “I’m a virgin.” There, she said it! Gabe’s body stiffened. She caught the look of pity in his eyes.
    He tried to cover it up by smiling at her. She pushed away and exited on the other side of the booth. Humiliation encompassed her. God she felt foolish!
    “Gianna—”
    She put her hand up. “No! Don’t. I knew if I told you, you’d think I was a freak of nature. And, well, I guess I am. So, you are majorly off the hook. I’d like you to leave now.” He made to move toward her. “No!” she screamed. Hot tears stung her eyes. “Don’t you see?” She ran her hands over her clothes, then flung her hair over her shoulders. “I’m a fake. The girl you met last night? Pretend. I’m Gianna Cipriani, a twenty-seven-year-old virgin who has never been outside of the Bay Area. I go to church three times a week and live in flannel nightgowns. I’m not sexy. So don’t pretend that I am! Now please go!”
    She turned and ran through the dining room into the kitchen, then up the back stairway to her apartment. She slammed the door shut and leaned against it, feeling like the biggest schmuck in the world. Oh, God, what did she just do? What was wrong with her? She wanted him! He wanted her. At least he seemed like he did; then she went and killed it.
    She squeezed her eyes shut. Humiliation rode her hard. She’d never be able to face Gabe again. She could just see Tressie now, tsk-tsking her, shaking her