by A. m Madden
“And that’s the way it’s going to stay. Only me. I only want my hands on you. I meant what I said in the shower.” His fingers traced my face from the apple of my cheek down and across my jawline. “You’re mine, nobody else’s.”
Hearing a man like Dante claim me sent a surge of heat to the apex of my thighs. The urge to grind against his leg combated with the natural impulse to challenge his arrogance. Yes, it was a complete turn-on that he wanted me. Yet my pride won the argument, forcing me to ask the questions I needed answers to.
“What about you, Dante? Who do you belong to? Who else will you be spanking?”
His brows furrowed, and as quickly as strong lines formed on his forehead, they smoothed. “What are you asking? Do you want me to be yours?”
“If I’m going to be yours, then we should be exclusive,” I said with a firm tone.
“You never asked.” His soft lips brushed against mine. “Say it out loud. Let me hear you say the words. Guessing isn’t my strong suit, Cassandra. If you want me the way you know I want you… the way I claimed you as mine, then you need to say it.” His thigh nudged against my sex. “If there’s something you like, you need to tell me.” His fingers clawed my ass. “If there’s something you want to try, you need to voice it.” He rolled onto his back and pulled my body on top of his, framing his hips with my legs. “If you want to top me, you’re going to have to admit you do.” Dante’s deliberate maneuvers resulted in his eyes boring into mine as his erection teased my opening.
I knew the game he played. Every taut muscle on his torso awaited my response. And there was only one way to answer him… to acknowledge what he already knew to be true. While on my knees, I slicked his dick with my arousal, lubricating him just before impaling myself. “You’re mine. Just mine. Only mine,” I demanded.
His face was full of satisfaction, shining with unwavering peace. “Only yours.”
Morning sunlight created a prism of colors against the crystal champagne flute. After claiming each other, we were famished. Raiding Jude and Brae’s refrigerator, Dante and I decided on a smorgasbord consisting of anything that didn’t require cooking, including a bottle of chilled champagne.
Today we would be heading back to the city, and if we didn’t get our asses moving, I wouldn’t put it past Luca to leave us. The man was ruthless about keeping on schedule. Remembering the morning after Jude’s wedding, when he threatened Kyle would be walking home for taking so long, spurred me to get out of bed.
When I stood and stared at the gorgeous man still asleep, I wished I didn’t have to move. We’d created our own little haven. Reality loomed around the corner. I looked upward as if asking for guidance. I’d be going back to work tomorrow, and I didn’t know Dante’s schedule. Who knew where his job could take him? What would happen if he was given an assignment away from New York?
With the new day came new concerns. Our worlds couldn’t be more different. He photographed beautiful women for a living, where I disciplined and instructed five-year-olds. I couldn’t help but wonder if our declarations last night were made under the throes of passion. Would he feel the same today? Now that I’d gotten a taste of being Dante Benedetto’s lover, I wasn’t sure I would be okay returning to my mundane life. One that didn’t consist of sleeping in his arms and feeling his lips against mine. How would one get over a man like him? If the day came, could I handle losing him?
With a sigh, I lowered my eyes to see Dante studying me. Surprised he was awake, I didn’t say a word. “What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing,” I said with trepidation.
“You’re lying. Just like last night, you need to talk to me.”
Last night. My mind was a crystal ball, and he was a psychic reading it. I needed to remember to keep some thoughts to myself. If I only possessed that talent, things would be far less difficult.
Dante propped up on one elbow. “You’re wondering what’s going to happen once we return to our normal everyday life, right?” At seeing my halfhearted shrug, he patted the mattress. “Come here.” Taking my hand in his, he laced our fingers together. “Is that it?”
“Yes. You can’t blame me for wondering what’s going to happen once we step outside this room?”
“I’ll tell you what’s going to happen. We’re going to go to work and do our jobs during the day. Occasionally, we’ll text or maybe I’ll come and take you to lunch. Then when we’re off the clock, we’ll be together… my bed or yours; I’ll leave that up to you.”
“So it’s just about fucking?”
“No,” he said with a smirk. “I’ll also feed you.”
“I’m being serious, Dante.”
His hand rested on my knee, his pinky tucked behind it. “What changed from last night? We went to bed with an understanding. You woke up and are now questioning it. Nothing between the time I closed my eyes and opened them changed for me. Did they for you?”
I took a moment to stare at the sincerity in the depths of his brown eyes. “No, but it’s easy to get swept away when we’re together in a beautiful home, surrounded by luxury. When we get back, everything will be different.”
“The only thing that’s changing is geography, and how we act in front of our friends. If you want to be concerned about anything, be concerned that I’m not going to be curtailing my desire for you… no matter who’s around. Just prepare yourself, Cassandra. I don’t play games.”
With that, he palmed my face with his strong hands and reminded me how much desire he could unveil with just a kiss.
Chapter 16
Cassie
As Sabrina and I were getting ready to walk out of the house, Luca honked the horn. We found him and Dante standing behind his SUV, waiting for us. “How long does it take to pee?” Luca scolded, holding Sabrina’s door open.
Sabrina shut him up with a kiss before turning toward Dante. “Do you want to sit up front? It’ll give you more leg room.”
Dante opened the back door, and said, “No, thanks. I’ll sit with Cassandra.”
Sabrina and Luca exchanged a look before she hopped in and buckled her seatbelt. After I slid in behind Luca, and Dante closed the door behind me, my heart started to beat a bit faster. We were really going to do this… and I knew he had something planned, although I had no idea what. As soon as Dante closed his door, the large space felt tiny and my anxiety spiked.
Luca craned his head back, looking at us between the bucket seats. Before he could say a word, Dante blurted out, “We’re a couple. I like her, she likes me, get used to it.” I almost released an exhale of relief, thinking that wasn’t so bad.
Sabrina twisted around, her face next to Luca’s. “Yay! I’m so happy.” She then pecked Luca’s cheek before turning back and clapping her hands. “This is fabulous, right honey?”
“Fucking awesome.” Luca’s eyes ricocheted between us, but when Dante laced his fingers with mine it forced Luca’s line of sight down. “Seriously, though, as long as you both are happy, I’m happy. But, for what it’s worth, I’m Switzerland,” he said, raising a brow and staring at his brother for a few seconds longer than necessary.
The two exchanged an unspoken dialog before Dante barked, “Just drive.”
After Luca finally pulled away from the house, Sabrina sighed. “I love this place.” Luca grabbed her hand, bringing it to his lips for a kiss. “Dante, did you know the reason Luca and I are together is because of Cassie and that house?”
“That’s not true,” Luca refuted. “I would have come to you eventually.”
Sabrina’s nose crinkled. “Eventually?”
I interjected, “Hey, what matters is it worked out, right?”
Dante added, “All I know is my brother is the happiest he’s ever been. How you two got there is inconsequential.”
“What about you two? How did that happen? At Vanessa’s party you wanted to kill each other.” Sabrina turned into her super sleuth hair stylist / therapist mode.
“Yeah, I’d like to know that to
o.” Luca’s eyes flicked to the rearview mirror, where mine landed on his reflection.
“Are you asking for details, brother? You know how it goes, food, conversation, and before you know it, one thing leads to another, clothes come off…”
“Enough,” Luca snapped, stopping Dante’s explanation right before my smack to his chest did. “I meant, you two weren’t exactly subtle that you screwed around when you got back soaking wet yesterday.”
“Yesterday?” Dante and I looked at each other with a grin. Were we that obvious yesterday? Assuming he wondered the same, I then heard him say, “It’s been happening for weeks,” earning himself the slap I held back before. “What?”
“Weeks?” Luca’s head pivoted, only to whip right back to watching the road.
“Don’t listen to him, it’s only been one week or so.” I tried placating him.
“Still!” As Luca freaked out, I could see the lift of Sabrina’s left cheek, revealing a smug smile. “Babe, did you know about this?”
“No, but I think it’s great.” Her hand landed on Luca’s thigh. “Stop with the third degree.”
“Thank you, Sabrina. I think it’s great too. I was getting tired of hiding how much I want to devour this beauty.”
“Dante.” Where my expression was one of mortification, my sexy cohort’s face shined with a steadfast tranquility like he hadn’t a care in the world.
He opened his mouth to speak, only for the Bluetooth to chime with an incoming call. “Saved by the bell,” he said, winking at me before kissing my cheek.
“Weird. That’s my mom’s number,” Sabrina said, pressing the accept button on the touchscreen panel. “Hi, Mom. Is everything okay?”
“It’s me, Mommy. Where’s Luca?”
“I’m here, buddy. What’s wrong?”
“Scottie is wrong… again.”
Sabrina released a burst of air. “Mikey, you made me nervous. What are you and Scottie fighting about now?”
The adorable voice I missed went on to detail the latest fight between him and his best friend. When I had them both in my class, the two were inseparable yet argued about any and everything they could.
As Mikey rambled, Dante tugged on my hand, bringing me closer. Expecting him to whisper an apology into my ear, his lips landed on mine in a very intimate kiss, forcing me to push him away and causing him to chuckle.
“It’s not funny,” Mikey whined.
“I’m not laughing, buddy,” Luca quickly responded. Even while he placated his girlfriend’s son, the rearview mirror clearly revealed the exasperation he felt through his expression. “That was my brother.”
“Oh, Uncle Dante is there? Did you beat him in soccer again?” Mikey, like a squirrel, abandoned his earlier rant.
“He wishes,” Dante said before Luca could agree with him. “Yes, it’s me, Mikey. I look forward to showing you who has better soccer skills.”
“I can’t wait… Mom, can we go to the park tomorrow so I can play soccer with Luca and Uncle Dante?”
“No. Tomorrow is school shopping day,” Sabrina said, quickly derailing his excitement train.
“Oh, man. I hate school.”
“Hey, I heard that.” Silence allowed me to then say, “It’s Miss Brooks. You’re busted, little man.”
“Please don’t tell Mr. Carson,” he pleaded. “Jared said he and his mom saw you and Mr. Carson eating pizza, and he’s your boyfriend, and now my teacher, and he’ll be upset if he knows I hate school.”
“Um…” I said, as Dante leaned closer and said, “Boyfriend?”
“Mikey, that’s not true,” Sabrina interjected. “Luca is driving. Can we continue this when we see you in a few hours? Grandma and Grandpa are bringing you to Luca’s apartment tonight.”
“Oh, yay. Can Luca make me his carboonairia again?”
“Carbonara,” Luca corrected.
“That’s what I said.”
“Yes, I’ll make you carbonara. Now be good and we’ll see you soon.”
“Okay.” The line went dead before his mother could add any farewell of her own.
Sabrina twisted, her eyes wide with concern. “I’m so sorry about that.”
With a wave of my hand, I said, “Stop. There’s nothing to apologize for. It’s just six-year-olds gossiping.” The levity in my voice did little to remove the bafflement from Dante’s face. Sabrina smiled and faced forward.
“Who’s this Carson person?”
Despite the fact Dante’s question had been asked in a normal tone of voice, I lowered mine to say, “He’s only a colleague.”
“Who likes her,” Luca offered.
“Seriously?” I glared at him through the mirror. These Benedettos had no filter.
“What?” My friend asked with a shrug. “It’s true.”
“Anyway…” Sabrina gave her boyfriend the same evil eye I had. “I guess we’re having carbonara for dinner,” she said, changing the subject. “Would you two like to join us?”
Before I could say we’d love to, mainly to avoid being alone because I knew an interrogation was imminent, Dante answered for both of us. “We’ll take a rain check,” he said, confirming I had a lot of explaining to do.
Dante
That was the longest fucking ride in history. With each question that popped into my mind regarding this Carson prick, two more followed. By the time we finally made it into the city, I had a list a mile long. Of course, accepting gossip from a six-year-old seemed all kinds of ridiculous, but my brother’s quip, and Cassie’s avoidance of the subject, was what instigated my curiosity and annoyance.
Leaving Cassie no choice but to come back to my apartment, I dropped our bags with a resounding thud the moment we stepped into the door.
“Okay, I get you’re mad…” She turned, hands on hips, scowl twisting her perfect pink lips. “Like I said, he’s just a colleague, and we’re friends.” The pause probably had been intended for my response, but none came. She went on to say, “Yes, he does like me, but besides a few casual dates, nothing happened.” I took one step closer, and she instinctively took one step back. “Pizza… a few walks in the park… a kiss on the cheek,” she added, aware that with each of my steps, she ran out of space before hitting my kitchen counter. “Then you came along…”
I killed her explanation when I first crushed her body and then her mouth to mine. Every ounce of ire, confusion, jealousy, and want that I’d held in for the past three fucking hours surged forward through that kiss. I left her panting for air and clasping my T-shirt. The way her pupils swallowed the cornflower irises of her eyes, the way her creamy skin flushed pink, denoted she wanted just what I needed.
My attention focused on the column of her throat working a nervous swallow. “He’s just a nice guy I work with, Dante.”
“Exactly. A nice guy that you see every fucking day, who probably wants to have ordinary sex with you. I’m not that guy, Cassandra. If you haven’t realized that already, let me spell it out for you. We will never have mundane sex… ever. There will be times I’ll tie you to my bed and fuck your cunt until it pulses around me in need of release.” Her hips bucked forward, subconsciously, perhaps, but I took the opportunity to grind my growing erection against her. “I’ll suck your swollen clit until you beg me to stop, and even then, I won’t until your taste is seared on my tongue. Your nipples will beg me to bite them, to take them between my teeth until pain turns to pleasure. You will come at my hand, tongue, and cock more times than you can count. I will ruin you for all other men—nice or not. Do you understand me?”
Her eyes, now wild with lust, looked into mine. “Is this how it’s going to be with us? Are you always going to act like a possessive Neanderthal? Has that worked for you in the past?”
“No, I’ve never felt the need to act like one in the past.”
The heavy lashes that shadowed her cheeks shot up. “Oh, is that so? But you feel the need to control me?”
“This isn’t control, Cassandra. It’s just a reminder in
case this nice guy tries to get more than friendship from you.”
“I don’t need a reminder. I’m not the girl who falls into bed with men on a whim, or one who gives in easily to any man who pays the slightest bit of attention to her. What would you like to hear? That when I close my eyes at night, it’s you I dream of? That when I think about being with you, I want to reach into my panties and touch myself?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I want. And, come tomorrow, when you look at Mr. Carson, I want you to remember what I’m about to do to you.”
She coyly worried her bottom lip, bringing her body flush with mine. “What are you going to do to me?”
“Mark you. Defile you. Ruin you… prove to you that your body was meant for mine.”
Her pink tongue swiped across the seam of her lips. “Yet you’re still talking.”
If I wasn’t so dead set on fucking the sarcasm out of her, I’d laugh. But instead, I pulled her into my bedroom and ordered her to get on my bed. She complied and, even fully clothed, the sight of her turned my cock to stone. “Kneel in the center and then get naked.” I strolled over to my dresser and picked up one of my many cameras. It was time to broach the subject, to push her comfort zone. Sure enough, Cassie’s eyes widened in shock. “Go on, do it slowly, Cassandra.”
“Dante, I… I’m not sure I can do this. Having naked pictures taken of me where others could possibly see them…”
“Only my eyes will see them. Trust me?” I brought the camera to my face and focused through the viewfinder. Cassie’s tits rose and fell with each deep breath, but otherwise she had yet to move.
Like a deer in headlights, she stared at me. “I don’t know how to do this… will you direct me?”
“Yes.” Wanting to capture her innocence before I turned it into unadulterated lust, I snapped a few shots. The sound of the clicks caused her breath to catch. “Relax. Start with your tank top. Grip the hem and slowly drag it up over your head. Before tossing it aside, I want you to hold a pose with your arms raised.” Cassie complied. Bashful eyes looked up at me through her long lashes. “Smile, beautiful.”
