Say No More

by Liliana Hart

  “I think you’ll find you have plenty of options once you start looking,” Dante said. “Being hurt because your sister rejected you is normal. I’d be more worried if you weren’t hurt by it. She’s probably hurting too. You never know what kinds of fantasies she concocted in her head over the years. Maybe she dreamed of being rescued for a time, just like you dreamed of rescuing her. Those disappointments can weigh heavy when fantasy doesn’t live up to reality.”

  “My head knows you’re right,” Liv said. “My heart is a little slow at getting the memo.”

  “I can understand that,” he said. “My heart has been fighting with my brain since I met you.”

  Dante leaned in to kiss her, his eyes open, giving her plenty of time to pull away. But she didn’t. And when his lips touched hers, she sighed in relief. She’d wanted him to kiss her. Needed him to touch her.

  The kiss didn’t stay simple for long. Her mouth opened and she moaned as his tongue invaded. Who would’ve known that just a kiss could melt her heart and soul? Only Dante. No one else had ever completed her the way he had. And no one else had ever devastated her the way he had. It was the cruelest of ironies.

  “What have you done to me?” he asked.

  “I don’t understand,” she said, trying to catch her breath and leaning into his kiss again.

  “I can’t resist you, no matter how often I tell myself that I should stay away.”

  “Maybe you just have an itch that needs to be scratched.”

  “No, don’t make light of it. I’ve only been half alive for the last two years. Do you know the discipline it took not to check up on you? Not to watch from afar as you went about your life. Wondering if you’d found someone else. Fallen in love.”

  She shook her head. She couldn’t deal with these emotions tonight. Not after Elizabeth.

  “It’s been too long since Dubai,” he said. “I’ve wanted you every day since. I’ve ached with the need for you.”

  “Me too,” Liv confessed. “Even as furious as I was, I still wanted you. And hated myself for it.”

  “We never seem to make it to a bed,” he said, slipping the pashmina from her shoulders and spreading it flat on the sand.

  “Beds are for old people.” She kissed him deeply, loving the feel of his hands on her. Then she tugged the black shirt over his head and let it fall to the ground.

  “Do you have any idea how crazy you drove me today in that little bathing suit?” Dante said. “I was so angry I couldn’t see straight, and I was so horny I went back to my room during my break and pretended it was your mouth on my cock instead of my hand. I came so hard I saw stars.”

  He slipped the straps of her sundress off her shoulders, and the dress fell past her aching breasts. He groaned at the sight of them and palmed one in his hand, skimming her nipple with his thumb. She could tell he was past the limit of his patience, and if she didn’t take matters into her own hands he’d have her flat on her back in the sand with her ankles next to her ears.

  She took hold of his wrists before he could do just that, and started kissing her way down his muscled chest and taut abs. His skin was practically vibrating with energy, and she could feel it coursing through her own body, just by touching him.

  “God, Liv,” he whispered, staring down at her as she knelt in front of him. “You’re driving me crazy.”

  “That’s the idea,” she said, undoing the buckle of his belt. Then she unbuttoned his pants and pulled down the zipper. “Do you know how rare it is for me to look at all of you?”

  “What do you mean?” he asked, kicking off his soft-soled boots. He helped her push off his slacks and briefs, so he stood before her completely naked.

  “I mean there’s been many a time we’ve done this where we couldn’t get completely naked. Like during the third act of La Traviata at the Royal Opera House,” she reminded him. “We had box seats, and if I recall, I did this for quite some time.”

  His cock jerked in front of her face, thick and hard, and she met his eyes as her tongue traced him from base to tip.

  “I remember,” Dante rasped.

  Her tongue swirled around the head before she took him completely in her mouth. And then she felt the complete power of the act as his head dropped back and his fingers tangled in her hair.

  “You have no idea how good that feels.”

  “I imagine it feels as good as it does when you do it to me,” she said, swirling her tongue at the top again before swallowing him whole. Her nails bit into his thighs and she opened her throat, feeling him all the way at the back, her eyes watering as she tried to prolong the pleasure for him.

  “Enough,” he said. “My turn.”

  Before Liv knew it, her dress was in the sand and he was flat on his back, lifting her so she straddled his face. She leaned forward and immediately took his cock back into her mouth. And when his tongue licked into her, she saw stars.

  “I think you’re right about getting undressed,” he said. “If I recall, you wore that flirty black skirt the day we went to the Fountain of Four Rivers in Rome. And you didn’t wear panties. It was so easy to lay you back and push that skirt up.”

  “We could’ve gotten caught,” she said, her breath quickening at the memory, and her hips began to move against his face.

  “We could have,” he said, his tongue zeroing in on her clit. “But you came so fast there was never a chance for anyone to even walk by.”

  Mewls of pleasure escaped her lips, and the sounds vibrated against his cock. Liv could feel it building inside of her, from her toes to her scalp, and her body vibrated all over as his tongue flicked faster and faster.

  Her vision dimmed and all she could hear was the blood rushing in her ears. His hands grasped her hips and pulled her down hard. He devoured. And she lost her mind as the orgasm exploded through her.

  She was still spasming when he lifted her and placed her on her back. He pushed her thighs open and she watched out of half-lidded eyes as he pushed inside her; her muscles were still contracting and the fit was tight as he pressed forward. She caught her breath and could feel the next wave begin to build as he hit just the right spot.

  He draped her legs over his shoulders and then lowered himself, so her knees were pressed to her chest. She could feel every inch of him, as deep as he could possibly go, and his hips began to move in a slow roll against her.

  “Dante,” she moaned.

  The look of concentration on his face was intense, and his gaze bored into hers. He released her legs from his shoulders and she pressed her heels flat on the pashmina, so she could move against him. Her skin tingled and she could feel the imminent release at the base of her spine.

  Her nails dug into his shoulders as her hips slapped against his.

  “Come for me, damn it,” he growled.

  She felt him harden and swell, and her back arched as pleasure ripped through her violently. His mouth covered hers to silence her screams, and then he buried his face in her neck to silence his own as he exploded inside of her.

  She could’ve sworn she heard him whisper I love you.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Liv barely remembered Dante leaving her bed that morning.

  She’d been groggy and disoriented from a lack of sleep, and she was sore in places she hadn’t been sore in a long time.

  They’d fallen asleep on the beach, lulled by the crash of waves and the soft breeze. They’d only dozed for an hour or so, and he’d lifted her in his arms and carried her back to the bungalow, both of them completely naked. By the time he’d rinsed them both off in the outdoor shower, they were both wide-awake in more ways than one.

  They’d spent the entire night making love and dozing, and she woke just as the sky was starting to pinken, only to feel his erection prodding against her backside. He’d lifted her leg and slid inside, his finger pressing against her clit as he rocked them both to orgasm. It seemed like days ago instead of mere hours. And she’d been so exhausted from the night of lovemaking she’
d hardly stirred when he kissed her cheek, saying something about working the breakfast shift, and left her bed.

  She’d spent the afternoon in the main house with the other women, having a spa day. She’d been massaged and been given a facial and a pedicure—all the while listening to the gossip, hoping to hear something that would lead her to the location of the girls.

  She’d looked for Elizabeth, but one of the other women had said she’d come down with a headache and decided to stay in her room. Liv wasn’t sure she was up to another meeting with Elizabeth so soon anyway, and almost smiled at the fact that she’d come very close to using the same excuse.

  Unfortunately, Liv hadn’t gleaned any important information, though she had learned plenty of interesting bits. The women spent a great deal of time talking about sex and who was the best lover. Several of them had mentioned both Axel and Levi, saying they wouldn’t mind trying them on for size, but both men had turned down all their advances.

  The conversation then turned to fashion, each of the women most looking forward to the final party Saturday night after the auction. They were excited because, unlike the evening formal events leading up to the final party, this one was a masquerade, and costumes and masks were required for attendance. Liv sorely hoped the team had gotten what they came for and left the island by then. She wasn’t sure how many more events like the one last night she could handle.

  None of the women seemed to know what was being auctioned. There was speculation about art and other items, but they were clueless and didn’t seem to care all that much. Some of them would continue their relationships with the men who’d brought them, while others would never see their patrons again. They all looked at their business as being rather matter-of-fact.

  Liv knew that Axel, Levi, and Deacon were once again sitting through the private auction for the next batch of girls in the boathouse. The women had finally dispersed, and she returned to the bungalow just in time to start dressing for the evening’s party. When she walked into the house, Elias and Miller were sitting at the table.

  “What’s wrong?” Liv demanded, looking around to make sure there was no threat.

  “Nothing’s wrong,” Miller said. “One of the girls was able to give us an idea as to where they’re being held, and we’ve been able to verify. We’ll be able to go in and release the remaining girls tonight during the party.

  “There’s a bunker next to one of the grottoes. It’s completely encased in concrete and metal, so thermal scans didn’t pick anything up. There’s a metal door that leads into the ground hidden under a bunch of foliage, but it’s easy to see they’ve been going in and out on a regular basis because the plants are torn up. And no one uses that grotto because it’s a bit off the beaten track, and they’re all busy showing off to each other in more public places.”

  “Why do I still feel like you’re waiting to tell me something?” Liv said.

  “You are excellent at deduction,” Elaine said from the cube. “Not as good as I am, but it’s very admirable.”

  “Thank you, Elaine,” Liv said.

  “We heard from Axel,” Elias said. “Mittal decided to auction off a fourth girl today. The guys couldn’t continue bidding for fear Mittal would think something was off, so Gregor Heinrich ended up paying for the girl. He was by the pool earlier today. Tall and thin, midforties, looks like Jude Law.”

  She could picture him now, and it made her skin crawl. “I can’t believe this,” she said, her voice hoarse. She dropped down on the couch and stared at her hands.

  “We’ve got a visual on her,” Elias said, reassuring her. “Gregor didn’t want to take her right away. He’s here with a companion, and he didn’t want to stir up questions by bringing the girl back to their bungalow.

  “There’s an underground holding cell near the grotto at the center of the island. It’s secluded from the other pools and any of the bungalows. The girl was placed back in the holding cell for now. We just need to keep her in there until we can extract them. We’ve already ferried the other three girls to the yacht we have docked at Tortola. They’ll be able to shower and eat a decent meal before going through the process of being reinstated with their parents.”

  “Okay,” Liv said, breathing out a sigh. “At least we know their location. Four left to go.”

  “Now that we know where they are, Dante can go in tonight and switch out the cases,” Elias said. “We should all be able to get off the island sometime after midnight.”

  “Thank God for that,” she said.

  “Next time you can take the ferry gig and I’ll lie out half-naked by the pool,” Miller said good-naturedly. “Elaine told us there was an orgy. How was that? I want to know for research purposes, of course.”

  “It was kind of like a car wreck,” Liv said. “It was nearly impossible to look away.”

  “I can’t imagine having sex in front of all those people,” Miller said. “Don’t they get self-conscious? What about weird noises and runny mascara? What’s the etiquette? I like to take a nap after sex. Are you allowed to leave once you orgasm, or do you have to stay until everyone has had their last hurrah?”

  “I do not understand the weird noises and runny mascara comment,” Elaine said. “I’m currently doing a search on orgy etiquette, but very little is showing up in my database.”

  Liv and Miller looked at each other and burst into laughter.

  “I imagine so,” Liv said.

  “I’ll explain the weird noises and runny mascara once we’re back on the ferry,” Miller said.

  “Thank God for small favors,” Elias chimed in. “Make sure I’m out of hearing distance or have a beer in my hand before you start.”

  “You’d better start getting dressed,” Miller told Liv, standing to leave. “What kind of dress are you wearing tonight?”

  “It’s basically a nude body stocking with strategically placed diamonds,” Liv said.

  “It sounds uncomfortable,” Miller said. “Try not to snag the tablecloth and pull all the food off when you walk away.”

  “I’ll do my best,” Liv promised, deciding she’d miss Miller when she went back to London. Maybe she could convince her to visit.

  As Elias and Miller were moving out the back door, a siren suddenly blared from somewhere down the beach, then a second, and almost instantly a third. From various directions came the sound of men shouting, and then there was a spray of machine-gun fire.

  And then she heard Dante through the comm unit say, “Oh, shit,” and another spray of gunfire, and she felt fear like she never had before.

  DANTE MANAGED TO make it through the morning breakfast rush on an hour of sleep and the distraction of his internal thoughts. He’d told her he loved her. And she hadn’t said a word. Not that he was expecting her undying love in return, but he’d thought once he finally got the words past his lips—words he hadn’t managed to utter to another woman his entire life—that there’d have been a response of some kind. It had hurt that there hadn’t been, and he realized how brave Liv had been to tell him how she felt. It wasn’t easy putting yourself out on the line like that.

  He wasn’t sure what his future held, or how he’d work around it with The Gravediggers, but he knew he needed Liv in his life. He understood what it meant when Deacon talked about how his wife’s happiness made him happy. He understood, for the first time, what self-sacrificing love was. He wanted her in his life, and he wanted her happy. And he’d do whatever it took to give her that.

  But first, they had to rescue the girls, steal launch codes, and get the hell off the island. Then, if he could convince Liv to take some time and come away with him, so they could start over with a clean slate, maybe they’d have a chance. He’d worry about Eve Winter later.

  He had some time between breakfast and lunch, and he’d heard the call come in that a breakfast tray and hot tea were to be delivered to the Mittals’ bungalow. Apparently, Yasmin was under the weather. After hearing the conversation between her and Liv the night before, h
e couldn’t say he blamed her.

  He loaded up the tray and then made his way up the windy path to the two large private bungalows father and son were sharing. He wanted a chance to go in during the daylight. He’d already been in twice in the dark. The guards had never seen him.

  “I’m heading to the Mittals’,” he said, wondering who was online. “Delivering a breakfast tray.”

  “Copy that,” Elias said. “We’re waiting on Liv. We’ve got a location for the girls. It shouldn’t be long now.”

  “Good news,” he said. “Now if we can only get those fucking launch codes we can get the hell out of here.”

  “From your mouth to God’s ears,” Elias said.

  Dante figured it was a good sign his brothers were talking to him again.

  It was a decent workout walking to the Mittals’, especially loaded down with a tray of food, and the sun was bright overhead in a cloudless sky. The owner’s bungalow was in a prime location. There was an infinity pool that looked out over the ocean, and there were dunes built up for easy access to the private beach. But the bungalows were also high enough in elevation that they could see down to what was happening all over the island.

  It was really two bungalows attached by a common walkway, though he’d learned the night before while listening to conversations in the poker tent that Raj made himself home in both locations, which apparently hadn’t set well with Shiv. He was very protective of his wife, and it sounded like he needed to be.

  There were normally two guards on duty at the front of the houses, and two more on the backside, but Dante only saw one when he approached. He waited outside while his employment credentials were cleared with the kitchen, and then the guard unlocked the front door and gestured him inside.

  This bungalow was done in blues and greens, matching the ocean through the floor to ceiling windows that looked out on the beach. He saw Tess out of the corner of his eye with her cleaning supplies, heading into a bedroom off the hallway, and he gave her a quick wink.