“Well, that was an epic failure,” Jackson says as we rush out of the doors and start to descend the steps.
“Not really, gave us a quick exit before dessert,” Jodi remarks, clearly amused. “We can start the real evening plans now!”
“Real evening plans?” I ask, confusion washing over me. I was under the impression it was a meal then home.
“We’re going on a double date!” Jodi exclaims, clapping her hands together with excitement. “I expect shots and dirty, filthy dancing!”
Jackson tosses his arm around Jodi’s waist, greedily gripping her. While he holds his wife, his gaze narrows on Dante. “I can promise that. What about you, Dante? Are you ready to show your girl a real night out with the best of the Valens?”
“Please?” I ask. “I’ll be on my dirtiest behavior,” I tease, turning to his chest as I pout. The idea of going out together fills me with immense excitement. “I’ll even let you fight men for me like the Neanderthal you love being.”
In all honesty, I need to let my hair down after this evening, and I just want to dance the evening away with Dante.
“How am I meant to decline the chance to really stake a claim?” he asks, cocking a brow.
“Easy... you’re not.”
***
I dance, letting the music take me. Jodi seems hypnotized too, but unlike me, she has Jackson behind her, making sure men know she is marked territory. Dante has been propping up the bar, watching me. I don’t like it; the nostalgia has me feeling as if I’m back in the club with the world melting away to just leave him and me behind.
So I close my eyes and allow the music to take me captive.
“If you’re going to dance like that, then make sure I’m close enough to guard you,” Dante suddenly whispers into my ear, his hands running over my hips, seducing me further than the beat of the music. “I caught about five different fuckers preparing to approach. You think I’m about to let them touch what will never be theirs?”
“No,” I reply, keeping myself sweet. “I was just waiting for you to make your move.”
“And here I am,” Dante practically purrs, keeping my body close to him. “The way you roll that body still drives me insane, mia regina. It will always drive me away from sanity when you move how you do for me.”
As if to work to his sanity, I lower my body, rolling it back to make sure my ass presses against his crotch. I put my hands up to my head, moving against Dante without even turning to face him. His hands come to sit on my hips, keeping me fixed in place while issuing a sense of dominance to any man watching. It doesn’t take long for him to fall into the rhythm and match me.
“They say dancing is a form of foreplay,” he says, his lips centimeters from my ear. “The way a man works his woman’s body can arouse every part of her body. Every sway, twist, and touch can awaken every desire a woman feels when she’s beneath the sheets with her man,” he tells me, commanding my body as if to prove himself right. “We dance on the dance floor like we do in bed.”
“We do?”
“Yes, cara,” he says, pausing to pull away, while keeping our bodies close. “Rough and dirty.”
“Stop before you start a fire!” Jodi exclaims. “Plus, you’re turning me on.”
I laugh, falling forward still encased in Dante’s arms. As I stand up straight, he releases me only to take my hand and pull me through the crowd to a spare table. No more than two minutes later, Jackson is back with drinks and we’re laughing as if the evening’s dinner experience never happened.
“So, is there definitely a white wedding in your future?” Jodi asks, leaning forward for the details. “Not that either of you is pure enough for white.”
“I plan to marry her one day,” Dante admits quickly. “That was never a lie.”
“Bigger question,” Jackson begins, leaning in himself. “Will it be in Marcello’s lifetime?”
“No fucking way!” Dante cries out, passionately.
“Could be fun,” I remark, leaning forward to grab my drink. I sink back into my seat the moment I have it, mixing the ice with liquor as I move the tiny red straw. “He clearly doesn’t like me and doesn’t want me in the family, so what better way than to show him I’m here for life.”
“I don’t want him ruining that day,” Dante tells me, forgetting about Jackson and Jodi for a second. “I don’t want him around to mess with anything, and he would mess with any wedding day we had.”
“So, you’re sticking with the plan?” Jackson breaks the tension. “Within the next few days, Marcello Valentino will no longer live.”
“That’s exactly it,” Dante says, sounding far too excited. “I’ve waited too long for this day. I can’t believe it’s finally happened.”
“Promise us you’ll be safe,” Jodi muses, her brow furrowed with concern. “I know we’ll be waiting for you when it’s done, but you know, Marcello... how will you get him alone? How can you be so sure it’ll work out?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll get him to send everyone away for long enough to kill him and get away,” Dante replies, no waiver of nerves to his thoughts. “I don’t intend to make his execution a noisy one. I’ll do the job then walk away with Ryleigh by my side. By the end of the week, the Valens will be in ruins at the news of Marcello’s death and I’ll have to take the reins. Then the revolution hits.”
“I never thought I’d see the day,” Jackson begins, taking his own drink and staring intently at it. “When Marcello would become your swan song.”
Raising his glass, Dante grins. “I say we toast... to dreams coming true.”
As I raise my own glass, it hits me hard and fast – for the first time in twenty years, justice will be served.
***
As we walk into his apartment, I can still feel the bass from the music thrumming through my veins, causing my alcoholic buzz to stay alive within my bloodstream. Dante mutters something about grabbing a bottle of water, diverting away from me.
“Remember your morning-after pill,” Dante mentions, heading into the kitchen. I hear the refrigerator door open but remain in my spot. “We didn’t use a condom back at Marcello’s and I don’t need any babies running around this place, spoiling everything.”
“Would it be such an awful thing?” I ask, my voice shaking midsentence.
“Right now?” he asks, coming back into the room with a bottle of water. “Fuck yes, it would be. In five years, it probably would still ruin a lot. I just don’t want an heir for the Valens. I don’t know what sort of shit I’ll pass on and I don’t want to ruin anything anymore. I’m pretty sure a life just the two of us will be fulfilling enough.”
“Course,” I say, unable to hold the bitterness from my voice. “I’m going to head to bed... all that dancing has me tired.”
I’m quick to leave, unable to allow him to see the tears that build in my eyes. It seems crazy to obsess over a life that is years away, but I see my life rewarded by having my own family with a man who loves every single piece of me, scars and all. That means having the children with the picket fence leading an entirely normal life away from the war I’ve spent my life living.
Walking into the bedroom, I unzip my dress, freeing my body of its confines. I sense Dante moving, knowing he’s bound to pick up on my sudden mood.
“Ryleigh,” he calls out. “Look...”
“Don’t,” I say, ridding myself of my clothes. “I get it. We aren’t the couple who conquer the world and create a new one. So, I get it.”
“No, you clearly don’t,” he says, stalking up behind me. He grabs me just as my dress enters a freefall around my body and spins me to face him. “I’d fuck you all night bare and throw your pills in the bin if I thought bringing a baby into this life would work, but it won’t, not right now.” His admittance only shocks me because of the sense it knocks into me. “I want to have my own family. No matter how much the thought terrifies me, I want a family of my own, but not at this moment in time. What would become of that child born into t
his, Ryleigh? The thought sickens me. You’re already a hard limit, already my kryptonite. I can’t imagine someone using my child against me in the same manner as they could use you.”
My frown softens as I realize his hesitancy.
“I can proudly say that I do see a family with you,” he admits. “I don’t want to conquer the world to create a new one,” he tells me, looking serious over the notion. “I want to build an empire with you. An empire that doesn’t include warfare and killings. It includes you and our family.” He reaches up, his fingers brushing against my cheek. “Right now, I can’t imagine a life away from it that involves children. I imagine what life away from it with you would be like, but there is going to be a lot of troublesome times ahead of us.” He closes his eyes, and his breathing becomes shallower. When he opens them, I see a new world of pain. “I want to give you everything you dream of, Ryleigh, but I can’t give it to you all at once. I’m a desperate man when it involves you... I know what life I want for us, but believing it will happen is something I’m still a little doubtful of.”
“Don’t shatter my hopes like that,” I whisper, murmuring to him, mournfully. “The way you spoke, it made me feel like I wasn’t going to be able to finally have the family I lost. You want to give me everything, but I want to do that for you, too.”
“I’m sorry.” He apologizes, his voice gentle. “I’ve never had this conversation, and suddenly, I’m discussing it over dinner, then over drinks, then when we’re home. I never want to break your hope or heart, but I can’t imagine a life past Marcello’s death quite yet. Can you hold out on domestication?”
“I think I can,” I respond, knowing I can. “I guess I’m just tired of it all.”
“Me too, cara.” At that, he places his forehead on mine. “We are made for the finer details of life, not just the bloodier ones.”
“Don’t make that sound like a promise,” I murmur, fluttering my eyes closed.
“Why not?” he asks, confused, tearing himself away from me and forcing me to open my eyes again. “I sure mean it as one.” He watches me, allowing me to let the words settle into my memory. “Now, can we resume what we started back at the club as it needs a finale?” he asks, giving me a sideways grin. “Your ass was practically talking to me all night in this dress.” He draws closer. “I need a little something-something to get me through the night.”
"Oh, bite me, you liar!" I grind out, hitting him playfully.
"Gladly," he says, leaning in. I watch as his lips start curling with anticipation. "Left nipple, right nipple, or clit?" He wags his eyebrows suggestively. "Or all of the above, little wolf?"
“I swear to God, you are the most incorrigible man I know.”
“But so damn sexy with it,” he says, tugging me forward by my panties. “Now, I think you’re a bit overdressed.”
Cocking a brow, I reach for his shirt, unbuttoning it.
“I think you’re confusing us.” Halfway down, I decide to rip the shirt apart, sending a cascade of scattering buttons. “Who’s running this show?”
“You are,” he tells me, reaching to unclip my bra. “I fucking love a dominant female.”
“Okay,” I agree lightly. “But I want you naked and lying on the bed.”
He doesn’t need instructions to rid himself of his damaged shirt and his pants. As he sits in the middle of the bed, I bite my lip as I trail my gaze along the rock hard abs, tattoos, and scars before my eyes take in his cock. Teasingly, I go to the side of the bed, climbing on only to sit on him, not quite gratifying him. As I sit on him, straddling his waist, I lean down, running my hands over his shoulders, preparing to kiss him. There’s a sense of dominance I love about being on top. I wonder if Dante feels this high when I’m under him.
“What has you grinning?” I ask, flicking my head so my hair falls over my right shoulder.
“I love this angle,” he murmurs, his eyes lowering to look at my tits before he looks back up. “I only let you go on top so I can grope your ass and watch your tits bounce.”
Shaking my head, I feel a sudden bright spark of an idea hit me.
“I have one way to stop you being such a greedy man,” I tell her, challenging him.
“Oh yeah?” he asks, looking intrigued. “What would that be?”
I grin, watching him try to work out what it is I’m planning, but I know he won’t guess because I’ve never mentioned this before. I lean closer, my lips mere inches from his, my eyes staring straight into his gorgeous green ones.
“You can’t touch my tits if I’m sitting on your face.”
Immediately, his eyes light up as if I’ve presented him with the world. I giggle but stop when I bite my lip, sitting up straighter. While my back is straight, my nails dig across his chest as I drag them toward me.
“I can still grope your ass,” he counters, looking so self-assured.
He sobers up on the thought and I worry he doesn’t find it as hot as I thought he would. He doesn’t even respond to the sharpness of my nails against his chest.
I nod, agreeing some. “But I’ll have all the control.”
“Go on then,” he dares me, his hands coming up to grab my ass. He even drags me forward and I realize I have him excited. “You grab the bed frame and sit on my face for as long as you wish. I’ll show you how a real man does it, mia regina. How a real man takes his entire woman.”
As if to prove how ready he is, he lifts his arms only to force them beneath my legs, allowing my entire body to trap him. He forces his arms up, his hand coming to touch my back and ass so he can push me, giving me a clear indicator that he’s ready for this.
“Dominate me.”
The sentence alone is a turn-on and I start to chew the inside of my mouth, worried I’ve beaten off more than I can chew. If Dante can command intimacy, then I can as well. I’ve proven this fact before; it’s time I do it again.
With one last grin, I lick my lips with anticipation, issuing him a final look as I reach out for the iron cast frame of the bed. I use it to pull myself, shuffling forward to get in the right position so I can lower myself onto Dante. The moment my pussy gets closer to his face, I feel his breath rush across me, and I swear it steals my breath away. I tell myself to calm and I settle entirely onto him. Immediately, I feel his tongue strike at me, but I feel like this is my moment.
I think I have him, but I soon realize my mistake as his arms snake around hips, gripping me fiercely. He pulls me down further against his face and that’s when I feel it – that deadly stroke against my clit.
That fucking bastard!
I’m supposed to be showing him who’s boss. Instead, I’m gripping onto the bed frame tighter, striving to not fall prey to this orgasm that is waiting to ravage me while he shoves his tongue deeper into me. His hands greedily grip at my thighs, pulling me down onto his face, but every so often, he releases me enough to strike my clitoris.
“Dante!” I scream as he strikes me. This time it’s vicious enough to strip me of my control. “Fuck.”
As I come, unable to stop myself, I can feel his tongue on my entrance, lapping up my wetness.
He doesn’t let me move; instead, he continues to lick me. It’s only as his head moves some, my body crashing from its climatic high, that I feel his teeth on my clit. My eyes go wide, but my body responds, throbbing in delight. I can’t handle being powerless to him like this.
“You bit me!” I exclaim, moving back down his chest, panting on the aftermath of my orgasm. I fall down beside him, my leg still slung over him, as I look at him in utter shock – while he looks at me thoroughly pleased with himself.
“Juiciest fruit I ever tried,” he replies, licking his lips. “Next time, for improvement’s sake, face the other way. That way I can watch your ass, eat your pussy, and have you sucking my cock.”
I laugh. The dirtier he gets, the hotter I become.
“I could live in this moment forever.” Dante suddenly speaks, his hand coming to rest on my leg still swung over
his body, while the other courses up my other leg. “Just you and me and this easy living.”
“And we will,” I tell him, my sincerity sweet in my mouth.
“You’ve made it impossible to think of a life where you don’t exist. You consume my every waking moment,” he says. Although he’s conversing what he has before, I allow him to let his heart speak as it’s not something he often does. “You're like a song stuck in my head. There's no stopping it and no pausing it. You’re just a constant melody.”
I grin, albeit slightly. "Is it a good song, though? I'd hate to be an annoying song."
"Only the best," he tells me.
I blush, and use it as my moment to move, lying down with him. I lie down, immediately feeling Dante’s arms around me to keep me close to him. We lie for a moment, our eyes caught on one another.
“Our final fuck before our new life.” He kisses my forehead, pulling me even tighter to him. “Tomorrow everything changes, Ryleigh,” he admits. While spoken softly, I can sense the undertone of concern. “Now, how would you like it?”
“Our final fuck?” I ask, mirthfully and he just nods. “Rough and dirty,” I say, repeating his words from earlier that evening while we danced. “I don’t want to sleep tonight.”
“That’s easily done.”
23DANTE
I roll my hand around the steering wheel; the sweat glossed over my palm makes the task easier. It’s a sign of nerves, something I always told myself never to show. Right now, I can’t hide the irritating buzz of anxious energy that floods my entire body.
It started as nothing more than a ball of a dread – an ironclad ball, that is – no more than two hours ago. But now, my entire body has succumbed to the one emotion that could destroy it all.
“Will you stop?” Ryleigh’s voice cuts the heavy air. “You’re making me uneasy.”
“Sorry,” I’m quick to say. Gulping, I look down nervously before I look up at her. “Is this really happening?”
I watch as the apples of her cheeks form as she beams at me, her eyes lighting up. She twists in her seat, facing me completely.
Trigger (Pericolo #3) Page 34
