by T. K. Leigh
CONTENTS
Copyright
Dedication
Part Four
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Epilogue
Playlist
Coming Soon
Acknowledgements
Books by T.K. Leigh
About the Author
INFERNO: PART 4
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes. If you are reading this book and you have not purchased it or won it in an author/publisher contest, this book has been pirated. Please delete and support the author by purchasing the ebook from one of its many distributors.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental or, if an actual place, are used fictitiously. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
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Published by Carpe Per Diem, Inc. / Tracy Kellam, 25852 McBean Parkway # 806, Santa Clarita, CA 91355
Edited by: Kim Young, Kim’s Editing Services
Quotes from The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, Rev. H.F. Cary translation (1814).
Quotes from A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare (1600).
Quotes from Hamlet by William Shakespeare (1603).
Cover Design: Dana Leah, Designs by Dana
Cover Image Copyright kiuikson 2018
Used under license from Shutterstock.com
Copyright © 2018 T. K. Leigh / Tracy Kellam
All rights reserved.
To Stan and Harper Leigh…
Sempre e per sempre.
Always and forever.
No matter what.
PART FOUR
BURN
Through me you pass into the city of woe:
Through me you pass into eternal pain.
- Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy
Inferno, Canto III
CHAPTER ONE
Dante
SECRETS ARE INGRAINED INTO us from the minute we’re born. They’re part of our daily life. They’re the foundation of some of our most precious childhood memories. Santa Claus. The Tooth Fairy. The Easter Bunny. Our parents insist these things are real. That they come into our homes, leave us gifts, then disappear. Why?
To keep the hope alive.
To keep us safe from the cruelties of the real world.
To protect us.
Maybe that was all I did, too. Maybe that was why I kept what I knew to myself — to protect her, to keep her safe, to keep her mine for just one more minute.
One more breath…
One more heartbeat…
Now, as I stare at her through swollen eyes, the pistol aimed at my heart shaking in her trembling hand, I know it’s over. That the number of heartbeats I have left is limited. All because I thought I was doing the right thing.
“I’ve made my peace,” I strain to say. But the agony I struggle to breathe through is no match for the torment covering every inch of her. Her cheeks are pink from the tears she has shed for me, for us, for the loss of everything she thought to be true.
Her chin quivers, a loud, gasping sob falling from her mouth as she presses her finger against the trigger. Out of instinct, my eyes squeeze shut when the sound of a gunshot pierces the space.
Fate has finally given me exactly what I deserve.
CHAPTER TWO
Eleanor
Two Months Earlier
WARMTH WRAPPED AROUND ME as I slowly roused from sleep, content to stay cocooned in this feeling of peace for the rest of my life. This was heaven. This was what people fought wars over, what people searched for their entire lives — security, happiness, love. And I finally had it. I finally found exactly what I needed, although I didn’t realize it until it was right in front of me…or across the aisle of a Boeing 777.
“Buongiorno, mia cara,” Dante’s raspy baritone murmured as the scruff of his chin scratched my shoulder blades. His hand pressed against my stomach, pulling me even closer to his body. Even a whisper of air was too much distance between us.
Brushing my hair over my shoulder, he exposed my nape. The closeness of his breath to my skin caused it to prickle. A chill crawled down my spine, which was at complete odds with the heat coursing through every inch of my body, like a wave covering the sand at high tide. When his lips finally met my flesh, his kiss tender, sensual, but still setting me off the way only Dante’s touch could, I melted into him, basking in everything this man was to me. He was my darkness and my light. My madness and my sanity. My joy and my anguish.
“How do you feel this morning?”
“A little sore.” My lips curled into a devious smile as I recalled the past thirty-six hours. We’d spent most of the previous day in this hotel room, making up for all the lost opportunities we’d endured the past several months. The only time we left was to go to my apartment so I could pick up a few things I would need, although Dante insisted clothes weren’t necessary. And they hadn’t been. “It’s been a while since I’ve had this much sex.”
Although I couldn’t see his face, I could picture him smiling. “I need to keep my woman satisfied.” He ground his hips against my back, the feel of his erection making me squirm.
“You certainly did.”
He ran a finger down my spine, tracing a delicate pattern on my skin. “What time do we have to be at Mila’s this morning?”
I glanced at the clock on the nightstand, seeing it was almost eight. “At ten,” I groaned.
“Then we need to get moving.”
I closed my eyes, groaning even louder. “Can’t I just stay in bed with your fine ass all day? I’ll let you tie me up and use me as your sex slave.”
“As amazing as that sounds…” He nipped my neck, sending another jolt straight to my core, “we need to leave our bubble at some point.”
“I like our bubble,” I protested.
“As do I.” He forced me onto my back, hovering over me. “I’d love to keep you all to myself, but I want to show you off, too.” He paused, his dark eyes peering into mine with an unrivaled eagerness. He leaned on his elbows as his fingers grazed my face like a blind man who could see for the first time. “I want the world to see us together, to know I’m yours and you’re mine, and nothing will come between that.”
He slowly lowered his lips to mine, a sigh escaping me when they met in an unhurried kiss. I ran my fingers through his hair, hooking a leg across his back as he explo
red my mouth, like it were the first time he’d ever kissed me. Everything with Dante felt like the first time, like we were learning about each other all over again.
“And I’m not doing it just to improve my approval rating, like that pathetic excuse for a human you were forced to date and almost marry.” He ran his tongue down the curve of my jaw, my neck, my chest. I threw my head back, allowing him better access. “I don’t want to parade you around in front of our friends, then treat you like you don’t exist behind closed doors.” He took a nipple between his fingers. It pebbled under his erotic touch. “I intend to show you off as the princess you are in public.”
When the warmth of his breath drew near my nipple, my breathing increased. I writhed, each second that passed an eternity as I braced for more.
“Then fuck you like the siren you are in private.” His mouth clamped over my breast, his tongue swirling, licking, sucking. I arched into him, panting. Too soon, he pulled back. I opened my eyes, his devious gaze peering at me with wanton lust. He tossed the duvet from his body and slid off me, standing up. “Come. Time to shower.”
I threw my arm over my head. “You’re seriously walking away from me?” It shouldn’t have come as a surprise. This man had been a tease since the moment we met. He loved the buildup, the chase, then the thought-erasing climax that resulted from all the tension.
“I’ll never walk away from you, Eleanor. But we’re on a tight schedule today.” He swooped me up, carrying me into the bathroom. After placing my feet on the floor, he headed toward the shower, turning the water on.
I propped myself onto the vanity, pulling my lower lip between my teeth as my eyes raked over his naked physique. Broad shoulders. Sculpted chest. Defined abs. Muscular arms and legs. I still couldn’t believe he was here, that I was here, that we’d finally found our way back to each other. I wanted to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming, but as he strode toward me with determined steps and grabbed the back of my neck, our bodies clashing against each other, I knew this wasn’t a dream. I could feel this wasn’t a dream.
Before I had a chance to utter a single syllable, his mouth covered mine, his fingers combing through my hair. His kiss made me weak, greedy, desperate for more of him, to feel his hands scald my skin, to feel his teeth graze my thighs, to feel that flame ignite deep in my core as he thrust so savagely yet temperately inside me.
“What was that for?” I asked when he pulled back.
“A woman deserves to be made breathless first thing in the morning.”
“You always make me breathless, Dante.” My voice was barely louder than a whisper.
He took my chin between his thumb and forefinger, tilting my head back. “Over the past few months, I woke up too many times wishing I could get back some of those moments I wasted. I would look at the side of the bed that had become yours, the mattress still holding the shape of your body, wondering if I could have done something different so you’d still be there.” He brought my mouth close to his. “Never again. As long as you’re with me, I’ll never let you start the day without showing you how much you mean to me. That is my promise to you.”
I swallowed hard, soaking in everything about him. The fever in his gaze. The deep tone of his skin. The specks of gold in his dark eyes. His full lips. All things I’d never take for granted again.
“I didn’t think it was possible to fall in love with you even more, but I’m pretty sure I just did.”
“Being with you has taught me that anything’s possible.” He placed a soft kiss on my nose. “Now, come. Time to wash all that sex off your body.” When he tried to retreat, I wrapped my legs around him, preventing him from doing so. He cocked his head, a coy look about him.
“Since we’re showering anyway, may as well make it worth it, don’t you think?” I reached between our bodies, palming his erection.
He inhaled sharply, his muscles tightening, his jaw clenching. “You drive me crazy, Eleanor.”
“That’s the point.” I brought my mouth back to his, nibbling on his lower lip.
He groaned, his fingers digging into my hips as he lifted me up, carrying me into the shower. He pressed me against the tile wall, my legs still wrapped around him, both of us letting out a sigh of satisfaction when he entered me.
As he brought my body higher and higher, momentarily soothing the fire in my core, all the worries that had consumed me the past several months were nothing more than a distant memory. I no longer obsessively thought of my father, about his role in Lilly’s death, about whether Cynthia Edelman was dead, about Brock’s connection to all this. None of that mattered right now.
Maybe if I had allowed my brain to remain in control, if I hadn’t given in to my heart, my body, my urges, things would have been different. I would have seen through the smoke and been able to stop the freight train that was slowly gaining more and more speed. But I was finally back in the clouds with Dante…where I wanted to stay. Where I deserved to stay.
But fate had other plans.
CHAPTER THREE
“I’M IN THE KITCHEN!” Mila shouted when she heard us walk into her house later that morning. “Did that thing you call a car finally die on you?”
“Why do you ask?”
I met Dante’s eyes, giving him a conspiratorial wink as we followed the sound of her voice. She was busy whipping up pancakes for the girls and didn’t even look up, although she’d somehow noticed the SUV we’d arrived in, which Dante had borrowed from his driver. In retrospect, I probably should have warned Mila I’d be bringing him with me, but I wanted him to meet the real Mila. My Mila. The only person who’d supported me through all the ups and downs in my life. I didn’t want her to act differently because of who Dante was.
“That car parked out front.” She turned, heading toward the refrigerator to grab a carton of strawberries. “It’s much better than the piece of crap you were dri—” She faced us, her eyes nearly bulging out of her sockets as she stared at Dante by my side. “Fuck me,” she muttered under her breath. I had a feeling it took every last ounce of resolve for her not to drop the strawberries all over the floor.
Dante chuckled and I couldn’t help but beam. “She means that literally,” I joked, then turned my attention back to Mila, who still stood with her mouth agape, struggling to make sense of why Dante Luciano was here, with me, in her home. The last she knew, I’d gone to my parents’ house Friday night. I’d left her at the bar saying as much. But she had no clue what happened after I ran out on my mother’s dinner party. I still couldn’t believe it myself.
“You have some serious explaining to do, Ellie,” she scolded, her eyes glued to Dante.
“I know I do, and I promise to tell you everything, but first… Dante, this is my best friend in the whole world, Mila Novak. Mila, Dante Luciano.”
“Piacere di conoscerti.” He approached her, placing a kiss on both her cheeks. I caught the expression on her face, unable to stop from giggling as her eyes fluttered into the back of her head, a rush of exhilaration seeming to wash over her body.
He stepped back, leaving Mila still frozen in place. Then she sighed. “God, that was better than sex.”
“I’m sorry,” I said to Dante, shaking my head at Mila’s bold personality. She’d always been the yin to my yang. Where I’d always been somewhat reserved and methodical, Mila was outspoken and spontaneous. She followed her heart instead of making lists of pros and cons of each decision, as I’d always been prone to do. It wasn’t until I stopped letting my brain rule my life that I’d met Dante. As long as I’d known her, Mila had insisted I needed to follow my heart. Now I knew she was right. “There’s nothing I can do about her.”
“She’s right.” She went back to the pancake batter, adding a bit more flour to thicken it up. “There’s nothing anyone can really do about me. I am who I am.”
“I should be glad then,” Dante said. “According to Eleanor, you were the one who encouraged her to go to Rome.”
“It came to me in a vis
ion,” she explained, like it was completely normal for someone to have these so-called “visions”. “I had a dream the night of Ellie’s bachelorette party. Granted, it could have been because I fell asleep watching TV and Three Coins in the Fountain was on, but I dreamed Ellie was in Rome with a handsome stranger.” She stopped stirring the batter, staring at the ceiling in contemplation. “In fact, I never really saw the stranger’s face.” She returned her eyes to us, shrugging. “But I saw Ellie as clear as day. She threw three coins into the Trevi Fountain, as well as the engagement ring Brock the cock gave her.”
He looked at me, his eyebrows furrowed. “Brock the cock?” he said slowly.
“One of her many nicknames for him,” I explained, then turned back to Mila. “And your ‘vision’,” I began, using air quotes, “was a bit off. I threw Brock’s engagement ring off the balcony of my hotel. And I only threw one coin into the fountain.”
She looked up, winking. “For now.”
I shook my head, my face heating from what Mila inferred, recalling Dante’s explanation of the legend of the Trevi Fountain — one coin if you’d like a return trip to Rome, two coins if you’re looking for love, three coins if you’re hoping for wedding bells. It was certainly too soon in our relationship for any sort of discussion about wedding bells. We still had a lot we needed to figure out, not to mention all the business with his daughter’s death and my father’s potential involvement in it, a topic both of us had been all too happy to avoid discussing over the past few days.
“Just promise me one thing.”
“What’s that?” I asked, humoring her. It was easier than arguing.
“You get married in Italy.” She leaned closer. “I need a break from these kids.”
“Mila, we’ve only known each other a few months.” I laughed nervously, glancing between Dante and her. “There won’t be a wedding anytime soon.”
