“I’m not sure yet. I was thinking maybe the park or a movie. Do you have any suggestions?” He plopped down next to her and plucked the remote from her hand playfully. “So you can eat,” he offered as she eyeballed him.
“Maybe a park would be nice. We haven’t been to a park since...”
“Since before we got together,” he finished for her. His mind went back to the first two weeks she was working as his personal assistant, and he smiled to himself. How blind he had been to his own feelings for her, and then liquid courage had made him dive right in head first.
Cynthia turned to him and kissed him with the taste of the chocolate on her lips. He pulled her back to him and licked her lips for good measure. “Mmmm, tastes good,” he commented, making her giggle.
“Can you believe we were once those people?” she asked while standing up and heading to put her bowl in the dishwasher. It made Dante think about how domestic the whole situation was. He never would have believed a year ago it would be possible for him to hold a conversation with a beautiful woman like Cynthia much less a relationship. “I mean; look at us now.” A smile spread across her face, but it came out forlorn. Dante was sure she was thinking about his business and her ex who was trying to bring it down.
He approached her, wrapping his strong arms around her bare body as she shivered into his touch. “It is hard to believe that we’ve come so far. Now, today is going to be a good day, so get your hot little ass in my bedroom and get dressed. We’re going out.” He slapped her right ass cheek, sending her straight to the bedroom.
“You’re such a bad boy, Diesel!” she teased before starting her beauty routine in the bathroom. A sly grin came to his face. She knew first hand just how bad he could be, and tonight he wanted to be downright naughty.
* * *
Dante pulled up to the park on his bike and slammed on the breaks. He loved giving Cynthia a thrill. “Whew, that was a wild ride, Mr. Cross,” she commented, winking at him and yanking him off the bike. She seemed to be in a playful mood, and he had no reason to complain. That’s how he liked her best.
“Well, I am a bad boy,” he confessed in a raspy voice before going in for a passionate kiss. In his mind he was thinking of ways he would thrill her in the bedroom that night. They had already had a marathon weekend, and it was becoming a challenge to think of something new to try. But Dante did love a challenge.
As they kissed, he felt himself growing hard inside his jeans. Cynthia started nibbling at his lip just enough to get him going and he half expected someone to scold them for their public display. She pulled away with a smile and took his hand, leading him to the walkway that went around the park. There were a few people scattered around but none too close to them, and he could see the look of mischief on Cynthia’s face as they approached where a large fountain spat out water from fishes’ mouths.
Her eyes darted from it to him as she slowed down the pace. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” she asked while chewing on her finger. Dante just smiled, curious as to what she was thinking.
“I don’t know. Why don’t you show me?” He dared her with his eyes, and she yanked him forward, jumping right into the water that went up to her knees. She motioned for him to follow, splashing him playfully. He looked around to see if anyone was looking and then realized how silly that was from the president of a motorcycle club. He jumped right in, pushing her down into the water like a little boy with a crush.
Cynthia screamed and pulled him down with her, soaking his jeans. He threw his leather jacket over the edge onto the ground as not to ruin it as they wrestled in the water until they heard another park-goer scolding them.
They jumped out with her hair dripping wet and took off, running into the open field that sat adjacent to the park. They collapsed to the ground laughing and turned to face each other. “You are one wild woman, did you know that?” Dante asked her with a gleam in his eye. She looked nice and hot with her clothes soaked and clinging to her body.
“I know it now,” she said, giving him a chaste peck on the cheek. They laid there in silence for a while until Cynthia broke it. “So, why don’t you ever talk about dad? What ever happened between you two? I mean, it's not like we saw each other that often but one day you just stopped coming around completely.”
Dante sighed and rolled over onto his back looking at the sky. It was painful to talk about, but she deserved to know the truth of it. He had no idea who she blamed for those days, but he was pretty sure it wasn't him.
“Because I was… a little shit, to be honest. Don't get me wrong, my dad... our dad... has his faults as well, and he certainly could have tried harder, but I fell in with the wrong crowd pretty early. By the time I was about sixteen, I was mixed up with some real asshole and dad was spending lots of time with your mom and you, and my mom wasn't a whole hell of a lot more available. I assumed they all had found better families, people they loved more than me."
He held up his hand to her to stop her from protesting. "I know it's not true, and I don't blame you, or your mom, or really even my dad. I know those thoughts were stupid, and if anything was pushing me out of that family it was me more than anyone else. The people I hung around with didn't help either. They encouraged me to leave. So I did."
Dante paused again, but this time he saw Cynthia intentionally holding her tongue as she watched him, waiting for him to go on. "Anyway," he continued, "eventually I found the MC. I learned to fix bikes and they gave me a purpose, becoming my surrogate family. At first I thought that was all I needed, and because I believed my own family didn't really want anything to do with me anyway, I never looked back. At least at first. But eventually I realized I had just been a stupid kid. At that point I could have gone back. Should have, I guess. I think it was mostly just pride and feeling like an idiot that kept me away."
He took a deep breath, then added one last thing. "I don’t want you to feel sorry for me or anything. That’s why don’t really talk about it. That and I just totally suck at talking to people anyway.” Dante felt himself turning red over his embarrassing confession.
“Well, you could have fooled me.” Cynthia’s sweet voice came out soothing, her hand rubbing his arm in silent compassion.
“Thanks. But anyway, once the motorcycle club found me they helped me find my calling, repairing bikes and stuff. It’s what gave me the idea for my company. They became my family. But I think at some point I started doing what I was told and sticking around to maintain my anonymity for the sake of my business. It hasn’t been the same since before I took over. Those people are also my only connection to the outside world. I’ve never known how to make friends, have interpersonal relationships. It all feels strange to me. Until now.” He added the last part for her benefit and grabbed her hand.
That was the most vulnerable he had ever allowed himself to be with another human being before, and he wasn’t sure if it felt amazing or frightening.
“You didn’t have to tell me all that.”
“I know, but I think that I needed to. I wanted to. Thank you for listening.” He rolled his body over on top of hers, bracing himself with his hands in the mud and grass before lowering his face down to hers.
Chapter 26
Monday morning came upon them like an inevitable plague. Even the weather outside seemed to know that something was about to go down. Cynthia looked out the window in hopes to see that the sun would peek out from behind the grey clouds, but instead was greeted by a flash of lightning followed by thunder that shook the whole apartment. Apparently, it was loud enough to wake Dante because he suddenly sat straight up next to her.
“Did I oversleep?” he asked groggily, rubbing his eyes, but Cynthia shook her head. She hadn’t gotten much sleep, so she’d been roaming the house and watching the storm all night. She’d even upset her stomach with the worry she had for Dante and his company’s future. She knew full well that Winslow did not know the definition of mercy.
“What time is it?” he asked, stil
l seemingly concerned. She picked up her phone to show him that it was a few minutes before six in the morning. “Why don’t you lay down for a few more minutes, babe? I don’t have to be up until almost seven.”
She seethed quietly at the way he implied that he was the only one going to that meeting. He had spent the night before begging her not to go. He didn’t think she could handle being around Winslow. What he didn’t understand is that with Dante there she could handle anything, and no way was she letting him go to a chopping block that was created by her relationship with Winslow all by his lonesome.
“You mean we don’t have to be up until then. I’m going with you, end of story. That’s why I couldn’t sleep, why I can’t lay down.”
“Oh, babe, it’s way too early for this fight. Just come lay on my chest and rest for the next hour. We’ll worry about this then.” Cynthia was about to reply angrily, but then she looked over at him. His eyes were glowing in the dark and his messy brown hair was even more ruffled than normal. She reached over and ran her fingers through it, loving the fact that he was starting to grow it out for her.
She tried to relax, laying against his hard and warm chest, but her mind would not let it go no matter what she did. “I’m scared for you, Dante.” She said it almost inaudibly and wasn’t sure he heard her until he said something back.
“Why would you be afraid for me, Cynthia? I’m the big bad president of a notorious motorcycle gang. I own a huge corporation and spent a lot of my youth on the streets. This bad boy can handle himself. Besides, I doubt we’re talking about some kind of physical show down here. It’s only a meeting.” He let a little chuckle go, and she found herself in a sudden panic that was threatening to crush her chest.
“Don’t joke about this, Dante. There is nothing funny here. You don’t know him. You don’t know what he does. Winslow has more money than you or anyone else could dream of having. He’s like freaking Donald Trump or something. He eats companies like yours for breakfast. Buying places out and blackmail are his specialties. He will ruin you, your business, and your life without batting an eyelash. You have to let me go. Maybe I can do something to soften the blow.” She pleaded with him, desperate to get through his thick skull. Everything about the situation scared her. Winslow was up to something; she just knew it.
“What could you possibly do that I couldn’t other than fuck him, Cynthia? The damage is done, and I am at his mercy. All you would do is make everything harder because you would complicate the whole deal. Besides, what if he made a move on you in front of me or something? Then I’d have to kill him. Then where would we be?” She wasn't sure how much of that was a joke, but she knew he was right. It did sound like something Winslow might try to do, but she had to show her support for Dante. Her heart ached for him. His pain had become her pain. and now she knew why.
“Dante, I just can’t let you go alone. It's partially my fault that you’re in this mess. Maybe more than partially. And I want to be there with you. I need to be there with you.”
“Why, Cynthia? What is this obsession you have with going?”
“Because I love you.” It came out almost in a whisper, and for a moment she wasn’t even sure she had said the words out loud. It wasn’t a step they had taken yet, and things were so great. She was so afraid that those three little words were going to push him away where he was unreachable.
She looked at Dante who looked almost like he had been stunned, and she cowered from him. She had spoken way too soon, and she was bracing for the heartbreak.
Then, his callused hand slid over her cheek as his thumb caressed her skin. He kissed her gently on the forehead and then passionately on the lips. “I love you, too.” Her heart swelled with relief, and she tried to hold back tears of joy. She couldn’t believe he’d said it back. So, instead of reacting like a total girl, she took advantage of the moment, laying back down against his chest.
“Then, you’ll let me go with you. Even if you have me wait outside the conference room instead of inside of it; just let me go with you. I want to be there for you for this.”
She felt his chest rise and fall and was almost certain he was about to cave. “You can wait in the car.”
She wrinkled her nose in protest. “It’ll be all hot and muggy because of the rain.”
“Fine, you can wait in the downstairs lobby, but I’m not letting him anywhere near you. Do you understand?” Cynthia nodded as a smile came to her face. She had just won their first argument, and she had a feeling there would be many more to come.
The alarm on her phone blared into their ears at the same time loud thunder shook the building again. “Ugh,” they both groaned in unison, neither of them ready to get out of bed. They both slowly stood up and stretched before scooting their feet across the wood floor into the kitchen for breakfast.
“I’ll go shopping for us this evening, okay?” Cynthia offered as she poured the last bit of the Count Chocula into a bowl along with the milk that was fast approaching its expiration date. Dante gave a grunt that made him sound like a cave man as he emptied out the Corn Flakes.
Before she knew it, they kicked into high gear and began rushing around, bumping into each other, and trying to get ready to go. Being tired had made breakfast go so slow that they were running behind, and the last thing they needed on their plate was for Dante to be late for the meeting at Vosh. It was already bad enough just going in the first place.
Finally, they both climbed into his car with only a minute or two to spare as he started the engine. “Here we go,” he sighed.
She reached over and placed her hand on his right knee to give it a squeeze. That was exactly why he needed her with him; for moral support. “I’m here,” she told him. “And, I love you, Dante.” It felt so good to finally be saying it, to have that scary milestone over with. Never once in a relationship had she been the first to say it, but it was turning out pretty well. She never thought the first person she'd say it to would be her stepbrother, though. Certainly not in a romantic way. But they'd moved beyond that relationship. It no longer mattered.
“I love you, too,” he repeated before taking off to Vosh, where their future would be decided by someone with a lot of money and very little heart.
Chapter 27
Dante rode the elevator up to the conference room at Vosh with a secretary as an escort. By the look her and Cynthia gave each other, he was almost certain it was the infamous secretary that had broken Winslow and her up. He looked her up and down to see what might be worth losing Cynthia over and didn’t understand. Her fingers and hair told him that she was a long time smoker, and her lips were always pursed like she was sucking on a lemon. Winslow must be crazy, and that didn’t help his nerves considering Winslow held the key to his company’s future in his proverbial hand.
The woman didn’t say a word as she led him into a room with barely any lights on and only three figures; Winslow at the head of the table with the men he had met the previous week flanking him on either side.
“Dante!” Winslow exclaimed in a booming voice, standing up to greet him. Dante just stared straight forward and stiffly shook his hand only for as long as necessary before taking a seat. It felt like his skin was crawling from just that brief exchange. It was going to be difficult to be civil with his guy, even for the sake of his company.
“So, what is this about? You made your intentions pretty clear the other day; give you my company or you’ll expose me.”
Winslow stared him down for a moment, the smile threatening to leave his face. “Want to get right down to business I see; a man after my own heart!” His fakeness bounced off the walls, and Dante felt like he’d eventually have to physically dodge the shit spilling from his mouth. “I hope you accept my apology, but I feel that my decision to give you that option was made in haste. After contemplating what it is I truly want, I’d like to offer you an alternative to that deal. How does that sound?”
Winslow had an open-mouthed smile which showed that he had a gold cap on
one of his teeth. When it hit the light just right it was blinding so that Dante had to squint. “I think we both know I don’t have a choice, so why don’t you just continue so that we can both get back to work.” He said it as politely as he could, but it came out exasperated.
“Well, I’m afraid you’ll have to bear with me for a moment, Mr. Cross. I have done my research, and I want to make sure you understand that and that you’re getting a good deal. My associates here will take the floor for a moment while I check in with a client real fast. After all, they come first, don’t they Mr. Cross?” Dante gave a tight nod as Winslow left the room. What was this guy up to?
One of the men put on a pair of thin-framed glasses and rifled through papers before clearing his throat. It was like nails on a chalkboard to Dante. “Our client would like to inform you of the following. That he is aware of the new shares of stock about to go on the market and plans on letting his many associates aware of that fact. He knows that your net worth has recently gone up millions as well. Also, we are in talks with Mr. Tycochi to see if there is anything we can do for him.” The man tried to glare at Dante with the last part as if he was reading such directions off a script, and knowing Winslow he probably was. It made Dante instantly suspicious.
Billionaire Stepbrother - Secret Lives Page 14
