It was a pivotal moment disguised as an inconsequential one and condensed into one word.
“Yes.” It was both command and capitulation, moan and sigh.
Dante’s breath released.
If I were with anyone else, I’d worry about someone walking by and seeing us. But Dante’s presence was like an invisible shield protecting me from the rest of the world.
If he didn’t want anyone to see us, they wouldn’t.
His palms burned as they parted my thighs.
He’d barely touched me, and I was already on fire.
I tipped my head back, drowning in arousal, in heat and lust and the reverence of his touch as he kissed his way up my thigh. His stubble rasped against my skin and sent tiny shocks of pleasure down my spine.
“I’m sorry.” The aching whisper ghosted over me, seeping into my veins and settling into my bones. Another shiver ran through me. “I’m sorry for hurting you…” A soft kiss at the delicate crease between my thigh and insistent heat. “For pushing you away…” He slid my underwear to the side and gently touched his tongue to my clit. “For ever making you feel unwanted when you’re the only person I’ve ever loved.”
His raw words blended with my cry when he drew my clit into his mouth and sucked. My body arched away from the tree. My hands sank into his hair, and I could only hold on as he worshipped me with his lips and hands and tongue.
Rough yet smooth. Firm yet pleading. Carnal yet tender. Every movement sent another jolt of pure sensation through me.
Pressure built simultaneously in my chest and at the base of my spine. I was breathless with it, flying high on nothing but emotion and adrenaline.
He drew back and grazed his teeth against my sensitive clit. He pushed two fingers inside me, thrusting and curling while I writhed with abandon.
Dante knew my body. He knew exactly which buttons to push and which spots to hit, and he played it like a finely tuned instrument. A maestro conducting an orchestra of sighs and moans.
He pressed his thumb against my clit at the same time he hit my G-spot.
The pressure exploded.
My orgasm rocked through me, and my cries still echoed in the air when Dante rose to his feet, his chest heaving.
He braced his hands on either side of my head and tenderly kissed away the tears sliding down my cheeks.
I hadn’t realized I’d been crying.
He paused when he reached my lips.
Silence thickened between us as his mouth hovered a hair’s breadth from mine, waiting. Hoping. Seeking permission.
I almost gave in. Almost tilted my chin up and closed the breath between us while my body buzzed from the aftershocks of my climax.
Instead, I turned my head. Just a fraction, but enough for Dante to step back with a ragged breath.
We took a big step forward, but I wasn’t ready for another one yet. I was too physically and emotionally drained.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“You don’t have to apologize, mia cara.” His fingers twined with mine again, strong and reassuring. His eyes were soft. “As many steps as it takes, remember? We’ll get there.”
CHAPTER 41
Vivian
Dante and I didn’t speak of our garden date again, but it hovered in the back of my mind for days after.
Not because of the sex, but because of the vulnerability. The patience. The glimpse at how our relationship would be different this time around.
For the first time, I truly believed reconciliation was possible.
Maybe not now, but one day. Like Dante said, we’d get there.
We were walking off dinner at the top of the Empire State Building on our third date when my phone buzzed.
I paused in the middle of telling him about Buffy Darlington’s offer to plan her sixty-fifth birthday. She was becoming a loyal client, which was both a blessing and a curse. Her expectations were higher than the building we were currently standing on.
I checked my phone, and my pulse jumped when I saw the caller’s name. “I’m sorry, I have to take this. It’s my sister.”
It was the middle of the night in Eldorra, and I hadn’t talked to Agnes since I told her about my showdown with our father. Did something happen to her or Gunnar?
“Of course.” Dante tucked his hands into his pockets and nodded at the other end of the observation deck. “Take your time. I’ll be there.”
It was hard to reconcile this Dante with the rude, arrogant CEO I’d met last summer, but we weren’t the same people we were nine months ago.
Old him wouldn’t have been this patient or understanding. Old me wouldn’t have held out this long against his charm offensive. And old us wouldn’t be here, trying to rebuild from the rubble of our relationship when it would be so much easier to abandon the project and move on.
“Thank you,” I said, my heart strangely warm.
I waited until he was out of earshot before I picked up.
“You have to save me,” Agnes said without preamble. “Mother is driving me up the wall.”
Relief loosened the knot of anxiety in my chest. “It’s four a.m. your time. Did you really call to complain about Mother?”
“I couldn’t sleep, and yes, I did. She tried to redecorate our house, Vivi. Twice. And she’s been here for less than a week.”
According to Agnes, my mother had gotten into a massive fight with my father when she found out he disowned me. She was currently staying at my sister’s place in Eldorra, which was how I knew things were bad. She hated Agnes’s animal menagerie because they shed so much.
“What do you want me to do? I’m in New York.” I glanced at Dante, his tall frame cutting a striking figure against the city lights. “You shouldn’t be talking to me anyway. Father will be upset.”
“Please. I’m upset with him, and this fight is between you two, not us.” She hesitated, then added, “That’s another reason I called. He’s here. In Eldorra.”
My stomach plummeted.
“He’s trying to make amends with Mother and says he needs some time away from the office while the board ‘discusses how to move forward.’”
Translation: they were thinking of firing him.
Lau Jewels’s stock value had stabilized since Sunday, but it was lower than it should’ve been. The negative press coverage had done a number on the company.
“You should visit,” Agnes said.
I couldn’t contain a scoff. “Come on, Aggie.”
“I’m serious. We need to stand together as a family now more than ever. Not fight. What he did was awful, but he’s still our father, Vivi.”
“At what point is that not enough?”
If I was confused about my feelings toward Dante, I was twice as confused about my feelings toward my father. Did I want to reconcile with him, or was our relationship irreparable?
Agnes fell silent. “Just give it a chance,” she finally said. “Please. For me, Mother, and you. Talk it out now that everyone’s had a chance to calm down. Even if you don’t make up, you’ll get closure. Plus, I miss you. I haven’t seen you since last fall.”
“This is emotional manipulation.”
“I learned from the best.”