I look away, I won’t be able to get the words out if I have to look at him. “I’m really confused,” I confess, dropping my hands into my lap. “I thought it was just Delaney making me feel so… so jealous, but it’s not just her. It’s you.”
The cushion between us shifts as Dante rearranges. “I promised that nothing like what happened with Delaney would ever happen again,” he says, like I only need his word to erase his actions.
“Yet when we were in the elevator, you didn’t do anything to stop that girl from getting close to you, trying to touch you. What if she would have kissed you? Would you have even stopped her? And I was standing right there.”
“Of course I would have stopped her, but I wanted you to.”
I snap my neck in his direction, my mouth probably hanging open. Finally, I manage a very confused, “What?”
“I wanted you to claim me as yours, let them know I was with you,” Dante tells me with such certainty that I can’t help but believe him.
At a loss for words, I circle my fingers over my temples. Deciding to give him a bit more information since he’s divulging his own, I tell him, “There’s something about you that makes me crazy… territorial.” I settle on that word when I can’t find another to fit. Glancing at him from the side of my eye, I see his lips lift in a barely there smile before it’s wiped off his face like it never existed.
The couch shifts again as Dante inches closer. “I think that has something to do with my abilities,” he confides, but I have no clue what he means. “My animal,” he amends.
Licking over my lips, I give his idea some thought. Could it be? But why would I react differently to him, considering he’s the animal and not me? “I’m not sure that makes any sense, Dante.”
“I don’t let many people in. I’ve always been a bit of a loner, but I’ve also always had this feeling,” Dante’s hand waves over his torso, “of dominance I can’t always control. I don’t like being told what to do, where to go. Hell, that’s how I ended up living in the apartment above the garage, because I knew Ares didn’t want that.” Dante runs his hands up and down his thighs, no longer looking at me.
“Once my ability manifested, it was easier to understand why I’d always been this way, but…” He lets the sentence dangle, not finishing his words.
Getting antsy I prompt, “But?”
Dante’s fists clench over his legs. “But it’s completely opposite with you; that part of me, my tiger, turns into a total pussy cat with you,” he winces at his words, “and craves your attention and affection.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “So, do you think me feeling like this, has something to do with us sharing your ability? That I’m feeling extra,” heat flashes across my face, “bossy and needy with you because of your animal?”
Dante scoots closer again until he’s right next to me with his arm behind me on the back of the sofa. “It could be, or maybe you’re just more dominant than me,” he says with an easy acceptance.
I drop my head into my hands. “Uh, I’m going to go with no on that.” My voice is a little muffled coming out through my hands.
Dante leans in even closer, his nose nuzzling my cheek near my ear. I stiffen, I knew he was close, but not that close.
Dante’s lips part and I feel the press of an open mouth kiss on my jaw. His nose runs across my cheek until his lips are at the corner of my mine. “So, you okay with this?” I’m not sure what this means, but Dante bobs his head up and down in a jerking motion. “I was kinda mad at you, but more at myself, because I was acting like a spoiled brat with a new toy.”
He makes a grumbling noise that rolls up his chest. His voice is even deeper as he says, “I’m totally okay with that.”
A small burst of a laughter erupts from me and Dante locks his lips on mine, stealing the sound and my breath. Without a thought I bite his bottom lip. He jerks back, his tongue smoothing over my nip, and my eyes widen in shock when I see a dot of blood welling up.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” I blurt, grabbing his jaw with my hands, and Dante gives me a shy smile while looking down with a small shrug.
“I was asking for it.”
“No, you weren’t, Dante, that’s not okay. I never want to hurt you. That was wrong. If you did that to me, I would me upset and feel more hurt than just physically.” Dante wraps his hand around my wrist while still cradling his face. “People shouldn’t hurt each other, Dante especially if they lo—” I stop before saying the entire word, “—care about each other; it shouldn’t ever be like that.”
“That was just a little nip, Laura, I don’t want you to hold yourself back from me. I know what that’s like. So please, don’t do that with me.” I look in his eyes, and he seems earnest, not upset in the least.
I resolve to make sure that doesn’t happen again. There’s a huge difference between the bites and nips Ares gives me in the heat of the moment and what just happened. I may not have intended to hurt Dante, but I was trying to punish him a little bit. I place a gentle kiss on his lips.
He grins at me, happy that I’ve dropped it. Leaning back in slowly so his intentions are clear, he keeps his eyes open and kisses my lips softly. I run my palms over the barely visible stubble on his jaw and delve into his thick dark hair. Dante’s eyes fall closed, the weight of his head dropping into my hands as he exposes his throat to me. He completely trusts me, even after what I just did, he doesn’t have any reservations. I place an open mouth kiss on his Adam’s apple, then tilt his face back to me.
Dante’s mouth parts on a sigh as I brush my lips across his. My heart is still heavy from what I did, so I keep the kisses slow and sweet, not taking anything more than what he’s giving me. Heat invades my senses, making me think I might be about to spark up, but the burn is low compared to what I feel when Ollie touches me, so I let the worry go and allow the heat to continue to build inside of me.
Dante makes a deep sound, almost like a growl, as the heat rises, and I shiver as goose flesh pebbles over my skin. With my thoughts solely on Dante, and the intention of never hurting him again, I release some of the heat building inside me.
The effect is immediate, Dante’s back bows, and his eyes fly open. Not a sound escapes his parted lips. But before I can ask him what’s wrong, I feel a shifting in my body, almost like my insides are rearranging. It only last seconds, but when the feeling is gone, I can’t help feeling like something just changed.
Dante sucks in a few deep breaths, his eyes still wide on mine. “Holy shit,” he mutters, his voice half growl.
He doesn’t need to say more, I already know what I’ve just done. I bonded him to me.
Chapter 15
“Well, I’d say as far as make ups go, that one was pretty damned successful.” Ares lays the sarcasm on thick.
I narrow my eyes at him, pissed that he’s making light of the fact I bonded another person to me without their consent. Dante, for his part, seems completely content—happy even—about the development.
He didn’t almost pass out the way Ares did, but he collapsed back into the couch, his eyelids drooping low. I made sure he was okay—brushing his hair way from his face and holding his hand—and thankfully I didn’t scream for help the way I did for his brother. I don’t think the hotel would appreciate me screaming bloody murder for all their guests to hear.