“Too late.” Dante leans in and runs his nose along my shoulder; his lips trace the water droplets he left behind while his hands go to my waist. “Why are you up so early?” I let my eyes close, between his kisses and that deep voice of his, I’m a total goner.
“Getting ready for work.”
“Anything else?” Dante continues over to the crest of my shoulder, moving around to stand in front of me, and his hooded eyes meet mine.
“I went to bed kinda early,” I hedge
Dante cups my shoulders. “I want to make sure you’re okay.”
I look over his shoulder to glance at his reflection in the mirror. He’s wearing a thin blue shirt and boxer briefs. It would be easier to distract us both, maybe make out a little bit before anyone else wakes up, but I know I need to deal with all the crap happening. If I don’t, I’m bound to lose my shit at the worst possible time. “I’m confused,” I admit, not really sure what else to say.
“About what?” Dante grabs my hand and tugs me over to a bench seat that I thought was more for decoration than actual sitting. Dante lowers himself into a sprawl, his legs stretched out far in front of him, and his back curved against the wall.
Tucking my towel tighter against my chest, I sit next to him. “I don’t know, it just seems like there’s so much going on. All that stuff with Leon might actually explain why my mom did a lot of the things she has, but not everything. We don’t even know any of that stuff for sure yet. I keep asking myself why she would come back here.” I pause and look over at Dante. “If your mom really helped her escape that Leon guy, why would she come back here? That’s the part that doesn’t make any sense. She’s been hiding us for years, only to bring us right back to the place she ran from, and before she disappeared, she told me she thought this was where we belonged, like we could actually live here and not have to move.”
Dante wraps his arm around my back, and he lets out a heavy sigh. “I’m not sure. Maybe she found out that Leon was dead and thought it would be safe to come home, if this really was her home.”
Dropping my head in my hands I let out a frustrated groan. “See? I need answers, but I just keep coming up with more questions.”
Smoothing his palm over my back, Dante pulls me a little closer. “We’ll figure it out, Laura, we need a little more time.”
We fall quiet for a few moments until I shiver from only being wrapped in a towel. Dante stands and pulls me with him, grabbing both of my hands. “Why don’t you get dressed, and I’ll see if I can scour some breakfast for us.” He drops a tender kiss on my lips that I’m sure he wasn’t expecting to go any further, but I reach for him when he begins to pull away.
Wrapping my fingers around the back of his neck, I hold him in place. Dante stills under my hands. I love that I have that effect on him. Leaning up on my toes I deepen the kiss, pushing my lips against his roughly. He returns the kiss with just as much fervor. His hands go to my waist and he lifts me, my toes are barely grazing the floor as he walks us over to the wall.
Once I feel the coldness on my shoulders, he sets my feet back on the ground, and then spins me around so I’m facing away from him. I gasp, the quick movement catching me off guard, but he leans his body into mine, trapping me between his hard body and the unyielding wall.
Dante lifts my hands and spreads them out to our sides, and his knuckles fold over mine. His knee goes between my legs securing me even more. “Laura,” he rumbles my name against my ear. I push my hips back against his as my answer. I have no idea what I’m asking for, but my body seems to know exactly what it needs.
Dante rolls his hips against me, and I feel his hardness on the back of my leg. He kisses the back of my neck and shoulders so slowly I think I might go insane with want. Every time his lips linger, my heart rate goes faster until I’m breathing in short little pants.
The pressure of Dante’s knee between my legs disappears, and I feel his hips rock against me again, but this time I can feel his erection between my legs as he pushes against me. Arching my back more, the towel rides up. There’s not much between us, only his boxers and my towel, which will not be in place much longer if his hips keep swiveling like they were made to undress me.
My heart skips a beat when he releases my hand and his goes immediately to my hip. Dante’s fingers bite into me as he squeezes me tightly. I use my free hand as leverage to push back against him even harder. He makes a low sound in his throat, something between a purr and a growl, and he licks my back from the top of the towel to behind my ear. As he rises, he pushes his hips up into me.
We’re fused together as tightly as possible without actually being joined. Now, just his hips move as he holds me in place. I feel something building inside me, my muscles coiling tighter as I reach for the one movement that will bring me over the edge.
“I’ve wanted to touch you since the first time I saw you,” Dante whispers right behind my ear. I sigh, his voice taking me even closer to the edge. My skin begins to heat as a flush rushes over me. It feels like my body is covered in tingles, small tremors of delight coursing through my system until everything is centered right between my thighs. The feeling is almost too much as a wave of pleasure crashes over me. I cry out against the wall, my body loosening almost immediately as smaller waves of pleasure crest over me.
Dante makes a low groaning noise right behind my ear and, tangling his fist in my hair, he pulls, forcing me to arch more against him. His movements slow and his weight releases me from the wall. His hands move to my hips again, this time holding me up for a different reason. My legs feel like jelly, and I’m pretty sure if I stepped back the towel would hit the floor.
When my arms feel like they’ll be able to move without trembling, I grab the edges of the towel, holding it so I can secure it. Dante smooths his hands over my back and hips, making sure the towel is straight. It seems silly after what we just shared, but I enjoy the feeling of him running his hands over me anyway.
“Let’s go get back in bed.” Dante’s voice is a rasp as he peppers my exposed skin with little kisses. I feel him use his tongue, flat and wide as he licks over my neck and shoulders.
“I can’t, I have to work.” My voice is husky, too.
“Call in,” he demands, turning me to face him again. I scramble to fix the towel, but he leans down and kisses me with gentle strokes of his tongue until eventually he pulls back.
“I can’t call in.” He knows I can’t.
Dante sighs. “I guess I should get you some breakfast then.”
“Thank you,” I whisper, and not just for the offer of food.
Dante gives me a quick peck and slinks out the bathroom door. I stand there frozen for a few moments thinking about what just happened before grabbing my clothes to get dressed.
Ares, Ollie, and Milo are still asleep when I exit the room, or I thought they were anyway. As I pass by the side of the bed, Ares reaches out, cuffing his hand around my ankle. When I peer down at him his eyes are dark, not fully black, but close to it. “Mornin’, Cara.” His hand glides up the inside of my leg. How long has he been awake?
“Why are you up so early?” I drop to the bed at his hip keeping my voice in a low whisper.
Ares crooks his finger at me, motioning for me to move closer. I lean down, my chest against his side. “I heard this noise.” Ares makes a deliciously low sound. “That sound would wake me from a coma, Cara. I want to feel it.” Ares skates his fingers up the column of my neck until they wrap around my throat. That sated feeling I had evaporates as Ares continues to whisper, “Want to hear you call out my name while you make that sound.” I squirm next to him, not sure what to do about the lusty feelings he’s provoking.