“We chose the same one,” she whispered. “I thought you were fucking with me.”
“I let you believe it.” The truth was he’d been strangely drawn to the abstract painting. It felt like violence and sex, and staring at it had made something go funny in his chest. The same something that went a little funny when he was around Rose. “It was real.”
“Stop it.”
He shook his head slowly. “We were both pretending in different ways, but that proved something to me. Down at our cores, we’re the same, Rosa.”
“Liar. Don’t try to use our shared history to manipulate me.”
“It’s the truth.” He leaned down slowly until their faces were even. “There’s only one liar in this room.”
“But—”
He pressed two fingers to her lips. Not pushing inside. Just silencing her. “But nothing. You forget, amata. I know Romeo Capparelli easily as well as you do. You weren’t dating. It was a business deal in the form of a marriage. He wouldn’t have fucked you and risked someone’s messy emotions ruining things. I bet he never even kissed you.” Dante waited, but she didn’t rush to throw more infuriating words at him. Good. “With all that said, the moment you were married, he would have claimed every part of you.” The very thought of the wedding night, of Romeo laying so much as a finger on Dante’s woman, of… “He would have wanted you pregnant as quickly as possible.”
Rose sucked in a breath. “It was in the negotiations, but that’s irrelevant.”
Unsurprising, but that didn’t make it easier to hear. Dante lowered his hand slowly. “It’s not irrelevant. Your pussy is mine, Rosa. And I’ll be reclaiming her now, so stop arguing semantics and tell me what you want. Condom or no?”
“We shouldn’t.”
“I don’t give a fuck about should or shouldn’t. Those words aren’t for us. Yes or no?”
He found himself holding his breath as she fought some internal battle. Saying yes would be a huge step in showing that, regardless of what she thought she should do, she actually trusted him. At least to keep her safe.
Finally, Rose shook her head. “We can’t.”
“What did I just say about—”
“We can’t, Dante. You didn’t snatch my birth control pills when you snatched me. It’s only been a little over twenty-four hours, I think, but it’s not worth the risk.”
For a moment, the temptation to press her on it nearly overwhelmed him. If there were a baby involved… No. Damn it, no. He hadn’t thought about kids, to be perfectly honest. It had never really occurred to him to worry about it overmuch. Breeding heirs was Matteo’s job once he finally settled down and married someone suitable. With Dante’s history, he was more suited to being a warrior rather than a caretaker. If…when…he and Rose had children, they would want for nothing and fear nothing because he would stand between them and whatever threats arose. Hell, he’d go one step further and ensure there were no threats to rise.
Apparently he did want kids.
With Rose.
But not yet.
He frowned. “Where can we get birth control pills?”
“Easy answer; take me home.”
“No.” He shook his head. “Enough talking. We’ll use rubbers.” He bent down and picked her up, ignoring her protests, and stalked out of the gym and into the main living room. He’d fuck her in the gym later. Right now, he wanted to take his time. He dumped her on the couch and moved to flick the fireplace back on. It wasn’t overly cold, but she had on next to nothing, and he didn’t want her getting chilled. “Take off your shirt, Rosa.”
“Condoms.”
“Si.” He yanked open the drawer in the center of the coffee table and grabbed a handful of them. “Good enough?”
She stared. “How long have those been in there?”
“They’re replaced monthly.”
She narrowed her eyes. “This isn’t your murder-cabin, then. It’s your fuck-cabin.”
“This is my cabin, and sometimes that means I bring people here I want to fuck, si.” He dropped the condoms on the coffee table and planted his hands on either side of the pile. “Are you feeling jealous, amata? None of them compared to you.”
“I’m not jealous.” She grabbed the hem of her shirt and dragged it up and over her head. Rose tossed the shirt away and leaned back a bit on her elbows. The move arched her back and put her tits on full display. They were perfect and she knew it. She lifted a brow, silently challenging him.
He liked that she wasn’t afraid of him, that she constantly provoked him because she trusted him not to cross the line. He liked it a lot. Dante moved around the coffee table so he could sit on it in front of her. Not much space separated them, giving him a front-row view of how her breasts shook with each breath, her dark-pink nipples tight and distended. “Spread your thighs, nice and wide. Let me see you.”