It’s fairly busy for a Monday night, but our table is toward the back where it’s quiet. “This place is nice without being overwhelming. I like it. What’s good here?”
“Everything, especially the chocolate souffle.”
The waitress is maybe a little too happy to see Dante as she takes our drink order. An Italian raspberry soda for me and a sparkling water for Dante.
Once we order, with Dante including a chocolate souffle, I try not to fidget with my silverware. I look up to find chocolate brown eyes on me.
“What?”
“You had me going there. I was sure you were never nervous.”
I roll my eyes. “Considering I never know where I stand with you from one moment to the next, I think it would be stupid for me not to be nervous.”
Ah, those dimples are killer and he knows it. “Honestly, I didn’t know where I stood either. I’ve never been one to deny what I wanted, never had to before. I’m no saint, but I believed I was doing the right thing by trying to stay away from you. Only I get it now—whether we give in to this or no
t, there’s no walking away like it never happened, for either of us.”
“Finally. I thought you were trying to make me crazy.”
His laugh is soft and flutters up my tummy. “Same.”
“How mad is Enzo?”
“Don’t worry about Enzo, or Che. I’ve been given my warning and I’ll deal with the consequences later.”
“I don’t like the idea of you guys fighting.” They are so close, I would never want to be the cause of hurting their relationship.
He shrugs. “Really, don’t worry. That’s what comes with being close, we argue, we fight, we might even throw a punch, but it’s all done in love and in the end we mean more to each other than being right or some other bullshit.”
“I’m relieved to hear it. Funny, Alicia said something like that, about being right not being more important than the other person.”
“It’s true. There’s two sides to every story, and then there’s what really happened. I don’t think it’s a good idea to give or take too much, but it doesn’t do any good to keep a count because it’s never going to be even and if that’s your focus, then you lose before you even start.”
Our plates arrive and like before there’s no need for talking as we eat. Once again it’s a comfortable silence without any pressure to fill the quiet.
Until the souffle is brought out, my eyes go big.
Dante laughs. “You know you’re helping me with this, right? I can’t eat this alone. There’s two spoons for a reason.”
“Oh, it is kind of big.” Holy crap I’m in love. “So good.”
“Told you.”
We make quick work of it. Once it’s gone we lean back with satisfied sighs.
“This was yummy, thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Thank you for not wearing anything tight.”
“I did promise.”
We’re out on the street where the sun is setting, turning the sky pink. Dante hails a cab and in only ten minutes we’re walking into the elevator.
“Interesting how you go all shy now.” It’s so hard not to blush, I give up. A big hand goes around my wrist, tugging me to him. I don’t hesitate, greedy for the feel of him against me again. The doors open and I’m being guided out of the elevator with his body. I have no memory of making it inside Cesare’s condo when Dante lifts me, then sets me on the edge of the waist height, large round marble table in the foyer. I shiver from the cool surface of the marble. Without thought my legs go wide for him to fit between them, and he presses into the heart of me. Holy crap, he’s so freaking hard, my body floods, desperate for him. He moans. “I can smell your pussy, wet for me. Show me your pussy.”
I sway as he steps away from me. A hand goes behind me to hold me up. I blink, trying to understand the words, then blush. He’s so dirty. A dark eyebrow goes up. I don’t even hesitate—I can’t deny him anything. My legs are still wide where he left them. I pull the skirt up; thankfully it has enough give to come up over the top of my thighs. As I watch him, heat flares low in my tummy. His jaw clenches, his breathing grows heavy. I’m not ashamed of the wet line against the panties where I can feel moisture seep from me. Dark eyes, molten with desire, flick up to meet mine. “I want to see all of you.”
With a smile I lean back on both hands. “I’m pretty sure I’ll fall if I try to take my panties off. If you want to see me, you take them off.”