Owning Beauty (Taking Beauty Trilogy 3)

Maybe the night wouldn’t be a total loss. Maybe just one night alone with this man was exactly what I needed, after all. One night and then tomorrow - after all my curiosities had been satisfied - I’d be on my way home and back to my normal, boring, protected life as the daughter of a mafia boss.

After everything he’d told me about over dinner, I planned on keeping that little bit of information to myself. Dante didn’t seem to have a very high opinion of the mafia, so as far as I was concerned he didn’t need to know just how close I was to that life.

Besides, what were a few secrets between lovers? Even if we were just lovers for one night?

“How long have you had Bear?” I whispered, reaching down and petting him as he walked beside us. I stood back up, staring up at Dante beside me, his towering frame not much more than a silhouette in the darkness.

“Five years,” he replied, his voice thick with emotion.

“Did you get him when he was a puppy?” I asked, trying to make small talk. The silence of the forest made me a little uncomfortable and I wanted to learn more about him, to draw him out a little. He’d told me a little about himself, but I sensed there was so much more to him.

“I guess you could say I inherited him,” he said.

“From who?”

He let out such a huge sigh, I instantly regretted asking.

“Maggie.”

“Maggie? Who is she?”

“She was my fiancé,” his replied, his voice tight and tense.

“Oh. I see,” I replied, not sure if I should push the issue. “She didn’t want Bear when you broke up?”

“We didn’t actually break up,” he replied.

“Oh!” Of course not. Just because she wasn’t there, didn’t mean there wasn’t a woman in the picture. A man like him? Single? That just didn’t happen. “So you’re still together, then? I didn’t realize…”

“No, wait, that’s not what I meant. Maggie died, Gabby. That’s what I’m trying to say.”

“Oh, no! I’m so sorry, Dante!” I blurted out, stopping in my tracks and grabbing his hand. I looked deep into his black eyes, the pain so evident now. “That must have been so hard for you.”

“It is. It was,” he replied, pulling his hand out of mine and turning away. “It’s been about five years now. I’m okay, though,” he muttered through the darkness.

“How did she die?” I asked, hoping I wasn’t digging a little too deep, but unable to stop myself.

“Car accident. It was quick,” he said, his voice clipped. “Bear was in the car with her, he was just a puppy then. He survived, but she didn’t. It happened two weeks before I was due to be discharged. He’s all I have left of her.”

“Dante, that’s so fuckin’ sad,” I exclaimed.

“I know, I know,” he said, turning back to me and grabbing my hand. I let him have it, intertwining his fingers in mine, as we started walking again. “I’m okay now, though, really,” he nodded vigorously. I wondered briefly who he was trying to convince.

“Okay,” I whispered, his confession leaving me speechless, my head spinning. Five years was a long time, but not for losing someone you loved. He probably felt like it had happened yesterday. “If you say so…”

We walked silently for another half hour, the quiet of the night surrounding us peacefully, my hand clasped tightly in his the whole time. The night was clear, the stars sparkling brightly above us.

Finally, he stopped and turned to me, his warm eyes looking down at me questioningly. His hand reached out, brushing a lock of hair from my face as I smiled up at him.

“You’re beautiful, Gabby,” he whispered.

“Thank you,” I replied, as butterflies rippled through my gut. He fell silent again, staring at me, his eyes full of unspoken words. I knew what he was asking, without a word passing between us. I smiled at him, looking down at his full lips and back into his eyes - a silent answer.

Slowly, his head lowered until his warm lips pressed against mine gently. I kissed him back, a slow, pulsing electricity flowing between us, a small spark of lust igniting inside of me as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in close.

The searing warmth of his lips against mine fanned the flame of desire that rushed through my body and I pressed into him, feeling his hardness against me. I moaned as his lips parted mine, his tongue darting in, searching, exploring, as waves of passion flowed between us. His strong arms lifted me from the ground, his kiss turning hungry, urgent, hard.

Breathless, I kissed him back, moaning into him as he gently placed my feet back on the ground and pulled his lips from mine. I looked up at him, his lips wet and swollen, his dark eyes raw with lust, and my breath caught in my throat.

There was no fighting it.

Tonight, I was his.

Luckily, fighting it was the last thing I wanted to do.

Dante

Talking about Maggie was the last thing I had intended to do, but I found myself explaining everything before I could stop myself.

After that, I was thrown off my game. Hell, it had been so long since I’d had any game in the first place and I felt completely lost.

I had every intention of convincing Gabby to get into my bed before the night was over, but after I’d explained everything about Maggie, it took a good half hour before I could even clear my head enough to kiss her.

But then, once I did - it was all over. Once my lips touched hers, the flames were ignited and there was no turning back. I was on fire with desire for her. My cock sprang to attention, and suddenly I missed the touch of a woman more than I’d ever missed anything in my life. I was hungry, starving for it.

I needed her, her body, her touch. And I needed her now.

“Let’s go,” I said, tearing my lips from hers and grabbing her hand again before practically dragging her back to the cabin. She didn’t resist, thankfully, because I don’t know what I would have done if she had. I was ready to explode into a million pieces right there on the road and by the time we made it back to the cabin, I was cursing my ridiculous idea to take a walk in the first place.

Bear lagged behind, but I knew he’d catch up. He was more loyal and devoted than most soldiers I’d come across in the Army, even if he was a little slow.

Once we were inside, I pushed Gabby up against the wall and kissed her again. Hard. She whimpered in surprise, but it only served to make me harder. I liked surprising her.

My cock was throbbing painfully, making me aware of exactly how long it’d been since I’d made love to anyone. I tore my lips from hers, burying my face in the softness of her hair, inhaling the sweet floral scent of her skin. My lips brushed against her neck, and she gasped, arching her back, the curve of her breasts pushing against my chest.

“Shit!” I exclaimed, and she jumped. “Sorry,” I replied, kissing her lips again quickly. “I forgot something. Stay here! Don’t go anywhere!”

She looked at me like I was a lunatic, but she nodded and stayed exactly where she was standing, her wet lips plump and ready and waiting for me to kiss them again.

I ran to the bathroom, frantically searching my cabinets for condoms. I was completely unprepared for this, I realized, as I looked around at my dirty bathroom. I suppressed a shout of joy when I found an unopened box of condoms in the back of a drawer. I was almost positive they’d been left there by Romeo during a party a few months ago and I made a mental note to thank him later. He’d love that, the fuckin’ playboy.

“You alright in there?” Gabby called from the living room.

“Yeah, totally, be right there!” I called back, stuffing a few of the condoms into my pocket. I stopped and looked at myself in the mirror before leaving.

“Go get ‘em Casanova. You remember how to do this,” I said to myself. I could almost hear the guys cheering for me in my head.

Gabby was in for quite a ride and she didn’t even know it.

I only hoped she was still in one piece when I was done devouring her.

Gabby

&nb

sp; While he was gone, I searched frantically for a mirror. Of course, there was nothing at all in sight. I hadn’t thought of my appearance until now. I smoothed my hair as best I could with my hands, dreading the task of brushing it later. The wind had whipped it into one big tangle. I looked down at my clothes and was surprised to see they were still relatively clean.

After everything that happened, I was shocked they weren’t covered in ugly biker blood.

Dante was taking forever in the bathroom and I was beginning to think something was wrong. Maybe he’d changed his mind?

Bear stared at me from the corner, watching me with lazily hooded eyes as I threw another log on the fire.