HELENA'S POV
"You didn't" I whispered, more to myself than to him "You said you wouldn't do anything"
The air in the car was thick with tension, a suffocating silence filling the space between us. I stared out the window, watching the city lights blur as we sped down the road, trying to process what had just happened. My mind kept replaying the image of the flames licking up the side of the convenience store, the sharp crackle of fire as it devoured everything in its path. I hadn't seen Dante light the match-only the aftermath. But I knew. God, I knew.
"He touched you, Helena," Dante said finally, his voice cold, measured. "He deserved worse."
"That's not how you handle things," I murmured, still staring out the window, refusing to meet his gaze. "You can't just burn everything down."
His response was immediate, sharp. "I can, and I did, and I'll do it again if I have to. You might as well get used to it principessa"
I forgot how ruthless he could be, how arrogant and how daunting his actions always were. Yes, the cashier had no right no touch me but burning his only source of livelihood to the ground seemed a little bit to excessive but Dante didn't seem to think so.
"If you're scared of the aftermath Helena, there's no need to be"
"I'm not, I'm just – "
"Worried about the man that assaulted you?" he bit back at me and I stayed silent. I didn't want to talk about it anymore so I let it go.
At this point, we were driving into Dante's mansion. I hadn't set foot in that house since I'd left. I never thought I would again. It was exactly the same – tall, imposing and shrouded in darkness and shadows just like the man that lived in. I wondered how many women had graced the interior of the house since I left. I made my way inside as Dante took my bags from the car and trailed behind me, his presence more imposing than ever and I became too aware of it that my normally poised steps seemed crooked, and when he trailed past to walk ahead of me, I released a breath I didn't realize I was holding.
I followed him upstairs, through the familiar flight of stairs that was my past and is now my reality and I hoped wasn't my future because I could barely breathe, I could barely be in the same space with this hulk of a man and breathe properly.
Then he stopped at a particular door – the masters bedroom, my former bedroom.
Dante pushed open the door and I walked in behind, my eyes surveying the familiarity of the room, it all looked the same, from the beige colored walls to the cream curtain that kissed the ground in all its grandness and then my eyes fell on the bed – the same bed I had lost my virginity to him.
But I pulled my eyes away, deciding to focus on the present and not how he had shattered my heart to pieces. I turned around to thank him for bringing my bags up and bid him goodnight because I was definitely not going to sleep on the same bed with him, I didn't my body could handle the heat that emanated from the body – it wouldn't be long before I broke my own rules and Dante would be smirking in my face.
"Thank you for – " I started but the words died on my lips before I could bring them to life. I found Dante by the closet, his jacket off and unbuttoning his white shirt, his fingers moving with that casual, arrogant grace that I hated but craved at the same time. He peeled the shirt off, revealing the sculpted planes of his chest, each muscle chiseled to perfection. His skin gleamed in the fading light, taut and defined, like a predator poised to strike.
"What – what are you doing?" My throat went dry as I watched him, frozen by the sight of him-by the way his body moved like it was meant to destroy me.
"About to take a shower, why? Do you want to join me?"
I gulped, his invite was tempting but I was determined not to give in to his effortless charms.
"We're not sharing a room – we have rules remember? And I'm definitely not getting in the shower with you"
He turned to face me, his eyes dark and piercing, drilling into me with that predatory gaze that seemed to undress me and drink me up, I felt suddenly exposed that I took an unconscious step back. He took slow, deliberate steps toward me, his presence overwhelming, filling every inch of the room with his dominance.
I took a step back, then another, until my back hit the cold wall. Trapped. Dante's body was only inches from mine, the heat radiating off him making it hard to think, hard to breathe. He leaned in, one hand bracing the wall above my head, his scent-clean, sharp-washing over me.
"Why Helena?" he murmured, his voice low and dangerous, "You don't think you'd be able to resist me?"
I swallowed hard, my pulse racing as my gaze dropped to his lips before I caught myself. The only thing that clouded my head in that moment was the sultry dream I had off him, his lips on nipples, sucking and slighting grazing with his teeth. It felt so real, so intense that I felt my nipples harden at the mere thought of it.
"You stink of smoke and ashes, you need to take that shower quick" I blurted the words to distract my racing thoughts and I didn't miss the confused look on Dante's expression.
"What?" he looked puzzled, but his dark eyes still fixed on mine.
"I can't breathe – because you stink"
Then he smirked, which slowly morphed into a low chuckle that rumbled deep from his throat and he pulled away from me, where he had cornered me into a wall and totally invaded my space
"Fine, I'll indulge you and find somewhere else to sleep, but remember I'm not going to touch you, not unless you beg me to principessa"
The cold air rushed back in as he moved, but I remained pressed against the wall, my heart still racing. But just before he walked out of the room I stopped him.
"Wait" I called out, my voice slicing through the air and halting him in his steps.
"I was going to ask earlier, but I'll need to join a local dance studio. I want to keep dancing, there's one just at third avenue"
He stopped, his broad shoulders tense for a second before he turned his head slightly, not fully looking at me. "No." he didn't even think about it
"But – "
"No, Helena," he said, his voice final, like the slamming of a door.
"And that's final"
I saw red