Chapter 129: 31| Movie-1

┏━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┓ Movie ┗━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┛ Chapter 31: Movie (Anastasia's POV) Nothing prepared me for the sight of Dante when I woke up the next morning. I felt his soft morning kisses slowly trail from my neck to my shoulder and down my arm before I even opened my eyes. Stirring lightly, I mumbled through a tiny grin, "What are you doing?" "Hmm?" he hummed against my skin, his lips brushing against my ear. I couldn't help but shift slightly as a laugh crawled up my throat. "That tickles," I chuckled, finally opening my eyes. He stopped with one final lingering kiss and rested his chin on my shoulder. Taking a breath, I took his free hand that rested on my hip and began lightly tracing his knuckles. "We have to go to work," I reminded him. A part of me was a little scared that those words would shatter whatever magical spell had created this reality around us, but to my surprise, he hardly seemed bothered by it. "I think we can take our time this morning, Ms Vitalio," he replied, turning onto his back as I flipped over to face him. "We have all the time in the world." I lifted my brows slightly. "Do we really?" With the case on our hands and the circumstances we faced last night, I highly doubted that. Blinking slowly, he lifted a hand to tuck my hair behind my ear. "One day, we truly will." I hummed in agreement. "Unfortunately, that day isn't today, is it?" "No," he mumbled, staring at me. Last night, we'd crossed a line we'd been dancing on the edge of for what felt like an eternity. We agreed to finally give in and let each other into our lives despite knowing that once we did, we would be far too deeply entangled with each other to walk away. It would be a lie if I said I wasn't doubtful. With our pasts looming over us like dark clouds, falling deeper into each other came with its own risks, but because it was Dante, those risks were worth it. It was a gamble I was willing to make. I was adamant that no matter how dark, Dante's past wasn't going to drive me away from him. Although I wasn't sure if he would feel the same after truly knowing me, I hoped and trusted him enough to give it my all. I didn't want to hide any parts of myself from him because he was the one person who truly made me feel seen and heard without judgment clouding his vision. All I could do was hope my past wouldn't taint that. Pushing up onto my elbow, I scooted a little closer to him. "We have a long day ahead of us. Should we get started?" I asked. He shook his head slowly. "Not yet." I laughed, "Dante-" "Not yet, Anastasia. Just let me lay here with you a little longer." My gaze softened, and I felt myself giving in, my resolve crumbling. "Just a little longer," he repeated, pulling me in with an arm secured around my waist. A few minutes passed with us simply staying in bed together. Not knowing what we'd discover walking into the office today, thoughts of the case began plaguing my mind. "Penny for your thoughts, Mia Cara?" "I'm just wondering…" Lifting my head off his chest, I met his gaze. "What do you think we'll find today? On that camera." He let out a soft sigh. "Whatever it is, I'm hoping it tells us about more than just the way Adeline was killed. If we don't get a lead on the killer… I'm afraid of how far behind we are in this case." The culprit was slowly slipping from our fingertips, and the thought of never catching him or her was terrifying. "Me too," I mumbled, "but we'll figure it out. We have a reputation, Mr Rossi." "Oh, yeah?" he mused. "Yeah," I nodded, "you and I have never failed when we've worked together. I'd hate for this to be our first." He nodded in agreement. "Let's get to work then." "Shall we?" I asked, lifting my brows at him in amusement. Almost immediately, he shook his head frantically, a laugh bubbling out of him. "I don't want to." "Come on," I laughed with him as I sat up and grabbed hold of his arm, tugging him into an upright position. His arm went around my waist in the blink of an eye, and before I knew it, he was tugging me back into bed, his fingers poking, prodding, and tinkling my waist as he kissed my cheek. A small scream escaped me as he tickled me harder until I finally fought my way out of his grasp and rushed out of bed. "We'll be late," I said, grinning uncontrollably. Still laughing softly, he stared at me from the mess we'd made of my bed. It happened rarely, so when I heard him laughing and saw the flush coating his cheeks, the different directions his hair fluffed up in, and heard his laugh, it felt almost… precious. I took a step closer to the bed, and he reached forward, which made me jump back. Playfully rolling his eyes, he gave up and patted the bed. "Come on, Mia Cara. I don't bite." I shot him a pointed look. "Liar." "Until you ask," he corrected. Grabbing my pillow, I flung it at him. "Come on. We have to go." Groaning, he fell back onto the bed while I slipped into the bathroom. Within an hour, I was dressed and ready for the day ahead of me, while Dante had barely managed to throw on the same clothes from last night. "Go home," I told him as we made our way to my car. "You should freshen up and then come to the office." Opening the driver's side door, he rested an elbow on it. "Don't investigate anything on your own," he replied, "wait till I get to the office." I nodded in agreement, "Mm-hmm." He arched a brow at me. "I mean it, Anastasia." "I know," I told him, "I'll listen to you, I promise. I'll wait until you get there." He nodded slowly as my eyes dipped to the tie loosely hanging around his neck. "See you there," I mused. Catching my chin before I slipped into the car, he leaned forward and closed the distance between us, leaving a soft kiss against my lips. "See you there, Ms Vitalio," he smirked before walking off to his car. I took my time driving to work solely so the temptation to go through evidence without Dante wouldn't get to me. After stopping by a nearby café to grab a quick breakfast, I made it to the office and went straight to Marshall's cabin. "I heard last night was quite hectic," Marshall said as I took a seat across from him. "Are you okay, honey?" I nodded slowly, setting my coffee cup on the table. "I'm okay. Did the police give us the evidence?" Sighing, he opened a drawer and grabbed a plastic evidence bag, setting it before me. "Did you go through it?" I questioned. "No. I thought it was something you and Dante should take the reins on. He isn't here yet?" "He's on the way." Marshall nodded in response briefly before growing still. I lifted my brows in question, and his eyes narrowed on me almost immediately. A long pause passed between us. "What?" I finally asked. "You look different today, Ana." "Different?" "Hmm… Did something happen? Between you and Dante?" Last time, we'd managed to stay under Marshall's radar until Dante… Well, until he breached orders and went underground without warning. Marshall seemed to have picked up on it a lot faster this time. Even though I didn't know the details of what Dante had done, I knew he had killed someone he wasn't ordered to, but I always wondered why the situation escalated to the point where he lost his job. "What do you mean?" I played dumb. With a dry laugh, Marshall said, "If you fooled me twice, shame on me, Anastasia. I'm not blind." "What are you talking about?" I chuckled. "Nothing happened. It's hard enough that I have to work with him on this case, I don't need to-"