Chapter 20—Dante

Present day …

I went home with that memory heavy on my mind. It was one of the pieces of the puzzle that I’d missed.

Parts that I had never saw fitting together, because my sight was turned to something else.

That man …

He knew who Christina had been seeing. There was something in the way that he was speaking to her that said something. They were arguing about something and he’d stopped and looked at me before walking out of the room.

Today when I saw him, it was the same piercing stare. It was the look of someone who was hiding something.

Hiding and watching me. If there was nothing my instincts told me he wouldn’t have been watching me. He knew me the same way I knew him And had recognized him.

I had the squad looking into it.

They’d sent over the layout details for Crowthorne Society, so our plans were ready for tomorrow.

Tonight I just had to deal with my own demons, until tomorrow when I was pushed even deeper down this rabbit hole.

Who I saw standing by the window in my bedroom made me feel a fuck of a lot better.

Maria.

Standing by the long French windows, gazing outside she stood there with her golden hair flowing all the way down to the small of her back.

She wore a silk negligee that hugged her curves and wiped my mind clean of everything.

Flynn had the room upstairs, while I just moved her into my bed.

If this was the vision of what lay at home for me after a long day, I’d happily take it, any day.

She turned when I walked in and her face broke out into a warm smile.

I backed off my jacket allowing it to fall to the floor as I strode my way to her.

She walked to me too, looking like she was floating. Floating on some cloud straight from God and his angelic hosts.

I was reminded of the day I’d first met her. The white blonde hair was the first thing I saw, and then those eyes—so beautiful. Then she changed into more than that.

We didn’t speak, I just reached for her and kissed her. Kissed her the way I’d always wanted to and more.

This was the girl who’d made a guy like me jump from A-Z without thought. I just did it, because I wanted her. I made big life decisions because I wanted her.

Big life decisions that honestly could get me killed. It wouldn’t be the first time I lost my mind over this woman, over all the kisses that were stolen from me.

Stolen kisses.

Stolen moments.

I wanted them all back.

I kissed her like we were made for each other. Our mouths alive with wet heat. Heat, and the rawness of my need for her and hers for me.

Her responding to my touch eagerly as I caressed the contours of her perfection, her perfect body.

She stepped back out of the kiss and looked at me.

“Don’t tell me to stop.” I warned, because I had no intention of listening if she did.

“No, I just want to look at you. I just want to forget everything and look at you.” she smiled.

“Look all you want later.”

She giggled when I reached for her again, cupping her face as our lips met in a hot slide.

Instantly I wanted to take her and claim her perfect body, renewing my possession of this angelic beauty.

Each kiss sent electricity through my veins. Merciless and hungry.

I picked her up and carried her over to the bed, stripping her naked so I could kiss every inch of her.

Then I had to look at her too, her naked in the center of my bed bathed in the soft glow of the amber nightlight mixed with the moonlight.

From where I was looking, my eyes scanning over the flat, taut plane of her stomach, the delicious mounds of her breasts and the perfection of her, I’d never seen a woman sexier than her.

My damn ass was in love with her from the very first time I saw her and I hadn’t even known.

That was it. I thought of myself as this guy who knew so much and yet I didn’t know the reason why I could decide so effortlessly when it came to her. It was because I loved her.

I loved every inch of her inside and out—that hair, those eyes, those lips, her tight, pert nipples, her flawless beauty.

Everything. Body, mind, and soul.

Now she was mine.

All mine.

Mine to hold and protect. Franco could send the whole fucking cartel after me.

Let him come. He hadn’t met me yet and God help him when he did.

She watched in delight as I backed off the bed and shrugged out of my clothes. She reached for me too when I returned to her.

No woman had ever felt so perfect to me and as I continued my feasting of her; I knew no woman ever would.

I tasted every inch of her. Tasting and deepening my intoxication of her wild beauty.

I pulled her closer so she was right in the center of the bed.

Her body welcomed me as I slid into her sweet pussy, wet and ready for me to take her.

I tried for slow like I always did. I tried for slow so I could enjoy her, but just like always my need took over and consumed me.

The minute I thrust into her I knew. I felt that rush of wanting her fill me and take over. It guided my hips to thrust deeper. Deeper and faster until we found that rhythm that only we had together.

Her walls stretched allowing even more access to fuck her the way I wanted to.

Hard and fast, plunging deeper still into her until the pressure started to build inside me.

Fucking hell, she felt so good. So damn good. I never, ever wanted to stop.

That same thought though made me start pounding, jack hammering into her in a rush like I wanted to make sure I took every part of her.

Her soft cries filled the room along with the sexual sounds of us. Sex and love blended together to create something wild and purely magical.

Then it came. That wave of pleasure that coursed through me like a drug I savored and would die happily indulging on.

For a moment I allowed myself to lose control. Completely lose it as I plunged deep and she arched her back into the silky sheets.

I lost it and couldn’t control my release.

I came growling deep from inside and tightened my grip on her as I kept thrusting and her orgasm rippled through me.

I looked down at her breathing hard. She pulled me down to her and our mouths found one another just like the other night and we got lost in our kisses the same way we did our love making.

It was all the same.

From the slightest touch to the most intense feeling.

***

Today was perhaps supposed to be a bigger day than yesterday.

I should have had some sleep.

All night I’d indulged on her.

Thank God Flynn was a heavy sleeper. Thank God I had the good sense to put him in the bedroom upstairs.

The other night when I brought Maria here, I knew she expected my old place.

It had been a nice house and it served me well. This place though was the real deal. It was a six-bedroom manor home with a pool and three gardens. Even had acres of land which meant plenty of space for my vehicles.

She’d been more than impressed.

We lay side by side, her cocooned in my arms as we watched the sunset.

“Can Flynn swim?” I asked.

We’d been quiet this whole time and as the question came into my head, I asked it as if we’d been talking about it before.

She turned to face me and smiled.

“He’s scared of the water. He thinks there’s sea monsters in there.”

“I’ll fix that. We can go in the pool later and I’ll make sure he loves the water by the time I’m done.” I continued looking at her. “What doesn’t he like?”

“Darkness, and … ketchup.” She chuckled.

“Ughh, I’m with him on the ketchup and any kind of sauce. Not sure whose idea it was to put something like that on anything. So, he’s a man after my own heart there.”

She started laughing. “Dante you don’t like ketchup?”

“Just don’t say that word. Looks like blood pumped with shit.”

She shook her head at me. “You are the strangest boy.”

I laughed. That was what she used to say to me when we were kids. “Yes, apparently I am.”

As I looked at her, I knew I’d have to leave soon and I’d have to say why. I never had to before and it was strange knowing what to say to her. Stranger too, because this kind of involved her.

“The boys are going to watch you and Flynn again today.” I leaned forward kissed her forehead, then rolled over to sit up.

She straightened up. “You’re leaving so soon?”

“Claudius wants us there early. We have stuff to tend to. I’ll have the boys here and we have people keeping watch on Franco too. We haven’t seen anything yet.”

“Dante …”

I turned back to face her and couldn’t ignore the sadness in her eyes.

“Maria, look this is hard because it is. There’re certain things I can’t tell you and certain things I shouldn’t tell you. You know how it works. We keep our women out of business for a reason.”

“I need to know something. You know me, I may not be in any kind of position to make demands, but if you’re with me I need to know something more than you’ll be out for the day. Something so I’m not left wondering what you’re doing.” She winced.

“Goddess, rest assured I will never cheat on you.” I knew she wasn’t talking about that, but I thought I’d try to side-track her if I could.

“I’m not talking about that. I just want to know you’re safe. I just need to know you’re careful.”

As I looked at her I couldn’t help but wonder if it would be so bad to tell her. Tell her something. Just in this instance, because this was about Christina. So far, we’d managed to do our digging under wraps. The most dangerous thing we were actually up against was Franco and the possibility that he’d found her. It was kind of looking like he hadn’t.

So, it boiled down to this decade long investigation that we’d taken on ourselves, because Claudius tried another path no one else would have explored.

I stood up, dragged on my boxers and returned my focus to her.

“It’s about Christina,” I stated.

“What?” she gasped. “What do you mean?”

“We found some new stuff and I’m looking into it.”

Her face went pale. “What kind of stuff?”

“Names and different avenues. People I may not have considered in my search.”

“Search?”

“Maria, you know me. She was my sister and her killer was never found. You knew I never stopped looking and searching. You know I would never. This is a chance for me to get answers.”

“Is it dangerous? Dante is what you’re doing dangerous?” A tear ran down her cheek.

I thought it was best to stop right there and not tell her I was going into Antonella territory.

I went back on the bed and took her hands into mine, bringing her hands up to my lips to kiss. “I’m going to be careful Maria. I am. Sweet Maria, Christina was your best friend. She looked up to you and loved you, just as much as me. Someone killed her and we don’t know who did it. You can’t tell me not to do this. You can’t. Just try to, say the words.”

She looked at me and I knew she couldn’t say the words.

Of everyone who loved Christina, we both deserved answers. We’d seen the nightmare and no one could tell me it was wrong to find answers.

Answers and justice.