CHAPTER SEVEN

I woke to an empty bed and sunlight streaming through the floor to ceiling windows. For a disorienting second, I forgot where I was but then the events of last night came rushing back and I pressed my face into the pillow that still smelled like Dante's cologne.

This was insane. All of it.

The sound of rhythmic thumping came from somewhere deeper in the penthouse and I sat up slowly running my hands through my tangled hair. The clock on the nightstand read seven thirty which meant I had gotten maybe four hours of sleep.

The thumping continued and curiosity got the better of me. I slid out of bed and followed the sound down a hallway until I found a door slightly ajar with light spilling out.

I pushed it open and stopped dead.

It was the home gym and in the center of it was Dante on a heavy bag. Shirtless. His back was to me and I watched the muscles flex and shift under his skin with each punch and I tried to remember how to breathe.

He was built like someone who took fighting seriou