CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 8

My blood froze and it felt so cold i thought it turned to ice. Every muscle in my body locked solid. Dante's head lifted slowly from between my thighs, his eyes locking onto mine in the moonlit

darkness. They weren't playful or hungry anymore. They were sharp, alert and focused.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

I didn't feel my heartbeat beating in my chest anymore. I felt it in my throat, my ears and my fingertips.

"Callie? Honey, are you okay?" Mom's voice was closer now, right on the other side of my door. The knob jiggled.

Oh, thank god, Thank god I'd locked it out of habit.

“I—” My voice came out in a strangled croak. I cleared my throat, pushing myself up on trembling elbows. “I'm fine, Mom! Sorry! Bad dream. It's a spider, A really big spider. On my…uh…neck! Yes. On my neck" I was babbling nonsense out of pure panic.

Dante hadn't moved a millimeter. He was still on his knees between my sprawled legs, my shorts discarded on the floor beside him. He looked like a statue that represented nothing but sin. Slowly, silently, he reached out and pulled the edge of my comforter over my lap, covering me. The gesture was so at odds with the situation it made my head spin.

"A spider?" Mom's voice was laced with sleepy concern. “Do you want me to come in and check?”

"NO!" I yelped, then forced a laugh, It sounded hysterical. "No, its…it's gone, I smashed it. With a book. All good, Go back to bed, really, I'm sorry I woke you.”

There was a pause. The longest pause in the history of pauses. I could picture her standing there in her robe, head tilted. Her mother-senses must be tingling.

"Okay, sweetie,” she said finally, but she didn't sound convinced, “Try to get some sleep. Big day tomorrow," I heard her slippered feet shuffle away, but they stopped not far down the hall. I was so sure she was still there, listening and waiting.

The moment her footsteps faded, Dante moved. But not how I expected. He didn't scramble for the window. He didn't dive under the bed. In one fluid motion, he rose from his knees and sat down

on the edge of my bed, his back against my headboard.

Then he hooked an arm around my waist and pulled me sideways, So I was half-sprawled across his lap, my back to his chest, the comforter tangled around us. He pressed a finger to my lips, his own mouth next to my ear.

“Stay still" he breathed, the words so quietIy felt them more than heard them, "Breathe, Normal.”

Normal? My lungs felt like they were made of something soxt because they don't work anymore. He was hard and warm and utterly solid behind me, like a rock despite my panic I could feel the steady, calm thud of his heart against my shoulder blade.

How was he so calm?

We sat frozen in the dim glow of my fairy lights for what felt like an eternity, Iistening, I heard the low murmur of my parents' voices down the hall, My dad's deeper tone was asking a question, My mom's softer reply was answering it. A door closed. It was their bedroom door. I sagged against Dante, a shaky exhale leaving me.

"Oh my god."

“Shhh," he soothed me, his hand rubbing slow circles on my arm. "They're gone."

The relief was so immense it was immediately followed by a fresh wave of terror, "You have to go, Right now. Before they decide to come check on me again."

“In a minute," he murmured, his nose shifting my hair aside so his lips could find the spot on my neck again. His other hand, the one not holding me, slid under the comforter, resting possessively on my bare thigh.

"Dante. No," I hissed, trying to twist away, but he held me fast. “Are you crazy? They were right there!"

“I know," he said, and he actually sounded amused. The adrenaline was clearly affecting him differently than me. It made him dark and playful. "It was the hottest thing I've ever experienced.”

“You're insane.”

“For you, Sunshine, Only for you,” He kissed my shoulder, "Now, where were we?”

“We were at 'you leaving through the window!” I whisper-shouted.

He chuckled, the vibration rumbling through me. "I

believe we were right here." His hand slid higher up my thigh, “And you were about five seconds from screaming for a very different reason,"

My body, the ultimate traitor, reacted instantly to his touch, to the memory of his mouth on me., A fresh, aching heat pooled low in my belly. This was wrong. So wrong. We were in my childhood bed, my parents down the hall, and I was naked from the waist down under a comforter I'd had since I was twelve, with a

man who could ruin everything.

“I can't" I whimpered, but it was weak. My head fell back against his shoulder.

“You can," he insisted, his fingers tracing teasing patterns, "You're still wound so tight. Let me finish what I started. Quietly."

He shifted, turning me in his arms until I was facing him, straddling his lap. The comforter fell away, and the cool air hit my skin, followed immediately by the scorching heat of his body through his jeans, He looked up at me, his grey eyes black in the low light, his expression completely serious now.

“I need to taste you again," he said, like it was a vital mission, "I need to feel you come apart against my mouth. Let me do this, I'll be quiet. You have to be quiet too. Can you do that for me?"

I was lost, Drowning in him, I gave one jerky, frantic

nod. That was all the permission he needed, His hands gripped my hips and lifted me as if I weighed nothing, shifting us down the bed until he was lying back on my pillow and I was kneeling over his face. The sight alone with me hovering above him, him looking up at me with fierce, unwavering hunger-was enough to short circuit my last functioning brain cell.

He pulled me down,

His mouth was even hotter, more demanding than before, There was no slow build-up this time, It was an outright assault on my senses, expertly calculated and devastatingly effective, I slapped a hand over my own mouth, my other hand flying out to brace against the headboard.

Quiet, I had to be qujet.

It was impossible. Every lick, every suck, every flick of his tongue sent shockwaves through me that begged to be voiced. Whimpers and moans were trapped behind my palm, coming out as desperate, choked puffs of air. My hips moved on their own, rocking against his mouth, seeking more, more, more of the unbearable, exquisite

friction.

He held me in place, his hands firm on my ass, guiding me, controlling the rhythm. His eyes were open, watching me unravel above him, and the intensity in his gaze pushed me closer to the edge than any physical touch ever could.

The pressure built like a coil folding tighter and tighter in my core, My thighs began to shake violently. Stars burst behind my clenched eyelids, I was biting the heel of my hand so hard I was sure it would leave marks.

Dante felt it-the impending crash, He redoubled his efforts, his tongue finding that one perfect spot and concentrating all its attention there.

That was it.

The world shattered into a million silent, glittering pieces. My entire body convulsed, a soundless screamtearing through me as the climax ripped me apart. I saw white. I forgot my name. I forgot where I was. There was only the tidal wave of pleassure and the man who commanded it.

When I finally collapsed, boneless and trembling to the side of him, he caught me and gathered me against hischest. He was breathing hard, too, his heart hammering against my cheek. He pressed a kiss to my sweaty temple.

"Good girl," he whispered, his voice thick with satisfaction, "So fucking quiet."

We lay there for a few minutes, just breathing, the only sounds our gradually slowing heartbeats and the distant chirp of crickets outside. The reality of the situation began to seep back in, cold and sobering.

“You really, really have to go now," I said, my voice hoarse.

He sighed, a sound of pure reluctance, “I know," He sat up, and I immediately felt the loss of his warmth. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood, adjusting his jeans, He looked massive and utterly out of place in the delicate room.

I scrambled off the bed, pulling the sheet around myself, and followed him to the window. The night air was cool as he pushed it open further. He turned back to me, cupping my face in his hands. "Tomorrow," he said, not a question. But like he was promise.

*Tomorrow," I repeated.

He kissed me, deep and lingering, a brand. Then, with the agility of a cat, he swung one leg over the sill, found his footing on the trellis, and began to climb down. I watched until his dark head disappeared into the bushes below.

I closed the window softly, locked it, and leaned my forehead against the cool glass. My body still hummed with the aftershocks of what he'd done, My room smelled like him. He usually smelled like spice and mínt.

I was crawling back into my tangle of sheets, my mind and body utterly spent, when I saw a glint of silver on my pale pink rug, next to the bed.

His wallet.

My heart stopped, He must have pulled it out of his back pocket when he sat on the bed and it had fallen. I snatched it up. It was warm, worn black leather. If my mom came in to vacuum tomorrow…

I didn't think, I just acted. I opened the window again, the lock opening with a squeak.

“Dante!" I whispered into the darkness. He came out from the shadows beside my dad's truck, a dark silhouette, He looked up.

“Your wallet!" I held it out.

He jogged back, his footsteps silent on the wet grass. When he was directly below, I dropped it. He caught it neatly in one hand and shoved it in his pocket, He gave me a salute and a grin that lookef pure devilish. Then my parents' bedroom window, which was right above the porch roof, slid open. My dad's head popped out.

"Callie?" he boomed, his voice scratchy with sleep. “What in the hell are you doing? It's two in the morning!"

My eyes shot to Dante, but he'd already back into the shadows. I looked up at my dad, his grumpy face illuminated by the porch light he had just turned on. I raised up my empty hands, my heart doing a dance against my ribs.

“Just getting some air, Dad. Couldn't sleep."

He squinted down at me, then his gaze swept over the dark yard, It lingered for a second on the spot where Dante had just been. A deep frown etched itself onto his face.

“Close the window and go to bed," he said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Now.”

He didn't wait for a reply, He pulled his head in and slammed his window shut. I closed my window, locked it, and slid down to the floor, my back against the wall.

He had seen something. Or he had sensed it, Dad always had a sixth sense for trouble. Down the hall, I heard his bedroom door open, and his heavy footsteps approach my room. He stopped right outside my door and knocked.

“Callie?” He called out softly, making me almost jump against the door. I opened. It slightly.

“Yes, dad?” I poked my head out the door.

His eyes softened as he saw me. “Can we talk?” He asked.

My heart skipped a beat. Did he…did he see Dante? No. No way in hell. I swallowed.

“O…of course. Just give me a sec,” I said and slammed my door back, putting on my clothes and heading into the hallway.

“What was he doing here at this time of the night?” He asked and all the air left my lungs.