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“This is the guest room.” Dante pauses in front of the door beside his bedroom and swings it open.
Flashes of that night surge to the forefront of my mind again. My fingers clenching his sheets as he runs his thick cock across my pulsing center from behind, then slides a finger inside me. I shudder. Heat pools between my legs, and I squeeze my eyes shut to chase away the much too vivid images.
“You okay?” He moves closer, his warm breath spilling over the shell of my ear and goosebumps ripple across my arms. “Why do you always shiver like that?”
I shrug and take a gigantic step back, putting some distance between us. “Always cold, I guess.”
“Well, start wearing more clothes or something. I like my place at a comfortable sixty-nine degrees.”
“Of course you would.” I shoot him a smirk.
He rolls his eyes, but the ghost of a grin tickles his lips. Gawd, he’s just unfairly good-looking when he smiles. He motions through the doorway. “Well, go ahead and make yourself comfortable. If you need anything else from your apartment, I’ll have Aldo get it.”
I nod. “You don’t even give your guys a break for Christmas?” Which reminds me it’s freakin’ Christmas Eve and Dante doesn’t even have a tree up in the living room. This really is the worst Christmas ever.
“They get paid well so I don’t get any complaints.”
“They’re probably scared you’d shoot them if they did.” I curl my arms across my chest, lean against the doorframe and throw him a cheeky grin.
“Rose,cazzo, you can’t just blurt shit like that. What if it slips out in front of someone who doesn’t know about the Kings?”
“Relax, Dante. I’ve kept my mouth shut for months, ever since Stella spilled all your dirty little secrets. Why would I out you guys now?”
He shakes his head. “Things are going to be different now with you staying here. You might overhear or see things you shouldn’t. It’s absolutely necessary, more for your sake than my own, that you forget all of it. Do you understand?”
Staying here? He makes it sound like a permanent arrangement. “Yes, I get it,” I finally grumble.
Dante marches into my new bedroom and drops my bag on the bed. “There’s a bathroom through that door and that’s the closet.”
“Great.” I eye the light gray walls and interior designer touches. No way he put this place together by himself. Nothing about the penthouse says Dante. “Any luck finding the guy?” My voice hitches a notch.
“No,” he snarls. “And your Dr. Mark coincidentally seems to have disappeared too.”
“What?” A twinge of icy fear ripples up my spine.
“I’ve been trying to find him myself, but the good doctor has vanished.”
“It’s Christmas break, D. There’s hardly anyone in the city besides tourists. That must be it, right?”
His jaw ticks and that tendon beneath the scruffy jaw rages. “Could be.”
Oh God, Mark could be out there somewhere looking for me… A strange choking sound slips through my clenched teeth. Dante surges forward, his massive body suddenly surrounding me. His gaze darkens as he regards me, brows furrowed. “I swore to you that no one would hurt you again, and I meant it.” He points back and forth between our chests. “This shit between us doesn’t matter. I will protect you no matter what, understand, Rosa?”
My chin dips, the intensity in his gaze too piercing to hold.
His hands close around my shoulders and squeeze. “No one fucks with what’s mine and lives.”
My head bounces up and down. I don’t know why but I need to hear it. And somehow Dante knows. That violence, that darkness, it calls to me.
He releases me, and my body sags forward, instantly missing his touch. “I have to make some calls. I’ve had my guys scouring the city for any lowlife women-abusing scum just in case it isn’t your ex.”
“Thanks for this.” I tick my head at the neatly made bed. “You didn’t have to—”
“I already told you I’m not in the habit of doing things I don’t want to. I’m also not some fucking knight in shining armor so manage your expectations, sweetheart.”
“Right.” I bite down on my lower lip as a wave of exhaustion takes hold. It’s not even nine yet, and there’s nothing I want more than to sleep and forget all about the last few days.
Dante moves toward the door, and it takes all my willpower not to beg him to stay until I fall asleep. If it hadn’t been for my sleepover with Maisy last night, I never would’ve slept a wink. As soon as my eyes close, I see him. I hear that voice.
