Dante's Angel (12 page)

“Oh, Zoe—”

 
“No, please, just listen.” She set her glass
down and reached out for his hands. When their hands were linked, she looked
down at them. “I’ve been so afraid of how I feel for you. About lying to you
about who I really am, and about how you’d feel when I told you the truth. I
couldn’t…we couldn’t be together until you knew. You deserve the truth.”

“I’m glad you
told me. I needed to know.”

“I know.” She
looked up, meeting his gaze. “I’ve been afraid of falling in love with you, but
I’m not afraid anymore. I know you probably need time to think about how you
feel about all this—” She let out a gasp as he jerked her into his arms,
dragging her body so she was sprawled across his lap. One of his arms wound
around her waist, pressing her against him as the other cupped her cheek so
gently, it was like a whisper against her skin.

“Do you really
want to know how I feel?”

The tenderness
in his voice almost broke her, but she continued to stare into his ice-blue
eyes as she nodded. “I really do.”

“Angelica,
Claudia, Zoe…whatever name you go by, I know you.”

“So, you
haven’t changed your mind about me after everything I’ve told you?”

Dante wanted
to scoff. Change his mind about her? Hell-fucking-no, he hadn’t changed his
mind. If anything, hearing her story only made him love her more. He’d been
honest when he’d told her she was the most amazing woman he’d ever known, and now
he was more determined than ever to claim her as his own.

Seeing her
eyes shimmering with hope had him biting back any sarcastic remark he would
have made to cover how uncomfortable he was talking about his feelings. “Let me
make something clear, Zoe. You’re mine and I’m yours. That’s the way it’s gonna
be between us. It’s the way it has to be. I love you too damn much to accept
anything less.”

Her eyes
widened. “You…you love me?”

“Hell, yes, I
do. Do you really think I’d let you run my life like you do if I didn’t?”

Indignation
had her brow furrowing. “I do not run your life.”

Damn, he sure
loved it when she got snippy. “Sure, you do. I like how bossy you are. Besides,
I boss you around right back. Not that you listen to me much,” he added. “You’re
it for me, Zoe. My perfect match.”

“Oh, God. I
love you, too. So much that it hurt not to tell you who I really was.” Tears
sparkled in her eyes again, but this time it was with a look of such happiness,
he felt his own heart ache.

“I know you,”
Dante repeated as he leaned closer and brushed his lips against hers. “I love
you, angel. No more running. You’re home now.”

Chapter Eight

With a cry of
joy, Zoe wrapped her arms around Dante’s neck and kissed him with all the love
and passion she felt for him.

She wanted to
burrow as close as possible to him, to feel the warmth of his skin pressed
against hers. Pleasure exploded inside her at his taste. It felt like a dream,
finally hearing the words she’d longed to hear from him…and knowing that he was
saying it to her, the real her, made her heart soar.

He knew
everything now, and still wanted her.

No, not just
want…he loved her.

If it was a
dream, she never wanted to wake up. Now that all restrictions were gone, she
gave her desire free rein. Her tongue stroked over his lower lip, and she heard
him groan. His mouth opened, his tongue meeting hers in an erotic dance that soothed
her frazzled nerves and excited her at the same time.

 
It felt like touching flames, and the heat
seared her straight to her core.

Taking over,
Dante’s tongue plunged deep, taking and tasting in equal measure. He drank down
her moans of pleasure as he held her in a fierce embrace. Hands stroked over
her back, moving under her shirt so that his fingers glided over warm skin.

She shivered
in reaction.

Zoe felt
herself melting into him, felt his hard muscular body tighten with need as she
took her own turn at touching him. One of her hands moved down so it rested on
his chest, and she felt the rapid beat of his heart beneath her palm.

This was what
she’d wanted.

The freedom to
touch him, to explore his body with her hands, her mouth…her tongue.

Images of what
she wanted to do to him flickered into her head, and she clenched her legs
together as she felt the answering slickness between her thighs. Her fingertips
trailed over his shoulders, digging in as he sucked her at her tongue. She
arched closer, reeling from the sensations he produced inside her. Her hands
moved, sliding down his arms until she was gripping the bulging muscles of his
biceps.

God, she loved
his arms. Just looking at them could make her want to pant, but touching them
sparked her desire into overdrive. She sensed the coiled power in those
straining muscles, and a feminine thrill raced through her.

Dante Fox was
like a powerful beast, wild and untamed…and he was all hers.

Wanting him
closer, she tried to shift on his lap so she could straddle him, but he held
her in place. When he pulled back, they were both panting. Zoe’s heart was beating
so hard she could hear it over the sound of rain pounding against the windows.
“W-why did you stop?”

“Not like
this, angel. I don’t want your first time to be like this.”

Confusion
filled her. “But Dante, I told you. I’m not a—”

“You are,” he
growled, his blue eyes icing over with a dark fury. “What that motherfucker did
to you doesn’t count. Not when it comes to your first time.”

Dante pressed
his face against the nape of her neck. He nuzzled there, just breathing her in.
He’d hoped taking a break would help calm the lust careening through his system,
but her sweet scent drove him absolutely out of his mind. She smelled of sex
and sin, and love.

Son of a
bitch, did love have a scent?

He really must
be going crazy.

She’d just
told him one of the most horrific stories he’d ever heard, and all he could do
was think about was pulling her beneath him, where he could show her what
pleasure really was. Just thinking about how it would feel to be inside her
made his cock throb so hard it hurt.

Christ, he really
was a bastard.

Kissing her
had been a revelation. Even now, he could still taste her. Her lips were so
soft and sweet, he wanted to keeping kissing her until they both ran out of air.
He wanted to strip her out of her clothes and touch her everywhere. To stroke
his hands over her silky smooth skin and hear her cry out his name as he made
her come, over and over again. Hunger swept through him with the force of a
hurricane, making him mad with need.

Damn it, he
needed to get his shit together.

His arms
tightened around her, holding her in place when she began to pull away from him.
Hell, no. She wasn’t going anywhere. As if she sensed what he was thinking, she
stilled. Even as he cursed himself again, he felt her sigh as she rested her
head on his shoulder.

“Dante?”

He wanted to
wince as he heard the slight hesitation in her voice. “Yeah, angel?”

“If you don’t
want me anymore maybe you should just let me get up—”

Dante growled
low in his throat as his head whipped up. He stared at her incredulously. “Not
want you? Baby, I want you more than I want to breathe.”

“I want you,
too. So, why—?”

“I just need a
minute. I’m feeling a little out of control here and I don’t want to scare
you.”

There was a
long pause, then she whispered, “I kinda like you out of control.”

Son of a bitch,
was she trying to kill him?

Dante huffed
out a laugh. If he moved, he felt like he might break something. And his dick
was so stiff, that was a real possibility. That was it. He really had lost his
mind.

He took a deep
breath. Leaving her alone was just not going happen. He wanted her too fucking
much. But it was important for him to make sure he took things slow with her
now that he knew what she’d been through. Just the thought that he might do something
to trigger a bad memory for her made him feel ill.

“I want to
make love with you, Dante. Right here, right now.”

Her words made
his body shudder. Fuck, he felt as nervous as a teenager necking on the couch
with his girl for the first time. He’d never been with a virgin before—not even
for his own first time—and the thought was intimidating as hell. Her previous
experience had been an abomination, and Dante was determined to use all his
skills to make sure he showed her nothing but pleasure when he touched her.

Pushing aside
his own nerves, he stroked his hands up and down her arms as he kissed her
again. Once more, he pulled back. Staring into her eyes, he slowly began to
raise her shirt. “Let’s get this off you, baby.”

She lifted her
arms up as she let him remove her shirt. When it was off, her arms raised to
instinctively cover herself. His hands gently gripped her wrists, holding her
in place. Flawless golden skin was highlighted by the pale candlelight, and he
could see the musical note tattoos running up both her sides.

“I’m not that
big…”

“You’re
fucking perfect.” Proving it, Dante reached up and cupped her breasts in his
large hands. She fit him perfectly, and he could feel her hard nipples stabbing
at the center of his palms through the thin material of her bra. He wanted to
remove the barrier, but didn’t want to freak her out by pushing too fast.

“See, honey?
You fill my hands, just like I knew you would. You’re so slim that I’m
surprised you’re so full here,” he said, his Texas drawl becoming thicker as he
continued. “I’ve wanted my hands on you for so long that this is like heaven.
Does it feel good, sugar?”

“Yes…oh,
yes….”

“Good.” Moving
a little, he brushed his thumbs over her nipples and felt her shiver in
reaction. “Normally, I have pretty decent control of myself, but whenever I’m
around you I’m a walking hard-on,” he said, trying to sound casual as he
continued to touch her. “Maybe it’s because I haven’t had sex in over six
months—”

“Three,” she
corrected as she closed her eyes. “We made the bet three months ago.”

“I know,
angel. But I haven’t slept with anyone since I met you.”

Shocked eyes flew
open to meet his. “What?”

“You heard me.
I wanted you, and only you, but you kept turning me down. I tried,” he
admitted. “But even kissing someone else felt wrong. I felt like I was
betraying you, so I stopped. That’s why I thought up the bet. I had to get you
to take me seriously.”

“I didn’t
know,” she whispered.

“I know you
didn’t.” But now that he knew about her past, he was glad he’d waited for her. Her
body had gone stiff, so Dante began stroking his hands up and down her back to
soothe her. He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers again. “You’ve been
mine since we met. I might not have known it at first, but now that I know you
love me, there is no going back.”

Zoe saw the
hunger burning in his ice-blue eyes.

For her. It
was all for her.

She wanted to
belong to him, but she also wanted to claim him as her own. In order to do
that, she needed to gather her courage and tell him exactly what she wanted.
“Off,” she ordered as she pulled at his shirt. “I want everything off. I need—”

 
Before she could say anything else, he lifted
her off his lap and placed her on the couch next to him. She immediately felt chilled
at the loss of his heat, and wanted to pull him back to her, but then he stood
up and began striping off his clothes.

She watched as
Dante fisted the back of the t-shirt he wore, pulling it over his head. He
dropped it on the floor, and her mouth dropped open at the sight of his
muscular chest. Oh boy, all those late night workouts were certainly paying off…Dante
was absolutely ripped.

His abs looked
like they were made out of sculpted marble, the contours so defined it was hard
to believe they were real. Tattoos covered both of his arms, including a Ranger
tattoo on his left arm right below his shoulder. She saw it as a badge of
honor, a symbol of what he’d been through, and what made him the man he was
today.

He had a light
dusting of dark hair on his chest that trailed down past the waistband of his sweatpants.
He also had another tattoo on the right side of his torso that must have been a
recent addition, since she’d never seen it before. She wanted to stroke her
hands over him, to touch every inch of him, but before she could, he pushed
down his sweatpants so he stood before her completely naked.

Zoe forgot how
to breathe.

Her eyes went
huge as her gaze roamed over the lower half of his body. His cock was thick
with lust, so hard it almost slapped against his stomach. Fascinated, she
watched as the large stalk throbbed slightly, then she gasped as a small drop
of pre-cum seeped from the ruddy tip.

 
Dante wanted her to be comfortable with him so
he stood still, letting her look her fill. He knew he was fit, but damn, she
was looking at him as if he were some sort of god. Wrapping his large hand
around his cock, he started stroking himself as he continued watching her
reaction. There was something highly erotic about touching himself while she
watched.

“You’re…”

Trying for a
little levity, he said, “You know what they say about everything being bigger
in Texas. Don’t worry, baby, we’ll fit just fine. I won’t hurt you.”

Soft eyes met
his gaze as she whispered, “You’re beautiful.”

God, he loved
her. Seeing himself through her eyes humbled him. He wanted to give her romance
for their first time together, but he felt too wild and out of control to wait
much longer. He fought the urge to pounce on her, and pushed the coffee table
back a few inches, slowly lowering to his knees in front of her.

“This is
yours,” he said in a low growl as he continued to stroke his cock. “And I’ll
let you have it, but first we have to get you ready.”

He let go of
himself, and pulled at her legs until she was lying down on the couch. Her breathing
came in short pants, but there was no fear in her eyes. His watchful gaze never
left hers as he reached for her shoes, taking them off one by one. “Do you know
what I’m going to do to you? Would you like me to tell you, sweetheart?”

“I’d rather
you show me,” she answered breathlessly.

His laughter
was low and sinfully wicked. “Oh, angel. I promise I’ll show you. But first, I
want you to understand what’s coming so you won’t get scared.”

Her brows
furrowed as she frowned. “Dante, I’m not—”

“First, I’m
going to fuck you with my fingers,” he said cutting off whatever she was going
to say. When her breath hitched, he nodded, pleased with her reaction. He began
to unfasten her jeans, then he slowly slid them down her legs, pulling her
panties with them.

“I’m going to
stroke them inside you until you come. Then, I’m going to do it again with my
tongue until you’re screaming my name. When your tight little pussy is wet and
ready for me, I’m going to push my cock deep inside you. So deep, you’ll see
just how well we fit together. You’ll like that, won’t you, sweetheart?”

“Oh, God.
Dante…”

He tossed her
clothes on the floor, then reached up to removed her bra, baring her breasts to
his heated gaze. He let out a low groan at the perfection of her naked body
splayed out before him. “Sweet Jesus, baby. You’re so damn beautiful it hurts
to look at you. And you’re bare here…so soft and sweet.”