Dante's Angel (14 page)

He frowned at
her. “I wasn’t exactly gentle before—”

“And I loved
every minute of it.” Leaning down so her lips were a breath away from his, she
whispered, “It took me awhile to learn how to ride my motorcycle, but I think
I’ve got the hang of this already.”

His laugh
turned into a groan as she began to move, sliding her slick, wet heat over him.
“Damn, woman. You’re already so good if you get any better, you’re gonna kill
me.”

Yes, there was
love between them. Dante could see it shining in her dark eyes as she looked
down at him. He drank in the sight of her moving over him like some golden
goddess bathed in candlelight, and he knew without a doubt that he’d never seen
anything more beautiful.

She was his
now, and he’d never let anyone hurt her ever again.

He’d damn well
make sure of it.

Chapter Nine

The next
several days passed by in a blur.

That first
night Zoe and Dante spent together had been magical. They’d rested on the
couch, making love a few more times before he’d carried her to his bedroom
where they’d fallen into a deep sleep with their bodies entwined.

And waking up
in Dante’s arms the next morning had been like a dream for her.

It had been
late in the afternoon when they’d finally woken, and Zoe had smiled at the way
Dante had wrapped his large body around hers as if to protect her even in
sleep. They’d showered together, which led to another round of hot, steamy sex
before they’d stumbled into the kitchen to make breakfast.

When the rain
continued to fall, Dante had insisted she leave her motorcycle in the garage. He
drove them back to town in his truck, and she’d insisted on stopping by her
apartment to change her clothes before they went to work. It had been
surprising just how comfortable they’d been with one another after their night
of loving. Zoe had worried about feeling awkward with him, but it hadn’t been
strained at all.

It was as if
they’d always been together.

Zoe had been
careful at the bar, not wanting the other employees to feel weird about her
relationship with the boss. She’d made Dante promise to behave while they were
at work, but it had all been for nothing. There was no way to hide the loving
glances they sent one another, nor was it possible to conceal the gentle
caresses they gave each other whenever they were close.

She’d been
baffled when every single employee had thanked her for the improvement in
Dante’s mood, and she’d outright laughed when GT had gleefully told her she’d
won the bet. Dante hadn’t been amused when Zoe told him about the wager the
employees had made about them, but he’d found the humor in it after she’d joked
about their own foolish bet they’d made.

“So, who won
ours?” she’d asked playfully.

“We both did,”
was his simple reply.

Was it any
wonder she was in love with him?

Overall, the
employees and the patrons of the bar didn’t treat Zoe any differently, which
pleased her greatly. They were so busy with the spring break crowd that she
didn’t have much time to dwell on her worries, anyway.

There had been
only one incident that had called attention to her and Dante’s relationship
that had given her pause. One drunk local from the next town over who had an
issue with Dante had tried to start shit by sneering at Zoe as he’d tried to
give her a new nickname…Fox’s hole.

Unfortunately
for the idiot, he’d made the comment in front of Dante, who had promptly
smashed his fist into the guy’s face, knocking him out cold. The people who’d
been standing near them had frozen in place. The mood had shifted as Samantha
Kane casually poured the rest of her beer on the unconscious man to wake him
up.

When he came
to sputtering, she’d stared down at him in disgust. “Cool off, asshole.”

Reggie had
lifted the man up with one hand, then dragged him out of the bar as the patrons
had roared with laughter. Dante had smiled at Sam and said, “Your next beer is
on the house.”

Dante had been
pissed about what the man said, but Zoe had quickly calmed him down after she’d
dragged him back into his office to kiss him silly. They’d locked the door and
made love on his desk, both of them desperate for one another. By the time they
were done, all the items on his desk had been shoved off and papers covered the
floor. Zoe had ordered him to clean up the mess, winking at him as she left the
room while he’d stood there laughing.

Since their
first night together, she and Dante spent every waking moment together. They
still bickered, but their disagreements usually ended with him kissing her
senseless instead of him stomping off like he used to.

When they were
alone, they talked about everything, holding nothing back. She told him more
about her life, and how isolated and alone she’d felt before meeting her
friend, Ashley. When she finally informed him about who her father was, she’d expected
him to be impressed, and maybe a little intimidated. Her father was an
important businessman, after all. But it had only made her love him more when
Dante had just shrugged and said, “Who cares, he’s still an asshole. No amount
of money can change that.”

In turn, Dante
talked about his own childhood. He told her about his mother leaving, and how
it had affected his family. She could tell it hurt him, even though he
pretended it didn’t. She loved hearing the funny stories he told about growing
up at the bar, and she enjoyed hearing about his father and sister. Zoe could
tell that Dante was proud of both of them. She loved Malcolm Fox, but she’d
never met Danica, Dante’s sister, and couldn’t wait to meet her.

Zoe was
surprised when Dante spoke of his time in the Army, telling her about some of
the more harrowing situations he’d been involved in. He didn’t give her
specifics, but she could tell that his time overseas had changed him. She
understood how circumstances could alter a person, and when he told her about
some of the issues he still had, she’d simply wrapped her arms around him and told
him how much she loved him.

Each night,
Dante made love to her over and over again until they fell asleep, exhausted
and sated. Somehow their love seemed to keep their nightmares at bay. Just as
he’d said, they were perfect for one another. They were both survivors, and it
only made their bond stronger.

It wasn’t
until Zoe’s day off that she discovered just how tense Dante was about her
situation. It was Sunday, and Zoe wasn’t scheduled to work. Normally, she
looked forward to her time off, but this would be the first time since she’d
told him about her past that they wouldn’t be spending the day together.

The Saturday
night crowd hadn’t seemed to want to go home after last call had been
announced, and both Zoe and Dante were exhausted by the time they’d stumbled
into her apartment. He never slept well in her queen size bed when he stayed
over. He was a big man, and she always laughed when she saw his feet hanging off
the end of the bed when they woke up.

That morning,
Dante was in a particularly bad mood. He’d brooded over their breakfast, then
he’d loved her with a desperation that had slightly alarmed her as they’d
shared a hot shower together. She waited him out, sure he wouldn’t be able to
contain what was bothering him for long. As she expected, she’d just finished
drying her hair when he finally erupted.

“This is
bullshit. You should be come to the bar with me instead of taking the day off.”

Looking at him
blandly in the mirror, she continued brushing her hair. “Nope. I’m having lunch
with Kali at the bakery today, then we’re meeting Francesca to go shopping at
some of the boutiques on the boardwalk. I might stop at Fight Hard for a workout
when we’re done. Since Evie and Dare are going on a doggie adoption today, they
aren’t having their usual Sunday barbeque at their place, so you can come over
later and I’ll make you dinner.”

She loved
spending time with Dante, but the truth was, she wasn’t used to having a man in
her life. She was looking forward to having a little time with her friends. It
would also be nice to have a few hours alone to think about everything that had
happened over the last few weeks.

Dante was
larger than life, and when he was around, it was difficult for her to think about
anything but him. Zoe loved him, but she couldn’t spend all her time with him,
no matter how much she wanted to. That wouldn’t be good for either of them.

Dante frowned.
“I’ll meet you at the gym.”

She shook her
head. “You can’t take off until later. Brix has a meeting this afternoon with
that art gallery in Houston that he doesn’t want anyone to know about. He won’t
be back until later this evening. You have to manage things at the bar until he
gets there.”

“Damn it. I don’t
want you out of my sight.”

That statement
made her laugh. “You’re just irritated because you hate working days.” Her smiled
faded. “Dante, what’s going on? Why are you so upset?”

“I just think
you should come to the bar with me. We still have work to do for the
anniversary party this weekend. Plus, you don’t even like shopping.”

She studied
his tight expression, and understanding dawned. “Nothing about my situation has
changed. Paul Wei isn’t going to show up on the boardwalk or pop out of the
bushes at me. He has no clue where I am, and no one in town knows about me
besides you…well, and Nikita.”

His eyes
widened. “You told her?”

She hesitated
before admitting, “No. She did a background check on me when we became friends.
She doesn’t know everything, but she knows enough.”

He sighed.
“That doesn’t surprise me. Still, I don’t like you going off on your own
today.”

“You don’t
have to like it, but you do have to deal with it.” Her eyes narrowed. “Is this
why you’ve been spending so much time with me? Because you’re worried about me?”

“What?” He
scowled. “Can’t a man just like spending time with his woman? And I’m not
worried. I’m not a girl. I’m concerned about your situation. I’d be stupid not
to be.”

His woman?
Dante was such a caveman sometimes, but Zoe wasn’t about to admit that hearing
him call her that gave her a secret little thrill. But his comment about not
being worried made her roll her eyes. “What kind of shit is that? Men can’t
worry?”

“Nope. We’re
concerned. We don’t worry.”

“You’re an
idiot.”

Laughing, he
pulled her to him for a hard kiss.

They left her
apartment, holding hands as they walked down the street. The day was perfect,
with puffy white clouds floating over a backdrop of bright blue sky. There was
a cool breeze in the air, making it necessary for both of them to wear zip-up
hoodies to combat the chill. Zoe sighed in contentment as she tilted her head
back a little, letting the sun kiss her face.

Dante glanced
over at her at the sound. “What was that for?”

Giving his
hand a little squeeze, she said, “This is nice. I like walking around our town
with you.” Her voice lowered to make sure no one would overhear what she was
saying. “Being with you, I can be myself. It’s…freeing.”

Dante pulled
them to a stop. Using their clasped hands, he tugged her closer. His other hand
wrapped around the back of her neck, pulling her closer until his lips pressed
against hers. “I can be myself with you, too,” he said softly. “And it’s a damn
good feeling.”

A car honked,
making Zoe jump. Dante chuckled as he raised his middle finger into the air as
one of his friends waved his hand out of the car window in greeting as he drove
by them.

Zoe slapped
Dante’s hand down. “Stop that. We’re on the street and people can see you.”

“What’s the
point of flipping someone off if they can’t see?”

She sighed. “What
am I going to do with you?”

“Let’s go back
home and I’ll show you exactly what you can do to me.”

Her blood
heated and her breath hitched as he nipped playfully at her neck. Zoe still
wasn’t used to public displays of affection, but Dante didn’t seem to give a
damn who saw them. “Behave, caveman.”

“You like it
when I go all wild and primitive on you.”

“I do, but not
in the middle of the street. Later,” she promised. “Come over after Noah gets
to the bar to take over for you.”

He groaned.
“That’s hours from now.”

Laughing, she
stepped back and pulled at his hand to get him moving again. “I’m sure you can hold
on until then. You know, if you made GT the day manager, you wouldn’t have to
worry about someone covering the lunch hours.”

Dante just
grunted in reply. Despite his lack of response, Zoe knew he’d consider her
suggestion. They made their way to the Sinfully Sweet bakery and Dante held the
door open for her when they got there. The bakery was doing a steady business
even though the morning rush was over. Soon, the afternoon crowd would filter
in and the place would be packed.

Anna Cortez
and Becca Nuria were busy helping customers, but they both smiled in greeting
at Dante and Zoe. Anna waved a hand at them. “Go on back. Kali’s expecting you.”

Dante followed
Zoe around the counter and through the swinging doors that led to the back
kitchen area. He should have left as soon as they got there, but he wanted to
prolong their time together. Not to mention, it smelled damn good in the
bakery. He figured Kali would take pity on him and give him something sweet to
snack on before he left to open the bar.

His brow rose
as he saw Hammer sitting on a stool near the large center counter where Kali
was working. Jared “Hammer” Caufield was a large man, with dark hair shorn
close to his scalp and a plethora of tattoos covering his massive arms. With a
dark scowl on his face, Hammer looked intimidating as hell, but the fact he was
sitting in the middle of a bakery knocked him down a few pegs on the bad-ass
scale.