I closed my eyes at her words. Hating them. Sienna might not have been the type of girl to believe in Prince Charming, but she still wanted love. A partner. Someone to be there for her when she needed them. And I had abandoned her. This past week, I’d disappeared, leaving her to clean up my mess without me.
Kneeling, I scooped her up in my arms, taking us both to the bed after flicking off the lights. Sienna was too weak to move. I pulled her against me, tucking her head beneath my chin. Her body was hot against mine, our sweat-slicked skin sticking together beneath the blankets. After a while, her breathing evened out. She was asleep.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. Only the shadows heard me. “I’m so sorry.”
TWENTY-ONE
SIENNA
Iwoke the next morning surrounded by heat. Snuggling closer, I’m faintly aware of Dante’s arms around me, holding me prisoner against the hard edges of his chest. Opening my eyes, I saw he was still fast asleep, his breaths long and even. Nothing of the monster from last night showed on his face then. He looked completely different—more vulnerable. Softer.
I resisted the urge to run my fingers through his hair. Instead, I slipped out of bed and headed toward the bathroom. Turning on the faucet, I tried not to think about last night. Dante had shown me a side of him I’d never seen before. Sure, there had been hints about the darkness he kept hidden away, but last night it had all been laid out before me. I didn’t know whether I was terrified or curious.
Footsteps sounded behind me, padding across the floor of the bedroom. Dante appeared at the bathroom door, watching me. His biceps flexed as he leaned his right arm on the door frame. I tried not to follow the grooves down his abdomen to where his boxers hung loosely around his hips.
“Are you taking a shower?” he asked, clearing his throat.
“Yeah, I need to head to the office. Mateo’s expecting me.” I stood there on the bathroom rug, feeling exposed. I hadn’t dressed again after last night, instead passing out in his arms. But there was no use in covering up. He’d seen everything. Multiple times.
Dante brushed past me, sliding the glass door to the side before stepping into the shower. I stared at him, my mouth opening and closing.
Finally, I found my voice. “What are you doing?”
His head poked out. “Showering.” The tone of his voice made it sound like it should have been obvious.
“But I was about to get in,” I told him, crossing my arms. Wrong move. His eyes snapped down towards my breasts before reluctantly meeting my eyes again.
“Then join me.”
“I’m not—”
“Sienna.” His voice dropped. “I’ll waste all the hot water if you don’t.”
Grumbling, I stepped into the shower, forcing him to move towards the back of the shower. If he was going to insist on showering with me, he definitely wasn’t going to be taking up all the hot water. I kept my back turned towards him, letting the water cascade down my body. My head and heart were saying two different things, and it worried me that he was back to normal after last night. How was he able to switch it off just like that?
“Are you actually going to let me shower?” Dante asked quietly. I can feel the heat of his body on my back as he stepped closer. The shower was big, but not that big.
His hands grazed the sides of my hips before he reached around me to cup the water, letting it splash to the ground. I froze, my heart racing as I try to remain still. His arms caged me in, water running along the veins beneath his skin. My eyes tracked the movement.
When his fingers grazed my stomach, I whipped around. He caught me around the waist before I slipped, one arm looped around me while the other was firmly planted on the wall to keep us steady. Our chests pressed together, heat flaring low in my stomach. Already, I could feel his cock hardening against my pelvis, scalding hotter than the shower itself.
My eyes are firmly locked on the base of his throat, on the lines of his collarbone. He swallowed slowly, and I glanced up. His gaze was dark, intense, devouring every inch of my face as if trying to memorize each little detail. His lips parted slightly, and my eyes flicked down to watch his tongue rove over his lower lip.
He must have taken that as a sign of consent. Dipping his head, he stole my breath, lips brushing against mine. Something inside of me snapped. My arms were thrown around his shoulders before I could stop them, pulling him closer to me. He stumbled forward, both of his hands catching the wall just as my back hit the cold surface. The mix of heat and cold sent shivers down my spine, but I didn’t care. All I could think about were his lips on mine.
Water cascaded around us, slipping along our bodies. The hardened length of his shaft slipped between my thighs, and I felt his hips roll forward before pulling back. I could feel just how much he wanted me—not as a power move, but really wanting me.
His groan reverberated along my lips as I reached between us, gripping his cock in my hands. Beneath the water, it felt smooth to the touch. My hands were slippery against the skin, easily sliding along the length. Dante’s body trembled with each stroke, the muscles along his shoulders flexing as he tried to hold himself up.
“Sienna.” He said my name through gritted teeth, his eyes closed as water dripped from his hair.
“Yes?” I asked sweetly, giving his cock another tight jerk.
Air hissed through his teeth. “This isn’t showering.”
“Well, you did say you wanted to shower with me,” I pointed out, still stroking him.
“Fine then.” His eyes flashed back open. Before I could say anything, his hands are back around my hips, spinning me around.