Vivian wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her hips up against mine, the message clear.
Fuck me.
I wanted to. My body screamed for it, my cock ached for it. It would be so easy to sink into her softness and let it carry us away for the night.
But if I did, there would be no going back. Not for her, and not for me.
My hands fisted on the mattress as indecision warred.
You can either have Vivian or you can have her father’s head on a platter—figuratively speaking, of course. You can’t have both.
Ice water doused the remaining heat in my veins.
Of all the voices I wanted to hear in bed, Christian’s ranked in the bottom five, but the bastard had a point.
Vivian didn’t have a perfect relationship with her family, but she still cared about them. One day soon, she’d find out the truth about our engagement and her father’s deception, and she’d be devastated.
Adding sex to the mix would only complicate things further.
“Dante?” Tentativeness crept into her voice at my hesitation.
Goddammit.
I unwound her arms from my neck and straightened, trying to ignore the hurt and confusion on her face.
“Get some rest,” I said roughly. “It’s been a long day.”
I didn’t wait for an answer before I got off the bed, headed into the bathroom, and locked the door. I turned the shower as cold as it would go, letting the icy water blast some fucking sense into me.
Self-loathing formed a concrete block in my chest.
What thehellwas I doing?
Kissing Vivian. Letting my guard down. Almost havingsexwith her in my parents’ villa, for Christ’s sake.
I’d intended to stay away from her until I took care of her father and ended our farce of an engagement.
Now here I was, taking a cold shower at midnight so I didn’t fuck up my plans any more than I already had.
I’d spent my life honing my control. Enzo Russo had drilled its importance into me since I was a child. Even when I occasionally lost my temper, I never lost sight of the bigger goal.
But I’d also never met anyone like Vivian.
Of all the people in my life, she was the only one who could make me lose control.
CHAPTER20
Dante
Kai’s punch snapped my head back with such force my teeth rattled. The taste of copper filled my mouth, and when my vision finally cleared, his frown came into focus like a photograph in a developing tray.
“That was an easy dodge. Where’s your head at today?”
“It was one hit. Don’t get cocky.”
“Three.” He grunted when my uppercut caught him beneath the chin. “And that doesn’t answer my question.”
I blamed the next words out of my mouth on the residual impact of his strike.