“Why don’t you fucking move in with him already?”
Ah, if only he knew that Dante wants nothing more. He didn’t ask directly, but started referring to his house like ours, bought me a dressing table, and stocked the fridge with my favorite foods. He rarely takes me back to Frank’s for the night. It’s scary how much Dante cares about me. We haven’t even had sex yet, but he acts like we’ve been together for months.
I’m the opposite.
Or at least I want to believe I’m doing everything in my power to fight the feelings, but the truth is I’m failing spectacularly. Frank’s words from our trip to Aspen reverberate through my mind, reminding me that no matter how incredible Dante is, I shouldn’t love him. It’s like fighting the wind, though. He’s endured weeks of celibacy, and that gesture alone is enough to believe that he cares about me more than he’s ever cared about anyone else.
Too many curious ears listen in on my conversation with Frank, so I let his comment slide. There’s always someone around. I expected Frank to stage a meeting somewhere private, so we could talk without watching our every word, but so far, he’s not asking about the details. Either he’s really starting to trust me a bit, or he’s always got eyes on me.
I won’t be surprised if he has a spy among Dante’s people.
I retreat from the kitchen, not gracing Daddy with another look, and rush upstairs to pack. Once the bag with books is ready, I zip a navy evening dress I chose for tonight into a dust cover. It’s floor-length chiffon with a side split starting at the thigh. With a hair tie in-between my lips, I rush downstairs when Dante arrives. Without a goodbye in anyone’s direction, I leave the house to find my man out of the car, ready to help me with the bags. He locks them in the trunk and drapes his hands over my shoulders, pulling me in for a deep kiss.
“What?” he asks, seeing me chuckle as I get in the car.
“Trying to enrage Frank, are you? I’m sure you’re aware how much he enjoys watching people when they’ve no idea they’re being watched.”
“Unless they do.”
I roll my eyes, buckling up. “He knows we’re dating. Seeing you kiss me won’t do any damage. He doesn’t care.”
“Yes, he does. It wasn’t a power play, Star. I just want him to know that even though the war is raging, he has already lost one battle. You’remine. No matter what Frank says or does, you now trust your gut instead of following his orders.”
Shame hits me hard, but I mask it with what I hope to be a believable smile. “That I am. Let’s go.” I attempt to tie my hair into a messy bun, but Dante takes the tie out of my hand, pulling it onto his wrist.
“Why aren’t you in bed? I took you home six hours ago.”
“The catering company rolled in at nine and woke me up.” I take another hair tie out of my bag. “I don’t like working with my hair getting in the way,” I say when Dante frowns.
“How about you go back to bed with me instead of writing that paper? That way, you can let your hair down, and I can get some quality sleep. It’s inconvenient not to have you snaked around me at night.”
I spent the last eight out of ten nights at his place, and I felt out of place when I climbed into my bed this morning.
“Are my ears ugly?” I ask when he tries to steal the second hair tie.
“Your ears are fine. I don’t mind your hair up, but it does make it damn near impossible not to kiss your neck when it’s on display like that.”
His compliments are like no other. Never straight to the point, never forced, always thrown in there casually as if he’s commenting on the weather.
“You can kiss it all you want.” I lean over to peck his cheek. “I’ve got a month to hand the dissertation in. You’ve been monopolizing all my time lately, and I hadn’t done much writing, so I won’t crawl back in bed with you, but you go. At least you won’t disturb me.”
“You mean I won’t distract you.”
“Sure, keep telling yourself that.”
He squeezes my hand briefly, letting go to change gears. “Will you escape the party to come over to Delta tonight?”
“I don’t think so. Nikolaj can drink the ocean. Frank managed to sober up twice in Dubai before Nikolaj got drunk. If they’re planning on drinking like that tonight, I won’t leave the house until Monday.”
Frank failed to inform me about the reason for Nikolaj’s visit. He doesn’t typically invite himself over out of the blue. Julij’s attendance is also a novelty. I haven’t seen him since Dubai despite seeing Nikolaj half a dozen times. He keeps his son out of the picture, away from his dealings, so his sudden involvement makes me wonder.
Twenty minutes later, I set my books on the dining table. Dante throws his keys on the countertop, kisses the crown of my head, and heads upstairs to catch up on sleep. My dissertation grows at a steady pace for a few hours.
“How are you doing?” Dante asks sometime around one o’clock in the afternoon, making me jump out of my skin. “Relax, Star.” He dips his head to kiss my neck.
“Good. Great, actually. I have to study here more often. It’s easier to focus.” Dante kisses me again, his warm breath making me tremble. “But only when you’re not around.”
Despite our short relationship, I know him so well that I don’t need to see him to know he’s smiling.