twenty-six

Dante

Tessa’s body tenses, and I know she’s close. Her hands tug at the roots of my hair, having lost the battle to keep them above her head. When her orgasm peaks, she tries to scramble away, but I hold her in place with a hand on each thigh, flicking the tip of my tongue over her clit.

“Dante. Oh God.” Her moans fill the room.

With my tongue buried inside her, I watch her come apart. Face flushed and fucking sexy as hell. My cock is thick and so hard, it aches. I want to be inside her so fucking bad, but it’s not happening tonight. She means everything to me. When I’m balls deep inside her for the first time, I’ll be making love to her. And she isn’t ready for that.

I rise, and my gaze lingers on her body. Tessa is beautiful in all her forms, but freshly tongue-fucked and satiated is my new favorite.

“That was amazing,” she says, cheeks flushed.

“Watching you come apart like that…you have no idea what you do to me.”

I could spend hours between Tessa’s legs. Her pussy is the sweetest thing I’ve ever tasted. More than anything, I want her to be mine, but in the meantime, I’ll happily take whatever she’s willing to give me.

“I’ll be right back,” I say, getting off the bed.

In the bathroom, I wash my face and use mouthwash. I hate to erase the taste of her, but I’m not sure how she feels about tasting herself. I retrieve a washcloth from the towel closet and wet it beneath the warm water. When I return to Tessa’s side, I gently wipe between her legs.

“What are you doing?” She gives me a quizzical look.

“Taking care of you.”

When I’m finished, I go back into the bathroom and drop the rag into the hamper. On my way back from the bathroom, I grab Tessa a shirt to sleep in. There’s no way I can sleep next to her while she’s completely naked and not have sex with her.

“Here,” I say, holding the shirt out to her.

“Dante, I thought we were going to…” Tessa’s voice trails off, and her face heats. “It’s okay. I can go.” She climbs off the bed on the opposite side from where I’m standing, and she begins grabbing her clothes.

“Tessa, stop. Where are you going?”

“It’s fine. I get it,” she says and heads to the bathroom.

I toss the shirt on the bed, and I’m in front of her before she makes it a full two steps. “Where are you going?” I cup her face.

She’s got this all wrong.

I crush my mouth to hers and pour everything I feel into the kiss. All the things I can’t tell her because she isn’t ready to hear them.

“Hey, look at me.”

When her eyes finally land on mine, they’re glassy. I know she feels rejected, but nothing could be further from the truth.

“Tonight, you asked me to show you that you’re enough. That’s what I’m doing, Tessa.”

“I know. I just thought we would—”

“Have sex?” I ask, cutting her off.

Her arms are still holding her clothes, so I take them from her and toss them to the floor. Then, I lift her hand and guide her palm over my chest and down my stomach. And lower, so she can feel my extremely hard, erect cock through my shorts.

“Don’t you doubt for a second how much I want you. But I’m not going to fuck you like some random piece of ass. You mean something to me.” Releasing her hand, I wrap my arms around her and hold her against my chest. “Now, get the shirt off the bed, put it on, and get under the covers,” I demand.

Her arms tighten around me. Tessa plants a kiss on my chest, over my heart. She’s completely unaware that it is hers for the taking.

She steps out of my arms, walks to the bed, and slides the shirt over her head. “I’m going to grab a glass of water. Do you want one?”

“I’ll get it. Lie down.” I swat her ass on my way to the kitchen.

When I return with two bottles of water, Tessa is already in bed.

I stand in front of her and hold a water bottle out to her. “Here you go.”

She takes it, twists off the cap, and takes a drink. “Thanks.”

I chug half of mine and set the bottle on the side table. I slide into bed and pull her flush against me, her back to my front. She sinks into my embrace and sighs.

“Dante…can I ask you something?”

“You can ask me anything.”

“Why haven’t you settled down?”

She shifts, like she’s going to roll over, so I tighten my hold. If she looks at me, she’ll see the truth.

“I guess I’ve never found the right woman.” Because the only woman I’ve ever wanted is you.

“You’ve had a lot to choose from.”

She laughs, and I pinch her ass. This time, when she rolls over to face me, I don’t stop her.

“When was the last time you were with someone?”

My hand rests over her hip, and our gazes lock. “It’s been a while. Not since after…” Trevor died. But I don’t say that. I don’t have to.

“A week after I got here, I went to a clinic and got tested. Everything came back clean.” Her eyes shift, and suddenly, she’s a million miles away. “But I was so scared and humiliated, and that’s the moment I knew how much I truly hated him.”

“I’m sorry, Tessa.” Sorry for so many things.

“Thanks, but it’s not your fault. I thought we were so in love, but if I’m being honest, our relationship was strained. Trevor was distant, and he had been for a while. I just didn’t want to see it.” She brings her hands up to hide her face. “I’m sorry. This has to be the last thing you want to talk about.”

I pull her hands away and interlace our fingers. “I told you, I’ll give you whatever you need. If you need to talk, then I’ll listen.”

“Sometimes, I think about his son.” Her voice wavers a bit when she says the word son. “I wonder if he looks like Trevor.”

“Tess,” I say softly, wanting to comfort her but having no idea where to start.

“Then, I think about her, and I get pissed all over again. And it’s so stupid because I hate Trevor, so why do I care?”

A lone tear falls from her eye, and I lift our joined hands to wipe it away with my knuckle. “Because you did love him even if that’s no longer the case.”

“I know.” She pulls her hand away to wipe her face. “I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for, so stop apologizing.”

She gives me a weak smile.

“You’re exhausted. We’ll talk tomorrow,” I assure her, planting a chaste kiss to her lips.

“Dante?”

“Mmhmm?”

“Thank you…for tonight.”

“Anytime, sweetheart.”

“Good night, Dante.” She yawns again.

“Night, Tess.”

I lie awake, listening to Tessa breathe, memorizing every curve and dip of her body. The way her hair smells and how she feels in my arms.

I have fucked plenty of women, but I’ve never made love to any of them. If tonight is all I get…this is the memory I want to hold on to.