He doesn't look back as he walks out of the hotel. I can see him pause as he sees Ethan in his limo, the final confirmation that this isn't an elaborate prank. He looks back at me with teenage anger in his eyes. I have betrayed him and he hates me for it. Then he heads down the block, walking with an enraged energy away from the hotel.

Ethan gets out of the limo. "Mr. Russo!" he calls after Dante. Dante doesn't even look back. He doesn't even pause. Ethan looks over at me, a question on his lips. He takes one last look down the street, but I can't see Dante anymore and I doubt Ethan will be able to much longer.

My brave face crumbles and my knees buckle. Ethan rushes over to me and practically has to catch me to keep me from falling on the floor. Everything is ruined. I'm struggling to breathe, to find the will to live. I haven't felt this way in a decade. Not since...

I push that thought out of my mind. Ethan wraps his arms around me, steadying me. "What happened?" he asked. His gruff voice is gentle. He doesn't know that this is all my fault.

I shake my head, unable to talk for the moment and unwilling to tell him anyway. Ethan holds me for a moment, waiting for me to answer, but then seems to notice all the eyes on us. "Come on, I'll help you to the car."

I stagger to the limo. I must look terrible, I think to myself. My makeup is smeared around my eyes, and my legs still shaky underneath me. We'll be lucky if hotel security doesn't stop us on the way out.

Nobody questions us, and Ethan opens the door for me, allowing me to collapse into the car. Ethan quickly runs around to the driver door, letting himself in and driving us away.

"Now, you're going to tell me exactly what just happened," he says, his voice full of authority. I can see his eyes in the rear-view mirror and I look away. I know I shouldn't defy him at this point, but I can't help it.

"Just take me home," I plead, burying my face into the seat cushion.

I hear a long, exaggerated sigh. Then the locks click. "I'll driving you home, but you're not leaving this car until you tell me what just happened."

The car starts to move and I sob against the seat, unaware of how much time is passing. All I know is that what might have been my one chance at love is gone, gone because of this job. I had something wonderful, but it was based on a lie. It's my life on repeat yet again.

Soon, I'm aware that the car has stopped near my apartment building. The engine is still on but we're not moving. Ethan is giving me a moment. I look up and he's looking at me. "I was serious, Cara. I have to tell Miss White something."

I open my mouth to talk, then close it quickly. "I can't," I say.

"You can and you will, or else I'll drive you to Aunt Sophia's home right now. Trust me when I say you don't want that."

I know I don't want that. That's the last thing in the world I want. I've failed my family.

I curl into a miserable ball in the back seat. I don't want to move. The shame of how much I just screwed up is overwhelming.

“Stay in the car,” Ethan says. I hear the car door open.

I listen for the driver's side door to shut, but it doesn't. Instead, I hear voices.

"Mr. Russo. I didn't expect to see you here."

There's a pause. My heart is racing like a scared rabbit's. What is he doing here?

"I don't think we've officially met. Can I see Cara?" There's a pause and I can only imagine what Ethan is thinking about Dante. Dante's voice is all confidence as he asks, "Is there a problem?"

"No, no problem at all." Ethan takes his time opening the door. I see his eyes as he leans in and whispers, "Get out. You can still save this."

I compose myself quickly, wiping my hands under my eyes to try and remove some of the mascara runoff. I know my tears have mostly ruined my makeup, but there's nothing I can do about that now. I get out of the limo with practiced grace and see Dante, looking a little sheepish. His expression seems to melt a bit as he sees what a mess I am.

“You can tell me how he knows where you live later,” Ethan whispers to me as he helps me out of the limo. In a much louder voice he says, "Have a good evening, Mr. Russo."

"Thank you," Dante replies, his eyes never leaving me. He extends an arm and I eagerly wrap my own arm around it. It feels so warm in the cold December air and just touching him makes me feel better. Hope that things are going to work out is starting to bubble in my stomach, though I do my best to keep it down. I take one last look back before we enter the doors of my building to see Ethan. He's watching us, arms crossed and face stony.

The two of us go up the elevator in silence. I can tell Dante wants to say something, but I can wait. I secretly dread what he has to say but at this point, I don't even care as long as he's with me. It's almost sick how happy I am to have him here right now. I have no idea what he is going to say, or do, but I don't care. Right now, he's not walking away from me anymore.

I open the door to my apartment and he walks in. I turn to shut the door behind me and when I turn back he has me pressed up against it. With terrible slowness, he leans forward and kisses me. I immediately melt into him, my body realizing what it almost lost. I drink him in, relishing every taste. We kiss for what seems like minutes before he pulls his mouth away from mine. "Sit down for a minute," he says.

My smile fades. I know that the moment we just had wasn't necessarily a sign that he forgave me, but I hope he has anyway. I quickly walk over to the piano, taking a seat at the piano bench. He follows, then stops and crosses his arms with out sitting.

“I'm sorry I reacted the way I did at the hotel,” he says after a moment. “I thought it was a prank. I told my brother Frank that I'd met someone that had me reconsidering marrying the Savio family. It would be like him to put you there just to watch me squirm.”

“I should have told you,” I tell him. “I just didn't know how. It wasn't fair to surprise you.”

“It would have been a nice surprise if I hadn't told Frank,” Dante admits with a small smile.“ I've never met a woman like you. You make me feel things..."

His words take my breath away. I can hardly speak, but I manage to whisper, "I've never met a man like you either."

Dante puts one knee on the ground, taking my hands in his.

“So, you want to get married?” he asks me. “I don't have the ring on me now, unfortunately.”

I don't let him finish the sentence, I just lean in and kiss him. He isn't expecting it and he topples backward, hitting the floor. "Are you okay?" I ask quickly. Nothing is going right tonight.

He easily gets back up on his knees, putting his head below mine and looking up at me. "Better than okay," he says, and I giggle. I'm still crying, but it's more that I can't stop than anything else. His hands go to my sides, feeling me through the dress as he tips his face up to kiss me. "So I take it this is a 'yes'?"

I nod. “Yes.”

His grin lights up the room. With that, his fingers begin to hike up my dress and his hands caress my inner thighs. I'm so happy that I can't help but melt into him for another kiss. “Will you help me out of my dress?"

His dark eyes sparkle as I stand up. I kick off my shoes, then turn around. I can feel him standing, at least a full head taller than me, as he fumbles a little with the hook and latch that keeps my dress pulled together. When he finally gets it, he takes his time unzipping me, obviously savoring the sight of the bare skin of my back. It falls to the floor and I step out of it, turning around to let him see. His eyes scan me up and down. I've never much liked it when a man looks at me like I'm a piece of meat, but when Dante does it, I love it. When he does it, I feel beautiful not bought.

I step toward him, clad in nothing but my bra, panties, and stockings. "I think you're wearing too many clothes," I say, slowly dropping to my knees. I undo his belt, looking up at him while I do it. He pulls off his shirt and lets it fall to the floor behind him. I bite my lip at the sight of his smooth, muscled chest. It's a girl's wet dream. I unbutton his pants, and when I begin to pull down on his zipper, I notice how rock hard he is. I smile.

When I finally get his cock out, I don't even hesitate, I just begin by sticking my tongue out and licking from the base of his shaft all the way to the tip. He audibly groans, making me smile as I take him into my mouth. I begin to swirl his head around the front of my mouth, going shallow. Then suddenly, I take him as deep as I can. His fingers tangle in my hair and his whole body tightens at the sudden rush of pleasure. I relish the sound of him gasping as I begin to suck on him.

After a few moments he moves his hands, running his fingers through my hair. The feeling of his touch drives me wild, and I increase my efforts, getting his dick as wet as I can.

He pulls me to my feet and leans down to give me a kiss. I leap up and wrap my legs around him. His hands palm my ass as he begins to walk toward the bedroom. His huge rod is rubbing up against my black panties, and I can't wait to feel him inside of me.

I don't want to wait the ten steps to get to the bed. I pull my panties to the side, allowing him to enter me. He pauses for a moment at my entrance, and our eyes meet. His eyes are deep water and the world swims in them. I shift my hips and I'm so ready that he slides in as if he was always supposed to be a part of me. Raw desire catches in my throat as he penetrates me, and I moan loudly, surprised at just how turned on I am.

I grind up against him and he massages his fingers into my ass cheeks, taking full advantage of this situation. My pulse is racing with sheer want and pleasure. When we get to the bed he pauses, but I keep bouncing up and down on him, feeling him fill every inch of me. He holds my body up as if I am weightless. As he lowers us both to the bed, he nearly leaves me, but I arch my hips to keep him inside of me. It's shallow, but he stays with me. As soon as my back is on the bed, he thrusts himself to the hilt, somehow filling me even fuller than I had ever thought possible.

His arms wrap around me as his hips begin to piston into me. I pull him to me, trying to draw him in even further. I can tell he's going crazy with lust, plowing into me with reckless abandon. If I let him continue, he'll finish now and I'm not ready for that.

I push him off of me and stand up. "Lay on the bed," I command. He does so without hesitating, never taking his eyes off of me. I pull down my panties and stockings at the same time, then unhook my bra and let it fall to the floor. He looks at me like a starving man in a buffet. I bend over and kiss up his leg, giving his cock another lick from the base to the tip of his shaft again. I hear him mutter to himself, as if he can hardly believe what's going on. I climb onto the bed and straddle him, feeling his hardness between my legs. His eyes glow with want and I gladly take him inside me again.

His hands grab my hips as I bounce up and down on him. He fixates on my chest, so I squeeze my arms together to make my breasts look bigger as I work his body up and down. His pupils go wide and he licks his lips, thrusting up even harder. I whimper with how good it feels and his hands work their way up my back, pulling me down so that our bodies make contact. He jackhammers into me, giving me everything he's got.

I can tell that he is going to come soon, so I whisper in his ear to spur him on. "Oh yeah, baby. Come in me. I want you to come in me, baby."

I know that no man can resist that invitation, and within a few moments I can feel him swelling. My own body reacts, pushing onward to take his every inch. I moan softly in his ear, giving him exactly what I know he wants. His hands grasp for purchase on my back, finally settling on my ass and squeezing.

He spreads me open, and in a moment I feel his seed filling my body. He shudders as he shoots, losing his body to me. Gasping, I contract on him, my body flying high on combined pleasure and milking him for all he has. My eyes roll back into my head as he continues to pound into me. I lose my mind to the sensation of his body completing me in a way no one has for years.

For a few moments he keeps thrusting, then he slows to a stop. He relaxes his death grip on my ass and flexes his fingers to resume blood flow. I arch my back, still high on the drug that is Dante Russo.

I kiss the tip of his nose and he smiles at me.

I roll over and stand up, careful not to make a mess on my sheets. He's splayed out on my bed, all muscles and hard lines. I'm tempted to run my tongue along some of them. "I have to go to the bathroom really quick. Don't go anywhere, though."

"I'm not going anywhere," he says with a smile. I return the smile and go to the bathroom to clean up.

When I come back out, he's standing at the window. I admire his ass for a moment, perfectly sculpted against the light of the New York skyline. I still want my snuggles, so I know I have to lure him back to the bed.

As I come up behind him, he says, "You have a great view here."

I shrug and wrap my arms around his waist. I love the way his muscles tighten at my touch. I look out the window at the lights and pause. It's been a long time since I've actually taken the time to look out the window. "There's too much light pollution here. I can't see any stars from here."

Dante tilts his head. "I hardly notice the lack of stars, but then again you must not be from New York."

“Not originally,” I reply. I think of my mother and find that I'm sad. She would have liked Dante. He's not the type of man she would have picked for me, but then this life isn't the one she wanted for me either.

He watches me for a moment, waiting for me to tell him more about myself. I don't like talking about the time before I was in New York. That was a different life.

“We should probably get back to the restaurant. Our families are waiting for us. I'm sure they'll be glad to know we've agreed to their marriage plans.”

Dante laughs, the sound rich and heavy. “Oh, I'm sure they're all going to be thrilled. Do you mind if we don't tell them about the part where I chased you off?”

“Deal. See, we're already doing this marriage between families thing like we're pros.”

He chuckles and together we both get dressed. I quickly fix my makeup and together we head back to the restaurant to meet our families and announce that we're going to join the families.