Chapter Six
Dante had never been so uncomfortable in all his life.
He tried to focus on Brandon’s tie. It was one he hadn’t seen before. It was burgundy with a blue and gray design. At first glance, the pattern looked like tiny boxes divided into four quadrants. Then he noticed that the boxes alternated with simple flowers.
So he focused on the flower smack-dab in the middle of the tie and tried to forget that Alexa was sitting next to her brother and was probably pantyless.
She’d left in the middle of the night after one more round of mutual orgasms and then texted early in the morning to tell him that Brandon wanted to stop by his office before heading into the restaurant. He figured that she must’ve told him that she wanted to fight the lawsuit.
He’d texted back with only three words: Don’t wear panties.
She hadn’t texted back, so all Dante could do as Brandon talked about the lawsuit was wonder what was—or wasn’t—under her navy blue dress.
Her expression sure wasn’t giving him any clues. She sat stone-faced, making him wonder if she and Brandon had made a final decision about the lawsuit. If that was the case, he wondered if she was starting to regret her choice.
“So when do you think we’ll go to court?” Brandon asked. So…that’s the way it was. No settling.
He looked away from the blue and gray flower and met Brandon’s worried eyes. “Not for a while. There are still a few steps in the process, including depositions. This will give us a better idea of what Nick’s case is going to be built on.”
“And what’s our case?” Alexa asked, finally breaking her silence.
Dante turned his attention to her. She shifted in her seat and uncrossed her legs, giving him a glimpse of her bare thigh. He didn’t see panties, but he didn’t not see them, either.
If she meant to tease him, it was working. It took him a second before he could answer her question. “Our case is the truth. We’ll find every customer who was there that night who can testify about Nick grabbing your purse. If the place has a security system like L.A. Cuchara does, then I’ll subpoena the footage from that night. We’ll get the evidence we need to prove what really happened.”
He wanted to reassure both of them, but he also wanted them to know that they had a long road ahead. “I’m not going to lie to you. It’s going to be hard, and it could get ugly. But I believe we can win.”
Brandon’s shoulders sagged in obvious relief. “Thanks, my friend. I don’t know what we’d do without you. You better not ever quit on me.”
“Hey, as long as you don’t fire me, I’m not going anywhere any time soon,” he said, finally catching Alexa’s eye. Although he and Brandon shared a laugh, she barely cracked a smile. He didn’t like how distant she seemed.
Was she going to end things before they even started?
Brandon stood up, and Dante and Alexa followed suit. “Are you going to come by for dinner later?” his friend asked.
“Probably not tonight. I have some paperwork to catch up on.” Not to mention the fact that he was hoping to have dessert later with Alexa. He tried to make eye contact with her again, hoping she’d make some excuse to stay behind so they could talk.
Instead, he watched her walk out the door with Brandon.
Dante groaned out of frustration. Not only had Alexa acted like nothing had happened, he never got to see if she’d done as he’d asked.
Maybe it had been a mistake.
What was he thinking when he’d decided it was time to have her after all these years? She had made it clear that she didn’t want a relationship. Not that he wanted one, either. He’d been alone so long, he usually grew tired of women who tried to get him to give them a ring. He was in his thirties and set in his ways. Alexa was a tornado that could wreak havoc on his comfortable, settled life.
Again, what had he been thinking?
It was probably better that she had seen the light. The whole situation could’ve gone to shit if they’d started something for real.
He went back to his desk and opened the email that Lydia has sent earlier. There were several documents attached, and he felt grateful for the distraction. In fact, he became so engrossed in what he was reading that he didn’t hear the door to his office open.
“Hey.”
He looked up to see Alexa standing in the doorway. “Hey,” he responded.
Dammit. She was going to make this so hard. With one word from her lips, he’d quickly put aside his reservations. That’s how badly he wanted her all over again.
She closed the door behind her. “I told Brandon I left my phone here. But it’s really in my purse.”
He stood up and walked over until he was only a few inches away. “So why are you here?”
“I’m not sure.”
The innocent look she gave him sent instant shots of desire straight to his crotch. She knew exactly why she’d come back to see him. If she didn’t, then he was more than willing to remind her.
“I know why,” he said, his voice low and daring.
Her eyes glinted with arousal, and he knew then she wasn’t regretting a damn thing. They both surged toward each other and collided in one frantic kiss. Her arms wrapped around his neck as he pushed her up against the door.
He reached behind her to lock it. “Let’s see if you were a good girl and did what you were told,” he growled.
Dante moved his hands to her waist and then slid them down the sides of her thighs and then back up again, this time bunching the thin fabric of her blue dress in his fists. His cock stiffened against his trousers as soon as he saw the bare flesh between her legs.
He looked up and smiled. “Looks like someone gets an orgasm.”
“Brandon’s waiting for me,” she said on a breath.
“Let him wait.” It had been less than eight hours since the last time he was inside her, and he was hard as a rock thinking about doing it again. And as much as he’d like to unzip and fuck her against the door, he knew her mind would be worrying about her brother. Still, that didn’t mean he couldn’t reward her.
Dante moved his hand to her mound and slid one finger along the crease of her folds. She cried out just as he covered her mouth with his. He slid his tongue along her bottom lip, then nipped it gently with his teeth. Her hips bucked against his hand, signaling it was time to give her what she needed.
He dropped to his knees and pushed her dress all the way up to her waist. Then he pushed two fingers inside her glistening pussy.
“Oh, God,” she moaned.
“Oh, fuck,” he hissed back. She was so tight and hot, and his dick lengthened even more. Slowly, he inched his fingers out and then back in again.
“Please,” Alexa whispered.
“Please what?”
“I need…I need your tongue.”
His mouth was between her legs before the last syllable, and his eyes rolled closed at the first taste. He was supposed to be giving her pleasure, yet he was the one in heaven.
Her legs shook, and she let out a garbled cry as he circled her clit with the tip of his tongue. Then he slid his fingers deep into her heat.
“Yes. Yes. Yes.”
It only took a few more licks and a few more thrusts before she came undone. He held her until her orgasm subsided, fixed her skirt, and then pulled her to him for a long, deep kiss.
“This doesn’t seem fair,” she said when they finally broke apart.
“What?”
She lowered her eyes, and he followed her gaze to the outline of his erection.
He shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. You can make it up to me next time.”
Alexa gave him a quick smile. Too quick. Then she smoothed her hair down and asked, “How do I look?”
He wanted to say she looked perfect. Her face was glowing, her cheeks flushed and eyes bright. Her lips were swollen and puckered from his possessive kisses and nips. A sense of pride washed over him. He’d done that to her. He’d branded her so there was no mistaking whom she belonged to—at least for now.
“You look sexy,” he murmured and kissed her on the forehead.
She laughed and pushed him away. “All right, I better go.”
“Come over tonight,” he blurted out.
“I’m working, you know that.”
He wanted to tell her to come over anyway, but he had an early meeting in the morning. Alexa was known for staying in the kitchen well past closing time if there were still customers in the dining room. “Then when’s your next night off?”
Her phone dinged, and he knew that was her brother looking for her. Their schedules were going to get in the way of him having her whenever he wanted. It kind of pissed him off.
“I thought we were going to keep this casual?”
He arched his eyebrow at the panic in her tone. “We are. It was just a question, that’s all.”
“Sorry. It’s just…I need some time to get used to this,” she said, gesturing between them.
He understood. And, honestly, if it weren’t for the fact that he was aching to be inside her again, he probably wouldn’t have pushed. Or sounded so needy.
Get a hold of yourself.
Where was his control? His confidence? This wasn’t how he’d imagined any of this. No matter how badly he wanted Alexa again, there was no way he was going to beg for it. Some time away from her would help him get his head back on straight.
Dante shrugged and forced himself to smile. “You better get going before Brandon comes back looking for you.”
She nodded but didn’t move. So he did and walked back to his desk.
The door opened behind him.
“I’ll talk to you later,” she said.
He didn’t answer until the door shut again and he was alone in his office.
“You can count on it.”