Fractured Freedom(46)

“Okay?” She dragged out the word.

“I slide home into you, you’ll only be exploring one for the rest of your life. I won’t share you.”

“You can’t be serious. You know I’m trying to be casual here. We can’t … We don’t even know each other anymore.”

I dragged my eyes down to her pussy, which was still glistening. “Seems I know you well enough.”

She slammed her legs shut and pulled a sheet tight around her body as she tsked at me. I noted how quickly she built her walls back up. I wasn’t used to exercising much patience with a woman. Normally I could force what I wanted out of most people. It was my job to do so.

Instead, I gathered all the rocks off her nightstand back into my bag, ready to go back to my room.

“I can clean those,” she murmured as she pushed her wavy hair out of her face, attempting to appear like she wasn’t thoroughly satiated.

When she started to sit up, the rope around my control pulled taut. I glared at her. “Move from that bed and I’ll fuck you back down onto it, Little Lamb. I try not to be the wolf around you, but there’s only so much restraint in me.”

“Dante,” she chastised.

I took one small rock that’d been deep inside her and put it in my mouth, sucked the taste off it, and moaned as I stared at her before dropping it back into the bag. “You still taste like I remember. Like you’re mine, Little Lamb. But let’s have some fun. Go back to work. Bring your date over here. See what happens. If you want three weeks of casually crossing things off your list while I’m here, you get them. But I can guarantee you will beg me to be at the end of that list. Your body already wants that.”

Her eyes flared as she tied the sheet around herself and scoffed at me. “You don’t know that, Dante.”

I chuckled. “How many men got you off at that college you went to, huh?” I narrowed my gaze.

Her tits rose and fell faster under the fabric. “This is not a conversation I’m having with you.” She slammed her hand down on the bed, and her anger told me all I needed to know.

“Is the answer zero?” I asked.

“I had fun with lots of guys,” she said, and her hand twitched to fix her hair.

“That’s a lie. Something else happened on that campus, but it wasn’t that.” She froze at my assessment, and the fight left her. Damn, I wanted to pry that information from her, but I knew I couldn’t. I had to back away. “I’m not going to ask what, Lilah. We’ll be good enough friends one day that you’ll tell me. I promise you that.”

Her lips rolled between her teeth, and she glanced away from me. “Yes, well, as this is the start of our friendship, you’ll have to understand that sometimes I need to be free to go out and have fun here, to go through my list.”

That damn stupid list.

I wanted to tear it apart or cross number five off myself.

My jaw worked up and down, and my voice was strained as I said, “You have my number?”

“Of course. We’ll be at a restaurant down the street. I end my shift at nine, so we’ll be back here soon after.”

“We’ll?”

“Maybe just me.” She sighed and slumped. “Maybe not.”

“Be careful with your choices, Delilah,” I warned. Fuck, if I didn’t leave, I was going to rip that sheet off her. Still, I needed to touch her one last time. I stalked up to her, and my fingers trailed up her arm as she held her sheet in place. Goosebumps popped up everywhere on her skin, and when I reached her shoulder, I dragged one finger—slow, deliberate, powerful—along her collarbone. She sucked in a breath as I wrapped my hand around her neck and squeezed. “You’re so small. Someone could break you before they decide to eat you alive.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “And what would be so bad about being eaten, Dante?”

I growled at her boldness and my cock twitched. She was baiting me when she knew damn well I wouldn’t let her go after I had her. “Make sure you’re careful with what’s ultimately going to be mine.”

I didn’t give her a chance to respond. I spun and swiped my key through the slot to go through our adjoining door.

I let it slam shut.

For now, I’d leash the wolf.

But not for long.





14





Sext your Almost Ex





Delilah





“We’ll be good enough friends,” he’d said.

That’s all my brain heard, really, because Dante might have been talking of owning me one minute, but I knew his mind wanted to place me firmly in the friend category for the rest of time.

And then what would I do with my mediocre life? I’d lost his baby, wallowed in misery until I needed a shrink, and now I was trying to live a life that wouldn’t leave me spiraling.

I got ready for work, putting on my blue scrubs and tying my hair up. I’d dress for my night with Allan in one of the locker rooms—we both had crazy work schedules and had already been on a few dates, so we didn’t expect much primping from each other. I packed my makeup bag and a form fitting black dress. Simple and sexy was what I needed tonight.

A text came through that a black SUV would be waiting out front for me. When I got to the lobby, Leonardo ushered me right to it like Dante had updated them all on my new mode of transportation.