Fractured Freedom(48)

Our date went in fast-forward for the next five minutes. Allan downed a shot and offered me one, which I took as I glared at the camera. Then he was paying the bill and ushering me to his car.

That should have been the moment I told him I could take an Uber alone, that I didn’t want him back at the hotel. Instead, I told him the Uber would be better for both of us. “We shouldn’t drink and drive, right?”

“Of course, of course,” he mumbled.

Texts from Dante were blowing up my phone, and before I could even get my app to work, Leonardo pulled up and lowered the car’s window. “You Delilah for an Uber?”

I stared at him for a second as Allan went to open the car door for me, but Leonardo just winked. I sighed and folded into the car as I read Dante’s text.

Dante: You want to play games, Lamb, you’ll lose. Drinking when you’re out with a strange man isn’t smart. You know better.

Me: Maybe I don’t.

Dante: End the date.





He had some nerve.

Me: I’m not ending the date! I’m having a great time.

Dante: I could show you a better time back here. You want dinner and your pussy licked, I’ll do both.

Me: I don’t want to have dinner with a friend. And I don’t want my pussy licked by you.





That was very clear. He couldn’t cockblock me after saying we’d be friends. He had me on some pedestal, and I was about to jump off right into the arms of another man. I was ready for it. Except … I was texting him instead of making out with my date.

Dante: Now, that’s a lie. Bet it’s wet just thinking about me.





I scoffed out loud as I texted him back, and Allan shifted next to me. “Everything all right, Delilah?”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry. Just a bit of family drama.” I shrugged.

“No worries. I have to get back to the new doc on rotation, anyway.”

Dante: You bringing him here won’t end well. All he wants is ass while he’s high.

Me: Oh, so to him I’m just a piece of ass?

Dante: Yeah, you’re too good for him.

Me: I don’t want to be good.

Dante: End the date, Lilah. Or I’ll end it for you.





Oh, God. I knew Dante was going to ruin this for me. How could I get over him when all I was thinking about was getting under him? It wasn’t fair. He’d practically helped mold my sexuality in the first place.

And as I stared at Allan, I couldn’t stop looking for a stronger jaw, bigger muscles, and tattoos on his arms that I knew weren’t there.

It was stupid, it was wrong, and it was everything I knew I shouldn’t be doing, but I grabbed Allan and kissed him hard, trying to search for any spark. He kissed me back rapidly, like he couldn’t bring himself to slow down.

When the car stopped in front of my hotel, I invited him up.

Not because we had chemistry, not because the kiss was so good, and not because his hands knew what they were doing under my skirt—they didn’t. I did it solely to piss off the man who did know how to do everything under my clothes.

He’d breached my trust with this whole stupid date night, and I was going to breach his.

Allan and I practically fell out of the car from the alcohol running through us both, and I invited him into the hotel.

“Ms. Hardy, are you sure you’d like this gentleman up on your floor?” Leonardo asked, standing near us by the bell station. Leonardo was obviously very loyal to Dante, or to the Armanellis or something, since his hotel job extended to chauffeur when needed.

I rolled my eyes at him. “Yes, Allan is allowed up any time he wants.”

We made out in the elevator and all the way down the hall to my room. I was going to go all the way with him just to prove a point … even if I had to imagine Dante between my legs to make it happen.

This was my story. This was my Eat Pray Love.

I was seizing the moment.

I would have done just that if I hadn’t fallen backwards as my own hotel door swung open from behind me. I toppled right into strong tattooed arms that immediately sent stupid sparks through my whole body.

“This not your room, baby?” Allan stared at Dante, confused. “Sorry, man. If we were loud—”

“Quite frankly, she wasn’t loud enough. Considering I know exactly how she sounds when she wants someone to fuck her.”

My jaw dropped along with Allan’s. Dante didn’t seem at all fazed as he righted me so I could stand.

I shimmied my black dress back down to just above my knees and turned to glare at Dante. “Excuse my brother’s best friend here, Allan. He’s a little overprotective and a lot crude.”

“Your brother’s best friend?” Allan squeaked. “Why is he talking about how you sound when—”

“Because I know her very well. I’m not just her brother’s best friend. I’m also the guy taking over your date. So thanks for getting her home safe. Next time you take a girl out, don’t do blow in the bathroom. Then you’ll know whether or not this is dream. Now, leave.”

“What the …?” Allan was already backing away, his eyes so wide I now believed he might actually have been doing drugs in the bathroom.

“I’m so sorry, Allan,” I whispered, but he was already tripping over himself like he’d been caught doing something illegal and didn’t want to go to jail.