Chapter 21
Just-in-Time
Dante
I’m out the door with Sara still on the phone. I can hear her panicked breathing. Sweat rolls down my body, but the gym is only a few blocks from her townhouse. I don’t hesitate to run over there. On the way, I notice the cell must have disconnected.
She wouldn’t call me unless it was an emergency. But it wouldn’t matter if it was just a spider in her bathtub, I’d still come running for her. Though from the tone of her voice, it was something far worse than a spider.
I punch in the code for the door and fling it open. “Sara!”
The alarm is set so I walk to the panel to stop it from beeping. I glance around to see if anything is off. Anything that would make me think someone was still in the house.
Lifting my phone, I redial her number.
“Dante, I’m upstairs in the hallway bathroom. Someone was in my room.” Sara’s voice is quiet, like she’s whispering into the phone.
Fuck, if Wyatt hadn’t been a dick to her, that camera would still be there and we could have checked out the playback to see who it was.
“Are they still here? Did you see someone?” I grab an old baseball bat out of the umbrella stand.
“I didn’t see anyone. Please hurry.”
“I’m here, pip. I’m coming.” Putting my phone on speaker in my short’s pocket, I make my way through the first floor. “Where’s Peabody?”
“Pet sitter.” Her voice is small and tinny, but I hear it.
“Good.” I check all the windows and doors as I pass them until I reach the staircase. “I’m on my way up.”
“Okay.” The terror in her voice is real.
I blow out a breath and hold the bat up, ready to swing if someone comes at me. The fourth stair up creaks, so I step over it. When I get to the upstairs hallway, I hold my breath.
No sounds come from anywhere up here. If someone is here and wants to get out, they’ll have to go through me.
The first door is her parents’ bedroom, which is untouched. As is Caitlyn’s bedroom next door. But Sara’s looks like someone tore through it. Tom’s isn’t much better. Fuck. I pick my way through the wreckage to check the bathrooms and the closets. But there isn’t anyone in any of the rooms.
Setting the baseball bat to the side, I make it to the hallway bath and knock “Shave and a Haircut.” The door flings open and Sara bursts out. Her arms wrap around me so fucking tight. Her whole body trembles as I fold my arms around her.
“What if Peabody had been here?” Her voice is muffled in my shirt.
“He wasn’t.” I draw my phone out and disconnect our call. I have to make sure we’re all safe. I dial Finn.
“Why would someone do that? And the alarms were active when I came home. Nothing suspicious at all. They could’ve still been here and I would’ve walked right in.” Tears fill her voice and my chest aches for her. I know I’m not letting her out of my sight again.
No more outs. She’s coming back to our place.
“Shh, pip. Let me talk to Finn.”
“Hey.” Finn’s voice comes through the phone.
“Are you home?” I keep one hand between Sara’s shoulder blades, holding her close as she clutches me. Her fingers are wrapped in the back of my t-shirt. The tremors are fading and hopefully the tears too.
“Yeah, where are you?”
I’m not answering that right now. “Check Tom’s room.”
“What?”
“Just go to Tom’s room and tell me if anything is out of place.”
Sara sighs against me and rubs her face in my damp shirt. Fuck, I must stink. I’d been working out and then the run here. Sweat rolls down my back. My cock is definitely getting the wrong idea with her soft body against mine.
“Strange, but okay.” Finn opens a door. “The only thing missing is Tom. Now, what’s this about?”
“Thanks. I’ll tell you later.” I disconnect and tuck my phone back in my pocket.
“The house is clear.” I rub my hands down her back. “But you can’t stay here.”
“I’m not moving in with Wyatt.” Her tone is firm.
Fucking Wyatt. Of course he had to blow up everything. But I can’t stay here with her all the time. The house isn’t secure. Whoever is after Tom or Sara has proven that. I can’t believe I’m about to say this. “What about Drew?”
“He’s busy this weekend.” Sighing, she rests her cheek against my chest. “It’s too soon anyway. We haven’t even slept together.”
A little wave of relief flows through me. I shouldn’t care if she’s slept with him or not.
There’s no other solution. She’s coming with me if I have to drag her kicking and screaming. I won’t be at ease until she’s in our apartment, under lock and key. Our building has a doorman that every guest has to go through before even accessing our floor.
I’m not sure how they got around the alarm system, but I’m definitely setting up more cameras in here.
“Then you have to come to our apartment, pip. I can’t leave you here alone.”
She releases a sigh of defeat. “Not tonight.”
She lifts her red-rimmed, pale green eyes and I’m lost. Something shifts inside me, just a little. I’ve always cared for Sara, but she’s never been mine. In this moment, she’s mine and all I want to do is protect her.
“I can’t leave you alone—”
“Then don’t, Dante.” She takes a deep breath. “Stay here with me and I promise I’ll go with you in the morning. I know I can’t stay here alone, but I can’t be near him. Not yet.”
Wyatt. Nodding, I glance toward Tom’s door. Tom’s clothes will fit me as long as whoever ransacked the place didn’t tear everything up. Destruction didn’t seem to be their goal.
“I ordered a pizza.” She steps back and looks me over. “Were you working out?”
“Yeah, my gym isn’t far.” My shirt clings to me from the sweat. “Fuck. I need to take a shower and see if Tom has any clothes left here.”
She nods still a little dazed. “Roger might have something too.”
“Tom’s more my size.” I take her hand to keep her with me as we go to Tom’s room. I release her when she freezes in the doorway. Her face gets paler as she looks around at the mess.
“Who would do this?” She picks up a trophy and sets it on the shelf like putting one thing back will make this all better.
“Whoever Tom is running from is my guess.” I grab a shirt and shorts before returning to Sara. I tip her chin up so I can search her eyes. Still there. Good.
“You can yell through the door or I can set up our phones while I shower.” I move down the hall back to the bathroom she just escaped. After I place the clothes on the counter, I turn as the door shuts.
Sara shakes her head. “I don’t want to be alone in the house. Not again.”
I nod because I’ll do whatever it takes to make her feel okay right now. “Do you want to turn around?”
Reaching into the shower, I turn on the hot water. She laughs behind me.
“Feeling prudish?” Her voice is closer and I glance to find her leaning on the counter across from the glass door of the shower. She shrugs. “I’ve seen your cock.”
“Just trying to read the room, pip.” I pull off my shirt with one hand and toss it toward the door.
She bites down on her lip as her heated eyes take in my chest and abs. I step forward and brush my knuckle over the corner of her mouth. “You had a little drool...”
“I did not.” She bats my hand away.
I chuckle because she’s going to be fine. I check the water and adjust the temperature. “How long until your pizza arrives?”
“Forty-five minutes to an hour.”
I take my shorts and boxers off and they join my shirt.
She hisses in a breath, but all she’s getting is my back right now. Of course, my ass is nicely toned. I take the time to treat my body right. My cock is already hardening knowing she’s watching me, taking in every inch of me.
I step into the water and consider for a moment whether I should turn the dial to cold.
Sara
Someone was in our house. Someone violated Tom’s and my rooms. It swirls in my head, but something else takes precedent. Dante’s ripped back and that ass I could bounce a quarter off of.
And his cock. Fuck, it’s not even fully hard and it’s massive. Not that I have a lot to compare it to.
He steps into the shower and the water flows over his body, tracing every single inch of him until I can’t stand it anymore. I unbutton my shirt and slip off my skirt. They both flutter to the floor silently as I undo my bra and shimmy out of my panties.
I can’t get the smell of him out of my senses. Like a dark ocean in a storm. I want to be swept away by him.
When I open the shower door, he doesn’t seem to notice until I touch his shoulder. His muscles tense against my hand and he freezes.
“What are you doing, Sara?” His voice is strained as I press against his back.
Oh, fuck, that feels so fucking good. His skin is hot and wet. Every inch of my skin tingles with anticipation. “Taking control of my life, Dante.”
Everything has been spiraling out of control. Work. Tom. The guys. But right here, right now, I’m making a choice. I’m taking something for me. I’m giving something in return.
“Pip.”
His voice has a warning in it, but I’m not listening to warnings anymore. I’ll return to his apartment with him in the morning. I’ll see Wyatt and know he saw all of me and still doesn’t want me. But I know Dante wants me.
And I want him.
I glide my hands over his hips and he blows out a breath. The water is warm as it slides between the two of us.
“I don’t want to think anymore.” I move my hand over his thigh. My fingertips brush his now-hard cock. “I just want to stay in this moment. With you.”
He turns slowly, giving me every opportunity to say just kidding, but I’m not.
“I won’t fuck you when you’re vulnerable, pip.” His hand cups my jaw and his light blue eyes search mine with a fierceness I admire. Dante isn’t afraid of what he feels, but he holds back a lot.
I don’t want him to hold back anymore. “Then let me take care of you, boss.”
I turn my head in his hand and part my lips around his thumb, sucking gently while watching the fire burn in his eyes. He wants me and I want him.
“Sara.” My name on his lips is a surrender. It buzzes through me, but he’s still not touching me.