CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Corpus Delicti
We're still buzzing about H.T.'s courtroom style. What was that goddess strut in stilettos?? #HelenaTorres_lawyerbabe (@deisebloombastic)
Our bodies intertwined on the living room floor as though the world couldn't collapse at any second.
All it would take was someone walking through that door and seeing us consumed by our own lust, and all that would remain were the shards of my career scattered before me—my feet now resting on his abdomen while Dante caressed them.
I arched my back against the couch, my exposed breasts rising slightly—the only thing I still wore were the panties that had miraculously survived the journey.
His long legs stretched in the opposite direction from mine.
The couch throw had one job: to cover his sex, revealing the tattoo that stood as a hidden surprise beneath the untouchable facade Dante presented to the society he'd grown up in.
“That was an unexpected touch. But at the same time, so predictable.” My foot trailed down his abdomen, which tensed at my light touch, until it found the patch of colored skin where Dante had inked the Halfeti rose—dangerously close to the sin between his legs.
“Predictable?” He'd been watching the movement of my feet attentively, and now looked at me through his lashes. His lips curved in disbelief. His body leaned forward as if to move toward me, but my sole pressed flat against his chest, pushing him back.
“It's obvious you'd have some hidden sign of rebellion. For some it might be an earring. A piercing. But you chose a perfectly hidden tattoo, showing the world only the soccer star, the genius inventor, and Heritage's eye candy.”
Dante laughed mockingly.
“You laugh, but you know you wouldn't have the courage to let the real Dante emerge for just anyone.”
“Just like you, counselor.” He pulled my foot to his lips and traced a trail of kisses along the inside of my heel. “We're not so different.”
Dante continued, advancing along the inside of my thigh, alternating between kisses and bites that slowly threatened to unravel me from reality.
I threw my head back, spreading my hair across the couch cushion.
“Wearing that armor of the honorable lawyer, you can convince everyone that's who you are…” Dante brushed his nose against the edge of my panties. “But I've seen the real Helena… the one the world would beg to know.”
I dug my fingers into his hair, pulling when he threatened to sink between my thighs.
“The world doesn't need this Helena,” I whispered, my voice nearly trembling as he licked my panties like an animal eager for its reward.
In one quick movement, Dante wrapped his arms around my waist and dragged me beneath him, pressing my back against the floor. I felt the pressure of his body against mine as he trapped me in the cage of his arms.
“I need her,” he growled. “More than that… I desire her.”
Dante closed the distance further. I felt the tip of his nose brush my cheek. His tensed muscles around me seemed to form concrete walls.
“I'm obsessed with her.” His body settled between my legs, pressing his hardness against my panties as his voice deepened with each word. “I would die for her.”
He pressed his fingers against my heated skin, setting off every alarm in my body.
“I would kill for her.”
My eyes searched for his, and when I found them, it was as if I'd bought a ticket to nowhere. As if something had pulled us to a place where there was no air, no sound, no time—and the only sensation was a tremendous void filled by his voice.
“Don't talk like that,” I pleaded.
My deep breath brought our bodies closer. I felt an addictive rush of adrenaline tingling in my abdomen.
“I don't know how to want you less, Helena.” His eyes moved between my eyes and my mouth, as if he wanted to engrave them in his mind—or possess them until death. With Dante, it was impossible to know which.
“Sometimes I feel suffocated by this obsession… and sometimes I feel like you make me the most powerful man in the world.”
His lips touched mine and pressed deeper, making my body pulse and reach for him as he dragged his teeth across my neck.
I moaned, but pushed him away so I could look at him.
“Don't think too much.” Dante's hand slipped inside my panties, finding me completely wet.
“One of us should,” I said, and Dante responded by grinding his hips against mine, letting me know there wasn't a single rational inch left in his body.
“We will.” He sucked my lower lip. “After I make you come a few more times, I promise you'll have my full attention… or at least plenty of goodwill for it.”
My heart pounded in my throat.
“I think we agree on that, don't we?” he growled, his lips pressing against mine. My pussy clenched against his fingers, answering him. My body dominated every interaction with Dante. Guiding us straight to hell. “That's what I thought.”
I woke to the gentle warmth of sunlight streaming through the window, warming the blanket draped over me. I stretched, sinking into the almost maternal softness of Dante's bed. This must be why rich people wake up in such good moods.
With my eyes still closed, I reached for Dante and realized I was alone.
From the bed, I peeked toward the bathroom, hoping he was there, but there was no sign of movement, no light beneath the door.
I slid out of bed and looked for my clothes.
Dante had folded them perfectly and left them on the chaise lounge.
When I checked the time, I realized I wasn't late yet—but I would be soon, since I needed to change before heading to the office.
Armed with my things and wary of running into Candice, I moved quietly through the house, trying to find Dante. I heard his voice in the distance, and as I drew closer, I realized it was coming from the balcony.
He was wearing only sweatpants, holding his phone in what looked like a video call. I thought about approaching slowly to hug him and let him know I was leaving, when his voice rose and I could make out what he was saying—or at least most of it.
“That's not an option, Maressa. End of discussion.”
“Dante, I don't know how much longer I can keep this up.” Maressa sounded equally agitated, and I froze, not wanting to make a sound. “I'm freaking out, paranoid, and Mom asks me every day what happened, and I just can't keep lying to her and everyone else anymore.”
Dante leaned over the railing, and I ducked behind the curtain, afraid he'd catch me spying.
“Maressa, I'm not going to let you ruin everything now,” he said harshly, though clearly keeping his voice down. As if hoping I was still asleep. “The truth won't save you from what happened that night. It's too late… Trust me.”
Maressa countered, but I couldn't hear. Dante's body, clearly tense, straightened again.
“Enough, Maressa. Stop acting like a bratty child. This discussion is over,” he declared before hanging up. I took a deep breath and hurried to the balcony door. Dante turned to face me, his hard expression quickly giving way to a smile when he saw me. “Helena.”
“Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt.” I kept my distance, but Dante quickly closed the gap, wrapping his arm around my waist. “Is everything okay?”
“What?”
“I was coming over and noticed you seemed a little tense on the phone.”
“Oh, that?” He played dumb. “My mother was insisting I should come visit.”
“I thought I heard you say 'Maressa,'” I pressed, trying to see how far he would take it.
“You did. My sister thought she could convince me, but I explained that I'm following your recommendations and keeping us out of trouble.” He kissed my forehead. “Come on, I made us breakfast.”
Dante tried to take my hand, but I ran my fingers through my hair instead.
“I can't stay.” I pulled away. “I need to work… I have a client soon.”
“I thought we were exclusive,” he teased. “I don't like the idea of an open relationship.”
His mischievous smile almost made me lower my guard, but I straightened up, still processing his conversation with Maressa.
“Morning grumpiness?” He pulled me to him again, but this time I didn't have time to escape.
He kissed me and I gave in, because nothing about me was rational under his touch.
“I was thinking… since I'll have to pretend I didn't hear you moan my name a few times last night… we could spend the weekend alone at the lake house.”
“I don't know if it's a good idea for you to travel.”
“It's not a trip.” He spun us toward the view, hugging me from behind and bringing his lips close to my ear. “The house is an hour and a half from here. It's a safe place, away from everything and everyone. We can pretend for two days that life didn't put a concrete wall between us.”
I sighed, imagining getting away from everything and playing house with Dante for two days.
“Imagine waking up and watching the lake through the window, making a bonfire and drinking wine until you let my Helena emerge from your pores. Setting her free to breathe fresh air.” I opened my eyes. The thought was tempting—and intoxicating too.
“I think we should sit with that idea first.” I turned to face him, and in this light, his eyes looked like ice. How could I not get lost in them? “Dante… we shared something serious last night. And I don't want to regret it.”
“You won't.” He cupped my face in his hands. “Trust me.”
His lips found mine again, and I let myself be guided by them.
His kiss was slow, without the intensity of the night before, warming my chest this time.
Lifting the weight from my feet. Making me float toward the horizon like a balloon that had just been released, though his hands kept my body in place.
“I need to go now,” I whispered, and he kissed my forehead.
As my car pulled away from the property, sanity seemed to flood back into my mind, as if I'd left it at the entrance waiting for my return. Each warm memory was met with merciless reality. As if outside his radar, I could finally see my own sense of direction.
Navigating Dante's dark waters was far too dangerous in this state.