CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN #2
I drove back to the office. Day had given way to night, and it was a bit colder now. The afternoon had pushed away all thoughts of last night with Dante, but the darkness seemed to bring them rushing back.
The click of my heels on the stairs seemed to be the only sound in the building. I dug through my purse for my keys, figuring Célie and Joseph must have already left. But when I slid the key into the lock, I realized the door was already open.
“I thought you’d already left.” Walking into the office, I noticed the light in my room was on. “Célie? Are you using my computer to watch K-dramas again?”
The blood drained from my hands and feet, rushing straight to my face when I saw Dante sitting in my chair.
“What are you doing here?” I was still clutching my purse in front of me, like some kind of imaginary shield.
“I was heading to the Klan, but I decided it was smarter to wait here… since I wasn’t thinking straight.”
“How do you know I was there?”
“My sister.”
“She was watching me?”
“Claire took Maressa clothes shopping and they saw you there with a ‘handsome older guy,’ as they put it.” His tone was dry, dripping with contempt when he mentioned Ron.
“How did you get in here? Did Célie let you wait here alone?”
“Joseph was leaving when I decided to stop by.”
“You shouldn’t be here. People might get suspicious.”
“That you’re my lawyer?” he asked, leaning back in the chair, watching me frozen in place. “People have no way of knowing we slept together.”
“Dante.”
“Isn’t that what we did?” He stood up, wearing a black sweatsuit and running shoes.
“We don’t need to say it out loud.”
“It’s just the two of us here.” He stopped in front of me. Dante was tall, and he seemed even bigger here in my office. He cupped my face in his hands and brought his lips close to mine. “When Maressa said she saw you with someone… I tasted blood in my mouth.”
“It was just a work meeting,” I said, looking into his eyes.
“I know,” he murmured, brushing his nose against mine. “That’s why I figured I’d better sit here and remind myself why I shouldn’t go there.”
“Have you been here long?”
“It took me a while to remember.” His eyes dropped to my lips as he whispered, “I spent an hour wondering what I’d do with this fire burning in my chest.”
“And what did you decide?”
“That I’d let it burn with you.”
He kissed me urgently, my lips melting into his. The purse slipped from my fingers and I grabbed him by the waist. Dante pushed me back against the bookshelf.
“Every spark cries out for you.”
He slid his hand under my blouse, pinning me against the shelves of legal classics. I moaned when his thigh pressed between mine.
His hand traveled up to my neck, his long fingers wrapping around my throat.
“You’re mine, Helena,” he growled, pulling his lips away from me. My chest was heaving. His eyes were dark with desire and possessiveness. “And I’m yours, my sweet Helena.”
He tugged my lip with his teeth, bringing me to the edge of a delicious pain. Dante groaned when I ground my pussy against his thigh, begging for more. He brought his face close to my ear, the heat of his breath and his deep voice sending shivers through me.
“You like this, don’t you? You fight it on the outside, but your body whispers my name from every pore.”
“I can’t control it,” I murmured.
“Let me guide you, counselor.”
Dante suddenly pulled away. My body was completely electrified by his touch. He pointed to my desk.
“Here.” He ordered me to stand in front of the desk, and I obeyed. “Lean on the desk, spread your legs, and arch your ass.”
“You're going to fuck me here?” I looked at him over my shoulder.
Dante came up behind me and gripped my waist with one hand while the other pressed me down onto the desk.
“I'm going to fuck you everywhere I can, Helena.”
I arched forward, resting my elbows on the desk. Dante hiked my skirt up to my waist. His hand cracked against my ass and I bit my lip. Then his finger trailed to the center of my slit.
“You can lie to yourself, but your body tells me the truth.” He pressed my clit between his fingers. “And it's saying you want this as much as I do.”
Dante grabbed my hair at the nape, pulling me back slightly under his control.
“Maybe you've even dreamed about this, like I have.”
I wasn't ready when Dante drove into me with one hard thrust. I felt a slight burn as his thick cock filled me.
“Aah... you did dream about it.” He groaned, thrusting into me again, and we nearly moaned in unison.
He thrust again. His fingers dug deeper into my hair.
“Everything we've lived through brought us here, Helena.” He thrust deeper.
“This is insane,” I grunted. My panties hadn't even come off. Sometimes I felt them brush against my clit, intensifying the sensation. Dante didn't hold back. He kept fucking me mercilessly. It was almost like he wanted to punish me for denying him.
“Are you punishing me for hanging up on you?”
“Punish you?” His voice was heavy against my back. “Ahh, Helena... my punishments can be as delicious as this, but this isn't a punishment... Consider it more like an extrajudicial notice of ownership.”
“Want a ride home?” I asked as we walked to my car. I tossed my bag on the passenger seat and opened the driver's door.
“The brute you assigned me is waiting a few cars ahead.” Dante pointed toward the end of the street.
“Better go then.” I got in the car and Dante closed the door for me, then leaned against the window, his forearm resting on the door.
“Are you afraid someone will see us? Can't a man flatter his lawyer?”
“If he can keep his hands out of her panties, sure.”
I turned the key, revving the engine.
“Gets pretty hard with you looking so sexy driving a sports car.” Dante stepped back, walking toward the end of the street. “See you later, counselor.”
I watched him in the rearview mirror, catching my own smile reflected back at me. Shit.
I think I'm getting addicted to this feeling, and it's making me lose focus on what matters. Maressa's damn call.
I grabbed my phone from my bag and searched for the number of the investigator Célie had hired.
“Vincent? This is Dr. Helena Torres from Torres & Fields, and I need a favor. I need you to dig up everything you can on Maressa Stella Marino. And what she did on the day of Quentin Darwin's murder.”
“Any specific suspicions?”
“Nothing for now. Just confirming what she knows.”
“Leave it to me.”
I started the car and drove toward home, and the mountain of questions waiting to torment me for the next few hours.