Chapter 8 Dante
DANTE
What the fuck was I doing? He shouldn’t be here in my house.
He was blatantly offering himself to me, and I was way too fucking tempted.
I wanted him. I wanted to hear his breath catch when I touched him.
I wanted him to learn what it really meant to do exactly what I said.
I wanted to make him beg. I wanted him on his knees.
I wanted him laid out naked underneath me, completely at my mercy.
But none of that could happen. My family connections had gotten me the position at the university.
Remington’s clout could likely hold it for me through a hell of a lot, but the scandal of me seducing and fucking a student—a student in my class—that would be too much.
I wanted this job. I needed this career.
I needed something in my life that wasn’t blood and danger and hiding.
I wasn’t going to hide myself here. I did too much of that with my family.
Here, I was going to be as much myself as I could possibly be.
It’s your true self that wants him—wants to take him, control him, teach him.
I pushed that thought away.
I glanced toward the living room and saw Alex looking out the window as he ate a sandwich. I stepped back outside since I’d never gotten tomatoes the first time around. While I was out there, I called Rafe.
He answered almost immediately. “Hey, big bro, what’s up?”
“I need you to do a favor for me.”
“Am I going to like this favor?”
He definitely would. “You get to threaten a frat boy.”
“Ooh. I’m liking it already. Any sorority girls involved?”
“Rafe, I’ve told you—no hooking up on my turf.”
He huffed. “I don’t know why you get a whole college for your turf, but sure, whatever. I’ve got plenty of what I need at the casino.”
“Yes, you do. One of my students is having trouble. He’s being harassed by a guy in his frat.”
“You’ve gotten close enough to a student to find out all that, and I haven’t heard about him?”
I needed to sound calmer, less urgent. “Don’t make a big deal out of it, all right? This is serious. The guy slashed Alex’s face with a bottle. He had to get stitches, and this guy may have drugged him as well.”
“Fucking asshole. Don’t think I’m not going to ask more questions about this Alex though.”
“I can’t talk about that right now.”
“Oh shit, is he there? Dante, you going to actually relax and enjoy yourself tonight?”
“No, it’s not like that. He needs help, and he trusts me.”
Rafe laughed. “It is so much more than that. But tell me who I need to go put the fear of God and the Theriot family in.”
“His name is Randall. He’s in Chi Rho. I’m sure you won’t have trouble finding him. Make sure he understands that if he does anything to Alex—if we even suspect he’s done anything to Alex—he will suffer for it, but don’t hurt him now.”
“Are you sure I can’t hurt him just a little?”
“No.”
“So I can scare people on campus, but I can’t fuck anyone?”
Why was he always so difficult? “Rafe, can you please just do this for me?”
“Of course, brother dear, but there is absolutely something going on with you and Alex.”
“No, there’s not. He needs help. That’s all there is to it.
” I should’ve asked somebody else. Lance would’ve done it for me or Corbin, or even his husband, Beau, but I was so used to always relying on Rafe for help.
And now I was going to have to put up with his shit, and he was going to tell Lorenzo.
Goddamn, I didn’t need that. “You owe me, and you know it. I don’t want any more questions about this. Just handle it.”
“You mean, you don’t want me calling Lorenzo and telling him all about you and Alex?”
“Rafael, I am—”
“I won’t tell him. You’ll eventually need to tell me more, so I’ll find out one way or another.”
That couldn’t happen because there couldn’t be anything else to tell. “All right, thanks, little bro.”
“You know it. Consider Randall taken care of.”
I ended the call, picked some tomatoes, and stepped back into the kitchen. When I checked on Alex, he was lying down again with his eyes closed. Maybe he would sleep for a bit while I finished making dinner.
I tried to immerse myself in chopping and sautéing, but I couldn’t get rid of the anxiety that had my chest tight and my body buzzing. I laid out the lightly breaded eggplant on the pan and slipped it into the oven to roast, then started the water boiling for the pasta and checked on Alex again.
There was a student in my living room—a student who made very clear he’d like to be in my bed.
A student who clearly had a hell of a lot more than I’d imagined going on in his life.
A student I wanted. I needed to see if he’d eat some more and then send him to bed.
He needed sleep, and I needed him securely closed away in the guest room.
When dinner was almost ready, I heard footsteps and turned to see Alex in the doorway of the kitchen. His color was much improved, and he seemed steady on his feet. “It smells so good.”
“Thank you.” It pleased me more than I wanted to admit that he’d been called by my cooking.
“What is it?”
“It’s pasta alla norma, roasted eggplant in a garlicky tomato sauce.”
Alex frowned.
“You’ll try it and like it. Sit down.”
Alex grinned and did as I said. “I wouldn’t have thought you’d act like an Italian mother if I came to your house.”
“My mom was an amazing cook. I wished I’d been able to learn more from her, but I’m doing all right teaching myself.”
“What happened to your mom?”
“She and my dad died in a car accident when I was twelve. My older brother raised me after that.”
“How old was he when they died?”
“Seventeen. We had other family too—cousins, aunts, and uncles. We managed.”
“I’m sorry. I lost my parents a few years ago. But we weren’t… close. My uncle took me in mainly because he’d wanted a son to mold in his image. That was fun.”
“So you’re on your own now?”
He huffed. “No, between my grandparents and my uncle, I don’t get left alone nearly enough. They have a hell of a lot of expectations for me.”
“And if you don’t follow the expectations?”
“Then I’m on my own for money.”
I nodded.
“I wouldn’t be able to finish school. I wouldn’t—”
I held up a hand. “I’m not judging you for that.”
“Thanks.”
Alex took a bite of the eggplant pasta and groaned. The sound did things to me it shouldn’t. “This is so good, and I don’t even like eggplant. I don’t really like tomatoes, but oh my God, this is so good.”
“I’m glad you like it. It was my mother’s favorite.”
“Oh, that’s sweet.”
I didn’t think anyone had called me sweet since I was a little child. But I liked it. Alex didn’t say much as we continued to eat. He devoured what was on his plate and got more. I was glad to see him eating. Maybe there was something of the Italian mother in me.
When he finished his second plate, he took his dishes to the sink, not something I expected from a frat boy. “You clean up after yourself. I like that.”
Pinkness rose in his cheeks. “My aunt was so awful to the people who worked for her. I liked to help when I could.” He covered his mouth as he yawned. “I think I’m still tired. Where is the guest room?”
“Come on. I’ll show you.” As he followed me, my mind was filled with confusing thoughts about the different facets that made up Alex. He was brilliant, but he was an idiot about taking care of himself. He was in a frat but didn’t seem to like the other guys.
And none of it was my business.
Except you’re having your brother go threaten the guy that hurt him.
“Do you have some antibiotic cream to put on your face?”
“Yeah, and oral antibiotics too. My friend was able to… acquire some.”
I’m sure he was. “Good. I don’t want you to let that get infected. My doctor could take a look at it. She would do it here, so you won’t have to go to the hospital or a clinic.”
He frowned. “You’d do that for me?”
“Yes. Do you have to be anywhere tomorrow before my class?”
“No.”
“Good. I’ll see if she can come early in the morning.”
“Thank you, Dante.” His smile warmed me all over.
“You’re welcome. There are towels in the bathroom, which is the door at the end of the hall, and the sheets are clean. I like to keep it ready for guests.”
“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather have me in your room?”
I shook my head. “You’re staying here. I’m staying in my room. After the doctor’s looked at you tomorrow, you’re going to go, and Randall is not going to bother you again.”
“Okay.”
He sounded so damn sad that I wanted to change my mind, but that was insanity. He needed help. He needed protection. But he did not need to be involved with me.
I had my own problems, and my life was full of danger. Even if I didn’t care about my reputation at school, even if I would flaunt a relationship with a student, even if I thought I could get away with it, he needed so much more than what I could provide.
But the thought of anyone hurting him made anger burn inside me. I would continue to protect him no matter what. And the thought of someone else fucking him… I could easily snap the neck of anyone who tried. I was going to have to get over that.
It took me forever to fall asleep. All I could think about was how Alex was just down the hall. What was he sleeping in? Underwear? Nothing at all? All I had to do was walk down the hall, and I could… No, that wasn’t going to happen.
When I finally fell asleep, I tossed and turned, plagued with dreams about Lorenzo and Dimitri, about Rafe in trouble, and then about Alex.
I woke sometime around 3:00 a.m. and lay there staring at the ceiling, my last dream running through my head again and again.
Alex had slipped into my bed naked and begged to suck my cock until I couldn’t say no.
As images from the dream played in my head, I wrapped my hand around my cock, working it up and down, letting the fantasy go further.
I tightened my grip as I imagined Alex’s lips around me. I imagined pushing my cock deep into his throat, having him take it all. He was ready to serve me any way I wanted him to.
Fuck, the thought of him like that was so hot. My hand moved faster. I was close, right at the edge.