19. Dante
19
DANTE
Dante
T hat first day I brought Nina home, I told her that she would need to preoccupy herself. I wanted her to understand that work took precedence and that I was a busy man in demand with my men and associates. At no time was she supposed to be deluded and assume I would play house with her.
And she’d followed that expectation beautifully, spending her time independently, reading, working out, or making herself at home preparing meals in the kitchen.
After I fucked her in the fitting room, she became so aloof that she excelled at staying preoccupied.
It was only one night and one day, but they felt long.
Something happened. Something had to have shifted to make her so distant. She didn’t give me the cold shoulder, and she wasn’t doling out a silent treatment. But I could tell. I didn’t know what it was, but something was bothering her. Ever since I told her that I wanted her to wear that black gown tonight, she had a sense of worry clouding over her.
“All the more reason to look forward to tonight,” I whispered to my reflection in the mirror as I adjusted my tie.
If she was shrinking into herself and getting defensive because I took her virginity last night, then I’d set her straight on that behavior. It had to be a big deal to her—having sex for the first time. It was a bigger deal to me, because now that I’d had her, now that I knew how perfect her pussy felt wrapped around my dick, I wanted her again. Even worse than before.
I was her first, and I started to play with the idea of being her last, too.
At the risk of her safety and all.
If Nina became mine for real, she’d need to tolerate the danger of being associated with one of the most notorious crime leaders in the city. That was no small condition to consider or accept.
I checked the time as I left my room, impatient to see Nina in the black gown I chose for her.
Downstairs, I waited until the last possible moment to call her down.
If she’s going to be nervous and skittish…
I sighed, bracing to raise my voice and yell for her to hurry. Turning, I lifted my face toward the grand staircase. She was already coming down the steps, carefully holding up her dress as she walked toward me.
“Nina.” I didn’t yell or scold her to hurry. Her name left my lips in a revered whisper of awe.
“What do you think?” she asked, a little cautious as she glanced at me.
“I like it. A lot.” I nodded, holding my hand out for her to take it once she came to the floor. Her grip was steady, but the nervous look in her eyes was not.
“You’re gorgeous, Nina.” I guided her closer so I could kiss her, but at the last second, she turned her head slightly to avoid my lips.
I tsked after pressing my mouth to her soft cheek and kissing her there. “What’s that about?” I growled. Slipping my arm around her back, I tugged her close and hugged her tight. Her faint giggles lifted my spirits. This time, I cupped her face and kissed her sweet lips. Hard and fast. It wasn’t enough. I doubted I’d ever get enough of this woman.
“I didn’t want you to mess up my makeup.”
I kissed her again until she softened and moaned against me.
“I want to mess you up in every dirty way there is,” I warned into her ear. Her shivers were my reward, and without releasing her fully, I led her toward the door.
“But first, the gala.”
I sighed and nodded. “Yes. First, the gala. Where I can show everyone that you are mine.”
We were supposed to only be pretending about it all, but I wondered how I could explain to her that I wanted it to be real between us.
Tonight. The second I bring her home. We left, and as I drove, I envisioned how I’d tell her that things had changed. We’d lie on my bed, naked and tired from fucking hard, and I’d look her in the eyes and tell her that I was done faking anything with her.
Headed to the Sarround Gala wasn’t a prime time to realize that I had to update her on what I wanted. But afterward, she’d know the truth.
On the drive there, she asked a variety of questions about the event, and I enjoyed the simpler companionship with her, just talking.
“It’s to benefit the children’s hospital,” I answered after her inquiry about what the gala was a fundraiser for.
“That’s altruistic,” she quipped.
“It is. But the real reason we go is to keep tabs on our friends and enemies.”
“That’s a nonstop challenge, though, isn’t it?”
I nodded. “It is. And always will be.”
“How big of a crowd will be there?”
“At least three hundred?” I guessed. The only comparison I had was my wedding, when I married Grace and had our reception at the same large venue. Five hundred people attended that, and the crowd at last year’s Sarround Gala wasn’t as well attended as what I remembered from my wedding.
“That’s a lot of people.” She raised her brows in shock.
I grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles. “Nothing to be nervous about.”
She cleared her throat. “As long as I stick with you, right?”
I chuckled. “Oh, I’m not letting you out of my sight for a second.”
The slight increase of pressure on my knuckles soothed me. She wasn’t too aloof or nervous to avoid interacting with me.
“This feels like the big test. Proving to all the important members of your world that we’re an item.”
I grinned. Baby, I think we already are, whether you’ll struggle to believe it or not. “Which shouldn’t be too hard to pull off.”
She smiled, dipping her chin a bit, almost bashful.
Yeah, you know we’re good together. Don’t try to deny it.
“Stay with me. Follow my lead,” I suggested.
“And play along?”
I can’t wait to play with you again.
I had my chance at the gala. We arrived, and I kept my promise. I didn’t let her stray more than one inch from me, and I kept her hand in mine the whole time. Or secure in my embrace. Or tucked in against me as we kissed.
She was docile and submissive, truly following my lead. Other women, all decked out in their fine gowns and sporting elaborate makeup and updos, were nothing more than trophies for their partners. Many were likely escorts. Still, we stood out. Nina was a star among the many. Because together, we looked like true partners. A couple. A real pair.
She gazed at me with such trust and open honesty that she would play along with whatever I suggested to her. And she did.
While I stared at her, fantasizing about how I’d peel this shimmering black gown off her gorgeous body tonight, I was aware of how sappy and adoring my expression had to be. If anyone was watching, they’d witness a man very much in lust, and maybe the beginning of love, as I mingled with Nina at my side.
She was no better. After every kiss I stole, following each daring touch, either cupping her ass as I hugged her closer or braced my hand on the back of her neck as I smiled down at her, she looked sated and secure, glad to be with me.
“Mr. Constella,” she teased after I handed her another flute of champagne.
I smirked at the formal address. “Yeah?”
“You can’t seem to keep your hands off me tonight.”
“Try and stop me.”
“Who says I want to?” she asked saucily.
The world would see me infatuated with this young woman who impressed me with every turn of this adventure, and I felt like a king, a god, to be able to know she was here for me and with me. Only.
Nina knew how to play her part well, and after I caught a look of surprise on Eva’s face as we passed her by, I knew that she had been guessing Nina might not be able to handle the pressure. There was no way to hide or cover up that Nina came from a poorer, deprived background. But no one would know that here. She blended in with the rest of us, elegant, poised, and dressed to impress in that tight black gown that accentuated her curvaceous body.
“Are you enjoying yourself?” I asked her after Franco and I spoke for a while about a few people we were trying to keep an eye on. Stefan was chief among our concerns, but I had yet to spot him in this massive ballroom.
“Yes.” She curled up against me, resting her cheek on my chest as she pressed her hand there. “But I wish we could have privacy instead.”
“Why?” I asked, eager to know her answer.
She looked me up and down, coy and sexy. “I want you.”
I leaned toward her, lowering my hand from the small of her back to hold her ass. Pushing her against me, I whispered into her ear. “You can want me anywhere and everywhere.”
I watched her cheek lift in another sly smile. “We couldn’t do that here.”
“Want to bet?”
Just like that, her expression fell. Gone was the mirthful, teasing nature. She was frowning, focused on something behind me.
Bet? Was that the trigger that bothered her? A reminder that her stupid brother had bet on her life? It was just a saying, and she surely knew that, but I felt so confused as to why she would change her demeanor so quickly.
“Dante.”
As soon as her voice reached me, I was confident I’d found the reason for the shift in Nina’s mood.
Vanessa. Her nasally, whiny tone reached me. Nina curled her fingers into my jacket, and I covered her hand with mine.
“Nina?”
Her brow remained furrowed as she seemed to track Vanessa approaching. I had no doubt that she had locked her determined stare on me, planning to get in my face like she always did. She wouldn’t succeed, not while I had Nina in my arms.
“Hmm?” Nina glanced at me a second before I crushed my mouth over hers. Without any further instruction, she played along perfectly. Kissing me back. Moaning slightly. Tilting to ensure a better angle and deeper suction. Her fingers threaded through my hair as she held my head close, and as I wrapped my arms around her, she arched her back to accommodate the force of my kiss, dipping her a bit.
I hoped that coming upon me while I made out with another woman would deter Vanessa completely. Logically, she should’ve witnessed this display of affection and turned around.
But she didn’t. She was still there. Arms crossed and tapping her foot.
“Dante.” She repeated it harsher, with more sass and impatience, like I was an asshole to keep her waiting at all.
I sighed, smoothing my thumb over Nina’s lower lip that I’d tortured with that hungry kiss.
“Dante.” Vanessa wasn’t getting the hint.
Nina smirked, and the devilish expression warmed my heart. “I think some lady is trying to speak with you.”
“Oh?”
Some lady. I had to fight back a chuckle. Vanessa wouldn’t like that label.
“I’m not some woman ,” she snapped as we turned to face her. It was clear that she wouldn’t take a hint and leave without saying something.
Keeping Nina pressed against me, my arm around her shoulders, I leaned my head against the top of hers.
“I’m Vanessa Giovanni,” she clarified to Nina, her lips curled with disdain.
Nina shrugged one shoulder, indifferent. “Oh.”
“She’s the daughter of someone I used to know.”
Vanessa gaped at me and crossed her arms. “What?”
I didn’t back down, maintaining this steady, blank expression. I said what I said.
“Used to know?” Vanessa scoffed. “You know my father.”
“I used to,” I argued. “Lately, it seems he and I have different visions.”
Vanessa pursed her lips. “That’s not true.”
“What does it matter?” Nina tipped her chin up for a kiss, and I obliged her. “He used to know my dad too.”
Vanessa’s snarl deepened, the best it could with all the work she’d had done. “I don’t care who you are. Dante and I?—”
I shook my head. “There is no way you can put us together. Not in any claim or sentence you can make up.”
“We—”
I sighed, beginning to steer Nina away from her. “There isn’t, never was, and never will be a we where you are concerned.” Pressing another kiss to Nina’s temple, I gloated on the victory in Vanessa’s glower. She was furious, practically vibrating with how tightly she scowled. If she hadn’t gotten the message earlier, she would now.
Mission accomplished.
But the real goal, the real objective, was having Nina at my side.
And I was winning there, too. The reward of Nina’s company felt like the ultimate gift I’d ever want in my life.