8. Wynter #2
My heart hammered against my ribs, threatening to break down. God, I wished I could say it was from fear. Maybe even with Uncle Liam shielding Juliette and I from the underworld, it was for naught. We’d been born into it, we’d been unknowingly part of it, and we’d die in it.
“I know,” I rasped.
“Do you want to go?” The last chance to get out.
His voice was deep, even emotionless, as if he prepared for me to run.
I shook my head in answer. “Even knowing I’ve seen and done some bad things?
” I shook my head, so he continued, “Even knowing I have blood on my hands? I’m not going to pretend that I’m someone good and lie to you. ”
My heart, soul, and mind were in agreement here. I’d stay. I wanted this. Him. Was it smart? No, probably not. But that wouldn’t stop me. Not when it came to all these new feelings swelling inside my chest, and we had barely gotten started.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I breathed.
He grabbed the back of my neck and tilted my head so I’d stare in his eyes, our noses were inches apart. “Once you’re mine, I won’t let go.”
His words were deep. Smooth. Final. And God help me, I felt like I was his already.
My family wouldn’t approve. Uncle wouldn’t. Mother definitely wouldn’t. I wasn’t even sure that Juliette would be on my side with this. And all my life she’d always taken my side. None of that stopped me.
The tip of his nose brushed against mine. “Your family will probably know my reputation,” he said.
Fuck if I cared at this moment. His hand felt warm on my skin, his fingers firm on the back of my neck, holding me in his control. My heartbeat ricocheted erratically in my chest and excitement swam through my veins. That was all I cared about. This was stronger than my passion for ice skating.
“I don’t think you’re all bad,” I murmured. “There is good in you, Bas,” I whispered softly. Maybe I was stupid, but I was convinced of it. A bad man wouldn’t have come to my rescue. A villain would have demanded a higher price to help me. “And my family will see it too.”
I was certain of it.
If only I wasn’t proven wrong.
* * *
We shared sushi, water, and stories for hours. It was hands down the best date I’ve ever had.
“Juliette, my cousin, is a bit on the wild side,” I told him, when he asked me about my family.
“It’s just her, her brother, and I. Her brother stayed with Uncle,” I told him.
Uncle Liam and Killian were active members of the underworld so I withheld their names.
“Jules stayed with me and my mom. So we were really raised like sisters.”
“I bet she got you into trouble all the time,” he mused.
It seemed he read my cousin well without even meeting her. “Here and there,” I admitted with a smile. “But she’s one of those people that would never betray me. She always stands by me. No matter what.”
He nodded. “I have a few cousins like that too. It’s important to have people that will stand by you, no matter what.”
Something told me he spoke from experience. Though who would dare to betray him or be so stupid was beyond me.
“I’m lucky to have Davina and Ivy, along with Jules,” I told him. “Juliette and I only met Davina and Ivy when we started Yale, but we hit it right off. Ivy and Juliette are a tad bit on the wild side. Davina is too serious.”
“The girl quad squad, huh?” Amusement lurked in his eyes and I’d bet all my money he had watched the surveillance of the crazy four of us burning down Davina’s ex’s house.
“You come here often?” I asked him instead, trying to change the subject while glancing back at the view. It’d be better to focus on Bas than think about secrets I couldn’t unravel about my uncle and Killian.
“No, not since I was like five.”
I tilted my head regarding him. He met my gaze but there was something vulnerable in it that pierced me right through my chest. Without thinking, my hand reached out to his free hand.
“You okay?”
And just like that, his expression was wiped out of all emotions.
“Before my mother left, she brought me here,” he said, his voice detached.
His explanation shocked me. I expected everything but that kind of admission.
“She left me here and took off with my baby sister. She was still an infant. My father didn’t tolerate disobedience. Nor betrayal. He found her. She died.”
The unspoken words were clearer than the starfall sky night. And a shudder ghosted through me. His father killed his mother. I’d stake my life on it.
“Why did you bring us here?” I asked quietly, squeezing his hand gently. “Do you want to go?”
He was quiet for a moment, his dark eyes meeting mine. My heart ached in my chest for him even though he wiped out any trace of vulnerability in him.
“We can replace it with a better memory,” I offered softly, watching him.
A corner of his lips lifted and he regarded me with a hooded expression. It felt like looking into the sun, getting blinded by his darkness, and loving every second of it.
My pulse fluttered. My cheeks heated and warmth pooled in the pit of my stomach.
The girls would argue it was my first crush.
I didn’t think so. It felt like so much more than that.
Like the world tilted off its axis and only this man could keep me standing.
I’ve liked boys before, even fooled around a bit.
But I never found it to be that exciting so it ended before it even started.
Yet now, as I watched this man, I knew it was him I was waiting for. Nothing ever made me feel like a mere glance by him. Warm all over. He tore down invisible walls inside me, unraveled me, then engraved himself into the marrow of my bones.
And he hadn’t even kissed me. Yet.
I knew it was only a matter of time. It was part of every glance we shared. Every breath. Every heartbeat.
“Want to dance?” It wasn’t a question, though he framed it as one. But neither was it a demand.
I slid off the hood of his expensive car. He followed. Pulling out his phone, he opened an app and started his car. Soft music came through his speakers and he took my hand.
For a breath of moment we stood facing each other, heartbeat-to-heartbeat and our gazes locked.
I let out a shallow breath and took a step closer to him, bringing us chest-to-chest. The way he towered above me should scare me. Instead, this man made something hot unravel inside me and I dove into it, needing every ounce of it.
He took my hand into his, interlocked our fingers and we started to move. Our bodies danced, fitting perfectly against each other.
Slow. Sensual. Magical.
Through the buzzing in my ears came lyrics of the song “I Found” by Amber Run.
My breasts brushed against his three-piece-suit, my nipples tightened. My heart raced so hard I couldn’t inhale enough oxygen into my lungs.
Towering over me like a dark, protective cloud, his eyes fell to my lips. I swallowed hard but I refused to look away. Instead, I drowned in his warm, spicy scent and his dark gaze, getting drunk off it. The butterflies in my stomach took flight and tingles vibrated under my skin.
I had never wanted anything more than him at this moment and somehow I knew he could see it in my eyes. Or maybe he could feel it.
He bent his head and brought his lips close to mine.
“I found you,” he whispered, his breath brushing against my lips.
Not caring of consequences, or who he was, I wrapped my hands around his neck and closed the small gap between us. Our lips connected and fireworks exploded through every cell of my body.
Kissing Basilio DiLustro felt like committing the most delicious sin.
My mouth parted and he deepened the kiss, his tongue brushing against my lower lip and a moan climbed up my throat. My insides shook with an unfamiliar need.
The touch of his lips on mine set every inch of my skin on fire.
I couldn’t breathe; it was too much. It wasn’t enough.
I grew lightheaded, lost in the sensation of him.
His lips were soft, my veins burned with something hot and an ache pulsed between my thighs that only he could sate.
Kissing him was better than anything else I had ever experienced.
Better than figure skating or the highest and hardest jumps on ice.
Better than experiencing that first perfect quad AxeI jump on ice or the triple Lutz.
Kissing Bas was like standing on the edge of a cliff as a warm breeze caressed your face, watching the world spread out before you. It was euphoric.
Nothing and nobody ever came close to this feeling. Not even my quad Lutz or quad flip.