CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Tempus Suspendere
Everything is dangerously silent. What could he be doing right now? ?? (@deisebloombastic)
“I don’t know why you made me meet you here.” Dante was behind the wheel of a sleek, modern SUV in a deep teal color.
“I didn’t want to risk running into the Dantezetes.”
“Dante what?” He took off his sunglasses, revealing eyes still slightly puffy from the early hour. His body language signaled he was about to get out and open my door, but I stopped him.
“Dantezetes.” I opened the door myself and slid into the car, tossing my suitcase into the back seat. “That’s what we call your fanbase.”
“That’s a horrible name.”
“They’re actually pretty cool.” I put on my seatbelt.
Dante waited for me to finish, then unbuckled his own seatbelt. I barely had time to react before his lips found mine in a slow, welcoming kiss.
“Now the trip can begin safely.” He buckled back up, slid his sunglasses on, and started the quietest car I’d experienced in my 34 years.
He set off on our short journey to a suspended reality, where the horizon was our only limit.
When Dante parked at the property entrance, it was hard not to be impressed.
His modesty had led me to imagine a small lakeside cottage, but the reality was something closer to a sprawling estate.
It was as if the Marinos had bought the entire north side of the state to build a house of stone and wood, complete with a panoramic porch and a large heated pool.
As we entered, Dante gave me a quick tour of the house, which had cozy décor with earth-toned walls and large windows that made it feel like we were floating in the middle of the lake.
Outside, near the pool, sat a fire pit surrounded by wooden chairs and black and gray stones, all enveloped in a deafening silence.
In the stillness, we could only hear the subtle sounds of nature.
“Sorry, but given the secret nature of our trip, I had to dismiss the staff.” Dante helped me with my suitcase. “We’ll have to fend for ourselves. Make our own food and maybe light our own fire.”
“That’s the most elitist thing I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth,” I replied, wandering deeper into the living room. “I didn’t think you were the ‘arrogant rich boy’ type.”
“Oh, I very much am that type.” Dante approached me, wrapping his arm around my waist. “I like expensive clothes, polo, and luxury hotels.”
“That’s a bit disappointing.” My arms wrapped around his neck, and I looked at him with a teasing smile. “I thought you were different from the others.”
“I’m unique, Dr. Helena.” He pulled me closer, his lips grazing mine, making me feel at home. “But I’m not perfect.”
“And is anyone?”
“You seem perfect to me.” His lips played with mine as his hand guided me toward the couch. I let myself be led, returning his teasing.
“So you’re telling me this entire property is just for us?” I pulled back just enough to look at him, and his eyes made it clear he was ready to devour me. “I need to confess something…”
Dante’s lips trailed down my neck, stirring a storm between my legs.
“Tell me…” he murmured, lavishing my exposed skin with licks, nibbles, and kisses.
“I’ve never had sex at a lake.” I watched him unbutton my blouse, sliding the fabric off my shoulders.
“It’ll be my first time too.”
“Shameless.” I scolded him.
“The first time that matters.”
“You’re only making it worse, Dante.” I pushed him onto the couch.
“And what are you going to do about it?” He looked at me as if he could see right through my clothes.
“Finish getting to know the property.” I winked at him before leaving him frustrated, sitting with a hard-on on the living room couch.
I kept walking, and Dante followed me down a hallway that seemed to lead to the private wing of the house.
“Want to see your room?”
“Are we sleeping separately?” I asked, confused.
“You might want a more… normal room to sleep in.”
Dante walked past me, opening one of the doors along the long hallway.
“You talk as if there’s another type of room.” I stepped into the spacious room. It was flooded with light, thanks to a glass wall that offered a 180-degree view of the lake.
“Not all rooms were made for sleeping, Helena.”
“You talk as if you have a red room of pain.” I scoffed, and Dante didn’t respond. “You know… a reference to Fifty Shades of
“Gray. Yeah, I know.” Dante leaned against the wall. “But that name is terrible.”
“You talk like you’re some great critic and expert connoisseur.”
“A little... but my room isn’t red. And bondage isn’t about pain.”
I swallowed hard.
He was joking, right? It was a joke.
“What’s wrong? Maybe you were wrong about my rebellious streak being so predictable.”
“I’m not going into your room,” I responded with disdain.
“Ahh, Helena...” Dante walked slowly toward me and gripped my waist firmly, pressing my body against his. “Don’t be impulsive... it’s too early to pass judgment.”
“I’m not being impulsive. I’m working with facts, and facts don’t lie.”
“Want a fact, counselor?” He drew my lip between his, biting it as he pulled away. “Deep down, you know I’m not only going to convince you to come inside—I’m going to make you beg for it.”
In one quick, firm movement, Dante lifted me into his arms and carried me to the bed. His body leaned over mine, and I wrapped my thighs around him. His mouth claimed mine like it was his to take. As he kissed me, Dante pressed his hands against my skin, sliding them down toward my waist.
“Maybe you’ll even beg me not to let you leave.”
The rough texture of my jeans seemed to intensify the friction between our bodies, and Dante responded by pressing his hardness against the fabric.
“I think the tour is over,” I murmured, feeling his lips trail down from my neck toward my chest. He growled, pushing my blouse aside, freeing my breast from where the fabric had been squeezing my nipple.
Dante’s mouth covered the rosy peak, and I felt his teeth graze lightly, sending a shock that radiated all the way to my fingertips.
While sucking one breast, Dante caressed the other with practiced skill—not squeezing too hard or too soft.
Sometimes he held the hardened nipple between his knuckles, producing an even more intense sensation.
His attention shifted to my jeans and the small battle I was waging against the zipper.
“In a hurry?” A devastating crooked smile formed on his lips. Dante pulled away, leaving me sprawled on the bed with my breasts spilling out of my blouse. “We still have the outdoor area.”
My breathing was heavy, and my panties were definitely wet. I stared at the ceiling, frustrated, while Dante extended his hand to help me up.
“Come on, counselor. The weekend is just beginning.”
I took his hand, and he pulled me to my feet with ease. His fingers trailed up my arms to my blouse, adjusting it to cover my breasts.
“Is this part of your plan to make me beg?” I grumbled.
He didn’t answer—his smile had already delivered the message. Dante had started a new phase of the game, and I was going to need a lot of self-control to win this time.
As he showed me the property, Dante held my hand like we were a couple visiting the family house in summer. I’d changed out of my jeans and t-shirt into a flowing dress that seemed better suited to the outing.
He showed me a tree where he loved to sit and read, and the spot where he’d gotten a scar at his hairline. We walked along the stone path that circled the massive property.
We took a paddle boat out on the lake and riled up the ducks, who seemed to protest our romantic outing full of kisses and almost-adolescent laughter.
Dante showed me Maressa’s swing and explained that the family almost never came here—that this had become his refuge, where he hid away during the summers.
When the tour finally ended, Dante left me on the deck while he met a delivery driver bringing groceries he’d ordered to stock the pantry.
Sitting there at the edge of the lake in the late afternoon, taking in the peace of this place, I felt suspended in time.
As if we’d created our own little bubble here.
“A flower for your thoughts.” Dante’s voice came from behind me, and soon I could put a face to it as he sat down in the chair beside mine. He handed me a little wildflower he must have picked near the entrance to the house.
“I was thinking about how it feels like there’s no chaotic world out there waiting for us.”
“And there isn’t... not now.” He held my hand.
I smiled, trying to figure out if I really believed that. But I wanted it to be true so badly. Wanted it in a way that scared me.