CHAPTER THIRTY
Carnalis Pactum
The pink rays of late afternoon were deepening to violet, gradually giving way to night.
Dante looked into my eyes as if concealing a secret. A mischievous smile spread across his lips. He pulled our bodies closer together, and alarm bells went off in my head when I realized how close to the edge of the deck we were.
“You wouldn’t dare,” I warned, my entire body going rigid.
“Hold your breath, Helena,” he whispered, and his smile widened as he launched us into the water. We sank wrapped in each other’s arms, and I felt his lips touch mine.
The whole thing couldn’t have lasted more than two seconds before our bodies surfaced, but still, I was overcome by the sensation of floating together... The silence of a peace shared only by the two of us. It was as if our secrets were safe here. As if we were protected even from ourselves.
When we surfaced, Dante was smiling, and I couldn’t contain my own happiness. As if, for the first time, trying to be happy wasn’t such a difficult choice.
Dante slid his wet hands down my back with an almost ritualistic calm. The heat of his skin against mine contrasted with the warm water surrounding us. His smile gave way to heavy breathing.
“Are you okay?”
I shook my head no, even though my skin told a different story. I felt every hair on my body stand on end—whether in response to the night or to Dante’s touch, I couldn’t say.
His hands slid to the curve of my waist, finding exposed skin where the dress floated in the water. His fingers dug in slightly as he pulled me, pressing my body against his, my belly flush against him.
A moan escaped my lips, and he almost captured it with his own. He kissed my jaw, then my neck, and I threw my head back, my dark hair fanning out in the water.
My breathing strained against my dress. Dante kissed the tops of my breasts as they rose and fell in the water.
“You’re my undoing,” he growled when I looked into his eyes again. “You have no idea what you’ve done to me, Helena.”
“Show me,” I whispered, completely immersed in much more than just this lake.
His hands slid the straps of my dress down, and he slipped the garment off my body. A moment later, my bra was floating around us too.
It was as if each layer that fell away was a piece in a game he’d always known he would win.
“Look at me.” His voice was low but charged. “I want to watch you feel.”
And I felt. His thumb grazed one of my nipples, and my whole body arched, sinking into him, as if I no longer knew where I ended and he began. The water made everything feel slower, more intimate, more inevitable.
His hands were everywhere. Squeezing my waist. Sliding up my thighs. Slipping inside my soaked panties with such ease that it seemed they’d always belonged there.
His finger pressed, circled, quickened, then slowed—always long before it became uncomfortable. Dante wasn’t just touching me; he was claiming my body. Making it his territory. His exploration knew no bounds because every damn nerve ending had already surrendered to him.
Clinging to his neck, I pressed my body against his. Begging for more and at the same time for him to stop. As if my mind couldn’t process what he might do next.
“Don’t close your eyes, Helena,” he moaned. “Don’t shut me out. Look at me.”
My lips were parted, my breathing heavy and uneven. I opened my eyes and found his—desperate for me. Desperate to read every reaction the moment the electric wave crashed through my body from head to toe.
“Dios mío,” Dante grunted in some language I didn’t recognize.
And when the first big wave hit me, I had to grip his shoulders. My legs wrapped around his waist—not just to anchor myself to him, but to bind him to me.
My legs tensed, my fingers rigid, and a moan that seemed to echo through the woods and back.
“Dante... please... I don’t want to scream.”
“Fuck it. Let the whole damn world know you’re mine,” he growled, sliding another finger inside me without letting up on my clit. “Moan my name one more time.”
I felt his other hand reach behind me, and my body tensed.
“Don’t fight it,” his voice softened. “Trust me.”
I wrapped my arms around him and pressed my lips to his shoulder. Dante circled, testing the pressure. His touch was so skilled that he slid inside effortlessly. I felt completely filled for the first time. The shock was so intense that I sank my teeth into him, and he growled loudly.
Each time his fingers moved together inside me, the sensation was so overwhelming that my legs began to give out... it was as if I were flying, climbing so high that all I wanted was to let myself fall.
I fell.
Straight into his eyes. Into that gaze heavy with lust and adoration. Seeing me like this, completely given over to him, was his greatest reward.
“I’m going to enter you now,” he warned, his voice hoarse, his hands gripping my waist firmly as if he knew my body wouldn’t be able to handle the impact.
His cock parted my lips and filled me. The world dissolved into water, and the stars bore witness to the dance of our bodies. Dante breathed heavily against my ear as his hips rocked, driving deeper and deeper into me. As if he could permeate my very cells the way he had my mind.
I’d been on the edge of the abyss just minutes before, and now I was ready to leap again. Dante was wound tight too, his rhythm steady. A long moan escaped my lips, and he swallowed it with an urgent kiss.
“Your pussy was sculpted for me,” he whispered against my mouth, his fingers threading through the hair at my nape. He pulled firmly. “You’re perfect.”
His lips claimed mine again. Our tongues tangled, fighting for dominance. His thrusts grew heavier and heavier. I was ready, and so was he.
The birds took flight and the water stilled as we absorbed the sensation of belonging to every square inch we could share together.
Night had fallen in full force. Dante helped me climb onto the deck and covered me with the only towel available on the chairs.
With his arms draped over my shoulders.
“You’re going to freeze,” I warned.
Dante smiled, his lips tinged purple—though it didn’t seem to bother him, given his posture.
“You just set me on fire in the water… I think I can make it to the house.” He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and guided us toward the main residence.
We climbed the stairs still wrapped in each other’s arms, and before leaving me at my room, he warmed his lips against mine.
“Get ready for dinner. I ordered your favorite food.” He kissed my forehead.
“I highly doubt that,” I countered. “I never told you what it was.”
“I think I have a gift.” He winked and walked away toward the room at the end of the hall.
I turned to enter my room.
“Helena?” he called suddenly, and I turned to look at him. “Be a good girl and wear red.”
Dante disappeared into his secret room and I entered mine. After a long shower, I slipped on my robe and went to my suitcase in the corner of the room. I laid all the clothes out on the bed and focused on the accessories since I’d already decided what to wear.
After getting dressed, I applied light makeup and dried my hair. Then I faced my reflection in the mirror.
“I can already imagine your reaction.” I laughed and left the room, looking for him around the house.
I found Dante getting rid of the last delivery boxes.
“Nuno’s?” I narrowed my eyes, trying to fool him. “You missed by miles.”
Dante didn’t respond—his eyes were fixed on my fashion choice.
“First… you lie very badly.” He checked me out from top to bottom. “I thought I was clear.”
He took in my tight black mini dress that hugged every curve.
“Does that mean I look ugly?”
He pulled me to him.
“Not even if you tried.” He tucked my hair behind my ear. “But I like it when you wear red.”
“I know.” I pushed a small package against his chest. “But I figured I’d get it out of the way.”
Dante opened the small ball of red fabric, and his smile stretched from ear to ear.
“I was listening when you said you prefer the red ones.” I walked away from him and went to the containers, leaving him holding the tiny red thong.
“You’re full of surprises, Helena.” He approached from behind.
I turned to face him.
“I’m more like Pandora’s box.”
“And what kind of secrets does the doctor keep?” He took another step, leaving little space between us.
“I’m sleeping with my client.” It was the first time I’d said it out loud.
“I hope he’s good in bed.”
“He’s much more than that.” I smiled. “Now come on. I’m starving.”
I walked, feeling the air rise under my dress and meet the heat radiating from between my legs.
“Ahh, me too.” He slipped the panties into his pocket. “And I’m not talking about food.”
Dante was right—he had ordered my favorite food.
Nuno’s served the best passatelli outside of Italy.
“How did you guess?”
“Your Instagram.”
“You snooped through my Instagram?”
“Obviously.” He served himself a bit more. “It was the first thing I did when I got my hands on a phone.”
“I don’t use it much.”
“I noticed. Your last post must be about eight months old.”
“These things drive me crazy.”
“What? Technology?” he teased.
“The pressure to perform online that makes people create personas that don't exist in the real world.”
I poured myself a bit more wine.
“I get it… but creating personas isn't limited to the internet. Hundreds of people out there have their own versions of us. From encounters that lasted seconds or years.”
“That makes sense,” I said, curious.
“The Dante I was for a single moment can't define me forever… but for some people, that will always be the only version of me they have.”
I stared at him in silence because I knew we weren't talking about Instagram anymore.
“And you, Helena? What version do you have of me?”
I took a deep breath before answering.
“I've had a few… but I'm letting you tell me your own story.”
Dante smiled and even seemed relieved. Maybe this shadow had been clouding his thoughts and weighing on his shoulders for some time.
“Helena… I'll do whatever I can to give you the best version of me.”
“I don't want the best, Dante,” I replied. “I want the real one.”
Dante didn't respond. I stood up and walked over to him, positioning myself in front of him. My fingers touched his chin, making him look at me.
“Listen… I didn't come here to solve all our issues…” His eyes rose to meet mine. “This weekend isn't about the real world… is it? It's about us. This is our time.”
I pulled him to his feet, and he gazed at me intently.
“Let's avoid the questions that force us to face reality and just let ourselves believe our own lies for the next few days.”