58. Dante
DANTE
Irarely sleep in, but I can’t pull myself out of Rose’s bed when I finally have her sleeping soundly next to me.
The pillow partially hides her face, and her hair is fanned out in all directions, but as she lets out a soft breath against my arm, she has never looked more beautiful.
I would rather lose all feeling in my arm than consider moving Rose.
She must sense my eyes on her because a moment later, her sleepy gaze meets mine as her eyes blink open and adjust to the streaks of sunlight coming in through the curtains.
“Were you watching me sleep?” Her voice is hoarse with sleep.
“Yes.”
“Um, why?” She sounds more amused than annoyed, which is good because someday I will have to tell her this isn’t the first time I’ve watched her sleep.
“I want to imprint it into my memory.” What I don’t say is that memories of her might be all I’ll have once she finds out what I’ve been hiding from her.
“That’s sweet…I think.”
“Mmm, I can think of something even sweeter,” I add with a wink and wrap my free arm around her warm naked body and pull her into my chest.
I’m sure she is blushing based on her soft giggle and the way she tucks her face against my chest.
“Will you be around the house today?” Rose asks, but the words come out muffled since she is still pressed against me.
Loosening my hold slightly so I can see her face, I reply, “I have some meetings in the city, but I can cancel them if you need me here.”
“Oh no, nothing like that. I do have some deliveries coming in today, but the delivery guys should be able to handle everything. I just wanted to see what time you’d be home.”
I don’t love hearing that there will be other men here with my flower while I’m away, but all the drivers have been vetted and cleared by me, so I will keep an eye on the cameras, just in case.
“Hmm…missing me already, tesoro mio?”
“Ha! Hardly!” I know she is lying when her cheeks turn the prettiest shade of pink and she playfully swats my bare chest. “I just have a surprise for you later, that's all.” Rose seems almost shy with her confession.
“A surprise, huh? I like the sound of that.” Smirking, I roll us over so Rose is beneath me and my arms are caging her in, and my hips settle between her spread thighs.
“Dante! Not that kind of surprise. A work-related surprise.” Rose tenses slightly on the word “work” as if she is now fully processing our actions of last night and this morning.
Kissing her softly on the lips to ease her tension and then on the side of her neck, I press up on my palms to respond.
“I should be home by dinner time, but can try to make it back sooner, if you’d like.
” Angelo won’t be happy with me leaving earlier, but if it gets me back home sooner, I will endure his wrath.
“Dinnertime is perfect. No need to rush back on my account.”
“You are worth rushing for, but okay. I’ll pick up some food for us on the way home, too. Any requests?”
“No, whatever you pick is fine.” Her response is punctuated with a soft yawn.
I need to get going, but it’s hard to drag myself away when Rose’s fingertips have been trailing idle strokes up and down the sides of my rib cage like she needs the physical connection to ground her. Which I can understand, especially after the way I pulled away from her the first time we kissed.
But what she doesn’t know is, I’m never going to pull away from her ever again. Even if she tries to run, I will follow.