20. Gabriella
Dante and I are kept apart while Rocco thinks. It annoys the hell out of me that he doesn’t talk to me about it. This is my life after all. I shouldn’t even need his permission. Dante and I are already married. This should be a no brainer—instead of having Dante as your enemy, make him your ally.
But that’s not how Rocco works, so I have to wait.
At least Lara, Ophelia, and Caterina show up to keep my company.
“This is crazy,” Caterina says after I tell them about everything I’ve gone through with Dante. How I know I want to be with him. How I know I love him.
“But not surprising,” Lara adds. “I’ve known you’ve had a crush on Dante for a while. This feels … inevitable.”
I sit down on the couch with a sigh. “If only Rocco would understand that.” I pause. “I didn’t get the chance to ask you guys, what were you doing at that restaurant?”
“I wanted to get out of the city,” Ophelia admits. “So, we decided to take a little trip, and it was just pure coincidence you and Dante were at the same restaurant at the same time as us.”
“Huh. Small world.” I drop my head back. “God, I can’t stand this waiting. Why is Rocco so freaking stubborn?”
“I’m so used to it now I don’t even notice it anymore,” Lara says.
Ophelia reaches over and places her hand on mine. “I’m glad you’re safe. Even though I don’t understand how or why you’ve fallen in love with Dante, I’m happy for you. Falling in love is one of the best things in this world.”
“But also scary,” I say. “Because Rocco might decide to kill the man I love.”
She pats my hand. “Let’s just hope not.”
As if he knew we were talking about him, Rocco appears in the living room doorway. “Gabriella, let’s talk.”
I roll my eyes as I follow him to his study. It’s just the two of us. “So?”
“So, I’ve decided not to kill Dante.”
My heart skips a beat. “Thank you so much.”
“But I’m keeping my eye on him. He’s going to work for me from now on. Your words made sense. Making him an ally might be better in the long run. But if he shows any sign of wanting to rise up against me, he’s dead.”
“He won’t. Dante just wants to be happy. We want to be together.”
“I don’t understand this at all. But …” He drops his chin to his chest and sighs before looking back up at me. “I don’t want to lose you. I don’t want you to hate me. So, you can be with Dante. But I’m still keeping my eyes on him.”
“Thank you.” I throw my arms around him. After a moment, Rocco hugs me back. “But what about Antonio?” I ask after pulling back.
“I’ll tell him the wedding is off. He won’t be happy about it, but he’s pretty spineless and won’t cause any trouble.”
“Thank you, Rocco. Truly. Can I go see Dante now?”
“Fine. He is your husband after all. I’m trusting you, Gabriella. Don’t disappoint me.”
“I won’t.” I run out of Rocco’s office and head down to the basement where Dante is. Massimo and Emilio are with him. “You guys can leave,” I tell them.
They exchange a look before leaving the room.
Once they’re gone, I run into Dante’s arm. “Rocco said we can be together.”
Dante stares down at me with wide eyes before a large grin crosses his face. “Really?”
“Yes, really. No more hunting you down. No more payback. You’re going to work for Rocco. It’s the only way. But you’re free, Dante. We’re free.”
He cups my face and kisses me so gently it makes my heart ache. “I didn’t get to tell you before. I love you, too.”
“Then let’s stop wasting time. You want to get out of here?”
“You haven’t seen my home in the city yet, have you?”
I shake my head.
“Then let’s go home,” he says against my lips.
After Rocco gave Dante a stern talking to, we finally managed to leave Rocco’s house and go to Dante’s. Well, my house now, too.
Dante sweeps me up into his arms and carries me over the threshold.
“That was cheesy,” I tell him.
“No, that was romantic.”
He brings me to the master bedroom, which is colored in dark, rich blue and wood tones. Dante lays me on the bed and leans down to kiss me.
I pull him down flush with me as we scoot up the bed, our lips melding together into a passionate kiss. For the first time since I’ve been with Dante, I finally feel truly happy. We’re free to be together. Nothing is better than that.
We quickly take our clothes off, and I gently push on Dante’s chest and roll him onto his back so I can get on top of him.
“I want to be in control today,” I say, running my hands up and down his chest.
“Fine by me. You can be in control any day.” He grabs my hips, rolls me onto my back, and grinds his hips against mine. I moan. “As long as I get to be in control on other days.”
“Fine by me.” I grab his neck and pull him down to kiss me.
Dante lines his cock up with my entrance and thrusts into me. We moan together, even with our lips touching. He slowly moves his hips around, taking his time and driving me crazy.
With a growl of my own, I wrap my legs around him and roll him onto his back. Now, it’s my turn to grind my hips down. Dante sits up and wraps his arms around me, kissing me deeply as we make love. We’ve never really, truly made love before. But now that we’re in love, that’s what this is.
I increase my pace, moving my hips faster and faster. Every time I do, I feel his erection brush my G-spot. The tingling sensation rushes through my body again, and I know I won’t last long.
And judging by how Dante looks up at me, he won’t last long, either.
“Oh!” I cry out as my orgasm hits me.
Dante rolls me onto my back and thrusts into me harder until he comes next.
We lie in each other’s arms for a while, neither one moving. And then when Dante rolls off me, he immediately pulls me back into his arms. I don’t think either of us wants to be away from the other.
I don’t know what the future will hold. I can only hope Dante and Rocco can truly work together. But at this moment, all I feel is happiness.
And that’s good enough to start living my happily ever after.
The End