Page 18 of Infinity Chronicles 2
Dropping to the bed in defeat, I mumble, “Right after Mom left, a dayor solater. She kept a ring in there. I secretly always thought it was from my dad. She loved that ring, butit was gone, so I figured she took it with her. No one else would have known where to look, she’d stopped wearing it years ago and hid it under the sink.”
Dante sits next to me, his thigh touching mine. His nearness reminding me that nothing betweenus has been resolved. “Why did you kiss her?” I surprise myself when the question comes out. Dante peeks down at me, his face already in a grimace.
His eyes dart away from mine almost immediately. “I didn’t kiss her,” he says with little conviction. “She kissed me.”
I scoff. “Does it really matter at this point whoinitiated it? You kissed. Why?”
Dante hangs his hands between his thighs and sighs. “I turned to look up when the principal came into the room. I saw the photographer come in behind him. As soon as he made the announcement, Delaney…,”
I growl when I hear him utter her name, Dante looks over at me and his mouth droops into a frown.
“She hugged me.”His words are spoken softer tone. “The next thing I know she kissed me, I pushed her away within a second, but I was so shocked that it happened, I didn’t push her away fast enough.” Dante admits while lowering his head and slowly leaning it toward my shoulder. I lean away, wondering what he thinks he'sdoing.Hejustadmitted to kissing another girl, but he wants to lay his head on my shoulder.
At my rejection, he tilts his head to the left exposing his throat to me. It’s the second time today he’s done this. His eyes are nearly closed and he swallows, a quick bob of his Adam’s apple. He stays in that position, waiting for something. Mad that he isn’t explaining himself more, I have a fleeting thoughtthatI want to bite his neck, teach him to think before he acts, but the thought dies the moment it forms. How would that teach him anything, worse yet, how would that be any better than his childishness of not responding?
“Dante.” My tone is firm and his head snaps around in my direction, at least he’s looking at me again. “I need a better explanation.” I soften my tone, but my words are still a demand.
He leans his head back closerand bumps his forehead against my shoulder. “I don’t have one. The second I realized what happened, I pushed her away. Delaney has been desperate since you moved here. She was the one that left the panties in the apartment.”
My back goes ramrod straight. I had forgotten about those damned red panties. “You acted like you thought those where my panties,” I seethe.
“I knew they were hers the moment I saw them, Ijustdidn’t want to admit it. I didn’t know she had left them there.”
Shoving him away with my shoulder, I stand up. “You made me feellikeyou thought I was a whore when you accused me of having panties in my bag.”
Dante peers up at me, his eye's wide and lips parted. “I didn’t mean to. I just didn’t want you thinking I had a girl over.”
“But you had a girl over, obviously you had Delaney over if she left her panties wadded up on your floor,” I shout, getting close to his face. I’ve never felt so aggressive in my life. I feel like I could shake him silly.
“She came over, but not because I invited her. Delaney and two of her friends showed up after you left. She must have left the underwear on purpose. Because she didn’t take them off for me,” Dante counters, his hands still hanging loosely between his legs.
I roll my eyes to the ceiling, putting my hands on my hips. “Like I should believe that. Youjustadmitted kissing her, you probably slept with her and she left her panties behind. That part probably was on purpose, I’ll give you that much.”
I hear a thud from the front of the trailer, reminding me we aren’t alone. I snap my mouth closed. I’ve been shouting loud enough for neighbors—if I had them—to hear my yelling. I take a deep breath and look at Dante, he’s slumped forward and his knees almost touch the floor. “Jesus, what am I doing?” I spin around so my back is to him. Seeing him looking so contrite makes me want to keep yelling at him. But I know that reaction isn’t just mine. There is something fueling that need to dominate him.
“Ares!” I shout, my voice full of worry. He steps into the walkway like he’s been waiting there the whole time. I feel Dante brush his head against my thigh. My hand goes to the top of his head and I stroke my fingers through his dark hair. “Dante is acting weird, and… and I feel weird. I think we should go. That box is making us act funny,” I stammer with my hand still in his hair as he nuzzles his face and cheek against my leg.
“I don’t think the box is affecting you the way you think. But yes, I agree, we need to go.” Ares takes a step in the room and Dante turns his eyes in his direction. He bares his teeth in a sneer, a low growl leaving his chest.
Ares steps back, his face a mask. “He’ll follow youCara.”
My hand tightens into a fist in his hair and Dante peers up at me. “Don’t growl at him,” I snap.
Dante’s face softens, and he rubs his face on my stomach coming up into a kneeling position. Shocked at myowndemand and his easy acceptance, I release my hold and run myhand down his shoulder and back. “We’re leaving now,” I tell himjustabove a whisper, I don’t know where the authority is coming from, but right before walking away, I add, “If you ever kiss another girl but me, I’ll… I’ll.” My threat dies off when I don’t know what else to say.
“Never,” Dante comes to his full height, towering over me. He takes my cheeks in his palms with a sweet gentleness and brushes his nose against mine. His lips hover over mine like he’s asking permission. Stretching my neck, I capture his lips with mine.
There’s no peck, no sweet start. I bite his top lip in a quick nip then shove my tongue in his mouth. I have a burning desire to erase any traces of Delaney’s kiss with my own.Dante freezes, and his deepening breath is the only cue I havehe’s interested. I want to punish him for allowing Delaney to touch him. I nip him several more times while stroking his tongue with my own. Little bites of pain to go with the euphoria of the kisses. I pull back the moment his lipsbegin tochase mine, leaving him panting and his eyes squeezed shut.
Snatching up Dante’s hand, I pull him from the room. Ares is standing near the door, his back to us as I hustle over to him. Ares pushes the door open, waving his arm to let me know I need to go first. With Dante trailing behind me, I release his hand and get into the front seat of the car. I need a few seconds alone. I don’t trust myself to sit in the back seat with Dante right now.
Dropping my eyes to my lap, I get my breathing and heart rate under control. I feel edgy, like my skin is crawling, and I have an itchthatI can’t scratch. Balling my hands into fists, I can feel my nails digging into the flesh of my palms. Peeking out the windshield, I see Dante and Ares standing a few feet from the car. They turn their backsto me, andDante’s shoulders are rolled down, his head dipping while the set of Ares’s shoulders is rigid. I can see his hand gesturing wildly as he talks with Dante.
Is Ares yelling at him? Why? With a quick movement, Ares turns so I can see his profile. He reaches over, almost slapping Dante on the back with a few quick pats. Dante nods his head and his back rises. He lifts his head and I watch as he comes to his full height, his shoulders rising and falling several times while he takes deep breaths. They stand together for a few more moments before Dante eventually turns to face the car. His eyes land on mine immediately. He bites the corner of his lip and heads in my direction.
Ares follows,going over to the driver’s side and getting in. I roll my lips in, worried what they will say to me. Is Ares going to yell at me too? Will Dante say anything about how bossy I was or the way Ibasicallyassaulted him with my kiss?
“Well…” Ares pauses still staring out the front window, before he settles on asking, “Were you guys able to find the other box?”
