He shrugged. “Couple hours. Yesterday, I think. It’s all jumbled together right now.”
“Then we’ll take a nap,” I told him. I motioned for the bed. “May I?”
“Of course.”
I pulled back the blankets and the sheet, then crawled in, careful not to flash him when I did. He joined me, pulling the blankets up, ensuring I was tucked in although it was him I was worried about.
I curled up against his side, my head on his chest. In a bold and daring move, I slid my hand beneath his T-shirt, wanting to feel his warmth. He settled his hand over mine, the T-shirt between us.
“Are you doing okay?” I whispered.
“Actually, yeah.” He sighed. “Better than I’ve been in a while.”
“It’s not hard to be here?”
“It’s comforting.” He reached over, turned off the lamp. The room darkened thanks to the curtains over the windows. “How about you? How are you holding up?”
I smiled to myself. “I’m good. Really good.”
He was quiet for a few minutes and I hoped he’d fallen asleep, but his breathing hadn’t slowed, so I knew his mind was whirling.
“Does it bother you what I did the other night?”
His words were so soft, almost pained. I lifted my head, looked in his eyes.
“In the dining room?”
He nodded.
“No. I enjoyed it. Immensely.”
“Me, too,” he said, his eyes shifting away.
I turned his cheek, forcing his gaze to meet mine. “Nothing’s changed about how I feel,” I told him. “Nothing could ever change that.”
He swallowed and I took a huge chance, leaning in, pressing my lips to his. He relaxed, his mouth melding to mine, his tongue sliding over my bottom lip, then dipping inside. I met his tongue with mine. It was the first kiss we’d shared that hadn’t been instigated. This time it felt sweeter, far more intimate. And when Dante pulled me over him, I moved without hesitation, straddling his hips, letting the kiss ignite as his hands slipped beneath my shirt.
“Skin to skin,” he whispered, his request surprising but not at all disappointing.
I let him pull off my shirt, unhook my bra before he gripped the back of his shirt and tugged. I leaned in, gave in to his kiss.
I’d actually dreamed about this from time to time, imagining what it would feel like to be with Dante. Sure, he’d become my best friend over the years, but there was a connection we shared, one based on love and desire. Though neither of us had ever acted on it, the feelings had never subsided.
Now that we were giving in to it, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stop.
“Dante … touch me,” I moaned. “Please, touch me.”
His big, warm hands caressed my back. Like feathers over my skin, light and gentle. Always cherishing. I wanted to be close to him, as close as we could possibly be. But I needed this to be his idea. I didn’t want him to think I was taking advantage. I knew how he felt about me. He knew how I felt about him, but we’d always fought it.
This felt right.
The door opened and before Dante could throw me off him, I cupped his cheek. “Don’t stop.”
I’d sensed him, knew Isaac had come into the room. I’d suspected he would after he’d instructed me to spend time with Dante. It had been a directive, and though he hadn’t elaborated, he hadn’t needed to. No one needed to order me to be with Dante. This was merely an excuse to act on it.
Isaac didn’t say a word. He simply walked to the chair in the corner and sat.
As though his presence was the approval Dante needed, he took the reins, his hands roaming more firmly, cupping my ass, squeezing.
“Naked,” Dante mumbled. “I want you naked.”
I rolled off him and he followed, our mouths resuming their exploration as he pushed my skirt down my hips.
“Everly…” His kiss was harder, more controlled, as though he knew exactly what he wanted, and he’d been given instructions to take it.
I moaned, my head tipping back when his fingers grazed my clit. Despite Ian’s exquisite fucking from earlier, I was still primed and ready to go.
“You’re so wet,” he whispered against my lips.
I whimpered, wanting him to take his pleasure from my body. Whatever he wanted, needed, that was what I was willing to give. Everything.
Dante trailed kisses across my chest, between my breasts, lower. He shouldered my legs apart, then lapped at me with that skilled tongue. Every so often he would nudge the plug that was still lodged inside me, ratcheting up my desire. He drove me up, up, but didn’t let me go over. He did it again and again, driving me mad, insane with need.
I could feel Isaac watching us and it fanned the flames, made me hotter.
Dante paused long enough to shuck his shorts and roll on a condom before settling over me once more. He cupped my face, stared into my eyes. And when he entered me slowly, I felt tears forming. This man, so sweet, so gentle. So perfect. What I felt for him was intense, but we’d both known we had needed more. Now that we had more, had Isaac, I felt as though I could give him all of me.
