“Then I guess you’ll have to put up with my ornery ass for a very long time,” Dante grumbled.
She smiled as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him. Sarah decided to let tomorrow take care of itself. Dante was a gift to her, and she’d enjoy him while he was still here. She’d never regret being with him or the time she’d spent with him, because Dante had taught her so much, awakened her soul. She would always be grateful to him, even if it meant she’d suffer the pain of disconnecting from him later. Whatever the future outcome, she knew Dante had changed the way she looked at herself and life. Her brain told her that what they had experienced together would have to be enough, even though her heart was telling her something completely different.
CHAPTER 15
How the fuck did I let her talk me into this?
Dante had gotten used to doing some small things in public again with Sarah, but having her go back to teaching her piano classes and playing for the seniors at the youth center was way out of his comfort zone. The center was too damn open, and there were too many places to hide. It was also busy, especially on senior bingo night, and it was always open to the public.
His arms crossed in front of him, he sat in the fourth row of chairs set up in the music room, his emotions already raw from hearing and watching Sarah play. He’d locked the door after all the seniors had filed in, but he didn’t like having the door at his back. Also, he didn’t care for the fact that he wasn’t closer to Sarah. The eager seniors had arrived early, leaving him farther away than he wanted to be from his woman.
Glancing at his watch, he knew the impromptu concert would only last about five more minutes, but it was going to feel like a goddamn lifetime for him. Granted, almost everyone in the room was over the age of seventy-five except for Grady, Emily, Jared, and Randi, but he wasn’t worried about who was already in the room. His gut instinct was screaming at him to scoop Sarah up and take her away to a place where he could protect her. If her asshole attacker knew her routine, he knew that she taught classes here and was connected to the center. Dante was pissed off at himself that one look at her pleading violet eyes had made him agree to let her move on with her life. She was right in some ways. It had been a while, the perp still hadn’t been spotted, and she needed a normal life. Unfortunately, reason wasn’t his friend right now. He wanted Sarah to be safe.
Four more minutes.
Would he ever get used to Sarah exposing herself in public if Thompson was never captured or killed? He’d spend every single moment of the rest of his life with that niggling, fucking irritating worry, terrified that one small slipup could get her killed. The longer it took to catch the asshole, the more willing Sarah would be to go on with her life. It was exactly what she’d done after the attack, moving to Amesport and starting a new beginning.
Three more minutes.
Dante cringed as Sarah moved on her piano seat, causing the garment she was wearing to inch up on her thighs. What the hell was she wearing, anyway? She’d called it a tube dress, but all Dante knew was that she was showing way too much skin and the dress hugged every delectable curve of her body. Starting at the tops of her breasts, the striped one-piece outfit was like a tube that clung to everything from her chest to the middle of her thighs. It wasn’t like he didn’t appreciate the garment, especially the length of time it would take him to get her out of it. One tug and it would slide down to her hips. One more would bring it down to her legs and sliding to the floor. He was good with that. However, he wasn’t crazy about the fact that he could see the outline of her nipples at certain angles, or the fact that he was sitting here rock hard just from hearing her play in that fuck-me dress.
Two more minutes.
As usual, Dante was fighting an inner war between his desire to protect Sarah and his desire to make her happy. One look into those fathomless violet eyes of hers had nailed him. Oh yeah, they were really dark blue, but they damn well looked violet to him, and they’d been pleading with him to give her some space to get back to a normal life. When she gave him that look he was completely destroyed. He wondered if she knew that. Probably not. Still, it made him want to give her anything and everything she wanted to make her happy. Problem was, he needed to protect her, too, and he was discovering that it was damn difficult to make her happy and keep her safe at the same time.