Sweet triumph flooded me. Dante wasn’t ignoring me now.
I tilted my head up to look into his face. Whatever desire I’d thought I’d seen was gone, his walls up and impenetrable. I stood on my tiptoes, desperate for a real kiss, but Dante’s hand on my back tightened and he didn’t angle his face down, making it impossible for me to brush my lips against his. He didn’t want me to kiss him. I couldn’t take this anymore. I’d thrown myself at him naked, had offered him my body and myself, and still he refused me. I wrenched away from him, feeling dirty and cheap. Avoiding his eyes, I whirled around, clutched my bathrobe closed and hurried out of his office. I crossed the lobby and ran up the stairs. This was it. I wouldn’t try again. I’d have to accept that Dante didn’t desire me enough, that he wouldn’t sleep with me for whatever silly reasons he’d listed until it was absolutely necessary to produce an heir.
I stumbled into the bedroom and flung myself on the bed. For a moment, a rush of despair and sadness gripped my body, but I didn’t let it win. I’d survived a marriage with Antonio. I could survive a loveless marriage with Dante. Some day I would have beautiful children I could love and who would love me back and until then I could deal. I wasn’t the first woman in our world who had to live with a cold bastard as a husband, and I definitely wouldn’t be the last. At least, I didn’t have an abusive asshole like Tommaso as a husband. That had to count for something.
And I would just have to take care of my other needs as I had done in the last few years. I rolled onto my back. I was still angry, still embarrassed and disappointment, but I was also still aroused. I closed my eyes and slipped my hand down my body and between my legs. I began stroking myself, imagining it were Dante’s fingers teasing me again, remembering the brief flicker of desire in his eyes that I’d probably imagined. My breathing came faster as I caressed my sensitive nub. I was getting closer. A moan slipped out of my lips, and there was a sharp intake of breath.
My eyes flew open and I stared at Dante; he stood in the doorway, hand on the door handle and eyes on me. For once they didn’t look cold. God, how long had he been watching me?
I jerked my hand out between my legs, mortification slamming through me like a wrecking ball. I clutched my bathrobe against my chest and scrambled for the edge of the bed. I couldn’t stay in a room with Dante, not after what he’d just seen. I’d embarrassed myself enough today, but Dante barred my way, suddenly in front of me. His tall form loomed over me. I threw my head back to meet his gaze. They were more animated than I’d ever seen them. He looked almost angry. “No,” he said quietly.
I wasn’t quite sure what he meant. Then he leaned over me until I lay flat on my back again and he towered above me. His jacket fell open and encased me to both sides like a soft prison. I searched his face. I could feel myself getting more aroused from his proximity and the look on his face. He braced himself on one arm and brought one knee between my legs, forcing them apart.
My heart pounded in my chest. Would he finally do what I’d been waiting for? For a long time he only glared down at me, and I almost expected him to pull away again but instead he cupped my breast and I arched my back up with a needy moan. His eyes slid down to his hand, and he pinched my nipple, harder than I’d anticipated. Pleasure cursed like lightning through my body all the way down to my center. I needed him to touch me there, needed it more than food, than water, than air. Dante pinched and tugged my nipple, his eyes dark and intent as he watched me. I’d caressed my breasts a few times over the years, but it had never done much for me, but Dante’s firm touch sent sweet tingles through my core. He leaned down, the rough fabric of his jacket brushing my side, and captured my nipple between his lips.
I arched up with a mewl, pressing my breasts against his face, but Dante’s hand gripped my hip and held me down. He sucked my nipple hard again, making arousal pool between my legs. I squirmed, tried to rub myself against his knee still wedged between my thighs, but his hand kept me in place. Not being able to move as I wanted to wasn’t something I’d ever considered something I’d find sexy, but boy had a I been wrong.
Dante bit down lightly on my nipple, his teeth lightly scraping my sensitive skin, and I almost came. I’d already been so close before. He released my nipple, which was red and hard from his attention. His eyes on my face, he trailed his hand down my side. I couldn’t look away from his beautiful cold face, mesmerized by the heat in his eyes. There was something dark and feral and angry in them. He hooked his fingers under my thigh and pulled my legs further apart. I trembled with anticipation. “Tell me now if you want this,” he said in a low voice. How could he even doubt my desire for him?