Dante's Fire(17)

Pulling at her jeans, ripping the button, rough hands grabbing at her stomach, reaching further down...

"Wait!" Her mind processed the floating images as her body craved to  surrender to her lover. Selina panted for control, as two visuals fought  for dominance.

"It's okay, sweetheart, it's just me." Gentle fingers stroked her belly,  her hips, and her thighs. His voice brought her back, anchored her to  the bed, and relaxed her nerves. "Just let go and let me pleasure you.  Look at me."         

     



 

She looked down and saw him lay between her sprawled thighs. The raw  intimacy of the scene struck her full force--the depths of her trust and  love for the man in her bed. "Dante."

"That's right, sweetheart. Just me. Not them."

Her mind emptied. Her muscles loosened. She became aware of her arousal,  of how close he was to the throbbing bud needing attention. A wicked  smile curved those lips, even sexier since his mask hid the rest of his  face. "Lay back, baby. I've been dying to know how you taste."

His head lowered.

Selina arched as his hot tongue slid inside her swollen folds and  bestowed pleasure. She made little mewling sounds in the back of her  throat as he tasted her, played with the throbbing nub, and then slipped  his fingers into her wet channel, testing her heat. The orgasm grew  closer but he held it back, until her head thrashed against the pillow  and she begged for release.

He slid back up her body and took her lips. She tasted herself on his  tongue and heard the rip of a wrapper as he rolled on the condom. Dante  paused at her entrance with his long, pulsing length.

"Not them, Selina."

She gasped. "Not them."

"Look at me."

His gaze drilled into hers with a piercing intensity that crashed past her barriers to seize her very soul.

"Only me."

He claimed her. She shuddered as he filled every inch of her in one  smooth thrust. He paused, allowing her to get used to the complete  invasion. Her fingers dug into his back as the delicious tension seized  every muscle.

"Okay?"

"Yes." Selina panted. "More."

He cursed, then moved. Pulling all the way out of her clinging heat, he  set a slow, easy pace until her body softened and gave beneath him. For  every inch of her surrender, he picked up the tempo, until she squeezed  him mercilessly for more, lifting her hips as he brushed and teased the  sensitive nub and kept her at the edge of climax.

She chanted his name as he brought her closer, then reached down between their bodies to rub.

"Now. Give me everything."

She climaxed hard and held tight to his shoulders as waves of pleasure  crashed over her, through her, demanding everything she had. She gave it  all to him in that instant. Her surrender. Her release.

Her heart.

His body tightened over hers and he gave a hoarse shout. Then shuddered  as he gave his own surrender. She wrapped her arms and legs around him  and drifted.

He made love to her twice more before the weak light of dawn struggled  to break through the windows. Each time was more tender, more thorough,  and echoed every emotion he felt but didn't say. His body told the truth  each time he pushed inside her and kissed her.

"Give us a chance." She whispered the words as he sat up in bed and  moved to begin dressing. She refused to cry, knowing it was his final  decision. She prayed he could let them both be happy if he trusted her  enough.

"I can't. I won't do that to you. It will never work."

"But you don't want to try." Temper heated her veins. "You've never even  tried to have a real relationship. Why can't you trust me like I do  you?"

He smiled behind the mask, his eyes deep and dark and sad. "Because I love you too much to destroy this."

Her breath whooshed out of her lungs. "You love me?"

"I've loved you since the moment I met you."

The words were strange, as if a hidden meaning lurked behind them, but  she had no time to figure it out. She rose and tried to go after him,  but he was already dressed and stood by the door. "But you're going to  leave. I thought you had guts. Instead, you'd rather hang on to a  perfect memory than reach for something real. Something messy and  unsure, but possibly the best thing that could have ever happened to  either of us."

His nostrils flared. Agony carved out his face. "Selina --"

"Don't. Just don't." She fought back the tears, hating to admit defeat. "I love you."

"I know." His voice reached out across the room and caressed her one  last time. "But I won't be back." He gazed at her with a fierceness that  shimmered, as if memorizing every inch of her figure.

Then he was gone.

Selina sat in the bed, in the empty room alone. And wondered if by healing her, he had broken her forever.



He was dying.

Dante sat in his apartment, staring into the darkness. His apartment was like him. Stark. Empty. Full of shadows.

The few rooms served a purpose, from the simple full size mattress with  no headboard, to the furnishings meant only for survival. A couch.  Coffee table. Television. Breakfast counter.

He slept here. Ate. Watched a few programs. And waited to be sent where  he was needed. Why bother with pictures or decoration when no one would  ever see where he lived?         

     



 

He took a sip of the stinging cognac, hoping to force some warmth into  his body. Iciness prickled along his skin and caused a distant numbness,  from the outside straight to his soul.

She'd ruined him.

His fault. He knew he had been playing his own game of fire the moment  he kissed her. Not following the rules was dangerous for many reasons.  He combined two worlds into one. He'd thought there might be a chance if  she fell in love with Daniel, but how could that work? Daniel was  Dante. Eventually she'd find out the truth, and he'd be stuck with the  same decision.

So stupid. His weakness and love for her had destroyed him. In a way, it  was so much worse now. His one taste of her would never satisfy him.  He'd dream of her every night of his life, stuck in a Purgatory he'd  made himself.

He brooded and drank. This time, he refused to call Chase. He deserved  to stay in hell. His separate identities existed for a reason. No one  could ever know he was the same person. He needed to break it off with  her on all fronts.

His heart splintered.

Was it time to move on? Disappear, buy a new business, change states and  start over? God help him, just being near her was like a drug. Maybe he  could continue being Daniel, her friend and mentor? Daniel, the  mailman, who made her laugh and felt safe?

But he wanted more. Daniel wanted to strip her, kiss her, and make her want things she only dreamed about. With him.

He was completely screwed.

With a soul-tearing roar, the rage threw him and he surrendered. There was only one recourse. The only one he had left.

Tell her the truth.

Her accusation echoed over and over in his mind. Was he too afraid to  trust her? When had he ever taken a chance on love? Had his own mother  wanted his gift to become a curse? This woman called to him on every  level. Wasn't it possible she was always meant to be his mate?

The thoughts echoed over and over with a haunting urgency that kept him from sleep.





Chapter Ten



SELINA stared down at the contract in her hand, poised on the edge of  decision. Forrester had left two prior messages with a clear warning.  Today at five o'clock was the deadline. He wanted to talk, and if she  didn't meet him, the deal was off.

She closed her eyes and dug deep. What was she going to do? What was the right choice not only for her, but for everyone?

"Hey, boss."

She opened her eyes at the familiar voice that ruffled her nerve  endings. Daniel walked into her office and laid the mail on the corner  of her desk. She greedily took in his figure. Levis hugged his lean hips  and thighs. He was wearing a Van Halen t-shirt, reminding her of their  conversation from dinner. His long dark hair hung in rich, loose waves,  emphasizing the raw bones of his face and the jagged knife scar down his  cheek. His eyes burned with remembered intimacy and brought her back to  the sidewalk in front of her apartment. Back to his kiss.

Guilt speared her, but she forced a smile. "Hey."

He studied her face. "You look sad. Bad day?"

"Yes." The weight of the explanation hung on her tongue but she couldn't  express her mingled thoughts. Where could she start? The past and  present loomed before her in an obstacle so overwhelming that she  resisted the impulse to bury her face in her hands and cry. Not only did  she need to make a decision on Forrester, she had to somehow get past  her feelings for a midnight superhero that would never spend his life  with her. Yet, Daniel was here, in the day-to-day world. The connection  between them hummed at an insistent level. Maybe with Dante gone, she  could focus on her burgeoning feelings for Daniel. In a strange way, she  wondered if she was truly in love with two different men. So different,  yet oddly the same.