Page 16 of Under His Protection

“I have my reasons.” He adopted that bossy authority again, smoothing down his jacket and lifting his head higher. He oozed dominance and control, and I figured that he expected me to not ask about his reasoning.

I supposed it didn’t matter.

“What do you say?” he asked as he picked up my hand and raised it. Studying the red marks left on my wrist, courtesy of Ricky trying to manhandle me, Dante clenched his jaw.

I had no clue what to say. Hours ago, Tessa and had I joked about this very situation, finding a sugar daddy or having a man to protect us from the bullshit of life. We’d both laughed it off, so cocky that we’d always be better off without men in our lives, but now…

Why not? Dante was exactly the kind of strong man who could be my hero—even if we were only pretending.

He arched one brow at me, something I was quickly recognizing as his way of silently demanding an answer.

My heart raced. My mind felt empty and sluggish. Deep down in my heart, I operated independently of this adrenaline rush or the lingering aftermath of an intense orgasm rendering me limp and lazy, sated.

Why the hell not?

I nodded.

“Yeah?” A grin lifted his lips.

“Yeah. I’ll… um. Let’s do this.” I raked my teeth over my lower lip, unsure whether I could manage playing along like this. “You and me. I’ll pretend to be your girlfriend.”

But not for real, right?

He lifted my hand, staring straight at me as he kissed my knuckles. “You and me,” he agreed.

I swallowed, worried I was already in too deep.

7

DANTE

Dante

This time, when I opened the door for Nina, she didn’t fight me on it. Her gaze remained distracted as she entered the car. After I closed the door, I drew in a deep breath and second-guessed myself.

The idea to pretend that Nina was with me was an impulsive one. I didn’t think it through. I operated on impulse, and that wasn’t always a bad thing.

It’s not like it wasn’t on my mind already. Since we’d crossed paths, I battled a persistent need for her. Imagining her naked and bouncing on my cock, I fought the urge to take her as I wanted. Hearing her crying out in pleasure would forever taunt me, and it was the best I could hope for at the moment.

I rounded the car, gritting my teeth. Frustration set in before I reached my door.

I hadn’t been thinking when I acted on my lust for her. Sure, it helped her out in the end, but now that we were committed to pretending we were together, I’d ensured endless torture for myself. I wanted her—all of her—but I’d foiled that from being a possibility in telling her that we’d fake it.

I’d made this a business transaction of sorts. I’d keep the bikers away from her, and she’d keep Vanessa off my back. I couldn’t trust Vanessa because she represented a tie to Stefan, and having Nina close by would buy me time to get to the root of why I didn’t trust anyone in the Giovanni family anymore.

“Tell me exactly what happened tonight,” I said as I got into the car. I had no intention of backing out of my impromptu suggestion to fake date this gorgeous, quiet woman, and I planned to make sure it would go smoothly according to how I saw fit.

“With Ricky?”

I nodded, driving out of the lot. She detailed the circumstances that Henry had left them in, and I hated the sorrow that she’d gotten the short end of the stick with the man who should’ve been her father. A real parent. Nina and Ricky were raised by a grandmother, and their mother was never in the picture. I thought long ago that Alison left because she knew back then that all Henry cared about was his military career.

“Some families are like that,” I told Nina. “Devoted to service.”

She huffed. “Devoted? Or obsessed?”

I couldn’t argue with her there. Henry came from a long line of military-minded servicemen, and I supposed it was a hard habit to break or amend.

“You have lots of men working in your ‘organization’. They’re probably devoted and dedicated to their jobs.”

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