Page 28 of Under His Protection

I paired it with grabbing her knee under the table, smoothing my fingers over her skin and wondering how far up her thigh I could touch her until she turned redder.

“Are you enjoying your evening?” I asked as I pushed my thumb and fingers along her leg.

She didn’t stiffen, but I had a hunch she was measuring her breath carefully so as not to react too obviously to where my hand headed.

“I am.” She swallowed, meeting my gaze directly. “I mean, now I am.”

I hummed, accepting her jab. “Business always comes first,” I reminded her.

“That’s too bad.” She parted her legs, widening her posture in her seat. The change in her angle gave me more access to slide my fingers further up smooth skin. And I didn’t waste a second to do so. Leaning toward her, I stared right into her deep-blue eyes glittering with mischief. This slant made it obvious that I was feeling her up, and I didn’t intend to hide it.

She was playing with fire to invite me to touch her more. I was burning up with the teasing thrill of trying to rile her up. This was far past flirting—real or fake. And as I gripped her chair and eased her onto my lap, I made sure that she knew it too.

“Oh. Whoa.” She exhaled in an unsteady whoosh, startled at how quickly and smoothly I put her where I wanted her. Merely holding hands and brushing up against each other was no longer enough. I had to get my hands on her, her body flush with mine.

I’d been resisting her all this time, but I knew she’d be able to feel the bulge under my pants. If I wasn’t careful, I’d be tenting my pants sooner than later.

“Right now,” I said as I nuzzled along her jaw and kissed her cheek, “I’d like to make sure you come first.”

Her chest rose and fell faster as she leaned back to my chest, relaxed and open. Those generous tits nearly spilled out of her dress, and as I watched them, I was grateful her daring dress could be tugged down so easily. I wanted my fingers on her nipples, my mouth sucking on her flesh there.

She turned her head toward me, staring at me with such lust shining in her eyes. “Literally?” she whispered.

I answered by slipping my hand under her dress. The tablecloth hid most of her legs. The darkness of the dim dining room aided the shadows. Even if anyone could see that I wanted to feel her up, I wouldn’t stop. I didn’t care. This was taking “acting like it” too far, but it blended with what I wanted, anyway. Feeling her. Touching her. Pleasuring her.

“Do you want me to make you come?” I asked into her ear. I followed up with kissing along her jaw until I pressed against the corner of her mouth.

She moaned, turning the rest of the way until she kissed me. Deep and long. I growled into her kiss, and I anted up the tension by rubbing my fingers over her lingerie. The narrow strip of material would be wet soon enough, but for now, teasing her would do.

The idea of playing with her while the dinner concluded suited me. But I didn’t want to share her. Seeing her come apart, hearing her come… I wanted to experience that alone. All for me.

But this is fake, right? Her desire wasn’t. I knew she wanted me. She’d told her friend that. I felt the need in her as she kissed me back and kept her legs open for me to touch her.

It was difficult to separate what was an act from reality, but I refused to ease up on the torture and teasing.

“Dante?” Someone walked up to me, shaking his head as he glanced at his phone. “Since when are you agreeing to side with Giovanni about the distribution route to the ports?”

Fuck. They’d still been talking about Stefan and the shit he’d started to say.

“No.” I stilled my hand under Nina’s dress. She stiffened and held her breath, her mouth against my cheek. “You’ve got that wrong,” I told the man from a rival yet not antagonist Mafia family.

“Huh. I heard…”

Just like that, I was taken down the path of talking business again. Nina remained on my lap, but I was pulled from giving her all my attention like I wanted to. Like I wished I could. Being intimate and close with her was a hell of a lot more exciting than talking business, but I tried my best to compromise. Keeping her on my lap, against me with my arms around her, I held up the image of us being all over each other and very much a couple. But as I chatted about Stefan and how I should not be assumed to be allying with him, I regretted the distractions of it all.

Nina distracted me from shooting down those rumors.

Stefan and his boisterous lies prevented me from making out with the young woman eager for my sensual guidance to be pleasured. It was a catch twenty-two of wanting her when I shouldn’t. By the end of the night, I was frustrated with everything and anything.

Except her. Docile, quiet, and patient, Nina was an exemplary woman. She didn’t huff and roll her eyes for not having all of my attention, nor did she interrupt or whine about being stuck there. It seemed that keeping physical contact with her went a long way toward assuaging her discomfort and feeling of being out of place, but it tormented me.

I wanted to rip this dress off her and fuck her senseless. I wanted to tell her to bend over and ride me in this chair, right here and now.

Instead, we managed to sit through the night—as a pair, man and woman together—until she excused herself.

“I’ll be right back.” She kissed my cheek, and I loved how at ease she was with touching me and showing affection—although under the guise of faking it.

She stood, but I kept my hands on her waist as she got to her feet.

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