Page 60 of The Sound of Us

Just when I thought I couldn’t take any more, his grip on my hair tightened and he plunged into me as deep as he could go.

My breath caught in my throat and I let him take control, driving into me over and over. Everything inside me started to tighten. I braced myself, fingers curled into the blanket, hungering for the dark, dangerous thrill of him. Power rushed through me, electric and wild. We climbed together, naked but cloaked in darkness, exposed in body and soul.

“Fuck. Skye.” With one last savage thrust, he reached his peak, and I reached mine. We came apart together sheltered by a blanket of stars.

Dante’s heavy body collapsed over me. His fingers twined with my mine still clutching the blanket. He pressed soft kisses to my shoulder, his lips sliding to my nape, the light pressure making my nerve endings stir and tingle.

“You’re cold. Let’s get you dressed.” Dante rearranged the blankets while I pulled on my clothes. After we were dressed, I settled between his spread legs. His chest was warm against my back, thick arms keeping away the chill. For a long time, we just sat together, enjoying the silence, enjoying each other.

“I feel like I can see all of Chicago from here,” I said, staring out into the twinkle of lights. “Where does your family live?”

“I grew up in a house in River Forest. After my mother died, my dad bought a condo in The Loop and stayed there most of the week. Sasha and I had to fend for ourselves, although my grandmother would stop by occasionally to check on us or bring us a meal. I haven’t been back there since Sasha died. I don’t even know if he still has the house. He’s not a sentimental kind of guy.” His body tensed and his arms tightened around me. I could feel the rapid beat of his heart against my back, hear his breaths turn raw and ragged. I sensed the shift in the air around us even before a cool breeze sent goosebumps rippling across my skin.

“We’d better get going.” He released me and eased me forward to stand up. “My show starts soon and I need to get to the station.”

I felt that gentle push as a sting of rejection. What had I been thinking? I knew he was sensitive about his family, but the closer we got, the more I wanted to know about him. So much about Dante was still a mystery to me.

“I have to get going, too.” I jumped to my feet. “I… uh… I promised Isla I’d help her with an experiment.” Even though I knew it was irrational, I felt sick inside. Maybe this was why Dante didn’t get close to people. Maybe this was where he drew the line, and this night would be our last. Before I knew it, I was caught in a spiral of anxiety that tightened my lungs and stole my breath away.

Can we send her back?

Dante looked over at me, frowning. “You’re not going to come?”

“I didn’t think you’d want me there,” I admitted. “I know I shouldn’t have asked about your family.”

“I want you there,” he said softly.

I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “Then I’ll be there.”

“Skye?” He walked over to me and cupped my face in his hands, drawing me close.

“Yes?”

“I’m not them.”

“Who?”

“All the people who didn’t want you. Your dad and anyone else who didn’t love you for who you are.”

Emotion welled up in my throat and my eyes watered. I had that love from my mom and from my brother Jonah, but there was still a part of me that was broken from three years of foster fails and a childhood knowing my father never really wanted me and desperately trying to make him love me anyway.

“I think I’m allergic to something up here.” I dabbed at my eyes with my sleeve.

“I hope you’re not allergic to me because I’m not going anywhere.” He pressed a soft kiss to my forehead.

He wanted me. Not the idea of me—my baller boyfriends just wanted to flex about dating an NBA player’s daughter and my dad wanted a sports star—but the real me. Skye who loved music. Skye who felt happiest when she was chasing down stories. Skye who would have sex on a secret balcony under the stars.

“I am kinda hot for you,” I whispered, hoping he’d get the reference to the iconic Van Halen song. Technically, he wasn’t really my teacher—more a mentor or even a boss—but the song fit.

A smile spread across his face and he played on the words of the song. “Do you have it bad?” He kissed each of my cheeks and the tip of my nose, making my heart flutter.

“So bad,” I whispered. “So very, very bad.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR“Chasing Cars” by Snow PatrolDANTE

The morning after I took Skye through the secret passageway, I went home.

I hadn’t been to the house in River Forest since the day I’d found Sasha in the bathroom in a tub full of blood. She’d left a note taped to the mirror, handwritten on the puppy dog stationary I’d bought for her twelfth birthday. Sasha had always wanted a dog, but my father refused. Looking back, I had a feeling he knew a dog would try to defend Sasha from his abuse, and he had enough trouble dealing with me.

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