Page 37 of In the Cover of Darkness

“It's perfect. Thank you.”

I can't help but pull her face to mine and kiss her, rolling her so she's underneath me, my elbows supporting my weight. She instantly opens to me letting my tongue explore her mouth, her lips gently caressing mine as we take the time to get to know each other. I pull and suck onto her bottom lip about to deepen our kiss, unable to stop my hard cock rubbing against her, when a knock at the door breaks us out of the moment.

Breathing heavily we look at each other while Ace calls out from behind the closed door, about breakfast being downstairs when we're ready. My voice breaks slightly, as I let him know we heard him. She looks like an angel beneath me, and it does nothing to quell the fantasy I have of when she finally lets me have her. Groaning, I roll off her, rubbing my hand over my face.

“Come on, big boy,” she laughs, “we don't want breakfast to get cold,” slapping my thigh as she gets off the bed and I follow close behind her.

The smell of bacon wafts through the house as we step into the kitchen, Nova rushing up to Mila and giving her a big hug. Gathering some food I make sure she's settled with a hot coffee, and leave her and Nova to talk at the table while I go back to Ace in the kitchen.

“Did you find anything?” I say, my voice hushed so as not to be overheard.

“He's not in Hidden Valley, but he could be in Woodman. The sheriff and all the deputies are aware and are keeping an eye out for him. I've let Porter know too.”

“Can we trust him?” I grunt.

"Who, Porter? Yeah, we can trust him. He's not military, but he has a history and can handle anything that goes down."

“Did any cameras pick him up standing across the road from the shop?”

“We have footage of a figure standing there. He's dressed in dark clothing and has a baseball cap on. You can't see his face. He made sure to avoid the cameras for the most part and we found a stolen car abandoned a few blocks away. The plus side is that we know that he's here. He will slip up again, and we will catch him. He won't get another chance D, I swear it.”

Looking toward Ace, I can feel the anger rising fast because he can't fucking swear on shit. We both know what happens whensomeone unhinged is on the loose and I'm not risking my whole world, to try and lure him out.

“She's not going to be bait if that's what you're thinking,” I growl at him, loud enough for Nova and Mila to stop talking and look over at us.

“And on that note, I think I'm going to head off. Mila take as long as you need off, please don't come back for at least a week or two, and you.” Nova says then, pointing right at me, “You can sit in the kitchen at Beans and watch from behind the pass-through window, okay? … Okay Dante,” she says, enunciating each syllable.

I mumble an incoherent response and hope that she accepts it because I'll go whereever the fuck I want to when it comes to keeping my sunshine safe.

Chapter 30 - Mila

Wicked Games - Chris Isaak ?

The whole town at this point is reaping the benefits of Trevor making a surprise visit, because I've been stress baking, and I have baked everything you can think of at this point. I made so many cakes in the first few days Ace took them to Nova and she gave them away to local businesses. However, I've decided to reign in my focus and have made breads, tarts and am currently trying to master choux pastry.

Dante has been my constant shadow but I'm not complaining because I can almost relax when he's around, almost. The only compromise I've had to make is that we have to train every day. He rationalised that because there are so many treats around he needed to put extra hours in at the gym, and part of that includes training me. The second thing he's insisting on is that I have the knife he gifted me on me at all times. This is not as easy as it sounds because not everything has pockets, so I've decided to keep it safely tucked away in a girl's most consistent backup pocket, my bra. I can't help but chuckle every time I think of it, but I have yet to need to retrieve it in our training. I absolutelycan not wait to see Dante's or even Ace's face when the moment comes to pull it out.

I've implemented some coping strategies to help me deal with seeing Trevor again. Taking the dogs for a long walk in the morning has been a big help. Naturally, Dante insists on coming along, telling me that he needs to go for a run anyway. He runs ahead of me for a while then turns back running behind me, before looping back. Literally running circles around me, but the dogs enjoy it so I'm not complaining. I've also been talking with a counsellor online and processing some of the larger events that happened, which then leads me to stress baking to unwind.

Pulling the last batch of eclairs out of the oven to cool overnight so I can fill and ice them tomorrow, I get stuck into hand washing any dishes that couldn't fit in the dishwasher. The slow melody of the radio playing classic hits which I hum along with. Ace and Dante have been spending more and more time in his office, as well as upgrading the security system. It doesn't matter how much I protest, it falls on deaf ears, usually with Dante kissing me on the forehead saying not to worry about it. I can hear doors opening along with muffled conversation before Dante's heavy tread can be heard making its way toward me in the kitchen. He's so heavy footed when he walks I've actually questioned if he was really Special Forces because the enemy could hear him coming a mile off, but he just chuckled and said he's light footed when he needs to be.

His strong arms wrap around me as he stands behind me, my body relaxing into his. He reaches over to the small radio and turns up the volume, the sad melody ofChris Isaak's Wicked Gamesplaying for us.

“Dance with me,” he says softly into my ear, nuzzling into my neck. His hands gently caress my arms as he puts them in thewarm soapy water, interlocking his fingers to mine. Resting my head back on his chest, he moves his hips in time with the music as I follow his lead. Slowly, he pulls our joined hands out of the water, taking the nearby dish towel to dry them off. He turns and pulls me into him, never once stopping the slow sway of his body against mine. Resting my head on his chest and listening to the soft beat of his heart, I don't know if this moment could be any more perfect.

Slow dancing in the kitchen is one of the most romantic things to ever happen to me and if I could stay here forever I would.

Moving slightly away from me, he moves his hand from behind my back, softly tracing a path up my spine, bringing his fingers underneath my chin and tilting my head up to look at him. His piercing blue eyes see every vulnerability I have and still want more from me.

Leaning down he presses his lips against mine, and we fall into a soft kiss as he continues to press our bodies against each other, swaying to the music.

The air changes subtly around us and it's suddenly not enough. I need to be closer to him, feel his naked body against mine. His thick cock teases me as I feel it pressed between us, but it's still not enough. I want to feel it inside me, to feelhiminside me, filling me, making me complete. Dante however is a man of his word and continues to be soft, gentle and loving.

No one would ever look at him, this giant beast covered in tattoos and an almost permanent scowl, and think of kindness, understanding and patience. We've been walking this path for a while now and I know we agreed to wait until I was ready, but on days like today when I'm more secure in what I'm feeling and what I want, it's hard to not overstep. I don't want to lead him on at all and I can see things between us evolving at a steady pace.He is the complete package. I'm just not one hundred percent sure he's my complete package. If you put it all on paper, we're already an old married couple. I'm just not quite ready for that all encompassing love I know he can give me, but there's also no one else I want.

“Please … I need more.”

The hoarse sound of my voice not hiding the need I have for him at this moment. Almost instantly he lifts me, never breaking our kiss, as I wrap my legs around his waist, a low growl emanating from his chest. Placing me down so I'm sitting on the edge of the bench, he grabs my ass and pulls me flush against his hard cock, straining against his jeans. The firmness of his button fly pressing against my clit, allowing me to rub against it.

---