Page 28 of In the Cover of Darkness

I can see his pupils dilate, the look of lust and wanting showing across his face. Suddenly he breaks the silence and says, “Fuck it,” as he smashes his mouth against mine, kissing me like it's the first and last taste he will ever get. His tongue pushes against my lips as I open my mouth to let him in completely. I feel a small moan escape my mouth as he holds me tight, one hand on the back of my head, the other holding my hip helping me move against him. His hands move underneath my top firmly rubbing up my back before they both find their way inside the waistband of my leggings and underneath my panties. He drags his hands further down my back until he is cupping andsqueezing my ass, taking my pants down at the same time so half of my ass is exposed to anyone walking past.

Suddenly, the loud shrill of a cell phone ringing startles us and our connection, and we pull away from each other panting heavily. Looking toward the passenger seat where Dante's phone is, the caller ID flashingSheriff Miller.

“You should get that, it could be something to do with the dogs,” I say, climbing over the centre console and passing him his phone, adjusting my pants as he answers the call. I can't help but grin at what just happened, touching my fingers to my lips, the memories of our kiss already running through my head. I turn to look at Dante and his eyes are locked on me as he talks with the sheriff. His gaze is so intense right now, but instead of happiness, I can see him struggling with something. Does he regret it? We kissed less than a minute ago and he's already regretting it? Looking away from him I gather my composure and am determined not to let him see how he's affecting me. It was just a kiss, nothing more, nothing less, and captain mixed messages sitting next to me can fuck off if he thinks he's going to ruin my happy day.

Ending the call, Dante starts the truck and we drive in silence, parking outside the sheriff's office only a few minutes later. I move to open the truck door, grabbing the handle so the door unlocks, but before I can push it open his hand touches my thigh stopping me from moving any further.

A sigh comes from Dante as I keep my focus looking out the window and on the steps leading toward the entrance of the sheriff's station.

“I'm sorry. I overstepped ..."

“It's fine,” is all I can muster, not needing to hear anything else he has to say. Pushing the truck door open and climbing out,I make my way up the front steps, hearing Dante moving around behind me.

I'm not sorry we kissed, I could feel how much he wanted it. We can hopefully continue on as we have been and I'll continue to wait until he wants more with me. I just hope that he actually does want more and that I’m not making a fool of myself by wanting someone who doesn't want me back.

Chapter 24 - Dante

Love the Lonely Out of You - Brothers Osborne ?

"Morning Sheriff Miller, thank you for taking the dogs until we got here,” I say, standing next to Mila, wanting her attention on me but also not knowing what to do with it if she gave it to me. I fucked up, again, I shouldn't have kissed her and I damn well shouldn't have made it seem like I didn't want it. Now she won't even look at me.

Gods, it was everything I imagined it would be and more. The sweet smell of peaches overwhelmed me in the small cab of the truck, and then, when she climbed on my lap in her excitement, it took everything in me to try and resist her. I'm going to buy that moisturiser for her in bulk so I never have to miss a day of her smelling like it.

The final straw was when she hugged me, I could feel her soft body pressed against mine and couldn't help myself as I moved her legs to straddle me, needing to be closer to her. As soon as I felt the warm heat from her pussy rubbing against me I was done for, and I had to kiss her, to make her mine. Her soft full lips feltlike heaven, and then when she opened her mouth to let me taste her, it was like sweet sugar. I was a man starved at that moment, and couldn't pull away from her if I tried. I'd already crossed so many lines by that point, that I needed her to tell me she wanted more, that she wanted us, but of course, my fucking phone had to ring, breaking the spell we were both under. Why can't it ever be easy?

Sheriff Miller just wanted to check if we were far away, as the dogs needed to be let out of the kennel they were in for a bit of exercise. I explained that we had just finished at the Medical Centre and we would be there in a couple of minutes, so we could give them a decent walk before transferring them to the truck.

“You're looking well, Mila. You would never have known anything had happened looking at you now.” Sheriff Miller says, looking Mila over.

“Thank you, and thank you for everything you've done for me too,” she responds timidly.

I was aware there were several other officers in the station and taking a quick glance around, I could see almost all of them were staring at our small group in the station foyer, and at least half of them were staring at Mila. She has no idea how beautiful she is, and I'll be dammed if one of these fuckers thinks they have a chance.

Taking off my jacket I put it on Mila's shoulders, completely interrupting their conversation, grumbling, "We're going to be outside while walking the dogs. You need to keep warm."

Rolling her eyes at me, she doesn't throw the jacket in my face like I expect and somewhat deserve, especially after what just happened between us. In true sunshine fashion, she does the unexpected and puts her arms in the sleeves, closing the zip at her front, completely covering her body almost down to herknees. I almost puff my chest in victory, staking my claim on her by covering her in my jacket. The other officers in the station can fuck off if they think they can have any of her light. Her sunshine is just for me.

???

“Okay, are you ready … here they come,” the station K-9 handler says, opening the kennel for the dogs to come out into the fenced yard. We've spent the last 15 minutes letting them smell and lick our hands through the wire fence and now we are going into a face to face introduction. Attila is solid black in colour, and Ragnar is dark brindle. They are both medium sized, but trained with different skill sets. We're lucky as we have the K-9 handler for the sheriff here to help us and to step in in case something goes wrong. From all the information I've received about the dogs, they are incredibly kind and gentle, but will not hesitate to protect their family if they sense a threat or are given the correct command.

Still, I'm not taking any chances and have made sure Mila and the sheriff are on the other side of the fence for the first time, just to make sure they aren't spooked and attack. Standing a few feet away from the fence, the dogs come racing out of the kennel as soon as the door is open. They cover the short distance between us fast, sprinting out at full speed. I take a second to prepare for the worst, that they're not going to stop, that I'll be bitten and this has all been a terrible mistake. Except, both dogs run straight past me and come to an abrupt stop right in front of Mila, sitting and whining slightly at her, wagging their tails.

Frowning, we all look at each other, trying to figure out what's happened and why the dogs have done this. From the end of theyard the K-9 handler calls out as he makes his way toward us, “Sorry Dante, it looks like Mila is pack leader.”

“What the actual fuck! But they're my dogs,” I say to him rather abruptly, sounding like a spoiled kid.

“I've seen it happen a few times. They might be your dogs but Mila’s pack leader as far as they are concerned. Good luck getting them to do anything when she's around.”

I look over and she's making baby sounds at the dogs, telling them they're good boys and so handsome, threading her fingers through the wire fence, letting them lick her. I'm trying not to get jealous, wishing she would coddle me like that.

The sheriff however is curled over with his hands resting on his knees laughing his ass off as if it's the funniest thing he's ever seen.

Walking over to the gate, I open it to let Mila through and she walks up to them, both dogs sitting but wagging their tails so ferociously they're basically bouncing on the spot.

“It's okay boys, you can relax, or stand down, or at ease … how do I get them to stop sitting?” she says, looking over her shoulder at me. It's the first time she's looked at me since we kissed, and the only emotion I can see is pure joy radiating from her. Hopefully, we just fall back into how things were, and we don't have to revisit the kiss from this morning.

“SayGoto them and they should start to play with you,” I say as I walk up behind her, ready to pull her away if it all goes wrong.

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