Page 13 of Salvatore

His lips don’t linger there long before they glide their way up my body and to my mouth. He locks me in a deep kiss, fueled by desire from our joint release.

I didn’t want to admit it last night, but Salvatore was right.

This was worth the wait. Every second of it, perfection.

But now that our fun is over comes the hardest question.

Where do we go from here?

8

SALVATORE

“Your phone’s ringing again,” Silver says without making any attempt to lift herself off my body. From the shower, we toweled ourselves off and collapsed in her bed, and it’s here we’ve remained since.

“Non-stop,” I grumble and turn to the little black device buzzing on the floor. I don’t need to see the screen to know it’s Dante, back at his attempt to get a hold of me. “Let it ring. I don’t want to be anywhere else.”

“Neither do I.” Silver’s grim tone comes with stirring. It’s subtle at first, slowly creeping her head off my chest and removing her arm from across my body.

“Why do I sense a big, hairybuton the horizon?” It’s bound to happen. As much as I want to, we can’t spend the rest of our lives in her double bed.

“Because even though you’d prefer mine, the big hairy is waggling in your face?” She snickers as she tears herself off me and gets to her feet. “You’ve got to deal with whatever that is, and I have to get back to work. One stormy night isn’t going tostop the hard-working folk of Crawford from demanding their morning brew.” Silver sounds upset that she has to leave. That’s a good sign if I’ve ever seen one.

Not that she’s sad, of course. Instead, like me, she doesn’t want this to end.

“Holy fuck, I thought you were dead.” Dante ignores pleasantries, and the panic in his voice gives me enough reason why.

Though I’ve disappeared on him for the better part of twelve hours, he doesn’t dare question where I’ve been or what I’ve been up to. Dante’s sort of loyalty is near-impossible to find in this modern age, and I could never express just how much I appreciate it.

“Still kicking. What’s going on, Dante?” Best to get ahead of whatever this is without idle chitchat. The sooner I can sort it out, the sooner I can return to Silver’s bed.

“Harry’s on a war path. He’s been hitting our boys all night. We’ve suffered three casualties at the hands of his mercs, but they’re gunning for you.”

Fuck. I should’ve seen that coming, but finding Silver in a snowstorm stripped me of all my senses. It was all about her. I didn’t care what happened outside the four walls of her diner. And now I’m suffering the cost of good men who have fallen because of my terrible decisions.

I remove the phone from my ear and flick the loudspeaker so she can listen while dressing. It’s for work, but if this conversation is headed where I think it is, I refuse to let her out of my sight.

“So, he ignored me then.” I feel the venomous sting of fury bubbling inside my chest. I made myself clear to Harry. The next time we have the misfortune of crossing paths, I’d be the last thing he ever sees.

“Guess so, but there’s no time to think about that now. We need to get you back to the Lion’s Den.”

Silver pulls a dark t-shirt over her head before her eyes turn to me. Nervousness bubbles inside the deep blue pools.

“I’ll head back now,” I answer, extending a hand toward Silver. She rushes closer, taking my hand in a firm squeeze. “But it’s not my safety I’m concerned about, Dante. I met a woman. She’s…” Amazing. Beautiful. Perfect beyond the meaning of the word. Everything I could have wished for and more. “Her safety is my main priority. We’ll return to the Lion’s Den and figure out how to deal with Harry together, but I want you to ensure that nothing happens to Silver.”

“Understood,” he says, not even trying to second-guess my decision.

But how could he, having felt the pure exhilaration of meeting the love of his life only a few short months ago?

“Are you willing to join me?” I ask Silver, who hasn’t left my side since I let her listen in to the call.

“Wherever you go, I go.” She wraps herself under my arm.

“Pack a bag and bring whatever you need because we’re walking into a war zone, and I need you to be ready.”

“I’ll need to make a stop before we head back to the city,” Silver says, gathering her things for an extended stay in the Lion’s Den.

“Back at the shop?” I ask, escorting her from the bedroom and out of her apartment.