Page 85 of Thorns of Silence
He remembered me, was my first thought. My second was that he must have felt it too, but before I could comment, his lips were back on mine, tasting me, sucking on my tongue and nipping my bottom lip.
Then someone bumped into me, and in the blink of an eye, Dante shoved him away, sending the man falling on his ass. It took a second to realize it was the blond guy who’d run me straight into Dante’s arms.
Dante slid his big hand into mine and led me toward the back of the club. I followed without question, forgetting all about our rule.
With my hand in his, we went down a hallway, seemingly to circle around the main dance floor. Adrenaline rushed through me, the vibrations beneath my feet less intense here. I squeezed Dante’s hand and he returned the gesture.
We passed a man standing by the brown leather-bound door with aVIP Onlysign, then entered the room. It was a private box that hovered directly above the circular dance floor with a window taking up one side of the wall. I suspected it was one-way glass. On the opposite side, there was an unoccupied private bar.
He said something to the guard before shutting the door, never releasing my hand, and I wondered what he was planning.
He noticed me watching him and approached me. “Are you scared?”
Strangely enough, I wasn’t. I reached for my phone and typed my answer.I’m not scared, but I don’t like leaving my friend alone.
He read the message, then nodded. His hand touched the small of my back before he faced me so I could read his lips. And what gorgeous lips they were. I wanted to kiss him again and get lost in all the sensations he drew out of me.
“I told my guy to keep an eye on her,” he said slowly, his eyes locked on my lips.
“Thanks,” I signed and voiced the simple word at the same time, then froze. I rarely ever voiced words, and never around strangers. Embarrassment washed over me, but his next words wiped them clean.
“Your voice… It’s beautiful.” His hand tightened its hold on my back, his fingers pressing in. “One day, you’ll scream my name with it.”
I held his gaze, my heart racing in my chest. “Really?”
He stared back, smiling that charming, bad-boy smile. “Yes, Nix, really.” He pressed himself against me and his arms came around me as he dipped his head, bringing his face inches from mine. “But until then, you’ll give me your number so I can be the only one to take you out.”
It was cheesy. He was moving too fast.
I brought my phone between us and typed my answer. I couldn’t voice long sentences. It had been too long since I was able to hear sounds for me to have perfected the intonation and subtle changes inside the mouth.You’ll have to work for my phone number, Dante Leone.
He smiled.
“I’d expect nothing less from you, Nix.” His mouth brushed against mine, almost as if he couldn’t stand not touching me, kissing me, feeling me. A whole-body shudder gripped me at his closeness. Then he straightened up, his smile turning into a wide grin. “You remember me, huh?”
I nodded. As if I could forget him. He was the most beautiful boy I had ever seen, but it was more than that. Him taking the blame for the broken vase had tattooed him permanently on my mind. When I saw him again two years ago as Reina and I were sneaking back from a night out, I never imagined this was where we’d one day end up.
The boy had become a man. One that suddenly had everyone else paling in comparison. Tall frame. Broad, strong shoulders. That face with the jawline that belonged on the cover of every romance book andGQmagazine.
I’d stake all my other senses that no woman could forget Dante Leone.
Lights from the dance floor and the marina beyond the club flashed through the large window, but it was just the two of us in here.
He brought his hand up to my cheek, brushing his knuckles against my skin. “Tell me what I have to do to get your number.”
I signed the first thing that came to mind. “Kiss me.”
And he did. His lips pressed to mine, sending tingles down my spine. Our tongues danced to the ancient songs. I inhaled him into my lungs, not realizing then that the scent of him would remain.
Then the kiss ended just as quickly as it started.
His hand gripped my hip and he moved in closer, pressing against me. I felt him grind into me, and raw desire coursed through me. It was lust at first sight. I didn’t exactly believe in love, but this… this was intoxicating.
Dante wound his arms around my waist and shoulders, lifting me in the air. He grinned, walking us over to the bar, and set me on top of it.
I placed my phone on the bar top next to me as he stepped between my legs. He reached for my phone and I chuckled.
He raised his brow. “You owe me your phone number, Nix. A deal’s a deal.”
