Page 95 of Pretty Dark Vows

“But I wasn’t supposed to do that. Madd laid it out for us when we first brought you here. None of us are supposed to have sex with you.”

My mouth falls open, the hazy afterglow I was enjoying burned away by a surge of emotion. Several emotions, actually, all so jumbled together it’s hard to pick them apart.

Seeing how Chloe is being treated by West Point really drove home how heartless these gangs can be, and I can’t deny that there’s some relief buried in the mix. From the beginning, when Maddoc first made me strip in front of them, part of me assumed they’d end up using me for sex.

So I’m relieved to know that sexual favors were never part of their plan for me. But at the same time, it still pisses me off to hear that they were talking about me behind my back like that. Making a deal—or, from the sound of it, Maddoc laying down the law—as if it was a given to them that I don’t have a choice in the matter myself.

But I do.

Ichose this with Dante.

This wasn’t about making the Reapers happy or bargaining for my sister’s freedom, this was about the two of us. Or, at least, it felt that way to me.

I blink, my jaw working as I stare down at the floor.

“Hey now, it’s okay, princess. Look at me,” Dante says, tipping my chin up.

I do, and whatever it is that he reads on my face, it makes his eyes turn soft and gentle as he cups my cheek again.

“Madd’s just doing his job. He figured sex would break down our guard too much. Make us sloppy and shit, and none of us can afford that.”

I want to ask him why he did it then, and if he thinks Maddoc is right. Is he worried that he’ll get sloppy in his duties as a Reaper now? Let his guard down around me?

I want to ask whether the connection I thought I felt between us—hell, that I still feel—is real or not.

But I don’t.

Instead, I push down the emotions I’m not sure I should even be feeling for this man and fix a wry smile on my face. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell.”

Dante chuckles. “I’m not worried.”

A beat of silence falls between us, and it feels like it’s full of all the things neither of us is willing to say right now. I drag my lip through my teeth, glancing in the direction of the garage. We’d probably hear some noises that would warn us before either Logan or Maddoc came in, but I have no idea when they’re planning to be back, and it’s probably not a good idea to push it.

“I should, um, get upstairs.”

“Yeah, you probably should,” Dante murmurs, tugging me closer. “Because if you don’t, I’m gonna be tempted to throw you back down on this couch and see what your pussy tastes like when it’s covered in my cum.”

He grins when I shiver at his words, then nips at my lip before he releases me and stands up. He grabs my scattered clothes from the floor and hands them to me. They’re all wadded and tangled up, and I’m still sticky with cum, so I decide I’ll just bring them upstairs and get dressed up there.

“Thanks,” I tell Dante, holding my clothes to my chest as I watch him tug his pants up. “For the whiskey. And the conversation. And… well, everything.”

He winks. “I’m not lying one bit when I say it was my pleasure, princess.”

I nod and turn to leave, and he slaps my ass as I go. It’s not hard, but the skin is still tender and sensitive, and the sudden sting is enough to make me gasp. Arousal drips down my thigh as my cheeks burn, and I glare at Dante over my shoulder.

He just smirks, heat glinting in his eyes. “Fucking beautiful. Red is definitely your color.”

My lips twitch, and I have to work to keep myself from smiling as I slip out of the room and head up the stairs.

31

RILEY

I slipinto the bathroom upstairs and lock the door behind me, surprised when I notice my face in the mirror. My cheeks are still rosy and pink, both from the slap Dante gave me as a parting gift and from the sex and countless orgasms. The smile I was hiding from him breaks across my face, the red nose ring he gave me flashing in the light.

God, I really needed that. Sex has always been one of the best ways for me to destress and blow off steam, but sex with Dante is next level. Even if the shit he said afterward threw me for a loop, I can’t really regret what we did.

It almost makes me want to skip the shower I came in here for, to keep the feel and smell of Dante on me a little longer as a reminder of tonight. The world’s been so shitty lately, and being with him felt like the antidote to everything bad.

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