It wasn’t what I wanted anymore. If I was being honest, it was never what I wanted.
What I had wanted was free will. I didn’t want to feel as though I was trapped. Which is exactly how I felt when Dante smothered me, acting all dominant, or when he refused to let me think for myself.
I had the perfect opportunity here to execute my free will and prove to the lawyer that the contract had been broken… and Ididn’t want to. I wanted to stay here with Dante. I wanted to see where we could take this, and how strong we could be together when we were both open and honest about what we wanted.
Which is why I put the kids to bed early and ushered Mama back to her room, all so I could wait for Dante and actually talk to him.
However, when he eventually returned home, his footsteps were slow and heavy, his movements sounding weary even from a different room. And I knew he was in no mood for talking.
“Dante?” I called, heading into the bar. He looked at me, the whiskey bottle already halfway to his mouth.
“If you’ve come to start—”
“I haven’t,” I promised, walking towards him. I hopped onto the bar next to him and scooted over until I was positioned in front of his body, wrapping my legs around his waist. “I’m here if you want to talk. And if you don’t, that’s fine too.”
“I don’t want to fucking talk,” he muttered, taking a huge gulp of the whiskey. I watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down with his swallows and felt the weirdest flash of desire for him. “I’ve done all the fucking talking I can handle lately.”
He dropped the whiskey bottle and buried his hands in my hair, kissing me deeply. I could taste the alcohol on his lips, and a moan of pleasure ripped through me.
“Just kiss me until I forget,” he murmured against my lips, and my heart clenched at the rare flash of vulnerability he displayed. I kissed him back with everything I had, arching my back, offering him all of me. He could take what he needed. I was his for tonight, if only it made things better.
He moved his mouth to my neck, and I tipped my head back to give him better access, his hands pushing my thighs open so he could step between them, putting his body closer to mine.
I shuffled forward, until I could feel the press of his hard cock through his trousers rub against my leggings, creating the most delicious friction on my pussy, despite the clothing.
He pulled back from me and grabbed my chin, locking eyes with me for a moment. I didn’t say a word, not wanting to do anything to break the spell.
With his eyes still on mine, he grabbed the whiskey bottle and poured a generous amount in his mouth, and then used his thumb to open my lips, pulling my chin down. He leant forward and opened his mouth, trickling the whiskey from his to mine, and then kissed me deeply once more, suffocating my gasp as the burning liquid seeped down my throat.
“You’re fucking ravishing,” he told me, lifting his head and stroking his thumb over my chin. “But—”
And that was it. The spell was broken.
“I’m not doing this again tonight, Rachel. I want you.Allof you. When you’ve made up your mind—”
“My mind is made up!” I interrupted.
“No,” he chuckled. “No, it's not. You’re horny. When you’ve decided that you want to be with me, let me know. I promise you I’ll fuck you until we’re both sore and neither of us knows what day of the week it is. Until then, I’m putting a stop to this. I’m not playing with your mind anymore than I already have.”
He walked away from me then, snatching up the whiskey bottle as he did so, leaving me sat on the bar completely dumfounded.
Chapter 64
Rachel
I sat in therapy the next day, almost wanting to rip my fucking hair out.
Dante had come so close to caving last night, and yet that ironclad resolve kicked in. I wanted more of him. I wantedallof him. And this was the one stipulation of the contract that he was sticking to.
“You seem especially frustrated today, Rachel.”
“Ten out of ten for observation,” I muttered.
She smiled kindly, making me feel like a cunt for snapping at her. “Would you like to talk about it? That’s what I’m here for, after all.”
“I just… Ugh!” I pushed my hands through my hair, tugging at the roots as I tried to clear my thoughts. “The man has a knighthood in not listening, I swear to fucking God! I… We’ve both broken aspects of this contract, which, to me, shows him I want to be with him. I could have used the broken terms to get the fuck out of here without looking back. It shows my commitment to making this work that I haven’t. But then he hits me with something stupid, like we can’t have sex until I admit it.I am admitting it! With myactions,I’m admitting I want to be here!”
“Perhaps Dante is the type of man who needs it said explicitly, rather than implying?”
