He knew he was stalling.
Was he afraid to ask because he was afraid of her answer? Or because he didn’t want to be suspicious of her?
And he shouldn’tbe suspicious of her.
He needed to trust in his gut. Trust her. And his gut told him he could trust her.
No. He was not going to confront her about a damn thing. He was going to take that leap of faith and trust her.
“I had a nice time last night until both of my sisters split.” She chuckled, shutting the door. “Luckily, Olivia’s ex-boyfriend was there. He was nice enough to give me a ride home, although, I think I was helping him out too.” She moved in front of Dante, and he automatically set his hands on her hips. “Josh is a famous rodeo star,” she said, placing her palms on his chest. “And there were some groupies hanging around. So, by sitting with me until I thought you and Noah might’ve been back from Hunter’s house, it appeared like he was busy. And he was happy to take me home because it got him out of the restaurant…uh…unmolested…I guess you’d say.”
Thank God he’d gone with his gut. He was a damn fool for even considering she’d cheat, and even worse for allowing Carter to plant that seed of doubt.
No. That wasn’t fair. Carter was just trying to have his six. They’d all seen too much of that crap going on at the base. Unfortunately, it was deeply rooted in their psyche.
Still, it was unnecessary.
“I wore a special dress and boots for you last night,” she said, a wicked gleam entering her eyes that sent heat blasting through his veins. “I was going to come over, but I didn’t see a light, so I went to bed instead. Although, I’m not going to lie, I did consider knocking for a late-night booty call.”
He muttered an oath and tightened his grip on her hips as his zipper bit into his full erection. Dante wouldn’t have deserved that visit last night.
“You mean much more to me than a booty call.” He released one of her hips to lightly caress her cheek, basking in the adoration warming her gaze. The urge to kiss her was so strong it practically consumed him. But he knew if he did then, he’d never be able to carry out his intent. “Come next door with me. I want to take you to my bed.”
Sheri was the only woman he ever slept with in his bed, and that had only happened after they were married. This was a new house. A new bed.
But Amanda? He wanted to share his space with her. Share everything with her, starting now.
She inhaled and her wicked gleam returned. “Are you going to take advantage of me in your bed?”
He shook his head, running a finger over her lips. “Never. But I will make you come with me there.”
“Damn, Dante.” Her fingers curled around his shirt as she gripped it tightly. “What are we waiting for?”
Good question.
He released her other hip to take her hand and together they walked out of her house and into his, and once his door shut behind them, he kissed her long and thorough against it.
When they broke for air, he swept her into his arms and carried her up the stairs and straight to his bedroom, where he set her on her feet and slowly began to remove her clothes.
He drew her T-shirt over her head, then dropped it on the floor before he pulled her close and kissed her trembling lips. She opened up for him, kissing him back, slipping a hand under his shirt to skim her fingers over his abs then lower to brush just beneath the waistband of his jeans.
Heat skittered down his spine and just like that, he was rock hard.
Damn, she was good. The woman knew exactly how to touch him and where to touch him to take him from zero to six hundred in less than half a second.
“I need to taste more of you,” he said when they broke for air.
Dragging his mouth down her throat, he reached behind her to unhook her bra, then stepped back enough to tug the straps down her arms and watch her beautiful breasts bounce free as the blue silk hit the floor.
“So perfect.” He cupped what he could in his hands and kissed the parts that spilled over.
She moaned and arched her back. “Mmm…so perfect.”
Need burned through his veins with vigorous force. He released her and dropped to his knees and slowly unbuttoned, unzipped, then tugged her jeans to her ankles, taking his time to push the denim slowly down her legs with his hands leisurely caressing her supple curves along the way.
“Hold on to me,” he told her as he lightly kissed her thigh.
Her hands shook as they gripped his shoulders, and he wasted no time helping her out of her jeans the rest of the way.
