Fuck. My eyes took in every detail like a man starved. That lace was nearly see-through, barely cupping those gorgeous breasts I remembered so well. Her stomach was still tight as hell. Heat rushed through me, pooling low in my stomach. Four years, and her body still affected me like this.
Only when I found myself thinking how endless those legs are did I pull my gaze back up.
Only to find her glaring at me. I knew I should apologize and back out. But my legs and brain were on a different tangent.
“Dante. Have you lost your mind?” she hissed, but I swear behind the fire in her words, I saw her body say something else entirely. She didn’t move to cover herself. Didn’t move to shy away. And that’s what stopped me then and there.
Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes wide open. She was angry, yes, but there was something else there, too. The same heat coursed through my veins.
I took a step forward like a man possessed. “I thought something happened to you. You were taking so long.”
“And how the hell did you know that?” She crossed her arms in front of her, dangerously tight. “Were you following me?”
Her eyes flashed, and I had no answer for that one without sounding like a creep.
“I was… passing through,” I let out a small lie. “And then I thought something might’ve gone wrong.”
“I was changing,” she snapped, but the way her arms stayed loose at her sides told me she wasn’t exactly furious. And she certainly wasn’t modest. That tiny scrap of lace clung to her like a second skin and, god help me, I’d never wanted so badly to be that lace.
I took another step toward her. “I’m sorry, okay?” I ran a hand down my face and tried not to look at her hips, her breasts, the shadow of her thighs through that see-through lace. “I didn’t think. I just—fuck, Alisa. I got worried.”
“Well, who knew lingerie shopping could be so dangerous?” she teased, her eyes softening.
She was teasing me. She knew what she was doing. And now she turned slowly, as if to grab the dress off the hook behind her—but the way she arched her back slightly, the way her body moved, it was a dare.
“You’re staring,” she said as she turned back to me, the dress hanging loosely in her hide, covering nothing.
I didn’t even deny it. “You look… incredible.”
She just stood there in black lace, watching me with those honey-brown eyes, almost teasing me to come forward.
“Do I?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper, as she took one step forward.
The space between us compressed. Jesus. She was so close, looking divine. Why fight what we both clearly wanted? Why maintain this exhausting distance when every cell in my body screamed to close it?
I knew the answer, though. Because I’d hurt her once before. Because this situation was complicated enough without adding sex to the mix, and I couldn’t bear to see regret in her eyes afterward, especially if it risked her seeing me as someone who took what he wanted, when he wanted, even when she wasn’t fully there yet.
So I took a step back, though it physically pained me to do so.
“Get dressed,” I said, my voice rough. “Your bodyguard is waiting.”
“He can wait.” Her face turned cold. “I’ll be out when I want to be out.”
I nodded and turned to leave, knowing I needed to get away from her as fast as I could. Because if I had stayed a second longer, I wouldn’t have just kissed her. I’d have ruined every boundary I’d tried to hold onto.
Chapter 8 - Alisa
I only let myself fall apart after the door clicked shut behind Dante.
The minute it did, I clutched at the little stool behind me and fell back into it, still staring after him as I tried to breathe through the tornado of emotions roaring through me.
My skin still burned where his eyes had touched it, leaving trails all over my half-naked body.
I didn’t even notice when I started to smile.
Men were so damn predictable. Wave something shiny in front of them, or in this case, something lacy and black, and they forget why they came in the first place.
I glanced at myself in the mirror, still clad in my lingerie. The flush on my cheeks wasn’t just from how hot the changing room was.
