I throw my shoulder against the door, and a male grunt sounds. The door is shoved back, and I stagger, my hand dropping for my dagger as I whip it out and throw myself at myvery fucking unwelcomevisitor.
“Who the fuck said that you could come here?” I snarl, pressing the blade into his neck.
A pair of vivid green eyes meet mine, and I gasp as he shoves me back, grabbing my wrists and flipping us. My stiletto blade hangs uselessly at my side as Dante presses himself into me, green eyes scanning my face.
“Caterina,” he murmurs. The door behind me clicks shut as he pushes me into the wood. “Heard you had a bad day. I’ve missed you.”
Sighing, I allow my body to relax under his, just enough for the smirk to curl the edges of his mouth before I slam my headforward and into his nose. He staggers away from me with a curse. “Fucking hell, Cat!”
Smirking, I flip my blade in my hand. “You think you can come into my territory, enter myhome, without an invite?”
Dante gives me a side eye, wincing as he feels his nose. “Damn. Might be broken.”
“Whoops.” I smile. Dante’s hand falls from his face, and he crosses his arms.
We weigh each other up, both of us breathing heavily. Anton’s blood feels heavy on my skin, and Dante flicks his eyes over my arms. “I appear to be missing an informant. Thought you might need a little help.”
I raise an eyebrow. “From you? I don’t think so. My man is dead because of you.”
And his little contacts in the feds. Anton had too many fingers in too many pies, and not enough brains to keep track of them all. Thankfully, we caught him before he had the chance to do any damage by mouthing off to the cops.
He waves his hand. How easily he dismisses the loss of one of mine. He wouldn’t be so blasé if the shoe were on the other foot. “You hated Anton. He was an asshole. Excuse me if I’m not sobbing over his corpse.”
My lips press together, refusing to acknowledge the truth in his words. “How did you get in?”
He tilts his head to the side, his smile slow and curling. “Thought I’d test your security. Seems you have a few holes,principessa.”
I fight to keep my irritation off my face, the reminder that nowhere is truly safe here no matter what boundaries we pretend to put in place. “Get out.”
He steps forward instead. “I can take that edge off for you,” he murmurs. “That fizzing in your veins. The shaking in your hands. It’s been too long, Cat.”
My palms curl into fists. “Once was enough. It wasn’t particularly impressive.”
His face drops, the barb hitting home. Nothing quite insults a male like throwing shade at their sexual prowess. “You didn’t say that when you were crying out my name.”
My face flushes in response, and he moves closer, noticing my hesitation. I stiffen when his hand reaches out, but his hand wraps around my braid, tugging my head back as he moves into me, pressing his face into my neck.
“Are you wet for me now?” he whispers into my skin. “If I slide my hand into that sweet pussy of yours, would you soak my fingers?”
My eyes slide closed. A single moment to enjoy the heat curling in my stomach. He actually looks surprised when I shove him back. “I’m not one of your little V’Arezzo whores,” I snap back at him. “We had one quick fuck months ago, Dante. That’s it.”
He snarls at me. “We’re both fucking adults, Cat. It was damn good sex, and we’re intelligent enough not to let it get in the fucking way.”
There are fifty reasons why this is not a fucking good idea. A hundred reasons why I should throw him out of my room, rip my so-called security team new assholes and banish any thoughts of Dante V’Arezzo from my head.
But I’mtired.
So, I step back until my back is pressed against the door, letting a taunting smile play over my lips. Dante runs a hand over his face, his gaze focused as I drop my hands to the buttons on my leather trousers.
I flick one open, then another.
“What are you doing, Caterina?”
My grin feels savage as I push the trousers down, kicking them off over my heels. “You seem to be in a giving mood, V’Arezzo.”
I dip my fingers underneath the edge of my lace underwear, and Dante groans under his breath as he watches my fingers move over my pussy. I pinch my clit, pushing my hips out towards him.
“Get on your knees,” I murmur, “and you can have a taste.”
