Last night had been unparalleled.There was no other word for it.
I had good sex before.Passionate sex.Connected sex.But this?This had felt like something breaking open.Like years of restraint burned off in a single night.He touched me like he was starving, like he was memorizing me in case this was all he got.
Maybe that was why it had been so intense.
Maybe he somehow knew this wouldn’t work and it was a one-time thing.
I shifted carefully, testing my body.Sore.Used.Satisfied in a way that made my lips curve despite myself.
And that right there was the danger, it was me playing with fire.
Because I could do this.I could take this night, file it away underunexpected but excellent, and go to work in an hour or so like life was normal.I was good at compartmentalizing.No one survived my line of work without learning how to put everything in the appropriate box.
One night stands weren’t my thing.They never had been.
But this wasn’t a one night stand.
This was unfinished business finally catching fire.
Dante stirred beside me, breath hitching as consciousness crept in.His hand moved first, sliding over the sheet until it landed on my hip, heavy and possessive even in sleep.I stilled, not ready for him to wake just yet.
Too late.
His eyes opened slowly, dark and unreadable until they focused on me.There it was, the moment recognition hit.Relief.Want.Something softer that made my chest tighten.
“You’re still here,” he whispered, voice rough with sleep.
“For now,” I replied lightly.
He pushed up on one elbow, eyes skimming my face like he was checking for cracks.“Stay.”
It wasn’t a demand.It wasn’t playful.It was a naked truth, an honest request.
I took a breath, already feeling the familiar shift inside me, the part of me that stepped back, that evaluated risk.“I can’t.”
His jaw tightened.“Your flight?You could reschedule.”
“Leaves in four hours,” I finished calmly.“I won’t be missing it.”
He sat up fully then, the sheet pooling around his waist.God, he looked like sin in the morning light.Scratches on his shoulder.A faint bruise at his collarbone that I’d put there.Evidence.
Last night echoed between us.
“I could drive you,” he said.“We could get breakfast.Talk.”
I smiled, small and controlled.“No.”
That stopped him.
I turned onto my side, propping my head on my hand, forcing myself to meet his gaze.“Dante, last night was,” I paused because I wanted my words to be just right, “incredible.Truly.And I’m grateful for it.”
His eyes flicked away at that.“You sound like you’re thanking me for a favor.Come on, Nita, we’re better than that shit.”
“I’m thanking you for a moment,” I corrected.“That’s what it was.”
He laughed once, sharp.“You don’t believe that.”
“I do,” I said evenly.Because I have to.I didn’t share that with him.
