I laugh when he spins me around once more. “This is not ballet.”
“I know, I was just warming up.”
He pulls me back flush against him and I suck in a sharp breath when our gazes lock. "As much as I love dancing with you, this is very serious for me, Dante. I need to get the timing and movements right, or I'll mess up and ruin the entire show even before—"
His mouth slams down on mine, cutting off the words, and this time, I do melt against him. An arm circles my waist, andhe holds me close as he kisses me until my head is blissfully empty and my breath is ragged. “You are the best at what you do, Gia. You’ll be amazing on that stage, and I’m going to help you practice.”
“Okay,” I murmur, his words calming my nerves. His presence assures me in ways nothing ever has before. He takes out a remote from his pocket and restarts the music, those beautiful hazel eyes watching me with such confidence that leaves me no choice but to mirror it.
“I’ve got you,mia passerotta.”
Alright, here goes.
The music weaves around us, the morning light painting the room in a warm, ethereal glow as I start the routine. My body moves in a practiced dance through motions I’ve memorized a hundred times over, alone and with another dancer. This shouldn’t be any different. Yet, when his hand, warm and familiar, finds its place on my waist to guide me through a series of graceful arabesques, I feel my heart flutter in my chest.
I shut off my feelings and lean into his strength and the solid warmth of his chest against my back as he supports me in a soaring lift.
Our eyes meet.
The heat of his hand spreads to mine as we intertwine our fingers in a delicatepas de deux. A shiver traces down my spine as his breath ghosts across my neck during a slow dip. Our bodies connect in a way I have never connected with another dancer before.
I don’t know what I was expecting when we started to dance, but it’s not for Dante to play his role perfectly. The timing of all the lifts and the movements—soon, I lose myself inthe dance. All the fear and insecurities melt away as we dance together, and it’s all so intimate. Every time we touch, my body heats up, and the tension slowly builds.
I feel my nipples pebble behind my top, and my panties grow slick with arousal. By the time the music draws to an end, my entire body is hot and sensitive.
We’re both breathing hard when he finally puts me down, and little of it has to do with the exertion of the dance. I’ve practiced this dance so many times before without losing my breath, but now, I’m practically panting.
“So, how was that?”
Chapter Six
Gia
Someone moves. Or maybe, we both do, as one second there’s space between us and the next, there’s none.
It happens in a flash and in seconds, my arms are around his shoulders and his hands band around my waist, panting into a kiss filled with such hunger and longing. My heart races fast, and my toes curl as his lips lock onto mine, moving intimately…possessively.
Here.
Now.
I want him now. Crave him like my next breath, and I realize that whatever we couldn't do last night is going to happen here. In a room that carries a part of both of us. Dear God, I never quite put much thought into sex—never allowed myself to think about the moment I would lose my virginity. I liked the idea of meeting someone and falling in love, but I always held an innocent and naive take on love. Quiet dinners, then taking a stroll in the park or staying up all night to watch the moon and the stars.
But sex? No, it never occurred to me that I would want it as much, that I would crave a man’s touch with such desperation. Dante’s kiss sends my head swimming and causes the rest of my body to burn fiercely. And now, it’s all I can think about.
With Dante.
With the man I have fallen so irrevocably in love with.
My heart is pounding when we break apart from the kiss, and Dante’s wildly aroused eyes lock on mine, fierce with need. “You are so beautiful, Gia,” he rasps, dropping his forehead to mine as he runs his hand over my hip, burning me with his touch.
“I want you to see yourself the way I see you,mia passerotta.”
Dante spins me around to face the mirror, and my back meets his chest. I grab on to the barre to hold myself up, whimpering when he pushes up against me, nuzzling my nape. “So fucking beautiful.” My eyes flutter shut as he breathes into my ear, his warm breath caressing my skin.
“Look, Gia.”
My eyes shoot open and I tilt my head up, meeting his gaze in the mirror and Christ, what a sight we make. He’s a mountain, all broad shoulders and rippling muscles and I, on the other hand, feel every bit as small as I look in his arms. A delicate flower next to an oak. “We look…”
