"I wasn't going to object," I whisper, combing my fingers through his hair. "I think it's sweet."
"I'm glad you think so, because it's taking everything in me not to send a personal entourage with you everywhere you go," he says.
"Do you know where my sisters are?" I ask. Max said that they were in Paris, but I don’t know where they’re staying.
"The Ritz," he says. "It's about a fifteen-minute walk from here. I can drop you off at the hotel if you like.”
“I would like to walk there,” I tell him.
He doesn’t love the idea of me going anywhere alone, but he also understands why I need it. I like that I don't have to explain myself to this man. He just gets it.
He takes a deep breath. There's so much conflict in his eyes.
"Okay," he says.
With that single word, it feels like my chest has been ripped open to let light in. The fullness inside my heart is excruciating. Because for the first time since I met Dante, he's no longer treating me like his captive.
"It's going to drive me crazy knowing that you're so far away," he says.
"I'll be on the phone with you the whole time," I tell him. "You have nothing to worry about."
He cups my jaw in his hand and presses a kiss over my lips, making my heart skip a beat.
"Take care, little bird," he says.
He gives me enough weapons to rob a bank, then sends me on my way.
I feel like I’m levitating as I walk through the streets of Paris. This is something I always wanted. Freedom. I never thought I would be able to have it with another person. I always thought I would have to be on my own to be truly free.
But I adore Dante.
He gives me wings.
I stop at a bakery to pick up some macarons for my sisters and a coffee for me. The morning air feels like the beginning of something new. I take small sips of coffee as I walk toward the hotel.
A heavy breathing accompanies me as I walk. Dante’s monitoring my every step.
"I can hear you breathing in my ear, Dante," I say into the earbud.
"It's taking everything in me not to storm outside, drag you back to our room, and chain you to my bed,” he replies.
There's a flutter deep inside my core. It's only been minutes since I've seen him, but I miss him already. I knew I was on dangerous territory with Dante, but I didn't realize just how bad I had it.
"Um, thank you for not listening to that voice in your head," I say.
"I'm capable of being a gentleman," he says. "For a few hours."
"I'm kind of nervous," I admit.
“About what?” he asks.
"I know exactly what my sisters are going to say," I reply. "And when they gang up on me, it's hard for me to find my voice."
"I know you'll figure it out," he tells me.
I take a deep breath.
He believes in me in a way nobody ever did before. And it makes me want to believe in myself, too.
