“You are a great cook.”

I chanced a glance at him, wondering if he’d come here to tell me that. “I’m glad you enjoyed dinner.”

He nodded. I blew a strand of hair out of my face, then stretched my tired muscles. Dante’s eyes scanned my body. I became acutely aware of how close we were and how long it had been since we’d had sex. Had he changed his mind?

“I take it your conversation with Gianna didn’t go well.”

I sighed. “Of course it didn’t. How can I possibly convince Gianna that an arranged marriage won’t make her miserable? I’m the least person she would listen to.”

Dante smiled tersely. “You are right.” He took a step. “I’ll get back to work then.”

I didn’t try to stop him. Maybe a few weeks ago I would have made an attempt at seduction but today I lacked the energy. I slumped against the counter as I watched Dante stride out of the kitchen.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

I peered at the clock again. It was past midnight but I couldn’t sleep. I longed for Dante’s closeness, for his touch. It had been more than a week since the dinner with the Scuderis, and two weeks since Frank had run off and Dante had fucked me. God, and I missed him.

I slipped out of bed and left the room, not bothering to put on a bathrobe. It was dark in the corridor. I felt my way toward the staircase, then slowly descended it. At the end of the hall, light spilled out from under Dante’s office door. I knocked, then entered without waiting for a reply. Tonight I would take what I wanted. The silent treatment was over.

Dante sat in his leather chair behind the desk. His hair was disheveled as if he’d run his hand through it repeatedly. He’d thrown his jacket and vest over the sofa, unbuttoned the top two buttons of his white shirt and rolled up the sleeves, revealing his strong arms. He hadn’t bothered to remove his gun holster. He was staring at something on his laptop but glanced up when I stepped in.

He looked tired. “Is something wrong?” His voice was gravelly from disuse, almost growly, and made me even more determined to distract him from his work and lure him upstairs. His blue eyes took in my skimpy silk nightgown as I walked toward him. “I was just wondering when you’d come to bed,” I said casually as I walked around his desk and stopped beside him.

He leaned back in his chair, eyes flitting between my naked legs and my face. A couple of months ago I wouldn’t have recognized the look in his eyes, but now I knew it was desire. Maybe he shut himself off emotionally, but my body definitely got his attention. I must have caught him at a good time: too tired to keep up his disinterested act.

“Las Vegas contacted me. They want a meeting.”

I nodded, but I had something very different in mind than a conversation about mob business. I reached out for his laptop and shut it.

Dante raised his eyebrows. “Valentina, I really need to…”He trailed off when I leaned over him and slowly knelt down, running my hands over his thighs. I began massaging them as I looked up at Dante with big eyes. “Can’t the work wait?”

Dante’s eyes darkened with lust. A bulge was slowly forming in his black pants as he regarded me, and I had to stifle a smile. “What do you have in mind?” he asked matter-of-factly, trying to appear unaffected. The hard-on straining against his pants betrayed him of course.

I cupped his erection through the fabric. “I don’t know.”

Dante smiled darkly. “I doubt that.” He reached for his zipper and dragged it down, then he pulled out his hard cock. He stroked it a few times, running his thumb over the tip already leaking pre-cum before he traced my mouth with his thumb. I licked my lips, tasting him on me, and Dante let out a low breath. “Stop teasing me, Valentina.”

I leaned forward and licked his shaft slowly from the base to the tip before I dipped my tongue into the tiny opening. Dante gripped the back of my head and gently held me in place as I trailed my tongue around his tip over and over again, barely touching him.

His fingers in my hair twitched and he nudged me slightly forward. “Suck my cock, Val.” It was the first time he’d called me by my nickname. I cupped his tip with my lips and began sucking, making sure to run my tongue around the rim now and then. Dante watched me through hooded eyes as he massaged my scalp.

I took him deeper and then started bobbing my head up and down how he liked it. Dante’s eyes never left me. He started bucking his hips and tightened his grip on my head as I sucked him harder. “I’m coming,” he said in warning. I felt him tense as his climax overwhelmed him. His cock jerked and he erupted in my mouth. I tried to swallow while keeping up my sucking. Dante groaned, still rocking his hips and his hooded eyes fixed on me. These were the moment he allowed me the occasional glimpse behind his guarded mask.

I could feel him softening in my mouth and I released him from my lips. A defiant part in me wanted to ask him if that meant he’d forgiven me for the mess with Frank, but the reasonable side of me won.

Dante dropped his hand from my head and went limp, squeezing his eyes shut. I quickly wiped my mouth as long as he wasn’t watching and checked my décolleté for stains. My own arousal was a throbbing between my legs. Dante shifted, drawing my attention back to him. He stared at me with an unreadable expression and I was starting to feel self-conscious. I stood but Dante did the same, towering over me in his posh white dress shirt, gun holster and half-open dress pants. I searched his eyes but as usual I couldn’t read him.

He cupped my neck and crashed his mouth against mine. I gasped in surprise and his tongue slid in. He used his body to back me up until my legs bumped into the edge of his desk. He gripped my hips and hoisted me on top of the cool surface, stepped between my legs, still possessing me with his mouth and tongue, making my legs go numb and my heart slam against my ribcage. God, Dante could kiss. I wished he’d do it more often.

He grasped my shoulders, stopped kissing me and eased me down until I lay flat on his desk. I stared up at him, forcing myself to lay still and let him admire me, when all I wanted to do was rip the buttons off his shirt and have him inside me. Dante seemed to know what I wanted. The dark smile was back and the cool sophistication had been replaced by something feral and hot. I bit my lip and spread my legs even wider, making my nightgown ride up.

I knew Dante could see what was below it: nothing. I wasn’t wearing panties.

He released a harsh breath, but he still wasn’t touching me and it was driving me to the brink of despair. I tried to grab his shirt but he stepped out of my reach. “No,” he said with authority. The voice he only ever used when he was giving orders to his soldiers. It was the sexiest sound in the world, but I was burning up with need. “Touch me.”

“I’m still angry with you. Sex won’t change that. You disobeyed my direct order.”

He couldn’t be serious. If this was another form of punishment, I’d lose it.

“Let’s see if you learned your lesson. You will obey me now, won’t you?”

I almost moaned at the timbre of his voice and look in his eyes. “Yes,” I said quickly.

He took another step back, his eyes meeting mine. “Spread your legs wider.”

I didn’t hesitate. The air in his office felt cool against my heated flesh but it did nothing to alleviate the burning need. Dante unfastened his gun holster without hurry, never taking his eyes off me. “Touch yourself.”