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“I promised myself…f-from that day on, I wouldn’t let anyone else I care about get hurt. This life ain’t just threats and punching dicks in the face, it’s more than that. A threat one day is a car bomb the next, and slicing your throat while you sleep the day after that. We have to be on our toes, we have to be…” He starts breathing so heavily he’s struggling to get his words out. “I c-can’t…I can’t risk it, not with you. I won’t be like him. I won’t be like my father and let you get caught in the cross fire just because it’s easier. Just for my fucking ego.”

I squeeze him tighter. Everything suddenly makes so much more sense. Several tears drip down my own face, my eyesstinging and my heart aching for him. “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. I understand.”

Dante turns to me and wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me into his lap.

“I won’t let you go, not for nothing,” he growls. “You’re mine. No one will hurt you.” He slides his hands under my shirt, rubbing all along my back and holding me so tightly I can hardly breathe, but I don’t care.

“I’m here. No one is hurting me. You have me,” I reassure him.

Dante suddenly kisses me. I can taste his tears on my tongue as he moves his mouth desperately against mine. I gasp for air, but don’t pull back. I wrap my arms around his neck and straddle his lap.

“I need you,” Dante cries softly. The sound breaks my heart and turns me on at the same time. I don’t understand it, but maybe I don’t need to.

“You have me,” I say against his mouth.

The sadness and pain are thick in the air. I feel his hands shake and my own body tremble as we hold on to each other.

“What do you need?” I ask him, wanting to be sure, needing to know.

“Y-You. I need you. I need to feel you. I need to know you’re real,” Dante chokes out against my lips.

I slide my hands under his shirt, pressing my hands against his skin and feeling every curve of his body—muscles and scars, the softness of his stomach, the tufts of body hair.

We melt into each other so quickly—no more words, just touch.

I kiss Dante back eagerly, wanting to make him feel better, wanting to be close to him and give him what he needs. The kiss is sloppy, messy, and saliva drips down my chin.

As my hands slide along his torso, Dante’s move down my back until he grabs my shirt and starts pulling it off over my head.

I let him, removing my hands from his body until my torso is naked, and then I grab his shirt and pull it off as well.

Something about this is different than before. More emotional. More open. It’s less about Dante controlling the situation and dominating it. We both move in tune with each other, neither one of us fighting for control of any kind.

In perfect tandem, we pull each other down to lie on the bed.

The pain starts to ease into arousal, heating my stomach and hardening my cock.

As we lay on our sides, I break the kiss, only to kiss his cheeks, collecting his tears and drinking them just like he did for me.

“Ethan,” Dante moans against the side of my jaw.

I shiver hard and slide a hand down to his belt. I don’t need to think; I just act. I undo his belt and his pants and slide my hands into them, pushing them down. At the same time, I start to kiss along his jawline and neck, slow and soft. His throat is warm, and I feel his pulse racing underneath my lips.

Dante licks and nibbles at my shoulder as I attend to his neck. His own hands slide into my pants and push them and my boxers down until my ass is bared to him. I groan against his skin as he gropes it so desperately that my dick throbs.

In just a moment we’re both naked in my bed. His groin presses against mine, cock to cock, and I feel how hard and wet he is already.

It’s difficult to know how much time passes as we kiss and explore each other with our hands. My legs part he rests between them, and it feels so natural, so perfect. There’s no rush in our movements to get off. All I want is to be close to Dante and make him feel good.

I don’t care if I come or not, and it seems he doesn’t, either.

I pull Dante’s head up and capture his lips with my own, kissing him deeply. He groans into my mouth and presses down against me even harder. Our hips rock against each other, slow and deep, but without the haste of wanting to get off immediately.

My entire body is burning with need, and sweat beads at my hairline. Each movement, no matter how small, makes my bed creak underneath us. Groaning, moaning, panting for breath…I’m not sure for how long I simply kiss him, lick into his mouth, dance my tongue around his, bite him…and he does the same. Over and over again. We trade mouths for necks, sucking on each other’s skin until it hurts.

Dante’s hands rub up and down my body like he’s trying to carve my form into his memory.

It’s dizzying just how aroused I am, and how close to him I feel. The sticky, moist air around us smells of intoxicating sex.