Page 59 of Anti-Heroes in Love Duet

He was astoundingly magnetic, a perfectly formed monster of a man.

The sheer size and strength of him should have made me tensed, frightened. Christopher was a quarter the size of Dante, and I knew from experience what a man that slight could do to a woman if he tried.

Yet the barely harnessed power kind of…aroused me.

I was a woman who appreciated control. Therefore, I appreciated the care Dante must have taken to build that body and take care with it around others. I’d seen him hold Cosima’s face tenderly, hug Yara gently, kiss Tore robustly on both cheeks, clap hands with some of his soldiers. I’d witnessed the rolling grace of that densely muscled body unfold and prowl across a room, so much control lashed around his sheer power that it made my mouth water.

That he was so robust was attractive, but it was his mastery over that power that made my knees soften like butter.

“Elena?” His voice cut into my thoughts, amusement in his tone as it always seemed to be when he spoke to me.

“Mmm?”

“I asked what kind of rules you were attempting to install inmyhome.”

“Ah.” Yes, rules. We needed lots and lots of rules. I cleared my throat and forced myself to face him so he would think I was unmoved by his naked torso and the thick thighs stretching his black athletic shorts. “Rule number one, no touching.”

“No,” he said simply, shaking his head in a way that made me notice he didn’t have product in his hair yet, the thick, silken strands flopping slightly onto his forehead. “I am Italian. My people are Italian. We touch.”

“Not me,” I countered.

“You ask a tiger to change its stripes just because a friendly kiss on the cheek from a countryman makes you uncomfortable?” he argued calmly, once again making me feel selfish and slightly foolish. “No one will touch you without your consent, Elena. You have my word that you are safe in this home. But, in return, I ask that you be kind to the people who live here and visit me.”

“I’m always polite,” I said, but he’d hit an old bruise.

I could be mean. It was in me to give, and sometimes I was so cruel, there was no coming back from it.

Sometimes, I didn’t want to, like with Giselle and Daniel.

But even then, a little voice buried alive in the ground of my mind where I’d left it long ago whispered that maybe I didn’t want them to hate me either.

“I think you mean to be,” he agreed, his voice soft. I could feel his gaze on me, the quality of it warm, almost gentling against my cheek. “But the women in my family are very friendly. They might view your reserved nature as rude.”

I rolled my lips under my teeth, feeling wounded somehow.

Dante sighed and stepped even closer, the heat of his body buffeting mine. “Elena, I do not mean to imply you are mean, only that I wish for you to get along with the people in this house. Do you understand me?”

I shrugged a shoulder as I looked out the window again. The night hours always made me feel melancholier, the dark thoughts in my mind drawn to its shadows. “I’m not here to make friends, but I understand. I don’t like reminders of Italy, but I will try to be…warmer.”

I could see the bright flash of Dante’s smile from the corner of my eye and couldn’t resist the impulse to face it full on as if it was the sun itself and I wanted to bask in his rays.

“I appreciate that,” he said genuinely. “I know you do not want to be here, and you can hate me for it, but this is best. This is necessary.”

I didn’t agree with that, but I’d already battled with Yara and Dante both, and in the velvet quiet of the night, for once, I didn’t feel like arguing again.

“Rule number two, I don’t want it widely known I’m living here. If anyone found out, I could lose my license to practice law, and…” I fought to find the words to express what such a tragedy would mean to me and finally settled on an Italianate shrug. “It would not be possible for me to recover from that.”

“Done,” Dante agreed, reaching forward to take my hand as if for a shake, but instead, he just held it loosely in both of his own. I could feel the thick callous along the ridge of his palms. “In fact, Adriano will drive you to work in the morning in my Town Car. The windows are tinted, and you will leave from the garage, which is accessed directly from the suite. No one should have reason to see you leaving the building.”

Of course, the criminal had thought of everything in order not to get caught.

“Rule three,” I continued with a glare. “My privacy is paramount. No snooping in my room and invasive questions.”

I was laying the groundwork for the next week when I was scheduled to have my surgery with Monica.

“I have a procedure next week and will be out of work for a few days. I would like to be able to convalesce at my own home,” I requested with what I hoped was a pleasing smile.

From Dante’s scowl, it wasn’t. He crossed his arms over his chest, muscles bulging beneath the bronze skin like coiled rope. “Is it serious?”