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Chapter Twenty-Six: Dante

T he penthouse was silent except for the sound of our uneven breaths. Jade sat before me, her eyes red-rimmed, her dark waves a mess around her face. “Kiss me,” she had said.

I reached for her without hesitation, pulling her close. My lips met hers, and I couldn’t help but notice the unexpected taste of fried chicken lingering on them. A chuckle escaped me at the absurdity, but it was swallowed by the depth of Jade’s kiss. She leaned into me, her hands gripping the fabric of my shirt as if anchoring herself in the storm of emotions she was weathering. And just like that, the laughter died, replaced by a hunger that was all too serious.

“Jade,” I murmured against her lips, but she silenced any further words with another demanding kiss, deepening the connection between us until nothing else existed.

Jade’s breath hitched as our mouths melded together, her fingers threading through my hair, tugging me closer. The taste of fried chicken was a distant memory now, replaced by the intoxicating flavor of her lipstick and the faintest hint of her own natural essence.

“Jade,” I groaned, the sound rumbling from deep within my chest as desire coiled tightly around my spine.

Her response was not in words but in action, her tongue tracing the seam of my lips with an eager urgency that belied the composure she wielded like armor. There was a rawness in this kiss, a feral need that resonated with the part of me accustomed to taking what I wanted. But with Jade, it was different.

With Jade, everything was different.

The penthouse seemed to shrink around us, the air charged with an energy that buzzed beneath my skin. Our breaths mingled, quick and ragged, as the kiss intensified, transcending the boundaries of mere physical pleasure.

“Jade,” I tried again, my voice hoarse, but she cut me off with a deeper kiss, her body pressing insistently against mine. Her hands roamed over my shoulders, down my chest, leaving trails of fire in their wake.

She pulled back just enough to look into my eyes, her gaze fierce, almost defiant. “I’m going to ride you,” she declared, her voice a whisper that nonetheless echoed with resolve.

“Jade, you don’t need to do anything,” I said, even as every fiber of my being screamed for her to follow through on her claim. In this moment, with her standing before me, there was nothing more I craved than to lose myself in her.

I was still reeling from the heated exchange, the gap between our lips pulsing with an untamed energy, when Jade’s voice cut through the thick air of the penthouse. “I’m done doing things just because I need to do them,” she said, her breaths coming fast and determined. “Tonight, I’m going to fuck you hard.”

Her words hit me like a freight train, lust and surprise colliding in a heady rush. I’d seen many sides of Jade—the scientist, the survivor, the enigma—but this fervent declaration peeled back yet another layer, revealing a raw, primal aspect of her I hadn’t known existed.

Without further argument, I reclined into the plush cushions of the couch, my body language surrendering to her command. The world outside the towering glass walls of my penthouse might as well have ceased to exist; all that mattered now was the woman who stood before me, ready to claim control in a way that only someone like her could—a blend of precision and passion.

“Let me help you with these,” I offered, my fingers hooking under the waistband of her leggings, which seemed far too confining for the scene that was about to unfold. She lifted one leg, then the other, allowing me to peel the garment down her thighs, past her knees, until they were nothing more than a discarded whisper on the floor.

I looked up, taking in the sight of Jade standing in front of me, her body a symphony of curves and shadows in the low light of the penthouse. My heart pounded in my chest, anticipation humming through my veins like an electric charge. Without a word, she guided herself onto my lap, her lips finding mine once again in a kiss that was as soft as it was intense.

She reached down to undo my buttons, her fingers deft and sure, her eyes never leaving mine. Her touch sent jolts of electricity through my body, each one building on the last until I was nothing more than a bundle of pure, desperate want.

“Jade,” I murmured into the crook of her neck, my hands finding purchase on the curves of her hips as she pushed me back onto the couch.

She didn’t reply with words. Instead, she guided me into her, her body shuddering as she took me in.

I threw my head back. “Fuck,” I said.

Her body enveloped mine, her warm depth swallowing me whole. I gasped against her lips as she started to move, each movement of our bodies stirring a slow-building fire in the pit of my belly.

I wanted her to move, but she paused, her eyes searching mine. “This is what you want?” she asked in a voice that was breathless but firm.

“Yes,” I choked out, my gaze never wavering from hers, my hands on her waist. “God, yes.”

Jade’s eyes glinted in the dim light of the penthouse, holding my gaze as she began to move. Slowly, at first, easing herself into a rhythm that made me dig my fingers into her hips, already desperate for more.

I watched, enraptured, as Jade bit her lip, her dark waves falling around her face as she moved up and down, riding me with a fervor that was as intoxicating as it was unexpected. She was a vision, raw and beautiful in her boldness—a hint of the wildness that lurked beneath her composed exterior.

“Dante,” she gasped out my name. The sound of it on her lips sent a jolt of pleasure straight to my core.

“Fuck, Jade.” I groaned through gritted teeth, overwhelmed by the sensation of her body moving against mine. Her climax was building; I could see it in the way her eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks, in the pink flush spreading across her chest.

“Harder,” she commanded breathlessly, digging her nails into the muscles of my chest. My response was immediate and instinctive; I thrust up into her with all the force I could muster.

She gasped, a high, keening sound that echoed through the penthouse, cutting through the heavy silence. I gripped her hips as she rode me harder and she gasped, a high, keening sound that echoed through the penthouse, cutting through the heavy silence. I gripped her hips as she rode me harder and and faster, her body bouncing in my lap, her gasps and moans filling the air. Her head fell back in ecstasy, her eyes closed as she lost herself in the overwhelming pleasure.

“Dante,” she moaned, her voice shaky yet demanding. Her pussy tightened around me, her nails digging into my shoulders as her climax washed over her.

Her body shook with the intensity of her orgasm, her hot insides pulsing and contracting around me. I watched as she writhed above me, my name a whisper on her lips. Her body was a marvel, every inch of her exposed to my gaze.

From the swell of her breasts to the slight curve of her belly that hinted at the life growing within her, she was beautiful in the purest and most raw sense.

My own climax roared through me a moment later, a tempest unleashed after being held back for too long. Jade’s eyes snapped open as she felt me shudder beneath her, my grip tightening on her hips as I buried myself deeper inside of her. She whispered my name again, this time softer, quivering with the aftershocks of our mutual climax.

We stayed like that for a while, tangled together on the floor of my penthouse. My heart hammered against my chest as I tried to regain control of my senses. I could feel Jade’s quickened heartbeat against mine, matching rhythm with my own.

I kissed her forehead. “Let’s go to bed,” I said.

“I’m not tired.”

I laughed. “You seem tired.”

“I’m not sleepy,” she corrected, a playful smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

I laughed again. “Okay,” I said. “Like I said, let’s go to bed. I’m pretty sure I can take care of that.”