Page 35 of The Prices We Pay (Vittori Enterprises #1)

Josephine

D ante’s up and moving before I have a chance to process what he just said. With my arms around his neck and my legs around his lean waist, he pins me to the wall next to my desk. I let out a groan as my body thuds against the wall.

His nostrils flare, and the muscles in his jaw flex as he stares down at me. His fingers dig into my ass as he holds me against the wall, and I can’t help but wish that his tight grip will leave marks on my skin for me to stare at long after this moment is over.

“I don’t know if I can do this,” he murmurs so softly that I wouldn’t have heard him if his face weren’t directly in front of mine. I can feel the hurt flash over my face, but he clarifies, “I don’t know if I’m capable of loving you the way you deserve to be loved, Joe.”

Such a vulnerable confession from him comes as a shock.

Dante is a man who stands as sturdy as the Empire State Building, a man who takes pride in being the anchor for everyone, preventing them from drifting out to sea.

Hearing him admit that he is worried about not loving me in the way he thinks I need means that he wants to love me.

He wants to try this with me. With them. With us.

And that’s enough for me.

“Dante,” I say softly. “The fact that you just said that to me means you’re more capable of loving someone the way they deserve than you realize.

The way you love a person has no set definition or guidelines.

You have a capacity for love that I’ve never seen in another person.

Not even Enzo. And he loves everybody.” Dante laughs at my joke, but his hold on me doesn’t waver.

“You are constantly worrying about the people you love most. You want them safe at all times. You bring me food and coffee every morning because you know I’m always rushing out the door.

You put fresh pens on Enzo’s desk every other day because he chews through them.

Even though Sebastian is safe at the penthouse most of the time, I notice when you check on him several times a day to make sure he’s okay, and you watch Luca like a hawk every moment of every day.

You may not be sure, Dante, but I am. I see it in your actions, day in and day out.

You know how to love.” I remember the words of the man who inspired him to join the Navy all those years ago.

“All you have to do is reach out and take it.”

And fuck, do I want him to.

I want him to take the chance.

To take me.

In the span of a split second, Dante makes his decision. And like something out of a romance movie, he keeps me pinned to the wall as he kisses me with everything in him. He kisses me like I’m the air he needs to breathe. Like I am someone he has waited his whole life for.

And in a way, I think I’ve been waiting for him too .

For a man to make me feel as safe as he does whenever he’s near. For a man who doesn’t do anything for me because it was convenient but rather because he thought about what I would need. For a man who wouldn’t kiss me because the moment he did, he was afraid he would love me in all the wrong ways.

But I know that’s where he’s wrong. If one thing is certain, it’s that Dante DeLuca will love me in ways I never knew I wanted to be loved. He will protect me always—mind, body, and soul.

“Fuck, Joe,” he mumbles against my mouth before kissing me again.

Pulling his mouth from mine, he kisses across my jaw and down my neck. He drags his tongue along the length of my collarbone, and I drop my head back against the wall as the sensation causes my core to ache with need.

Unwrapping my arms from his neck, I fist the front of his shirt, and with a firm tug, I rip it open, causing buttons to drop to the floor between us.

No longer giving a fuck about staining my satin pants, I grind unashamedly against him as he continues his assault on my neck.

My hands roam his bare chest, dragging the tips of my fingers over the lines of his muscles and running them through the light patch of chest hair between his pecs.

Using only one massive arm to hold me against the wall, his other hand begins unbuttoning my blouse, careful not to wreck it as I did his.

I wouldn’t be surprised if his gentleness was due to him knowing this is one of my favorite tops.

Once the top opens, his dark gaze immediately lands on my white lace balconette bra.

It lingers for a moment, and his eyes meet mine once again.

With a small dip of my chin, he takes that as all of the permission he needs.

Spinning us away from the wall, he clears the contents of my desk with one arm. I flinch as my brand-new laptop shatters to pieces as it hits the ground. “Sebastian will have a new one here by the end of the day,” he mumbles, clearly not giving a fuck.

Dante lays me atop my now bare desk and stares down at me, his shirt hanging open and his broad chest heaving for breath.

Slowly, his hands undo the clasp of my slacks, and he pulls them down my legs.

He gently folds them and hangs them over the back of one of the armchairs.

He motions for me to sit up, and he slides my blouse down my arms, folds it, and lays it next to my pants.

I can’t help but smile at the tenderness of his actions.

It’s a stark contrast to how people usually perceive the giant, scary bodyguard.

But I have to admit… I like that I’m one of the few people he allows to see this side of him.

Rubbing the center of his chest, Dante’s eyes peruse every inch of my body, dressed only in a matching white bra and thong set, as if he were trying to commit the way I look right now to memory. Much like I’m doing him.

He looks so fucking hot standing above me, I can hardly take it.

Fisting the sides of my thong, he slowly works it down my leg, but instead of laying them on the chair with my pants, he balls them up and sticks them in his back pants pocket .

“There’s people right outside,” he says as if trying to give me one last chance to back out while simultaneously shrugging off his ruined shirt.

“The only person out there who hasn’t heard the sounds I’m about to make is Clara. And I’m not entirely convinced she wouldn’t come in here and give me a pat on the ass and a ‘job well done.’”

The corner of his mouth pulls up in a smirk. “Ever since I saw you sitting in your office that night, I’ve wanted to do this.” His hand works at the button of his slacks.

“Dante”

“Yeah, Mama?”

Fuck, that name again.

“Do it.”

His barrel of a chest heaves before bending down and kissing me senseless yet again.

Our bodies press together, pushing me flat against the desk once again, and he groans, muttering a curse against my lips.

Wrapping one of his hands around my thigh, he lifts my leg and drapes it over his hips.

My fingers dig into the toned muscles on his back as I pull him tighter against me, not wanting to leave even a millimeter of space between us.

I love the feeling of him in my arms. He’s strong yet gentle; his touch is aggressive but not overpowering, just as I knew he would be.

My back arches against my executive desk, and I moan, breaking our kiss.

Taking the invitation, he sinks his open mouth into my neck, sucking and teasing my pulse point.

And just like it did when Enzo, Sebastian, and Luca teased that patch of skin, it shoots a jolt of electricity straight to my clit.

I don’t even bother suppressing the shiver.

I work my hands past the waistband of his slacks and cup his toned ass in my hands.

Shit, I think he has a better ass than I do. Might be right up there with Sebastian’s.

He groans against my neck as I give it a firm squeeze. “Fuck. I want to taste you. Let me taste you, Amore Mia.”

“Do it,” I say again.

Not wasting another moment, his mouth begins its descent.

As he gets to the swell of my breasts, he takes his time tugging each sensitive nipple between his teeth through the lace.

I immediately cover my mouth with my hand to stifle the moan of pleasure that falls from my lips.

Dante drags his tongue along my stomach, and I pick my head up to watch him as he goes.

Something about watching the man’s tongue glide against my skin has wetness leaking between my thighs.

His hazel eyes look up at me through his ridiculously long lashes, and he thrusts against my pussy. And even though his cock is still tucked behind his pants, I can feel its hardness press against me. “I can feel you soaking my pants.”

I bite my lip, tipping my head back against the desk as I sink further into his touch.

“Christ, Joe. You’re so fucking wet for me.”

“Taste me, Dante,” I command. So desperately wanting to have his mouth on my cunt.

“Yes, ma’am,” he answers. And then he’s pressing his face against my pussy with a loud groan.

Using two fingers, he parts me and flicks his tongue against my desperate clit.

“Oh… fuck, yes,” I whine as I wiggle against the desktop.

My entire body floods with heat, and I know I’m soaking his fa ce with my wetness.

I know that when he stands up, his beard will be dripping with my arousal.

The possessive woman in me hums at the image.

“You taste so fucking good,” he says as he continues to tease me with his tongue.

Spreading me wider so he can lick along my slit.

As one hand holds me open, the other works its way up and down my body.

Caressing and squeezing every inch of skin he can get his hands on.

My thighs. My hips. My waist. My breasts.

And when he harshly pinches a nipple between two fingers, I whimper, “Fuck—Dante, please…”

“Tell me what you need, Mama.”

“More. I need more.”

Kissing my pussy one more time, he stands back up over my body and leans back down over my face, stopping before his lips reach mine. “Can I kiss you?”

It takes me a moment to realize why he would ask me such a question, but when I do, I smirk, smiling up at him. “Dante, you saw me on a date with a woman, remember? The taste of pussy doesn’t exactly bother me. ”

He stands stunned, as if he’s just now putting together the fact that I was on a real date with a woman and that I’ve hooked up with one. Several actually. Laughing, I reach up and grab his face, closing the distance between my lips and his. Kissing my taste off his mouth.

His lips part with a moan, and I repeat for a third time, “Do. It.”

Pulling his cock free, he stares into my eyes as he slides himself inside of me.

And while all of the guys are beyond impressive in the dick department, Dante is like no other.

It’s not even just the size of his stunning, muscular body…

or his massive dick; it’s everything—he is truly a masterpiece.

Feeling like he quite literally might split me in two, I cry out, completely forgetting who might hear me on the other side of my office door.

“Oh, god.” He whispers another soft curse as he fills me. So wholly. So completely.

“Please. Please. Please.” I’m not entirely sure what I’m begging for, but like he always seems to, Dante knows what I want before I do. Holding my hips still, he begins thrusting into me. Owning me. Owning my body.

“Is this what you want, Mama?” he says, as the sound of our naked bodies slapping together echoes in my office. He grips me tighter as he grits out, “Is this what you need?”

“Yes. Fuck, yes.” I don’t even care who hears me at this point. Letting go with one hand, he reaches up and cups one shaking breast. Squeezing it as hard as he’s squeezing my waist. “Don’t stop. Fuck, Dante,” I pant out.

Dante hammers into me with a force that’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. If he weren’t holding me so tight, I’m sure he’d send me clear off the desk with one brutal thrust.

My orgasm builds, hotter and stronger, as I watch him tip his head back and moan. The sound of a man getting lost in pleasure is incomparable, and Dante’s deep groans of pleasure could make me come on their own.

Reaching down, I work my clit as our hips continue to slam together. And when his eyes lock onto the sight of my fingers, he commands, “Work that pretty pussy for me. Come all over my cock, Mama.” My fingers move faster. So do his hips. “Can I come on you? Can I claim you?”

I nod frantically because can he fucking ever.

He pounds into me once, twice more, as I cry out and come around him.

My orgasm tears through me, leaving me so weak and breathless that I barely register the sensation of him pulling out of me, but when the hot sensation of his hot cum hitting my stomach registers in my brain, I muster what little strength I have to pick my head back up and look down at him.

His entire body is tight, each perfectly sculpted muscle flexing as he pumps his hand up and down his dick, using my release as the lube he needs.

The sight of his hand wrapped around his dick and his cum painting my skin sends another wave to crash right through me.

And I don’t know if it’s the same orgasm or an entirely different one, but I come again right along with him.

I think I’ve entered another universe, but the sound of the door opening brings me right back down to earth.