Page 62 of Thorns of Silence

I’d barely begun shaking my ass when two men surrounded me. One in front; the other behind. Why did they always presume women wanted to be sandwiched?

The one in front of me clutched my hip and the other my waist, making my body revolt at the touch. I was just about to elbow him for getting handsy when a large hand landed on the shoulder of the guy in front of me, wrenching him back powerfully. He stumbled backward, knocking a few people to the ground on his way.

The guy behind me scurried away, and I locked eyes with Dante. He wore a black three-piece suit that barely disguised his muscles and his raw sex appeal. His hair was darker than the midnight sky, reflecting the flashing strobe lights—red, yellow, green.

It was a warning, a reminder, for the misery his family caused mine.

I wanted him. Correction, my body wanted him, but I wouldn’t forgive him. He’d almost fooled me again. Thankfully, I was spared another heartbreak, but my sister hadn’t been so lucky.

So I’d get my point across the only way I knew how. Yet, I couldn’t shake the feeling of being prey. He watched me, something in the depths of his gaze reaching into my soul.

The guy who tried to get handsy with me rose to his feet, but Dante wasn’t done with him. He picked him up like a rag doll, clutching him without even sparing him a look.

The guy snarled and scratched at him, but Dante didn’t even flinch. He drove his fist into his face, sending him flying through the air. And what did my traitorous pussy do? It quivered. Fuckingquivered.

A few people ran over to ensure he was okay, casting fearful looks in our direction. Dante didn’t even spare them a glance, his attention on me.

“What are you doing here?” he signed.

Ignoring his question, I asked my own, “Why did you learn ASL?”

An emotion so potent and raw simmered beneath the surface. But that was the thing about anger and revenge, it made you blind.

“To impress you,” he finally signed, shrugging his shoulder. “I want to be able to communicate. To learn your wishes, your desires, your likes and dislikes.”Too late.

He stepped forward, closing the distance between us, and I boldly pushed myself into his body, my breasts brushing against his chest. My heart hammered, my fingers trembled, every cell in my body affected by him.

Silence hung between us for two, three seconds.

“I thought about your proposition. I want to have sex with you,” I signed before I could chicken out. My cheeks burned and I hoped he couldn’t see it under the dim lights of the club.

Surprise flickered in his eyes, but it was his next move that shocked me. He grabbed hold of my elbow and basically muscled his way off the dance floor, dragging me with him. He behaved like a starved animal.Or an unleashed monster, my mind warned.

My heels and his long strides didn’t mesh, and he must have realized it because suddenly, he scooped me up and my arms wrapped around his neck.

Too close, my mind warned.Too dangerous.

Not close enough,my body screamed.Need more of him.

God, I had to get myself together before my plan backfired big-time. Or maybe that ship had sailed?

But it was impossible to stop the next thing to come. My wrath. His betrayal. Our lust. It was all a recipe for disaster.

He stormed down the hall and stopped in front of the room I recognized from the first night I was here. It was the office where Amon took Reina when she was roofied. Cesar, still wearing his black suit, guarded the room, and upon seeing us, he nodded at Dante, then opened the studded black leather door.

The bass vibrations of music faded, leaving only a thick silence. My heavy breaths. My thundering heart. And the throbbing between my thighs. Peeling my gaze away from him, I focused on the room’s decor. An elegant leather sofa with a glass coffee table stood in the center of it.

Before I could spot anything else, Dante’s hands were on my waist and my back was being slammed against the wall. Our gazes held as his hand slid down to my thighs, hand bunching in the material. Then he yanked the dress up in one go, leaving me in my panties and a strapless bra.

I gasped, goosebumps breaking out over my skin while fighting the instinct to cover myself.See this through, Phoenix.

“I don’t like seeing someone else touch you.” He spoke slowly so I could read his lips while his hands were busy touching me. “You’re mine.” The clenching of his jaw didn’t escape me. “This cunt.” He cupped my pussy. “This ass.” He grabbed both my ass cheeks. “These tits.”

He bent his head, his teeth biting my taut nipples through my bra. He unhooked my bra, throwing it carelessly onto the ground, and the second his hot mouth touched my skin, a moan bubbled in my throat.

He ripped my underwear off, letting the material flutter to the ground before his fingers dug into my skin and he pulled me against him. Our mouths clashed. The material of his suit against my throbbing core caused friction.

My lips trembled under his firm kiss. The onslaught of emotions and desire rushed over me. It had been years since he—any man—had touched me, and it felt so good. Too good.