hard and dropped his other hand to my hip as well, gripping a little harder. Pulling me close. He was so much taller than me that his hips pressed into my lower back, and I could feel the shape of his half-hard cock there.
Heat coursed down my spine, hot and sudden, and I gritted my teeth to resist the urge to grind back against him.
“If you’ve waited this long, your first time should be meaningful,” Dante murmured. “Not some rushed make-out session that went too far.”
Ugh. So he thought I was still a virgin because I was waiting on the right person—and honestly, that was better than the truth. The truth was that I would’ve jumped into bed with Dante right that second, because it wasn’t any sort of moral boundary that kept me inexperienced. It was my shyness. And, okay, a little bit was my insistence that I at least know a guy’s name before we had sex.
But how could I say that now? I could barely even think straight with Dante’s hands on my hips and the pressure of his cock against my body like a promise.
“I should’ve stayed and talked to you,” Dante said. “I’m sorry for just running off like that. I was… I wasn’t in my right mind, I guess.”
He huffed a laugh close to my ear, a puff of hot breath that sent a thrill through me.
“And you are now?” I asked quietly.
“Not sure,” Dante admitted.
I slid my hand over his, pushing it harder down on my hip.
“But,” Dante said.
But. There was always a ‘but.’ I dropped my hand.
“Now’s probably not the best time,” he continued hesitantly.
I sighed and pulled out of his grip, putting some space between us as I leaned up against the bench. Dante’s eyes tracked the motion, lingering openly at my hips where I knew my own erection was visible in my tight jeans.
He was right, of course. Right now we could hardly manage our business relationship. Anything that could happen between us would just be a complication to what his real reason for dealing with me was—repairing the relationship between Hell’s Ankhor and the Liberty Crew.
But for all that I’d been expecting it, the rejection didn’t hurt any less. I felt it like a punch in the sternum, radiating all through my body as I leaned a little heavier against the bench. Sure, Dante wanted me, but not enough to put the reparations at risk. Which, obviously he wouldn’t take that risk for me—he hardly even knew me—but it didn’t help my embarrassment about throwing myself at him twice—and being turned away. Twice.
“We’ll still be all right to work together, right?” Dante asked too gently. His hands twitched like he wanted to reach for me, but he kept a careful distance.
I carded a hand through my hair and tried to regain my composure. “Of course. Yeah. No problems at all.”
“And I mean,” Dante continued, “not just as coworkers.”
Hope flared in my chest.
“I want us to be friends, too.”
And it burned out just as quickly. Just friends. Of course. I’d been stupid to expect anything different.
“Sure,” I said as I shoved down the rejection. But Dante’s gaze was calling my bluff. So I straightened up and fixed a friendly smile on my face, and then offered my hand to shake. “Seriously. Friends. I just… I’m glad we could clear the air. Again. Fuck, I’m sorry I’m doing such a lousy job as a chaperone.”
Dante’s expression eased a little, and he took my hand in both of his, so large that mine nearly disappeared in his grasp.
“You’re doing just fine, Kid,” he said. “But I’m glad we can clear the air, too.”
So that was that. Friends. That was what I’d wanted when I came here, the best I could’ve hoped for, wasn’t it? I held Dante’s gaze for a moment, until that familiar twist of heat in my gut returned, and I pulled away.
Friends. It was better than nothing, I guessed. Even though my dick—a little too obviously—disagreed.
It was going to be a long few months…
12
Dante
Luckily for my sanity, I had a few days to regain my equilibrium before I had to work with Heath again. I’d been shocked when he’d showed up at Stella’s a second time, sure that I’d have to be the one to approach him, awkward and regretful. But despite his obvious nerves, he’d faced the discomfort head-on, showing a bravery he clearly didn’t think he possessed. A bravery that I’d love to test and explore…