Chapter 18
Dante
I lie alonein my bed.
Six hundred and fifty thousand dollars spent at that auction on a gift for her, and still I haven’t touched her lips with mine.
The want is becoming violent. All-consuming.
Fuck.
Chapter 19
Reese
September 12th
Reese Sinclair and Dante Hastings Caught Training After Hours
By Susan Martin
“Where exactly are we going?”I adjust my baseball cap and sunglasses as I follow Dante down a set of dimly lit stairs behind a pet store in Portland called Squeaky. My heart pounds with each step. If this is anything like the party at Wizard Island last weekend, I’ll be underdressed in my blue jeans and hoodie.
“If I told you, it would ruin the surprise,” he says with an infuriating smirk that makes me want to either slap him or kiss him. Ramsey’s bulk casts a shadow as he follows behind. “Trust me.”
“You do know all the most interesting places, don’t you?”
Dante looks back at me, and there’s a twinge of something in his face before he says, “That’s why people keep me around.”
He doesn’t elaborate before he extends his hand, and I take it, feeling like I’m crossing some invisible line. I’m already here. And honestly, I need the distraction. The raft scene is in fourdays, and my stress level is peaking and spoiling every chance we get to relax.
From all the time we’ve been spending together, it’s been harder to remember why I should keep resisting him. The movie, my reputation—they all seem meaningless when he looks at me. I may have made an emergency trip back to LA for certain battery-operated necessities. And if the cabin’s utility bill has skyrocketed from all my extended bubble baths?
Well, that’s between me and the water heater.
Miraculously, no articles about my drunken island shenanigans made it to print. And even though our filming location’s been compromised and there’s been an endless parade of photographers at security, I’m tasting something that feels suspiciously like freedom. The kind I haven’t experienced since before I knew what a call time was or that green juice could be considered breakfast. Before every moment of my life was scheduled, filtered, and approved by a committee.
“This feels illicit.”
“I agree.” Ramsey’s voice comes from behind me.
“Come now, kids, where’s your sense of adventure?” Dante puts on his showman smile and pushes through an ornate metal door at the bottom of the stairs, revealing a sight that takes my breath away.
The hidden space can only be described as an intimate jewelry gallery. Crystal chandeliers cast rainbow prisms across gleaming glass cases filled with the most exquisite gems I’ve ever seen. Emeralds, tanzanite, black opals, diamonds, and rubies sparkle beneath museum-quality lighting. The air down here feels different. It’s a world away from anything I’ve ever seen.
“I fail to see how this place is going to help me prepare for my role,” I say dryly, though my eyes can’t help but linger on a particularly stunning sapphire.
“Robyn’s a master thief, isn’t she?” Dante’s voice drops to that rich, persuasive tone that makes my knees weak. “Shouldn’t you know what real treasures look like? Not those plastic props they’ve got you working with on set. Consider this life imitating art.”
“Hey, those props are very convincing under the right lighting,” I protest with a laugh.
“Dante, my Adonis!” A figure in impeccable black couture emerges, gliding across the carpeted floors. They plant one dramatic kiss on each of Dante’s cheeks, then do the same to me. “Andmoi cher, you are Aphrodite incarnate.”
I tense immediately. Every new person is a potential leak. Dante notices immediately, his dark eyes flickering. “Relax. Paulie’s under NDA. No cameras, no social media.” He leans closer. “Just us. Changes the shop location every month. Keeps the riffraff out.”
I swallow. “If you say so.”
“This month we’re doing business beneath a dog store with dusty toys and moth-eaten kibble.” Paulie laughs. “But what else can you do when you have a jewelry vault that would make the royal family blush?”
