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“Don’t be too hard on him. If he hadn’t helped with Bailey—I still have secrets to keep, Noemi. I used my brother, at his insistence, so I could be a selfish bastard and keep them.
“Then Bailey is gone?”
I felt Dante nod behind me.
“How?”
“I won’t tell you.”
His lips settled into the crook of my neck.
I settled into his arms and sighed. This was where I belonged. I couldn’t bear to be ripped from him again.
“You’re wearing pajamas?” Dante said as his hands traveled past my stomach to my thighs.
“They took me from my bed, Dante. In the middle of the night. What were you expecting?”
He spun me around in his arms, his dark eyes never leaving mine.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. Gabriel works in mysterious ways, but I’ll survive.”
“No, not for that,” he said. Dante took my hand and pressed a kiss to my fingertips. My breath caught at his gentleness. “For leaving you. I did what I had to do, Noemi. I can’t promise that I’ll never leave you again, but it won’t be like this. It will never be like this again.”
He rested his forehead against the top of my head. “I love you, but... I’ll never change, Noemi. My laughter may be heard more often, baby girl, because you’re good for me. But I’ll always be both men. Can you live with that?”
“I love you and that love isn’t conditional, Dante. I fell in love with both men. I understand one of them more than I do the other, but I don’t love him any less. I told you,” I cupped his jaw, “I want you. All of you.”
“This isn’t a temporary thing, Noemi. I need you to be sure. If you have doubts, this is the only chance you’ll get to walk away from me. After tonight, you’re mine.” He pulled me roughly to him and that deep thrill started low in my stomach. My breath quickened and the hunger in my heart grew. “I want you with me, beside me. Always a part of me. Words matter,bambina. Say it,” he whispered in my ear. “Please.”
“I’m yours, Dante. With you. Beside you. Always a part of you. Always.”
***
ISIGHED AND STRETCHEDout beside him, his heavy warmth keeping the chill at bay.
“This boat is colder than theMary Theresa,” I muttered as I snuggled against his hard stomach. “Is this yours, too?”
“No,” he yawned. “I borrowed it... from a friend.”
I stiffened in his arms.
“Relax. It’s Michael’s. And it’s temporary.”
He turned me beneath him and braced himself over me. “If it makes you feel better, my crew is here, too. People I can trust.”
“I don’t care who’s here.” I slid my arms over his neck. “You’re the only person who makes me feel safe.”
He kissed me hard on the mouth then stood up. “I have something for you.”
“Then you’re going in the wrong direction,” I laughed, watching him walk naked to a chest of drawers across the room.
He pulled something out of the top drawer then sat on the bed next to me. “Are you teasing me?”
“Yes?”
“Is that a question or an answer?”
