Dangerous Kiss

by Michelle Love

  Kizzie’s mouth dropped open for a second, then she burst into loud, noisy sobs. Ethan, Jesse, and Bree all laughed as she threw her arms around Ethan, who hugged her tightly, grinning.

  “That’s amazing news, man,” Jesse nodded at him. “The right decision.”

  Bree herself looked a little choked. “Something good for a change.”

  Ethan agreed. “Something good. Hey, missy, you okay down there?”

  Kizzie’s sobs had subsided. “I’m okay … I’m just so relieved, baby.”

  He hugged her tightly. “Relieved you don’t have to bake a cake?”

  She chuckled as Jesse and Bree looked at each other in confusion. “You should be more relieved,” Kizzie said, sniffing. “I’m a terrible cook.”

  Ethan laughed. “Well, then, I guess I am. Say, why don’t the four of us go out, celebrate? I need a good night with friends.”

  “You’re on.”

  “You betcha.”

  Jesse nudged Bree. “We’ll, um, go get some more drinks. Then we can discuss where to go.”

  “Cool.”

  When they were alone, Ethan tipped Kizzie’s chin up and kissed her lips softly. “We’re all good now?”

  She smiled, her cheeks red from crying. “Yes, we are.”

  They kissed, not caring who saw them, and as Jesse and Bree made their way back to them, Ethan suddenly buried his face in Kizzie’s hair, put his mouth to her ear and whispered, “I love you.”

  Kizzie’s heart swelled in her chest, and she beamed back at him, her eyes filled with happy tears. “I love you, too,” she whispered to Ethan’s answering smile.

  “Good,” he said. “Now let’s go celebrate.”

  Emory told Luca about her plan over dinner that night. They had ordered in pizza and were eating it from the box, sitting on the couches with cold beers in front of them. Luca had listened carefully and nodded. “I think it’s a good idea.”

  Emory was surprised. “You do?”

  “I really do.” Luca took a swig of his beer. “Em, I never want to feel like you’re beholden to anyone, not me, not Bree, not Dante Harper. You are an independent woman, and now that you’re free of that scumbag Grace, you should spread your wings.”

  Emory smiled at him. “Thank you, Luca.”

  “Can I help?”

  Emory hesitated. “Is it okay that I kind of want to do this for myself?”

  “Not at all … can I at least help you out financially?”

  Emory was horrified. “Absolutely no way,” she said firmly, then relented a little, smiling to soften the slight. “Luca, it’s not that I’m not grateful.”

  “I know,” he said easily, smiling. He took another piece of pizza and scarfed it down, chewing thoughtfully. “How about some furniture?”

  Emory started to laugh. “Will you stop trying to give me stuff?”

  “Never.”

  She burst out laughing, and he joined her, dumping the slice of pizza back in the box. “I don’t know why I’m still eating, I was full two slices ago.”

  Emory nodded sagely. “That’s because—and this is quite an unknown fact—all humans have an extra pizza stomach.”

  Luca grinned. “Is that so?”

  Emory nodded. “Science, my friend.” She picked up his discarded slice and shoved it into her mouth. Luca grinned at her.

  “Anyone mentioned before that you are quite mad?”

  “Some,” she said with her mouth full. “I was over ambitious with that slice, though.”

  He laughed at her while she struggled to chew the too-large piece of dough, then applauded when she finally swallowed and raised her arms in a victory salute.

  “People will talk about this moment,” Emory said, feeling more like herself than she had in months.

  “Monuments will be built,” Luca agreed, taking another swig of beer. “This is nice.”

  Emory nodded, wiping her hands on a napkin. “It is, it really is.”

  Luca studied her. “You know … when I met you, properly, I mean, in the hospital, all I could think about was your smile. It was … how can I describe it? Genuine. As if you couldn’t care less that even in a hospital gown, you were the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. That being as physically beautiful as you, it really didn’t matter at all.”

  “It doesn’t. Beauty is subjective anyways,” Emory shrugged, seemingly not fazed. “I hope it’s not the first thing you see about me.”

  “It’s not. That’s what I’m saying,” Luca said, touching her face. “It’s your goodness, your warmth.”

  He was gratified when Emory didn’t pull away from him. “Luca, I wish I remembered us … I do,” she said gently. Luca nodded, then leaned toward her and brushed her lips with hers.

  “Emory…” The kiss deepened, and he felt her relax into it, then stiffen and pull away. He sighed, ready to see her turn away from him. Instead, she was staring at him as if she had seen a ghost.

  “Luca…”

  He was alarmed. “What is it, sweetheart?”

  “I think…” Emory pressed her lips against his, cautiously, testing. “Luca, I…”

  He could stand no more and stood, picking her up easily and carrying her to his bed. He laid her down gently and covered her body with his. “Tell me to stop, Emory, and I will.”

  Emory, her eyes locked onto his slowly shook her head. “No … don’t stop … Luca, I remember … I remember…”

  Joy made Luca’s heart beat faster, and as he kissed her again, the hope sprang in him that, maybe, just maybe, everything would be okay.

  He could not have been more wrong …

  Part #10: Auburn

  Then…

  The boys in his class had been talking amongst themselves long before David Azano noticed. They had first noticed their teacher in a reverie and had started to giggle to themselves. They were used to him drifting off; it usually meant he was composing a new terrifying, yet fun, quiz for them in his head.

  But not this time.

  He could not shake a dream, a horrific dream. His beloved wife, Zea, being murdered. The vision of Zea having her life … clawed … out from her had shaken him badly. After he had woken, he looked over to see her sleeping beside him and had noticed how, even in her sleep, she looked stressed, worn out. He had rolled on her side and watched as deeper sleep had slowly erased the anxiety from her face and as she woke this morning, she had smiled at him, her face full of love.

  Blood.

  So much blood.

  He felt sick now, swallowing nausea as it rose in his throat. It wasn’t just the dream—for a little while now, he had had a terrible, haunting feeling that something was going to happen. Something bad …

  Now …

  Stop this.

  But she returned his kiss and felt him pull her legs around him. Stop. But Emory could not help her arms curving around his neck. She closed her eyes. Dante … But it wasn’t Dante, it was Luca, and she remembered this, remembered how they made love, recalled the scent of his skin, the way he kissed her so tenderly.

  Stop it.

  “Luca…”

  Luca stopped and gazed down at her. Emory couldn’t get the words out. I can’t. I love Dante. I love him desperately. She tried to speak, but nothing would come out. Luca’s expression changed. Hurt in his eyes. Understanding. Oh, God, I’m sorry, Luca. I’m sorry.

  His phone rang.

  Luca blinked, then slowly moved off the bed. “Better get that,” he said lightly. “Could be Bree needing me.”

  “Of course.” Her voice was scratchy. Luca grabbed his cellphone and slowly walked out of the bedroom. Emory sat up and rearranged her clothes. What had she been thinking? Jesus …

  She slipped silently out of Luca’s bedroom and down to her own, closing the door behind her. She felt … angry. Angry at herself and angrier still at Dante. Was this what he meant by making sure? Was he testing her? Testing her love, her fidelity? You pushed me into this. She shook her head; she knew that wasn’t fair, but
goddamn it, she was mad. She grabbed her own phone and texted him.

  I need to see you. Tonight. I’m not asking, I’m telling. Come pick me up, or I’ll take a cab, your choice.

  A bleep. Sweetheart, are you okay? What does Luca say?

  She gritted her teeth. Luca is not my keeper. I need to see you, Dante.

  I’ll be there in an hour. Keep calm.

  “Keep calm, my ass,” Emory growled, but put the phone down. There was a gentle knocking at her door. “Come in.”

  Luca came in, but before he could speak, she stood. “Luca, Dante is coming to pick me up in an hour. I have to talk to him.”

  To her surprise, Luca nodded. “That’s probably a good idea. Emory, I don’t know how to tell you this, so I’ll come right out and say it. That was Maximo. Ray’s escaped. He’s on the run.”

  Emory stared at him in horror for a long moment. “He’s coming for me, isn’t he?”

  Luca nodded, his eyes full of love and sorrow. “Yes, sweetheart, he is. And we’ll be ready for him.”

  Zea Azano Newlan sat at her vanity, brushing her hair. It had grown, she noticed, longer than she’d realized, the dark brown waves falling below her shoulders. A wave of nausea passed through her, and she closed her eyes, willing it to pass.

  Pregnant. A few weeks, even days ago, she would have been delighted, overjoyed—the same as Flynt was now. When she’d told him the news, a broad grin spread across his face, and he leaped up and hugged her, close to tears. She’d pushed him away gently.

  “It’s the wrong time, Flynt. We can’t keep it. What if … Jared…”

  “We are not putting our lives or our family on hold because of him, baby. God, our child.” His expression was almost reverent, and she couldn’t help but feel a little excited, despite her misgivings. Flynt’s son or daughter. She ran her hand over her belly. She could feel a slight bump—not much, no wonder she had missed the signs.

  “Hey, beautiful.”

  She turned and smiled at her husband, leaning against the bedroom door watching her. She smiled at him and held out her hand. “Hey, handsome.”

  He took her hand and pulled her into his arms, pressing his lips against hers. “Sweetheart, can I say that you’ve never looked lovelier?”

  Zea grinned. “You sound like Cary Grant.”

  Flynt laughed. “Well, my dear,” he said in his best Grant impression, “What says we take a little trip to Bedfordshire?”

  He twirled her around—not helping her nausea—but Zea giggled, cheered by his high spirits. Flynt danced her to the bed and swept her onto it. He ran his hands over her body, sheathed in the silky lavender nightgown she wore—but never kept on for long. Tonight was no different. Flynt soon peeled it off and was kissing every part of her skin that he could until she was a quivering wreck of desire. Grinning, he pressed his lips to hers. “You want me, baby?”

  Zea nodded, her entire body vibrating with longing. Flynt grinned down at her; she could feel the tip of his hard, thick cock nudging against her cunt and moaned with anticipation. Flynt pushed into her—just an inch, then withdrew. She cried out in frustration, and he laughed. “Gonna tease you, baby, until you beg me. Say the words, beautiful…”

  “Fuck me, Flynt,” Zea gasped, clawing at his back, desperate now. Flynt teased her some more, and she yelled, “Fuck me now, dammit!”

  Flynt, his smile smug and triumphant, drove his cock into her hard and she moaned long and hard as he fucked her, driving her on and on and on until stars exploded in her vision and she came, shivering and sweating, a second orgasm hitting when she felt his cock pumping thick, creamy semen deep inside her. She caught his mouth with hers, clamping her hands onto his head, kissing him deeply and thoroughly as, still inside her, his cock thickened and swelled again and they began again …

  Jared Podesta sat in the rental outside Flynt’s building. He had kept meticulous notes on the couple’s movements over the last weeks. From their change in security over the last few days, the heightening of it, he knew they must know he wasn’t dead. So be it. He hadn’t assumed that ruse would last forever, but he’d gathered enough intel now that it didn’t matter. Any security system had flaws—especially when he had no compunction about killing anyone to get to Zea. Anyone.

  He slept in the car often now—kit was easier than disguising himself to check into motels. As long as he kept off the police’s radar … he was paranoid about keeping the car in tip-top shape. No brake lights failing, no reason to pull him over. There was no way he would be able to explain the arsenal of weapons he had accumulated. Revenge was a sweet, sweet thing, but a delicate thing that he cradled to himself as he cultivated his plans.

  Soon, all too soon, he would unleash his hatred on the newlyweds and turn their ivory tower into a slaughterhouse.

  The moment she saw Dante, she wanted to run into his arms and never leave them. Instead, Emory stood and waited for Luca to bring him into the room.

  “I’ll give you two some space in a moment, but before that, Dante, I need to tell you what we’ve just learned.”

  Dante was having a hard time tearing his eyes away from Emory, and in turn, her heart pounded with longing, with love. She had forgotten her anger from before; it didn’t seem important now.

  Luca cleared his throat, and Emory looked at him, noticing two pink spots of color high on his cheeks, sorrow in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Luca,” she said softly. “What were you saying?”

  Luca met her gaze, nodding. He knew she wasn’t just apologizing for not listening. Dante, too, was obviously aware of the tension in the room. “Luca, please, go ahead. We’re listening.”

  We. Emory’s heart beat a little faster. I love you, I love you. But she sat down opposite Dante as Luca began to speak. “Maximo Neri called me a little earlier. Raymond Grace killed one his guards and has escaped. Neri questioned his guys—it seems the guard Ray killed had boasted that he was soon to be a very rich man and that the ‘bitch’—sorry, Em—that had ‘screwed Ray over’—again, sorry, his words, not mine, was going to die real soon. So…”

  “He’s coming after her. After you, sweetheart.” Dante’s voice was flat, dead, hopeless. He stood up and came to her. “I won’t let anything happen. I…we…” he glanced up at Luca, who nodded. “We will throw everything into the search for him and this time, he won’t be able to escape. This ends now. And we will keep you safe, baby. I swear we will.”

  “Agreed. Look, Dante, is your place safe? Ray obviously knows this place—he abducted Bree from here.”

  Emory moaned, dropping her head into her hands as Dante shook his head. “The fact that Emory was at my place was in the press. However, I do have a place that no one knows about, down near Portland. We should take you there, Em—if that’s what you want.”

  “What about Bree?” she asked, “He might come after her again, to get to me. And both of you … please, I couldn’t bear it if he hurt anyone else, I’d rather he kil—”

  “Don’t even finish that sentence,” Dante growled, his voice full of pain. Luca, too, looked angry.

  “Bree is on Bainbridge Island. As far as I know, she’ll be going back to Auburn soon. Jesse Kline’s family is well connected too. They’ll be safe, I promise. I will see to it. Clem is in Italy with Maximo. Dante, I think Portland is a good idea. You should stay here the night, and we can take Emory down in the morning.”

  “Agreed.” Dante looked between them. “Look, there’s the elephant in the room that we can’t avoid here, so…”

  “No elephant,” said Luca softly and he gave Emory a small smile. “I wish you both every happiness. Truly. You are a good man, and I couldn’t have given Emory up to a better person. Emory has made her choice, and it was an informed one. I would like to consider you both as my good friends— if it won’t be too awkward.”

  Emory, stunned, got up and threw her arms around him. He hugged her hard. Emory put her lips to his ear. “Thank you, Luca. For everything.”

  Luca held her tightly. “Be
happy, darling. That’s all I ask.” He released her and offered his hand to an equally stunned Dante. “I know I don’t have to ask you to treat her right.”

  “You don’t, but thank you, Luca.”

  Luca nodded, half smiling. “As I said, you should stay here tonight. Emory’s room has a king-sized bed. Goodnight.”

  He left the room, closing the door behind him. Emory and Dante stared at each other for the longest time. Dante studied every inch of her lovely face then said simply, “I love you.”

  She went into his arms, and he kissed her, deeply, passionately. Hot tears were flooding down her face. “I love you so much, Dante Harper. I’m mad at you for putting me through this, but I understand why you did. Thank you for coming for me.”

  They stood for the longest time, kissing, before Emory led him to her bedroom. She looked guiltily down the hallway to Luca’s closed door. When they were inside, she and Dante kissed again and then, as if by some silent agreement, they made love, not on the bed, but on the floor, quieting their cries of pleasure, kissing instead of moaning, their joy at being together muted but by no means diminished. Emory fell asleep in Dante’s arms, knowing one thing for certain: that she loved, and was loved by the most wonderful man she had ever known.

  And that was enough.

  Jesse scratched furiously at his head with both hands, trying to get some blood flowing, trying to wake up. Ethan was paying for their coffees, and Jesse grinned at him as he gingerly balanced the two cups and two fresh pastries.

  “Ouch. Man,” Ethan grumbled as he spilled the hot drink on himself. Jesse laughed.

  “Thanks, buddy.” He sipped his coffee. “Ah. What did you want to talk to me about?” He pulled a hunk of one of the pastries off and shoved it in his mouth.

  Ethan sipped his latte. “Kizzie. Now that all this crap with Petersen is over…”

  “Almost over,” Jesse interrupted him. “We still have to testify.”