Stronger

by Janet Nissenson

  And he wanted to shake her just a little when she barely acknowledged Tyler, Leah, and Deepak during their introductions. But it was when Katie got her first glimpse of Cara that the expression on her flawless face morphed from mere boredom into something more closely resembling a snarl.

  Katie hated competition from another female, couldn’t stand the thought that some other woman might be viewed as prettier or sexier. And while Katie looked undeniably beautiful tonight - in a short, close fitting dress of black lace that he privately considered a little too risqué for a wedding - she faded into the background standing next to Cara in that classy but still provocative emerald green dress.

  “Hey, Cara,” he greeted, striving with all his might to sound casual. He bent to brush a kiss on her cheek, just as he’d done to Leah as well as half a dozen other females here this evening.

  But none of those other females had smelled as good as Cara did, nor had their skin felt as soft beneath his lips. And he hadn’t been the least bit tempted to run a hand over their hair, or hook an arm around their waist and hug them close. And he definitely hadn’t felt the urge to give the men standing by their side a good hard shove, and tell them to get lost.

  “Dante.” Cara gave him a brief nod of acknowledgment before taking a step backwards. She turned her face up to the man who was glued to her side, giving him a bright smile. “This is Kai Robinson, my, um, date for the evening. Kai, this is one of Nick’s top clients - Dante Sabattini. And I’m sorry - I don’t think we’ve met,” she said to Katie, extending her hand. “I’m Cara Bregante, Angela’s PA.”

  “Katie Carlisle,” replied Katie, reluctantly taking Cara’s proffered hand. “Dante’s significant other.”

  As disinterested as Katie seemed to be in meeting Cara, it was just the opposite when she was introduced to Kai. Dante had to grudgingly admit that the other man was even more attractive up close, though a bit leaner than he had first assumed. Kai was also exceedingly personable, with an easy smile and twinkling eyes, and Dante was annoyed to realize that he and Cara matched up well.

  After a few minutes of decidedly awkward conversation - with Katie doing her utmost to openly flirt with Kai - the call thankfully came to sit down for dinner.

  Nick and Angela had nixed the idea of having a special table just for the bridal party, given that they each had just a single attendant, and instead were sitting with her parents, Nick’s father and his current wife, and Nick’s mother Sheena and her much younger boyfriend. Apparently it was to be the first time in two decades that his long-divorced parents would be in such close proximity to each other, and Nick was hoping that they would both mind their manners for the duration of the meal and be civil towards each other.

  Katie’s good mood was rapidly restored when she discovered they’d be sitting with another couple that they knew, as well as two of Nick’s NFL teammates and their spouses. She turned on the charm that she could exude so easily when she wanted, laughing and smiling and regaling everyone at the table with stories of her Hollywood experiences.

  Dante’s mood, meanwhile, was anything but good at the moment, and getting worse with each passing minute. And his ill humor had little to do with the fact that Katie was blatantly flirting with the hunky retired football player seated to her right. Instead, he was becoming increasingly pissed off - and increasingly drunker - every time he looked across the banquet room and saw Cara.

  Unlike him, she was having a wonderful time, chatting animatedly with the others at her table, and cozying up to the too-perfect-to-be-real Kai. Every time the bastard put his arm around Cara, or whispered something in her ear, Dante felt the urge to refill and then quickly drain his wine glass. It was either that, he thought grimly, or stalk over to their table and forcibly yank the two lovebirds apart.

  Cara had a new boyfriend, he thought glumly. One who obviously cared for her, treated her like a queen, and made her happy. Unlike the way he’d treated her when they had been together. It was little wonder, Dante supposed angrily, that Cara had been more or less ignoring him all evening, not so much as glancing in his direction even once.

  At some point, the wine wasn’t enough to quell the burning anger he was struggling so hard to keep at bay, prompting him to make regular trips to the bar for a double shot of whiskey. By the time the dancing started, Dante was well on his way to being shit-faced, and protested when Katie dragged him out to the dance floor.

  “God, how much have you had to drink tonight?” she hissed in a low voice as he clumsily stepped on her toe. “You reek of booze, Danny. And you look like you’re going to keel over any minute. What’s wrong with you anyway?”

  He shrugged. “Nothing. Just having a good time at my best buddy’s wedding is all.”

  “Well, you’d better stop enjoying yourself quite so much,” admonished Katie. “That and have two or three cups of black coffee so you can sober up a little. There is zero chance you’re driving me home in this condition.”

  “I’m not drunk,” he insisted, his voice a little louder than he’d intended it to be. “And if it makes you feel better, I’ll leave my car here at the hotel overnight and get us each a cab home.”

  “Or,” she suggested sultrily, her arms clasping around his neck as she rubbed up against his crotch, “we could get a room here for the night. I haven’t stayed at a Gregson hotel for years, but they’ve got a reputation for being the top luxury chain in the world.”

  “I’ll think about it,” he told her, trying not to make his reply sound like the brush-off that it actually was. If he was being really truthful, the hotel room would be a complete and total waste given his level of inebriation. Dante didn’t think it was possible for him to get it up tonight, if his current physical state was any indication. Even with Katie rubbing her breasts and lower body against his in a very suggestive manner, he wasn’t the least bit aroused, and he couldn’t say for sure that all the booze he’d belted back was entirely to blame.

  The band switched from the slow number they’d been playing to a much faster, up-tempo song. Dante groaned in protest when Katie insisted on dancing to this song, too, but shy of making a scene he wasn’t left with much choice but to go through the motions and hope he didn’t pass out there on the dance floor.

  And then his foul mood really took a downturn when he spied Cara and Kai dancing together a short distance away. They moved together smoothly, as though their dance steps had been rehearsed, and were attracting a lot of attention from the other guests. Dante knew that she’d had some sort of dance training as a girl, had once flipped idly through a photo album in her apartment that featured pictures of her in a variety of costumes. But evidently her training had been a lot more intense than he had previously believed, given how practiced and professionally she was moving now.

  Kai happened to catch his eye, and gave him a cheery little wave just before hooking an arm around Cara’s waist from behind. Dante snarled as Cara began to deliberately grind her ass against Kai’s crotch, both of them bending at the knee and dipping low as they dirty danced with great enthusiasm. He wondered wildly just how much of a scene it would cause if he rushed over there and slugged the sly little bastard in the gut.

  Fortunately, the song ended at that precise moment, and he all but dragged Katie back to their table despite her protests. Feeling his head begin to spin, he followed her earlier suggestion and poured himself a cup of coffee from the carafe that had been left on each table. Katie glared at him before announcing that she was headed to the ladies room, but not before telling him to forget about the hotel room after all since he was obviously in no shape to take advantage of it.

  ‘Good,’ thought Dante sullenly. ‘Saves me the trouble of telling her I wasn’t about to get a room anyway.’

  He drained his coffee, then poured a second cup, hoping that the jolt of caffeine would sober him up fast. If he made a drunken ass of himself at Nick’s wedding, Nick would not only never forgive him but probably inflict some sort of bodily
harm on him as well.

  Dante watched as Katie re-entered the banquet room, only to take a seat at another table to chat up the billionaire client of Nick’s she’d been flirting with earlier. She didn’t even glance in Dante’s direction, and seemed to have forgotten the fact that she was here with him tonight. Not that he blamed her entirely, though. Given his foul mood at seeing Cara fawning all over her new boyfriend, he certainly wasn’t fit company for anyone right now.

  And then it was Cara’s turn to leave the room, ostensibly to visit the ladies room herself, and he wasted no time in following her out. Dante was relieved to find that the two hastily consumed cups of coffee had helped at least a little to sober him up, enough that he felt steadier on his feet. He remained a discreet distance behind Cara as she made her way to the restroom, being careful that she didn’t notice him. He was pleased to discover an darkened alcove that separated the men’s and women’s bathrooms, and waited there none too patiently for her to reappear.

  She gasped in stunned surprise when he stepped out from his hiding place, only to grasp her firmly by the upper arm and drag her back with him.

  “Dante, you scared me half to death!” she protested. “What in the world are you doing out here anyway?”

  He kept an iron grip on both of her arms, pushing her up against the far wall as he stared down into her enormous, still startled eyes. “I wanted to talk to you,” he rasped. “To make sure that you’re okay. That you know what you’re doing with that - with Kai.”

  He almost spat the name out, the image of Cara dancing so blatantly, so erotically, with her escort this evening enraging him, bringing out a possessive side to him that he hadn’t known existed where she was concerned.

  “Seriously, Dante?” she sighed in what sounded like disgust. “What are you supposed to be - my big brother or something? If it makes you feel any better, I’ve known Kai off and on for several years now, and I trust him implicitly. He’s been a good friend, and would never try anything that I didn’t want him to do.”

  “A friend?” he asked incredulously. “Do you mean to tell me you dance that way with all of your so-called friends? Jesus, a few more minutes and the two of you would have really been giving everyone a show.”

  Cara’s eyes darkened in anger. “We were just dancing, Dante. Not that anything I do is any of your business. And once again, you’re not responsible for me, so why don’t you just lay off?”

  He made a low, feral sound deep in his throat as he pushed her closer against the wall, his own body now holding hers in place. “Well, maybe somebody should damned well be responsible for you,” he muttered. “Because the way you’re acting tonight makes me believe that you’re too naïve to realize when a guy is putting the moves on you.”

  “Oh, for God’s sake!” she cried, trying in vain to push him off of her. “Believe me, I know exactly what’s going on with Kai, and he and I are just having some fun together, that’s all.”

  “Yeah?” he demanded. “So is all of this for him then - the new hairstyle and the sexy makeup and losing all this weight? Did you do it so you could attract old Lover Boy Kai?”

  “No!” Cara shook her head stubbornly. “I didn’t do any of it for him.”

  Dante was quickly becoming aroused by his close proximity to the beautiful, sexy little thing he had pinned against the wall, his cock hardening rapidly as it nestled into the notch between her thighs. “So who did you do it for, Cara mia?” he murmured seductively, his hand caressing her bare arm. “For me? You knew I was going to be here tonight. Did you come here looking this way in the hope that you could turn me on? That I’d find you irresistible?”

  She gasped in outrage, her lower body wiggling in protest as he continued to grind himself against her. “Are you out of your mind?” she squeaked. “I told you before, Dante - I did all of this for me! To make myself happy. To feel good about myself. I’ll be damned if I’ll ever be weak enough to let some man walk all over me again, to take advantage of me and use me. That was the old Cara, the weak, silly little fool. From now on, I’m going to be the new Cara. The one who won’t hesitate to tell a guy to go fuck himself when he’s being an asshole. And the one who’s strong enough to say no when she doesn’t want something. Or someone.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want me?” he purred. “Because I can already tell your nipples are hard. Even without touching you.”

  “Ohhh!”

  She moaned softly, her head falling back limply as he cupped one of her full breasts, his thumb brushing over the nipple that was indeed hard and pointed.

  “I’m glad to see that you didn’t lose too many inches here,” he whispered, squeezing her breast roughly. “That would have been a crime, considering how spectacular these tits are.”

  “Dante.” Her voice was more like a whimper as he continued to fondle her breast.

  His hand began to slowly work its way up under the full skirt of her dress, caressing her thigh as he hooked her leg around his waist. “Shh. I know, honey,” he soothed. “I can already tell how wet you are, can smell the sweet scent of that pretty pussy. God, I’ve missed the taste of you, missed how tight you feel around my cock while I’m fucking you. Missed hearing the little moans you make when you come so hard.”

  He kissed her then, savagely, open-mouthed, and it was dirty and forbidden and goddamned erotic to hear her pant and groan beneath the pressure of his lips. As his tongue ravaged her mouth, he used two fingers to push aside the soaked crotch of her silk panties, then shoved those same fingers deep inside of her vagina. She climaxed instantly, her back arching gracefully off the wall as she continued to ride his hand.

  Cara stared at him glassy-eyed, watching in stunned disbelief as he slowly withdrew his fingers from her body, only to bring them to his lips and carefully and deliberately lick off her juices from the tips.

  “Mmm.” He smacked his lips. “Tastes even better than I remember. Let’s find a more private place to see if your pussy is still tight as a fist. Come on, Cara mia.”

  But she pulled her wrist out of his grasp with surprising strength, giving him a little shove as she twisted away from his body. Hastily, she smoothed the skirt of her dress down, then patted her hair back into place frantically, looking around to make sure they hadn’t been seen.

  “I’m not going anywhere with you,” she told him scornfully. “In case you’ve forgotten, your girlfriend is waiting back inside the banquet room for you. The girlfriend that you decided you were still so much in love with that I didn’t matter any longer. So why don’t you hurry on back to her now, hmm?”

  “Cara,” he began, wanting desperately to apologize, to explain, to beg her for a second chance, to tell her that – what? That Katie meant nothing to him, that things weren’t the same with her any longer? Or that he’d suddenly realized he wanted Cara more, that he had feelings for her he hadn’t realized until now?

  But Cara held up a hand in protest, backing away from him in a near-panic before he could say anything. “You had your chance with me once, Dante,” she told him angrily. “And you know what? I would have done anything you asked of me then, anything at all. But you shoved me aside when something better came along, let me down just like every other man in my life has done. So leave me the hell alone from now on, Dante,” she cautioned. “ No more texts, no more emails. And definitely no more of – of this!”

  She gestured wildly at her body before turning on her heel and storming away, leaving him to gaze after her sorrowfully, regretfully, and hopelessly.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “How many texts does that make now?”

  Cara glanced at her phone in annoyance before pushing it aside. “Four just today,” she sighed wearily. “In total since the wedding? Frankly, I’ve lost count.”

  Mirai shook her head in exasperation. “Why in the world haven’t you just blocked him, Cara? That would be a lot easier than just ignoring a constant stream of text messages.”

  �
�Because my phone is so outdated and crappy that it doesn’t have the ability to block calls,” admitted Cara. “And before you tell me that I really need a new phone, I’m already aware. Unfortunately, that’s going to have to wait until I’m finished with school this summer. I shouldn’t have spent so much money on new clothes, I guess.”

  “Of course you should have!” scolded Mirai. “I’ve known you for five years now, Cara, and I think you might have bought yourself three or four new things that entire time. You deserved to treat yourself for once. And God knows you didn’t exactly go overboard on what you bought. You’re a much better bargain hunter than I am, that’s for sure.”

  Cara grinned. “That’s because my idea of a bargain is spending ten bucks on a new blouse, while yours is paying two hundred for one. But I guess I’m happy with finally having a few new outfits, and clothes that actually fit well for once.”

  One of those outfits was the pair of dark wash jeans and cute red and black polka dot knit top that she was wearing this afternoon. Her so-called bargain hunting skills had snagged her both pieces for less than twenty-five dollars combined.

  But a new cell phone would cost a whole lot more than that, so she’d resigned herself to waiting patiently until tuition payments were no longer a monthly obligation. She’d thus far resisted pulling out a calendar and marking off the days until she was finally finished with school, but the temptation was growing stronger on a weekly basis.

  “That is a cute outfit,” Mirai acknowledged somewhat grudgingly. “And I guess if you really have the patience and the time, you can dig out some decent stuff at Marshall’s.” She checked her own phone, the newest, fully loaded model, of course, and surged to her feet. “Where did the time go anyway? Gotta run, girl, so I can get ready for my hot date tonight.”