by Harlow Layne
When she spotted me, Tillie grabbed the pot of coffee and a mug from the cabinet above it and poured me a cup. Taking a whiff, I thanked her before taking a long sip.
“Just what I needed. I had a hell of a time falling asleep last night.” I yawned and covered it with my hand.
“Really?” she drew out. “And why’s that? Could it be the hottie I saw you sitting with last night?”
I couldn’t hide my smile. “God, he’s so hot,” I fanned myself. “I can’t believe he’s interested in me.”
“Oh please, Lily.” Tillie looked at me annoyed. “You’re beautiful. Drop dead gorgeous.”
Instead of answering her, I took another sip of my coffee.
I knew I wasn’t ugly to look at and a nice person, but for some strange reason men never asked me out. Even back in high school I only had one guy ask me on a date. My old boyfriend did me no favors in the self-esteem department either. After we first started going out, he turned so cold toward me. He was constantly putting me down and after a while, I started to believe all the things he said. So, color me shocked when Dante couldn’t stop staring at me and then asked for my number. Nothing might come out of our date, but for some reason, I had a good feeling about tonight.
“You’re utterly smitten.” Tillie laughed. “Now, tell me when you’re going to see him again because if you didn’t get his number, I’m going to kick your ass.”
“Tonight actually.” I smiled excitedly.
“Really? The man moves fast. What are you going to wear?” Her eyes lit with excitement.
My shoulders slumped. I didn’t think I’d impress him wearing a t-shirt and yoga pants. “I don’t know. Even after only meeting him last night, I already really like him, and I want to wear something special. I want to look good for our date, so I was thinking of maybe going shopping today.”
“Well, get your ass ready and let’s hit the shops of Riverside and find you the perfect outfit to win that hottie.”
Seriously, sometimes Tillie could be too much but that was why I loved her.
“Let me take a quick shower and then I’ll be right down.” I took one last sip of my coffee before I raced up the stairs to get ready for my day.
Hitting a boutique a little over an hour later, Tillie was pulling dresses off the racks faster than I could blink. Instead of even trying to look, I headed to the dressing room and only had to wait a few minutes before Tillie was pulling back the curtain and thrusting an armful of clothes at me. I couldn’t help but laugh as I tried on dress after dress, each becoming more provocative than the last. By the end, I was afraid it would only be a slip.
On the twelfth, yes, that’s right, the twelfth dress, I knew I’d found a winner. I was pretty low maintenance when it came to the clothes I wore. I sat around in my pajamas working ninety percent of the time, so I didn’t need much more than yoga pants and sweats.
The dress was a beautiful turquoise that bled into a deep purple with a deep v-neck that showcased my breasts nicely. It fell to my ankles and would be perfect with a sexy pair of heels.
When I walked out of the dressing room that last time, Tillie’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head and I knew I’d found the right dress—or I guess Tillie found the right dress.
“Do we need to stop and buy you some sexy underthings? Are you planning to get lucky tonight?” She wiggled her eyebrows at me.
Did I need some sexy underwear?
“It can’t hurt,” I shrugged. I hoped that Dante would see me in my underwear sooner rather than later.
“Yes!” Tillie fist pumped. “Let’s get you all sexied up.”
My forehead wrinkled in confusion. “Is that a real word?”
“It is now. Now let’s get moving. You still need to do your hair and makeup.”
“I didn’t expect you to buy out all of Victoria’s Secret. Dante is one lucky man.” Tillie cackled beside me.
“Well, hopefully, I’ll be one lucky lady. It’s been too long since I had sex and I have a feeling Dante knows what he’s doing.”
“Unlike Tommy?” she asked with a knowing smirk.
“Don’t remind me.” I reclined back on the couch and looked at my freshly painted toenails; a nice hot pink that made my tan stand out. “I’m so glad Tommy and I are over.”
Tillie stood, pulling her hair up into a ponytail. “Too bad he doesn’t think the same. I’ve got to hit the road. I’ve got my own hot date tonight.”
“Oh really? With whom?”
“That’s for me to know and you to find out. Call me tomorrow and let me know how your date goes,” she demanded.
Did she think we were blind? I decided to let it go for now. There was no point in fighting with her about it and I needed to start getting ready.
“I promise to call and then maybe you can tell me about your date.” I pressed my lips together in an attempt not to laugh.
Her eyes turned to slits as she left, but I knew she wasn’t mad. I didn’t care if she was dating her boss unless it ended, and she decided she needed to quit or worse yet, move.
I hightailed it upstairs to glam myself up for the night. Right as I slipped my dress over my head, I heard a car door slam. Peeking over at my clock, I saw that it was already six-fifty.
Dante was early.
Chapter Three
DANTE
I spent the day at Flux on autopilot. I interviewed a few new people that had potential and dealt with a couple of shipments, but my mind was on Lily and our date. Even my sister, Franca, could tell there was something different about me.
“Dante, what the hell is up with you? Every time I’ve seen you today you’ve got a stupid smile on your face. Were you abducted and cloned last night?”
“Funny, Franca. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” I knew I still had the dopey smile I’d worn all day on my face, but I couldn’t help myself.
With her hands on her hips, she glared at me. “At this point, I’ll believe anything.”
“Okay,” I hesitated because I wasn’t sure how she’d react. “I met the most beautiful woman in the world last night, and we have a date tonight.”
Franca doubled over with laughter. Definitely not what I was expecting. I watched as her body shook and eventually wiped the tears from her eyes. When she finally settled down, Franca realized that I wasn’t joking. She stood tall with a soft smile playing on her lips. “You’re serious? You don’t date. I never thought I’d see the day my brother would be as smitten as a kitten.”
“I wouldn’t call me smitten.”
“Oh, but you most definitely are. When do I get to meet the woman, who’s got you acting like a zombie?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t want you to scare her off. I…like her. She’s different. You’ll understand when you meet her. I won’t be around tonight, so hopefully there won’t be any fires to put out.”
Franca headed to the door with a smirk on her face. “You’ll owe me if there is. I need a night off and soon.” She gave me a pointed look letting me know she meant business. Franca wasn’t used to working more than a day here and a day there, so I knew helping me was taking a toll on her.
“You’ll get it. Just give me tonight. I’m going to head out so I can pick up some flowers before I head home and get ready.”
“Oh, it is serious. Good luck, not that you need it.” She flashed me a smile and disappeared out the door.
Little did she know what a fool I was when I was around Lily.
Stopping by the store, I scoured the flowers, trying to find the right ones. I was ready to give up when I saw a bouquet of dark purple tulips and knew I’d found the right flowers for Lily. I could have gone with lilies, but I knew that was a copout. I wanted to show her that she’d been on my mind since I saw her last night.
Earlier, I had taken the address she’d given me and put it in the GPS on my phone. It would take around forty minutes to get to her house; she really did live out in the middle of nowhere. After dressing in a light blue button down wi
th the shirt sleeves rolled up to my elbows and dark jeans, I headed out not wanting to be late.
Instead, I was early. I thought about sitting in my car, but knowing I was close to Lily, I found myself knocking on her door eager to see her again.
It only took a moment before the front door opened and I was greeted by Lily’s beauty. She was breathtaking. If I thought she was beautiful last night at the bar, it was nothing compared to the goddess that stood before me in a long flowy dress that proudly displayed her perfect breasts. I couldn’t wait to cup them in my hands and lave them with my tongue before sucking her nipples into stiff peaks.
The war in my pants was not what I needed. Down, boy. I’ll see to you when we get home. Alone.
“Dante.” She smiled up at me, placing her hand on my arm, and pulled me into her house before rising on her heeled feet to kiss my cheek. “You look so handsome tonight.”
Shaking my head, I couldn’t believe I hadn’t told her how beautiful she looked, and then I remembered the flowers I’d brought her that were dangling in my hand as I took her in.
“These are for you.” I handed her the tulips. “You’re absolutely gorgeous tonight. A true goddess.”
Placing one hand over her heart, Lily blinded me with a bright smile. “Oh,” her cheeks pinked up, “thank you for the flowers and the compliment. They’re beautiful by the way. Let me put them in some water and then we can go.”
“Perfect.”
I watched her hips sway as she walked away and once I could no longer see her, I rearranged my cock, so it wasn’t obvious that I was hard and about ready to burst out of my jeans.
Her dress swished as she walked back to me with a small purse in her hands. I hadn’t noticed before but there was a large slit up the side of her dress and with each step one tan leg tantalized me.
“You and your dress are going to be the death of me.”
“I bought it just for you.” She winked at me, resting her tiny hands on my chest.
“Well, I greatly appreciate you buying it for me. It’s going to make it hard for me to remain a gentleman for the night.”
“Who said I want you to be a gentleman tonight?” Lily whispered as she rose on her toes. For a moment I thought she was going to kiss my cheek again and to my utter shock, her lips brushed against mine. They traveled feather light back and forth across my mouth. I couldn’t stop myself from pulling her body tight to mine while my cock poked her in the stomach through the denim of my jeans.
When her tongue swiped over my bottom lip, I drove in. Tasting every inch of her mouth, I devoured her until we both needed to come up for air.
Delectable.
I was in both heaven and hell. Her body was heaven as her soft curves melted into my hard frame. The ache in my pants was my hell. One I knew I’d be feeling for the rest of the night.
Our bodies didn’t break apart as we panted, trying to catch our breaths. I reveled holding her in my arms. Never wanting to let go.
“I’ve wanted to do that since I first spotted you in Rocco’s last night.” Lily cleared her now husky voice. “I thought it might be better if we got our first kiss out of the way.”
“While I’m happy you did—” I pulled her further into my body letting her feel how much I wanted her. “I’m afraid now I’m going to be distracted thinking about that kiss and your body.”
Lily hummed, and a gentle smile graced her lips. Wrapping her arms around my neck, she pulled me to her lips. “I’m not normally like this. This…direct, but I can’t help myself.”
“Good, because I can’t control myself either. Somehow you’ve put me under your spell.”
Kissing me gently, I let her take the lead. For now. It was a simple kiss telling me there would be more to come.
We talked about anything and everything the entire way to Riverside. I learned that she’d lost everyone in her family and now counted her close friends as her family. I liked the notion that we could pick our family. When I moved to the United States, I hadn’t been as close to my sister as I was growing up. If it wasn’t for Franca, I’d have no one. I couldn’t help but think of being included in Lily’s family one day.
I took her to my favorite restaurant that reminded me of home. It was a little hole in the wall that most didn’t know about. A hidden gem I was lucky to find when I first moved to Riverside.
“Oh my goodness, are my eyes deceiving me?” Mirella exclaimed when she saw me walk in with Lily on my arm.
“Mirella, lovely to see you again.” I kissed her on the cheek. “This lovely woman is my…Lily. Lily this is Mirella, she owns the restaurant.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. It smells divine in here.” Lily went to shake hands with Mirella, but was instead pulled into a crushing hug.
“The pleasure is all mine. Our Dante here has never brought a date with him. He’s always eating alone looking so lonely. Excuse me for a moment and I’ll get you a table.”
I couldn’t believe Mirella had outed me like that.
Even with a packed restaurant, she found us the most romantic booth tucked away from most of the other guests that overlooked the river that ran behind the building. Lily and I sat side by side in the booth instead of across from each other. We were so close our arms brushed each other’s as we looked at our menus, but I couldn’t bear to put an inch of space between us.
“Do you eat here often?” she asked quietly, peeking at me from the corner of her eye.
I swayed my head from side to side. “I used to come every week, but I’ve been too busy with the club lately to make it in.”
Lily’s hand rubbed up and down my arm as she looked up at me sympathetically. “You mentioned something about it last night. I take it, it was something bad?” When I nodded, she continued. “I’m here if you want to talk about it.”
“Thank you.” Leaning down, I kissed her sweetly. “Not tonight. I don’t want to ruin our date.”
“The offer stands for whenever.”
After ordering, we spent the next few hours talking about our favorite movies, TV, and music. It was surprising that we had a lot of the same interests. My plan of dancing with Lily in my arms were gone as we passed our time in the dim lighting of Mirella’s and the moonlight reflected off the river outside. I’d have to thank Mirella another time for giving us the best seat in the place and letting us stay as long as we did while they were packed.
Walking hand in hand back to my car, I wrapped my arms around her, and pressed her into the passenger door. I kissed her the way I’d wanted to during our entire dinner. I didn’t have to wait. She opened instantly for me letting me pillage her mouth.
“Dante,” she moaned when our lips broke apart, “take me home.”
My hands shook as I opened her door for her. Why was I nervous?
The entire way back to her house was a blur. I may have broken several traffic laws getting her home as quickly as I did. I’d never wanted a woman as badly as I wanted Lily in that moment.
As she tried to unlock her front door, I wrapped my arms around her from behind. Moving her hair to the side, I kissed the column of her neck and nibbled on her earlobe. Once she finally got the door unlocked, we literally fell into the house.
Laughing on the floor by her front door, we gazed into each other’s eyes. It was like every cliché I’d always rolled my eyes at. I stood and picked her up in my arms.
What was this woman doing to me?
Placing a chaste kiss to her pretty pink lips, I took a step back. I didn’t want to force Lily into doing anything she wasn’t ready for and blow my shot with her.
Lily smiled and held her hand out to me. When our fingers met, she laced her fingers with mine. “Dante, would you like to come in?”
Sweeter words had never been spoken.
Chapter Four
LILY
Never in my life had I been so bold. There was something about Dante that set me free. He made me feel alive and uninhibited. I pulled him through the living room and Dan
te followed wordlessly. The moment we hit the stairs, Dante turned me around, and his lips crashed into mine.
All night there’d been a vibrating sexual tension between us. Kissing him at the beginning of our date might not have been the smartest move, but I was hoping it would make me less nervous throughout our night. It had, but the throbbing between my legs continued to grow with each passing moment. Now I was going to take what I wanted, and that was Dante Ricci.
My fingers threaded through his silky, dark hair. I loved the way it curled and flopped all over the place. Most men wouldn’t be able to pull it off, but Dante had no problem looking adorably fuckable. My nails scraped against his scalp and he moaned.
Our hands were all over each other as we hit the staircase. I started to unbutton his shirt as I walked backward. Trying to strip someone’s clothes off wasn’t as easy as they made it look in the movies. I stumbled and almost cracked my head on the stairs except Dante’s arms pulled me flush against his body before I crashed and picked me up.
“I think we should take this to the bedroom.” He kissed and nipped up the column of my neck.
“Yes,” I moaned, wrapping my legs around his waist. “Up the stairs, last door on the right.”
I peppered kisses all over his face as he carried me to my bedroom. It only took a few moments, but it felt like forever. I could tell he was as anxious as I was, making me want to touch and feel him everywhere. Sitting me down on the side of the bed, he slowly slipped the straps of my dress down my arms revealing my aching breasts. My nipples were already hard in anticipation. When my dress slipped down my body pooling at my feet, Dante’s mossy green eyes darkened with lust as he licked his lips.
“You’re crazy fucking beautiful, do you know that?”
“Dante,” I admonished. I knew I didn’t accept compliments well, and all I could do was blush and turn my head. My ex had made sure to make it impossible to accept anything nice anyone ever said about me.