Fearless to Love (Written in the Stars Book 7)

by Harlow Layne

  With my legs over his lap, I rested my head on Dante’s shoulder as we looked out over the pool and yard.

  “This is nice. I can understand why you’d want to put a pool out here. It’s an amazing pool by the way. It’s like being on a tropical island and in the forest at the same time.”

  “Thank you. I spend as much time out here as I can. As you know, it’s been rainy lately, so I haven’t been able to use it much. At night, twinkling lights come on and light it up along with some other outdoor lighting. We’ll probably eat outside tonight. My friend, Alex, loves the beach and hanging out here.”

  One hand rubbed up and down my leg that was covered by the blanket. The other was curled around my waist. “How many people are coming over?”

  “At least six adults and one kid. I’m not sure if Taylor and her family are coming or not. If they do, then it will be eight adults and three kids. And us.”

  “It must be nice having so many friends who are so close,” he said with a genuine smile, but I also saw a flash of loneliness in his eyes. I had a strong feeling Dante didn’t have many friends.

  “It is. I’m the third wheel of the group I guess you could say. They all have significant others and I’ve always been the lone wolf of the pack.”

  “You’re not alone any longer, my siren.” He nuzzled his nose against mine.

  I cupped his cheek and kissed him. “I should probably warn you about them. I don’t want you to be blindsided when they arrive.”

  “Okay?” He furrowed his brows, probably thinking I was crazy.

  “I don’t even know why they accepted me into their group, but they did. They’re very private.” Dante looked at me questioningly. I was sure it sounded strange and kind of high school. “One night at Rocco’s, they came in and I served them. Alex and I instantly hit it off. The next week she brought the rest of the gang and when the girls found out I was an author they’d read, they invited me to one of their dinners.”

  His mouth turned down as he looked at me. “I don’t understand. Why are they so private? I can’t imagine them not wanting to be friends with you.”

  “They really are nice people, but they have to be careful who they let into their circle. They knew I understood. Most of the people who live here have no idea I’m an author. Unfortunately, Alex’s husband doesn’t have that luxury.”

  I knew I was being vague, and I wasn’t explaining it the right way. Dante seemed perturbed that they wouldn’t instantly enfold me into their circle of friends.

  “Is he some local celebrity or something?”

  “Or something.” I laced our fingers together. “Alex’s husband is Luke Sandström.”

  “Why does that name sound familiar?” I could see him trying to place where he’d heard Luke’s name before.

  “He has a show on H@T and had a blockbuster movie out this summer.” Next, I’d have to tell him about Gabi and see if he knew who she was.

  “That Luke is coming here? Tonight?” I nodded with a smile as his eyes went big. “How?”

  “He lives here in Fairlane for most of the year with his wife and her son. Their son.” Luke treated Mason as if he was his own and it was the sweetest thing in the world to see.

  “I had no idea. Thanks for the heads up. I would have hated to make a fool of myself staring at him trying to figure out who he is. I’m sure he doesn’t want that when he’s at a friend’s house.”

  “Do you know who Gabi Santina is?”

  “I think so.” He looked adorably confused running his hand through his floppy hair. “Wasn’t she the lead singer for Shadowed Alley before they broke up?”

  “She was.”

  “Please don’t tell me she’s going to be here too.” He looked at me with wide eyes.

  “No one really knows who she is here. It’s crazy. You’d think they never listened to the radio before or saw her on TV.”

  “So, she’s going to be here too? Is anyone else famous coming? I have to say that I’m speechless. I knew you were incredible, but I never would have thought…not that I care. I mean it’s cool, but they’re people just like you and me.”

  “Trust me when you see them, you’ll fully understand how normal they are. I mean Luke is the most low key and mellow dude I know. Jax has tamed Gabi. Some. I didn’t really know her when she first moved here.”

  “Will your friend, Tillie, be here too?” He chuckled, probably remembering her walking in on us earlier.

  “No, I keep them pretty separate. Like I said, they keep their circle small. Alex has had too many people try to become her friend to use her or get close to Luke.”

  “That sucks. I understand why she wouldn’t be too trusting. Are you sure I should be here tonight? I don’t want to leave you, but I don’t want to put you in a bad situation with your friends.”

  “I want you here with me. They’ll be fine. I was wondering how I should introduce you.”

  Gathering me in his arms, I was as close to Dante as I could be without becoming a part of him. He looked down at me with a frown. “What do you mean? You introduce me as your boyfriend. Unless…” He frowned. “Do you plan to see anyone else?”

  “No,” I whispered looking into his moss colored eyes.

  “I don’t want to see anyone else either. After this weekend…”

  He trailed off, and I decided to save him. “I’ll tell them you’re my boyfriend. I’m sure I’ll have some explaining to do with the girls, but they’ll love you.”

  “Good. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I’d ever be having this conversation, let alone after knowing someone for only a couple of days, but I’m glad we’ve had ‘the talk.’ You’re mine and I’m yours.” I swore I heard him say forevermore under his breath, but I had to have been imagining it. We had a special connection, but we were far from declaring our eternal love.

  “I like the sound of that. How about we go inside and get cleaned up? I need to make a trip to the store to get a few things for tonight and maybe we could get you a few things to keep here?” I blushed at my forwardness.

  “My beautiful, Siren, there’s no need to feel embarrassed.” He kissed the tip of my nose and smiled down at me. “I want to be here as greatly as you want me to stay. Should I be ashamed of wanting you in my arms while we sleep?”

  The heart wanted what the heart wanted, and my heart was falling at the speed of light for Dante Ricci. Not only that but he felt the same. I only hoped I didn’t ruin it with my baggage from Tommy. Every time I was unable to accept a compliment, I saw a determined look cross Dante’s handsome face. Even though I hadn’t told him about my past, he seemed to understand. At least somewhat.

  Leaning up, I lightly kissed him. “Definitely not. In fact, I find a man who’s in touch with his sensitive side sexy.”

  “Is that so, Miss Valenti?” He grinned down at me salaciously.

  “Very much so.” I nipped his bottom lip. “If we had time, I’d show you right now, but we really need to get ready. I promise to show you tonight how sexy I find it when you open up to me.”

  Pulling myself from his arms, I wrapped the blanket around myself and started to run to the house. The blanket flowed behind me leaving most of my body exposed and invigorated. I could hear Dante laughing as he caught up to me. In one fell swoop, he had me up in his arms and over his shoulder. He smacked my ass and pulled the blanket around me.

  “My, what a little vixen you turned out to be.” He laughed, opening the door. “Enticing me with your body and then running away. I can’t let you get away with it.” He took two stairs at a time as we ascended the staircase and went into my bedroom. Going straight to the shower, Dante turned it on and placed me on my feet only for me to be hit with freezing water.

  I tried to jump out of the way, but he held me close, caging me in. We were both laughing hysterically while our bodies shivered. Slowly the water started to warm, and our laughter died out as it changed to moans and whispers for more.

  “Put your hands on the wall behind
you,” Dante growled, his fingertips dug into the flesh of my hips. “Fuck, you’re so hot. My own personal siren sent to tempt me and drive me insane.”

  My hands hit the cool tile as Dante thrust his cock between my ass cheeks. Lifting one leg, he wrapped it back around his hip and held it there, keeping me wide open for him. His other hand skated down my body until he reached the apex between my thighs and dove in with two fingers.

  “You’re so hot and ready for me. This is going to be hard and fast so hold on.” He nipped the back of my neck. Before I had a chance to do anything, Dante withdrew his fingers and drove his stiff cock deep into me. My mind went blank as he brutally thrust into me over and over again, hitting me in a spot only he’d ever found. My nerves were alive in the best possible ways. Explosive jolts of pleasure shot deep into my core causing my toes to curl. If it weren’t for Dante holding me up, I’d surely slip and fall. Instead, he kept me tethered to him to the point I didn’t know where I ended and he began.

  With one pinch to my clit, I exploded. My body quaked, now flush against the cool tile. My heated flesh zinged with each wave of pleasure rolling through me.

  Dante curled around me, stilling and swelling deep inside of me. His harsh breath beat against the shell of my ear as he let out a few muttered words in Italian. Turning me around in his arms, he held me close until we were almost breathing normally again. Resting my head on his chest, I listened as his heartbeat raced and then slowly returned to normal. The entire time, Dante stroked his hands down my arms and up my back as his cheek rubbed the top and side of my head. He reminded me of a lion. A very sexy and affectionate lion.

  We didn’t speak as we pulled away and started to wash each other. There were a few lingering touches, but now that we’d abated our lust, we were thinking more clearly. We didn’t have time for another round if I wanted to have dinner ready by the time my friends arrived.

  Slipping out of the bathroom, Dante dressed in his clothes from last night. I felt bad that he didn’t have anything else to wear, but we really didn’t have time to make it to Riverside and back.

  Peeking into the bathroom, Dante’s eyes trailed up and down my towel clad body. “I’ll be downstairs. I’ve got to call my sister and tell her I won’t be in tonight.”

  “Oh no! She’s going to hate me.” I bit my lip. I didn’t want him to leave, but I knew he couldn’t drop everything in his life for me. It was easy for me to forget since I worked from home.

  Walking in and slipping his arms around me, he locked eyes with me through the mirror. “She won’t hate you. She might not be too happy with me, but I’ll handle it.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t want to cause any problems.”

  “I promise. I’ll never lie to you, Lily.”

  Somehow even after only knowing Dante for a couple of days, I knew he was telling me the truth. He must have seen it on my face because he nodded and leaned down to kiss my neck. I watched him walk away in the mirror before I quickly finish lotioning up and got dressed.

  Bouncing down the stairs, I heard Dante on the phone in a heated conversation. The pep in my step diminished until I heard him say the most beautiful words in the world.

  “Because Franca, she’s ‘the one.’ I can’t explain it, but deep inside I know. Don’t fuck this up for me or you’ll never live it down.” He paused and sighed. “Yes, you can meet her soon. When? I’m not sure, but soon. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  Stepping down from the last step, I knew I had a smile so bright on my face that it could have rivaled the sun. “Ready to go?”

  Chapter Seven

  DANTE

  The ride to the local grocery store didn’t take long, even though Lily lived on the outskirts of her little town of Fairlane. The more time I spent there, the more charming I found it. There was something to say for small town living. For the most part, the people were pleasant and there was little to no traffic.

  I jumped out of my car and sped around to the other side to open her door. Lily was laughing at me when I got to her side. In hindsight, I should have told her I wanted her to wait so that I could open her door, but this was new territory for me, and I was still learning.

  “You could have just said something. For a second there, I thought you were going to leave me in the car or something.” She laughed, hooking her arm with mine.

  “From now on, expect me to open any and all doors for you.” As we walked, I couldn’t help but notice quite a few people stopped and stared. Okay, maybe living in a small town wasn’t all it was cracked up to be if they were always watching you.

  “Forget about them. I do.” Lily grabbed a cart and started through the produce aisle.

  “Why are they staring?”

  “Because they’re nosy as all get out.” She giggled. “Mostly it’s because I haven’t had a boyfriend in a long time.”

  I couldn’t help but smile down at her. Lily rolled her eyes at me and kept walking. Not knowing what she needed, I followed her around and almost ran her over when she stopped suddenly, her body going rigid.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, but she didn’t hear me because her entire focus was on the man standing in front of us, staring Lily down.

  He was at least half a foot shorter than I was with brown hair cut in the most unappealing fashion. It looked like he still let his mom cut his hair. It was what I saw in his eyes that I found troubling. They were desperate and angry. Never a good combination. The way his eyes trailed up and down her body put him in the creeper category. It took everything in me not to growl and claim Lily as mine right in front of him.

  Stepping closer, I put one hand on Lily’s hip. “Is everything okay?”

  The creeper looked stunned as he took in my hand on Lily. He straightened to his full height and ignored me. “What a surprise to see you here, sweetheart.”

  Sweetheart?

  Lily stiffened even more at his words. Taking a step back into me, she softened while placing her hand over mine. “What the hell are you doing here, Tommy?”

  “Am I not allowed to be in town visiting my friends?”

  “You don’t have any friends. At least not here,” she shot back.

  “And you are?” He addressed me.

  Sticking my hand out, I answered. “I’m Dante Ricci. Lily’s boyfriend.” My chest puffed up at my own words. I was proud to call myself her boyfriend.

  “Her boyfriend, really? Good luck with that. I hope she’s not as big of a disappointment for you as she was for me.”

  Did he really just say that? Lily was the sweetest person I’d ever met, and the sex was by far the best I’d had in my life.

  “Lily is nowhere near a disappointment. In fact, if one of us is undeserving or a disappointment it would be me. I think you were the one that lacked in your relationship with her, and to make yourself feel better you placed the blame on her when nothing could have been further from the truth. Don’t worry I’m man enough for her.”

  I knew when he called her a disappointment and the gleam in his eyes showing he liked hurting her with his words that this Tommy was the one who’d made my Lily shy away from compliments, doubt herself and her beauty.

  I hated him already and wanted to pound him into the ground. When I looked down to see Lily’s stunned face, I hoped she didn’t think less of me, but I couldn’t say nothing as he stood there trying to put her down or the way he looked at her.

  Turning, she placed her hands on my chest. “Thank you for standing up for me.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Tommy’s eyes narrow before he stalked off like a baby throwing a fit.

  “Always,” I vowed. “Let’s finish up our shopping so we can get home in time for your friends.”

  The last time I was this nervous was…I don’t know when, but knowing that I was going to meet Lily’s friends in a matter of minutes had me a little out of sorts. I wanted them to like me, and hoped that if they didn’t, Lily wouldn’t think differently about me. She seemed close to them and valu
ed their opinions.

  Smashing the avocado, I took my nerves out on the fruit as Lily stood beside me cutting up some peppers and onions for the fajitas she was about ready to grill.

  “Hey,” she placed her hand over mine to stop me, “we want to make guacamole, not avocado soup. What’s going on?”

  Clearing my throat, I turned toward her. “I want your friends to like me.”

  “If I didn’t think they’d like you, you wouldn’t be here. I have no doubt in my mind that they’ll love you once they get to know you. They might be a little standoffish at first because of who they are, but if you give them time, they’ll see you’re here for the right reasons.”

  Still seeing the worry that was probably etched all over my face, Lily rose up on her tiptoes and kissed first my chin and then brushed her lips to mine. Wrapping my arms around her, I pulled her flush against me deepening the kiss.

  “I was going to ask who the Range Rover belongs to, but I guess I know. Now I want to know who you’re sucking face with,” a feminine voice said from the doorway.

  Laughter filled the room causing Lily to step back from our embrace, blushing.

  “Hey guys.” She waved, ducking her head.

  Standing at the mouth of the kitchen was a woman who needed no introduction. I’d know Gabi Santina anywhere with her long brown hair, deep brown eyes, and tattoos gracing her arms. To her right, stood a man with a few days of facial hair growth and a scar that traveled from one eyebrow and curved around his cheekbone. He looked intense, almost angry until he pulled the well-known rock star to his side and smiled down at her.

  “Baby, don’t give her a hard time. You’ve been going on and on about how you wish Lily would start dating again.” He looked over at us with a devilish smile. “It looks like she’s back in the saddle.”

  “Not you too, Jax.” Lily laughed from beside me. Walking over she gave them each a friendly hug and then turned back to me. “Gabi, Jax, this is my boyfriend, Dante. Dante these are two of my good friends, Gabi and Jax.”