by J. S. Scott
Sarah stopped staring at the bike and lifted her gaze to his face. Dante froze as he saw the tears in her eyes, and felt his heart speed up as she curled one hand behind his neck and pulled him down for the gentlest, most tender kiss he’d ever experienced.
“That makes it even more special,” she told him softly. “Thank you.” Gripping the handlebars, she asked excitedly, “Can I try it?”
“Wait a minute,” he ordered, pulling out the safety equipment he’d purchased with the bike. He adjusted the lightweight helmet on her head, laughing as it squashed her curls and sent them protruding out of the sides of the helmet. He made her hold out her arms and legs as he put on knee and elbow pads. “Okay,” he said warily, allowing her to swing her leg over, wondering if there was any other protective gear he could have gotten her.
He showed her how to brake the bike, the most important skill as far as he was concerned, and how to balance herself. Honestly, he’d wanted to put training wheels on the bicycle, but he thought that was a little overkill. Now he almost wished he had included them. He was having visions of Sarah battered and bloody on the ground from a nasty fall, even though he knew he was being ridiculous.
“I’m staying with you, so don’t pedal too fast. And don’t hit the brakes too hard or you could go flying right over the handlebars,” he warned anxiously.
“Doesn’t it make more sense to go faster? It’s simple physics, really. If I’m moving at a higher rate of speed, the bike should become more stable,” she said thoughtfully.
Dante watched the concentration on Sarah’s face and grinned. He should have known she’d be calculating some mathematical formula for staying balanced. “Not too fast,” he instructed. “Mount up.”
Sarah used the pedals to slip onto the seat, finding a comfortable position for her hands on the handlebars as he held her steady.
“Okay, start pedaling,” Dante coached, keeping a grip underneath the seat and next to the handlebars.
She was a fast learner, and started out a little wobbly, but Dante found himself running along with her after a few false starts. He had her get used to the brakes, letting her bring the bike to a stop every time they reached the end of the driveway.
“I think I can do it,” Sarah told him confidently, her face glowing with excitement as they stopped at the end of the driveway after several trips back and forth. “You can let go this time.”
I can let go?
That thought rankled, even though Dante was pretty certain Sarah would stay upright. “We’ll see.” Her face was still shining with excitement, glowing like a child’s who was learning to ride for the first time. Dante had never seen her look more beautiful.
She pushed off and got herself seated, and Dante ran along with her for a short distance before letting go. “Don’t forget to brake,” he bellowed, running alongside of her now.
A startled look appeared briefly on her face as she realized he wasn’t holding on anymore, but then she whooped, “I’m doing it myself!”
She was, although Dante stayed close enough to react if she started to go down. He watched as she pedaled faster, and then started to ease on the brake to stop near the garage.
“I did it,” Sarah said breathlessly as she lowered her feet to the ground. Clambering off the cycle, she engaged the kickstand and threw herself into Dante’s arms, peppering his face with kisses as she bounced around in his arms jubilantly. “That was incredible.”
Worth every damn moment I’ve been sweating out her safety.
Dante was still watching their surroundings, but her happiness had been worth his stress, and having her delectable body bouncing against his was a definite bonus.
“I’m making you the best dinner ever later tonight,” Sarah told him excitedly.
Dante wanted to tell her that any time he ate at the same table with her was an incredible dinner, but he wouldn’t argue. His skills in the kitchen sucked, and Sarah was an incredible cook. The very best part of having dinner with Sarah was seeing her beautiful face as she sat next to him at the table. It was weird how fast he’d gotten used to not eating alone, to having her there every evening. Probably because he loved having her near him so damn much.
“It’s starting to get dark. You ready to head inside?” he asked her reluctantly, wishing he could capture her joy and hold on to it forever. This was the way he wanted to see her every single day.
“Yes,” she agreed readily, elevating the stand on her bike carefully and pushing it into the garage as though it were one of her most prized possessions.
Dante watched as she carefully removed her gear and stored it in the pouch on the back of the bike.
“Thank you,” she told him sincerely, reaching for his hand and entwining their fingers together when she joined him outside again.
He had to swallow a lump in his throat the size of Alaska. He’d never had a whole lot of tenderness in his life, but this woman was making him crave it from her.
Dante shrugged. “It was just a bike ride.”
“It was a whole lot more than just you teaching me how to ride a bike and you know it,” she replied quietly.
She knew that stepping outside in the open had been difficult for him. She was telling him that she appreciated the fact that he’d compromised for her. It should have surprised him that she understood, but it didn’t. Sarah could read him in ways that nobody else ever had.
Hell, there was almost nothing he wouldn’t do for her, but he didn’t know how to tell her that, so he kissed her instead, giving Sarah the same type of warm embrace that she’d given him earlier, before he wrapped an arm around her waist and took her back into the house.
CHAPTER 13
During the next week, Sarah was relieved that Dante had actually started to loosen the reins a bit on letting her be seen occasionally outside. Yesterday, he’d walked her to Brew Magic so they could get a latte. Of course, he had her shackled to his side with a powerful, muscular arm around her waist, and she knew he was well armed. Still, it was progress. And for the last several days, he’d let her take a few more laps up and down the driveway on her bike, teaching her how to make turns and improving her skills. And then, of course, there were the nights.
Sarah sighed happily as she thought about those incredible nights, with another one on its way. Neither of them could wait beyond five minutes before they were naked and in the shower together after work, each of them ravenous for the other. They usually woke up aroused and ready in the morning, too. Sarah thought her desire would settle down at least a little after she’d been with Dante. It didn’t. If anything, it made her need even more acute, more urgent.
Her cell phone rang just as she was exiting Dante’s truck after work that day, and she cringed as she dug into her purse and saw her mother’s number.
“Who is it?” Dante asked curiously.
“My mother,” she replied unhappily. It had been over a month since she’d heard from Elaine Baxter, and although some part of her wanted to talk to her mother because she was her only family, she knew how the conversation would go, how it always went.
Sarah answered it before she could decide to ignore the call. She knew that once her mother had decided she wanted to talk to her, she’d keep calling back.
“Hello,” she said apprehensively.
“Sarah?” her mother asked abruptly.
“Yes, Mom. It’s me.”
“I’ve found the ideal man for you,” Elaine said without preamble. “I met him in one of my Mensa meetings. He’s perfect. His IQ is similar, and he’s a brilliant neurosurgeon, so you’d have a lot in common. He’s older, and ready to settle down now. I need you to come back to Chicago.”
Nothing had changed a bit. “I can’t,” she replied, not mentioning that she had no plans to leave Amesport, a place where she’d never been happier in her life.
“Are you still not working in the hospital?”
“No, Mother, I’m not,” Sarah replied flatly as she followed Dante into the house.
> “You’re going to have to conquer those fears. They aren’t rational,” her mother scolded. “You don’t belong in a small office, working in some town that’s hardly on the map. How are you going to keep advancing? You need to meet the man I found for you. Being older, he’ll be more stable. But I’m not sure he’ll understand your phobias.”
Sarah was pretty certain that he wouldn’t. If he was a friend of her mother’s and she liked this man, he didn’t deal in anything that couldn’t be proved with scientific evidence or mathematical formulas. “I’d prefer to pick my own husband, Mom,” she answered flatly.
Dante swung his head around at Sarah’s comment, frowning at the cell phone in her hand like it was an actual person.
Sarah continued. “And there was an incident here that indicates that the man who attacked me might be coming after me. I’m working with the police to try to apprehend him now.” Sarah desperately hoped her mother would show just an iota of concern.
“That’s all the more reason to get on a plane and come back here. Chicago has a much better police force to protect you,” her mother said with a sniff of disgust.
And John Thompson would have a big city to hide in. Just for once, Mom, ask me if I’m doing okay. Ask me what happened and if I’m safe. Ask me if I’m scared. Be a mom instead of a teacher.
“You’re wasting your potential there, Sarah. I want you on a plane and home by the end of the week, young lady,” her mother added.
Deflated, Sarah sat down in one of the dining room chairs. Dante moved a chair beside her and sat, taking her hand as though he knew she was upset.
Who am I kidding? I’m wishing for a relationship that never has and never will exist.
Her mother was more of a disciplinarian, an instructor whom Sarah could never please and never had, no matter how hard she tried. “I’m twenty-seven years old. I can make my own decisions now. And I’m never going back there. Ever,” she told her mother emphatically.
For Sarah, the words meant so much more than just location. She was starting to live, finding friendships after going so long without anybody, and she had a man who was right beside her, lending her support when she needed it. Dante might not be in her life forever, but she was going to appreciate what she had right now. No . . . she was never going back to the sterile, lifeless existence she’d known in Chicago. Not now that she was learning that life could be so much . . . more.
“After all I’ve done to promote your education, you’re just going to throw that away?” her mother asked angrily. “You’re horribly scarred, Sarah. Have you forgotten about that? But an intellectual man who can see beyond sex won’t mind as much about your scars.”
“I’m happy,” Sarah replied quietly, wishing it didn’t seem like she and her mother were on two different planets. She’d been a very obedient child, constantly trying to keep her mother happy, make her proud. If she had succeeded, her mother had never shown it. Now it was time for Sarah to live her own life and stop hoping to somehow get her only parent’s approval. It was never going to happen, so she might as well make herself happy.
“Happiness means nothing to a woman like you,” her mother retorted. “You’re gifted.”
Sarah’s body jerked as though she’d been slapped. “I’m also human,” she told her parent sadly. “I want more than marrying the right man because of our genes. I want to manage my own life now.”
“Fine. I suppose I don’t have any choice but to let you waste your life and your talent,” Elaine relented haughtily.
“No. You really don’t,” Sarah agreed, then disconnected the phone with a beleaguered sigh.
Dante immediately pulled her onto his lap and cradled her body against his. “I take it that didn’t go well,” he queried curiously. “Was she really expecting you to marry somebody you’ve never met?” His voice got angry, rougher.
Sarah shrugged. “I’m expected to marry a man with a genius gene pool so we can make tons of little Mensa babies for the scientific community to marvel over.”
“Jesus, that woman is cold,” Dante retorted vehemently. “Not that I didn’t know that already.” He hesitated before adding, “How do you feel about going out to Tony’s tonight? I still owe you that dinner we talked about.”
He’s actually willing to go out? He thinks I’m unhappy, so he’s trying to do something to make me feel better.
“I’d love to go out, but if you’re doing this because you think I’m sad, I’m not. I’ve been dealing with my mother for twenty-seven years,” Sarah stated blandly, turning to look at his face.
“Bullshit,” Dante said gruffly. “I know what it feels like to wish for a parent who actually gives a crap. I’ve been there.”
Sarah’s eyes softened as her gaze met Dante’s. She knew his father had been a mean, abusive alcoholic before he died, and his mother had left them all just as soon as Hope was out of the house. Dante and his siblings almost never heard from their mother. It was obvious he really did know exactly how she felt. “It hurts. But I won’t let her ruin my chance to be happy.”
“Don’t,” Dante agreed as he stood up, lowering Sarah’s feet to the floor. “Go get ready. I’m doing this because I owe you dinner. And it’s still daylight. We need to be back before dark.”
He didn’t owe her anything. It was just the opposite. But he was using that excuse to make her happy. Sarah grinned at him. “I’ll be like Cinderella.”
“We need to be home way before midnight, and I’m no Prince Charming, woman,” he said gruffly.
“No, you’re not,” she agreed, giving him a lingering kiss on the lips. “You’re even better. And I’m almost certain you’re better endowed,” she answered in a sultry voice as she teased his large erection through the denim of his jeans with her palm and fingers. Sexually, she was getting bolder and bolder, and she loved feeling her own feminine power.
A low, reverberating sound came out of his throat, and Sarah scampered off before he could catch her. She squealed happily, the sound echoing through the house as she sprinted up the stairs with Dante hot on her heels.
“I can’t believe I actually let you walk out of the house in this dress. Every man who sees you will be fantasizing about fucking you,” Dante complained as he opened the passenger side of the truck, his eyes roaming over the long expanse of the bare legs exiting the vehicle.
“You wanted me to have a red dress,” Sarah reminded him. “Emily thought it was hot. You don’t think so?” She loved the dress, but she had to admit that it was meant to be sexy. It had a halter neck that made it impossible to wear a bra, and it was backless, the material starting at the top of her buttocks. The skirt was short and fitted, and it cupped her ass and the tops of her legs lovingly, ending at the middle of her thighs. It was revealing, but elegant enough not to make her look like a slut or a woman on the prowl.
“Too damn hot,” Dante griped. “My dick will be hard all through dinner just like it is now, and I’ll want to kill the first guy who shows the same appreciation I have for that particular dress.”
Sarah smiled at his unhappy tone. He’d already told her how beautiful she looked, and she felt beautiful. She’d put her hair up, letting some of the curls frame her face, and she’d used a heavier hand with her makeup than she usually did. Every time Dante glanced her way she felt like he wanted to devour her whole. She’d worn her torturous three-inch heels, but Dante still towered above her, his broad shoulders encased in a suit jacket that just emphasized his mammoth size. In jeans, Dante Sinclair was mesmerizing. In a suit and tie, he was so devastatingly handsome that he took her breath away.
They were shown to their table by the window. When she went to sit down, Dante gently grasped her upper arm and guided her to the seat across from him.
“I like to face the door,” he told her gruffly, pulling the chair out for her and seating her before he seated himself.
Sarah knew he was carrying a gun, and she assumed he wanted to be able to see who was coming and going from the restaurant. �
�A cop thing?” she guessed.
“Yep,” he answered with a grin. “I always face the door.”
They ordered drinks while they looked over the menu. The restaurant might be touristy, but Sarah loved the nautical decor that was appealing without being tacky. They both decided on the turf and surf, steak and lobster, and Sarah leaned back in her chair and sipped her wine, the novelty of sitting in a restaurant like she was on a real date delighting her.
“What are you smiling about?” Dante looked at her quizzically.
“I feel so young—like I’m out on a date with the hottest guy on the college campus.”
“If I were still in college and I were dating you, all I’d be thinking about was whether or not I’d be getting laid afterward,” Dante commented with a wicked smile.
Sarah leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, “I think you most definitely will get lucky this time.” She was already hot for him, and looking at his handsome image across from her, she want to crawl over the table and have him for dinner.
“You think?” Dante answered, his voice husky.
He shot her a heated, warning look across the table that made her heart skip a beat. She nodded slowly. “I even wore some hot new panties for you to check out later. They’re very scandalous and almost transparent.” Okay, now she knew she was poking at the beast, but she loved Dante’s feral wildness, so she continued. “And the matching silk garter and stockings are lovely.”
“You didn’t show me those,” he growled.
“I wanted to eat,” she told him laughingly. “I was afraid we’d never leave the house.” That was definitely the truth. Had she modeled the underwear for him before they left, they’d still be in bed. Although she still didn’t understand Dante’s insatiable desire for her scarred body, she accepted it as truth. He proved it over and over, every single day, and she was getting used to the fact that he really did want her.
“We wouldn’t have left,” Dante confirmed harshly. “Jesus Christ. How am I supposed to sit here now? My dick is already hard,” he grumbled unhappily.