Page 10 of Defiant
“Wouldn’t that be something?” Dante questioned, that blasted smirk still on his lips. After spending the last few hours with him, I’d come under the impression he usually wore that expression.
It was cute, in an annoying way, but still. I’d never seen anyone wear a smirk quite like Dante.
And, yes, I would forever refuse to call him Storm, however long he was here.
I mean, surely this guy had to leave. He couldn’t be staying. There was no way he could afford to. He didn’t scream Midpark; he was obviously from somewhere far away. He didn’t carry the same air about him that Vaughn did. Psychotic-ness aside, Dante was more like me than anyone else in this town.
I chuckled. “I feel like you’re not answering the question.” And maybe that was my answer.
If he was sent by my father, what then? Kidnapping me was a little extreme, wasn’t it? If Dante had been hired by someone around here to get rid of me permanently, he wasn’t doing a very good job. The more I thought about it, the more I assumed someone from out of town had sent him here.
Dante shrugged. “Maybe I’m not. Maybe it’s not time for you to know.”
“Does that mean you’re going to stick around, stalk me more?” The waitress chose that moment to walk up with two plates in her hands, setting them down between us. I gave her a smile when she threw me a questioning look, hoping she didn’t think anything was wrong.
Nothing was wrong. At least, nothing right now. Earlier, in that hotel room, I’d really been nervous for a while.
Of course, thinking about the hotel room also caused me to think about how he’d felt on top of me, how strong he was under that leather…not to mention how great it’d felt to grind against him when I was foolishly trying to steal his knife out from under him.
I didn’t have a good history with hooking up, but if there was someone I’d throw caution to the wind for, just to know how wild it could get, it would probably be with Dante.
“I’m thinking about it,” Dante mused, grabbing the ketchup at the end of the table and squirting a huge glop of it onto his plate. He then literally scooped the ketchup up with his fries. It was…a lot of ketchup. More than I could handle.
I wanted to ask him if he’d like some fries with his ketchup, but I didn’t, figuring that’d be pretty lame, so instead I kept quiet, putting about half of the amount onto my plate and on my burger.
The possibility that Dante was going to stick around confused me. It confused me because, hours earlier, he’d tried to kidnap me. That wasn’t something I could just forget, you know? But, it also confused me because a secret part of me wanted him to stick around. I’d never swooned for the bad boys before, but Dante pulled it out of me.
So did Vaughn.
And Archer.
God, what the hell was wrong with me? I’d been so worried that these Midpark people weren’t my type, that I’d be a loner here until I graduated, and look at me—ready to hang an Open For Business sign above my vagina. I needed to be slapped back into reality.
Look how Archer turned out. I did not want a repeat of that, no matter whose dick it was doing the repeating.
“I don’t advise it,” I eventually said, swallowing my first bite of the burger. “Midpark kind of sucks.” Kind of sucks was an understatement, after what happened to me on Friday.
“Why is that? You don’t get along with the rich?”
“The rich don’t get along with me,” I mumbled, placing the blame on them instead of me. Really, what had I done, besides hook up with someone? Archer should’ve told me he was seeing someone, and he didn’t. He deserved the blame, not me.
Dante leaned back in his booth. He must’ve slid his knife into his pocket, for he set both arms on the booth behind him, his hands knife-free. “I could be your bodyguard,” he offered. “Show those rich kids who’s boss.”
Though my mouth was full, I couldn’t help but laugh. That would be a sight to see. I was sure Brittany wouldn’t know what to do with herself if Dante approached her. Honestly, it was fun to think about.
“Don’t tempt me,” I said once I was able to.
The rest of the day went on much the same. I found myself warming even more to him as the hours wore on, and when it was time to return to Midpark High, I almost didn’t want to. Being with him, it was nearly enough to make me forget about what happened, let the vengeance in my heart slip away.
Almost.
We pulled into the parking lot, and Dante parked his bike in the back corner. School hadn’t let out yet, so the parking lot was eerily empty, save for the fancy cars. The wind was cold as it whipped around, but I was able to easily ignore it, even as I got off his bike. He kicked up the stand, hopping off. He…was going to wait with me, apparently?
I threw a quick look around, not seeing my mom’s old van anywhere, yet. The moment I spotted that thing, I had to leave Dante’s side. I could only imagine what my mom would say, if she caught me near someone like Dante.
And by that, I meant the leather. The bike. The tattoos. Basically everything about him would drive my mom mad.
“How’s it like in there?” Dante asked, gesturing to the high school. “As bad as I think?”
