Page 6 of Fearless to Love

“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 Dante 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.”

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