Page 24 of Dante
“There are some books under the television,” Lila was the one to tell her as she refilled Dante’s cup.
Smiling in thanks, she headed for the console placed under the huge TV in the inside living room. On the side was an open bookcase, holding a few decorative items and even fewer books.
She had to crouch to her knees to read the spines and, as her finger went through the options, she quickly realized she wasn’t going to find a book to her liking. They were all nonfiction, and Nadia preferred fiction. Her life had been enough of a shit show, so when she read, she preferred to escape.
On the last shelf, she noticed a hardcover that certainly stood out compared to the others. For one, it had a spicy couple on the front, while the other covers looked quite boring. Picking it up, she quickly glanced at the back, reading the synopsis. It was a romance that happened to take place in a motorcycle club, and that was definitely not fucking boring.
Nadia enjoyed a good romance, but they were usually historical ones, and, from the cover alone, she highly doubted they would be anything alike.
Deciding to take off the dust jacket to avoid any remarks at her book choice, she headed back out to the deck.
She took a lounger on the other side of an already sleeping Leo and dived right into the motorcycle world. Instantly, the one difference she noticed between historical and contemporary romance books was that they certainly didn’t waste any time. In her historical books, it took practically the whole book until the couple did the deed, but in this book, she didn’t even make it past the first chapter.
Going from a sweet romance tothiswas like being thrown into a proverbial sex dungeon. The main character called herself Sex Piston, and her group of biker bitches each had a nickname just as worthy. The men of the club, however, were much like men in the real world, except they actually voiced they were horny twenty-four seven. But for some reason, it was strangely endearing when it came out of a hot six-foot-one biker who wanted to fuck you in nothing but his cut.
Nadia couldn’t believe how easy it was for men these days. All they needed to do was read one of these bad boys, and they would have a woman all figured out. If only they knew the secret to all women was held within the pages of a romance book …divorce rates would plummet.
But just as she had that thought, Dante came over to the remaining lounger.
Nadia thought that keeping her eyes from reading Dante’s text messages was hard, but it was impossible to keep her eyes on the cream pages in front of her.
Watching his fingers slowly travel down the front of his shirt had her belly somersaulting in anticipation.Fucking hell.The man gave the hero in the book she was reading a run for his money, and his nickname was Stud.
Dante was a certified D-A-D-D-Y, and she was sure, if he were in this book, Sex Piston would be screaming it. His olivecomplexion graced every inch of him, and there wasn’t a single tan line to be seen. Honestly, Nadia didn’t know where to look. The man had fucking abs, for Christ’s sake, and in his forties! Between the abs, the salt-and-pepper hair, and the swim trunks, she didn’t know if she was melting because of the sun or him at this point.
Even hischest hairhad her reeling.Oh God, but the shorts…had her going back for another peek from behind her book. They were a gray pair that hugged his tone body to perfection. They not only highlighted his abdominal muscles, but the muscles in his thighs that were on display due to his shorts being on the fitted side rather than the loose ones that men had worn when she had been growing up.
Stop it!She had to snap herself out of it. She blamed the damn book, even though she had been stuck reading the same sentence over and over again for the last five minutes.
At least her stance on one thing had changed—she was certain Dante Caruso didn’t need to pick up a romance novel to know what a woman wanted …
“Drinks?” Max was overheard behind them before he appeared, holding a tray of extremely large, garnished beverages.
“What is it?” Nadia asked as she stared at them quizzically.
Amo took his drink that was being held out to him. “Who cares?”
“Rum runners.” Max smiled now, handing one to a groggy Leo. “But don’t worry; I made theirs virgin.”
The huff from the bodyguard at the end was not missed.
“Yours, however, are not,” the bartender said, holding one out to her.
“Oh, no, thank you. I’ll pass.” It was a bit too early in the morning for her. She much preferred her glass of wine for dinner.
“What a waste,” Amo grumbled, not so much under his breath.
“You know what …” Nadia shot an evil glare down to him. “I will have one.”
Taking the huge glass, she took a big, spiteful sip from the straw and, as much as she wanted to rub it in his big face, she was actually taken aback by how good the frozen drink was. “That’s delicious, Max.”
“Thank you.” He beamed, giving the last one to his boss.
Taking another sip from her drink, she sat back and dived back into her book. It was hard for her eyes to leave the pages, only doing so when Dante flipped himself in the lounger to tan a different side of his body. Having all her attention on one male in the real world was enough, so it really made her focus on the heroine called Sex Piston. She was everything Nadia wasn’t, and the more she read about the biker bitch, the more she fell in love with her. She envied Sex Piston’s confidence more than anything. Sex Piston wouldn’t have screamed after finding those clothes Nadia had been left with. Hell, those clothes were probably from a woman named Sex Piston. But even though she showed off her body, she still demanded the same respect that would be given to a nun … unless she was in the bedroom, then she definitely didn’t want to be treated like a nun. Nadia was right there with her, however, because she definitely wouldn’t want Dante to treat her like a nun.
Before she knew it, she was another chapter in when the straw that hadn’t left her mouth had struggled to come up with more liquid while it made a gurgling sound.
As she set her empty glass down, her eyes caught Leo’s sleeping face, and she could see his cheek turning a shade of pink.
