Page 18 of Dante
Dante opened the door and gestured for me to hurry inside. “It’s warm, and there is no wind,” he said.
I grinned up at him as I walked past. I entered Dante’s space for the first time and found it surprisingly cozy and colorful from what I could see. The farther I moved into the house, the more pops of color I found. I was surprised, but maybe I shouldn’t have been. I didn’t really know Dante, and the fact that I’d expected him to have nothing but dark, heavy furniture showed just how little I actually knew about the hellhound.
“Wow,” I said as I entered the back room. The walls were distressed brick with faded wood trim and beams across the ceiling. The couch was oversized in a soft blue color and was seriously the largest sectional I’d ever seen. There were several pillows, a colorful area rug, and so many books.
“Good wow or bad?”
I looked up at Dante. “Surprising. I honestly thought your house would either be all dark colors or you would still have the basic stuff they all come with.”
Dante sighed. “Want to see the bedroom, then?” He held up his hands. “I’ll stay right here. You can run up and tell me if that’s more what you were expecting from me.”
That really caught my interest, and I couldn’t resist. I had seen the stairs, so I quickly went back to them and then up. It wasn’t difficult to locate the bedroom: it scented of Dante. That, and it was the only room that actually had furniture in it. What I found there was actually what I’d expected for the entire house. The accent wall here was stone, and it was dark gray to black. It surrounded an identical stone fireplace that had a black wood mantel over it. On the mantel was a single large bowl, but I didn’t know what it had in it, if anything. The ceiling was dark wood, and there was a dark gray, shaggy rug that covered most of the hardwood floor. The bed though, it was massive and took up a good deal of the room. It was low to the floor and had a thick black covering on it. There were about twenty pillows, and they, too, were black. Yep, definitely more what I had pictured when it came to Dante and what his place would look like.
I went back downstairs, finding Dante exactly where he said he’d be. He was sitting on the plush couch with his arm across the back. I chose to sit right in the center of the “v” and turned myself toward my mate. “Yes,” I said. “That was actually how I envisioned your house to be,” I said. “I apologize for that though. I shouldn’t have assumed you would be all gloomy like that.
Dante snorted. “It’s expected. I’m a bit of a grump. And if I’m being completely transparent, it was all like that,” he said, pointing around the room. “A month or so ago, I actually decided to do a bit of redecorating. This is the third change. I’m not sure I like it yet.”
I couldn’t help it—I laughed. I was startled into silence when there was a sudden bang against the back wall of windows. The noise was quickly followed by howling.
“Sounds like the weather person was wrong about when the storm would hit.”
I looked at Dante, suddenly worried. “Is it big? Do you know how long it will last?” I could without a doubt make it home.Probably. I was a bear shifter, and I was good in the snow. And I knew the general direction toward my house. But this storm sounded like it had quite a bit of punch to it.
“They said around twelve hours or so. But they also said it wouldn’t be here until around seven.”
It was just before five. So the storm hit a couple of hours early. It was understandable that they would be off with the time. They were all estimates anyway. But what if the storm ended up lasting all night? I internally rolled my eyes at myself.Twelve hours is all night, Banner. Duh.
I sighed. “I don’t suppose you would be able to help me get home later, after we talk?”
Dante nodded slowly. “I’ll certainly see that you are home safely. I would also offer for you to stay here, but I know that you don’t exactly trust me, and I don’t blame you. I have a lot to make up for. I’ve been a complete ass, and that is no way to treat your mate. Are you willing to stay for a bit and talk about things? I’d like to discuss what I’ve been doing.”
I nodded. I definitely was up for that. And he was a hellhound. Maybe I could get him to use some of that magic of his to get us some Chinese food for supper. Especially since there was no way either of us was going down off the mountain anytime soon.
Chapter 7
Dante
Ihad spent the past several weeks getting my ass chewed out by Augustus and Damien. Warwick had been mostly quiet, and Atticus had been the only one who seemed to be understanding. I would hope so—he’d ignored Brice for a decade. Ten very long years.
I’d talked to Dr. Bennett more times than I cared to admit, and although he’d remained absolutely professional, he, too, had basically ripped me a new one. I was being stupid. My noble pride view on not being good enough for my mate was dumb. I understood that now. I was sure that deep down, I knew that all along, but I was too damn stubborn to admit it.
“What did you want to discuss?” Banner asked.
“Anything. Everything. I owe you an apology as well. I’ll never be able to make up for what I’ve done, but I’d like the opportunity to try,” I told him.
Banner stared at me for a long moment before he nodded. “Can you just tell me why?”
“Why what?”
“Why were you staying away? I mean, I understand I told you to pound sand, but we’re mates, and usually, alphas aren’t that quick to give up. Well, a few, I suppose, and you.”
“I wouldn’t say I gave up. I wanted you. I do. Still. I’ve always thought you were the sweetest, and any alpha would be lucky to have you as their mate.”
Banner tilted his head. “But not you? You wouldn’t be lucky as well?”
“You’re right. I would. I honestly don’t know why it is that I was stupid like I was. I…” I thought about it for a moment and then just shook my head. “I have no reason other than I felt as if you deserved someone better. I wasn’t able to protect you or the others in the jungle. I felt like I failed you. All of you.”
“You were there,” Banner said. “You saw how many of them there were.”
