Page 38 of Capo Dei Capi's Daughter

Come join us

DANTE

Great news sir

We’ll be there late tonight

SAL

Looking forward to it

Chapter Twenty-Three

VENECIA

“Time to head home, I guess,” Dante drops the cell phone back into his bag.

As excited as I am to hear those words and see my family, my stomach drops at the same time. My face must fall too, because there is an immediate look on concern on Dante’s.

“What’s wrong,cuore mio?” his hands cup my face.

“This,” I feel the tears welling in my eyes and I try to fight them, “I can’t go back to how it was. Back to there being nothing being us.”

His large hands squeeze my face as he pulls me in for a slow and sensual kiss. When he pulls back, his lips stay close enough that I can almost still feel them on mine.

“I love you,cuore mio,” his eyes burn through to my soul and a tear rolls down my cheek, “You are mine. There willneverbe nothing between us.”

As I press my body against him, his large arms envelope my body.

“You know my family will never accept this.”

“If I have to, I will love you in private, until we figure out how to tell your family. But we will tell your family.”

“They’ll kill you,” I quietly sob into his chest.

“That’s a risk I am more than willing to take for you,” his arms hold me tighter, “but they would never, when they realize that it would kill you too.”

Quietly we pack up our belongings and Dante carries them all to the car. Walking from the motel, I look back towards our room.

I can’t believe that I’m actually going to miss this shithole.

The ride back to the city is nearly six hours, and most of it is spent in silence. The only comfort I have right now is the words he spoke to me, knowing he wants to grow a family with me, and his warm hand on my thigh. It feels like my world is imploding and I don’t know how to sit here and have a conversation when I feel like I’m dying. Based on Dante’s lack of conversation, I can only assume he feels the same.

When we are a few miles from home, Dante pulls the car onto a side street and parks against the curb.

“I need to kiss you one more time,” he unbuckles my seatbelt and pulls me onto his lap so that I am straddling him, “before I can no longer touch your lips whenever I want.”

His fingers rake up my back and into my hair, as he grips it tightly and pulls my face into his. His mouth devours mine. This kiss is hard and needy, yet he savors it as though it is his final meal before execution. It almost feels as though he will never get to kiss me again. His teeth gently pull on my lower lip when our faces separate, both of us left red and breathless.

Releasing my hair, his fingers retreat down my spine before his hands settle around my waist. Lifting me from his lap, he places me back on the seat, waits for me to buckle my seatbelt and puts the car back in drive.

Both of his hands are on the wheel as we approach the estate a few minutes later. Pulling through the gate, I am again happy and crushed at the idea of returning home.

Papa is waiting on the steps as Dante pulls the car toward the house. The moment the car is parked, his hands are on the handle opening the door for me.

“Venecia,” his hand lowers to help me out of the car. I take it, glancing back at Dante for a brief second, before stepping from the car.

“It’s good to have my princess back home,” Papa pulls me in for a tight hug.

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