41. BONUS CHAPTER

Seven Months Later

The baby has dark hair like his daddy and beautiful eyes like his mommy, and his aunt Alyssa is beside herself with joy. I look through the nursery window at baby Nico, seven pounds and six ounces, wiping the tears from my eyes.

"He's beautiful, no?" Dante says, coming from nowhere.

I groan inwardly. He's the only man I've not been effective in shaking after fucking. Then I fuck him some more, and he still keeps coming back. It was an idiotic idea to fuck him in the first place, knowing we'd be working closely together, but I could help it.

His dark features and wicked sense of humor had buckled my resolve.

"He is," I say, sniffling and wiping my face.

"We have to stop meeting like this, minaccia," he says. — Menace.

I groan, turning toward him. "Stop fucking calling me that!"

"Stop driving me fucking crazy!" he counters.

"How have I done that? I haven't spoken to you in weeks!" I shove my finger into his chest.

He leans over me, face far too close. "And that's the problem, minaccia."

I roll my eyes and move around him, heading back towards the exit. Nico had gone for his bath and time at the nursery so that Slate could help Brynne shower. The way he dotes on her and takes care of her like she's his queen is something that has made me grow lonelier in their presence.

Dante is the one man I can't shake, and yet, sometimes, I wonder what it would be like to be his.

I'd leaped at the chance to be in this life with Brynne. To be by her side. Not because I had to, but because she's my best friend. And also because the rush of this life is something I could sate that side of myself that needs it.

That was until I met Dante and accidentally fucked him in the bathroom of the Florida mansion, the first day I met him.

Every time I get rid of him, and I think he's out of my system, here he comes again.

"Alyssa, please, just talk to me," he begs from where I'm mashing the elevator button repetitively.

"No. Dante. There's nothing to talk about. Just stop."

His hands find my hips, and he rests his chin atop my head. "Stop ignoring this between us. Stop turning the other cheek. And then there would be."

"Dante," I breathe.

The elevator opens, and I shove away from him and scurry inside. But he's too fucking quick for his own good. He jumps in before the doors close and slams on the e-stop button.

"Dante, security is going to come…"

"I'm security," he grumbles, backing me toward the wall of mirrors. I reach back and rest my hand atop the railing running through the elevator.

"Since when do you work at the hospital?" I breathe, my eyes skimming over his beautiful lips. He's been growing a tight beard, and I'd love to know what it would feel like as he skimmed it over my pussy, but I can't shake the feeling he's more than I can handle.

I could give in, be his. Lord knows I've thought about it, but I can't get over myself and the fear.

He's the full package and I'm a total spaz with emotions and feelings. I'll fuck it up and then be broken for the rest of my life. Just like my mom.

"I can see the spiral in your head," he says. He taps my temple. "Tell me."

"I don't want to ruin things, Dante. I'm not what you need. I'm a broken girl from a broken home who loves to play with broken things. You're not that. I'll ruin it, and then I'd be even more broken. I'd be shattered without you. I just know it. The intensity between us…"

"You'd pine for me if I left?" he asks, changing the subject, and waggling his eyebrows.

A laugh barrels out of me as I slap the side of his arm. That's what I'm talking about. The way he brings me right out of a dangerous place. He's meant for me. But things like love and the future scare me.

Petrify me.

I heard all about his wife. About her death. While I'm not afraid of the end, as all things must come to one, I'm afraid of hurting him further. His vivacious spirit, his deep laugh, his beautiful smile.

"You're grinning. You're thinking about me, aren't you?" He smirks, and I can't help it. I laugh again.

"Stop! I'm being serious."

"This is security. Is everything alright up there?" a man asks through the red intercom on the wall.

Dante rolls his eyes. "This is Dante Ricci, we're fine."

"Yes, Sir. Of course."

Now I'm the one rolling my eyes. "You love throwing all that power around, don't you?"

He shrugs. "I think my favorite thing in the world is handing it to you. It was scary at first, I'll admit. It's why I was so angry after you ran from me the first time. I just know now I'm a goner. There's no fixing it."

I pinch the bridge of my nose in frustration. "I just don't want…"

"I don't care what you don't want, Alyssa. Tell me what you want! For the love of fucking Christ!"

"You!" I shout. "I want you! I love you, you idiot. And I fucking hate you for it!"

He smirks, his goofy smile, and I hang my head in defeat.

He takes over all my good sense.

"Awe, I love you, too, minaccia, but you don't have to shout."

I lift my eyes back to him to yell strings of curses at him again, but he descends on me with his mouth. The kiss is all-encompassing. I hook my leg around the back of his, sinking my hands into his hair.

He loves me too.

It keeps rolling through my brain.

He peels off my mouth, breathless. "But if you want to still fuck in closets and bathrooms, I'm so fucking down. I love to see how greedy you are for me. Even when you're fighting it, minaccia."

I swat his arm again. "What now?"

He shrugs. "Forever, I guess."

"Oh, is that all?"

He moves over toward the panel and pulls the e-stop back up. We begin the downward trek to the garage, and I move closer to him, dropping my hand into his and letting our fingers intertwine.

"Yes, that's all." He smiles, and I try to capture the moment mentally. Because, like Nico is the start of something new for Brynne and Slate, this elevator ride is the start of something new for Dante and myself.

And I can't fucking wait!