Shades of Sins (New York Sinner Series Book 2)

17| Knife

┏━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┓

Knife

┗━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━┛

Chapter 17: Knife (Anastasia's POV)

"Oh, God," I winced as I sat up in bed the next afternoon. Yes, afternoon. The entire morning had passed, and it wasn't nearly enough for me to recover from the murderous and tenacious hangover that was attacking my skull. 

When I woke up this morning with my head pounding as if it were a beating drum, I could hardly recall anything. Only glimpses of last night played in my head, and the longer I spent straining my memory for more fragments of the night, the worse my headache grew, so I eventually gave up and, of course, went back to bed. 

Waking up this time, vague memories of dancing with a stranger dawned on me as well as taking more shots with Rose that I shouldn't have. I couldn't, however, for the life of me remember how I got home... or why I woke up naked in my bed. 

I could only assume the sequins had started irritating my skin, and I tossed it off because one thing I was certain of was that I hadn't had sex with anybody. That was a decision I would never make while I was drunk because no matter how intoxicated I was, I would never be that far gone, not to the point where I was no longer in my senses in public. 

Fuck, I hadn't slept with anyone in an entire year. Not since Dante Rossi. The last man to ever touch me was Dante, and God, I hated him for it because he truly had ruined me for any other man. 

I'd spent the entire day working the hangover off, and it wasn't until seven in the evening when my phone rang with a call from Marshall, asking me to come into the office and bring a dress and heels along. Naturally, I was confused, but I realized soon enough that we'd be going somewhere undercover tonight, so I grabbed my things, kissed Kenji goodbye, and headed to the office. 

Stopping at Marshall's office, I stepped inside but remained still as I saw him on the phone. 

"Yes, absolutely. We're looking into it..." Pulling the phone away, he held it to his chest. "Dante's in your cabin. He'll explain everything," he whispered quickly. 

Resisting the urge to roll my eyes in annoyance, I silently left. Of course. Dante. Just the man I wanted to see. 

Still holding onto my dress and heels, I stopped at my cabin and pushed the door open. Almost immediately, my body grew still in the doorway, and my breath caught in my throat until my lungs burned, reminding me to breathe, although I'd completely forgotten whatever the hell that was. 

He hadn't heard me walk in, let alone noticed my presence with his back to the door. I realized the moment I stepped inside that the room was only dimly lit, the sole light source being the standing lamp in the corner, behind my desk. The city's lights glimmered through the window, the blinds half-done. 

Dante stood to the left of the room, in the dark, one with the shadows, with his clothes discarded on the couch at his side. 

What the hell is he doing? 

I couldn't help it as I silently stepped into the room and shut the door behind me as cautiously as I could, trying not to get his attention even though I probably should have announced my presence. Unwittingly, my gaze drifted back to him despite me trying to look away, and I couldn't help the way they traveled down his body.