Shades of Sins (New York Sinner Series Book 2)

18| Touch

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Touch

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Chapter 18: Touch (Dante's POV)

The silence on the drive to the venue engulfed us until it was suffocating. To put it simply, I lost my senses briefly in the elevator. The entire concept of self-control had gone out the window for me, and in that moment, I lost myself a little. 

Everything became too overwhelming after what happened in her office, and the temptation to touch her hit me harder than ever. The need to feel her body against mine was so desperate. To feel her shiver beneath my fingertips, to have her breath hitch, and to be the reason for it... That desire had never hit me with such force.

It wasn't until I saw the way Anastasia looked at me in that dimly lit room that I realized just how much I still affected her, and once that happened, for a moment, I wanted nothing more than to let everything go to hell and just have her. Right then and there. Let everything be damned, the case, the stupid party we were now on the way to, the fucking culprit, everything. I wanted to let it all go and focus on her, only on her. 

By the time I snapped back into it, there was hardly any distance between us, and it took every ounce of self-control present within my body and soul to walk away from her. Then when we got on that elevator, we were alone again. No one to interrupt, no one to stop us... No one to tell me to keep it together. 

Even the little voice in my head, which served as a constant reminder of how dangerous and vicious Anastasia Vitalio could be for me, had gone quiet when I set eyes on her tonight. 

She looked fucking ravishing. And that was exactly what I wanted to do to her; ravish her. 

For the duration of the entire drive, a thousand reminders of why this was a terrible idea played on a loop in my mind. Every reason we shouldn't do it, all the goddamn reasons we shouldn't make the same mistake twice. 

I repeated every fucking excuse to myself until it became nothing but the bitter truth sitting on my tongue and burning down my chest. I repeated it until I regained more control over myself and trusted myself again to be left alone in the same room as her without reaching for her. 

As I turned the car off and unbuckled my seatbelt, my movements slowed before coming to a halt altogether as I watched Anastasia blankly while she practically threw herself out of the car and slammed the door shut. 

I sat still in my seat momentarily before exhaling slowly, "Okay." Locking the car once I climbed out, I rounded to the front and met her step as we began walking to the entrance. "Ms Vitalio," I said promptly. 

She groaned quietly, folding her arms across her chest. "Mr Rossi," she replied, "always have something to say, don't you?" 

I watched her in amusement as we walked side by side. "Are you trying to run from me, sweetheart?" 

"Run from you?" she scoffed. "And why would I do that?" 

I eyed her a little longer as we walked through the entrance and followed the guests. "Ah," I mumbled in realization, "you're angry." 

Her jaw ticked as she continued walking slowly. "Why would I waste my time and energy being angry over something that doesn't affect me?" 

Taking a step forward, I sharply cut her off, blocking her way.