Shades of Sins (New York Sinner Series Book 2)

25| Habits

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Habits

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Smut ahead

Chapter 25: Habits (Anastasia's POV)

The smallest grin tugged at my lips as Dante uttered those words. "Is that a promise?" I whispered, my head fell back upon feeling his teeth nipping at my skin, then slow kisses traveling to my ear. 

My breath hitched as his hands tightened around my hips, and he drew me closer, bringing my body to his own until we were flush together. My dress lay discarded on the floor, Dante's shirt was tossed somewhere alongside it, and I had no bra on tonight to begin with. 

He pulled back just enough to look at me as we both struggled to catch our breaths while his fingers glided over my thigh, undoing the knife sheath and sliding it off, tossing it aside. "Fuck, Anastasia," he rasped out, tracing the curve of my waist, his fingers slowly inching up. 

Catching the hand I braced on his chest, he brought it down to his belt. I paused, my fingers shaky as I traced the buckle of his belt, meeting his gaze. 

"Take it off," he demanded, dropping his palms to my thighs, where he lazily touched and teased. 

While my breath audibly hitched, I worked to undo his belt and slide it off just before Dante stole it out of my grasp. 

I'd sworn to myself, only this morning, that I wouldn't do this again, that I wouldn't let it happen again, yet here I was with every nerve inside of me, every inch of my body screaming for him. 

The moment I'd opened my front door to him tonight, the sight of him had made me second guess my rational decisions. After arriving at the gallery, we got too swept up in work, and the horrifying scene we'd come across tonight sent my mind spinning. 

It was the way he looked at me when I told him about another man that stirred something else within me. 

Dante was by no means a jealous person in this life, mostly because his world began and ended with himself. He'd always only been focused on progressing and succeeding in his life. I made that man crumble, no matter how well he concealed it; I could see through it. 

Lifting a hand, he took my jaw in a firm yet oddly gentle way, forcing my eyes up to his own. "Last chance," he said, his gaze dipping to my lips. "You should leave, Anastasia." As he leaned in, his lips brushed against my ear. Then he whispered, "Run." 

Drawing back ever so slightly, I met his gaze. A beat passed, then another, but I didn't move an inch. That was my chance. He was giving me an out. 

God knows why because I certainly don't... but I didn't take it. 

A sharp gasp escaped me as he pinned my wrists together, looping the belt around them. "Now, I'd suggest you listen to me very carefully, Ms Vitalio," he began, his eyes dropping to my wrists, where he continued drawing one knot after the other, bounding my wrists together. 

I couldn't bring myself to look away from him. 

Every little move he made dripped with such security and confidence. Hints of anger cracked through the calm demeanor he always maintained. "I don't like repeating myself, do you understand?" Securing the belt with a sharp tug, he stepped forward and braced his hands on the table, caging me in.