Falling

24 | Draw The Line

This morning I had woken up and went through the motions of getting ready for work. I arrived at work 10 minutes early and made sure to check in with Mr Kennedy. The day flew by and before I knew it, I was home and not at Dante's office. I wanted to stop by but by the time I had gotten home it was late enough and I knew he would've most likely left for the day.

"You don't have to drink tonight Amelia." Dante said as I handed him the cold beer. What was this.. his fourth?

"I know I don't. It's just a beer." I said watching his green eyes narrow in on the beer in his hands,

"Your sister, what was her name." I asked casually, trying not to poke the bear but genuinely curious about Dante's past. He was closed off, guarded and I knew very little about him.

"Lily." He said, his tone flat and eyes glazed with a painful memory. I hated how my heart broke for the man in front of me. He was supposed to be my enemy, not confident.

"If you're here to pry about my family and my past I suggest you leave." He said harshly watching as I brought the cold beer to my lips.

"You're going to give me whiplash Dante Brown." Shaking my head, I stood walking along the floor to ceiling windows. I could feel the burn of his eyes on my back as I stood facing the city skyline. "You can't just pick and choose when you want to be an asshole or a decent person," I turned to him. "You confuse the hell out of me," I said quietly while holding his gaze. His eyes dark and face hard.

He stood setting the beer down on the table and turning to meet me by the windows. He stopped once he was in front of me. I watched his eyes run down my face and flow down my legs. It gave me goosebumps.

"Just because I don't want to discuss my dead sister, doesn't make me an asshole Amelia," he said looking straight at me.

I tilted my head up saying, "but it doesn't give you the right to snap at me and treat me like shit every two seconds." Rolling my eyes I crossed my arms. "You've injected yourself into my life like a needle to a vein, excuse me for trying to level the playing field."

He sighed looking out behind me towards the skyline.

"A deal is a deal Amelia. Nowhere in the contract did it say I had to reveal my every secret to you." My blood boiled at his response.

"That deal  was to save your ass," he looked back at me again, noticing my angry tone. "I'm tired of this weird controlling cat and mouse game. One night you're threatening me to my core, scaring me into silence. And then the next you're swooning me over dinner." Taking a deep breath my chest was rising and falling a bit faster now.

"I don't even know why I'm here." Shaking my head,  I pushed past him, dropping the beer on the nearest table and heading for the door.

"Amelia." Said Dante as he reached me before I could even grab the door handle. He spun me around bringing my body to his.

"I don't think you understand how infuriating you are. You say I'm an asshole for not spilling my past life to you, yet you make it clear any chance you get that this is a contract deal relationship." He shook his head, clenching his jaw.

"What the fuck do you want from me Amelia, because I'm not the only one blurring lines and turning hot and cold here," his eyes were so dark. And his hand crept up the back of my neck like a snake.

I let it.

My heart was pounding and my head was spinning because I thought deep down I knew. I knew that I was falling. Falling into the tight grasp of Dante Brown. And I didn't have an answer for him because he was right. I had given into him nights ago, in the front seat of his car. I had fallen for his charm and his pull more than once now. He was arrogant, infuriating, and so fucking irresistable. There was always a fine line between hate and attraction and I'm afraid I was about to discover just how small that line was.