Dante (Blood Brothers Book 5) (38 page)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Isis was in the middle of the most delicious dream. Dante
kissed and caressed
her all over, leaving no part of her unexplored, making her feel as if she would combust from an overflow of lust. Licks of flames raced along each part of her body as a warm tongue lapped her pussy. She squirmed, attempting to get closer to that seeking mouth, wanting it so badly she could hardly stand it.

The sharp nip of teeth brought a gasp to her lips.
She opened her eyes
. It took a few seconds of shaking off the sleepy haze clouding her mind to realize this was no dream. Dante had positioned himself between her legs and was sucking her clit while fingering her hot channel.

Bliss.

“Dante.” She sighed and grabbed his head, running her fingers through his dark locks.

She’d never been roused quite like this before, but she could definitely see herself getting used to it. Dante licked her pussy with urgent strokes of his tongue, sucking, tasting, and laving it, ignoring no part of the highly sensitized area.

Dante played with her clitoris, alternating between nibbling and kissing it. He filled her with a savage need for more of his sensual ministrations. After last night, Isis didn’t think her body was capable of handling any more pleasure without a long respite, but she should have known better. Where Dante Grimaldi was concerned, the sky was the limit. Despite the playful nips, she noticed as he ate her pussy with such tenderness and care that he’d calmed considerably from the manic beast he’d been earlier.

Isis found herself once again spiraling to yet another climax as his fingers went deeper and his tongue became more persistent. “Dante!” she screamed, mashing her cunt against his face.

Dante continued to lick her until she thrashed from side to side. Only when she stilled, her body weakened from the sexual roller coaster ride he’d taken her on, did he stop.

Finally, with a grin tilting his lips, Dante raised his head. His eyes were now the same deep shade of blue they normally were and his skin had cooled. He slid alongside Isis and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“
Bellissima
,” he sighed as he buried his face against her neck. His hold tightened around her as if he didn’t want to let go.

Her heart sang with joy at the sound of the endearment. She’d believed she’d never hear it from him again. “Dante.” Without any warning, the overwhelming emotions she’d been holding in for so long burst forth, and she broke into a torrent of tears.

“Isis.
Bellissima
, please don’t cry.” He stroked the back of her head as he whispered words of love to soothe her.

Isis’s tears were an emotional release she desperately needed. Sobs racked her body and the harder she tried to stop, the more she cried until finally she just let it happen. It was an outpouring of everything that had tormented her from past to present
—
the loss of her parents, the loneliness, the fear and despair. She’d held everything inside for so long this outburst was like a cleansing of her soul.

Several moments passed before her wails subsided to sniffles and finally tapered off to nothing. She appreciated the silence afterward because it allowed her to reflect on what had just happened. “I’m sorry,” she whispered at last, wiping a stray tear from the corner of her eye. “I don’t know what came over me.”

Dante kissed the top of her head. “It’s okay,
bellissima
. You needed that. Sometimes
,
we all need a good cry. I
just
wish I wasn’t the cause. I never want to make you unhappy again. Please forgive me, Isis. My behavior
in Florence
was deplorable and I’ve never been more ashamed of anything I’ve done in my life.”

Remembering how nasty he’d been, she pulled back slightly to look him in the eyes. “
You hurt me but I know you hurt
,
too. It’s true I was angry but I understand why you fought so hard against our love. But
,
I trust it will never happen again?”

He brushed her lips with his. “
Of course not. I would rather cut out my own tongue than to speak to you that way ever again.
I can offer no excuse for my behavior because there is none. I was very
stupid for not listening to my heart when it told me that you would never betray me. I’ll never forgive myself for it.”

Isis cupped his face in her hands. “Love is all about forgiveness and I do forgive you, but you have to learn to do the same with yourself.”

His eyes briefly clouded with an emotion that could have been anguish or regret and Isis’s heart melted with devotion for him. “It’s always hardest when the person you have to forgive is yourself.”

“I know what you mean. I’ve done things in the past
that make me cringe when I think about it and those actions
will probably haunt me forever. But I can’t go back and change them, so I have to learn to deal with it.” She paused, knowing it was time to tell him what she should have a
long time ago. “About my past —
”

He placed a finger over her lips, halting her in midsentence. “No explanation needed. I was a fool not to trust you. I should have given you the time you needed to tell me instead of demanding it. I trust you and I love you.”

She caught his hand in hers and kissed his palm. “Thank you. You have no idea how much it means to me to hear you say that, but I want to get some things off my chest. I need to tell you for
me
, okay?”

Dante stroked the side of her face. “Of course,
bellissima
. Please continue.”

Isis closed her eyes briefly, savoring his touch against her skin before opening them again with a sigh. “
I told you a bit about my part with the Serpent Gang but I need to start from the very beginning so you can get a clearer picture.”

“Okay.”

“
As you know, we shifters are extremely pack-oriented and family means everything to us. Pack Vasquez was a small but tight group. My mother in particular instilled within me the value of family because she’d been kicked out of her pack for falling for a Beta in a pack considered beneath them rather than the
mate my grandfather had chosen for her
. Not once did I doubt their love for me
,
although my father was extremely strict at times
. But
my happy family
was all taken away from me within the blink of an eye when Hunters
and rogue shifters
wiped out my entire pack. I would have died too
,
had it not been for my mother. She sacrificed her life for me so I could live.” She paused as pain washed through her. No matter how much time passed she would always miss her parents.

“It’s okay, Isis. I miss mine
,
too. The heartache never goes away but it does eventually become bearable.”

“I hope so. Anyway, I was now what others had warned me about: a lone wolf. I didn’t have the protection of a pack and it was a kill or be killed world. I chose to survive. No other pack would have me and that unfortunately led to me making some bad choices. I aligned myself with a member of the Serpent Gang
,
partly because I was rebelling
against my strict upbringing and because I was still hurt from being rejected by my grandfather’s pack
. I was finally free to do the things I hadn’t been allowed to do before. But with that freedom came a lot of trouble.”

I was also attracted to the Serpent Gang
because that particular band of rogues traveled in a group, which appealed to
my
instinct for pack life that I’d grown accustomed to. I wanted to put myself in a position where I could never be rejected again, which is why I set my sights on Black Adder, the leader. I admit the relationship was a little scary but
it was
exciting
,
too. We were lovers but he never touched my heart, and I
know he didn’t see me as more than a trophy. He saw that other men wanted me so he decided he must be the one to have me.”

“
I catered to his overinflated ego and that suited him. I stayed with the gang for years, often doing things I knew were wrong, but I had tuned out that part of my conscience. There was one particular incident
,
where we went after an innocent human family, children and all.
I was only meant to go there to take their valuables but it became a gruesome scene by the time they were done with those poor people.
It was then
,
I realized I no longer had the stomach for that life. It wasn’t who I wanted to be and I didn’t like what I’d become. Besides, it was around that time the Serpent Gang had gotten involved with Adonis and
Beatrice
.

“
Persephone Kyriakis saved my life. Were it not for a chance meeting with her and her offer of friendship,
I can only imagine
where I’d be right now. Knowing there was someone out there who still cared for me gave me the courage to turn my life around. And then
,
I met you. I fell in love with you in an instant, but I knew of your battle against rogues. I thought if you learned of my past, you would want nothing to do with me, so I withheld that information, hoping you would get to know me and fall in love before you
did. When Black Adder confronted us, he’d lied to you about the two of us meeting up. Apparently
,
he had established a powerful mind link to me I was not aware of. Had I known, I would have stayed away instead of jeopardizing everyone.
I never betrayed you. You have to believe me.” She clutched his shoulders with the desperate need to get her point across.

Dante captured her mouth with a hungry kiss. “
I do believe you
.
I suspected something like that with Black Adder might have happened after all the things I’d witnessed these past several week
s
.
I think I’d fallen for you from the start
,
too. You certainly took my breath away on first sight. But now
,
it’s time for a little explaining of my own. In no way am I excusing my actions that night, but I think it’s only fair that you should know a little of my background.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I want to,
bellissima
. Anyway, you pretty much know how my parents were murdered and I was responsible for the care of my brothers for years. My need to battle rogues has, in essence, stemmed from revenge and to protect my family. My battle with Adonis has consumed the majority of my years. I allowed no love in my life except that for my brothers. Of course, I’ve had lovers along the way but I’ve always been focused on my work with the Underground.
Falling
in love was a liability, especially considering what had happened with Marco’s first family. I kept my relationships light, and when my lovers expected more, that’s when I moved on. That was until I met a young woman by the name of Flora. I was instantly drawn to her and she filtered into my thoughts more than anyone ever had. I began to believe nature had other ideas for me and she was my true mate. But something went terribly wrong.” He stopped, frowning as though the memory was particularly painful.

Isis stroked his arm. “Take your time.” She loved him so much.

“I grew obsessive over her to the point where I needed to be with her every single second of the day. I was consumed with thoughts only of her, and I nearly went insane if she so much as looked at anyone other than me.”

“That doesn’t sound like you.”

“Because
,
it wasn’t me. I later learned Adonis had gotten inside my head. Flora was charmed and sent to lead me astray. I was drawn into a crazed state a lot like
la morte dolci
, but it was more like rage than passion.”

“So what happened?”

“I killed her.”

Isis gasped. “How? Why?”

“A lot of that night was fuzzy for a very long time, but I came home to find her naked except for the sheets wrapped around her body. She smelled as if she’d just been made love to, and I remember her laughing and taunting me. The next thing I recall was my brothers trying to reason with me. She was dead, and all I knew was that I’d killed her because of my jealous rage. Years later, I learned her lover was a rogue who worked for Adonis. It was his intent to make me so crazed, I’d let my guard down. What he didn’t count on was my finding out about her treachery so soon. Since then
,
I’ve always been careful to hold my feelings in check.”

Her heart went out to him. To believe he had found love only to have it ripped away was probably harrowing. “I’m sorry you suffered through that.”

“That isn’t all. Not very long before the two of us met, Marco had gone through his own crisis with Maggie. I was there to help but my emotions ended up in a jumble. Marco and I share a deep connection, so some of his feelings for Maggie transferred to me. And how could I not love her a little? She’s beautiful, sweet, and
loving
,
everything I could have hoped for in a mate. From that night, I struggled with the idea that I may have fallen for my brother’s woman. And then when Nico and Romeo joined with their bloodmates, it only made me long for her more.”