Dante's Angel (4 page)

Dante frowned
at the docile tone of her voice. He was used to her sniping at him, not
sounding so contrite. For some inexplicable reason, it made him angry. Usually,
Zoe was a hot package with a fiery temper, one he’d been singed with countless
times before. Actually, for some sick reason, he enjoyed their verbal sparring,
and it made him confident they were more than a match for one another.

“Since when
the hell do you ever ask my permission for anything?”

“I…” When she trailed
off and winced, his irritation increased.

“Christ, you
have the keys and the codes. It’s not like you were bothering anyone here, but
it’s almost fucking three in the morning. You should be home, sleeping in your
damn bed.”

And I should be there with you…

Thinking about
her in bed was a bad idea. Images of her slim body writhing on silk sheets
beneath him slammed into his brain, making his dick twitch in his jeans. Any
more thoughts like that and his cock would end up with the zipper impression of
his jeans on it. No, fantasies like that wouldn’t do him any good. Not if he
wanted to get out of the bar without taking her.

Zoe’s eyes
fired at the censure in his tone, and seeing that bit of temper settled him a
bit. He liked the way her eyes narrowed and how the gleam of annoyance made
them sparkle.

Yeah, he was a
sick man.

“You’re one to
talk. What are you doing here right now? Dante, this isn’t good for you. You
need your sleep. Were you at the gym again?”

His eyebrow
quirked up. “Worried about me, angel?”

Her lips
tightened as they always did when he called her by that nickname. She didn’t
like it, and knowing that just made it even more satisfying to use it.

“Someone has
to,” she muttered as she put her jacket on. Once she zipped it up, she picked
up the violin and slung the long strap over one of her shoulders so the large,
rectangular case lay over her back crosswise.

Dante reached
down and picked up his own hoodie, never looking away from her as he put it back
on. “We closed at midnight. I didn’t see your bike out back.”

Zoe sighed a
little. “I went home after closing, then walked back about an hour ago.”

His expression
darkened. “You walked here at this time of night? Alone? Are you fucking out of
your mind?”

Zoe fought the
urge to roll her eyes at him. It was well known that Dante took safety of the
women who worked for him seriously. It was even standard practice for one of
the guys to walk the female staff members to their vehicles at the end of their
shifts, but when it came to her, Dante’s concern bordered on fanatical.

At first,
she’d been insulted by the way he acted as if she couldn’t be trusted to cross
the street on her own. That was, until she realized just how fiercely
protective he was of her. She liked that he cared about her. When he thought
she was working too hard, he would jump in and lend a hand or harass her until
she took a break. When he didn’t think she was eating enough, he shoved food at
her and bitched until she ate.

People often
commented that she and Dante fought like an old married couple, and even though
he did annoy her at times, the idea of it pleased her immensely. Still,
uncertainty plagued her thoughts. Zoe had fallen for him, and she knew, without
a doubt, it was more than a passing crush. But Dante wasn’t a man who kept
women around for long once he had them, and she wasn’t looking to become
another of his castoffs.

Self incrimination
struck her. That wasn’t fair. Dante wouldn’t be putting so much effort into
getting her if he was just planning to toss her aside as soon as she gave in to
him. No relationship came with guarantees, and it was wrong of her to demand
one before being with Dante.

But Zoe’s past
made it difficult to even consider having a future with him.

Pushing aside
her frustration at the mess that was her life, she focused back on their
conversation and realized that Dante was scowling at her as he waited for her
to respond to his insulting reaction to her walking to the bar by herself.
Keeping her tone light, she said, “It’s only four blocks. I was fine.”

“Stubborn
woman.” Dante snorted with disgust. “I’ll take you home now. We’re going to
have a couple of hard weeks, and we have the anniversary party coming up. You
need to get some fucking sleep,” he snapped. “Don’t push me, Zoe.”

“You mean like
you’re pushing me? You’re such a bossy bastard sometimes.”

“Damn right I
am.”

“I know we’re
going to be busy this week, but remember, I’m off on Tuesday.”

His scowl
deepened. “Damn it. We’ve got spring breakers in all week. I need you here.”

The irritation
in his voice didn’t bother her. It wasn’t like she hadn’t told him that she was
taking Tuesday off. The bar was usually closed on Mondays, but they were open
this week for the spring breakers that flooded the town. Dante usually made
sure that all the staff members took at least one other day off during the
week, but right now it was all hands on deck.

“I’m going
wedding dress shopping with Kali and the girls on Tuesday.” She paused before
asking, “Are you willing to tell them I can’t go?”

Dante winced. “Hell,
no. Those women would kill me.” He paused before adding, “Then Hammer would
drive over my bloody remains for upsetting Kali.”

She smirked at
him. “Yeah, he probably would.”
 
 
 
 

“Don’t sound
so happy about it. Fine. Whatever. I’m taking you home now.”

“I don’t need—hey!”
She tried to jerk away when he gripped her arm.

There was a
storm in his eyes as he used his hold on her to pull her closer, so close that
she felt his breath on her lips. His voice lowered to a furious hiss. “Either I
take you home, or I take you on the goddamn bar floor. Right here. Right now.
Make your choice.”

Sensing the
seriousness of his words, she stopped arguing. He was too close to losing
control to push him any further. “Okay, caveman. You can walk me home.”

He grunted at
the use of her own nickname for him, and let her go easily when she pulled her
arm from his grasp. It pissed her off that she was still left feeling shaken. Even
though he’d grabbed her firmly, he had been careful. It was one of the
dichotomies that was Dante Fox. He was bad-tempered, even surly at times, yet
he was always gentle with her when he touched her.

When she had
first met Dante, his intensity had frightened her, but as she’d gotten to know
him better, she’d come to realize that he would never hurt her. It just wasn’t
in him. Sure, he could be violent, but never with a woman, and especially not
with her.

That was one
of the things that made Dante and his friends so amazing. They were all large
men—some of them were even quite scary—but they made an effort to temper their
strength with those weaker than them.

Still, she
knew firsthand the damage a man’s fists could do.

Zoe knew that
Dante would never hurt her physically, but the damage he could do to her heart
could be catastrophic if she really let him in. She wasn’t a coward, though. Somehow,
someway, she would figure out a way to face her fears, but the past was
difficult to forget.

But it was
more than just learning to trust Dante with her heart.

Telling him
the truth about herself would also mean trusting him with her life.

The silence
was heavy between them as Zoe followed Dante out of the bar. He paused briefly
to reset the alarm before they stepped outside. She waited patiently beside him
as he relocked the side door, not wanting to spark his anger again if she took
off without him.

Zoe tilted her
head up and breathed in the night air. It was dark outside, but the high-pitched
tweets of birds broke through the quiet, hinting at the morning to come. She
wasn’t surprised when Dante bypassed his bike, choosing to walk her home instead.
Just as well. Riding on the back of his Harley with her arms wrapped around him
wouldn’t do either of them good.

They had never
done this before, taken a walk together on a nice spring night. It seemed
so…normal, and would have been pleasant if the silence between them wasn’t so
strained.

The streets
were well lit by lamp light, and the sidewalks were free of cracks. The
citizens took pride in their town, and it showed in the care that was given to
every detail. Zoe loved the town of Breakers and had from the moment she’d
arrived. At first, she’d been scared and wary of moving to a small town she’d
never been to before, but what she had found felt like home to her.

Zoe looked up
at her apartment building as it came into view. It was a three-story structure
that had been converted out of an old warehouse, with a large balcony attached
to each unit on the top two floors, while each ground floor apartment had a
nice size patio. Several staff members from the bar also had apartments in the
building, giving her a sense of security from having people she knew living so
close if she needed them.

Their steps
slowed as they came to the end of the walkway leading up to the building. He
hadn’t looked at her as they’d walked, but he turned to her now. She pressed a
hand to her stomach as she felt it flutter, just like it always did when he looked
at her that way. She felt self-conscious and unsure what to say to break the
awkward silence between them. Still, she had to say something about what had
happened between them early. “I’m sorry about before—”

“I’m not,”
Dante said softly. “I’m not going to apologize for kissing you, because it
would be bullshit. Things would be different if you didn’t want me, but you do.
I know you do.”

 
“Sometimes wanting isn’t enough.” Zoe could
hear the sadness in her own voice, and immediately wanted to take the words
back. “Thanks for walking me home.”

She made it
two steps away before she heard him say her name softly. Knowing it was a
mistake, she turned back to look at him. He looked so alone standing there in
the shadows, his hands clenched into tight fists. Zoe desperately wanted to
fling herself into his arms, but she made herself stay where she was.

Dante studied
her for a long moment before he spoke. “You and I are going to have to figure
out how to deal with this…thing between us, Zoe. I’m trying to understand why
you’re trying to put a wall up between us, but it’s not working. It never will.
Go inside now, angel. I’ll wait here until you turn your light on.”

Taking the out
he gave her, she nodded and hurried inside. Dante shoved his hands in his
pockets as he waited, watching for the light to come on in the second floor
apartment he knew belonged to her.

Zoe was
running. From him, from her past.

He could feel
it. Perhaps her holding back on him was why he was so fucking intrigued by her
when other women had never been able to hold his attention for more than a few
nights. They were too easy, and Zoe made him work for it. No, that wasn’t it.
It might be a small factor, but his obsession for her was something was too complex
to try to figure out.

Dante told
himself he had to be patient, to let her come to him when she was ready to face
whatever was haunting her, but fuck it all, he wasn’t a patient man. Knowing
she was holding back something from him made his hands itch with the need to
grab hold of her before she slipped away. But even if she tried, Dante wouldn’t
let that happen.

Zoe belonged
to him now, and he damn well planned on keeping her.

Less than a
minute later, the light came on in her living room, and he watched as Zoe walked
up to the glass door of her balcony. Her hand came up in a hesitant wave before
she pulled the curtains closed, leaving him alone in the darkness again.

A flicker of
movement in the space below her apartment had Dante’s eyes narrowing. He stared
hard, then relaxed when the sound of a patio door sliding opened reached him.
Dante’s friend lived in the ground-floor apartment below Zoe, and he knew that
Noah Brixton had just as much trouble sleeping as he did.

Former Delta
Force, Brix had come to town five years ago after his career in the military
had ended with an injury to his leg. He was a quiet man who mostly kept to
himself, but when he did speak, he commanded attention. No one knew much about
him, except that he was originally from Louisiana, which was evident by the
slight Cajun drawl that came out when he spoke.

With massive
arms and a broad chest, the sheer size of Brix made most people nervous, so he
fit in well as a bouncer at The Fox Hole. Only those closest to him knew that
he made his real living as an artist who carved the most beautiful wood
sculptures imaginable. He’d once told Dante that wood carving was his therapy,
something that helped him get through the long nights.

From killing
to carving art with a knife. Somehow, it made perfect sense.

It had
surprised him when Brix continued working at the bar after Dante had found out
just how well off the other man was from selling his art, but Dante had sensed
that it was more about making himself socialize than actually making money. Over
the years, they’d become good friends, and Dante hadn’t hesitated to make Brix
a manager since he trusted the man implicitly.