Dante (Chicago Ruthless, #1)

by Sadie Kincaid

“From now on, you only sleep in my bed unless I tell you otherwise. And I’m going to get a doctor to come over soon. I want you on birth control,”

“You don’t have these dreams when you’re in my bed. Is there something about this room that’s a problem for you?”

“It’s not the room,” I breathe.

“It’s you.” “But I’m here with you now?” “But you weren’t holding me,”

“Don’t you?” “Just because I fuck you every chance I get, doesn’t mean that’s all I want from you.”

“So, what else do you want, Dante?” I ask.

“Everything,” he...

Dante Moretti is a monster — the most ruthless and violent man I’ve ever known, but that’s not why he’s so dangerous. He’s dangerous because I’m falling for him a little more every single day.

I stare at the small piece of plastic in my hands and the two lines that are marked so clearly they may as well be flashing neon.

I use every ounce of breath left in my body to gasp out two words. “I’m pregnant.”

“What?” he growls. “I’m p-pregnant,” I breathe. He shakes his head. “You’re lying to me.” “I’m not,”

“So, not only were you running from me after you swore you’d repay your debt, but you were trying to take my child away too? Is that what you’re telling me?”

“What choice did I have, Dante? It’s not just me now. I did what I had to protect my child.” “My child,” he snarls. “You think it needs protecting from me?” “I don’t know,”

“But I do know that I would rather die than be forced to give him or her up.”

“You think I would make you do that?” “...

“I only know what you told me,”

“And what is that?” “That as soon as I’m no use to you, you’ll hand me over to your men.”

“I’m sorry, kitten. I’ve got you now.” The guilt of leaving her to rot in this room almost overwhelms me. If anything happens to her or our baby, I will never forgive myself.

“As long as you promise my baby will be safe.” “Our baby is going to be safe, Kat.”

“I’ve moved you to my room,” he says, because of course he can read me so well. “That way, I can keep an eye on you.” “Okay. Thank you.”

“You did what you had to, compagno.” “The baby could have died, Max. She could have died. I just left her there.”

“Since the day I met you, Kat, there has been no one but you.”

“I assure you, I have no interest in anyone’s ass but yours.” “S-so, you didn’t?”

“There is only you, kitten,”

“It’s been far too long since I made you come.” “I know,”

“Of course. I forgot you’re the devil,” she purrs. I look up at her, my face inches from hers as she narrows her dark blue eyes at me. “Your devil, Kat.”

Taking hold of her hands, I lace my fingers through hers and pin them above her head. “But if you hold still and wrap those legs around my waist, I’ll take you to see that other guy too.”

“Do you even really want me here with you? Do you want a baby?” “You know I want you here, Kat,”

“I was giving you some space.” “I don’t want space. I want you,”

“You kiss away my nightmares and you fuck me like our bodies have known each other forever, but you refuse to give me any assurance about my future and what it might hold. You have never even once apologized for taking me from the only life I had and keeping me here like some pet for you to stroke and fuss over whenever the need strikes you.

And despite all that, I still want you. I crave your affection, Dante, even though I know I’m a fool for doing it. So, if you don’t want me too, then please just tell me and let me go.”

“If you’re waiting for me to apologize for bringing you here that day, Kat, it is never going to happen.”

“Because I don’t regret any of it. And I would do it again a million times over.”

“Yes. So I am never going to be sorry for taking you.” “Well, at least I know that now,”

“But I am sorry for the way I’ve treated you, kitten,”

“I want to do this with you, Kat. I want you here with me and not because my ego would be dented if you left, but because my life is better with you in it.”

“Not my mistress. You’ll be my wife.”

“I’m not marrying you.” “And I’m not having my child born anything but a Moretti in every sense of the word.” “Jesus Christ.”

“Because you would never leave our child. And if you ever tried to leave with our kid, you know that I would scorch this earth to ash to bring you both back to me.”

“So it’s true then? You had to marry me or kill me, is that it?”

“You only asked me to marry you so that your father wouldn’t force you to kill me and our child instead, and I’m not supposed to be pissed about that? I’m supposed to roll over and be thankful for the fact that you are not as cruel and awful a man as you might be? Is that right?” “My father hasn’t forced me to do anything for a long time, Kat.” “I don’t believe you, Dante.

“But this time it feels even worse, because this time I believed you.”

Kat thinks what she thinks and she loves you anyway. So this is about her thinking that you don’t really want to marry her. So prove that you do, Dante.”

“Dante is going to propose to Kat with Grandma’s ring,” Joey says with a flutter of her eyelashes. Maximo grins. “About time, compagno.”

“Everything in my life has been given to me because of who I am. Everything except you, kitten. You are the only thing in my life that I have ever truly chosen for myself. So yes, I want to marry you because I want to honor my family and my mother’s memory, but I also want you to stand by my side until the end of days.”

“Yes, I’ll marry you.”

“You have to tell me, Kat. Tell me so I can repay them for any hurt they caused you.”

“My scar,”

“They were the ones who carved a word into your skin?” I hiss.

“Tell me.”