The touch of glass

The emergency alarms didn't sound inside the sub-basement vault. Dante had severed those wires weeks ago to keep any warning signals from leaking to external trackers, instead, the red floodlights flickered once, died, and plunged the small room into total darkness. Aria didn't have time to draw a breath before Dante’s heavy wool coat brushed against her arm. His handbare, broad, and burning hot slid up her waist, pulling her flush against his chest before she could even stumble in the pitch black. I've got you, he muttered into her hair, his breath warm against the shell of her ear.Her heart hammered a frantic rhythm against her ribs, but as her fingers instinctively clawed into the thick fabric of his jacket, the panic wasn't caused by the hit squad above them. It was the sheer, suffocating proximity of him. Above, a low muffled thud vibrated through the reinforced concrete walls. Thermite breach charges, the secondary elevator is dead,Aria whispered, her hands rising to his shoulders as he maneuvered her through the dark. Dante the research!!! Forget the research, he snapped softly, his hand dropping to lock around her wrist. His grip was tight, possessive, leaving no room for argument. You are the only thing coming out of this building tonight.He dragged her toward the narrow maintenance hatch behind the main server racks. The air grew tighter, colder, thick with the smell of old copper and sea brine. Dante shoved the heavy steel hatch open with his shoulder, pulling her through into a stone service tunnel that led out toward the jagged ocean cliffs. The space was barely wide enough for two people when a secondary explosion shook the foundation, Aria stumbled. Dante caught her instantly, his arms wrapping around her waist from behind, slamming her back against his front. She felt the heavy, furious thudding of his heart against her shoulder blades. He held her suspended for two agonized seconds, his cheek resting against hers, his ragged breathing filling the narrow stone passage. Dante... she breathed, turning her head slightly. His lips grazed her jawline in the dark an accidental touch born of proximity, but it sent a violent shiver straight down her spine. He didn't pull away. His hand tightened over her stomach, pulling her so close she could feel the rigid tension in his body.Look at me,he commanded, his voice a low growl in the shadow.She turned, her eyes adjusting to the dim moonlight leaking through the exit grate ahead. His pale eyes were dark, dangerous, focused entirely on her face. You're terrified,he said, his thumb tracing the contour of her lower lip.I'm not terrified of them, she confessed, her voice barely a whisper. Dante's eyes narrowed. He understood what she meant. The danger outside was simple; the terrifying magnetic pull between them was what threatened to ruin every defense she had left.Good, he whispered, his lips brushing hers for a brief, electric second that made her knees feel hollow. Save that fear for me.He released her waist only long enough to kick the iron grate at the end of the tunnel open. Sea spray exploded into the passage, bringing cold air and the roar of the crashing Atlantic against the rocks below. A sleek, black twin-engine helicopter sat idling silently on a concealed concrete pad cut directly into the cliffside, its rotors spinning in a low, muffled glide. Dante didn't wait. He grabbed her hand, keeping his body between her and the open sky as he ran her across the slick, wet rock. The moment they scrambled into the leather interior of the cabin, the heavy door slammed shut. The aircraft lifted off instantly, dropping low over the dark ocean waves to stay under local radar sweeps.Aria collapsed against the deep leather seat, her chest heaving. The cabin was dimly lit by ambient red night-lights. Before she could pull her thoughts together, Dante was there. He didn't take the seat across from her. He sat directly beside her, crowding her space, his heavy wool coat falling over her cold legs as he pulled her directly into his lap. Dante, what are you doing? she gasped, her hands coming up to press against his chest. You're freezing,he said, ignoring her weak resistance as he wrapped a heavy wool blanket around her shoulders, pinning her arms against him. He cradled the back of her head with his bare hand, tangling his long fingers in her damp hair, forcing her to look up at him. His expression was raw, stripped clean of the cool, calculating billionaire persona he showed the financial world. They almost had you, he said, his voice laced with a dark, dangerous anger. If I had been five minutes later...You weren't late, Aria said softly, her fingers working their way free of the blanket to cup his jaw, feeling the slight rough stubble beneath her palm. "You came for me." Dante closed his eyes for a fraction of a second, leaning heavily into her touch, as if her small palm was the only anchor keeping him grounded.I will always come for you,he murmured, his gaze reopening to lock onto hers. Apex can burn down every port I own. They can take every asset to my name. But they will never touch you. Aria felt a tear slip down her cheek not from fear, but from the overwhelming weight of his intensity. Why do you care this much? I was just a contract, Dante. A scientist you hid in a basement.Dante leaned down, his mouth catching hers in a deep, desperate kiss that cut the words right out of her throat. It wasn't gentle. It was possessive, hungry, and heavy with the weeks of restraint he had forced upon himself while keeping his distance in the lab. Aria opened her mouth to him with a quiet gasp, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, pulling him down until there was no space left between them.When he finally pulled back, his chest was heaving, his dark eyes searching every inch of her flushed face. You were never just a contract, Aria,he rasped, his leather-wrapped hand sliding up her thigh to hold her securely against him as the helicopter banked hard toward the dark peaks of the Pyrenees. You're the only reason I'm still human.