That soft little please nearly undid him.
Dante's expression shifted, the teasing edge melting into something warmer as he leaned down and caught the corner of her mouth where she had kissed him.
"Yeah," he murmured, almost breathless. "I can do that."
His lips left hers only to wander along her jaw, lingering there before finding the sensitive line of her neck. Each kiss came slower than the last, as though Dante had suddenly decided there was no part of her that deserved to be hurried past. His mouth brushed beneath her ear, then lower, following the warmth colouring her skin while one hand remained cradled against her cheek.
The bashfulness hadn't escaped him.
If anything, it seemed to make him gentler.
"Hey," he whispered against her skin, thumb tracing softly over the flush in her cheek. "Don't hide from me now."
Another kiss found her throat, then her shoulder, his attention roaming with almost worshipful patience. For someone who had spent the entire evening boasting about being a quick learner, Dante seemed perfectly content to take his time learning her, every little shiver, every place that made her breath catch, every touch she leaned into instead of away from.
Their bodies moved together beneath the sheets, the closeness between them settling into an instinctive rhythm. Dante's grip tightened whenever emotion threatened to overwhelm the moment, only to soften again as his hands wandered across her sides and back, keeping her pressed warmly against him.
When he finally lifted his head, his usual cocky grin was nowhere to be found.
Instead, Dante looked at her with open wonder.
"Twenty years," he murmured, brushing another kiss over her lips. "We're really idiots, y'know that?"
A quiet laugh escaped him before his mouth returned to her neck.
"Could've been doing this a whole lot sooner."
He kissed her again, deeper this time, one hand slipping into hers and lacing their fingers together against the mattress.
"But I'm not complainin' about where we ended up."
