Finding His Mate... Ch. 02

"Where are we going?" Madison asks. Although she isn't afraid that he will hurt her in any kind of way, it is just weird that they weren't going to the restaurant, but instead to the hotel. She feels the blood rush to her core at the prospect of what can happen and rubs her legs together. 'Great. You could be falling into the trap of a serial killer and you are thinking about sex.' She hears the ding notifying them that they are on their floor and sighs. Dante grabs her hand and leads her out of the elevator. She is expecting a whole floor of rooms and is surprised when they immediately come face to face with a door. 'Well this is weird', she thinks herself.

Dante opens the door for them and gently pushes Madison inside. After locking the door, he leads Madison into the main room. Taking off his coat, he watches as she appraises his home. 'Hopefully you'll be living here with me soon', he thinks, smiling at the thought.

"Wow...this is really nice." Madison says to Dante, who was reaching for her coat. Shrugging it off of her shoulders, she takes off her shoes as if she is in her own home and looks around. Walking over towards the window, she looks down at the city below. She feels Dante come up beside her and looks over at him. 'Damn he's beautiful'. She feels herself start to throb and looks back out the window.

"Why are we here?" Looking down at Madison, Dante smiles.

"Well...I was going to take you out to dinner, but you fell asleep. So I decided to bring you here. To my home." Looking at Dante, she starts to speak, but stops when her stomach starts to growl. She smiles sheepishly and look down at her feet. "I guess I should have just taken you out to dinner." Dante chuckles. He sees her blush and can't help but laugh. 'She is so cute when she blushes.' Reaching for her hand, he leads her to the kitchen and pulls out a bar stool at the island. Helping her up, he looks down at her.

"What would you like to eat?" 'You', Madison bites back before it can slip out. Although she is hungry, she doesn't know if it is exactly for food. Being this close to him just messes up all of her senses and, for some reason, she likes it. It's as if her body is calling for him to sate this fire that has suddenly appeared inside of her. To scratch that itch that only he could touch. Biting her lip, she looks down at her hands and sighs. She knows if she looks at him right now, when all she can think about is sex, that she wouldn't be responsible for her actions.

Dante reaches down to lightly grasp her chin between his thumb and index finger. Tilting her head up, he looks into her eyes. He knows she is fighting with the mating pull, trying to justify why she is here with him right now, trying to figure out her feelings for him and possibly an escape plan to get away from him. He won't allow it. Ever. He doesn't care how much hell he will have to go through to make her stay. She is his mate and he would die for her. Sweeping back her unruly hair, he bends down to lightly kiss her lips. When she doesn't pull back, he grabs the back of her head and deepens the kiss, biting her bottom lip. Lightly caressing her neck, he runs his tongue against he lips, probing them open. He hears her gasp and plunges his tongue into her mouth, memorizing all of its contours, seeking out that sweet taste that has been haunting his senses since last night. Running his hands down her back, he cups her ass and picks her up from the stool. Placing her on top of the counter, he steps in between her legs and runs his hands against the side of her breasts. He feels her fingers run through his hair and groans, pushing his groin against her mound.

"Dante..." Hearing his name from her lips, Dante feels his wolf start to surface, begging to properly mate with their mate. 'Not yet.', he tries to explain to his wolf. Madison slowly trails her hands down his back, feeling the strong-corded muscles move against them. She feels her pussy start to throb and feels like she is going to explode. Moving closer to him, she runs her fingers down to his waist and hooks her fingers in his belt loops. Pulling, she brings his hips closer to hers and rubs against him.

"Fuck Madison..." Pulling back, Dante looks into her eyes and sees the lust that clouds them. "I want you so much right now.", Dante groans running his fingers through her hair. He feels Madison pull him down and lightly bite his ear.

"Then have me." Madison didn't know what was wrong with her right now. One minute she is reserved and trying to figure out her feelings for him and the next she is practically jumping his bones. And the crazy part of this whole weird situation is that she doesn't care. It's as if something just took over and is telling her to...claim him? 'What is wrong with me?' Lightly nipping his ear, she kisses down his neck, leaving little bite marks as she goes. Getting to the juncture between his neck and shoulder, she lightly sucks on his flesh and could swear she hears him growl.

Grabbing her by the waist, Dante stops her before she can go any further. He practically mounted her once she bit on his shoulder. Although his wolf is howling in protest, Dante just can't risk it. He knows she is acting off of the mating pull right now and although he likes it, he doesn't want to move too fast. Stepping back while holding her waist, he bends down and places a light kiss on her lips.

"Later love. Right now you have to eat." Madison looks into his amber eyes and shakes her head. Feeling rejected, she is about to jump down, but is stopped by Dante's heated kiss.

Dante saw the slight disappointment and hurt cross her face and curses himself. The last thing he wants her to feel is that he doesn't want her. Grabbing her by the waist, he steps back between her legs and places a kiss on her lips, promising love and satisfaction. He makes sure he grinds his cock against her, showing her just how much he desires her. Once he feels that she has gotten the message, he steps from between her legs, placing one last kiss on her lips, and walks towards the refrigerator.

"Like I was saying, you need something to eat. What would you like?" Shaking herself out of a daze, she looks over at Dante and blushes.

"I don't know. Anything really." Nodding his head, Dante looks in the refrigerator and starts to pull out some food. Madison is about to jump down from the counter so that she can watch him, but is stopped be Dante. 'Whoa...I could have sworn he was on the other side of the counter.'

Picking Madison up, Dante walks to the opposite side of the island, where he was making the food and places her down on the counter. He knows he could have revealed himself just now and is lucky that she barely notices, but for some odd reason his wolf didn't like the fact that she is so far away from them. Looking into her eyes, he notices her confusion and smiles. She looks so cute when she is confused. Kissing her on the nose, he turns back around and starts cutting the chicken.

"So what are you making?" Madison asks, watching as he moves around the kitchen with such ease. She can't help but gaze at his ass and feels embarrassed for admiring him without him even knowing. She looks up and feels herself blush even more than before, when she sees that he is looking right at her.

"You like what you see?" Turning her head, she locks her ankles and starts to swing her feet. Shrugging her shoulders, she smiles. She hears him chuckle and glares at him.

"It's ok. You won't admit it yet...but you will." She notices how his eyes blaze slightly amber and cocks her head to the side. Without stopping herself, she asks.

"Why do your eyes do that?" Dante quickly averted his gaze and curses at his wolf. 'Dammit. Why can't you just wait?' he hears his wolf chuckle and inwardly groans. 'Fine. Two can play that game.' Turning back around, he looks over and notices her head is still cocked to the side. He wasn't getting out of this question.

"Genetics." He simply answers. It isn't really a lie. He is genetically a wolf. Turning back around, he places the chicken in the skillet that is warming up. Shaking a few seasonings on it, he reaches for a pot and fills it with water. Putting the pot on the back burner, he turns on the burner and turns back around. Leaning his back on the counter, he crosses her arms and waits for her next question.

Madison watches as he moves around, but still can't register the answer he gave her. Genetics. Although that seems to be the logical answer, for some reason, it doesn't settle her many questions. She hasn't encountered one person whose eyes do that besides Tiffany. She always felt it was exotic and when she asks her, Tiffany simply replies, 'Genetics'. It was definitely not genetics though. It was one thing for your eyes to change normal colors such as, green or blue, but it was a whole other thing for your eyes to change to amber. That was just freaky, shaking herself from her thoughts she makes a mental note to look that up. Looking into Dante's eyes, she wonders what he can possibly be thinking about.

"So your whole family has eyes like those?" She gestures towards him. She watches as he nods his head before going back to cooking the food. She was expecting him to be tense, like most men are when they hide secrets, but he wasn't. It seemed as though he was the exact opposite. Maybe it is genetics, she thinks to herself.

Dante feels her confusion slide away and sighs in relief. The last thing he wants to do is lie to his mate. He has a feeling she is used to being lied to and doesn't want her to think of him as a liar. Taking a piece of chicken out of the skillet, he turns back to her.

"Try some." He watches as she opens her mouth and wraps her sweet lips around the spoon and instantly feels himself get hard. 'This girl sure knows how to make eating sexy.' Madison licks her lips in an attempt to savor the taste and sighs.

"That may have been the best piece of chicken I ever ate." She says with a smile. She sees him swell up with male pride and can't help but laugh.

"I'm glad you like it." Dante says, before placing a kiss on her lips. What should have been a light, playful kiss quickly turns into a heated one. Plunging his tongue into her mouth, he lightly runs it against hers and hears her moan. Mimicking what he really wants to do right now, Dante gently tugs on her lower lip. Seeing that things were about to go too far, he slowly pulls his lips away from hers. He watches as her eyelids flutter open, revealing her lust filled eyes. Groaning, he takes one last kiss and steps back.

"Go over and sit down on the couch. I'll bring the food to you." He watches her as she jumps down from the counter and walks into the living room, sitting down on the couch. He can help but growl as he watches the sway of her luscious hips. He feels his wolf start to become irritated with him, telling him to stake his claim on their mate. Pushing him further back in to his mind, he turns around and grabs plates, quickly arranging the food and grabbing forks before walking into the room. Handing a plate to Madison, he sits down beside her and kicks his feet up on the table in front of him. He hears her moan and grins.

"I'm glad you like it." Looking over at him, Madison nods her head.

"Of course. You're going to have to make this for me again." Dante smiles at the prospect of there being another date. 'There would be many more if you would just claim her!', his wolf growls at him. Pushing him back in his mind, he looks over at Madison and feigns being hurt.

"Ouch. You'll only go out with me again for my food. That hurts a man's pride." He watches as she throws her head back and laughs. He realizes just how much he wants to hear that laugh for the rest of his life.

"So since this is our date, I remember you telling me that you wanted to learn more about me. What would you like to know?" Madison asks, turning her body so that they are face to face. Cocking his head as if he is in deep thought, Dante asks.

"Ok. We'll start off easy. How old are you?"

"24. You?" Dante fights the urge to say his real age and instead says the age many people thought he was.

"32." He watches as she nods her head, absorbing this information.

"Ok. Go on." She says before stuffing her face with more food. Dante smiles, pleased that she has a healthy appetite and thinks about his next question.

"Where are you from?" Scrunching up her face, Madison sighs.

"Ok I don't like this whole 21 questions game. I'll just tell you about myself." When he nods, she continues. "Well I am from LA. Born and raised. I went to UCLA instead of going to Harvard, which many people are surprised about. I don't like cats. I love dogs and I have a secret crush on David Hasseloff." She grins when Dante laughs at her last statement and can't help but be turned on. His laugh is so full and hearty, and yet smooth and rich. Rubbing her thighs together, she wills herself to calm down and focus on the conversation.

"Really? Why him?" Shrugging her shoulders, Madison looks down at her food.

"I don't know. It must be genetics because my dad said my mom had a crush on him to. Of course when he was younger." Dante stares at her when her voice takes on a tone of longing and decides to dig deeper.

"Where is your mom now?" He watches as her body tenses and curses himself for being so nosey. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." He quickly adds, not wanting to ruin anything.

"No. No. It's ok. My mom passed away when I was three. She got very sick after having me and nobody knew what was wrong. Then one day, she never woke up." Madison looks down at her food and starts to idly play with it having lost her appetite. Although she doesn't remember anything about her mother, the thought of her still makes her heart ache. She always wanted that mother figure in her life, that she could go to when she had her first kiss or when she had her first date. Although her father was there, she really couldn't tell him things like that without him wanting to go and rip that young mans hands off for touching his baby. She smiles when she thinks of how he practically ran her first date out of the house. She is brought back to the present when she feels Dante take the plate from her hands and place it on the table along with his.

Reaching over, Dante pulls her on to his lap and kisses her neck. He knew she was reminiscing and could feel her despair. He wants nothing more than to comfort her through her pain. Sweeping her hair behind her, he feels her snuggle up against him and sighs.

"And your father?" He felt her giggle and tightens his hold on her.

"My father was crazy. Always trying to protect his baby girl." Madison laughs. "He never let me do pretty much anything that involved males." Sighing Madison snuggles closer to Dante's chest, rubbing against his groin. She hears him groan and can't help but do it again.

Grabbing her waist, Dante stills her movement. "You're playing with fire sweetheart.", he growls in her ear. Laughing once again, Madison sighs. "And your family. What are they like?" She hears Dante groan and giggles. "They can't be half as bad as my dad was." Laughing, Dante places a kiss on top of her head and sighs with contentment.

"You're right. My family is worst than he was." He laughs. "It's especially bad because we are Italian. I don't think there is one family dinner that we have that doesn't end up with us not fighting."

"Yeah but you love them. I wish I had a big family like that." He hears longing in her voice and feels his wolf howl. He feels his heart swell at her need to feel accepted again. To feel that protection that she felt with her father and even with her mother. Grabbing her waist, he turns her around so that she is straddling him. Reaching up, he sweeps his thumb across her cheek and places a kiss on her lips.

"Would you like to meet them?" He asks suddenly, not even aware that he asked the question. He watches her face, as a look that could only be described as a little girl getting the Barbie dream house she wanted, comes over her face. As fast as that emotion comes, apprehension takes over.

"Are you sure? I mean..." Biting her lip, Madison looks down at her hands. "Don't you think we may be taking this a little too fast? We just met yesterday." Although she isn't trying to reject him, Madison doesn't want to get her hopes up so that they can be shot down after. That's happened to her too many times. She looks into Dante's eyes and is surprised to see amusement. "What's so funny?" She asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Nothing. I didn't mean right now. But I would like you to meet them eventually." Nodding her head, she leans down and places her ear to his chest. She feels him rub his hands up and down her back and feels comforted...protected. Sighing, she thinks back to the last time she felt that way and realizes it was when her dad was still living. She never even felt like this with her former boyfriends and she knew all of them longer than she does Dante, when the thought of a relationship even came into play. Sighing, she listens to the sound of his heartbeat and before she knows it, she is asleep.

Dante holds her as he feels her slowly slipping into exhaustion and sighs. Although his wolf wants more, he and his wolf are sated with just holding their mate in their arms. He knows she is still battling with her feelings and the need to keep herself protected, but he has to let her know he isn't like those other guys that were in her life before. He is her mate. The man whose duty it is to protect her, provide for her...love her. Love. His sister's voice echoes in his head and he sighs. He would be a fool to deny that he loves her. Even when he is sitting alone, the thought of her makes his heart skip a beat. In her presence, he is a mess. He can't even remember a time when a woman made him want to drop to his knees and give her anything and everything she could ask for. He loves her and vows to do everything in his power to show her that.

Nuzzling her neck, he smiles when he realizes she has fallen asleep on him again and places a quick kiss on top of her head. Rising up off of the couch, he is surprised when he feels her legs wrap around him tightly, as if even in her dreams, she didn't want to let him go. Placing his hands on her thighs, he carries her down the hall and into his bedroom. Walking over to the edge of the bed, he gently places her down and looks at her frame.

'So beautiful...' Walking around to the other side, he carefully slips into the bed, not wanting to wake her and brings her back to his front. He feels her stir and places a kiss on the back of her neck.

"Dante..."

"Sshh...go to sleep." She settles against him and goes back to sleep, lightly snoring. Nuzzling her neck again, Dante smiles in contentment and feels himself drift to sleep; he and his wolf both happy with their mate in their arms.