Dante: A Mafia Bad Boy Romance (Sinsations Book 2) by Jessi Talbot Page B

ceiling in the dark, wishing I could get a full night’s sleep. I sighed, glancing at the clock on my nightstand. Three-forty-five. I could already tell it was going to be a long two weeks. Who was up at this ungodly hour unless they absolutely had to be? I closed my eyes, forcing them to stay closed, to ignore the angry red digital numbers on the clock, to ignore the reason behind my insomnia, the reason that was tucked into the back of my mind, a reason that got mentally slapped every time it tried to make its ugly presence known.
    I could go back to sleep. Not like it was hard to do or required special training. It was sleep. If nothing else, I’d lie here in bed with my eyes closed, pretending to be asleep until I actually fell asleep, working the whole fake-it-til-you-make-it strategy.
    Turns out that pretending to be asleep was a lot harder than it seemed. Slowly, reluctantly, I opened my eyes, just a tiny bit, and glanced at the clock. Three-forty-nine. Dammit! I sat up in bed, running my hands through my hair, my fingers getting tangled in the unruly curls. Great. I managed to sleep long enough to get a wicked case of bedhead. Simply fantastic.
    I climbed out of bed and padded barefoot down the hall in my boxers and over-sized t-shirt, making my bleary-eyed way into the kitchen and stabbing the power button on the coffee pot with more ferocity than it deserved. My boss, Lucifer, and his new bride, Krista, were on their honeymoon, and I couldn’t be happier for either of them. I had never seen Luc so happy, not even during the grand opening of Sinsations. He deserved happiness. He deserved a break from this place to celebrate his new life with his new wife.
    But I had never, not even in my wildest dreams, imagined exactly what that would involve, never connected the dots from A to B, which clearly showed that, during his absence, Luc would turn over control of the casino to his best friend in the whole world.
    Letting out a deep sigh, I leaned back against the kitchen counter, thoughts of him running through my mind. Dante Dubow. A shiver ran down my spine as I whispered his name. How many times had I imagined that as my last name? How many times had I imagined screaming his name as he made me his? My cheeks heated and my sex clinched. Probably as often as I had actually screamed his name while using my trusty vibrator.
    I went to the fridge, grabbed a cold bottle of water, and guzzled half of it one swallow, my throat suddenly dry. It was a fantasy, of course. Dante, with his super-sized body, chiseled face, and sexy-as-hell Russian accent could have anyone in Vegas. Hell, he could have anyone in Nevada. Why would he be interested in me?
    I poured a cup of coffee and took a sip. Water was okay but today was going to require some serious caffeine. I closed my eyes and groaned. Dammit! The coffeepot at work was in Luc’s office. No big deal when Luc was there, and I was sure Dante wouldn’t mind, but I wasn’t sure my nerves could handle it. It was difficult enough with him sitting just a couple of yards away from me, but to actually go into the office, with him right there? No, I didn’t see that happening. With any luck, I could time my coffee runs during the times when he was walking the floor. Sadly, that would cut into my drooling-over-Dante time. It was a comfortable arrangement for me, one I was very used to.
    As head of security, Dante would patrol the casino on a regular basis, and I always made sure to get my fill, my eyes burning him into my memory every chance I got, looking over the second-floor railing down into the casino. One time he happened to look up and locked eyes with me. I thought I would die of embarrassment. Thankfully, he had never brought it up.
    I shook my head, trying to clear it of thoughts of the handsome Russian. Took another sip of coffee. Going back to sleep would be impossible and I had seen everything pay-per-view had to offer during my first couple of nights of insomnia. Might