“Dante, this place is epic,” Thomas said, folding his hands against his chest. “I can’t believe it is not on a roster at our department for visits.”
“They’re low key about visits,” Dante said, fighting the urge to pace with impatience.
They were in a waiting room. The eight students who had come along sat in the leather chairs around the room murmuring amongst themselves. They were all waiting for their guide.
“How did you find them again?” Justina asked.
“Professor Roberto from biology,” Dante said. “He said they have a lab that tests soils. Though he has not visited the conservancy, one of their researchers worked with Professor Roberto.”
“No wonder,” Thomas said. “If Roberto discovered this place, we would not have heard the end of it.”
Justina chuckled, and started to comment only to stop when the door opened.
Tom walked in first. Looking formal in his business suit. Hera followed, looking beautiful this morning in a navy blue dress. She smiled at Dante when their gazes met, giving him a short nod of recognition.
Then…Tani walked in.
Dante forgot all the reasons why he was here. His gaze riveted on Tani, taking him in from his red brown hair, to his amber eyes hidden behind reading glasses. He looked handsome in a white shirt and tailored dark trousers. He wore white slip-on Vans this time. Dante smiled as he realized Tani seemed to have a serious fixation with the brand.
Tani stood behind Hera and Tom, hands in his pockets. His gaze moving around the room.
Dante took in a breath, waiting…he breathed out when Tani finally looked at him and their gazes held. Time stopped, for a solid minute, and all he could do was look at Tani.
Then, Tom started talking and Tani broke their gaze. Dante sucked in air, feeling the loss of Tani’s gaze on him deep in his soul.
“I want to welcome you to The Elderwood Conservancy,” Tom was saying. “We have not had guests in a while, so we’re all excited to show off a bit of our fortress.”
“We hope you enjoy the tour and the stories you’ll learn about this fortress from one of our patrons,” Tom said. “Next to me, is Miss Hera. She helps manage our conservancy. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to approach her. Professor Arturo, you mentioned in your message that you want to look at the architecture of the building, and learn about the fortress’s history. Is that right?”
“Yes,” Dante said, nodding. “We’re learning how architecture from the different eras in history still influences modern architecture. Also, if we can get an explanation as to why the horrendous addition of modern walls at the front.”
The students laughed, and Tani shook his head at Dante for the mischief. Dante found he liked Tani’s censuring look.
“I’m sure you’ll discover the answer soon,” Tom said with a quick smile. “Allow me to introduce our patron, Mr. Tani Ryuzo. His family has supported and lived in this fortress since its commission in the fifteenth century.”
Tom clapped his hands, prompting the students to do the same.
Tani grinned at Tom’s short introduction, and took a step forward.
“Call me, Ryuzo,” Tani said, and then turned to Dante, Justina and Thomas. “And, I will take responsibility for the addition of modern walls at the front.”
Dante grinned, and Tani nodded, turning his attention to the students.
“Everyone keeps inviting you to The Elderwood Conservancy, so I’ll explain who we are,” Tani said. “We are an organization dedicated to creating a safe space for endangered wild animals and plants. We also run an environment research center where we work to discover new ways to protect and conserve our environment.”
“Are you saying the forests around the fortress belong to the conservancy?” One of the students asked.
“Yes, they are protected forests,” Tani said. “If you do go deeper, you’re likely to run into wild animals and discover rare plants which cannot be harvested.”
“Do the wild animals reach the fortress?”
“They can but they don’t,” Tani said. “But, we have mounted a perimeter fence about two hundred meters around the fortress to protect the mortals living here.”
Tom coughed, and Tani glanced at Dante who was hiding a grin at his use of the word mortals.
“I meant to say, we don’t want the wild animals finding our staff in their offices,” Tani said, gaining chuckles from the students. “We do get an occasional monkey stealing bananas from an unsuspecting staff member in the flower gardens, but the fortress grounds are secure.”
“How do I work here?” A dark haired young man sitting at the front asked, looking quite serious and eager.
“Does it look like a fun place to work?” Tani asked.
“Yes, I love conservation science,” he said.
Tani grinned.
“Then, we would have to ask Tom and Hera,” Tani said. “They are the true heroes of our organization. They work at the helm of the conservancy, coordinating the massive effort it takes to navigate various government laws, keep researchers working, and keep our conservancy safe and secure. Talk to them on how to join,” Tani said. “Now, about the fortress….and the addition of modern walls…”
“You’re not going to let that go, are you?” Dante asked.
“No,” Tani said, making the students laugh again. “The building is steeped in ottoman architecture. The smaller tower at the entrance was used to control who entered the fortress. The rest of the building is what makes it a fortress with its four towers. It is square with three flours on each wing and a courtyard in the middle. Let’s not sit in here. If you’ll come with me, we’ll start with the front tower of the fortress and work our way in.”
Dante smiled as Tani led the way out of the waiting room.
Hera’s phone buzzed and she moved to the side to answer the call.
Thomas and Justina approached Tom, so it fell to Dante to herd their students after Tani. They left the waiting room and turned left.
Tani led them into a hidden stairwell right after the waiting room that led up to the smaller round front tower.
“As mentioned earlier, the fortress was commissioned in the Fifteenth Century. At the time, Ottoman Empire was enduring a great expansion, which meant war. A great shift of power began, and as is expected of war, the need for sanctuary grew. The fortress was commissioned for this purpose,” Tani said, as they climbed the stairs. “The wall on your right is part of the original build, constructed with natural stone and mortar. It was the busiest part of the fortress because it was the first point of contact. Suppliers left their wares here, messengers spoke to the fortress soldiers, and anyone who wanted sanctuary made their request in this tower.”
Dante ran his hands over the cold stone, and slowed down when for a full minute, he thought he saw the stairs turn to wood instead of the marble they were now. The walls covered with intricate wood beams, and an elegant balustrade running along on the side with glass. He stopped and blinked.
He looked up in time to see his students following Tani up the tower. His gaze lingered on the glass walls showing off the front of the building. He hurried up the steps, past his lingering students until he was behind Tani.
“Why was the tower rebuilt?” Dante asked, needing to know.
“In the seventeenth century, a great fire broke out in this tower,” Tani said. “The occupants of the fortress had a disagreement with a neighboring Sultan. The tower was built using wood between floors, on the stairs and the roofing. The fire left it severely damaged, the structure almost collapsed. We’re lucky the fire did not spread to the rest of the fortress.”
The stairs brought them to an open landing on the third floor. The glass wall built on their left showed off a stunning view of the fountain and the front of the fortress.
“When did the tower gain the glass view?” Justina asked, having reached them.
Tani’s attention was on a glass door at an open space to their right. He smiled when the door opened, and a tall man wearing a security uniform waved at him.
“This front tower stayed damaged for a time. We—it was rebuilt in the early nineteenth century as a reception area for visitors. As architecture modernized, and the fortress’s work changed, we redesigned this part of the tower to serve the needs of the conservancy. The fortress has always served as a sanctuary,” Tani said, leading them to the open glass doors and Dante was surprised to discover a very modern security room.
The room was packed with security officers monitoring screens filled with forests, and swamps.
“Wow,” Thomas said, as eager to discover as his students. “What is this?”
“As I said before, we’re responsible for the forests around us. These last few decades, it has become important to monitor the conservancy’s lands for poachers and raiders in the forests looking for precious trees and herbs. The men and women you see at work watch out for unusual movements like human encroachment into forests, poachers hunting our herd of precious Asian elephants,” Tani said. “If you want to work here, expect action-filled days when we chase poachers off the conservancy.”
“Do you ever allow public tours in the forests?” one of the students asked.
“No,” Tani said. “We only allow need-based tours for research scientists. The team of wildlife veterinarians we have on staff run the tours. They take care of any animals that absolutely need support. They also help us learn how to monitor, maintain and increase the numbers of the endangered animals.”
“How do you get a job here again?” Justina asked.
“Ask Hera or Tom,” the students told her in answer.
“Fred is going to show you a little movie the security staff prepared to show you the amazing creatures we have on our conservancy,” Tani said, nodding to the tall man who wore the security uniform.
Fred urged the students to follow him to a small sitting area with a screen mounted on the wall. Tani stayed back to allow the students to move closer. Some sat on the four chairs before the screen, the remaining stood behind their friends, with Thomas and Justina joining them.
Dante took the chance to finally stand next to Tani.
The moment he leaned on the wall next to Tani, Dante cursed under his breath at the mad urge to lean in closer to Tani and take in a deep breath. Tani smelled so good: apple and citrus teased his senses. He started to cave in to the urge, but he didn’t get a chance. Instead, he found himself staring into Tani’s amber eyes, still distracting even hidden behind reading glasses.
Tani watched him for a moment, and then smiled.
“What?”
“Why did this tower really burn down?” Dante asked, as Fred dimmed the lights near the screen and started his video.
Tani folded his arms against his chest and shifted on the wall to face Dante.
“Why do you want to know?” Tani asked in a low whisper, his amber eyes visible even in the dim light.
“I had a moment when we were coming up,” Dante said, matching Tani’s low whisper. “It felt like I was once here in this tower. The stairs were made of wood, so was the roof…”
Dante remembered the stories from his grandmother’s journal.
“I think the fortress was used to protect women who did not want to live as slaves at the time. They made dyes and wove carpets here in exchange for a place to live. I…”
“You were Dane. You helped bring those women here,” Tani said, his voice filled with nostalgia.
“Hm,” Dante nodded, and then added. “Dane is not me though, he just looked like me.”
Tani chuckled and nodded.
“I know. Dane was different. He was a soldier born of a Christian woman and stolen from her at birth. He grew up into a masked janissary under a powerful sultan. We met while I was saving women lost in the forest. He helped me fight off deadly mercenaries, and we fell in love,” Tani said. “He later fell in love with a woman in the castle where he worked. She discovered his visits to our fortress. She sent a troop to burn the place, and stop Dane from helping the women. This tower suffered the worst of the fire they set. We sent everyone away to our other sanctuaries and emptied the fortress for a period.”
“He should have chosen to stay and help you,” Dante said, angry at Dane’s love for a vengeful woman.
“You’re angry,” Tani said, studying him. “Don’t be. Dane helped the women because we were together, not because he thought I was doing the right thing. When the woman in the castle found out about the fortress, he ended our relationship in the only way he could. He returned to who he was and delayed the troops so that the women were able to escape. I—”
“Your heart was broken,” Dante cut in, his anger rising at Dane’s betrayal of Tani. “He broke it when he married the woman who burned down this tower. You watched the wedding in the square, and then left after bidding him goodbye.”
Tani exhaled and shrugged.
“It wasn’t the first time,” Tani said, his gaze shifting to the video on the large screen on the wall. “I wasn’t helpless as you know. The fortress endured. It was a cycle I had to get through.”
“Tani,” Dante started oddly upset about the last part of Tani’s comment. As though he was resigned to all of Dante’s predecessors hurting him now.
“Stop thinking about sad things. Watch the video,” Tani said. “I’m really quite proud of Hera and Tom’s work with the Asian elephants. They’ve managed to increase their numbers. I’m going to need to expand their territory somehow, maybe you can help.”
Dante studied Tani’s face in the dim light and wondered where Tani hid his hurt. Where he took the pain of centuries of betrayal. He wished—
“Don’t look at me like that,” Tani said.
“Like what?” Dante asked.
“Like you owe me,” Tani hissed at him. “It is the last thing I want from you, Dante Arturo.”
“Then what do you want?” Dante asked.
Tani shrugged and moved away from him.
Dante breathed out and returned his attention to the video his students were watching. The screen was filled with a Bengal tiger climbing a large tree. The tiger was magnificent, but all Dante could think of was the scent of apples and citrus filling his nose, and the picture of Tani watching Dane get married as written in the journal.
When the video ended, the students clapped, and asked Fred a few questions before they had to move on to the next part of the tour.
Tani was cordial with the students. He answered questions with patience as he took them to the fourth floor of the tower where they discovered the reason why all the glass. A glass dome covered the top, creating an observatory complete with a very professional telescope.
They each got a turn at the telescope, and then had to move on to the next part of the tour.
Tani walked them through magnificent hallways with high arches built with brick, and exotic wood, the walls adorned with colored stone and tiles. They all marveled at a drawing room turned library, whose walls were decorated with gold calligraphy.
Dante watched Tani through the tour, barely asking his questions, his thoughts preoccupied with the past and the present. He wondered what Dane had seen walking these halls with Tani. He wondered what that idiot had thought giving up on Tani so easily for a woman who would dare burn this place down. Thinking about it made Dante angry.
“You must be hungry,” Tani said, pausing at a wide grand staircase that would lead them back to the ground floor. “We have gone through three wings of the fortress. Due to privacy reasons, we cannot enter the fourth wing. It is a residential area, and is where our staff lives. We are left with the courtyard…”
Tani frowned, looking over Dante’s students to the back.
“Alas, we cannot enter the courtyard for legal reasons,” Tani said, pointing to Hera and Tom who were holding their hands up and shaking their heads. “Or so I’m told. There is a renovation crew working on the archway leading to the front hall. Our tour will now head to the cafeteria. Hera and Tom will guide the way and you can get a warm meal.”
“Aren’t you coming along?” One of the girls asked. “You’re not leaving us, are you?”
Tani met Dante’s gaze and then grinned at the girl.
“I’m not leaving yet. I’ll join you in the cafeteria in a few minutes,” Tani said.
Hera and Tom took over, guiding the students away.
Tani frowned when Dante remained standing at the landing just watching him.
“Why are you still looking so sad?” Tani asked, his hands at his sides. “Is it because of what I said about Dane earlier?”
“I can’t shake it off,” Dante said. “Any of it. I thought I could, but hearing you talk about it…I think this burden is too heavy. What do you do with the pain? None of them could burn it away. They were human, pure.”
Tani held out his right hand to Dante. He sighed when Dante did not make a move to take his hand. So, he closed the distance between them. Tani removed the reading glasses he wore, so that Dante could see his amber eyes.
“How much do you know of our past?” Tani asked.
“We’ve loved each other seven times that I know of, and two that are not quite clear to me,” Dante said, remembering the stories in the diary written by his grandmother, plus the dreams he had experienced. “Each time, I have disappointed you and you’ve walked away with a broken heart. How can you look at me as you are right now?”
“How do I look at you?”
“With interest,” Dante said, frowning.
“You are interesting, Dante,” Tani said. “How did you come to know of our past?”
“A journal written by my grandmother,” Dante said. “She worried I would disappoint you too. My mother gave it to me when you left the vineyard. I read it and wanted to see you. I wanted to…”
“To what?” Tani asked, cocking his head to the side.
“I don’t know,” Dante said, shaking his head. “Now that you’re standing in front of me, I don’t know what I should do.”
Tani studied him for a moment, and then held out his right hand again.
“Are you going to take my hand, or aren’t you?”
Dante’s gaze shifted to Tani’s right palm. His gaze fixating on the thin bracelets shaped like Elderwood leaves. The leaves a mirage, hiding the true shape of the gold cuffs Tani wore because of him.
“Tani,” Dante said, his voice a whisper, as he looked into amber eyes. “I’m afraid that if I hold your hand, I won’t want to let go. Do you think you can accept me? I—I want to try being with you. I’m not like the past me.”
Tani chuckled and shook his head.
“You were always different, never the same. Also, I’m the one offering my hand, Dante. Will you take it or not?” Tani asked.
Dante placed his left hand over Tani’s palm, and gasped when Tani clasped his fingers tight.
“Close your eyes,” Tani said.
It was the only warning he got, then they were in a burst of gold light. The landing faded away and then they were standing in a large round room. The domed ceiling filled with paintings of a floating citadel surrounded by waterfalls. The floating citadel was so exotic, Dante thought it a fantasy, including the man painted in a corner sitting on tall throne like chair. He looked like Tani, but wasn’t, the hair was wrong, it was dark and long.
“This is the fourth tower in the fortress. This room takes up the third and fourth floor. It is not accessible by anyone,” Tani said, looking at Dante. “You have to be Ekho to enter here. Not even Hera and Tom know about it because there is no door.”
Dante nodded in understanding, looking around the room. The windows were high and tall. They allowed more than enough light into the perfect round room. The light showed off painted portraits mounted in intervals on the natural stonewalls. The furniture looked antique, the shelves filled with books, and leather bound journals. There was a desk with two chairs set next to each other. A long comfortable couch arranged by what he assumed used to be a fireplace.
“There used to be a bed in the middle,” Tani said. “I got rid of it in a fit of anger after a bad night.”
“You have a temper,” Dante said.
“You do too,” Tani said, with a shrug. “This is—was my room until the last century. I—I—, um, since you know what we have been to each other, I want to share my memories of you, not what others have told you.”
Dante nodded in agreement.
Tani rewarded him with a small smile then clasped his hand tight and led him to a painting to their right. Dante sucked in air when he took a close look at the hanging portrait.
It was Durante. The first one of him. He was dressed in the white robes he wore the day he married, and broke Tani’s heart. The one who started Tani’s hell.
“I still remember the day I met you clear as day,” Tani said, his voice low. “Your scent drew me to you. The pack of wolves chased you, you didn’t shout because you were afraid your family would hear and come after you. So, you ran…and stumbled through the barriers I made right into my protected forest. I had no choice but to save you.”
“Barriers?”
“Yes,” Tani said, reaching out to run his palm over the frame of the portrait. The dust on the frame disappeared, and Tani dropped his hand away. “You ran right through, I suppose you were meant to.”
Dante studied the portrait. A fine gold mist surrounded Durante in the portrait. He had thought it dust at first, but now that Tani had cleared it away, the gold mist remained.
“What is this?” Dante asked, touching the gold mist aura, tightly wrapped around Durante.
“It is how I see you even now,” Tani said. “I took after my mother’s people more than my father imagined. Ekho’s believe in having one true beloved. When we meet them, we share part of ourselves with our beloved. A sacred bond that cannot be severed. When I first met you, I knew, you’re my beloved. I tried to ignore it for a time after you left the forest. You were human and I am Ekho. We were from different worlds, it was better to wait for another time, another meeting. It is what our people do. But then, you returned holding food and concern for me. I—”
“You tried to scare him,” Dante said, remembering Tani letting go of his glamour for Durante in his dream. “You showed him your eyes, and your claws thinking it would make him run.”
“He called me a fox,” Tani grinned. “I let him think so, because it was easiest. I didn’t know how to explain my kind. My heart would not let him be alone, so I loved him as the fox he thought I was.”
“He ended up breaking your heart,” Dante said, shaking his head, remembering the night Durante wedded and Tani wore his gold cuffs.
“He needed immortality,” Tani said, with a small shrug. “A mortal’s life is short; a blink of an eye and it’s over. So, mortals form bonds through family. Their children meant to succeed where their ancestors did not, meant to push the family to the next era, the next century. His decisions were rooted to the ways of a mortal. Without him, you would not exist. He made the right decision. Because I love him, I understood him.”
“I don’t,” Dante said, shaking his head. “If he loved you too, he should have been loyal to you.”
“Don’t judge him so harshly,” Tani said, turning to meet Dante’s gaze. “Durante’s bloodline has lived one thousand years, moving from century to century. It is the best magic he could have forged.”
“Still—”
“You have two children,” Tani said, his words coming out sharp. “Your bloodline will see the next generation, and the generation after and so on. Who are you to judge him?”
“I did not marry Viola,” Dante said, needing Tani to understand his failure with Viola. “She is not my beloved, Tani. I—”
“You what?”
“I was careless when I was younger. I stayed with Viola and let her believe in a future together when I felt nothing for her. We made Zach and April, but I could never offer her more than financial support. We separated, for her sake and the children. I am not tied to Viola and I regret the pain our relationship brought to her.”
“Don’t regret the children,” Tani said, shaking his head. “Don’t do that when they both love you so much.”
“I don’t regret Zach and April,” Dante said. “I am however, a bad parent to them.”
Tani stared at him for a moment, and then turned to the portraits on the walls. He moved to the second one and shrugged.
“I’ve come to realize that parents are also people who make mistakes. Their children must learn how to live with the mistakes they make,” Tani said, smiling at the second man he loved. “He was Dante like you. Simple man who only wanted a simple life. He didn’t know what I was, nor think me a fox. We were happy for a time.”
“Until his wife chased you out of the settlement,” Dante said.
“Violet has remained a steady force in your life with an astounding variation of her name,” Tani said letting out a soft chuckle. “I hated her for a while, in time my hate turned to tolerance. I suppose without her, you would not be here.”
“Tani.”
Tani moved to the next painting, placing his palm over the frame, his power wiping away the dust.
“This was Duante,” Tani said, studying the painting of a man dressed in white robes. “He was a scribe. Quite dedicated to his work at a magistrate’s office. We were together for a very short time before he married and promptly chased me away. He made me so angry, I left his town and traveled the world, determined to forget him.”
Dante held his tongue as Tani went down the line of four more versions of him, until he stopped at the portrait of a masked janissary, a red strip over his mask. Tani lingered on this one, his gaze complicated.
“We have the same portrait at Artri House,” Dante said. “He is holding the mask and his eyes are full of sorrow. Why is he different for you?”
“His Violet burned my tower,” Tani mused. “He loved me enough to hide the existence of this fortress from his Sultan. I just didn’t understand his ties to his family were tighter than the ones before. He almost made me believe he would stay with me, until Violet burned the fortress. It is lucky he cared enough for my causes to help the women who found sanctuary here. After him, I almost gave up.”
“One of Dane’s daughters found my great-grandfather,” Dante said.
“Yes,” Tani said. “Someone pushed her to find him for his bloodline. I knew nothing of it. The family was consistent with the name Durante for two more generations, which is probably why they named you Dante.”
“My grandmother knew the original story,” Dante said. “The patriarch of the family told her.”
“I figured as much,” Tani said, stopping at the last portrait.
In it, Durante was dressed in a dated suit, probably nineteen twenty. He stood tall and held a cane.
“I ran away to East Africa after surviving him,” Tani confessed. “Even though he married Violet early, he kept us longest. I was a secret he enjoyed having. We stayed together until he turned thirty. Then Violet wanted to move to the Americas, so they left. I would have followed, but he insisted on having a clean slate when they landed in New York. A branch of his family stayed here, and the other moved to New York.”
Tani sighed, and let go of Dante’s hand.
“So,” Tani said, indicating the nine portraits on the wall. “This is the size of the baggage I carry. I have tried my best to let it go, but…there are moments when it leaves me feeling broken. The cuffs on my wrist probably have a lot to do with that.”
Dante stood in the round room, his gaze moving from portrait to portrait. The faces on each one similar to his, but not quite. Their priorities certainly differed from his.
“Tani,” Dante said, facing the extraordinary man who had loved his soul for centuries. “Let’s agree on three facts.
“Okay,” Tani said. “What facts are these?”
“First, I am not them,” Dante said, pointing to the portraits. “Agreed?”
Tani folded his arms against his chest, and studied him for a moment.
“Agreed,” Tani said after a while. “You were never the same, ever.”
“Okay, this is good,” Dante said, taking a step toward Tani. “Two, I am truly interested in you. And when I say interested, I want to kiss you and make love with you. What about you?”
Tani smiled wide, studying him for another minute before he dropped his hands to his sides and nodded.
“I’ve always wanted you, Dante,” Tani said. “Our physical attraction has never been the problem.”
“That’s good to know,” Dante said, relieved, he took a step toward Tani.
“I’ve heard about us from my grandmother’s journal, then a warning from a grimoire in our home. All of them ask me not to disappoint you. As a result, I ran here to find you,” Dante said.
“I thought you wanted a tour for your students?” Tani asked.
“No, I was hoping to find you because I don’t have your phone number or know where you live. I have to tell you, it breaks my heart when I listen to you talk about us. It sounds like you’ve given up on me,” Dante said, taking another step forward, stopping only because Tani raised his right hand as though to stop him.
“You’ve judged my decision on all the others,” Dante said. “I’m not them.”
“No, you’re not,” Tani agreed. “Your warlock education has given you more information than the rest. I’m grateful that I don’t have to explain what an Ekho is to you.”
“My Grandmaster is a solid jerk who pushed me too hard and turned me into an overachiever. I even know there is a Septum in the Ekho Realm, and what it has done to you with those cuffs.”
“Sounds like a man who understands how to groom a fire warlock,” Tani said. “You have one thing right too. I have given up on proving my choice. I was not going to meet you this lifetime. , This time, I was going to ignore you existed and return to the Ekho Realm forever.”
Dante nodded, taking in the sting of Tani’s words. He stepped back.
“Why did you approach me?” Dante asked. “If you gave up on me, you should have let the kara ot ravage our vineyard.”
“I should have,” Tani said, his answer stinging more than it should. “But I can’t. It’s an Ekho’s job to make sure that blight does not spread in the mortal realm.”
“So, you came out of obligation?” Dante asked, oddly hurt by the thought.
“Yes,” Tani said. “No matter what’s happened between us, I can’t see you in danger.”
Dante took comfort in that statement and took a step forward.
“Then, Tani, are you willing to give me a chance?” Dante asked. “My number three is: How do I show you that I choose you this time?”
“You—”
Dante waved to the portraits around him.
“I understand from your perspective that the evidence is clearly not on my side,” Dante said, scowling at the men on the wall with his face. “I’ve never felt so attacked just as I’m thinking of hitting on a guy I like for a date. This is a lot of pressure. So, give me a chance, Tani.”
Tani stared at him for a full minute, and then chuckled.
“I just laid out our less than stellar past,” Tani said.
“I still want my chance,” Dante said, pointing to all the portraits. “Each of them got their chance. They fucked up. I want mine.”
“We might not have enough time,” Tani started, then bit his bottom lip as though to stop himself from talking.
“I don’t care,” Dante said, taking another step toward Tani. It brought him close enough to take in Tani’s scent again. “I want my chance with you. My time with you, Tani. Can you give me that?”
Amber eyes met Dante’s determined gaze.
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