A/N

This was written for Marina at Written in the Stars. Her request: Dante + uniform + handcuffs.

Good combination, don't you think? LOL

BEAUTIFUL ANGER

Lulu strode up to the bar and threw her purse down angrily. Luke raised an eyebrow at his daughter and silently took a glass from the shelf. He poured a generous amount of scotch and slid the drink to Lulu. He tipped his own glass against hers, and they both threw back the shot at the same time. Luke rested his hands on the bar.

"My angel has fire in her eyes this evening," he drawled. "I hope I don't have to break any kneecaps. My New Year's resolution was to become a pacifist."

Lulu rolled her eyes and tugged off her jacket a little more forcefully than necessary. "Let me know how that works out," she muttered, sliding onto the bar stool.

Luke gave his daughter a cheeky smile and raised his hands in surrender. "Want to tell me about it?"

Lulu sighed. "It's nothing you want to hear about." Luke simply looked at her, and she sighed again. "Okay, fine. Dante went to New York tonight."

Luke stuck his tongue in his cheek. "I can see how that would bring out your Irish, love."

Lulu glared at her father. "He was attending an awards ceremony, Dad. In his honor. And he didn't even tell me about it. I only found out because Mac happened to stop by the office today, and he asked me why I was still here. I mean," Lulu hopped off the stool and stalked back and forth in front of the bar, "I spent months protecting his identity, and then he doesn't even have the decency to invite me to what is probably the most significant moment in his entire career?"

"Maybe he thought you'd rather not witness him receiving an award for putting one of your oldest friends behind bars," a voice said from behind Lulu.

She whirled around. "You have some nerve," she accused. "Why wouldn't I want to support you? Haven't I already told you that I love you? Why on earth didn't you think I cared enough about you that I wouldn't want to see you get such an incredible honor? Sonny hasn't been convicted yet, and even if he does go to prison, there is nothing I can do about that. I came to terms a long time ago with the fact that one day, Sonny might have to pay for his crimes." Lulu turned back to the bar and poured herself another shot as Dante came closer. Neither noticed as Luke silently stepped away and walked out of the Haunted Star and locked the door behind him.

"Lulu," Dante said, "I would have loved nothing more than to have you there with me." He sighed in frustration and shrugged off his coat, throwing it on the back of another bar stool. "I really just didn't want to put you through any more turmoil than I already have. You've been like a rock throughout this entire thing, and the last thing I wanted was to see you upset over me. Again," he added, and turned Lulu gently to face him.

She groaned. "I'm proud of you, you moron! When is everyone going to stop treating me like a fragile piece of glass?"

Dante rocked back on his heels. "I will never make that mistake again," he vowed. "Trust me," he added under his breath. Lulu cocked her head.

"Excuse me?" she asked sweetly. Too sweetly, he thought.

"I just mean, that, you are obviously, not fragile," he said, gesturing to her. She was standing tall with her hands on her hips, and he felt a surge of warmth as he looked her over. She was wearing a short black dress, black tights, and black stiletto heels. Her hair was curling around her shoulders, and her eyes glared at him. He laughed to himself as he realized that angry Lulu was just as gorgeous as calm Lulu.

"You're gorgeous," he told her, and grinned. She pressed her lips together and shook her head.

"Stunning, even," Dante added. "An angel among mere mortals." Lulu couldn't control the laugh that bubbled up, and she softened, really looking at him for the first time since he'd come in.

He was wearing a uniform.

She'd never seen him in uniform before.

He'd recently gotten his hair cut, and while a part of her missed the tousled look on him, he was as sexy as ever. Her mouth watered as she took in the pressed shirt that hugged his muscular frame. He hadn't loosened his tie yet, which surprised her.

Dante caught her staring and winked arrogantly. She threw up her arms in frustration and swept past him, fully intending on stalking right outside, when he caught her arm and stopped her. She gave him a look over her shoulder, and his eyes smoldered back into hers. She felt herself weakening, and tried to remember why she was angry.

"I'm trying to remember why I was angry," she murmured, as Dante tugged her arm to bring her up against his body. He laughed and spread his other hand against the small of her back. He bent his head closer to hers and stopped a breath away from her lips.

"Let me know when you figure it out," he whispered, and pressed his lips to hers. She tried to stay motionless, but it was inevitable. Her hands came up to clutch his arms, and she felt his biceps flexing through his shirt as he moved his arms to hold her more securely. She had a flashback of the time she'd walked in on him as he was working out, and the remaining blood in her brain went south as she remembered how he'd looked lifting weights. She moaned slightly and deepened the kiss, curling her tongue around his and biting softly on his bottom lip.

Dante growled and pulled her even more tightly against him. He began to walk, and they circled around the bar, stumbling a bit as they kissed madly the entire time. They ended up in the storage room, and Dante opened his eyes slightly to take in his surroundings. He smiled inwardly when he saw the heavy-duty baker's rack standing against the wall. He pressed Lulu against it as he slid his hands along her body, cupping her breasts, curving along her waist, and going further down to grip her backside firmly. She let out a gasp as he lifted her onto one of the shelves, and spread her legs to allow him to stand between them. He broke away for a moment as he slid his hands along her the outside of her thighs. Her dress had hiked up when he'd lifted her, and his mouth watered as he looked down and saw the garter connected to lacy thigh-high stockings.

"Do you have any idea how sexy you are?" he murmured, looking back up. Her lips were slightly parted, and plump from his kisses, and she looked back at him with love and lust in her eyes. He slid his hands back around her small waist and crushed his mouth to hers once again. It was feverish, and intense, and Lulu lost all coherent thought as his tongue danced with hers. As Dante slid his hands up, he stopped just at her breastbone, taking her arms and drawing them above her head. He continued to kiss her as he curled her fingers around the top bar of the baker's rack. Lulu heard the small click, but it didn't register until she tried to move her arms back down to Dante. Her eyes flew open, and he laughed sexily against her mouth. Looking up, she saw the handcuffs holding her arms up, and her gaze went back to Dante. He was staring at her hungrily, and she swallowed. What the hell, she thought. Lulu tilted her head and smiled slowly.

"Well, now what are you going to do with me…Officer?" she purred. Dante stood before her, still fully clothed but distinctly rumpled. He stepped closer and she wrapped her legs around him, biting her lip as his arousal pressed against her fully. He placed his hands back on her thighs, stopping at the skin just above the lace of her nylons. He bent low and pressed his mouth to her throat, loving the feel of her pulse scrambling against his lips. He couldn't stop touching her, and his hands moved back up her body. He let them rest along the sides of her breasts, and flicked his thumb over her nipples, already hardened through the fabric. He moved his mouth to her ear as he continued to stroke her.

"Lulu Spencer," he said, his voice low and raspy, "you have the right to remain silent." He left her breasts and moved his hands back down between them, unzipping his pants and positioning himself at her entrance. He brushed lightly against her with one hand as he pulled her flimsy panties out of the way, and nearly lost control as he felt her wetness. "But I really hope you don't," he whispered, hot against her ear, and he drove into her. Lulu's breath hitched as he filled her, and she crossed her ankles behind him, and arching her back to press against him. He brought his mouth back to hers, and his hands raced over her body, from her backside, and up to her breasts before stroking up her raised arms. He curved his hands over hers, still locked in place, and thrust into her, deeply, urgently, over and over. She felt the release building, and couldn't hold in the cry as she felt him explode inside her. She came at the same time, quaking around him, and he slid his arms around her, burying his face in her hair.

When he finally broke away, he looked into her eyes and smiled. She smiled back sleepily. Lulu tried to move, and realized she was still held in place by the handcuffs. "Are you going to let me out of these?" she asked casually.

"Oh, I think so…" Dante grinned. "Eventually."