Dominic stood there, his muscular frame towering over my five-foot-three body. His blue eyes locked onto mine, then widened as his gaze swept over me—from my bare feet to the towel wrapped around my damp hair. Heat rose in my cheeks, which is still flushed from the shower.
His stare drifts slowly up my body, pausing on my chest. A sharp tingle rushes to my nipples, hardening instantly beneath the thin fabric of my T-shirt. Mortified, I fold my arms across my chest, rubbing my palms against my shoulders as though warding off a chill that isn’t there.
Dominic’s eyes flare, then snap back to mine as if jolted from a trance. He clears his throat. “Sorry to interrupt. Can I come in?” I step back from the door, heat rising in my cheeks. “Sure… are you in pain? Is that why you’re here?”
“No, Elle.” Dominic steps further into my bedroom, his presence filling the space. “I wanted to tell you myself. We’ll be leaving in an hour.” I stand at the foot of the bed, only an arm’s length away from him.
“We’ll drop you off on our way back to Manhattan, like we promised. You can return to your life.” “Oh… okay.” Relief should wash over me. Isn’t this what I’ve wanted from thebeginning—freedom, my life back? Yet instead, I feel hollow, adrift, as though I’m being cut loose from something I didn’t realize I’d begun to cling to.
I’m realizing that I’m no longer the same woman who was snatched on her way home less than two weeks ago. What’s happening to me? Soon, I’ll return to my job—my career, the focus of my life, the thing I’ve sacrificed everything else for. Six months from now, my residency will be complete. My goal is finally within reach.
I should be relieved. Instead, caring for Dominic has forced me to confront how lonely my existence has been. Dominic frowns, as though he senses the turmoil inside of me. His hand rises, cupping my face with unexpected gentleness. My breath catches, eyes widening as he leans in, closing the space between us.
He whispers softly, “Elle?” As if to seek my consent. When I fail to pull away, he must have interpreted this as my silent acquiescence. His mouth claims mine, urgent, greedy, coaxing my lips open, as his tongue tangles with mine. Fireworks go off in my head, scattering every coherent thought. I never knew that a single kiss could be so stimulating. My one and only kiss at seventeen was nothing like this. There is simply no comparison.
My arms move of their own volition from across my chest, and reach up around his neck. Fingers combing through his silky black hair on his nape. While Dominic’s hands creep down my neck and find its way to my chest, cupping my breasts.
As he rubs my nipples between his fingers, I groan. There’s an unfamiliar stirring of pleasure between my legs. Dominic then grabs my buttocks and lifts me up, flush against his hard body. My legs wrap around his waist. The hard evidence of his arousal pressing against my most intimate part. Pleasure skyrockets through my body.
Through the cloud of pleasure, I hear a persistent ring in the background before he suddenly wrenches his lips from mine. We are both breathing fast. Dominic curses under his breath,then releases me and takes a step back before reaching into his pocket for his phone.
“What!” Dominic growls into the phone, his left hand raking through his hair. His eyes never leave me. I stand frozen, the backs of my knees brushing the edge of the bed. My legs tremble, weak as jello. I fight to steady my breath, to calm the frantic pounding of my heart. What’s wrong with me?
I can’t lie to myself. If Dominic hadn’t stopped when his phone rang, I know I would have lost my virginity today. There’s no question about it. My V card was almost given to a man whose men abducted me. Despite not being mistreated, this is the height of foolishness.
My attempt to stay detached crumbles. I try to remember Dante pointing his gun at me, forcing me to call my workplace so no one would come looking. He’s been apologetic since, and the men have all tried to make my stay here bearable.
I know that Dante was desperate to save his brother. If I’m honest, I envy the strength of their bond—something I’ve never known. Dominic’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts as he ends his call. “I’m sorry, Elle. That shouldn’t have happened. Forgive me.” His expression is unreadable. I remain motionless at the foot of the bed. “Be ready to leave in—” he glances at his watch. “—forty-five minutes.” Then he rushes out, as if escape from my presence was urgent.
It is only as the door clicks closed, that I allow my legs to buckle, slumping onto the bed. My heart shatters. I refuse to shed any tears. The life-changing pleasure that I just experienced.A mistake?How dare Dominic, try to minimize my first real taste of passion? Unless—he was unmoved by our encounter.
Then, maybe it is a good thing our paths will deviate from today. Hopefully, it never crosses again. This way, I’ll be saving myself from an eventual heartache. Because they always leave.
Chapter 8
~Dominic~
Shit! I couldn’t have managed the situation any worse. My fuckup is made evident by the gulf of space separating us in the back seat of the car thatis taking us away from the safe house.
We departed in a convoy of three armored black SUVs. Dario is in the passenger seat of the first SUV. Fabio, one of my personal guards is beside him driving. Jimmy is behind the wheel of the second vehicle, with Dante in the passenger seat and Elle and me in the back. Finally, the third SUV carries another two guards, Leo and Lorenzo.
When I opened the door for Elle to get into the vehicle earlier, she slid in wordlessly, without looking at me. Moving to the opposite end of the seat almost, leaning against the door.
That was an hour ago, and she hasn’t spoken a word to me since. I’m being ignored, it seems, in preference for the passing scenery outside the window. Being ignored is a novel experience for me, and I must admit that I don’t like it, one bit.
I know that Elle is upset with me, because of how I rushed out of her room after our passionate encounter earlier. But, she doesn’t understand that I did it to protect her. An innocent like her, doesn’t deserve to be dragged into my world. I have blood on my hands—albeit mostly the blood of men who didn’t deserve to walk this earth.
Elle’s chosen career alone indicates that she’s a nurturer. She probably dreams of helping people and changing the world.
I'm filled with remorse for taking advantage of her—after all she’d already gone through on my behalf. I’ve had my share of women in the past, but admittedly, with none of them did I have to battle to retain control.
Elle may attempt to hide her innocence and vulnerability. But it's obvious to me—despite her inexperience with sexual intimacy, she could arouse me more than any mafia princess ever could.
Dressed in a plain T-shirt and sweatpants, she is more beautiful than any of the women of the Cosa Nostra Family, who often parade around in their designer clothes, styled hair, and perfectly made-up faces.
The silence in the car is deafening. Broken only by the beeping of Dante’s phone. He turns to face me. “Everything is set for the meeting with the council later on today, brother.”
“Is there any progress with locating that bastard, Salvatore?” I growl. Elle turns to look at me,clearly interested in our conversation. “We’re working on it. So far, he’s been able to evade us.”
