“Anyone want to tell me what the hell happened?”
Dominic fixes her with a hard stare. It’s clear to me he’s still pissed, that there’s reckless anger still simmering in his veins, but Mal doesn’t seem to register it.
“Not now, Mal.”
It’s a clipped, gruff response. Something I’ve rarely seen him give her. Usually, when she speaks, he’s all warm indulgence and brotherly annoyance, but I guess he doesn’t have the capacity for it tonight. Not when he still has violence swirling in the inky depths of his eyes.
Mal must realize it isn’t smart to push him any further, because she lets go of his arm and turns to me, her soft brown eyes assessing. “Are you okay?”
A mixture of guilt and concern has her brows furrowed. It tugs on my heart and brings my need to reassure her to the surface. I give her arm a gentle squeeze and nod. “Yeah. A little shaken up, but okay.”
Or at least I will be. As soon as I get home and scrub my skin raw, so I can no longer feel the man’s hands on me.
“I should have been there with you. I would have kicked the bastard in the balls.”
The image of Mal sinking her red bottoms into that man’s crotch makes me smile. I know in my heart of hearts she wouldn’t have hesitated to do that. Just like Dominic didn’t hesitate to put the man on his ass the second he saw his hands on me.
“Of course you would have.” I smile over at her, letting her see she doesn’t need to worry. “But I think what Dominic did to him was a lot more memorable than a kick to the balls.”
I chance a glance at him to see if he heard me, but he’s walking ahead of us now. Hands shoved in his pockets, spine straight as a board as he leads us away from the club. I have no idea where he’s going, but I’m not about to question him.
This night is just full of surprises.
Mal gives me an impressed look. “Shit. Did he actually hit the guy?”
“He punched him. Twice.” I’m whispering. Hyperaware of Dominic’s presence in front of us. I don’t know if he wants me to give Mal a play-by-play of his heroic efforts. “And then he choked him. I think the guy might have passed out.”
She stops walking. “He didwhat?”
Her shrill tone makes me glad I didn’t mention the part where Dominic threatened to find and kill the man if he ever thought about what it felt like to touch me. Just thinking about the dark thread of danger that was his voice when he said those words makes my knees weak.
“It was bad, Mal. He was so angry, and the guy just wouldn’t stop talking. Then the security guard came and instead of helping, he just made it worse. I had to stop Dominic from knocking him to the ground.”
“Nic? Our Nic?” She throws an astonished glance up the street to him. He’s stopped walking too. The picture of impatience as he taps his foot on the sidewalk, silently telling us to come on. Mal starts moving again, pulling me along with her.
“Yes. Why do you sound so surprised?”
“I’ve never seen him throw a punch.Ever.” She purses her lips like she’s searching her memory to make sure her statement is accurate. “You know how he grew up. He’s not exactly a fan of physical violence.”
That’s right. Somewhere in the back of my mind, where I store all of my knowledge of Dominic, a file on his tumultuous childhood pops up. It’s full of facts shared with me by Eric or Mal in their crusade to help me understand him better. The most important fact is highlighted in neon yellow: Dominic’s father was an abusive drunk.
An angry man who lied, cheated, and beat his wife and son every chance he got. The only good thing Gabriel Alexander ever did was allow his son to spend time at the Kent home. Where he learned not everyone used their fists to express their feelings and decided he would never be the kind of man who did.
But tonight, he abandoned all of that.For me.
“Right… I guess that kind of goes out the window when you see a woman being dragged into a dark corner by a creepy stranger.”
We’re catching up to Dominic now. Only a few steps behind him as he turns into a parking lot. His strides are quicker now. Smooth, quick steps that eat up the pavement as he approaches his car, a midnight-black Range Rover that matches his eyes. Mal leads me to the passenger side.
“Do you want to get in front, Sloane?” It’s a question, but she already has the back door pulled open and one leg in the car.
I hesitate. “Umm, actually, I think I’ll—”
What? Wait in a dark parking lot for an Uber?I’m not sure what I was going to say, but the thought of sitting in the front with Dominic gives me pause. The palm of my hand is still tingling from being exposed to his skin in the club. His scent is still clinging to me, reminding me of the firm, unforgiving planes of his chest. I’m not sure I can survive being in such close proximity to him.
Not when my heart is singing with overwhelming gratitude for him.
But the alternative is quite ridiculous, and apparently, Dominic thinks so as well. He prowls around the car, keys jingling in his hand as he approaches us, looking like an exasperated father who’s having the damnedest time getting his unruly kids in the car. Mal swings her body into the back seat and slams the door shut. I roll my eyes internally.She’s such a little coward.
