A blush darkens her cheeks, and she looks away, focusing on something outside the tinted windows. But a sexy little smile curves her lips.
If we weren’t so new, I’d tell Domina how she’s changed me. Everything with her ismore. Every experience. Every sensation. Every emotion. Hell, if we burn so hot, the flame dies in a week, I won’t be shocked. But I don’t know that I’d survive it either.
Traffic grinds to a halt as we approach the soccer stadium. “The rally doesn’t start for another hour,” I say, checking out the cars around us. “How early can the public get in?”
Domina checks her phone. “The gates opened twenty minutes ago. We hired a local band to play until 10:00 a.m., then the speeches will begin.”
“Shit. We should have left an hour ago. Or more.”
Next to me, Domina frowns, her shoulders hiking halfway up to her ears. “Why?”
“So I could have walked the perimeter. Checked for holes in the vice president’s security. Anything to avoid diving into a three-ring circus, blind.” Digging the fingers of my right hand into my palm hard enough my knuckles crack, I check behind us again.
Who am I kidding? Unless someone’s following us in a fucking clown car with a flashing neon sign on top, I won’t see them.
It’s not until the sedan stops by the north-west entrance gate that I return my focus to the woman next to me. And curse myself for being a complete ass. She stares straight ahead, her jaw clenched tight. Even when I taped the blade to her back, her gaze held a faint glimmer of excitement. But now, there’s only fear.
“Domina, look at me,” I say, keeping my voice gentle. When she doesn’t move, I nudge her chin toward me. “Stay by my side, and everything will be okay. In a few hours, we’ll be back at the apartment—yours this time—and tonight, I’m taking you out on a proper date. Anywhere you want to go.”
“I just want to be safe,” she whispers.
Wrapping my arms around her, I press a kiss to her forehead. “You will be, baby. You will be.”
* * *
Domina
Leo presses his hand to the small of my back and guides me through the outer gates.
Just inside, six National Police officers stand shoulder to shoulder. I withdraw my ID and pass it to them. “Domina Sanchez. I am a member of the vice president’s staff.”
They scrutinize my badge for a full minute before a tall, bald National Police officer waves me through. “You may pass, buthemust be searched.”
Leo pulls his mobile out of his jacket pocket and holds it up. “This is all I’ve got on me.”
Another officer takes a thick, black wand and runs it up and down Leo’s body. It beeps at his ankle, and everyone tenses. The bald officer rests his hand on the butt of his gun.
“Relax,” Leo says, carefully tugging up the leg of his black pants. “Titanium pins in my ankle. I wear a brace. Check it yourself. No weapons.”
He has to pull off his shoe, sock,andbrace, then endure a very thorough pat down before the officers are satisfied.
“I’m sorry,” I say when we enter the tunnel to the locker rooms. “They did not need to be so rough with you.”
Leo takes my arm and draws me into an alcove next to a water fountain. “If it keeps you—and everyone else—safe, they can do whatever the hell they want to me.” His hands slide around my waist, tugging the hem of my blouse free from my skirt. Deft, calloused fingers skim my lower back until he finds the knife taped under my bra. “Ready?”
“Do it quickly.” I clench my teeth, and he pulls the tape in one fluid motion. It stings less than I expected, but my eyes still water.
His lips brush mine, firm, insistent, and I forget all about the pain. Leo twists his hand in my hair, tipping my head back so he can deepen the kiss. A flood of arousal makes my knees weak and my panties damp.
“Domina!” Rafael snaps from the end of the tunnel. “What are you doing?”
Leo sidesteps me, sliding the knife into his pocket as he moves. “Sorry, man,” he says with a shrug. “I thought we were alone.”
“You were wrong. And the vice president is waiting.” Rafael crosses his arms and stares at us, the harsh lights turning his expression from angry to livid. “Are you going to stand there all day?”
“We will be right there.” I make a show of tucking in my blouse, and Rafael turns, heading into the locker room and muttering the whole time.
“Is he always such an ass?” Leo asks as he opens my briefcase and withdraws his gun and shoulder holster from inside the lining.
