I answer with a shake of my head, but both Alphas get sneaky in their argument, filling the air with their settling—and very tasty—scent.
“I can be home by morning,” Ryder adds.
And then I surprise myself by agreeing. “Okay. But I do want you to leave this chat, and I want Hendrix to go too. You’re both distracting, and,” I look at Dominic when I speak, “I need to speak with my lawyer.”
“The instant we finish, you know I am not your lawyer.”
“What are you?”
“That’s for us to discover together, isn’t it? I have myown thoughts on what I am to you, but I don’t want to burden you with labels.”
Hendrix chuckles, the rush of his breath against my neck feeling as significant as the when he stands and gently deposits me into the chair—sans his lap. “I know him better than I know myself, Simona. And trust me, he wants to learn everything about you—with a passion that burns if you get too close. But first, you need to ease his mind. He won’t be able to let go of why Ryder arranged this appointment. It’s one of the many reasons I love him.”
He leans down and presses a kiss to the top of my head. “You can tell me no, or you can let me know what you’d like me to make for dinner.”
It sounds perfect, the ending, I mean, but I do need to talk with someone about Brody. “Anything for dinner would be amazing. I’m not sure if I will stay the night, but I would love to see your home.”
Hendrix doesn’t say anything, but on the way past Dominic, he messes up his hair before swooping in low to kiss the rebuttal off his lips.
I blow out a slow breath as Hendrix deepens their kiss, and I deal with the flush of how good their love looks.
Dominic is glaring after Hendrix, and I suspect Hen knows, but he doesn’t stop to wait for an explanation. Instead, he shoots a wave over his shoulder before walking out the door.
Ryder is still on the screen. “Sin, you can trust Dominic.”
“I know.”
And I do know. Even before this morning, Dominic’s scent was the one thing that kept me steady in the chaos of my new life at Unity as well as some pretty dark times brought on by Brody.
I never knew who he was, but I had no doubt of his dependability.
“I’ll text you the second I walk off stage,” Ryder says with a wink before he turns to Dominic. They don’t say anything, but they share an awful lot in the way they look deeply at each other. The screen blinks to black, leaving me alone with Dominic.
He gets up, collecting the glasses and putting away his Scotch. The gentle peace of his presence is soothing, and I don’t need to ask what he is doing; he’s moving us into a different mindset. When he returns, he has a carafe of coffee for himself and a small pot of tea for me.
“I took the liberty of adding cream and sugar,” he says, placing a small table in front of me, along with the teapot and cup.
“That works.”
When he sits this time, he has a different look in his eye. If anything, it is comforting to see his professionalism shining bright. He stays reclining, giving us both lots of space. “We didn’t meet properly. I am Dominic Torres.”
And I think we both know a handshake would feel completely absurd, so neither of us move an inch. I want to though; I want to crawl up on his lap and fall asleep surrounded by his scent.
“Simona Vanderling.”
“Or, Sin, it seems.” A gentle reminder from him before he takes a sip of his coffee and opens up his notebook. “The questions I ask might come across detached, but that stems from me acting as your lawyer. If they are too much to answer, simply wave me on. If you need me to shift my persona to one more supportive, you only need to ask.”
“Thank you.”
Dominic has an intensity to him. It’s hard to describe but it feels all-consuming the way he looks and listens to me. I feel him watching, cataloguing, and learning every time we interact.
“Shall we start?” he asks, his voice starting to lose some of its inflection as he adopts a more serious approach.
I nod, and together, without prompting, we both inhale deeply. I focus on the way he holds his pen rather than his face, hoping to make this easier for the both of us.
“Ryder was concerned about a couple of things. Namely, the Alpha who isolated you from the group you were with accused you of attacking him once the security guard and Ryder were able to get inside the locked room.”
I wait for Brody’s bark to hammer submission, but my thoughts remain as free as a bird. I look questioningly at Dominic, and I can’t read him. He’s shut off a part of him, but he taps his finger on the hand I was watching as if he knows I need focus.
