My eyebrow raised, immediately suspicious of where she might run off to without supervision. “Aren’t you coming in?”
“No. Just dropping you off at daycare.” Dom turned to meet my eyes now, the blue burning with a sky of rage. “Since you can’t be trusted on your own.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake…” I was ready to rip into her, to remind her of who exactly had been lying for two fucking months. But I knew what would get under her skin more.
“No. You’re coming in.”
“Funny, Viper. Didn’t know you had a tight five.” Dom’s jaw tensed as she smelled a challenge.
Shaking my head, I held her gaze. “Nope. It’s my fucking birthday and you owe me. You ruined the gallery. And you ruined the last decade of my life. You’re coming.”
Dom leaned closer. “Is that right? Why do you want me to come so bad? Want me to take you in the dark?” A terrifying laugh ripped through her chest. “I protected you. I’ve been protecting you fromme. Because once you beg for it, there won’t be any escaping me.”
I was tempted to look away, to give in to the fear and lust that flowed through me. But I held strong as she got closer.
“You want the truth so goddamn badly, Kiera? Here it is: you’ll run as soon as you see what I have in store for you.”
My nostrils flared, anger rushing through every part of me. I’d given in to her rage and let her push me.
I shrugged, leaning back in my seat as Leo and Spencer popped out of The Hollow door and waved. “Fine, then I guess we’ll just sit here in silence. And you can explain to your pals how you fucked-up their nightagain.”
Dom didn’t peel her eyes away from me, trying to break me. But as Leo and Spencer came closer, her breathing grew feverish. The ice between them hadn’t thickened, not yet. And Dom was at risk of drowning with each passing second.
“Fuck.” Dom grumbled. “Fine. Let’s go then.”
There was no point hiding the satisfied grin that took over my face as I grabbed the door handle and swung it open. Dom killed the engine and followed behind me.
We met Leo and Spencer halfway to the door, exchanging hugs and sloppy birthday kisses. Both of them looked amazing and they were sure to tell me the same. Despite how frigid it was outside, Leo wore a short sleeve forest green polo. Her tattoos stretched over her muscular frame, the sight of her biceps testing the cuff of the shirt making my body desperate.
And then I got a good look at Spencer. In a baggy, long sleeve, she’d left the shirt almost entirely undone, leaving just the bottom few buttons clasped. But her tight, black sports bra was in full view.
My mouth was watering, my body craving more of them.
Dom caught my eye, rolling her eyes at me as she took the lead toward The Hollow’s ominous cement entrance.
Leo and Spencer followed closely behind me, both of them checking out my ass. I could’ve sworn I’d heard them smack their hands together — some sort of no-so-gentlemen’s agreement being made.
As soon as Dom reached for the metal handle, my chest tightened. All the nerves of being back here swarmed my mind.
Stopping in my tracks, Dom turned to look at me and place a soft hand on my forearm. “No fight night. Just a party. A very big one.”
The warmth of her surprised me, not the usual burning that her touch inspired. Instead, it was like a soft embrace, and deep breath from her to me.
I’d seen tonight just how powerful she was, the mountains she could have moved when she wanted to redecorate. If Dom said there wasn’t a fight night, there wouldn’t be one. I was starting to think she’d sooner jump into the Gauntlet herself than let me see that shit again.
Even then, she had been furious that Spencer and Leo had let me see it. At the time I was convinced that it was her way of keeping me out, not wanting me to see her club.
Now, I saw it for what it was. A recreation of everything I’d scrubbed from my mind, Dom afraid of it all coming back to me before she could confess.
“Good, birthday girl?” Spencer leaned in, a soft hand on my lower back.
A nod was all it took for Dom to swing the door open. Even from up here, the bumping music deep in the Hollow shook the concrete walls. Dom took her hand back, instead heading down the stairs.
Each step made the house music pulse louder.
Even so, nothing could have prepared me for the crushing crowd down the long tunnel.
In a large open concourse, a massive dance floor had broken out. It was triple the size of the last time I’d been here. And a large stage had been set up on the far end, a DJ playing a set as the bodies in the throng pressed together.
