The bartender walked into the car from the opposite end, her voice jarring me. “You okay, Miss?” Her brow was furrowed asshe examined the damage. Drops of whiskey still seeped down the mirror, shards of glass scattered around the car.
And then there was me, a complete mess in front of her. My dress was wrinkled, my underwear halfway down my legs. Black smudges of mascara outlined my eyes, and Dom’s shirt button still lay on the carpet.
Ignoring the racing in my chest, I nodded and wiped the makeup from under my eyes. “Yeah, thanks.” Then I noticed the stack of bills Dom had left on the counter. Hopefully enough of a tip to make the cleanup easier.
Not that there’s enough money in the world to make up for the humiliating scene she just walked in on.
I wasn’t going to linger in the aftermath. Instead, I pulled together what was left of my clothes and I hustled myself down the hallway, back toward our cabin car where Leo and Spencer would be waiting for me.
With each step, my mind raced with everything I’d done.
Dom wanted me. Which meant all of her nonchalance was bullshit. She did care.
And all of her avoidance had just been a shitty attempt at hiding her lie.
73
KIERA
I triedto straighten my dress out, wiping the smeared mascara from my eyes as I fled to the refuge of our train cabin, of the company of my saviors.
I’d been expecting a moment of reprieve, certain that Dom had crawled off to some desolate corner of the train to lick her own wounds. But to my surprise, she was sitting between Spencer and Leo with a fistful of cards.
She was completely nonplussed as her icy gaze flicked up to me. “You’re back.”
“So are you.” I narrowed my eyes, still riding off the adrenaline coursing through my veins. A minute ago, she had been a snarling beast stretching me to my very limit. And now, she was lounging on the couch like nothing had happened.
How fucking annoying.
Leo, on the other hand, immediately frowned with concern. “You okay, Princess? You look flushed. Are you dizzy?”
“I’m fine.” I muttered, not wanting to admit my vulnerability in front of Dom.
Still, as I flopped into the seat besides Spencer, Leo stood to grab me a bottle of water. “Drink up, please?”
“...Fine,” I grumbled, twisting the lid with a crack and taking a long, refreshing sip. While I killed the bottle, Dom got busy dealing out the cards, ready to move on from the fuss around me and get back to her game.
At least, that’s what she was pretending. But now that she’d taken me, there was no hiding from the truth. She wanted me. She wanted me so badly that she could hardly control herself.
And she knows that I know it.
“What are you guys playing?”I smirked, resting my head against Spencer’s shoulder.
“Poker,” Dom grumbled, slamming down the last of the cards.
Had it been this obvious the whole time that she wanted me?
Looking back, it felt so clear. Her grumpy little show, how much she hated watching me with Leo and Spencer. Maybe she was jealous. Maybe she couldn’t trust herself to stay in control.
But as I watched her check her cards, jaw clenched, another thought crossed my mind.
Maybe this was just a physical thing. A release, a venting of frustration. She loved to throw that fucking line in my face about her pleasure and her pain. Maybe I was just a vessel that she could use to make herself feel whole again.
“Have you ever played, Bunny?” Spencer murmured, draping her arm around my shoulders.
“Mm-mm,” I shook my head, nestling in closer to her.
“Want us to deal you in?” Leo asked, prompting an eye roll from Dom.
