I groan, burying my face in my hands. “That’s our cue. Time to go before this gets worse.”
The family cackles as we head for the door, Zosia waving wildly and my heart thunders. Not from the seductive voice that haunted me all week. From this.From him.
The engine vibrates low as we pull away, streetlights flashing across the windshield. For a while it’s silent, just the two of us breathing in the same space, but I can feel his eyes sliding over me, again and again.
“Dominik,” I mutter, shifting in my seat. “We’re going to crash and die before we even make it if you don’t focus.”
His mouth quirks. “Don’t be stuck up.”
“You’re about to miss a stop sign.”
He jolts, swears under his breath, and slams the brakes, both of us jerking forward. We burst into laughter, the sound bouncingaround the car.
“See?” I grin at him, shaking my head. “Arrogance andaccuracyaren’t the same thing.”
He glances at me, still laughing, one hand back on the wheel, the other shifting gears. I can’t help watching his arm, the flex of muscles, the way his hand moves from wheel to gear, steady and precise. Every so often his gaze cuts to me, trailing down, lingering where my dress rides just high enough to bare the line of my thigh.
Something inside me snaps. I catch his hand mid-motion, drag it from the gearshift, and press it high on my leg. Heat coils there instantly, sparking like I’ve opened a live wire we can’thold onto. He freezes, swallows hard, the sound audible even over the car.
I chuckle, low and wicked. “What? You’veliterallyhad your mouth on everything above this. You’re acting like it’s some holy pilgrimage.”
His fingers flex against me, somehow gentle and possessive in equal measure. He exhales, voice raw. “I’ll never stop beinggratefulto touch you.”
The words sink deep, too earnest and real, and I can’t look away. Every shift of his hand against me sparking in the dark.
I try to laugh it off, smoothing my dress as though that could ease the flush in my cheeks. “Honestly, the way everyone acted tonight, you’d think I was hideous the rest of the time. I just put on some makeup, that’s all. Still the same Kasia.”
“This version?” He glances at me again, eyes lingering before he drags them back to the road. “Everyone else finally sees what I do.”
Heat floods up my neck, my smile faltering, caught between flustered and disbelieving. “Dominik…”
He shakes his head, a laugh rumbling in his chest. “The girl who knocked me flat on my ass, I wanted to annoy her just so she’d do it again. When we were sixteen, I remember you wore some shorts thatdrove me insane, Piotr glaring like he’d swing if I blinked at you too long. Always you. Always this.”
The words land in me like a weight and a wing all at once, pinning and lifting, too much to hold. I don’t know what to say, so I just press my hand over his where it rests on my thigh, and the silence between us feels louder than anything we could say.
When we pull into the restaurant lot, my stomach is a storm. He kills the engine, steps out, and comes around to open my door but I can’t move yet. Not until I do this.
As soon as he pulls the handle, I lean across the gap, and with the door still between us I kiss him. Soft at first, then deeper, letting it catch fire. His hand braces against the roof as he tries to lean in more, but the damn door blocks him. He breaks off with a curse, breath ragged.
“Time to go in,” he says, voice low and unsteady. “Unless you’d rather skip dinner and move this date from the front seat to the back seat.”
The spark flickers hot inside me. It doesn’t sound like theworstidea he’s ever had. I shut the door fast, pulse hammering, and before he can lock it I pop the handle on the backseat and slide in. The leather is cool beneath my thighs as I stretch out across it, deliberately lounging like it’s the done thing.
Dominik leans in through the open door, shaking his head, laughing under his breath. “What are you doing?”
I prop myself up on one elbow, smirking. “Isn’t this what you used to imagine when we were teenagers? Me in those shorts, taking me on a date, thinking about the things we’d do in the back seat later? Things you dreamed about but never asked?”
He groans, motioning for me to get out. “We havea reservation.”
I kick off my shoes, sinking deeper into the seat. “Knowing you, we’re early.”
“Kasia…” he tries again, exasperated, but I grab the front of his shirt, tugging him closer until he stumbles.
He swears softly, then finally gives in, sliding in beside me and shutting the door with a thud. He stares at me in disbelief, grinning like he can’t decide whether to kiss me or scold me. “It was a joke. You’re out of your mind.”
I swing a leg over, straddling him, the cramped space forcing us close. His back presses into the seat as far as it will go, eyes never leaving mine.
My fingers brush against his chest, lingering at his open collar. “Oh no,” I murmur. “Youforgotyour cross tonight. That was a mistake, Nowicki.”
