Sarita stilled as Domitian shifted, his hand sliding to rest over her breast through the sheet. When he stopped there, his breathing deep, she decided he was still asleep and closed her eyes with another smile. As he'd promised, now that the danger was over, he was wooing her as he felt she wanted. She had only been awake a week, but he'd already brought her flowers and candy, and had even taken her on two actual dates . . . with her grandmother accompanying them.
It seemed Grandmother thought they needed a chaperone. For the first date he'd taken them to dinner at one of his restaurants. Sarita had actually enjoyed herself. Talking to Domitian was easy, and the three of them had laughed a lot as they ate. Sarita suspected she wouldn't have experienced that if they'd been by themselves. They wouldn't have lasted through the appetizers before they were rushing out of the restaurant to find the nearest safe spot to have sex and pass out. Instead, they'd stayed for hours, chatting and laughing before flying back to the island in the helicopter. After a chaste kiss under her grandmother's watchful eye, Domitian had left them at the cottage and departed for the big house where he, along with Lucian and some of the hunters, were staying until the situation on the island was resolved.
Their second date had been dancing, an overnight stay at his mainland home, and a trip to visit the graves of Sarita's father and grandfather the next day. It seemed Grandmother had mentioned to Domitian that dancing was the one thing she'd missed most besides her husband and son while a prisoner on the island. Domitian had decided that was where he would take Sarita on her second date . . . with Grandmother as chaperone. It seemed he wasn't above ingratiating himself with the old lady to win Sarita. But she hadn't minded. She'd actually enjoyed it. Her grandmother's presence had forced them to behave and Domitian had spent the night dancing with first one of them and then the other.
Her grandmother had truly enjoyed herself and so had Sarita. But, dear God, dancing with Domitian had been sweet torture. His body pressing against hers, his hands on her, his breath on her ear. He'd driven her wild and there hadn't been a darned thing she could do about it with her grandmother there. Not even once they'd got to Domitian's home afterward.
At first Sarita had been too stunned at the décor to think about her need for Domitian. She'd peered around at the potted plants, the overstuffed light-colored furniture, and the beautiful hardwood floors and had thought this was the home she'd always dreamt of. The one she'd planned to make for herself one day, and here Domitian had created it for himself. It had made her wonder about those nanos. Maybe they really knew their business. Domitian certainly seemed to suit her in a lot of ways.
Sarita heaved a little sigh and peered at the wall across from her as her mind whirled with the chaos that had claimed it for days as she considered all her options and all her wants and needs. She hadn't just been dancing and visiting graves this past week, she'd spent a lot of time helping her grandmother and Mrs. Dressler as they assisted the hybrids on the island. The two women had made it their mission to make sure that as many of them as possible could have normal lives.
For some that wasn't feasible. Like Thorne, their differences were too noticeable and would make their having a life approaching anything near normal unattainable. But for others it was possible, and the two women were determined to make it happen for those they could. It turned out they had the finances to do it too. It seemed the money Dressler had so happily been spending was his wife's. Elizabeth Salter Dressler had inherited a fortune from her grandparents before marrying Dressler, and later had inherited her parents' even more substantial fortune.
Now that Dressler was out of the picture, Elizabeth was taking back her power and her money. She'd reverted to her maiden name and had all her money moved so that El Doctor couldn't access it. She'd then placed nearly half of it in an account for Thorne, and intended to use the rest to help the hybrids.
For Sarita just a week of helping these people had been more satisfying than a year as a police constable, and with not even 1 percent of the stress so far . . . And that was part of her problem and the reason for the chaos in her mind. When she'd first woken up to find she'd been turned, Sarita had felt a little lost and so had instinctively turned to her old life for comfort. She'd determined she would stay for a week or so and then return to the safety and comfort of her home and job in Canada. Domitian had already said when they were on the little island that he would enjoy living closer to his sister and would follow her and woo her as she deserved, so she hadn't even considered him in the decision. But she had asked her grandmother to return and live with her, and her grandmother had jumped at the chance and seemed really excited.