Stirring Attraction(19)

“They’ll adjust.” He set his mug on the nearest side table. “Why did Ted break up with you?”

“Because I leave the curtains open,” she said and he raised an eyebrow. But she knew he understood her words. This had nothing to do with concerns about Peeping Toms spying on them in the bedroom.

Not that she’d slept with Ted. Well, maybe Dominic didn’t need to know that piece.

“And because I can’t stop wondering where he is,” she added. “Not Ted, but—­”

“The man who attacked you,” he said.

“Yes. I want to know why he did it and when he’ll come back.” She gulped her wine to keep her voice from wavering over the last word.

“And Tom wanted what? Rainbows and sunshine?”

“Ted,” she corrected. “And he wanted kids. He’s ready to settle down, not coach me through ‘the aftermath.’ Plus, I think the cuts scared him.”

“He didn’t like your injuries? It looks to me like they’ll heal without much scarring. I can’t even see the one on your face.” Dominic’s voice was a low rumble. His gaze drifted lower, probably imagining the horrors hiding beneath her dress and wondering if their mutual friends had lied about the extent of her injures.

“Makeup,” she said. “And they’re not that bad. The one on my side is the deepest. But Ted never saw that one.”

His relief was palpable as he leaned forward and rested his arms on his thighs.

“But Ted has a reputation for fainting over a paper cut,” she added. “So even the mostly healed wounds on my face and arms were too much for him.”

His expression hardened. Add in his new beard and longer hair and Dominic now appeared downright menacing. “You know, I’m not very accurate,” he said slowly. “But I can still get off a round or two with a pistol. Where did you say Tom lives?”

“Ted. And I didn’t.” She raised her glass to her lips. After all this time, all the anger she’d steered his way for not coming back, why did his jealousy feel so welcome?

“One more question,” he said.

She nodded, hoping he’d tack on another after that. She wasn’t ready for him to leave her alone in the house surrounded by dark corners. His presence filled her space. It stole her concentration away from the what-­ifs that usually followed her around. What if someone jumped out at her again? What if there was someone hiding in her closet? Or behind her shower curtain?

“Why the hell did you paint your nails for him?” Dominic demanded.

Maybe it was the wine, or the possessive gleam in his green eyes, or his familiar presence, but she decided to give him the honest answer. Though she knew it might lead them down a path she wasn’t sure she wanted to travel again. But one that just might keep him in her home awhile longer.

“Well,” she murmured. “They had to match my panties.”

GODDAMN IT, I’VE missed her mouth.

Dominic cocked his head, hoping like hell she planned to down the entire bottle of wine. Not because he wanted to take advantage. No, he wanted an excuse to look at her a little longer. Her blond ringlets danced over her shoulders, teasing her dress’s modest scoop neckline. The garment he’d labeled “sinful” hugged her curves in a way that confirmed Good Guy Ted was an idiot. Add in her smart mouth and how the hell could Ted walk away from her?

How dare Mr. Good Guy leave her knowing she’s afraid of the dark and every corner of the house she grew up in? I should hunt him down and hurt him for that alone.

“Prove it,” he said, his tone level and even, as if he wouldn’t trade the use of his good hand to see her panties right now. “Show me what you wearing beneath that dress. Not because I brought you flowers—­”

“You didn’t. And you ran the ones I had down the disposal.”

“Show me,” he ordered, a smile playing on his lips at her sharp retort.

Dominic waited for her anger to rise up and surpass her fears. Any second now, she’d send him back to his rental car. Probably after she demanded to know where he got off asking for a view he’d refused to come home to for so long. If he was lucky, she’d let him keep the coffee.

She drained her glass and set it on the coffee table. “I’ll show you my underwear if you lose your shirt.”





Chapter Six


DOMINIC REACHED BEHIND his head and tugged on his T-­shirt. The rising fabric revealed his abdomen. And yeah, he liked the way her gaze followed the hemline. But his arm stilled, his bicep taut and his T-­shirt covering his hair. If he kept going, she’d see the damaged skin on his chest from where the bullet had entered.