Chapter 14
DOMINIC
“He doesn’t want to work with us,” Ethan says.
“I heard that,” I snap, trying to keep my voice level for Izzy’s benefit. She looks smoking hot, sitting across from me in a form-hugging black dress, tempting lace across her cleavage, showing me her curviness with a casual sexuality that drives me wilder than any big statement could.
“He said he’s passionate about the project,” Ethan goes on.
“McLaughlin is our key to expansion,” I hiss. “And he’s not just saying he’s passionate. I’ve met the man countless times. He is passionate. If I’m wrong, then I need to find a new profession.”
Izzy looks up at me, chewing her lip. I wonder if she’s annoyed, I’m spending our date on the phone. I can’t blame her. This was supposed to be something just for us.
“He didn’t outright say anything,” Ethan goes on. “But I got the impression he was afraid. He mentioned that working with us might be bad for his health. Maybe Pike got to him somehow?”
“How would Pike even know?” I snap.
“Hell, boss. He does have a family member working with us—”
“It’s not that,” I cut in. “Number one: we don’t even know if your theory is true. Number two: if it is, there are other ways it could’ve happened.”
Ethan sighs. “I’m sure you’re right. Just thought you’d want to know. He was so damn scared. A complete one-eighty. It’s strange.”
I slip the phone into my inside jacket pocket, trying not to outwardly show my annoyance. Izzy takes a sip of her champagne, her hand trembling slightly. She puts the flute back in the holder and presses her hands together as though she’s praying.
She isn’t close with her uncle. Her uncle was openly hostile to her at the meeting.
Plus, there are the files on that memory drive I gave her, which are a bigger find than the name of a politician we’re working with.
If she was going to betray me, why not go for the most valuable piece of information?
No, it’s bull. My father’s voice attempts to whisper into my head, but I ignore it. Why can’t I have a little happiness for once?
“So,” I say, smiling. “Are you ready to be wined and dined, Songbird?”
Her eyes are so beautiful, so full of emotion and anticipation. “I can’t wait.”
Soon, we’re walking down a private passage. She’s got her arm linked through mine, her warm body pressed against me. My savage instincts stir, but I manage to tame them… for now.
I’ve hired a rooftop restaurant, covered in rose petals, with lanterns lit all around and stunning views of the city below.
A table sits in the center, with more champagne waiting in a bucket.
Izzy walks to the edge of the rooftop as if in a dream.
With the city behind her, her silhouette is majestic, all curves and sensuality.
I swallow as my dick twitches while my heart skips a beat. She looks at me over her shoulder, pouting.
“I see you staring…”
I chuckle and walk to the table, pulling out her chair. “I was just waiting for you to give me the chance to be a gentleman,” I tell her.
She joins me, dropping into the seat. I brush my hands over her shoulders, then sit opposite her. I take the champagne, pop the cork, and pour us both some bubbly. I’m doing my best not to think about work, the calls I’ll have to make later, the arrangements and rearrangements.
Be careful going into business, any business, my father told me once. It’s not as freeing as you might imagine.
“It’s so beautiful here,” Izzy says, looking around at the petals and the lanterns. “It’s the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me.”
“I’m glad,” I tell her. “You deserve it.”
She stares into her flute as she sips.
“You don’t agree?” I ask, reading the look on her face.
“Huh?” She puts the flute down. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it’s hard to take compliments. Or gifts.”
I reach across the table and tuck her hair behind her ear, then gently touch her earlobe where her new earrings proudly gleam. “These gifts look perfect on you.”
She tilts her head toward me, as if seeking my touch. “Thanks.” She sits back. “How do we even order here?”
I take out my phone. “I shoot off a text, and they bring it up. I thought it’d be better than all the noise of a restaurant.”
“Fewer people snapping photos, too,” she murmurs, turning away.
I stand quickly. Walk around the table. Take her by the arms and pull her to her feet as gently as I can with all this hunger and adrenaline pumping through me. She gasps as I pull her to me.
“It’s not shame, Izzy,” I say passionately. “If people see you with me, your life changes. Suddenly, you’ve got journalists outside your door. You’re known for being on my arm, not for the amazing person you are. Perhaps that sounds like bullshit. But it’s the truth. I swear…”
On Liam, I almost say, but she doesn’t even know he exists.
“Hey, it’s okay,” she says, placing her hand on my chest and leaning back. “Really.”
“Really?” I groan, guiding my lips to hers.
She kisses me passionately, clawing onto my arms, sinking her touch in like she never wants to let go. I match her fire, pushing my body against hers so she can feel how badly I want her. When her hips chase friction, twitching like she can’t help it, I have to pull back.
“Is something wrong?” she asks.
I kiss over her cheek, to her ear, my voice husky. “If we keep going, I’ll lose control. I’ll lift you onto this table and fuck you like a madman. I’ve never been this hard like this for anyone, Izzy, ever. Fucking hell…”
I almost roar when she reaches between our bodies and presses her warm hand against my pants. My cock flares to life, the tip pulsing as precome leaks out.
“Whoa, you’re not lying,” she murmurs, staring up into my eyes.
“You’re dangerous, Songbird.”
She blinks, turns away. “Maybe we should order.”
Did I say something wrong? Or perhaps I need to stop overthinking things. The situation with McLaughlin is getting to my head.
She looks at me with that excited glint in her eyes. “Everything, sir,” she murmurs. “I want everything.”
Under the table, my cock twitches like a starving animal.
“Is dating one of your employees as awkward as you thought?” she asks, cutting into her steak.
My knife stops mid-cut, a screeching noise showing how jarring the question is. I put the knife down, looking at her.
“Sorry,” she says, her cheeks going pale. “Oh my God, Dom. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“It’s fine,” I grunt.
She darts her hand across the table and grabs my arm. “It’s obviously not fine. I wasn’t even thinking.”
“It’s just until you said that, I wasn’t thinking of it like that. I don’t see you as my employee. I don’t see this as some sleazy boss taking advantage of his new hire. But hell, from the outside—”
“Fuck the outside,” she snaps heatedly. “Seriously, Dom, look at me. Hear me. Please.”
I do as she asks, staring into her honest, kind face.
Her cheeks have flushed red, and her hair is mussed from where she’s been running her hand through it.
All night, that cleavage has been driving me wild, but now, it’s almost too much.
Like freeing those juicy tits and sucking her pert nipples would be enough to distract us both from this new angle.
“I was trying to be funny, lighthearted,” she murmurs. “Which, in hindsight, is ridiculous. Blame the champagne!”
I smile, shaking my head. “It’s my fault. That call… I should’ve waited until after our date to return it.”
“That bad?” she asks quietly.
“It’s not good.”
“I hope no one is hurt?”
“Hurt?” I say. “Why would you think that?”
She shrugs. “You got really serious on the phone. I thought there might have been an accident or something.”
“No, thank God,” I reply. “No one was hurt. Someone backed out of a deal, making my life harder. That’s all.
It’s all part of the game.” I lean forward, fixing my gaze on her.
She responds immediately, sparked up, and receptive.
“To answer your question, I feel a little awkward about dating an employee. But when I look at you, with the city as your backdrop, in that jaw-dropping dress, I’m thinking it might have its perks. Like telling my dream girl what to do.”
“Oh yeah?” she asks, her breathing picking up, chest rising and falling rapidly.
Even that is enough to send my mind to wild places. I think about her body moving like that when I’m inside her, plunging deep, over and over, harder and faster…
My rival’s niece, the woman I’m already addicted to.
“Then maybe you should tell me where we’re going after this date,” she says, looking at me suggestively.
I love the confidence on her face, mixed with a tiny glint of uncertainty in her eyes. But mostly, she’s fiery, ready.
I reach across the table and cradle her face in my hands. “I’m taking you home.”
“Yeah?” She nods, eyes bright.
“Yeah,” I growl. “And you’re going to sing for me, Songbird.”
She lets out a little breathy moan as if she’s struggling to wait. I know the feeling.
My apartment is closer than hers, actually, but I haven’t had time to take down the pictures of Liam. And I don’t feel like going into that situation right now.