CHAPTER 12
Flame
Dominic squeezed his eyes tight and blew out a hard breath through his nose, his right hand dropping mine and running up my arm before sliding to my neck.
When his eyes shot open again, they were ravenous.
He closed the distance between us and I opened my mouth to stop him, but he was already there, catching my words with the sweep of his tongue against mine.
I gasped into his kiss, we both get up from our seat, stumbling.
His hands slide to my waist, pulling me closer until there’s barely any space left between us.
The heat of his body presses into mine, steady and familiar, yet tonight it sends a spark racing through my chest. The moment our mouths meet, something shifts.
The kiss deepens instantly, hungry and impatient.
My fingers curl into the front of his shirt as he moves me gently backward until my shoulders brush the wall.
His lips trail along my jaw, down the curve of my neck, warm breath sending shivers across my skin.
Then his hand slides along the side of my red dress.
There’s a sharp sound.
Fabric tears.
I gasp softly as the rip cuts through the quiet room. Cool air brushes my skin where the dress has split. For a moment he freezes, his hand still gripping the torn fabric.
“I didn’t mean—” he starts, breathing unevenly. His eyes flick down to the rip, then back to me. A crooked smile slowly appears. “Actually…” he murmurs, shaking his head slightly. “That’s a lie.” His thumb brushes the torn seam at my hip. “I’ve been wanting to do that all night.”
My heartbeat stumbles. “All night?” I whisper.
His gaze moves over me slowly, taking in the ruined dress, the way the red fabric slips slightly from my shoulder. “You walked out wearing this,” he says quietly. “And I’ve been trying to behave like a decent husband ever since.”
I step closer, sliding my hand up his chest until my fingers curl around his collar. “And how’s that working out for you?” I murmur.
His hands tighten at my waist, pulling me flush against him. “Terribly.”
So I kiss him again. This time he doesn’t hesitate. His mouth finds mine with a deep, familiar hunger, the kind that only comes from years of knowing someone completely. The red fabric rustles softly as it slides further against my skin, forgotten completely.
And neither of us seems to care.
“Come here,” he murmurs.
Before I can say anything, we are already down the hallway.
His grip is warm and firm, his steps quick like he’s been waiting far too long for this moment.
The bedroom door barely has time to close before he turns back to me.
In one swift motion, he lifts me and tosses me onto the bed.
I land against the soft mattress with a surprised laugh as I fall back against the pillows.
He stands at the edge of the bed for half a second, breathing hard, running a hand through his hair as if trying and failing to gather himself.
His eyes never left mine, gaze only broken by curtains of clothes flying between us.
When he dropped his boxer briefs, my mouth hung open at the sight of him and I swallowed.
Then he climbs over me. “You have no idea what you do to me,” he says quietly.
I raise an eyebrow, breath still uneven. “After all this time?”
A slow smile spreads across his face as he leans down, one hand bracing beside my head. “Especially after all this time.”
Then his lips find mine again. And then, with the slow steadiness of an expert, Dominic filled me, and we tumbled into hell together.
We both gasped, open mouths against each other, my hands on his neck and his forearms braced on either side of me.
He withdrew even slower before pushing in again, this time hitting deeper than before.
“Era…” He’s moving just a little faster.
I felt each thrust through the movements of his thighs, his back, his shoulders, and I wrapped my legs around him tighter.
I felt every inch of my body catch fire as I drained him.
Dominic took his time, his lips moving slowly over my skin, exploring me with the quiet confidence of someone who knew my body by heart.
I came first, tightening around him and fisting the edge of the blanket.
He followed closely, and I nearly lost myself again at the sound of my name on his lips as he fell apart.
He held me close while the world slowly settled back around us.
He was still inside me, and he kissed me softly, his eyes lingering on mine.
When everything finally grew quiet, he pulled me close against his chest.
Neither of us spoke for a while. His fingers traced slow, lazy patterns along my arm as the rush of the moment softened into something calmer, deeper.
And for a moment, it felt like nothing else existed.
* * *
Morning light slips through the curtains in thin golden lines when I wake. For a moment I don’t move. Dominic’s arm is still draped across my waist, warm and heavy, his breathing slow against the back of my neck.
Then—
Buzz.
The vibration slices through the quiet room. Dominic’s phone lights up on the nightstand. I glance at it and a message flashes across the screen.
Sophie: Meet you there.
My stomach tightens.
Carefully, so I don’t wake him, I reach over and pick up the phone. The screen glows softly in the dim room, the message sitting there like it’s waiting for me to read it again.
Meet you there.
I press the screen. The phone asks for a password.
Of course it does. For a second I just stare at it.
I’ve never been the kind of wife who checks her husband’s phone.
I’ve always believed that trust means not needing to look.
Before I can think any further, Dominic shifts beside me and I quickly place the phone back on the nightstand, pretending I never touched it.
His arm tightens around me as he wakes, pulling me closer.
“Morning,” he murmurs, his voice still rough with sleep.
Then he presses a slow kiss against my shoulder.
“We’ve got time before we have to leave,” he says, his lips brushing my skin again.
His hand slides lazily along my waist, pulling me closer.
The message is still sitting in my mind.
Sophie.
“Dom…” I start.
He looks up at me. I open my mouth, ready to ask the question forming in my chest but before the words can leave my lips, he glances at the watch on the nightstand.
“Shit.” He sits up suddenly, running a hand through his hair. “I have to be at work in an hour.”
The moment breaks. I sit up too, pulling the blanket around me. “We should probably head out then,” I say.
He chuckles as he swings his legs off the bed, grabbing his pants from the floor. “After last night?” he says with a grin. “You’re the one rushing us?” Heat creeps into my cheeks despite myself. He pulls on his pants, glancing back at me. “Let’s grab coffee on the way.”
The drive is quiet but comfortable, the way mornings with Dominic usually are.
We stop at a small café near the highway.
The smell of coffee fills the car as he pulls back onto the road, one hand resting casually on the steering wheel.
Eventually he pulls into the driveway of our house.
I’m about to say something, to finally ask the question that’s been sitting on the tip of my tongue since the phone buzzed.
But Dominic speaks first. “Oh, babe,” he says, turning off the engine.
I look over at him. “Some of the people from work are planning dinner tonight. They’re bringing their significant others.
” He glances at me with an easy smile. “I’d say wear that red dress,” he adds casually. “But… I kind of destroyed it.”
I huff out a small laugh and suddenly it clicks.
Sophie.
A coworker.
Meet you there.
Dinner tonight.
Of course.
I push the lingering thought aside.
“Sure,” I say with a small smile. “I’d love to.
” Dominic steps out of the car and walks around to my side, opening the door for me like he always does.
I take his hand as I step out. Together, we walk toward the house.
He unlocks the front door and lets me go in first, his hand brushing lightly against my back as we cross the threshold.
Everything feels normal, almost too normal. Dinner with coworkers, coffee on the way. A regular morning. I tell myself that’s all it is, just another day. But as I step inside, one thought lingers quietly in the back of my mind. Trust isn’t something that breaks loudly.
Sometimes it cracks so softly… you don’t hear it until it’s already too late.
The house is quiet when we step inside. Dominic barely pauses in the hallway, already halfway toward the bedroom.
“I’m going to be late,” he mutters, glancing at his watch again.
I lean against the kitchen counter, watching him move quickly through the room.
He disappears into the bedroom for a moment, then comes back out dressed for work, running a hand through his hair as he grabs his keys from the table.
“Sorry,” he says, walking toward me. Before I can respond, he pulls me gently toward him and kisses me.
It’s quick and warm. “Last night was worth being late for,” he murmurs with a crooked smile.
Then he presses another kiss to my forehead. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” I say.
He’s already halfway to the door. “Dinner tonight,” he calls over his shoulder. “Don’t forget.”
The front door opens and then closes. And just like that, the house goes silent again. My phone feels heavy in my hand. I scroll to Clara’s name and press call. She answers on the second ring.
“Oh my God,” she says immediately. “Tell me you and Lucien finally gave in to the tension and had some dramatic, life-changing moment. Preferably in the rain. Or against a wall. I’m not picky.”
I close my eyes. “Actually,” I say slowly, “the opposite.”
There’s a pause.
“…What?”
“Yeah.”
Another pause.
“Wait,” she says. “So you’re not at your office with Lucien right now?”
“I took the day off.”
“You never take days off,” Clara says immediately, suspicion creeping into her voice. “Era… what happened?”
I lean against the kitchen counter and stare at the coffee cup still sitting in my hand. Then I tell her everything. When I finish, the silence on the other end of the line stretches a little too long.
Clara finally exhales. “Wow,” she says.
“Yeah.”
“And Dominic just… played it off like nothing happened?”
“Pretty much.”
Clara scoffs.
“That’s what Dom does,” she says. “He reels you in until you’re comfortable… until you’re caught in the trap.”
My stomach twists.
“And then there’s Sophie,” I add quietly.
Clara doesn’t even hesitate.
“Yep. That’s the one.”
“What?”
“She’s the mistress.”
I let out a short laugh. “You don’t even know her.”
“I don’t have to,” Clara says confidently. “My intuition is rarely wrong.”
“She’s a coworker,” I argue.
Clara makes a noise that sounds suspiciously like please.
“Era.”
“What?”
“I’m just saying.” I shake my head even though she can’t see me.
“She texted him about dinner tonight with the office. ‘Meet you there.’ That’s normal.”
“Mhm.”
“Clara.”
“I’m just saying,” she repeats. “It smells suspicious.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose.
“Okay,” Clara continues, her voice shifting. “I have to ask the elephant in the room.” I already know what she’s going to say. “When are you going to confront him?”
The question sits heavy between us.
“I don’t know yet,” I admit.
“Era.”
“I need to know who the woman is first.”
Clara sighs softly.
“I want to see her,” I continue. “I want to look at her face and ask why.”
Another pause.
“Honestly?” Clara says finally. “Dominic is the one you should be blaming.”
“I know.”
“Yes, the mistress is going to hell,” she continues. “We’ve already established that but Dominic is your husband. He’s supposed to be your protector… your other half.”
She pauses.
“Not the man who makes you question your own reality.”
Her words land heavier than I expect and for a moment neither of us speaks.
Then Clara suddenly clears her throat.
“Anyway,” she says. “On a much more important note.”
I almost laugh.
“When are we getting mimosas? It’s been forever since we’ve seen each other.”
“Soon,” I say with a small smile.
“You’ve been saying that forever.”
“Fine,” she sighs dramatically. “But I’m holding you to it.”
I glance toward the front door where Dominic left just minutes ago.
“Yeah,” I say quietly. “Soon.”