3. Lena #2
“I know it’s hard to breathe,” he says, guiding me forward. “Just a bit more. You’re doing great. The car’s right ahead.”
I glance ahead and spot a vehicle parked where no cars should be.
“You left it running? Headlights on?”
“No. That’s Leo. He’s waiting for us.”
Leo, Dominic’s right-hand. Former military. Quiet. Efficient. The kind of guy who gets things done without needing to be asked twice.
We reach the car. Dominic opens the back door, and before I can protest, he gently nudges me inside, no discussion, no room for argument.
He doesn’t care that there’s another door, or that I’m perfectly capable of getting in by myself.
Then, without hesitation, he slides in right after me, pressing close, forcing me to shift across the seat.
He doesn’t seem the least bit bothered by how close we are.
In fact, he doesn’t even pretend to make space.
His body heat seeps through every layer I’m wearing.
And then his scent hits, woodsy, dark, dangerously intoxicating. It lingers. Impossible to ignore.
I try to move, to create even an inch of space between us. No luck. The seat feels smaller than usual, and he... he doesn’t budge. Just sits there, completely at ease, like it’s the most natural thing in the world for me to be pinned against his side.
He’s wearing tailored black trousers and a black shirt, unbuttoned just enough to be dangerous.
His hair’s a mess from the run, falling over his forehead like he couldn’t care less.
There’s a suit jacket tossed on the front seat.
Expensive, naturally. Probably left behind after whatever club he wandered out of tonight.
Leo drives off, smooth and silent. Dominic leans back, rubbing his eyes like he’s trying to make sense of what the hell he just walked into.
“Jesus, Lena. What’s with the blonde wig? Looks like it lost a fight with a vacuum cleaner.”
I glance down. Yep, still gripping that monster of a wig in both hands. With a grimace, I shove it behind me on the seat. Dominic chuckles, low and amused. Then, without asking, he brushes the cap off my head and runs his fingers through the mess of hair I’ve tried—and failed—to trap underneath.
“You okay?” His eyes scan my face, and something in the way he looks at me makes my throat tighten.
“What the hell were you doing in there? Please tell me you didn’t just drag me into something illegal. You do know there are cameras everywhere, right?”
I try not to get lost in his eyes. Or in the way his fingers keep drifting through my hair, slow and careless, like he has all the time in the world.
“I was doing my job. Journalist stuff. Nothing illegal.”
I keep my voice even, but my heart’s racing like I’m still running. Dominic huffs, a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sigh.
“That’s it? After all that, that’s what I get?”
He shakes his head, half amused. “I should give that guard a bonus. Or hire him. Not sure how he’s walking away from our little break-in.”
“Thanks,” I mumble. “And for the record, he’s a good guy. He didn’t do anything illegal. Neither did I.”
He raises an eyebrow, clearly not buying it.
“You keep saying that, but somehow, I’m always the one dragging you out of trouble.”
I narrow my eyes at him. Is this a lecture? Seriously?
“Oh, there was my hero.” I cross my arms. “Don’t worry. It won’t happen again.”
He flashes that smile, the one that flips my stomach in the worst possible way.
“Promise, Sassy? You’re going to start behaving?”
I don’t even blink. “Not a chance.”
I smirk. “Next time, I just won’t call you. Well, I didn’t call you this time either. Or two days ago. You just keep showing up. And now Lexi’s dragged you into it.”
I take a deep breath and let it out slowly through my nose. “You don’t get what I do. You live in a crystal tower.”
Dominic is smart, powerful, and capable. But he’s still a man. A rich one. A playboy who sees the world in broad strokes, never bothering to look beneath the surface. Trusting him to really see me, to understand me, still feels like a risk.
Anton has done terrible things to women.
And yet, he’s a regular at Dominic’s clubs.
When I followed him in once, the way he moved through the room, the way people looked at him…
he didn’t just fit in. He belonged there.
And maybe that’s what terrifies me the most. Anton always gets away with it.
Always. In their world, money and loyalty go hand in hand.
A world that protects men like them and forgets women like me.
I feel Dominic tense beside me. I’ve pissed him off. Predictable.
“You know, Sassy...” he says, voice flat. “There’s a difference between bold and arrogant.”
I meet his gaze. “Stop lecturing me.”
He leans in, his voice dropping low, calm, and laced with that quiet intensity that steals the air from my lungs.
“And you need to stop being so damn stubborn.”
I’m trapped. Between him and the car door.
Between the urge to shove him away and the part of me that doesn’t want to move at all.
Between anger… and something else. Something electric.
Reflexive. Dangerous. Something about him scrambles my signals.
The way his eyes lock on mine, the heat coming off him…
the fact that he’s so close. It’s too much.
And I hate it. I hate how he makes me feel off balance, exposed, always on edge.
Like my body’s reacting faster than my brain can catch up.
I don’t even know what I want more, to challenge him or to shut him down. But I do know one thing: I can’t ignore him.
“I don’t need saving,” I snap. “And I’m not your victim, okay? Stop looking at me like I’m some fragile thing waiting for your hero complex to kick in.”
Dominic bites his lip. His eyes narrow.
“Well, that’s one hell of a thank-you,” he says. “You’re welcome, by the way.”
He shakes his head slightly, like he’s trying to hold something back, too.
I press my lips together, forcing down every sharp comeback on the tip of my tongue.
Today’s a win. I have the USB. For once, things went as planned.
No chaos, no one bleeding, no one twisting my wrists.
I might actually be close to taking Anton down. Now I just need to get home.
“Look, Dominic…” I take a breath. “I’m sorry you had to come out here. Maybe you were asleep.”
It’s the first time I’m being honest with him. It’s not like I’m happy for dragging him into this again. But maybe… maybe it’s what he’s been waiting for, because for a second, his face softens. Just a little. But of course, my mouth doesn’t know when to stop.
“Though, judging by the way you’re dressed, I doubt you were in your bed. Maybe someone else’s?”
God. Did I just say that out loud? Awesome. Now I sound jealous. And the worst part is, I actually want to know whose bed he was in.
One corner of his mouth lifts, amused, not even trying to hide it.
“Is that a real question, or are you practicing your sarcasm on me?”
Still stuck on the image of him tangled in someone else’s sheets, I shift a little closer and breathe him in before I can stop myself. I pause, just a moment too long, close enough that he can probably feel me hovering. Close enough that he knows exactly what I’m doing.
Does he smell like sex?
No. Just warm cedar, amber, and something darker underneath. Elegant. Magnetic. It lingers in the air between us like heat after lightning. The kind of scent that stays in your clothes, in your hair… in your thoughts.
I’m still off-balance when I realize he’s watching me. Grinning.
“Careful,” he says, voice dry. “If you’re trying to figure out my fragrance, you’ll have to get a lot closer than that.”
He lets the moment stretch, then adds with a smirk,
“It’s called Too Tired to Shower After Work and Still Irresistible .”
The way I leaned in—uninvited—breaks the tension. He doesn’t say anything else. Just leans back slightly, his knee brushing mine. Intentional or not, I can’t tell. But I feel every inch of it.
Then, without looking at me, he says, “Hotel, Leo.”
My stomach tightens. “You can’t be serious. I’m not going back to your hotel.”
“Keep driving, Leo.”
I glare at him. “Dominic, I mean it. I’m in a damn jumpsuit carrying a wig. I look like I just escaped a costume party. I need to go home. I’ve got things to do.”
He glances over. “Oh yeah? Like what? Like the stuff you just grabbed from City Hall?”
What the fuck!
He smiles. That maddening, knowing smile. “Come with me. Talk to me. Tell me what you’ve gotten yourself into. You can’t keep shutting me out like this.”
I stare at him. “Where is all this sudden interest coming from?”
Dominic turns fully, his eyes locking on mine, a trap I didn’t see until I was already caught. He shifts slightly in his seat. Perfectly calm in that infuriating way of his.
“What if I told you I’m thinking about marrying you? Would that make it clear enough?”
My brain short-circuits. Like actual brain freeze. The words just hang there in the air. For a second, I’m convinced I misheard him. Nope. I heard him perfectly. And it still makes zero sense.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
He leans back like he didn’t just drop a bomb in a building already on fire. His eyes stay on me, tracking every flicker of my reaction. My response gets stuck somewhere between my stomach and my throat. My mouth opens. Nothing comes out.
Dominic smiles. “Relax, Sassy. It’s not like I’m proposing right now.”
He tips his head against the seat like he didn’t just blow up my entire reality.
What the actual hell just happened?