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Kristen preens, looking very satisfied for a woman who’s creeped out a grown man. “Are you two going to be staying? We’ve managed to snag a private booth on the second floor, and I’m sure Mal would be happy to have you.”
Spending another moment watching Kristen drape herself across Dominic like a throw blanket is the last thing I want to do. I’m just about to make our apologies and drag Ash out the door when he answers for me. “Of course, we’re staying. This beautiful woman was all too eager to hang out with you guys tonight. Right, Sloane?”
He bumps me gently with his shoulder, and I give him a weak smile. “Yeah. Sure.”
Dominic’s gaze burns into me, and I don’t have to wonder whether he hears the hesitation in my voice because of course he does. I accepted a while ago that when he’s paying attention to me, there’s not a lot he doesn’t hear or see.
“Great!” Kristen exclaims. “I’ll show you guys up to the booth while Nic orders our drinks. Is that okay with you, babe?”
Babe. The use of the nickname makes me arch a brow. I don’t even care if doing so means letting Dominic know I’m feeling some type of way about him being here with Kristen. He doesn’t see the look though, because he’s back to being the picture of cool indifference. Features hard as granite. Eyes still and assessing. Shoulders relaxed, stance wide. Like a bored king waiting to be entertained.
“Sounds good.” He shrugs her hand off of him and moves towards the bar. Giving us all a view of his broad back while dismissing us from his presence.
Asshole.
Ash moves his hand to the small of my back and starts to move forward to follow Kristen through the crowd. I take a few steps, but I stop short before we break into the crowd. Flashbacks of being pulled through a sea of bodies just like the one in front of us bombard me. My pulse kicks up, and the air around me starts to feel too hot. I turn to Ash.
“I think I’m going to hit the restroom first.” I hook a thumb over my shoulder to the arched doorway off of the bar where the bathrooms are. “You guys go on up without me.”
His eyebrows dip inward. “No. I’ll go with you. We can head up together.”
“Ash, it’s fine. I’ll only be a moment. I just want to freshen up a bit.”
“Okay.” He agrees reluctantly. “Just promise you’re not ditching me.”
“And miss a chance to see you on the chopping block?” I joke weakly. “Never.”
He chuckles and gives my hand a light squeeze before continuing through the crowd with Kristen. While they head up the stairs to the second floor, I make a beeline for the bathroom. Thankfully, there’s no line. I push the door open and breathe a sigh of relief when it closes behind me.
I walk over to the sink and run cold water over a paper towel, patting it over my face and neck to cool my overheated skin. A second later the door swings open and slow, but steady, footsteps carry a familiar frame into the room.
“I don’t know what’s worse: you coming here with a date or you leaving that date to wander around another club with no one watching out for you.”
.
19
Sloane
Now
I’m not a person who’s easily surprised. Something about receiving the most shocking news of your life at the tender age of twenty-six just steals your ability to be caught off guard by regular everyday things like flat tires, screwed up tile orders, and increases in insurance premiums.
But nothing, and I mean nothing, could have ever prepared me for the sight of Dominic Alexander standing in a women’s bathroom looking every bit like a wrathful god with his dark washed jeans, well-fitting button-down, and rolled-up sleeves showing off his deliciously corded forearms.
Did you just call his forearms delicious?
He prowls towards me, and my instincts scream for me to back up. To get far away from him and the dangerous glint in his eyes, but two things are stopping me from doing that: the shock slipping down my spine and the bathroom sink, which my ass is already pressed firmly against.
All of which means, I can’t go any damn where, and I’m not entirely sure I want to.
“Why did you let him bring you here?”
Dominic is standing mere inches away from me now, so close I could reach out and touch him if I wanted to. And damn do I want to. I raise my chin, determined to not sound like a breathless idiot while I answer his question. A question he has no right to ask, by the way.
“Ash didn’t bring me anywhere. Coming here was my idea. I wanted to have a nightcap before he took me home.”
I catch the potential implication in my words a second too late. Dominic’s eyes glitter as he takes another step towards me, and the tips of his shoes bump into the toe of my heels. I’m glad I wore them tonight because they keep me from having to tilt my head back too far to meet his gaze.
