“You’re not exactly my type,” he adds, almost lazily. “My standards are a little higher than… that.” He lets the pause stretch just enough. “Than you.”
Sierra’s reaction is instant, her face flushing with anger as she lets out a short, humorless laugh, like she can’t believe what she’s hearing.
“You really think this is about you?” The question lands harder this time, the panic fading into something colder despite the tremor still running through her hands. “I wouldn’t touch you if you were the last man in the room.” She doesn’t look away, doesn’t give him the satisfaction. “If anything, you just proved exactly what kind of person you are.”
For a brief moment, I think that might actually shut him up. But of course, it isn’t. Something shifts in Dom’s expression, subtle but wrong, the corner of his mouth lifting as he takes a slow step toward her, like her reaction only made this more interesting for him.
“That attitude…” he murmurs, almost thoughtful, his eyes fixed on hers in a way that feels too intense. “Careful… I might start thinking you’re doing this on purpose.”
Yeah.
This stops now.
I step in before this turns into something worse, closing the distance and placing myself between them again, this time not as neutral as before, my stance firmer, blocking whatever the hell Dom thinks he’s about to do.
“Enough!” I cut in, sharper now, my voice leaving no space for either of them to keep pushing. “This ends here.” I keep my tone even as I look at Dom. “You’re done for today.”
The words hang between us, and suddenly it’s just the two of us, the tension stretching so tightly I can practically feel it in the air.
He doesn’t react right away, which is exactly how I know he heard me. Then, slowly, he exhales through his nose, his eyes flicking past me back to Sierra for half a second, like he’s already deciding something I’m not going to like.
“Fine,” he says eventually, his tone careless again, like none of this mattered. “For now.”
But the expression he leaves her with before stepping back tells a completely different story.
I watch him for a second, fighting the urge to punch him in the fucking throat for this shit. The plan is already in motion, forfuck’s sake—the only difference is that he doesn’t know how to wait… and the fucker almost ruined it.
Chapter 9
Sierra
“That prick! Who the fuck does he think he is, treating me like that?”
I try to calm myself down because stress is not good for the skin, and the last thing I need right now is wrinkles.
Breathe, Sierra… just breathe.
God. After everything that happened today, I need a glass of prosecco—actually, I need a bottle. Good thing my cousin doesn’t have much of a life and can spend the night at my place without making a big deal out of it. I texted her before I left the pool, so at least that’s handled.
Thank God Cain stayed. If he hadn’t been there to calm me down, I swear I would’ve lost it completely.
I tighten my grip on the steering wheel, the anger bubbling right back up as the scene replays in my head. I still can’t believe the nerve Dominic had, actually putting his hands on me like that, only to turn around and act like I’m not his type.
“Me?” I let out a sharp, humorless laugh. “Me, not his type? Please. I’m every man’s type.”
Hypocritical bastard.
The drive home is quiet, which I normally don’t mind, but tonight it just gives me too much time to think about everything that happened, and I’m honestly not in the mood to replay it more than I already have.
By the time I pull into my driveway, I’ve mostly decided I’m over it, or at least I’m choosing to be, because staying annoyed over someone likehimfeels like a waste of energy I could spend on something better.
Tess is already there, leaning against her car, scrolling through her phone with that same bored expression she always has, and of course she notices the moment I get out, her eyes scanning me in that quick, observant way of hers that misses nothing.
“What happened to you?” she asks, her posture shifting as she looks at me.
I don’t bother answering right away, mostly because I don’t feel like explaining anything while I’m still annoyed, so I just walk past her and head toward the door, unlocking it without slowing down.
“Come inside,” I tell her, pushing it open. “I need a drink before I start talking.”
