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Now was Rosalie's chance to take that hurt and bury a knife in him. Then twist it to be sure.
"You mean nothing to me, Dominick," Rosalie growled. "Nothing. You were a good fuck, and you gave me what I needed to survive in this world. That's all."
Dominick's shoulders relaxed a little as he laughed harshly. The pain, the hurt, it flickered before the rage devoured it.
"If that's how you want to play this, fine," he said at last. "Perhaps you are better at this game of politics than I gave you credit for. But you and I both know the truth."
She allowed herself a coy smile. Convince a king, and you could own the world. She bowed her head to him. "May I leave now, Your Majesty?"
Dominick considered her for a moment, his lips sliding into an unnerving smile. "Of course, my dear. I suppose our night together must draw to a close sooner than expected."
She bowed again, then made to leave. Behind her, he called out.
"Only, before you go, you need to tell me why you came to the garden instead of my party."
She froze again, her whole body stiffening. Shit, she thought she'd gotten out of this! The whole point of kissing him was to make him forget that she wasn't supposed to be out here!
"I needed some air," Rosalie said calmly. "I was having trouble breathing in this dress and thought some cool night air would ease my lungs."
"True, the night air is pleasant. But you seemed quite distressed when you arrived. What did you call me—Jay?" She flinched, and his unnerving smile widened into one of victory. "You know, I was convinced you had taken on a secret lover at the castle. I wouldn't blame you, of course, for having your needs ... but that didn't stop me from planning to wring the neck of the man who'd dared to touch you without my permission. Consider my shock when I found out that you've been sneaking off to look after a child—a boy that's not even your own. You must care about him very much."
Rosalie took a deep breath to steady herself. She'd already been found out. There was no point in arguing with Dominick at this point. She just needed his permission to leave and go search for him.
"I do," she admitted. "He's an extraordinary boy. He lost his father when he was a baby, but he's never let that dampen his incredible creativity and positivity. His mother works extremely hard to care for him, she needs help, so I agreed to look after him when I was available."
Dominick's voice was light, but his gaze was anything but. "Where is he then, Rosalie?"
Rosalie hesitated for a moment before answering. "I'm not sure. He ... I was getting ready for the party, and then he was gone."
Dominick's face twisted in a sneer. "Gone? How careless of you to have let him wander off like that?"
"It was a mistake. He's never run off before. Now I ... I can't find him."
Her palms started to sweat, and her fingers twitched with her restraint from wiping them on her dress, but that would be a sure sign of her nervousness. She'd expected Dominick to ask about Jay sooner or later, and she would make it out of this conversation without showing how afraid she truly was.
Then it hit her, Dominick's calm patience. He was waiting for her to ask for his help. The nerve on this fucking man. Of course, he was more interested in exercising his power over the situation. He stepped closer and crossed his arms as he looked down on Rosalie with an air of superiority that made her stomach churn nervously.
What had she ever seen in him?
"Have you—you seen him?" she asked.
He clicked his tongue. "Luckily for both of you, I found the boy wandering the gardens when I came looking for you. Consider my surprise ... finding a small child in my castle."
"Where is he now? Dominick, you must tell me—"
"I took him for his own safety, little Rose. You shouldn't have left him to run around with so many predators on the loose—who knows what could have happened?"
"You bastard, how could you? He must be terrified, away from his mother, lost and confused!" Rosalie threw herself at Dominick, slapping his chest with a wave of uncharismatic violence. As if hitting him would force him to tell her where he'd hidden Jay. "Who do you think you are, threatening a child like this?"
"Threatening?" Dominick raised his eyebrows, amused. "I have no intention of harming the child or letting any harm come to him. He is under my protection now, not yours, that is all."
"Then you'll let me see him at once."
"Making demands now, are you?" Dominick laughed and grabbed Rosalie's wrists, pulling her flat against his chest. "I have some demands of my own as well. How about we listen to those first? I amsotired of hearing all about your selfish requests. And I think understanding that you and Jay's mother never see him again if you don't obey me should be enough of an incentive to do as I demand of you."
Disgust whirled in Rosalie's stomach, even as heat flushed through her body at Dominick's commanding hold. "What are you going to do, make me sleep with you?"
"I thought about it, but no." He sighed. "That would only make you hate me even more, wouldn't it? For now, I'll settle with a kiss."
