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“It’s your own handiwork,” I teased.
“It’s not,” he answered, as serious as I’d been glib. “I’m just showing you what I see. It’s just a different reflection of you.”
His hand swept my hair, lingering on the back of my neck in a way that made my back arch just slightly, longing singing through my body. “I just drew you in color when you pretend to be black and white.”
“I don’t know what to make of that,” I said lightly, my heart beating too quickly. “And how exactly does this help me deal with Aiden?”
“He needs to see you in color,” he said. “You need to be yourself.”
“But… with a fake cover story? Fake relationship? Fake everything?”
“Yes,” he said swiftly. “Sometimes it’s easier to be ourselves when we don’t have to be exactly who we’re expected to be. Especially after we’ve molded ourselves to be a certain kind of person.”
I twisted to face him. His broad pecs, marked with paint, were large in my vision but when I looked up, those intense eyes were too much for me too.
“So who did you have to mold yourself to be?” I asked lightly.
“I’m the bomb expert. The genius that supports Aiden’s criminal enterprises. But in here…” he shrugged. “I’m just the artist.”
“Which one is the real you?”
He leaned in and his lips touched mine in a soft, teasing kiss. It was just the barest graze of a kiss, and I captured his lips with mine, kissing him back intensely. I felt his lips curve up against mine as if he were pleased, but before I could pull away, his hand cupped my cheek. He angled my face to his as he deepened the kiss, his tongue sweeping along the seam between my lips. My lips parted for him, but he was already back to those quick, teasing kisses, then he straightened away. I raised my chin, feeling how my lips were puffy and soft from the heat between us.
His gaze met mine evenly. “This one.”
CHAPTER9
Selena
The knockon my door was demanding. When I pulled it open, Dominic stood there, his shirt clinging to his ripped body—it took me a second to realize it was damp not just with water, but with blood—and his face livid. Fear tightened my muscles when I was faced with his anger, and I immediately began calculating the quickest way to take him down.
“Are you all right?” he demanded.
The look on his face wasconcern.
I stared at him, stunned, then quickly tried to cover the confusing feelings. “Better than you. Is that your blood?”
“No. Xander said you were screaming last night.” His big hands wrapped my shoulders, and he looked down into my face as if he were searching for answers. “He said he had to sit with you, since I was gone all night. Aiden sent me—it’s not important. What happened?”
My heart hammered at the thought of revealing my past to a man I barely knew.
“I don’t think anyone feels upbeat about life when they’re locked in a cage,” I said lightly.
His eyes went steely. “Aiden didwhat?”
The thought that Dominic hadn’t known was comforting. I wouldn’t have liked the idea of him sleeping comfortably in his bed while I was miserable below in the cage.
But I wasn’t sure what to make with the flare of protective rage.
“Where were you?” I asked, trying to distract him—and also very curious about the blood.
He seemed to take the question completely differently than I meant it, because his eyes smoldered down at me. “I was tracking down someone who stole from Gavin and…dismantling the problem. But I promise, I’ll never leave you alone again.”
That was a terrible promise. I liked being left alone. I’d spent most of my life trying to be left alone.
“I’m going to tear Aiden apart—” he started.
I didn’t understand what the hell was going on here.
