Checkmate (18 page)

Okay, that sounded familiar. I used to say the same about Derek.

“What about you?” Dominick asked. “Is that thing between you and
young Mr. Leighton serious?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. We are having a good time together.”

“Would you marry him?”

The conversation was not exactly what I expected it to be. Dominick looked a little nervous, and his every question felt like a dagger right
through my heart.

“Maybe,” I said, taking the menu. “We haven’t talked about marriage yet.”

“Do you know that he hates New York?”

“I don’t think it’s a problem. We can live here.”

“But you hate this city.”

I took
a deep breath before saying, “So what?”

“Nothing. But I never thought you would be with a man who would make you give up on your dreams.”

“I’m not giving up on anything.”

“Really? But heading the branch is not the same as heading the entire company, with the headquarter in New York.”

Finally, we got to one of the most important issues.

“You are right. I want to go back to New York.”

“Then what stops you? And don’t tell me it’s Derek, ‘cause I would never believe this shit.”

“You think you know everything about me?” I was getting really angry. If he wanted to check how long I would be able to stand his company, he could simply ask all those questions at the meeting and be with it. But apparently, he was up to something that I was missing.

“You are right, it is not about Derek. It’s about you.” I didn’t think I would admit it, but it was true, and there was point in lying; Dominick knew he was the reason for my escape.

He shook his head, laughing quietly. “You know what’s the only thing that I can’t understand, Scarlett? Why are we sitting here and talking about all this nonsense instead of making love and sending to hell the rest of the world?”

Well, that was quite unexpected…

“Maybe because now we have someone else to make love with?”

“You know that I would do anything to make you stay with me tonight. Then why shall I pretend and act as if I didn’t want you?”

“Sex won’t change anything, Dominick.”

“You are right. But I’m not talking about sex.”

Of course he wasn’t. Again, he
tried to tell me about his true feeling for me and again, I refused to believe him.

“You have Candace now.”

“If this is the only thing that stops you from coming back to New York and working with me again, she won’t be there by tomorrow morning.”

“See? This is so very you, Dominick. You use women and then throw them away like a wasted pair of gloves. This is what made me run away from you. This is
why I don’t want to come back — you will never change.”

“I would change for you.”

I smirked. “No, you wouldn’t.”

“Why don’t you give me a little more credit, Scarlett? Are you so scared to admit that you love me too? That I’m the only man you ever wanted to be with? Do you really think that I don’t know what it feels to be you now?”

Well, hell…

“I never said a word about love, Dominick. What makes you think that I love you?”

“This,” he said, moving closer. We were sitting on a half-round couch, and now he was right next to me, with his fingers running down my neckline and shoulder.

“You start trembling whenever I touch you. I can feel the heat coming from you to me. That look in your eyes when you are in my embrace… The rapid beating of your heart, that I swear, I can hear now.”

I didn’t move, still staring at the place where he was sitting a few moments ago. I was afraid of looking at him, because I knew the moment I turn my head, he would see how very true his every word was.

I could feel his breathing on my neck. He was so close; with his palm slowly moving down my side and to the hem of my dress that he pushed up slightly, squeezing my thigh.

“God, I missed you so much,” he whispered, leaning to kiss my skin right below my ear. I swallowed hard. His touch was so soft, I almost groaned at the need I could feel forming in my belly. One kiss was all my body needed to give up fighting.

His palm kept pushing my dress up, until it stopped at my hip bone. “
Chose défendue, chose désirée
— Forbidden fruit is sweet, right,
ma Belle de nuit
?”

My heart bounced in my chest. I should have said something, but I seemed to be unable to think about anything but his fingers working their way under my panties. With his every touch, he was taking my reason away, leaving nothing but excitement and anxiety vibrating under my skin.

“The waiter can be back any second,” I said, trying to find at least one excuse to stop whatever was going on under the table.

His fingers found my clit and circled it, making the need in me grow stronger.

“I know,” he breathed into the curve of my neck. “It only makes the desire to make you come right now even harder to resist.” And before I would say anything, he slipped two fingers inside me, making me forget about everything but the feeling of those knowing fingers of his pulling in and out of my wetness.

“I’ve forgotten how responsive you can be,” he said, pushing his fingers deeper inside me. “Always ready to comply with my every wish.”

I knew it wasn’t right. Things were different now, we were different. But it still felt so good, and so damn intoxicating.

I didn’t care about the place, or the people that could see us any second, I only wanted this moment of intimacy to last forever.

I could feel Dominick watching me. I still refused to look at him. My eyes were closed, and all my senses were focused on the feeling of the hand, with every second bringing me closer to the edge.

His touch was firm and confident, he knew exactly what I wanted him to do. The faster and deeper his fingers were moving inside me, the more I wanted them to be replaced with something else…

“I so want to spread you on this table and thrust myself inside you,” he said, as if reading my mind. How was that possible to be so aware of each other’s needs and so completely different when it came to the reality of the world outside our tempting paradise?

His lips touched my neck again, trailing small kisses all the way to my collarbone and shoulder. With every passing moment, the desire in me was harder to control. I was about to fall to pieces, and we both knew it. Dominick’s moves became more rapid, and when I thought I could no longer suppress the explosion, he slowed down, pressing his thumb hard into my clit.

“I won’t let you out of my arms, not any time soon.”

“Please,” I almost begged.

“Please what?” He whispered back, his breath hot in my ear.

“Don’t stop,” I said, finally turning my head to look at him.
I was so lost in his charm, I doubted I would ever be so lost in any other man. When the realization hit me, I wanted to cry. I was so much more than being in a whole mess of a trouble…

My nails dug into the couch behind Dominick’s back, and I moaned quietly, pressing my forehead to his and enjoying the sweet sensation building inside me and tearing through me, taking away every small doubt that I ever had about us. We belonged together and the more time we spent apart, the more evident it became…

I was unable to look at Dominick. Not that I was embarrassed for what I let him do to me, but my life was shattering into pieces right in front of my eyes, and I couldn’t find the strength to put it back together. I turned to press my face into his shoulder and felt a lump forming in my throat.

“It’s okay,” he said almost in a whisper, caressing my hair with one palm. “I know what you are thinking.”

I shook my head, hardly able to stop the tears burning my eyes. “No, you don’t.”

“We are together in this, remember?” He leaned back and cupped my face in his palms. “Whatever we share is so intense. How long are we going to keep fighting what we both want so much?”

“You don’t understand-”

“Stop it, Scarlet
t. Stop lying to yourself. Why won’t you just give us a chance? It’s something that we have both wanted since the moment we met, and you keep acting as if there’s nothing between us. How could you just throw away all of your feelings like that, and for what? Is it pride?”

I didn’t respond. I blinked and felt a predatory tear running down my
cheek.

We were so close, I could see every small spark in his eyes. And no matter how much I wanted to run away again, I couldn’t make myself move
from where I was sitting.

Was he right? Was it pride keeping me from admitting my feelings for him? Was I too proud to let anyone know that I loved him? Was I worried about what my parents or anyone else would think of me if they found out that I was seeing him? I really don’t think my concerns are about being too proud to be with him, I’m just scared… I’m terrified of being used and thrown away like yesterday’s trash. However, if I’m being honest with myself… He hasn’t left me, I left him when I took the position in San Francisco.

I hadn’t realized that while I had been thinking, tears had started falling steadily, until Dominick bent and pressed his lips to my cheek, kissing all of my tears away, one by one.

“I love you, Scarlett.
I still love you so much. You are all that I want. How can you not see that?’

His lips were moving to mine, but there was one thin
g that I wanted to tell him before he kissed me.

I wrapped my fingers around his neck, bringing us even closer to each other
than we already were. “I love you too,” I breathed into his lips. “I always have.”

“Then what the hell are we doing
here
?” He rose to his feet and extended his hand to me.

“What are you doing?” I asked,
narrowing my eyes, hesitating.

“Come with me.”

“Where?”

“Does it
really matter?”

The answer came immediately. “No.” I didn’t care where he wanted to take me, I was ready to follow him anywhere, and suddenly
, burning the bridges felt like the best idea ever...

I took Dominick’s hand,
and we were practically running when we left the restaurant, we were both so full of excitement and bliss just to be together again. We went out into the street and got into his car. Neither of us spoke. But words weren’t needed. We knew each other well enough to know what we were both thinking of at all times, we were so in sync.

I smile
d mentally, recalling my conversation with Jillian. She was right as always — it was time to stop fooling myself and let what I had been dying to do just happen. I had been waiting for what felt like forever for this moment, and now I needed to just let go and just be with him.

“If you step out o
f this car, there will be no turning back,”
Dominick said as we stopped at the entrance to the Fairmont and the concierge came over from the valet to park our car.

“I know,” I said, meeting his eyes.

The moment we crossed the threshold to his suite, the rest of the world disappeared for us.

Placing his hand on the small of my back, Dominick guided me to the center of the room, illuminated only
by a lamp in the corner of the room. Our eyes locked, and he took off my coat, and tossed it on to the nearest chair, his jacket came off next and followed it to the chair.

God, I missed being with him,
I missed every small detail about him. Hesitating only for a second, I pulled his lips to mine, and kissed him deeply, answering all his unspoken questions at once.
No turning back…

A pleased moan escaped his throat, as his tongue pushed against mine. With on
e hand gripping my hip, he cupped my breast with his other hand and moved his lips to my jaw and then neck, covering every inch of my skin with kisses.

Next, he unzipped
my dress, and watched it slip down to my feet, a mischievous smile played on his lips. He took his time drinking me in, I didn’t want to rush things so I let him take as much time as he wanted, plus I enjoyed seeing that enthralled expression on his face, like I was the most beautiful creature to ever walk the planet.

“Like what you see?” I asked, smiling. My panties were
the only piece of clothing that I still wore.

“A lot,” he said, taking a step clo
ser. “If I knew there was practically nothing underneath that dress of yours, it would’ve saved us from an unnecessary trip to the restaurant.”

“Actually
, I enjoyed our dinner. Thank you very much.”

“Ah ha, just as
I thought.” He grinned, sliding his hands down my sides. “You were so wet, I could barely stop myself from taking you right on that table.” Then he bent and took one of my nipples between his teeth, biting it softly and then began sucking it.

Twisting my hands into his hair, I let the wave of bliss swallow me. God, even the prelude with Dominick was better than any sex I had ever had with anyone else.

“You have too many
clothes on,” I said.

“Then why don’t you take them off for
me?” He teased with a devilish grin.

I smirked, grabbing his shirt. “I hope it’s not your favorite.” Then I tore it open, making the buttons scatter all over the carpet.

“It’s not.” He laughed quietly, pulling me closer to his chest. “You can ruin my entire wardrobe, if you want.”

“Thanks for the permission. I’ll
have to remember that for later,” I said, pulling him to the bed behind me.

Lying on my back, I watched him stepping out of his trousers and boxers.

Using my own words against me, he asked, “Like what you see?” He stood
with his hands on his hips.

“Mmm, a lot,
” I repeated his words back to him as well, then I let my eyes slip down his strong arms, perfect torso and all the way to where his aroused cock made my heart miss a beat. He was so hard and ready that the mere thought of his length diving inside me, made my body hurt pleasurably.

“Com
e here,” I said seductively, unable to control my desires any longer. I needed him now, I needed him
right now
.

He put one knee on the edge of the bed and stopped.

“Closer,” I said, pulling him by the hand.

“Ho
w close do you want me to be?” He asked, hovering over me.

“As close as you can
get. I want our bodies to become one, I want your heart beating against mine, and your lips covering mine.”

“Sounds perfect,”
he whispered, trailing his fingers down my stomach and hips. Leaning closer, he licked a line down my neckline and breast, encircling my nipples and placing himself in between my open legs.

The moonlight spilled into the room, making
the shadows from our bodies dance on the ceiling.

I felt his cock sliding slowly up and down my hairless lips and I thought that the torture couldn’t get any worse.

He paused for a moment, and looked into my eyes, saying, “Are you okay with this?”

I knew what he was talking about, and as always, I didn’t want anything to stand between us. I nodded wordlessly, wrapping my legs around his hips, and felt him guiding himself inside me.

He was watching me intently, pulling in and out slowly, as if he wanted to memorize every small sound I made, and every small move I made meeting his thrusts.

The heat
spread from my tummy and went up my spine; I forgot how amazing it was to feel him inside me. No one had ever made me feel the way he did: so unbelievably high and so complete. 

I closed my eyes
, tightening my grip on his shoulders. I didn’t want to let him go, ever again.

Every inch of
me was hyperaware of his touches, moves and kisses. His hands were all over me now: on my breasts, on my belly, on my hips and travelling down my legs and back up to my thighs. It seemed like he couldn’t get enough of me, and I knew the feeling, because I felt the same way.

“Don’t stop, don’t stop,” I whispered, savoring the sweetness of his lips kissing mine.

“Not going to,” he whispered back, pushing himself deeper inside me.

I could feel how fast his heart was beating under
my palms, I could feel the identical rhythm throbbing inside of my own chest, and it was so freaking good, so damn sweet and so disarming. Even if I could, I wouldn’t want to break away from his embrace and tenderness. I was entrapped and I loved it so much.

I felt his stomach tensing against mine and his thrusts
were getting faster and wilder.

“Harder,” I said, wishing I could
feel him even deeper somehow. Nothing he did, felt like enough though. I wanted more, more of him, if that was even possible; not that he was doing it wrong, or that he was doing poorly. In fact, it was the opposite, he was absolutely amazing; I just couldn’t get enough, I don’t think I would ever get enough of him.

I was so close to the edge, so close to the euphoria that only Dominick knew how to make me feel. I was about to explode, and he knew it. Giving me a
few more hard thrusts, he moaned aloud, burying his face in my neck, biting down on the skin, and his grip tightened on my hips. I was lost to any other sensation, except the waves of heat and pleasure overwhelming my body and mind. That was it, the turning point of everything. No more running away, no more lies, and no more pretending…

It wasn’t just my body naked beneath him;
he could feel my heart, he could see into my soul, he could even touch it if he wanted to. I wouldn’t have minded…

That wasn’t the only time that we made love that night. Neither of us wanted to lose what we had now. We fell asleep at dawn, both exhausted and happy. But as always, our heaven apparently wasn’t meant to last forever.

A few hours later
, I was awoken by the sound of Dominick’s cell phone ringing.

“I’m
gonna kill whoever that is,” I said, rolling onto my back.

“Hold that thought
, we’ll have to figure out who it is that you’re going to kill by answering the phone,” he said with a small smile and a wink, rising to his feet. “Hello?” He paused while whoever was on the other end spoke into the phone. “Um, yeah, I was just about to call you.” Dominick looked at me briefly and went into the other room, closing the door quietly behind him.

Here we go
, I thought to myself.
The damn reality’s back…

I sat up, running both hands through my hair. Somehow, I knew that the call was from Candace. I shook my head, and went to the bathroom, hoping to avoid the awkward conversation
we were about to have concerning what we had to do next. Frankly, I didn’t know what to do, I knew that Derek loved me, and Candace probably loved Dominick… She must, right? After all, she lives with him. I didn’t take pleasure in hurting people, especially people I was supposed to care about, but the relationship with Derek was a distraction to help me get over Dominick and now it was time to end it.

Standing under the
scalding hot water in the shower, I was thinking about my upcoming conversation with Derek. Even though I wasn’t sure about my future with Dominick, I couldn’t lie to him anymore. He was a good man and deserved to be loved by someone whose heart didn’t belong to someone else.

My body hurt in all the right
places, and no matter what happened next, I knew for sure that I would never forget this night with Dominick. It had been absolutely amazing. It was the kind of a night that I would like to have the pleasure of enjoying more than once every six months. It was the kind of a night that I’d love to have every day, for the rest of my life.

Stepping out of the shower
, I wrapped a towel around my body, took a deep breath and went back into the room where Dominick had already been waiting for me.

He was sitting on the bed, wearing the most thoughtful expression I had ever seen on him.

“What did you tell her?” I asked, leaning against the wall. I didn’t want to come any closer. I knew we both needed space this morning.

“I told her the truth,” Dominick said, looking at me. “I don’t think I would be
able to go back home and pretend as if nothing ever happened.”