Playing for Hearts (38 page)

“Wait!” Kate paused. “Are you sleeping with him yet?”

“No.”

“Remember to make him wear a condom. Be smart.” Kate laughed. “Have fun. I bet he has a huge — ”

“Goodbye, Kate.” She pushed the disconnect button on the phone.

She shook her head in amazement. Count on her friends to boost her when she needed someone to tell her she was doing the right thing and not making the biggest mistake of her life.

“Diana?” Dominic knocked again.

“Yeah, coming.” She wrinkled her nose. Bad choice of words, considering she was talking about sex with Kate seconds ago.

She opened the door. Every butterfly that'd stayed dormant her whole life picked that moment to flutter. Her nipples peaked and she swallowed her nerves.

The smile washed from Dominic's lips and he whistled. Dressed in a white silk dress shirt, black tie, and black slacks, he stood with his arms loose, his hands in his pockets. “You're beautiful.”

“Thanks,” she said, happy she'd splurged on the red curvy dress. “You look incredible.”

He leaned over, and paused. “May I?”

“You better. I'm nervous.” She tilted her face.

Gentle and slow, he pressed a warm kiss upon her lips. He studied her before taking her hand and leading her through the house. Tonight's date held mystery and anticipation. They were no longer pretending.

“I hope you're ready. I planned a big night for us.” Dominic held the garage door open, and she stepped ahead of him.

“What about your game tomorrow? Shouldn't you have an early night?” She stood beside the Porsche.

He shrugged, opening her door. “It'll be fine. Once I load up in the morning on carbs, I'll be ready to play.”

Once they both buckled their seatbelts, Dominic pushed the garage opener and started the car. She could get used to thinking she was first in Dominic's life.

Halfway down the driveway, red and blue lights lit up the interior of the car. Diana turned to Dominic, but before she could question where they came from, her body pitched forward against the shoulder restraint as he slammed on the brakes.

Dominic peered in the rearview mirror, then whirled around and gazed out the back window. “What the hell?”

She followed his line of vision and gasped.

Three police cars blocked the end of the driveway. A crowd formed beyond the cruisers, and Dominic's security team jogged toward the Porsche.

“What happened?” She reached for his hand.

He frowned. “I don't know, but I'm going to find out.”

Dominic wanted to punch someone.

“Go back inside, and we'll work on crowd control.” Officer Patrickson nodded in the direction of the condominium. “We'll clear the area.”

He clamped his teeth together. The reason he'd bought the condominium was for the gated security. “I want to know how they broke through the security measures. That's twice in one week this has happened.”

“From what we're gathering, these are all women from your community.” Officer Patrickson removed his bully club. “The sooner you go inside and out of sight, we'll take care of the matter and send them home.”

He turned around, disgusted at having his private space invaded. All the inexcusable behaviors of these women shaded his attitude toward others. Plus, it just plain pissed him off.

“Dominic?” Officer Patrickson slapped his hand over his shoulder. “Good luck tomorrow in the game. Me and a couple of the guys have tickets and will be cheering you on. I have a hundred bucks riding on you scoring three of the points.”

“Thanks,” he replied, shrugging him off and heading toward Diana.

Diana stood in the driveway, staring out at the other women. Quiet and alone, he suspected she was finally finished with him. He couldn't expect her to understand and accept his lifestyle. It wasn't fair of him to expect her to deal with the attention and always having their time interrupted by the bullshit that came with him everywhere.

He approached her. “The officers want us to go inside. I'm sorry.”

“It's not your fault.” Her voice soft and understanding made the situation worse, and the guilt he was feeling burned like acid in his stomach.

He led her back toward the garage. In front of the Porsche she stopped.

He leaned over and gazed into her eyes. “What's wrong?”

“Someone's in your car,” she whispered.

“Stay here.” He left her standing there, jogged over to the car, and peered through the driver's window. A definite shadow took shape behind the darkened window. “Dammit.”

He opened the door. Mr. Ratt from Nomora sat in the driver's seat, swabbing the steering wheel. “Get out.”

When Mr. Ratt hesitated, Dominic grabbed him by the front of the shirt and hauled him out of the vehicle. He pulled him over and slammed him against the hood. “Leave me alone.”

“B-but Mr. Chekov — ”

Dominic punched him in the gut and let go of him. Mr. Ratt slumped to the ground, groaning and sucking in air. Someone grabbed his arm, and pulled him back.

“What's going on?” Officer Patrickson stepped between them, his hand on Dominic's chest.

“He's trespassing.” He fisted his hands at his sides. “I want him arrested.”

Officer Patrickson forced Mr. Ratt to his feet, turned him around, and handcuffed his arms behind his back. Dominic fumed as he paced beside the car. This had to stop.

“Wait.” He approached Mr. Ratt. “I'll let you take whatever you were touching in my car.” He loosened his tie, ripped the buttons off his shirt, removed it, and wiped the material against his armpits. Then he handed Mr. Ratt the clothes. “Take it all.”

“Dominic … no.” Diana slipped her warm arm around his bare waist. “Let the police arrest him. He can't invade your privacy this way. It's wrong.”

“With the police officer as a witness, do you swear you'll leave me alone now?” Dominic glared at Mr. Ratt who nodded. “If you don't, the next time you step on my property or trespass or try to steal my belongings, I'll have you arrested. I'll be filling out a restraining order tomorrow. I'm done dealing with Nomora and you.”

“Yes, s-sir.” Mr. Ratt held the clothes away from his body. “You gave us everything we need.”

“Are you asking me to let him go? Because we have enough to charge him for trespassing and intent to steal,” Officer Patrickson said.

“Get him out of my sight and make sure he doesn't come back. I'll be in soon to file the restraining order.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Get them all the hell out of here.”

Diana never left his side. Instead, she urged him with gentle pressure against his back toward the house. In the kitchen, he opened the cabinet above the fridge and removed a bottle of tequila. Like everything else in his life, tonight had ended up differently than he'd expected.

She held out her hands. “Here. Give it to me. I'll pour you a drink.”

He passed the bottle to her. She carried it over to the counter, found two shot glasses, poured liquid into each cup, and carried the drinks back to him. He tilted his head and looked at her. Really looked.

She'd accepted the change in plans without snapping his head off or causing a scene. Outside, she'd stayed away from the crowd rather than fly to his protection the way she did at the game or on their pretend date. Yet, she'd tried to protect him against Nomora.

“Thank you.” He clinked the glass against hers.

She smiled softly. “For what?”

“Just being here, and not walking away. For keeping your cool when I was losing mine.” He stared down into the shot and swirled the clear liquid. “It means everything to me.”

“I want to be here for you,” she said.

He raised his gaze and caught her licking her bottom lip. What he saw endeared her to him. She was strong and independent but when it mattered, she stuck by his side.

They raised their glasses at the same time. He swallowed in one gulp. The burn hit him instantly and he blew out his mouth. Diana reached out and gripped his forearm, held her breath, her eyes watering.

He grinned. “Breathe.”

She let out her breath in a big rush and coughed. “Oh. My — ” She coughed again. “God, that burns.”

How pathetic they'd turned out. Hiding in the kitchen, dragging down tequila, and pretending everything about tonight was normal when it definitely was not.

“One more.” He moved over and brought the bottle back with him. “To our first official date.”

“But we haven't gone out.” She laughed.

He held up the glass. “I'm not admitting defeat yet. I won't let anyone ruin tonight. Drink up.”

Diana handled the next shot better. He took the glass from her hand and led her into the living room. He stood her in the middle of the room, and motioned for her to stay there. “I'll be right back. Don't move an inch.”

He had no experience with dating or trying to impress a woman, so he ran on instinct. He docked his iPod into the sound system and turned the music on low. A melody filled the house, and he smiled. Perfect.

What else? He studied his room. Date. Date. Date. Crap.

He had no idea what normal people expected to do when they stayed inside together, except have sex and he wasn't ready to press Diana too fast. They'd already danced on their first pretend date. That was fun. Well, more than fun. He wanted her in his arms again, but dancing was too obvious. No, he had to come up with something much better than dancing or cooking her dinner.

“Dominic? What are you doing?” she called from the other end of the condominium.

Groaning and out of time, he grabbed two hockey sticks leaning against the corner of his room and one of the folded jerseys off the top of his dresser. Halfway down the hallway, he remembered sports socks. Prepared to do the only thing he was confident in, he returned to the living room with his arms full.

Diana eyed him curiously. He tossed her his jersey. “Go change your clothes. I'm challenging you to a game of sock hockey.”

“What?” She laughed. “Never heard of it.”

He smiled. “I'll teach you how to play, but I don't want you ruining your beautiful dress. I want you to wear that when I can take you out properly and show you what normal is.”

“I have my own clothes. I don't need your shirt.”

“No.” He lowered his voice. “I'm skins.” He slapped his bare chest. “You'll be shirts.”

“Does this have to do with your kink of seeing me in your clothes?” She covered her mouth to hide her grin, but failed. Her eyes twinkled with laughter.

He sat down on the couch and began to untie his shoes. “It has everything and nothing to do with what I want. Now hurry. Five more minutes and you forfeit the game.”

Her laughter followed her through the house and out of sight. He took off his dress socks, and put on his sports socks. Then he got busy clearing the room and shoving all the furniture up against the walls. Last, he rolled the Persian rug and stood the bundle in the corner of the room.

He looked at the area, himself, the white socks sticking out from under his black slacks, and had a second thought about his plan. God, he hoped he wasn't making a fool of himself.

Diana cleared her throat. He turned, and the room swayed.

Wearing his jersey and nothing else, she posed at the edge of the room. His shirt hit her above the knees. Normally the short sleeves covered his biceps but on her, the T-shirt covered her down to her wrists. The V-neck plunged between her breasts, and he knew she had something on underneath because her black bra peeked through the mesh. He dropped his gaze and all the blood in his body pounded. The thinnest black strap along her hip showed through the white material. He had no idea if she was aware of how transparent the breathable material was, but right now he was thankful he played for the San Jose Sharks and gave her one of the jerseys he wore on away games.

“Is this how you wanted me?” She walked on bare feet into the room.

He failed at swallowing. Unable to voice an answer, he stood there staring with his mouth open.

Her own lust reflected back to her in Dominic's gaze. She would never get used to seeing him bare chested and looking at her as if the very touch of her would set him on fire. He gave her confidence to go through with wearing his jersey. She knew he could see through it when she stood with the light from the hallway behind her.

“You're not saying anything.” She pointed her thumb over her shoulder. “Should I go change?”

“Hell, no. Please don't.” He seemed to snap out of staring at her. “Come in.”

She walked slowly, enjoying the way his gaze followed her legs across the room. His reaction made her daring and bold, suddenly glad she'd skipped the sweats and decided to risk it all.

“Sit down.” He held her hand and lowered her to the floor.

He followed her down and pulled her foot onto his lap. “You need the right equipment if you're going to play with me.”

“Play with you?” she whispered, clearing her throat. “I give you the green light and you don't hesitate, do you?”

“I'm not stupid,” he whispered back.

The thick white tube socks Dominic pulled over her toes tickled her feet. She squirmed, and glared at him when he laughed.

“I've found your weakness.” He slid the socks slowly up her leg, past her knees. “Mm … ”

She shivered. The contrast of such a big man who fought on the rink for a living who was able to handle her with tenderness appealed to her.

His almost boyish fascination with the female body confused her. He acted as if he'd never seen a woman's bare skin before. She flinched as he worked the other sock onto her foot, then relaxed as he reached her ankle. If she met him today, and had no idea about his rather unique lifestyle, she'd swear he was some normal guy who got lucky in the looks department. And the body department. She sighed. Personality department too.