The Sacrificial Lamb (26 page)

It was for the best. Domenic continued eating, trying to ignore Alex and that pucker. Like the first time he’d seen her frown, he wanted to run his finger across it until it went away. He wanted to make her happy, but the pain would be much greater later on. It was just a little over a week. The first few days would be hardest, like breaking a bad habit. Once they got past them, things would be fine.

Domenic got up from the table, cleared his plate, and then washed it. He could feel Alex’s eyes on his back and knew she was trying to figure out a way to approach him. Prolonged conversations between the two of them weren’t a good idea, so he worked as quickly as possible. When everything was clean and put to dry, he took a deep breath and turned to face her.

“I’m going out to check the perimeter,” he said in a detached voice.

“Again?” Alex’s bottom lip trembled, and he grasped the counter behind him to prevent himself from going to comfort her.

“Yes, again. We’ve been gone awhile, and I don’t know if Carlo has been able to track us down. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

“What if someone comes while you’re away?”

“Right. Well first, I want you to lock the door after I leave, and I’m also going to show you where to hide, just in case.”

Domenic walked back into his bedroom with Alex following him. Going to the end of the room, he lifted up the corner of an area rug. Underneath, a hatch was concealed, and he lifted the panel up, revealing a secret entrance. He began the descent and waited at the bottom of the ladder for Alex.

If anyone managed to find this room under the cabin, it would look like a storage area. What wasn’t visible was a second room, hidden behind a panel built to look like part of the wall. When you depressed a lever, it swung inward to a soundproofed room. There were a series of bolts that would keep whoever was inside safe from intruders. Inside the room was a built-in berth and enough supplies to sustain a couple of people for a few days, if necessary. There was also an exit that led out into the shed, where the car was parked, as an escape route.

“This is it?” she asked dubiously. “This is the secret room? It doesn’t seem
that
difficult to find.”

Domenic hid a smile as he depressed the lever. Alex’s eyes widened as part of the wall swung inward.

“How did you do that?” she said, turning to look at him.

“You push here,” he said, showing her the depression underneath a shelf. “It’s spring loaded, so the door opens automatically.”

Alex walked inside to inspect the room. She turned a full circle, looking at everything—not that there was much to see. “Where does that go?” She pointed to the other door.

“That goes out to the shed. There’s another small room that looks like it’s just for storage and a ladder leading up to a hatch to get outside.”

“Your father sure put a lot of thought into this.”

Domenic nodded—yes, he had. His father had been an intelligent man, and he would have made sure all the bases were covered.

“Okay, so if you hear anything suspicious, you come straight down here and get into the room. Understood?”

“Yes, sir,” Alex mumbled under her breath. Domenic closed the door to the hidden room and gestured that she should go back up the ladder.

Alex walked out into the living room and took a seat on the couch. He stood in front of her, waffling back and forth for a moment, wanting desperately to escape yet finding it difficult to do so.

“I’m leaving now. I’ll be back in a few hours, I guess.”

She looked at him sadly and didn’t say a word. Domenic turned away and left the cabin.

Like yesterday, he wandered around the woods, staying near enough to the cabin to make sure Alex was safe but far enough away that he wasn’t tempted to go in. While he was showing her the hideaway, they’d reverted a little bit to the easiness of before, and if he stayed longer, he wouldn’t be able to keep up this cool façade.

Domenic explored the area methodically before daylight became scarce, widening his grid until he was satisfied that no one had breached the perimeter. There was no sign at all of human life. Even the most diligent scout would have left something behind—it was impossible not to. Whether it was an errant footprint, broken branches, or food, something would have been for him to find. He felt better and retraced his steps back to the cabin.

As the evening went on, he stayed at the back of the cabin to watch for Alex’s bedroom light. Once again it turned off, and he waited for approximately an hour before sneaking back into the cabin. Domenic walked to her bedroom door and sat beside it. This was the closest he could allow himself to get to Alex.

He stayed in front of her door until his head began to droop and then dragged himself to his room. Not many days left now and Domenic would regret not making the most of this time together, but it was too late to turn back.

T
HE
H
EAT
W
AVE
C
AME
out of nowhere. June had been a cool month up until then, but overnight the temperature had steadily started to rise. By the time the sun crept into the sky, the day was already scorching. Domenic stopped tracking through the forest to brush the sweat off his forehead before it dripped into his eyes. He had already taken his shirt off and had it hanging out of the waistband of his shorts. Not that it made much of a difference.

He was in the shade of the trees, but it was still sweltering. He picked his way through the underbrush, heading back to the cabin. When he exited the trees, he pulled his shirt back on, grimacing as it made contact with his slick skin. Domenic needed a shower badly. The sun beat down on his head as he crossed the expanse of grass toward the front door.

When he walked inside, he stopped in his tracks. Alex was standing in the kitchen, wearing a wife beater that she had tied up underneath her breasts. His too big shorts were hanging low on her hips, and with one tug at the string tied in front, they would go tumbling to the floor. She had found something to tie up her hair, and it sat in a messy knot atop her head with some loose ringlets coming down to frame her face. Her cheeks were pink from the heat, and a fine sheen of perspiration coated her forehead.

Domenic was so used to seeing her walk around in his shapeless Tshirts that he couldn’t help staring. The shirt hugged her breasts and dipped in front, showing off a hint of cleavage. Her stomach was smooth and soft looking. He would have given anything to run his fingers across it and revel in the feel of her skin. It seemed the last couple of days hadn’t detracted from the animal attraction he felt toward Alex.

If looks were any indication, Alex wasn’t any less attracted to him either. Her eyes were wide and roaming across his body. Like her, Domenic was covered in a sheen of sweat, and his shirt hung limp, clinging to the outlines of his chest. His hair was damp and slicked back as well. The heat wasn’t helping either of them—in fact, it seemed to be making everything worse.

“See something you like?” Alex said in a husky voice.

“Huh?”

“I
said
, I see you’re back.”

“Right,” he replied, blinking a few times. “It’s pretty hot out there.”
And in here, too
, he amended in his head, still staring at Alex’s ensemble. “I’m going to go wash up.”

“Okay, I was just about to make something for lunch. Are you going to eat?”

“May as well,” he replied, affecting an uncaring tone. Domenic walked past Alex and balled his hands into fists to prevent himself from touching her. God, he wanted to touch her. He wanted to tear that flimsy shirt right off of her and bury his head between her soft breasts. Gritting his teeth, he continued to his bedroom to grab some clean clothes and then went to take a shower.

This incessant heat was eating at his willpower and bringing out the worst in him. What he wanted and what he would allow himself, were polar opposites. Because he couldn’t follow his true instincts, his mood worsened until he felt like he was shrouded in a black cloud.

Alex threw one glance at him when he walked into the kitchen, pressed her lips together, and looked back down at the sandwich on her plate. Domenic knew his expression must have been forbidding for her to ignore him as she was. He was glad she decided not to press him, yet he was angry she was ignoring him. He wanted to push her away, but it bothered him that she was letting him do it so easily.

Finally he finished his food, and stalked back to his bedroom without a word to Alex. Pulling off his shirt, he got on the floor and started doing sit ups. Domenic was hoping the exercise would get his mind off of his warring emotions, but it didn’t seem to help at all. Once again he lost count of how many he had done and fell back to the floor, breathing heavily through his nose. Now he was hot
and
exhausted. Perhaps doing exercise in the middle of a heat wave wasn’t the brightest idea.

Domenic snorted at himself as he lay there. Having gone so long living an emotionless existence, now he was on overload. He was acting like someone who had no social skills, and wasn’t that the truth? Besides hate, what emotion had he felt over the last decade of his life? Not happiness—that was for sure. And certainly not love.

So what did he do when he did have a chance to experience these things? He pushed them away. Perhaps it wasn’t about not seeing Alex again after their two weeks were up. Maybe it had more to do with the fact that Domenic had no idea what to do with these emotions threatening to overtake him. Instead of ignoring them, wouldn’t it make more sense to embrace them in the time given to him? It was possible this would be his last chance to care for someone this deeply, and he was wasting that opportunity.

But what of Alex? Domenic had an idea that perhaps she had strong feelings toward him as well, but he doubted it was love. Most likely she found him attractive, and the bad boy image turned her on. That was what most of the other women he had gotten involved with seemed to enjoy. He didn’t get the impression she was that shallow, but it was too much to hope that she felt even a fraction of what he did.

Then there was her boyfriend to take into consideration. Shane. There were doubts there, but she was still promised to another, regardless. It was very possible her ties to this other man would make her less susceptible to his advances, should he even want to take it in that direction. And there was another issue he had glossed over. What if Domenic wasn’t so much afraid of the emotions he was feeling toward Alex, as he was at the possibility of rejection? Besides his own egotism, there was no proof that she would be interested in returning any show of affection.

Groaning, he rolled onto his side. Life was more complicated when you allowed emotions to play a part in it. Domenic grabbed a towel and wiped himself down. So much for taking a shower—he was drenched in sweat again. Of course with this kind of heat, it wouldn’t have mattered. Even if he’d stayed completely still, he would still feel overheated and uncomfortable.

After putting his shirt back on, Domenic rooted around in his closet and found what he was looking for. There was a large rotating fan in the back, and he dragged it out. It was possible there was one in Alex’s room as well. He would have to let her know so she could sleep with it blowing on her to keep her cool. He opened the door and walked out, dragging the bulky fan with him.

Alex looked up at all the noise and raised an eyebrow. Domenic placed the fan near her, plugged it in, and turned it on. As it rotated, air blew into Alex’s face. She closed her eyes in pure bliss, lifting her chin so the air could cool her neck.

“Oh, that’s so much better,” she breathed out.

“There may be another one in your closet. I’ll pull it out, so you can sleep easier tonight.”

Alex opened her eyes and didn’t say a word.

After standing there in silence for a moment longer, Domenic turned and went to her room. There was another fan that he set up for her, close to where she slept. He sat on the bed and ran his hand over her pillow. Only the worry that Alex would walk in at any moment stopped him from putting the pillow to his face and inhaling her scent.

Domenic stood up and went back to the living room. He grabbed his book from earlier and settled in to read for a while. Alex was still enjoying the air blowing from the fan, and she pulled her shirt out so the breeze could travel down her top. Domenic gripped the book until his knuckles turned white. Did she even have any clue the effect she had on him? Was she teasing him like this on purpose? Especially now, since he was trying his best to ignore her.

“Do you want to play a game of Scrabble?” Alex inquired after some time had passed.

“Not in the mood.”

“You know, you never did show me any other self-defense moves.”

“Alex, it’s like a sauna in here,” Domenic said, putting his book down to give her a forbidding look. “It wouldn’t be a good idea to learn anything today.”

“Fine,” Alex huffed at him, and turned her face back to the fan.

“Why don’t you read?”

“I’m sick of reading,” she said petulantly. “Maybe I’ll just go lie down for a bit.”

Alex got up and walked to her room, back stiff with indignation. She was upset with him but was trying hard not to show it. At least now he could relax a little. It was very taxing, trying to maintain a hard shell when it came to Alex. Domenic exhaled when she disappeared into her room.