The Sacrificial Lamb (29 page)

Perhaps Domenic came to the same conclusion at the same time she did, because his hands ceased moving. Alex waited for him to tell her he was finished. She was surprised when he took hold of her shoulders and gently leaned her back till she was resting against his chest. She sighed in contentment. This was even better than she expected.

“Now, will you tell me how you found me?” she asked.

“Your tracks were still fresh in the grass leading to the road,” Domenic replied, his chest vibrating under her.

“Oh. How long did it take you to figure out I was gone?”

“About twenty minutes. I came out here to apologize for acting the way I did and couldn’t find you.”

She could feel Domenic tense up behind her and reached down to caress his leg. At first he tensed further, but he gradually relaxed against her touch.

“I was mad,” she explained softly.

“So I figured,” he said in a dry voice. She debated arguing and then decided against it. This wasn’t the time to lay blame. Neither of them was without fault.

“Wait, then how did you end up in front of me?”

“You don’t walk very fast, Alex.”

She could feel the rapid rise and fall of his chest as Domenic chuckled. He jumped when she gave his knee a hard squeeze.

“Keep going,” she deadpanned.

“I caught up to you fairly quickly, but I didn’t want to sneak up on you, so I went through the trees till I passed you. I guess it didn’t matter ’cause I scared you anyway.”

“I’ll say. You freaked me right out!”

“Then when I grabbed you, you didn’t even use any of the techniques I taught you! What was the use of teaching you how to defend yourself, if you weren’t going to use any of it?”

“Well, what did you expect? You showed me what to do in one afternoon, and that was a couple of days ago!”

“Okay, you’re right,” Domenic conceded. “Tomorrow, we’ll start again.”

“Okay,” she said happily, cuddling back further into his chest.

One of Domenic’s arms wrapped firmly around her waist, and his other continued brushing her hair back from her temple. It was what he’d done that day in the warehouse when she’d fallen asleep on him. Much like that day, she found the hypnotic movements soothing, and it didn’t take long for her eyelids to get heavy.

Alex must have been dreaming, because in her dream, Domenic was placing tiny kisses along her temple and against her hair. He was murmuring endearments and telling her how much he cared for her. How he wished things were different between them so that he could be honest about how he felt about her. Yes, it must have been a dream, because at one point she thought she heard Domenic tell her he loved her.

Then she was floating in the air. She was being carried on a cloud. A cloud that smelled like Domenic. That subtle hint of sandalwood and something a bit sweet. The cloud turned into a bed, and she told him to stay. To never leave her.

“Sleep, Alexis,” emerged as a soft sigh, and even softer was the tender kiss placed on her lips. Alex smiled to herself, rolled to her side, and fell deeper into the dream where she and Domenic could be together for always.

The morning had been very good. Alex woke up, still smiling from her dreams but also still throbbing with need. She’d taken a quick cold shower, which helped, but didn’t dispel all her fantasies of Domenic. And of course she’d walked out of the bathroom to find him in the kitchen, once again shirtless, and the fantasies had been nonstop ever since.

It had rained during the night, wiping away the lingering heat, and while it wasn’t as cool as before, it was much better. They ate breakfast, making small talk and sneaking glances at one another over the table. Alex still wasn’t sure what had changed between them last night but something had. She remembered the dream where Domenic told her he loved her, and a burst of heat rushed down her body. Surely it was a dream. Even if she wanted to believe it wasn’t.

That realization came from nowhere, and she stopped to think about it. Did she want Domenic to love her? And if the answer was yes, what did that mean about her feelings for him? She was incredibly attracted to Domenic, but love? Could she fall in love
so
quickly?

The only person she had ever loved was Shane, and that had been a slow burn. It had taken a long time and a lot of nurturing before she even thought of him that way. But this thing with Domenic was more like a flash fire. All consuming and powerful. Nothing could stand in the way of something like this.

Alex watched Domenic as he swiped a piece of toast around his plate, catching the remains of the egg yolk from his breakfast. He brought the sopping piece of bread to his mouth and popped it in, pausing to lick his fingertips. It was the most fascinating thing she had ever seen in her life. Domenic glanced up and made a face.

“What?”

“Nothing,” she said, shrugging and looking back down to her own food. She cursed her telltale face as the heat rose up her cheeks. Glancing back up, Domenic had a speculative look on his face. Alex looked away again, and began to tidy up after herself.

Domenic joined her, and they worked in sync until everything was clean. Then they went to the living room.

“Scrabble?” Domenic asked.

“Sure.”

And that was how it started. Every word was more suggestive than the last, with Domenic becoming more and more amused at her reactions.

“
Fondling?”

“What’s wrong with
fondling?”
Domenic said, giving her his signature smirk. “I used your G
and
cleared all my tiles, which gives me an extra fifty points.”

“Mmhmm. And you put L in front of
ick.
Then your word before that was suck.” Alex didn’t add that she was sure it would have been a different word altogether if he’d had the F a couple of turns back. She raised an eyebrow, and Domenic leaned his head to one side, bit his bottom lip, and gave her a searing look.

Fondling
had been the last straw. Something inside of Alex snapped, and she knew she couldn’t play this game any longer. Her hands came down on the board before swiping it off the coffee table. Domenic barely had time to realize what was happening before she lunged across the table, grabbed the front of his shirt, and brought his lips to hers.

She didn’t care anymore. She wanted Domenic, and everything else be damned. Even if it was just for the rest of their time here together, she had one encompassing thought.

I will make him mine
.

T
HEIR
L
IPS
M
ET
and everything changed. This was the moment Domenic had been waiting for. Alex was kissing him. She stood and brought her knee up on the coffee table between them. Her mouth moved against Domenic’s hungrily, and he responded in kind. He slid his tongue out and ran it against Alex’s lips. She moaned and met his tongue with her own. Shocks ran down the length of his body, electrifying him.

Domenic grasped Alex’s waist and, standing up, pulled her closer to him. She was kneeling on the table now, her hands reaching up and grabbing two fistfuls of his hair. Closer—he needed her closer. Her breasts were pushed up against his chest, and she began swiveling her hips, increasing the friction between them. It didn’t take long for him to get completely hard, and he knew Alex could feel his erection pressed up against her body. Grabbing her ass tightly in his hands, he thrust his hips into her.

The kiss seemed to go on forever as they explored each other’s mouths. Domenic broke away from Alex’s luscious lips so he could discover the other secrets of her body. He worked his way down her chin to her neck, sucking and licking the tender skin there. Alex’s breathing spiked, and she leaned her head back, allowing him better access to the expanse of smooth flesh. She tasted better than he could have imagined, a burst against his senses that could become addicting.

Pulling Alex’s shirt down, Domenic placed openmouthed kisses across the slopes of her breasts. His tongue slipped underneath the thin fabric, drawing out a hiss of pleasure from her. He brought Alex’s face back to his roughly and began kissing her again.

“Do you want me?” he asked between kisses.

“Yes,” Alex replied, breathless.

“Tell me,” he demanded.

“Oh God, I want you,” she groaned.

That was all he needed to hear. Domenic hauled Alex off of the table. She automatically wrapped her legs around his waist, and he carried her to his bedroom. On the way, Alex’s shirt fluttered to the floor as she shed the garment. Unable to wait, Domenic placed his face between her breasts and kissed the skin there. Alex tugged his hair, bringing his face back up, and she kissed him, sucking his bottom lip into her mouth and biting gently.

The door to his bedroom was open, and Domenic carried her in. Kneeling in front of the bed, he placed Alex on the edge. He reached around her back to unclasp her bra and dragged the straps down her arms, tossing it to the side. She arched when Domenic placed his hands in the middle of her back and pulled her toward him. Her breasts came up, high and round, and he lowered his head to pay them homage as he sucked one hard nipple into his mouth.

Alex sighed as he ran his tongue over the hardened peak. She leaned back, increasing the pressure of his mouth against her skin. This was nothing like he imagined. Her scent, her taste, the noises she made, all combined into an intoxicating mix. Domenic trailed kisses across her chest in order to pay attention to her other breast which he cupped tenderly.

Alex’s hands roamed across his shoulders and arms. After using his body to urge her to lie back, his hands went to the waistband of her shorts while he remained kneeling between her legs. Domenic looked at her before removing the rest of her clothing, and she nodded, her kiss-swollen lips parting. He watched her face as the loose fabric slid over her hips and down her legs.

Her eyes were bright and excited. Hectic spots of color rode high on her cheeks. She was exquisite.

It had been so long since he’d made love to a woman. These last years with the Liseni had caused him to block out all feeling. Domenic had gone through the motions—and no one had ever left his bed unsatisfied—but this was the first time there were any emotions connected with the act in what felt like forever.

Domenic ran his hands up Alex’s legs, loving the feel of her smooth, supple skin. When his hands reached her hips, he brought them back down, spreading her thighs apart. Still he kept his eyes on Alex’s face, and she sighed at the feel of his hands.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered and bent to kiss the inside of her knee. Alex’s eyes closed, and she shuddered.
Mine
, he thought silently. She finally belonged to him.

He turned his head and kissed her other knee, lingering for a moment and darting his tongue out against the sensitive flesh. Alex hissed as he licked up her leg to mid-thigh, alternating between legs, as he neared her sex. She made low noises as he went farther. Domenic hooked his arms under her legs, gripped her hips, and pulled her closer.

He dipped his head and exhaled against her slick flesh. Alex jerked, and her back arched up off the bed. Leaning forward, he placed his mouth at her center and drew his tongue upward, just brushing against where she was most sensitive. Alex’s hips rose in response, and he smiled. Domenic ran his tongue over her once more, this time flicking her clit with a little more pressure. Alex held her breath, one arm thrown over her head, her lips parted.

Domenic stopped to kiss her inner thigh again, and Alex growled at him. He laughed under his breath and bent his head toward her once again. As his mouth covered her, she moaned and spread her legs further. His tongue brushed against her repeatedly, at first with soft strokes, then gaining in pressure and speed. He slowed things down when he saw signs she was close to release so he could prolong the sensation. Alex had his sheets fisted in her hands, and her chest rose and fell rapidly.

“Domenic,
please
,” she begged. He increased the movement once more, and this time he didn’t slow down. Alex arched again, her head digging into the bed as it thrashed back and forth. She cried out incoherently and grabbed hold of his head as her hips pushed up against him. Domenic kept moving his tongue against her until the shuddering began to slow and then continued with long, lazy strokes, making her jerk and tremble under him.