Dominic: Her Warlock Protector Book 1 (7 page)

They were both momentarily distracted by what seemed like a flash of lightning striking out of the clear summer sky. It might have been a malfunctioning light in one of the buildings, or perhaps there were clouds behind the buildings that they couldn't see, but it raised goosebumps on Sophia's skin.

Greg Burns started his car again. Sophia wondered if the man was just depressed. It would be an easy thing to tell his wife, though whether Amanda believed her would be a completely other story.
 

He pulled onto the freeway, but instead of going home, he pulled off at an exit that Sophia didn't know. She followed him onto the off-ramp, down the road, and after giving a few more cars space to enter before she did, into a hospital parking lot.

She paid for her parking, and lurked until she found his sedan. There she waited, her stomach tied in knots. This was what Amanda had been looking for. If she had been asked half an hour ago if she wanted to tell Amanda that Greg wasn't cheating, she would have been ecstatic. Instead, the knowledge of what was going on preyed on her, sat like a stone in her stomach, and she didn't know what to do. She sat in her car for more than an hour. Though she grew hungry, she ignored it. She was thirsty but ignored that too.
 

Sometime around four in the afternoon, Greg showed up again and got into his car. He didn't move, however, and Sophia's tension rose and rose.

You have enough to give to Amanda,
she said to herself.
This is none of your business. None.

She had spent what felt like her whole life staying under the radar. Her mother had once said that her dark eyes never missed a single trick. If you wanted to know something, you could always ask Sophia. She wasn't the one who comforted people. She wasn't the one who took charge.

Sophia knew she should leave, but instead, she sighed, and got out of her car. She could see Greg's surprise when she came to stand beside his window. His eyes were a bloodshot red. Like Amanda, he was middle-aged. He was a lanky man with a thatch of hair that was as unruly as that of the teenager he had once been. It was easy to see how he and Amanda fit each other, and why she would be so hurt and so very confused when she suspected he was sleeping with another woman.
 

Sophia rapped on the window. At first, he didn't seem to understand why she was there. Then, worried and slightly suspicious, he rolled his window down part of the way.

“Can I help you?”
 

For a moment, Sophia wasn't sure how she wanted to proceed. It was one thing to see a tragedy in the process of being born. It was another trying to figure out a way to stop it. This was something she had never done before. For a moments, she thought of fading out. She could see his eyes start to waver as he began to forget that there was someone standing next to his car. But Sophia thought of Amanda, and she shook her head hard.

“You need to tell her.”
 

“What?”

“You need to tell her. She deserves to know.”
 

Tears filled his eyes, and she couldn't tell if they were tears of rage or sorrow.

“It's fine,” he choked. “It's not terminal, they say they caught it in time. They said...they said that I'm probably going to be fine, but she's...she's got a heart condition, she worries, she gets scared...”

“She should know,” Sophia said sternly, and she knew that her voice was growing louder. “You love her, and she needs to know, sir.”

“I...I can't...”

“You can. Because she will find out on her own, and then she will never trust you again.”

The words seemed to strike the man like a body blow, and he hung his head. For a long time, he was silent.

“Who are you?” he asked, “What do you care?”

“Let's...let's say that I'm a friend. Just tell her.”
 

He held her gaze for another long moment, and finally, he nodded.
 

She wished she could tell him it would be all right. That no matter what happened, he and Amanda would be together. But she couldn't. Instead, she walked back to her car and sat there as he pulled out and drove away.

Her thoughts drifted to Dominic. She remembered with vivid clarity his hands on her body, the sweet boyish smile on his face, and the way his breath had felt on her neck.
 

“I want you,” she whispered, and across town, to Dominic's consternation, the quartz in his hand lit up far more boldly than it ever had before and subsided to silence again.

THE NEXT FEW days were a nightmare. Work was fine, if challenging, and the nastiest anyone got was slamming a door in her face while she was tracking down a dead man's heirs. The thing that made it a nightmare was Brent.

He had respected her wishes not to talk about coming to his home, but his disapproval hung over her and her work like a wet towel. Whenever she was in the office, she squirmed under his sharp gaze. More than once, she had looked up to find him in the doorway, simply watching her. It got so bad that she was making excuses to do her work on the road or at the library. By the time Friday rolled around, she was ready for a few days away from him.

I like him a lot, but man, he's a creeper sometimes.

Friday was as beautiful as the entire week had been, but there was a faint chill to the air that hinted at rain. Grinning, Sophia walked to the small park across the river, where there was a free jazz concert playing. She didn't have to fade out to be ignored. In her customary black skirt and gray tank top, she was as unremarkable as she could be. She listened to the music, she watched the couples holding each other, and she smiled at the families on blankets on the green. There was a carefree beauty to it all, and for once, it was close enough that she could touch.

She was just trying to decide whether she should go home and make a sandwich or whether she would splurge at one of the fried food stands on the edge of the park when someone spoke her name.

Startled, she turned, and she looked up and up into Dominic's surprised face.

“Sophia...”

There was surely too much longing in his voice for only having known her for a few hours. There was surely too much sweetness and tenderness in the way he looked at her. She knew these things were true, but she also knew the way her body swayed towards him, and how how she felt when he reached out one hand as if to touch her and really understand that she was real.

To her disappointment and her relief, however, he pulled his hand away and shoved it into his pocket instead. The crowd swirled around them, and the sounds of the jazz band were muted. It was as if nothing existed in the world except for the two of them.

“It's you,” she found herself murmuring.

He smiled, as if relieved that she remembered him. It was foolishness for a man that handsome to look so shy, but he did.

“It is...Sophia...I...what did I do?”

Sophia's eyes widened at the hurt and anxiety in his voice. Now that she looked closer, she could see that he was drawn and tired. In the dimming light of early evening, she could see the lavender circles under his eyes, and the stiff set to his shoulders.

“What do you mean?” she stuttered.

“When I left, you were gone. I.. I would like to know if I did something that offended you, that hurt you.”

“No! I mean, no, I wasn't...it wasn't that, Dominic.”

His smile was bright but it was brief. It became something a little more wistful.

“Was it simple disinterest then? That would surprise me, but I could understand it...”

“It wasn't disinterest, either.”
 

Sophia's head was spinning. The man who had been haunting her thoughts for the entire week was suddenly right there in front of her. He was gorgeous in a way that she had only ever imagined, and the look on his face tore her heart.

For some reason, she thought of Amanda and Greg. She thought of the grief that they had put each other through simply because they were unable to be honest, to be vulnerable. That was the crux of it, she realized. To be seen meant that perhaps she would suffer. Perhaps things would be harmful, or perhaps she would be changed.

She remembered the knives in Dominic’s boots. She remembered the chilling conversation he’d had. She also knew that whoever he was looking for, he did not think it was her. Dominic didn't lie, she realized with instant understanding.

“I'm tired,” she said finally. Her words came out choked and with a slight sob.
 

He looked alarmed, and she reached out a hand to snag at the hem of his T-shirt.

“I'm just…so, so tired,” she repeated, her voice little more than a whisper.

In a moment, his arms were around her, and he was guiding her to the shelter of a large building nearby. Next to the brick wall, they were away from the clamor of the concert, and it was like they were alone again.

“What, honey? What's made you so tired?”

“Being without you.”

The words came out on a breath, honest in a way that Sophia was unsure she had ever been even with herself. She had been hiding for so long, too long, and she realized that she had to give it over or find herself choked.

“I don't want to be without you,” she whispered, and he pulled her tight into his arms.
 

“You won't be,” he swore. “You won't be.”
 

IN ROMANCE NOVELS and movies, Sophia reflected, the couple in love were always steps away from the most convenient bed or a private corner. In real life, however, they had to make their way out of the park. Then he walked her to her apartment nearby so she could feed her cat and change into fresh clothes.

He was waiting in the hallway and, as she reached for another skirt and tank top, she hesitated. She made a decision, and instead grabbed a red sundress, one that had been buried at the back of her closet for years. Red was showy. Red called attention. She was desperately tired of gray. She put the dress on, and then after a moment, she reached into her underwear drawer too.

When she stepped out into the hallway, Dominic's eyes widened, and he gave a low wolf whistle.

“I am so glad you want me to see you,” he said, and she smiled shyly.

He took her to his hotel room. It wasn't far away, but the luxury when compared to her homey little apartment was unbelievable. The whisper-soft elevator took them straight to the penthouse, and she gasped to see it. The rooms were lavish, and through a set of beautiful French doors was a bed that looked a mile wide. Suddenly she was shy again, and she turned to Dominic.

“Do you like it?” he asked.

“I…surely not for me?”

His grin was fierce, and for a moment, she thought of a conquering warrior returning home with his prize.

“It's all for you,” he promised. “All of it, if you want it. That includes me.”

On that front, at least, she had no fears, and without a single moment of worry, she reached for him.

Sophia yelped when he swept her up in his arms. She was short, but she was far from light. He carried her as if she weighed no more than a feather. In his arms, she felt a subtle tickle run over her body. She delighted in how close they were, how they could make each other feel.

He set her down in the center of the bed and raised himself over her, looking down at her for a long moment.

“What do you see?” she asked half-fearfully.
 

His smile was as soft as the summer dawn. “A beautiful woman that makes my heart ache,” he responded, leaning down to touch his forehead to hers.
 

They held each other's gaze, and she thought that she could get lost in the green. There was something wild about this man. She hadn't forgotten the danger he offered, but right now, all of that mattered far less than the fact that they were together. It was perfect, it was right, and she refused to let anything get in the way. Words caught in her throat. The daggers, the conversation he had had. The way he knew so little about her and her own past. It was as if Dominic could sense all of that. Instead of waiting for her to speak, he leaned down and brushed his mouth against hers.

The kiss was deep and drugging, and sent warmth coursing through her body. She cupped her hand around the back of his neck and brought him in closer. She slid her tongue along his lower lip, relishing the shiver that coursed through his frame, and then her tongue was inside his mouth. The way he tasted was something amazing to her. It was perfect and perfectly him. She thought that she would be happy to kiss this man until the stars sank into the sea.

For several long moments, he was content to let her kiss him exactly how she wished, but she could feel the moment that something more potent swept through his frame. She glanced out the tall glass doors that led to the balcony, and behind him, she could see the sky darkening. The storm that was promised was rolling in, and it only added to her excitement.

“Open the windows,” she said softly.

If he were another man, the grin that he gave her would have frankly terrified her. Instead, it thrilled her, and she watched as he bounded over to the tall windows, tearing them open and letting the fresh summer air in. The sky was darkening moment by moment, sullen with the weight of cleansing water. She understood in a way that she never had before how much real love was like a storm. It waited and waited, but when it felt right, it struck like lightening.

Silhouetted against the sky, Dominic stripped down to his skin, and she thought of gods, mysterious and powerful. They stalked the land looking for women to make their own, and right now, that was all she wanted.

He stalked back to bed, and she rose up on her knees, spreading her arms to him like a supplicant.

“Have me,” she said, her voice just one shade off from begging. “Have me, take me…”

In the dim light, she could still see how his eyes darkened with desire. Her words sent a shiver through him, but he kept his hands at his side.

“Say it again,” he told her, his voice a deep rumble.

That was right, too. A sacrifice must be willing or else it meant nothing, and she swept her hands down her body, as if showing him what belonged to him.