by KD Jones
“Thank you.” He walked away, feeling relieved to get away from the woman. The only woman he wanted touching him was Sam. At that thought, he picked up speed, weaving through the crowd to get back to her. But when he rounded the corner of the bar, he didn’t see her. She wasn’t there. For the first time since he was a kid, he felt panicked and helpless. Where they hell had she gone?
He turned in circles, searching the large ballroom. He still didn’t see her, so he went over to the bar and waved the bartender over.
“What can I get you?”
“I am trying to find the woman I came in with. She was sitting in the corner over there.”
“The hot redhead?”
He growled at the man’s description of her, though he could hardly contradict it. “Yeah, did you see where she went?”
“I think I saw her going down the hallway, probably looking for the washroom,” the bartender said as he turned to pour a drink.
Dom didn’t waste any time, heading immediately in the direction the bartender had pointed to. Damn it, Sam! You better be okay!
*****
Sam walked down the hall and around a corner. This place was like one big labyrinth. She was going to have a hell of a time finding her way out of there. She looked in every room she passed searching for Vargas’s office. She stopped at the next door and was just reaching for the handle when the door suddenly opened and a man a few inches taller than her walked out.
She tried to look innocent. “I’m sorry, I think I’m lost. I’m looking for the bathroom.”
“Who are you?”
“I’m Samantha Porter.”
“I don’t remember inviting anyone by that name.”
Crap! “I’m friends with—Tamara Richter.” God, she hoped she’d remembered that name right.
He relaxed at hearing that name. “Tamara RSVPed that she was bringing a friend. I’m Gerald Vargas and this is my home. I haven’t seen you in our social circles before.”
She gave him a dazzling smile. “I’ve been away for a while and am thinking about move back.”
He took her elbow and led her away from the door he’d come out of. “Are you staying with Tamara?” He looked her up and down, straying back to her legs.
She shook her head “No, I’m staying at the Resort del Casio while I look at the housing market. You have a lovely home.”
He stopped by a door. “Thank you. I’d love to give you a tour, but I must get back to my guests.”
Men liked to be complemented. She should say something. “It’s an amazing party. Tamara told me you were attractive, but she didn't tell me just how good-looking you really were.”
His eyes lit up and he puffed out his unimpressive chest. “I’ll have to thank her for bringing such a delightful guest. When you’re done doing your business, I hope that you’ll do me the honor of dancing with me.”
“Oh, absolutely, the honor would be all mine.”
He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “Looking forward to it.” He motioned for her to enter the door for the bathroom.
She closed the door and locked it behind her. Then she rushed over to the sink and washed his slobber off of her hand. Her hands were shaking from having run into the one man that Dom didn’t want her to approach.
Sam had to get in that office, but was Vargas really gone? She waited about five minutes, hoping the man would no longer be out in the hallway. She peeked out the door, then exited the bathroom when the coast seemed clear. She started walking back down to the office, trying to not make a lot of noise in her stupid high heels. They were really annoying; she would never wear them again if she could help it.
“Sam!”
She literally jumped up in the air at the sound of her name being called from so close behind her. She turned to see a furious Dom heading her way.
“Shhh...you scared the shit out of me!”
Dom caught up with her, taking her arms in his hands gently but firmly, almost lifting her up in the air again. “I came back to find you gone. You almost gave me a heart attack.”
“I’m fine, as you can see.”
He growled right before he kissed her and she melted in his arms. God, it felt good to kiss him again, but she couldn’t let this go to her head. Her body was already on fire for him, but she had to protect her heart. She wiggled free of his embrace and ended his steamy kiss.
“Stop, Dom. Vargas might come back.” She pulled away from of him and moved down to the door that she knew had to go to the office. She turned the handle but it was locked, with a keypad on the door panel. She smirked; that certainly wasn’t going to keep her out.
“What are you doing?” Dom asked, coming to stand next to her.
“This is his office. I was looking for it so I could break into his system.”
“Sam, he could have caught you.”
“He did.”
“What?!”
She pulled out her computer and held it over the security keypad, typing a few keys. “He came out of this room and saw me. I told him that I was invited by your friend. Thank God I remembered her name. It seemed to win him over. Anyway, I told him I was trying to find the bathroom and he took me down the hall.”
Dom ran a hand through his hair as he kept a lookout to make sure they weren’t caught. “So he just showed you to the bathroom and left?”
“Pretty much.” She managed to unlock the code on the door and turned the handle. “Oh, and he wants to dance with me,” she told him as she entered the room.
“What?!”
“Close the door behind us while I hack into his computer.” Sam walked briskly over to the desk and plopped in the seat.
“You need to do this quickly. I don’t like having you anywhere near that man.”
“He wasn’t but a few inches taller than me. He seemed pretty harmless.”
“Don’t underestimate someone based on their size. I was considered the runt at my facility, but I was vicious if I had to be.”
She fought her instincts to rush over and hug him. Sam couldn’t let Dom get to her, not right now. She had a job to do: hack the shit out of this system.
A few seconds was all it took to get in. Oh, he had a nasty little tracker to detect users, but she could take that out no problem. She downloaded her own little program that would let her do what she needed to from the hotel. Then she shut everything off and got up.
“All done.” Sam walked over to a stunned Dom.
“That’s it?”
“I can get into his computer now anytime I want from the hotel.”
“How much time before you can get to the account?”
“I’ll watch from the hotel and see everything he does and get his electronic signature so that I can make the transfer. Depending on when he gets back on, it could be anywhere from a few hours to a couple of days.”
He opened the door to the hallway. “We should bypass the ballroom.”
“I can’t do that, he’s already seen me. If I don’t at least say goodbye, he’ll get suspicious and move the money before we even get back to the hotel.”
Dom growled his frustration. “I don’t like this.”
She stopped to stare up at him. He really was worried for her. She felt her resolve to harden her heart to him weakening despite knowing better. She put her hand on his chest. “We’ll go in separately because he thinks I’m here with your friend. I’ll go tell him that an emergency came up and that I have to leave early. I’ll meet outside by the shuttle taxi.”
“I don’t like this plan.”
“We’re so close to getting that GCFA money back. Trust me to not do anything that could put me in danger.”
He sighed and nodded his head. “You go in first and I’ll come in after you.”
“Ten minutes, we’ll be out of here in less than ten minutes,” she told him, hoping that it was true.
Chapter 13
Sam felt nervous as she made her way through the crowd over to where Vargas was standing and t
alking to a group of people. He spotted her and his face lit up. She had to admit, he wasn’t bad looking for an accountant and a thief. He was soft, though, no muscles like Dom.
“Ah, beautiful, I have been waiting anxiously for you. Are you ready for our dance?”
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Vargas, I got a message that there’s a family emergency and I need to leave early to take care of it.”
“I’m sorry to hear it. Perhaps we can meet for dinner some time. I could come by your hotel and pick you up.” He reached for her hand again and she did her best not to cringe when he slobbered once more on her knuckles. She would need hand sanitizer this time.
“Yes, that would be lovely.” She made her way through the crowd to the front door. She exited the house and went down the stairs without looking back.
Dom was leaning against the shuttle taxi waiting for her. He didn’t say anything as he opened the door and waited for her to climb inside. As soon as he got in and closed the door, he reached for her, pulling her onto his lap
She gasped in surprise. “Dom?”
He took her lips in a deep kiss. She tried to fight it, but with all the adrenaline running through her veins, she needed a release. What better way than to release her tension and fear by kissing Dom? She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. God, she loved kissing this man. He made her feel like the only thing he had to do was kiss her. All his attention and effort became focused on fucking her with his mouth.
Fire was building inside of her, running through her veins to all her erogenous points. No one made her feel like this. She may have been a virgin, but she had fooled around before. What she felt with Dom was so much more than anything she’d felt with other men. She loved touching and being touched. This was about more than the physical. He was still that little abandoned boy on the inside, and that pulled at her heartstrings like nothing else. She wanted to hold him and comfort him. She could admit to herself that she was falling in love with him. The problem was, she didn’t think he felt the same for her. That last thought had her pulling away reluctantly.
“Sam—”
“Back to the hotel, sir?” The driver interrupted what he was going to say.
“Yes.”
Sam felt heat rise to her cheeks as she moved off of his lap. She couldn’t believe that they were making out right there in front of the driver. She’d gone from a virgin to an oversexed exhibitionist. She needed a distraction. She pulled out her computer and checked the program she’d installed.
“Is it working?”
She was relieved that he was letting the moment pass. “Yes, but he hasn’t gotten back on his computer yet. I’m setting the alert so I’ll be notified when he logs in. With him having a party right now, it could be tomorrow before he gets back online.”
They didn’t talk the rest of the way back to the hotel, but she was aware of him the whole ride. There were times he glanced her way and she was almost hyperaware of each time it happened. Goose bumps formed on her arms, making her shiver. Why did he affect her so easily?
*****
Dom had a lot of work ahead of him. Sam was pulling away from him physically and emotionally. The one thing she couldn’t deny was their mutual attraction. He touched her and she lit up like fireworks. That was her weakness and he would use it to push past the walls she was erecting.
Sam was definitely his weakness now, in the sense that if anything happened to her, he knew he would completely lose control. For the few minutes when he couldn’t find her at the party, he’d felt such a panic inside. It was not a pleasant feeling at all and he hoped to never feel that again.
He rubbed the area above his heart, which was still beating a little fast from the stress of thinking Sam was in danger. Tonight had only served to prove just how much she meant to him and that he would do anything to win her back.
There were many things Dom had learned from his life on the streets. One of the most important was that you had to fight to protect what was yours and not let anyone take it from you. He knew he was relentless and determined when he made up his mind about something, and with that in mind, he made the conscious decision that he wasn’t giving her up. Now he just had to find a way to make up for his behavior and get her to forgive him.
The shuttle taxi stopped in front of the hotel and he quickly got out so that he could help her exit. To his relief, she took his offered hand and scooted all the way out. He didn’t let go of her hand once she was standing, though. He kept hold of her and walked her into the lobby of the hotel. He tugged her past the elevator when she started to slow down, clearly assuming they were going straight back to the suite.
She looked up at him in confusion. “Where are we going?”
“Dinner. We didn’t have dinner before going to the party. That was my fault. I thought we would go and eat at the hotel’s restaurant.”
“We could just order room service,” she offered.
He shook his head. “I promised you a real dinner, and I’m going to make sure you have it.” He was determined to take better care of her.
They entered the restaurant and were ushered to a table in a secluded corner. He ordered them two glasses of wine and an appetizer. As the waitress moved away to get their drink order, Sam caught a glimpse of them in a nearby mirror and was surprised at how much of a couple they looked like, almost like they were meant to be together. She sighed in frustration over her romantic thoughts.
“Sam, I want to apologize for behaving the way I did earlier today.”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them. If he wanted to go there, then they would go there. “Which part are you sorry for? That you fucked me to begin with? That you might have gotten me pregnant? Or are you sorry for walking out on me without any explanation?”
“I’m definitely sorry for the last part, sorry only in how I handled the second part, and absolutely not sorry for making love to you.” He ran his hand through his hair clearly, searching for the right words. “I came from nothing, had no family, no parents to raise me. I don’t have the first clue on how to be a boyfriend, much less a father. It was a lot at once. I was shaken to the core.”
“Do you think I know how to be someone’s mother? My grandfather took me in and raised me on his own, doing the best he could. I think more like a man at times than I do a woman. I’ve never had a serious relationship before. I’ve never even held a baby before. So it’s hard for me to be sympathetic to you freaking out when I’m freaking out myself.” She was breathing hard by the time she reached the end of her rant. She wouldn’t back down, though. He deserved everything she dished out.
He reached over and took her hands in his. “You are amazing and will make a wonderful mother. I would be honored and blessed to have a child with you. I just fear that I’ll screw it up, like I’ve already done. I ask for your forgiveness.”
She could see the sincerity in his eyes. What was she supposed to do? Hold on to her anger? She didn’t want to be angry with him anymore. Something about him appealed to her on every level.
“Just give me a chance to show you that I can be a better man for you and that I can be responsible for whatever comes next. Please.”
Her heart was racing. For a big, rough man like Dom to beg for her forgiveness left her feeling unsure and awkward. She didn’t want to have the power to hurt this man, but that’s what he was giving her the ability to do. She had to ask herself, what did she really want? The answer was simple. Him, I want Dom.
“I’ll give you a chance, but know this. If I am pregnant, I won’t let you hurt my child.”
“Our child, and I would never do that. If I do, you have my permission to kick my ass.”
She snorted. “I can’t kick your ass, but I could get someone else to do it for me.”
He growled as he reached for her, pulling her closer so that he could kiss her. She melted into his arms. The sound of someone clearing their throat broke them apart. Dom glared at the waitress, who looked scared
to death. Sam kicked him under the table.
The waitress turned to Sam. “Are you ready to order?”
“Yes, we are. Thank you.” They ordered their food and no sooner had the waitress left than Sam was back in his arms and he was once more nuzzling her neck.
Some common sense prevailed and she pulled away from him. “We can’t do this here, it’s too public.”
“There’s a private hot tub on the executive level. I was hoping we could head up there after dinner.”
“I don’t have my bikini.”
His voice deepened and he had heat in his eyes. “You won’t need it.”
Oh boy, how was she supposed to say no to that? She couldn’t. She felt heat rising to her cheeks. “Okay.” She licked her lips and his attention was drawn to her lips again.
He shifted in his seat. “Let’s eat quickly.”
She giggled. “You’re so bad.”
He winked at her. “You like me when I’m a little bad.”
No, she didn’t like him, she loved him. “We could get it to go and take it back to the room after the hot tub.”
He blinked a couple of times, then waved his hand to get the waitress’s attention. “Check, please!”
Chapter 14
Dom wasn’t taking any chances that she would change her mind. He had the waitress box up their food and held the bag in one hand while holding Sam’s hand in the other. He practically dragged her through the hotel lobby. This was taking too long. He bent at the knees and lifted her up over his shoulder easily with one hand.
“Dom! Put me down!”
“No, not until we reach the VIP level.”
She practically growled at him, which he found to be cute to hear from a human. Then she slapped his ass. He was startled at first, but then she did it again and he couldn’t keep from smiling.