Sweet Seduction Sacrifice

by Nicola Claire

  "Sweetheart, you're as white as a sheet," Dominic commented, pulling me towards a stool at one of the kitchen benches and helping me climb on to it. He ran his hands up and down my arms, maybe to bring circulation back into them, maybe just for the contact and to let me know I wasn't alone. It didn't matter why, it felt good and I managed to get a full breath of air in to help settle my mind.

  I smiled up at him, or least attempted to, he looked so concerned. Genuinely so. I blinked at him and cocked my head.

  "You're a good man," I murmured, then frowned at the fact I had said that aloud. What was wrong with me?

  Dominic raised his eyebrows at me in question, then asked drolly, "You questioned that?"

  My smile turned sincere. "What's for lunch?" I asked, deciding to turn the conversation away from life altering realisations and genuinely good men.

  Dominic frowned briefly, clearly seeing my ploy for what it was.

  "It's an early dinner, you've slept most of the day away and must be starved. You hardly ate any breakfast, you didn't finish your dinner last night, so rather than mucking around with snacks, I'm feeding you a proper meal. And you'll eat every morsel I put in front of you, if you know what's good for you, sweetheart."

  "Is that a threat?" I asked, amused at his demands.

  "It's a promise." He said leaning in and laying a light kiss against my forehead. "Now, it's early but I see no reason to eat good Italian food without a decent red wine. You up for a glass?"

  I thought about that, and I thought about my life altering realisation, and I decided I'd like to commiserate - or celebrate, it was kind of hard to tell. But realising Brett was no longer going to be a part of my life no matter what, needed to be celebrated. So, celebrate it was and a glass of wine was the best way to go.

  "I'd love one," I answered with a firm nod of my head to emphasise the point. Dominic chuckled and headed to a cupboard, pulling down two long stemmed wine glasses and opening up a New Zealand Merlot. He half filled the glasses and then recapped the wine bottle - God I missed corks - and then brought both over to me at the bench. Handing me one, he offered his glass for a toast and said, "To new beginnings."

  I stared at him, wondering if in fact he'd read my mind after all, then deciding that was ridiculous, my mouth chose to add, "Saying good-bye to the old."

  Dominic's eyes flashed, intensely. Our glasses clinked and we both took sips.

  Then Dominic said low, "It's sealed now, sweetheart."

  I blinked at him over my glass, the beautiful rich taste of Merlot coating my lips and making me lick them. His eyes followed the movement, so I said, "What?" Yeah, I really knew how to dazzle with eloquence.

  "Well," he said, leaning down on the bench on his elbow, placing himself well within my space. He twirled his wine around in his glass as it hung over the side of the bench in his hand. "For starters, I've tasted you now. I've made you come. You've made me come. I've moved inside you." His voice remained low, but my blood pressure shot through the roof. "I know how you look when I fill you up. I've heard how you say my name when you come from my touch. And," he added, taking a sip of his wine as though this topic of conversation was not making my heart explode in my chest. "We've shared a toast. To new beginnings and saying good-bye to the old. It's sealed now," he repeated and finished.

  "What world do you live in?" I asked stunned.

  "Our world now," he replied casually.

  "Only for two days," I shot back. Even though every fibre of my body wanted to believe now, I had come to the realisation that Brett was never going to get back in my life, thereby sacrificing Sweet Seduction for my independence and sanity. I knew Dominic was not the sort of man you tied down. He had a cellphone woman in the wings. He was never going to be just mine and I wasn't sure I could be anything less than his world. Because he would most definitely be all of mine.

  I wasn't going to leave one prison for another. Life changing realisations had a tendency to make you think clearly. And I wouldn't play second fiddle to another woman, or to a gambling debt, or to anything else ever again.

  Dominic smiled at me, it was a knowing smile, as though he was aware of some important piece of information, that I was not.

  "Sweetheart," he said dryly, "you think we could have what we have just had and I'd let you walk away?"

  "You promised," I replied, getting more and more stunned as he continued to talk. "Two days to make memories to last a lifetime. Then we walk away."

  "Genevieve." That voice. "I lied." My stomach plummeted, I was annoyed to note, in a good way. "And it's sealed now. You are mine."

  "You're crazy," I whispered, déjà vu moment. I'd said that before.

  "Am I?" he asked simply. "Didn't you just toast to saying good-bye to the old? I didn't say that, you did. It's one of things I love about you, sweetheart, that your mouth says what's in your heart, before your brain can refuse the words."

  I blinked several times. Trying futilely to still my runaway heartbeat. He'd said what I love about you. No one uses the L-word after only four days. And on top of that, he was right. My mouth does say things that come from deep within, before I get a chance to filter them at all. It's a curse, but obviously one he finds to his advantage.

  "That's not fair," I commented, finishing my thoughts aloud.

  He smiled. "It's fantastic. How else would I know what's going on in here." He reached up and tapped my forehead gently.

  "I can't help it," I defended myself.

  "You don't need to," he replied. "Keep 'em coming, sweetheart. I want to know everything I can about what makes you tick."

  "But..." I managed.

  "But nothing. You've made a decision this afternoon, I'm not sure exactly what, but I can tell it was important. And from your toast, I can also tell it's to my advantage. I'm not opposed to using every opportunity that is presented to get what I want." I stared at him, wine glass in my hand forgotten. "And Genevieve," he added softly, "I want you."

  With that he stood up and returned to his Bolognese on the stove, fussed with the now cooked pasta and began to serve up onto two large white plates. I was gobsmacked, unable to move or think or barely breathe. He'd turned the tables, or had the tables not been what I thought right from the start? I felt like he may have played me, but despite that nasty thought, I couldn't seem to get mad. Because really, every word that spilled from his lips was so very wanted. I did want him to want me. I did want him to want more than just these two days. And I did want him to get to know everything that made me tick, as he said.

  But that didn't mean it didn't half scare me to death, because no matter how beautiful the notion was, I couldn't get those cellphone calls out of my head. I was sure he had another woman in the wings, but he acted like I was the only one. Which begged the question, was Dominic Anscombe a player, or was my gut instinct wrong?

  Chapter 23

  Maybe I Liked To Stick To My Word Too

  Somehow I managed to eat the meal Dominic had created, probably because it smelled so very divine that I had to take a bite and once I'd done that, there was no going back. I'd slept and despite recent life changing events, I was famished. He'd been right, I'd not eaten properly since last night and even then my meal was cut short.

  The wine accompanying the meal was delightful and one glass led to two and then when the meal was completed, led to a top-up of my glass. And when he took hold of my hand and pulled me into the lounge, I simply followed. Dominic tucked me into his side on the couch, reached over for a remote on the side table and turned the stereo on. Classical music came out of the surreptitiously placed speakers. Although we sell classical music in the store, I'm not up on who is who, but it was nice. Soft and delicate, it felt uplifting and gentle in the background. And also not distracting in the way songs with lyrics so often are.

  He wrapped one arm around my shoulders, leaned back into the couch with his bare feet up on the coffee table and proceeded to drink his wine languidly, listening to the music and snuggling into my si
de. Like with everything he did, Dominic seemed completely at ease and in control. There was no urgency to fill the silence between us, he was comfortable and content just to have me curved into his side. After several minutes I decided to hell with it, and took another sip of my wine, allowing my frame to mould into his and savouring the peace and quiet. And how good it felt to just be. Nothing else. Just us.

  By the time I finished my wine I was slightly tipsy. Three glasses seem to be my limit and they'd been pretty big glasses, despite Dominic only filling them halfway.

  I placed my glass on the table in front of us, leaning forward to do so. When I came back to rest into Dominic, he'd shifted. Somehow managing to lie out on the couch behind me, his own glass discarded to the side table, and when I returned to my seat, he picked me up and lay my body out on top of his.

  "Hey!" I got out before his lips brushed against mine softly.

  "How drunk are you?" he breathed against them, then licked along the bottom one making a shiver shoot down my spine.

  "I'm not drunk," I shlightly shlurred.

  He chuckled. "You powered through that last glass and if the way you slammed it down on the coffee table is anything to go by, you're a little bit pissed already."

  "Am not," I argued back, futilely it would seem.

  "That's all right, sweetheart. I was figuring you were celebrating, if you're not finished I can get out the Baileys or would you like something else. Scotch? Brandy? I'd be delighted to see you really let loose, it will be that much more entertaining when I fuck you senseless right here on the couch."

  I really had no answer to that, but I knew there would be no further alcoholic consumption, that was for sure. If the way his straight words and the intense gleam in his eyes made me melt inside and a delicious heat pool between my legs was anything to go by, I didn't need any further inebriation. It would only lead to embarrassment and encouraging that was not a good idea.

  "I'm fine," I replied, carefully sounding out each word.

  "Adorable," he murmured, his lips beginning a trail down my neck. "I'll get you drunk another night, right now I can't wait long enough for you to consume anything further. Unless you wish to consume me?" The last was said in a sexy purr, but my mind had stalled on him, once again, talking of a future together. I'll get you drunk another night. It was as though, for Dominic, there was no further doubt in his mind. He'd declared us sealed, I was his, he'd said it. And that was evidently that.

  "What?" I said ineloquently.

  "Do you want to consume me?" he repeated. "Taste me? Drink me?" He groaned at his own words, his hips rocking gently back up against my stomach, bringing my attention to his straining erection. "I couldn't picture a more beautiful thing than your lips wrapped around my cock."

  Holy cow. Now I was picturing it. I shifted on top of him, trying to assuage the need and desire he'd just fuelled inside.

  "That's it!" he declared loudly, knifing up with me in his lap. "You're going to suck me and then I'm going to eat you. And then I'll fuck you senseless on this couch."

  As far as plans went it was pretty good and suddenly I was fumbling with his jeans buttons and helping him lower them to his feet. He kicked them off, showing me he had gone commando under there, which, really, was quite something else. Then he lay down on the couch and looked up at me, hands behind his head, ready for the fun to begin.

  "Strip," he commanded. I blinked. I didn't need to strip to taste him. "As much as I like you in my shirt, sweetheart, I want to see you completely naked when you suck me off."

  Oh. All right then. I undid the buttons and let the shirt fall to the floor at the side of the couch. Then had the horrifying thought that the cameras may not have been switched off and Eric was getting an eyeful in the ASI control room right now. I covered my breasts with both arms.

  "Uh-ah," he murmured, reaching forward to untangle my arms, forcing them to reveal my nudity to one and all. "When we're having sex, you will always be naked."

  He said that as though it was a given, and also, I noted, didn't include him. He'd proven that theory already, when he fucked me against the wall in the bathroom that first time. He'd had his shirt and tie on, and I think his shoes and socks, but I'd been naked. Completely. Just as he'd instructed right now.

  I wanted to get angry at that disparity, but it actually just turned me on. And then I remembered the cameras. I bit my bottom lip, trying to decide how to bring them up.

  "You have a problem with me fucking you naked, sweetheart?" he asked, seriously.

  "Um.." I managed, but he interrupted.

  "You are mine when you share my bed, I want all of you. Do you understand? Nothing hidden, nothing held back. I know we're still working on some of that, it's early days, but you need to know how I feel. When I sink into you, I want to see all of you. Every single time."

  I stared at him, swallowing thickly. I liked that he wanted to see all of me, that wasn't the problem. The problem had been the thought of the cameras still rolling and Eric at ASI copping a look. But now there was another problem. When you are sharing my bed. It didn't scream romantic, to me it sounded like a caveat he placed on every single relationship, and for some strange reason it didn't sound exclusive to us. Like he'd say the same thing to cellphone woman, at the same time as he'd say it to me.

  "You say that to all your women?" my mouth asked, my brain just cringed at the words.

  "Yes," he replied and my stomach fell to my feet.

  "And they all agree?" my mouth pushed and my brain decided to just take a hike and leave it to it.

  "Do you have a problem giving me all of you, Genevieve?" And my name wasn't said in that sensual way of his, it sounded like he was getting angry.

  "No," I replied and breathed a sigh of relief that that's all that came out of my mouth.

  "Then what's your problem?" he asked levelly.

  "My problem?" I repeated on a question.

  "Yes. You obviously have a problem, if it's not letting me see all of you naked when we fuck, then maybe it's the idea of being mine. I can't tell, so I have to ask, what's your problem."

  OK, if he was going to be a jerk about it, then I'd tell him. My brain stuttered awake at that thought and attempted to intervene. My mouth was having none of it.

  "I'm just surprised that you find the time to place such demands on your all women, but clearly not the conscience to think that it could be wrong."

  I felt his anger before it reached his eyes, it was like a heatwave rolling off his body. His eyes turned dark, intense, scary looking. Killer lawyer was back in the room.

  "And how, pray tell, do you associate me wanting to see your naked body when we have sex to being so very wrong?" Each word was spoken through gritted teeth. Then he flinched slightly, as something occurred to him. "What do you mean all your women? Just how many women do you think I am fucking right now?"

  Oh, and he'd finally got it.

  "I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" I shot back, crossing my arms over my chest, which only made me realise I was arguing with Dominic Anscombe while we were both buck naked.

  "You have got to be kidding me," he growled sitting upright.

  "The cellphone calls," my mouth advised him and my eyes got wide on each word. Shut up! Shut the fuck up, Gen!

  "What cellphone calls?" he asked in a low voice, but the scary was still there.

  "Nothing," I said with a shake of my head and reached down to the floor to nab his shirt.

  Dominic's hand wrapped around my wrist to stop me. "Oh, no you don't, sweetheart. We're having this out right now and if I can't fuck you naked, then I'm quite happy to argue with you naked instead."

  I glared at him and for some strange reason he smiled back.

  "The cellphone calls," he prompted.

  I closed my eyes for a moment, wishing I was anywhere else but here. "Just forget about it, OK?" I requested, trying to tug my wrist free of his hand.

  "Genevieve," he said in that voice.

  "Please," I
begged.

  His lips pressed into a tight line. "This isn't over," he declared. I shook my head back and forth, but wouldn't open my eyes.

  "For your information," he said, suddenly appearing at my side, his words whispered against the sensitive skin at the side of my neck. "At this very moment, there is no one else but you. I would expect the same in return, exclusivity. You're in my bed, I'm in yours, no one else gets a look in. For either of us."

  At this very moment. It was all I could hear. Oh, I knew he'd said other things, things that should have settled my mind and made me feel secure. But I couldn't get past those four words. At this very moment, like his promise only applied to right now. When the doors on this house were unlocked and we returned to reality, anything was game.

  "I don't feel like tasting you right now," I said belligerently.

  "That's all right, sweetheart. I'll do all the work."

  "The cameras," I said in desperation as his tongue lay a trail down my neck and his fingers found a nipple.

  "What about them?" He mumbled against my skin as he pressed me back onto the couch and covered my body with his.

  "Eric's watching," I managed between gasps. How the hell he could get me from angry and unwilling, to turned on and ready to rock and roll with a simple touch, was beyond me. My body craved this man, despite my misgivings.

  "Like bloody hell he is," Dominic said, lifting his head to look me in the eyes. "They'll be switched off. As soon as I enter a room with you, they know to switch them off. If something happens that's private, they're trained to switch them off. Nick runs a tight ship, they know not to stray from the rules. Besides," he said ducking his head to my throat and kissing me softly there, "something else you should know about me, sweetheart. I won't let anyone see you compromised, ever. I will always protect you from unnecessary harm."

  Oh Lord, and now he'd done it. He'd broken through the shell. I'd never had anyone declare so honestly that they'd look out for me above all else. Jason had of course, but he's my brother. You kind of come to expect that sort of thing. But Brett never had, it was an all-for-one-type policy with Brett. If you couldn't look after yourself, he didn't really care. The only person Brett truly cared about, was himself.