Dominic’s ebony eyes held hers in thrall, almost as if he were begging her to tip the balance, to give him the certainty he could not find within himself.
She couldn’t do that. Wouldn’t. Lexie fought the press of tears and glanced away to stop the agony of what was coming.
Then he sucked in a breath and her own stilled. “Why did you lie about the code for the Easter egg, Bradley?”
Lexie blinked in shock.
Bradley stiffened beside her. “What?” He made a rude noise of disbelief. “What lies has she told you? I’m your best friend, Dominic. We’ve been through it all. Are you going to believe me—” His lip curled, and his glare should have withered her. “Or a liar like her?”
Lexie glanced quickly at Dominic, surprised to see a flicker of something warm in his gaze.
Quickly he shifted his gaze to Bradley, and his voice hardened. “You said you would take care of it, you would search every line of code to be certain that her claim could not be true. Did you? Did you search, or did you simply tell me what you wanted me to believe?”
“The code isn’t there.” Agitation sparked in Bradley’s frame, his voice sharp with an edge of hurt, of insult he would not easily forgive. “Go ahead, if she’s poisoned your mind so much that you’ve forgotten how long we’ve been friends, what we’ve meant to each other. Check my laptop. You’ll see the truth of it.” Every inch of his body shouted his dare.
It pained Dominic more than he would ever admit, having to press the issue. But the discrepancies were too glaring, the stakes too high. “I have already seen the truth. The man who wrote the software demonstrated it on my copy of the game just a few moments ago.” And the knowledge that his old friend had lied was a wound Dominic would not shrug off easily. “Why, Bradley? What is your stake in this?”
With a feral growl, Bradley grabbed Lexie again, jerking him to her, wrapping one arm around her throat, his other hand lifted in a posture Dominic couldn’t fail to recognize from the many classes they’d attended, the many mock battles they’d staged, working out together. He could snap her neck in seconds—
And he looked suddenly desperate enough to do it.
Lexie choked, struggling against Bradley’s hold.
“Tell her to stop moving, Dominic. You know what I can do. I promise you I will.”
Dominic forced his attention away from Bradley’s hands and focused on Lexie. “Be still, sweetheart. The hold he has on you is very dangerous. He could snap your neck between one breath and another.” Dominic fought the talons of fear clawing their way up his throat, forced himself to keep his voice steady. “Just be very still. I’m certain Bradley will listen to reason.” Though he knew nothing of the sort.
He turned to the friend he barely recognized, fury twisting Bradley’s once-handsome face into a misshapen mask. “Let her go. She’s done nothing to you.”
Bradley’s sharp laughter mocked him. “Of course she has—she’s spoiled everything.” His eyes had a far-off look, a subtle shading of something Dominic had never seen before. “I had it all in hand. I was this close, then she turned your head and upset the balance. At first she seemed a wonderful twist I could use to keep you in the dark. I’d figured a way to turn her meddling to my advantage.”
He tightened his grip on her throat, and Dominic watched fear leap into Lexie’s eyes as she desperately tried to force his arm away. He took a step forward.
“Stop it—” Bradley shouted. “Stop it or I’ll get a better revenge. I’ll take away something you care about even more than your precious company—” His eyes glittered, and Dominic began to wonder if his friend was completely sane.
One wrong move…he had to stay calm, despite his savage urge to charge, to tear Bradley limb from limb. Ruthlessly he clamped down on the violence simmering inside him. “Ease up on her, Bradley. It’s me you hate, not her.”
Bradley laughed, the pitch higher than normal. When he laughed, his grip eased.
Dominic watched with relief as Lexie’s breathing steadied. The flush drained from her face; her skin went paper-white, her eyes huge with terror. He wished he could reassure her that he would make sure she was safe, but he didn’t dare take his attention away from the man who presented a very real danger to her.
“I do hate you, you know.” An odd peace slid over Bradley’s face. “I didn’t want to. It bothered me a lot, at first—because I loved you like a brother for so many years.”
He had to keep Bradley talking. Surely someone would notice their absence. Perhaps Max would come looking. But Dominic counted on nothing except his own vigilance for Bradley’s slightest mistake.
“What changed?” He couldn’t quite keep the pain from his voice. “You were my brother and my best friend, the person I trusted most in the world.”
“You don’t have a very good track record with trust, do you, my friend? It’s a flaw in your character that you want so badly to trust, yet experience should have taught you by now that it’s a luxury you should not indulge.”
“But we built Poseidon together. We went through so many rough times. We were partners, Bradley—partners and friends.”
Bitterness echoed in Bradley’s voice. “Oh, how you deceive yourself when it suits you.” His face became a mask of hate. “We haven’t been partners in a very long time. Everything is always about Dominic, Saint Dominic, The Big Dog, Mr. High-and-Mighty.”
“You’ve been an important part of building this company.”
Bradley snorted. “Ah yes…your trusted lieutenant, I believe Time magazine called me? Your indispensable right arm, as PC magazine stated? I’m sick of standing in your shadow, Dominic. I want to stand in the sun for a change.”
“I’ll buy your stock from you at a very fair price. You’ll have the cash to start your own company.”
Lexie could feel the tremors of fury rock Bradley’s frame. His arm tightened on her throat again, and frantically she tried to slip her fingers beneath his arm to keep him from choking her again.
Dominic glanced at her, his gaze pleading. For what? What did he want?
Be still. It went against every ounce of instinct, but she forced herself to master the powerful urge to fight her way out of the hold.
She could see the tension beneath Dominic’s outward calm. One hand curled into a fist, then flexed, the motion repeating.
Grip. Relax. Grip. Relax.
Bradley’s laughter held only a sneer now. “But I don’t want a new company, old friend. I want Poseidon.”
Lexie saw disbelief slide over Dominic’s face.
“What?”
“I almost had it, too.” He laughed again, sharp and edgy. “You bought into the whole Kassaros scenario, hook line and sinker. Your old enemy has been a great convenience to me.”
Lexie felt his arm tighten, but this time she forced herself to not tense in reaction.
Bradley continued. “I had it carefully worked out. I had to be flexible, of course. Ariana’s appearance saved me the effort of having a proxy seek her out. A little wining and dining…your sister is quite delectable, Dominic. Fragile and so easily charmed by tender care—until Ms. Grayson supplanted my position as confidant.”
He leaned closer, whispering loudly in Lexie’s ear. “I really did not appreciate your very inconvenient timing. You complicated things far too much. With the new graphics software in place and clever little pointers toward Dominic, I only needed a little more time to cement my position before the launch, before he would be revealed as a thief and lose everything—but then you spoiled all my careful plans.”
She felt his other hand come up, rest against her head. A shiver ran down her backbone. She could see fear in Dominic’s eyes, the knowledge that danger was only a breath away.
Grip. Relax. Grip. Relax. Relax. Re—
Suddenly, Lexie got it. His advice at the picnic—
Do the unexpected. If your opponent expects resistance, do the opposite. Give way. Melt, do not force.
Dominic’s voice sounded
so casual. “How did you steal the software and integrate it without anyone suspecting?”
Bradley relaxed, boasting. “Easier than you might like to think. Naive little Josh showed me his creation.”
Lexie stared at Dominic, who caught her look. She mimicked his hand motion, and he nodded so faintly she might have imagined it.
“The design crew had heard rumors in a chat room from a friend of Lancaster’s boasting about what he’d developed. I—”
She seized the advantage of Bradley’s looser grip and let her muscles go lax, falling to the ground as dead weight—
Dominic charged, closing the distance between him and Bradley, ramming his shoulder, shoving Lexie away from danger.
She hit the ground and the breath whooshed out of her lungs. She gasped for air, scrambling to her feet, looking frantically for something to help Dominic—
But rage turned him into a man she’d never seen, a creature of immense power, of savage intent. Bradley fought back with desperation, his eyes gone feral, his lips drawn back from his teeth as though he’d gladly tear Dominic’s flesh from his body. The bruises on her throat reminded her that Bradley was prepared to go all the way, that he had nothing to lose now.
She thought she heard voices, heard the sounds of footsteps, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the struggle, wishing she could help.
Savage blows rained down; Bradley whirled, striking Dominic from behind. Dominic staggered, shook his head. Someone screamed, and Lexie realized it was her.
Bradley moved in, his voice shouting triumph as his hand sliced toward the tender place on Dominic’s throat—
A killing blow. She watched with horror, Bradley’s murderous intent plain on his face. Lexie knew a moment of fear so intense she couldn’t breathe. Nikos, her mind cried out. Dominic, my love—
At the last possible moment, Dominic gave way, just as he’d instructed her. Do the unexpected.
Bradley’s balance faltered. Quickly he scrambled to recover but he’d been too committed; now he was vulnerable. Dominic came at him with cold, deadly resolve, dropping him to the ground, arm raised back to strike, his face brutal as any warrior of ancient times caught in a fight to the death—
“Dominic—” she called softly, afraid to upset the balance but knowing he’d never be able to live with himself if he—
Then she saw the subtle shift in him, saw the knowledge of defeat in Bradley’s face. Dominic rose, using one foot to shove Bradley to his back, his disdain and disgust complete.
She waited for Bradley to come at him again, but instead Bradley closed his eyes, threw one arm over his face.
Dominic stood over him, his expression shifting from rage to pity to pain. “You were my friend,” he murmured. “I trusted you completely.”
She thought she’d never seen anything more sad in her life than the anguish that passed over Dominic’s face. She crossed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around his waist.
Dominic looked down at her for a moment, his eyes naked and vulnerable. Lost.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
A spasm passed over his features and his jaw went tight. “Do not pity me.”
She lifted to her tiptoes, pressed her hand to his cheek as her lips neared his. “It’s not pity, Nikos. I love you.”
Midnight eyes scanned hers for truth. His arms tightened fiercely around her, his head lowering to take hers in a hot, needy kiss—
Suddenly the chamber filled with people and shouts.
“Lexie,” she heard Max shout.
“Mr. Santorini—”
“Nikos—” Ariana cried.
They were swept up in the chaos. The policemen hired for security took Bradley into custody. A few straggling reporters there to cover the launch clamored for Dominic’s attention. Shocked employees clustered around him, trying to understand what had happened, what it meant to Poseidon.
Dominic was swallowed up in the needs of all those people who had prior claim on him. Lexie watched from a distance, every passing moment making her more aware of the chasm between them.
It was over. Dominic was innocent, just as she’d wanted so badly to believe. He’d only had a moment to ask Max to give him a chance to discuss compensation for the theft and ask for silence until they’d spoken. Max had agreed, and Dominic was very busy at the moment making sure that Bradley’s actions were explained in a way that would minimize the damage to Poseidon’s reputation.
He’d asked her to wait for him, too, but she was very tempted to leave. Watching him, she’d never been more painfully aware of his stature in the world, his fame and visibility, his importance to so many people.
He was every inch Dominic Santorini, tycoon of the electronic world. Not one tiny glimpse of her devilish, breath-stealing Nikos showed from behind the reserved and serious man who stood in the spotlight of cameras and microphones only yards away.
And she was only Lexie Grayson, the skinny orphan who lived in a geodesic dome and drove a pickup. Despite the heated, hungry kiss they’d barely begun to share, she knew they were not suited. It was only the moment, the brush with danger.
She would never fit in his world, even if he wanted it. He would leave eventually, anyway. He would see it. He needed a queen, a consort who would fit by his side, represent him well. Better to walk away now, before she bled to death from a stubborn heart that insisted on wishing for things that would never work.
She slipped away, resolving to call him later and thank him. Even now, the thought that he’d believed her and not Bradley touched her deeply. She wanted to make sure he knew that what they’d had together was something she’d never forget, even as she would reassure him that she didn’t expect more.
Perhaps they could be friends, though. She’d like that—
Suddenly a strong hand grabbed her arm, whirled her around—
“You said you would wait.”
“Dominic, I—” Her heart sped up as ebony eyes bored into her. She glanced back toward where they’d been. “You’re very busy. People need you. We can talk later—”
Dominic swore darkly, out of breath as he had not been while battling Bradley. Out of breath because he’d looked up and seen her slipping away—and known somehow that she would not be back. His voice turned harsh. “Forget what they need. What about you? What about me?”
She frowned. “What?”
He clasped her shoulders to keep her there. “You can say you love me and just walk away?”
Those green eyes shifted, glanced down. “Forget I said it. It was the heat of the moment.”
His heart stuttered. “You do not mean that.” His hands tightened.
Her lashes swept up, and anguish filled her gaze. “How can you tell what to believe? I have lied to you, Dominic. I spied on you. I withheld secrets you needed to know—” Suddenly her voice cracked. “Bradley could have killed you—” Tears spilled over her lashes.
Dominic goggled. “Me? Lexie, he was within a breath of snapping your neck—to get back at me. I was not the one in danger.” Until the day he died, that image would haunt him—her pale skin, her huge eyes, her slender throat beneath the hands of a man who would end her life without remorse. “I died more with every moment, watching him, knowing how easily—” His throat tightened, choking off his voice.
He pulled her into his arms, and she resisted, placing one small hand on his chest.
“Lexie, what is it?”
“Dominic, it’s been a very emotional evening. We need some distance. Once you think about it, you’ll see that we can’t possibly—”
The edges of his vision darkened, everything around them vanishing until he could only see her, only hear in her voice that she was going to leave before they ever had a chance to begin—
“Marry me.” He had to bind her to him, had to find a way to keep her. Something inside him would be lost forever if she left.
She stiffened, her head jerking up, her eyes going wide. “What did you say?”
; “Don’t go. Marry me, Lexie.” He could see the frown begin, the tiny shake of her head. He rushed to build his case. “I will wrap you in luxury every day of your life. I will take care of you. I will show you the world, give you anything your heart desires—”
She looked at him as if he’d slapped her. “I don’t need luxury, Dominic. You’re talking about things. I don’t care about things.” Her frown deepened.
She was slipping from his grasp, and he stood there helpless to detain her.
“I love you.” He’d never said those words to another soul, not since he was a small boy, easy and secure in the knowledge of his mother’s love, never knowing she’d be gone before he reached his tenth birthday. His breath coming hard, he prodded.
“Don’t you love me? You told me you loved me. Was it a lie?”
“No.” She lifted that mesmerizing green gaze to his, sadness lurking in the shadows. “I do love you, but that’s not the point.”
“What is the point?” He had to make her see. He fell back on logic, always his friend. “I love you. I want to take care of you. I can give you anything your heart desires.”
“Stop it, Dominic.” Fear rose in her eyes, fear he couldn’t understand. “Let me go. Just let me go.”
“I will not let you go. You are making no sense. I love you—does that mean nothing? I’ve never said that to a woman in my life.”
She tried for a smile. “And I’m honored. But it doesn’t matter.”
He loosened his grip in astonishment, then snatched her back the second she pulled away. “Stay right there. You will explain to me.”
Her lips tilted upward for a fleeting moment. He found himself almost wishing she’d cry. Tears would be better than this sad certainty that filled her gaze.
“My father said he loved me every day for eight years, then one day he left without a word. I gave my virginity to a boy who said he loved me, then he walked away and married another woman.” She touched his cheek gently. “Saying ‘I love you’ is easy, Dominic. People say it all the time. Words are easy—”
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