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When she kept her face burrowed into his neck, Dominic sensed something was off. “Maria, what’s wrong?”

Wanting to continue to stay there a little longer, she wasn’t sure she could look him in the eyes. She liked the way his skin smelled even more fiery up close, and it hurt to look Dom in the eyes when he was sad or, worse, heartbroken.

“I talked to Angel,” she spoke into his skin, hating she even had to say this to him, hating this fucking happened to him. “He didn’t tell me what exactly happened, but he told me that you didn’t get to choose your first time.”

Dominic continued his thumb motion on her thigh. “Oh.”

“Are you upset he told me?”

“No,” he assured her sweetly, “I’m not upset. I would have told you eventually.”

Maria squeezed him tighter as her throat closed. “I’m so sorry that happened to you.”

“It’s all right. It happened a long time ago.” He placed a kiss on her shoulder. “There’s no reason to be upset, princess. I’m not anymore.”

“Well, you’re nicer than me. I’ll never get over it.”

Dom chuckled at his black-hearted princess’s joke, knowing it was true. “Maria.”

She lifted her head from his neck, knowing he wanted to see her eyes.

“I just want you to know that the only reason I want to protect your virginity is because I didn’t get to protect mine.”

“I know,” she told him before placing her face back in the crook of his neck, liking how warm he was there. “But you taking my virginity, with or without a stupid piece of paper, isn’t protecting it, because it’s something I want. I choose.”

“I understand, and I’m glad you trust me with it, but”—Dominic smiled—“you’re still going to have to wait till after we’re married.”

Maria brought her face out of neck again. “Confident, aren’t we?”

“Yes.” Dominic showed her his dimples that she loved so much. “I’m going to get you to marry me, Maria Caruso, even if it’s the last thing I do.”

“Well”—she brought her lips closer to his—“you’re going to be waiting a long time.”

“That’s fine.”

“You prepared to wait that long for me?” She teasingly brought her lips even closer to his without letting them touch.

“I’m a patient man,” he teased back, showing no signs of mercy. “You’re the one who’s going to break, princess.”

Maria let their lips only touch for a second before she pulled away. “Never.”

Dominic laughed, and when she placed her face back in his neck, he gave her another sweet, tender kiss on her shoulder, whispering a promise onto her skin. “I’ll wait forever for you, princess.”

“Good luck,” she told him with a yawn after her long day, and watching him look sleepy made her look sleepy.

Going to her pink strappy heels that matched her monochromatic pink dress, Dominic took his time carefully removing them.

Maria was already breaking, getting turned on by watching him take off her heels. It was the way he grabbed them and pointed her feet to show off her white toenail polish that had her about ready to say vows here and now.

“Don’t.” Maria moved her naked foot before he could grab it after he had taken both heels off. “I get to wear heels twenty-four seven for a reason.”

He looked at her confused.

“The bottom of my feet are tough,” she informed him, letting him know the downside to being able to withstand the pain. “You can touch my feet in heels, but you don’t want to touch them without.”

“Well, that’s too bad,” Dominic said, taking her foot in his hand anyway. “You’ll have to get used to it.”

Ugh, Maria wanted to melt, liking the way he touched her feet, slightly massaging them as if he could rub them into being soft again.

“You know, you could at least take me on a date before asking me to marry you,” she grumbled, wanting to jump his bones already.

“You’re right.” He laughed, seeing that he was making it hard for her already. He stopped, picked her up in his arms, and looked down at her with his dimples on display. “How about tomorrow night?”

“That works,” she answered, not expecting that response but knowing she would be at the spa in the Casino Hotel first thing in the morning getting a pedicure.

When he placed her down on the bed, Maria made herself comfortable on her side, putting her hands underneath her face. As Dominic lay down, he took the same position, only opposite. Both of them lay facing each other with a small space separating them from head to toe as they stared at each other.

“You’re so beautiful,” he told her achingly without reaching out to touch her.

Something about him telling her those words meant more when he said them without touching her.

All her life men had stared at her with only one thing on their minds and told her things they thought would make something happen between them. It was ironic that the one man she desperately wanted to fuck wouldn’t, because he was giving her the one thing she had wished everyone else gave her—respect.