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“No, but a lot do, because finding a good mechanic, who doesn’t try to scam you, doesn’t come cheap.”

She was still entranced by his tatted hands when he downshifted, making a sharp turn. “And that’s why you learned?”

“Something like that,” Dom told her before changing the subject. “Which Cadillac do you drive?”

“I took a taxi here, remember?” Maria reminded him, acting like her next words weren’t a big deal. “I never learned.”

The offended face Dom made showed that her admission had clearly shaken him to his core. This time, he broke his own rule by turning the radio off, along with Johnny Cash, so he could show her how serious this was.

“You don’t know how to fucking drive?”

With her tone of voice, she let him know she didn’t think it was such a big deal. “No, I’ve always been driven by one of my father’s men.”

Dom was still in disbelief, glancing over from the road to her several times. “Have you ever tried?”

“Nope.” Maria shrugged. “Never really wanted to.”

“Wow,” he mumbled under his breath, drawing his brows together as he started realizing just how smothered she’d been. “Maybe getting some space to yourself will be a good thing.”

“I think so.”

Getting back on track, Maria lightly flipped her gold hair behind her exposed shoulder. To him, it looked like she was just getting it out of the way, but its effect on him, she knew, would have him silently pleading.

She’d mastered the art of flirting into her only weapon against her father’s men. For the most part, it was harmless; she only did the littlest bit to entice them to get her way. It never took a lot for men, just a flip of her hair or eye contact would do. But Dominic was different. She needed to pull out all the stops in order to pay him back for that little stunt at his house.

Usually, she never much enjoyed the act of flirting; her only satisfaction was when it paid off. But, when Dominic watched the slinky movement from out of the side of his eye, he drove slower just the tiniest bit ….

It was fun.

“You still haven’t told me why you thought I was heartless,” she finally commented, hoping he’d give her the answer she had been dying to hear.

“I don’t think it. I know it, princess,” he reminded her how she couldn’t put him under any delusion that she was anything other than that. “And I’m not going to tell you.”

Maria’s voice couldn’t even hide her disappointment. “Why not?”

“Well, what fun would that be for me?”

His playful voice and the confident expression on his face had her wondering if she was the one doing the flirting when her stomach summersaulted.

“Well”—she matched his tone while looking over at the Luciano boss through her lashes—“I could make it fun for you.”

Braking at a stop sign, Dominic gave her his full attention, turning to face her. He lifted his hand off the shift to capture her chin once more. Letting his eyes slide down from her eyes to her luscious lips, he had her chest rising and falling heavily before he spoke in a low voice that didn’t come out sensually like she had thought it would, but instead with a threatening warning. “Princess, don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

The second he let go of her chin, Dominic went back to driving as if nothing had happened, letting Maria know she had been fooled again.

No amount of prayers was going to save this man now ….

Twenty-Eight

One Long Night

Pulling in front of the Casino Hotel, Dom parked the car. “You sure you don’t want me to drop you off at your house?”

“Yep, I’ve been staying here lately,” she assured him.

Maria hadn’t been back to the house since Leo lost his eye. Plus, it was really hard to avoid Lucca in the same house. At least at the hotel they stayed in separate penthouses.

He nodded, seeming to understand. “I’ll wait here and watch you go in, then.”

“Or …” Maria looked at the hand with the letters O-V-E-R splayed on his fingers that were still resting over the gear shift. Reaching out, she lightly let her soft fingers trail over the top of his hand. “You could come up and make sure I safely get to my room.”

Dominic dropped his eyes to his hand, watching her smooth her fingers over his rougher skin. “Yeah right,” he scoffed, not buying her innuendo, but he didn’t pull his hand away from her either.

“I’m making good on my promise,” she threw back his words, trying to prove her earlier “I can make it fun for you” statement.

“I-I don’t think that’s a good idea, Maria.” His sudden husky voice revealed he thought otherwise.

Maria continued her strokes, her breathy voice telling him she wanted the same thing. “Something could happen to me on the way up.”