Page 28 of A Taste For Trouble

I leaned forward to nip at the tender skin of her neck. She yelped in response and tilted her neck to the side, giving me more access. I kissed my way up her neck until I reached her lips.

“Because this can’t be anything but temporary. I don’t do permanent, Rose. And you’re the sort of woman who deserves a lifetime of happy-ever-after.”

CHAPTER 13

ROSE

Irested my forehead against Dominic’s and tried to slow my breathing. I knew what he was trying to say.

We were playing with fire here. If it were anyone else, I could treat this as a fling. But it was Dominic. He was a big part of my life, even if I tried to keep him at a distance most of the time. And if this went south, as it was bound to, I wouldn’t just lose him. I’d also be losing Anthea and Grammy Cora. They were the only family I had left, and I couldn’t afford to lose them.

I pressed my lips against his gently. It was our first kiss, but it also had to be our last.

But when I pulled away, Dom followed me with his lips and claimed mine in a kiss very different from the first one, which had been sweet, almost like a blessing. This was an inferno, wet, hard, and angry, sending fire shooting through my veins as Dom held my head in place with one hand. He gripped my ponytail and ran his other hand down my side to hold my hip tightly as he explored my mouth with his tongue.

I moaned into his mouth, winding my tongue around his, and sucking on it as I rubbed against him restlessly, trying to get even closer. His hand slid around my side and slipped under the waistline of my bikini briefs to cup my ass, and I gasped at the touch.

I dragged my mouth from his and gazed at him, tormented and turned on at the same time.

“I wish we could pause our reality for a bit and indulge ourselves,” he said regretfully, his breath hot against my face. “But if we give in to this…whatever lies between us…it will change our reality forever, Rose. And there won’t be any going back.”

I scrambled off his lap before I could change my mind because I couldn’t afford to lose what I had currently. A fling could never replace the warmth of a family.

“Grammy Cora sent over some of your childhood pictures for us to choose for the ‘then and now’ post. Trevor left them in an envelope on the kitchen island,” I said, resetting our boundaries again, and Dominic sighed as he nodded to show he understood.

“Go on out. I’ll join you in a bit,” he replied, taking slow, deep breaths to get himself under control.

I got out of the tub and threw on one of the bathrobes that were set out on a chair near it. With one last look at Dominic, I went back into the apartment, aware of his hot gaze on my back as I walked away from him. I returned to my room and towelled my hair dry before I changed into my pyjamas. When I came out to the living room, Dom was already dressed in shorts and a tee, his face stony as he sifted through the photographs Trevor had left for us.

“What are we looking for?” I asked, climbing onto one of the barstools by the kitchen island.

“A picture of us together as children,” he replied without looking up.

I grabbed a pile of pictures and started going through them. A few minutes later, I set one on the table top and tapped on it.

“How about this one? It was one of your birthday parties, from the look of it. And here’s the two of us on a float in the pool. Why don’t I remember this party?”

“You were too young to remember it,” he said. “But I do.”

His voice changed as he said that, and I looked up sharply. Dominic stared at the picture, his face turned to stone.

“This was taken on my seventh birthday. You were just three, Rose.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked, worried about the expression on his face.

“Nothing,” he replied, throwing the picture down. “This is good enough.”

CHAPTER 14

DOMINIC

Iwas aware of Rose staring at me worriedly, but I was too far gone to care.

Of course, I remembered that picture. It was the day my life changed completely. The day I discovered the truth about my parents’ marriage.

I hopped off the barstool, needing to get out of there and do something to pull me out of the past.

“If that’s all, then I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Rose,” I said, knowing I was being rude, but incapable of doing anything about it because of the raging maelstrom of pain and anger inside me.