Page 24 of Sweetest Sin (Tempting Love #1)

Peyton

I waited, wanting to make sure Dominick was gone before I made my escape. And then I held off a little longer, afraid he was still around. Then, after a couple of hours, I started to worry that if I stayed too long, he would return.

So, I packed up my stuff and made my move.

I had found a flight heading back to Coral Bay in a few hours and booked it.

It was with a commercial airline, so I had to pay for it, but there was no way I was risking getting on a private flight.

If he had known what hotel and room to find me in, he’d also know when I was scheduled to get on the plane to go home.

When I stepped out of the room, the hall was empty, and I released a relieved breath, thinking I was in the clear.

But the moment I started to walk toward the elevator, I felt someone on my trail.

He followed me into the elevator, down to the first floor, and continued as I made my way to the airport.

I speed-walk through the airport, past the check-in desks, and down the escalator that will take me to security. Once I’m through, I’ll be in the clear because only ticketed passengers can get past security, and there’s no way this guy bought a ticket.

Because it’s early, the line goes quickly, and before I know it, I’m handing my driver’s license over to security and being waved through.

I go through the metal detector, and just as I’m about to grab my carry-on from the conveyor belt, a gentleman lifts it and says, “Ma’am, I need you to come with me.”

Are you freaking kidding me?

“Is there a problem with my luggage?” I ask.

“Please come with me,” he says, walking us toward a secluded area.

It’s just my luck that while I’m in a rush, my luggage raises a red flag. Luckily, I arrived a bit early for my flight.

He opens the door for me, and I step inside, ready to ask him again what’s wrong with my luggage when I see the man who was following me standing in the room.

“No!” I breathe out, turning to run.

But the door is closed and locked, and I’m fucked.

“Let me out right now!” I demand even though it’s fruitless. “I have a flight to catch.”

He stares at me with bored disinterest, and it boils my blood. I stalk over to the door and start to bang on it, yelling for someone to help me, but nobody comes.

I refuse to give up, needing to take my anxiousness and frustration out on something, while the man who clearly works for Dominick stands in the corner, watching, his features devoid of expression.

I’m still banging on the door when it swings open, forcing me to stumble back. Dominick, dressed in the same sharp suit as earlier, saunters in, and his gray eyes, filled with disdain, lock with mine.

“I told you not to leave,” he says, cornering me against the wall.

“And I told you to leave me alone!” I volley with false bravado. The truth is, I’m shaking, scared of what will happen next.

Will he demand to meet Damien?

Will he try to take him away from me?

“Let’s go,” he says, taking hold of my wrist with such strength that I squeal out in pain.

“That hurts!” I hiss, trying to get free of his grasp.

He loosens his hold just barely as he guides us to another door that seems to be a back way. The halls are empty, aside from his spy, who’s following us to wherever we’re going.

When we step into the gangway, it hits me …

“No! No, no, no!” I wriggle my wrist. “You can’t kidnap me!” I can see part of a jet from here, and I know if I’m forced onto it, nothing will ever be the same.

“Stop it!” Dominick barks, now dragging me onto the jet. “I’m not kidnapping you.”

“Really? What would you call forcing me onto a plane against my will?”

“Giving you a ride back to Coral Bay,” he deadpans.

Fuck, this is bad.

There’s only one reason he’d want to go to Coral Bay.

Damien.

We step onto the plane, similar to the one I saw him on a couple of days ago.

Holy shit, how has it only been a couple of days?

It’s sleek with mahogany wood and creamy leather, screaming wealth and opulence. The flight attendant scurries around to get things ready, but she doesn’t greet Dominick, telling me that she knows exactly who he is.

“Is this your plane?” I ask, too curious for my own good.

“Sit,” he commands, ignoring my question.

“No.”

His jaw tics, but I hold my ground, refusing to make this easy on him. He’s kidnapping me, for goodness’ sake, regardless if it’s to take me home.

“Fine.”

He shrugs, and I think he’s going to relent. But then he leans over and flings me over his shoulder like I’m a damn rag doll.

“Dominick! Put me down!” I yell as he stalks toward the back of the plane.

I’m upside down, kicking and screaming, demanding repeatedly that he put me down, but he doesn’t listen.

“Keep it up, and I’m going to spank your ass,” he murmurs, forcing my thoughts to go back to our night together—when he fucked me from behind in the bathroom, smacking my ass.

I’ve been with men since him, but none of them pleasured me in the way Dominick had done that night.

I squirm, thinking about our time together, and the asshole chuckles. Fucking chuckles! I hate how well he can read my body. He barely knows me, for God’s sake, yet he somehow knows my body better than anyone else I’ve been with.

He swings the door open and then drops me onto a bed. The room is simple yet elegant, and despite being clean, I can smell his masculine scent lingering in here.

“Now,” he says, pulling a chair over to the edge of the bed and sitting on it, “we have about an hour until we get to Coral Bay, and we’re going to talk.”

I eye the closed door, and he shakes his head.

“The plane doors are being closed, and we’re about to take off. You’re not going anywhere.”

I huff in annoyance and fall onto my back. Crossing my arms over my chest, I stare at the ceiling, refusing to talk to him.

“Peyton,” he says in a tone that sends shivers racing down my spine, “we can do this the easy way or the hard way. It’s up to you.”

“And what’s the hard way?” I snap, sitting back up to glare at him. “Are you going to torture me? Threaten me? Kill me?”

“What the fuck are you going on about?” he barks. “I just want you to admit that Damien is my son and you kept him from me. I want to hear it from your mouth that you knew you were pregnant with my flesh and blood, and instead of telling me, you chose to hide it. I want you to admit?—”

“Fine!” I blurt out. “Yes, Dominick. He shares the same biology as you. But let’s get one thing straight. He’s not yours. He’s mine, and you’re never going to get anywhere near him!”

Before I finish my sentence, Dominick is across the bed, towering over me. His knees cage in my thighs, holding me there. His fingers grip my chin, and the back of my head hits the wall behind me.

“How dare you keep my fucking son from me!” he growls.

“I was protecting him!”

“From me?” The hand that’s holding my face tightens. “I’m his father!”

“And you’re dangerous!” I yell back. “I … I saw you.”

“Saw what?”

“I saw you kill that man.”

Dominick releases his hold on my face and backs up slightly. “Explain.”

Four and a Half Years Ago

I’m pregnant.

Holy shit, I’m freaking pregnant.

My period is always on time. Like clockwork, it shows up. So, when it didn’t, I knew something was wrong. And then it hit me—Dominick and I had not been careful. We were too caught up in our passion, in the moment. At the time, it’d felt like a fantasy.

But now, as I stare at the positive pregnancy test, reality sets in.

It was only supposed to be a onetime thing, and he proved that when he took off without so much as a note the morning after.

And now, I have to tell him I’m pregnant.

My phone dings with a text from the manager of the hotel I work at, asking if I can switch shifts with another employee.

Because of my mom being sick, I quit my job as a flight attendant, wanting to be home with her, and took a job at a local hotel as a front-desk receptionist, hoping it would help build my résumé for when I finished my degree.

And now, I’m pregnant.

I can’t afford a baby.

Money is already tight.

My focus should be on my mom’s health.

But there’s a baby growing in me.

My hand goes to my belly, and I sigh.

First things first. I need to confirm my pregnancy with a doctor. And then, if I really am pregnant, I’m going to have to let Dominick know.

As I sit on my flight to Harbor Point, I stare at the grainy black-and-white image. I’m pregnant. Due in December. In several months, everything is going to change. I haven’t told my mom yet because I want to tell Dominick first.

I looked him up and learned he’s a businessman in Harbor Point. He has an office downtown, so I’m going to go there and see if he’s available to speak to me.

I have no idea how any of this is going to work. For all I know, he won’t want to have anything to do with the baby. But I’ll let him make that decision.

When I arrive at the office, security is busy talking to someone about something that sounds important, so when the elevator doors open and a woman steps out, I slide in. There’s a list of offices on the inside, but none of them specify Dominick Antonov.

Hopefully, I’m in the right place.

I press the button for the top floor since it’s reserved for Antonov Enterprises Executive Business. But when I step onto the floor, the place is quiet.

I’m about to turn around and go back down when I hear voices, and then I see the nameplate on the door— Dominick Antonov, CEO .

I step closer as I consider knocking. I flew all this way, and it would be a waste of money to have to fly back without telling him about the pregnancy. I should’ve called before I came, but I was afraid he wouldn’t take my call or that I’d chicken out.

I hear a voice speak on the other side of the door, so I tiptoe over and then press my ear to the wood, praying I don’t get caught. How embarrassing would it be if he opened the door and I fell into the office?

“My father might’ve forgotten to teach me about making friends.

But there’s one lesson he instilled in me at a young age.

If someone is bold enough to threaten you, they’re willing to act on it.

And if you knew my father the way you say you did, then you know what he did to anyone who threatened him. ”

The voice is unmistakably Dominick’s, only it’s much colder than the way he spoke to me during our time together. He’s using his business voice. I heard it a few times, like when we met that gentleman for brunch in the Dominican Republic.

“I-I …” another gentleman says.

Dominick isn’t alone.

I should walk away.

Go to the hotel I booked and try to call him.

But I’ve always been too nosy for my own good.

So, I continue to listen, and what I hear makes me wish I’d never gotten on that plane. Because ignorance is bliss.

But I’m no longer ignorant.

And I can never unhear what I just heard.

The father of my baby just killed a man.

Present Day

“That was you,” Dominick says smoothly, not the least bit concerned that I overheard him murder a man.

“What was me?”

“My brother said a woman was seen in the lobby near my office that day. I told him to follow up and make sure she hadn’t witnessed anything. I assumed he’d handled it since I never heard anything about it again.”

“You killed a man.”

“I’ve killed a lot of men,” he admits. “But that man in particular was a bad man. He was trafficking women through my port and was pissed that I refused to allow it to continue.”

“What are you saying? That you’re some sort of vigilante?”

Dominick barks out a laugh. “Hardly.”

He climbs off me and moves to the corner, making himself a drink. He takes a long sip, and I can’t help but notice the way his Adam’s apple bobs when he swallows.

Now is not the time to be turned on , I remind myself.

“So, you’re a bad guy?” It’s a question, but at the same time, it’s not because I already know he’s not a good guy.

After what I heard, I freaked out and took off. He managed to get ahold of me, but I lied and said I had moved on.

Instead of going home, I went to a few different bars and asked various people about the Antonov family. The women were smitten, the men envious. Some feared them, and others respected them. But almost every person confirmed what I’d already known—they were dangerous.

“Regardless of what I am,” Dominick says, “it didn’t give you the right to keep my son from me.” He walks back to his seat and slides into it, casually placing his ankle over the knee of his other leg.

“Actually,” I say, sitting up and swinging my legs around the side, “it did give me the right. Because my job as Damien’s mom is to love and protect him, even if that means protecting him from you.

“I heard the violence in your voice. when you killed a man with your bare hands, and I will never let you get anywhere near my child.

“I watched my father abuse my mom, and I told you once that I was afraid of history repeating itself. That my biggest fear was not breaking the cycle, and you told me that I would break it. So, I did what I had to do to protect my son.”

I walk past him, but he catches my wrist and glances up at me.

“You saw what I’m capable of,” he says, tilting his head slightly. “Do you think it’s wise to poke the beast? Who’s to say I won’t kill you? Then, what will be standing in my way from taking our son?”

“I will always fight for my son,” I tell him, pulling my arm out of his hold. “Until I take my final breath, I will fight for him because I am his mother. He is just a baby, Dominick. Not your heir or a pawn. He’s an innocent little boy who doesn’t belong anywhere near your violence.”

Dominick surprises me when he lets me walk out of the room without stopping me.

Good. Maybe I got through to him.

Maybe he understands.

Maybe he’ll do the right thing and let us go.