Part of her was irrationally angry at Viktor for offering her this, for dredging up a bunch of old memories she’d done well to keep locked down. But she knew that was stupid. He didn’t seem to have any hidden agenda, just a need to make things right. If anything, he seemed almost desperate for her to take the house, something she still wasn’t sure about.
At a slight noise in the doorway she nearly jumped when she saw Viktor standing there, looking almost hesitant. Now that she didn’t hate the man she could truly appreciate how attractive he was. She might have compared him to a thug before, but the truth was she liked that look.
He had a darker edge to him that she found insanely sexy. His dark hair was cropped close to his head and those eyes—she could definitely get lost in that pale blue gaze. His height and build were enough to make her weak in the knees. Not many men towered over her and she liked that he did. Her experience with sex might be lacking but she had a feeling he’d know what he was doing in the bedroom. How could he not? The man was always in total control and built like a—
He cleared his throat and she realized she was staring at his mouth. Great—she was totally perving on him at the most inopportune time.
“I had one of my drivers pick Lucy up. It’s getting late and she’s got early morning meetings.”
Which meant he probably did too. Of course. Cringing, she stood. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to take up—”
He shook his head sharply. “Don’t be sorry. I just didn’t want you to be surprised when you realized she was gone. I can wait outside for you. Take as much time as you need.”
“You’re very thoughtful.” She hated that the words came out as an accusation. But around him she felt like a mess. It was hard to reconcile him with the man she’d always thought he was.
To her surprise his lips quirked up, softening his expression just a bit. “You’re the first person to ever say that to me.”
She couldn’t feign surprise at that. He seemed like a hard man, and in business she knew his reputation was brutal. “This used to be my room,” she said, changing the subject. “Though I had posters of surfers on my walls.” She half-smiled, looking around the transformed space. “And my walls were purple.”
“You surf?” He took a few steps into the room.
“Not really. I mean, I did in high school a little. Longboard, mostly. The posters were of surfer guys. That was where my interest was back then.”
He snorted, the sound taking her off guard. “That wasn’t so long ago.”
She lifted a shoulder. “Eight or nine years. God, it feels like a lifetime ago… I hated both of them for a long time,” she blurted.
He stepped farther into the room and, to her surprise, sat on the bed next to her. “Your parents?”
“Yeah. My dad for getting killed in a stupid bar fight and leaving us. Then my mom for… I was such a spoiled teenager. Well, not too terrible, I guess, but I was pretty self-involved. I loved my mom but I only cared about getting out of that place we were living in, about spending time with my friends. I hated what happened to us, hated that I got stuck in a new school for my last year of high school because we couldn’t afford my private school anymore. I never really thought about how much it affected her. I used to think if I’d paid more attention I’d have known that something was really wrong, that she…” Dominique swallowed hard, lifting a shoulder. She couldn’t finish the sentence. It was hard enough thinking it, let alone saying it out loud.
“She was your mother. She was protecting you. It’s what mothers do.” He reached out and swiped his thumb across her cheek.
Dominique hadn’t even realized more tears had slipped past her defenses. The feel of him gently touching her almost undid her completely, but he quickly dropped his hand.
“You sound like you know that from experience.”
He looked straight ahead instead of at her. “My mother died when I was seven. My memories of her are…good ones. She was a sweet woman who got involved with a very bad man.”
The pain in his voice was so raw she squeezed his forearm on instinct, wanting to comfort him somehow. When he stiffened under her touch she pulled back, not wanting to make him uncomfortable. And she felt a little bad at noticing how incredibly muscular he was and wondering if the rest of his body was just as toned and ripped. She was pretty sure he was, because it wasn’t like his suit hid how strong he was.