Even though she was worried about her stolen purse, she still couldn’t help but wish that they’d gotten to follow through on that kiss. What would it have felt like to have Viktor’s lips teasing hers and his body pressed up tight against hers?
She wasn’t even sure what she’d like. Her sexual experiences consisted of kissing and what her mother would have called ‘heavy petting.’ All over the clothes.
After her mom had killed herself Dominique had retreated into herself, just working through college and barely even going out with friends the first couple years. The only people she’d even let into her life had been her extended family. Looking back, she realized that she’d been depressed. It had taken a long damn time to crawl out of her self-imposed prison. Not only that, she’d been afraid of sex for a long time. Her mom had been used sexually, had felt so ashamed that she’d killed herself. Even after Dominique had managed to start living again, she’d still shied away from sex.
So now she was a twenty-five-year-old virgin and for the first time she wondered if that would be an issue. The men she’d dated in the last few years had all been metrosexual types and more often than not the kind of men who used more beauty products than her. None of them had ever gotten her remotely hot enough to even consider sex. She’d go on a date or two and realize that nope, the guy wasn’t for her. It wasn’t like she was saving herself for marriage, but she wanted her first time to mean something, to be with someone who got her so turned on that she couldn’t think straight—
“I promise I’ll find who took your purse.” Viktor’s hard voice cut through her thoughts, his gaze on her intense as they idled at a stoplight.
“W-what…oh, okay. That’s good.” She stuttered over her words, embarrassed that she’d been so caught up in her own thoughts she hadn’t been paying attention to anything else. It was clear he thought she was worried about her stupid purse when all she wanted to do was tell Viktor about her lack of experience.
But she wanted to wait to see if they even had a second date after this. That wasn’t the kind of thing she could just blurt out. If things moved forward she’d definitely tell him. Especially if things got more heated between them.
And she really, really hoped that they did.
*
“Keep your eyes to yourself,” Viktor growled out, careful to speak in Russian to Dimitri, the friend he’d asked to come over and change out Dominique’s lock.
Viktor could have done it himself, but this particular friend had been a thief in another life and had the right tools and hardware on hand—because Dimitri now owned a string of hardware stores around Miami and in Homestead. Installing locks wasn’t part of his normal job description but he was doing Viktor a favor.
Didn’t mean he had to let the guy stare at Dominique. Not that he blamed him, but it still annoyed Viktor.
Dimitri just grinned and went back to installing the lock.
“Thank you again for doing this,” Dominique said, standing close to Viktor as she watched Dimitri finish up.
“Thank Viktor, not me.” Dimitri didn’t look up as he worked.
Viktor’s annoyance was somewhat appeased at his friend’s words.
Dominique glanced up at Viktor then, her cheeks flushing slightly. Just the sight of her like that made him think of what she’d look like after sex—and during sex. And he’d had way too many fantasies in the past few days about that.
“Thank you,” she murmured, sliding her hand around his upper arm the same way she’d done at the beginning of the evening. Her fingers rested gently against his skin, her hold light.
He loved the way she touched him and he knew it was because she wanted to. Not because she was paid to. Or…he assumed she wanted to. That doubt still lingered in the back of his head, wondering if she was somehow using him.
He quickly shelved the thought, not wanting his past bullshit to color the time he spent with her. If she was using him, he’d deal with it later.
Right now he wanted to kick his own ass for not being able to protect Dominique tonight. Someone—more than one person—had worked very carefully to make sure they were able to grab her purse and flee with a backup driver for a supposedly simple mugging. Everything about what happened felt off and he was pissed that he’d let his guard down.
As Dimitri worked, he gently pulled Dominique down the exterior walkway, wanting to give them a little more privacy. Her complex had been very quiet tonight, or at least her building and floor. He’d only seen one neighbor arrive since they’d been back.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, still holding onto his arm as she turned her body toward his.
With her so close to him, her breasts brushing against his arm as she shifted, it took serious effort to think. He cleared his throat. “I’m going to give you a phone to keep, just overnight, until you can get a new one tomorrow. I don’t like the thought of you not having a way to contact anyone and I’m guessing you don’t have a landline.” Almost no one did anymore.