He’d never been on the receiving end of such raw openness before. Viktor would be lying if he said he wasn’t glad she was impressed. He’d do fucking cartwheels if it made her happy. Anything to see Dominique smile.
He cleared his throat. “With the place under renovation I thought it would be nice for just the two of us to come here.” He and Abram had shut down one of the hotels they’d recently purchased to renovate a good chunk of the place. But the restaurant right on the Atlantic was one of the only parts of the hotel that didn’t need any work. So he’d brought in the chef—one of the few employees he planned to keep on staff while he restructured—to impress Dominique tonight.
He’d never cared about impressing anyone before. Even when he was younger, he’d just cared about people respecting and yes, fearing him. With Dominique… She brought out a completely different side to him. He was still adjusting to that.
“I’m glad you like it,” he murmured, reaching across the linen-covered tabletop to slide his hand over hers.
Her cheeks flushed and he found himself getting hard. Again. She had an innocent quality to her that surprised him. Even more, he was surprised he liked it. When he’d had Abram run her information, when he was still wondering who she was and why she hated him, his brother hadn’t found a record of any serious boyfriends.
There was no way a woman like Dominique could be a virgin, but he guessed she didn’t have much experience. Which, yeah, he liked the thought of that too. But he didn’t care how many guys she’d been with. That shit wasn’t important. The only thing he cared about was locking her down now. Convincing her that they might have a shot at something real. The only problem was…he wasn’t sure he could give her the kind of sexual experience she deserved. His only experience was with women he’d paid. Dominique would know nothing about that. The truth was, he knew it would disgust her. Which was why he had to tell her.
She was an absolute knockout but it was more than that. She was simply…sweet. He didn’t know many people who he considered to be sweet. Given their family’s history, she should truly hate him, but she’d given him a chance. One he still wasn’t sure he’d take.
“Can I ask you a question?” Her voice was tentative, a little nervous.
Instinct made him want to put his guard up, but she’d opened up to him about her mother and he found he wanted to trust her. He withdrew his hand, wrapped it around his glass of vodka. “Of course.”
She trailed her finger down the stem of her wine glass. She’d worn a simple black dress tonight with diamond studs in her ears and no other jewelry. Still, she shone as brilliantly as a star everywhere she went. The extra security team tonight had certainly taken notice of her. It was hard not to. But he’d made it clear to Lyosha that she was his woman, that everyone should treat her with respect. His longtime friend and head of security had shown a flicker of surprise, but in true Lyosha form had said he’d make sure everyone knew.
“It’s none of my business. I’m just curious about you. But if you don’t want to answer you don’t have to.” She rushed out the words, as if she’d been practicing.
“Just ask,” he murmured, tension rising inside him. Maybe his brother had been right after all. This would be where she started to ply him for information in an effort to use it against him.
“How is it that you and your brother, ah, half-brother, have the same last name?” She cleared her throat. “I know that your father’s last name was…” She trailed off, pain flashing in her expression before she masked it. That was one thing he’d come to learn about her—she didn’t hide her emotions as well as she probably thought she did.
Her question wasn’t what he’d expected, and easy to answer. He’d been worried she’d want to know more about his past, more about his relationship with his father, or how Viktor had gotten to where he was today. Something she could use against him. But this… She could have found this out from a search.
Even though he knew she could be testing him, that this might be some sort of warm-up question, the tension in his chest eased ever so slightly. “When my father died I took my mother’s name. Ivanov is a very common Russian family name—one of the most common, in fact. Abram’s mother had the same last name as well. It’s a lucky coincidence.” One he was happy for. He liked having that link to Abram. He didn’t care that they were technically half-brothers. That shit meant nothing to him. They were true brothers in every sense of the word.
Dominique gave him a knowing smile. “You two are close.”
He nodded. “He’s a good brother.” Even if he did worry too much.
“I…don’t know if he likes me very much.” She stumbled over the words. “At the hotel the other day, he seemed to know who I was and…” She lifted a shoulder but he could see that it mattered to her.
“Abram is very protective. He thinks…you might be out to hurt me.”