Tainted Hearts

24 | Confrontation

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DOMINIC

Dominic didn't realize he was asleep until he awoke later that night.

When he opened his eyes, all of his senses came to life. As he breathed in, the smell of Claudia rushed over him. Watermelon. He developed a sweet tooth—and a desire for her.

He went to see how she was doing in the middle of the night and ended up sleeping next to her. After watching Matteo and his brother for a while, Dominic didn't want her to leave his sight. This time, they didn't do anything interesting, so he decided to call it a night and go home.

Claudia had turned over onto her other side, her body curving into his as he thought about her going back to her apartment. Her beautiful, curvy rear was against his groin.

It didn't take long for his manhood to spring to life.

He anticipated that, and the way he arranged his arm around her waist and held her tight surprised him. Unless Claudia snatched it and curled his arm around her in the dark, it was his fault that they were in this position.

Well, shit.

The fact that he liked to snuggle with her made things even worse. They were cuddling again? Did we kiss earlier? He couldn't remember, but he knew this wasn't going to work out.

To be more specific, they were spooning.

That was something he hadn't done in days with her.

He was in the middle of an embrace and didn't see any reason to pull away. The fact that Claudia intended to leave him hurt the warm cells in his body. The sheer magnitude of this idea nearly overwhelmed him.

He lifted an arm, ran his fingers through his hair, and slowly sat up. He scratched his ankle and looked around the pitch-black room without any sense of direction. Then he heard it—his cell phone ringing all the way downstairs.

Dominic muttered a curse under his breath and slowly got out of bed. He bent and slid his jeans on while being careful not to wake Claudia. Assuming it wasn't Giovanni, there were only two possible explanations.

Either Vinny or Alessandro, whom he did not want to see. Like ever.

Even though his brother had no way to find out where Gio was, Dominic's worry grew quickly. He groaned as he took his cell phone from his office and looked at the number.

"Do I even want to know why you are calling me at . . ." He turned and looked at the clock on the wall. "Four in the morning?"

There was a brief delay before his father's bodyguard, Rocco's gravelly voice, rolled through the receiver. "We're parked outside."

Dominic became quiet and still. "Thanks for the heads up."

Before he hung up, Rocco didn't say anything. Dominic looked at the phone quietly for a few seconds. There was a cold-blooded deal established.

The men could only have come this late for one reason.

It had something to do with Claudia.

There was going to be a confrontation, and it was likely going to be an unpleasant one.

Dominic calmly placed his phone on the desk and looked around the room. It was mostly empty, like the rest of his house. One sofa. A TV with a screen that isn't as big. Shelves full of books about history, which most people find boring. Stacks of wooden figurines stood high.

When did he first move in?

Since he was twenty-two—for the last twelve years this has been home.

He walked out of the room, locked the door behind him, and headed toward the foyer. He didn't wait for the guards to rap on the door before waking up Claudia.