Page 9 of No Sweet Goodbyes

Unable to resist the ridiculous sparkle I can see in his eye, I nod toward the hall. “Be careful. Bee’s in the first bedroom. Your mom can have the second door on the right.” I pause. “But you’re out of luck. I only have three bedrooms, and I’m not giving up my room for you.”

Dom doesn’t say a word, but his eyes flash with challenge. He walks out of the living room, staring at me until he passes, and it’s all I can do just to keep myself from blushing under his scrutiny.

Once he’s gone, Alta shakes her head with a smile. “That boy doesn’t know it yet, but he’s in so much trouble.”

“What do you mean?” I shift from foot to foot, trying to hide the sudden urge to run away.

Alta smiles even wider. “You’re smarter than that, mija. That boy will fight it tooth and nail, just like his father, but he won’t ever deny his feelings.”

“Seriously.” I can’t fight the blush now. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure you don’t.” Alta watches me with her head partly cocked and a whimsical expression in her eyes. “I’m sure you don’t know anything about it at all. At least, not yet.”

“Damn, Mama,” Dom grunts as he walks back into my living room, quiet like a freaking ninja, even though he’s carrying a massive duffel bag. “What did you do? Pack the house?”

Alta sniffs and shrugs her shoulder at her son like he just insulted her. “It’s not my fault. I didn’t know what the little girl would need or what would make her comfortable. So I brought a little bit of everything. Better to be prepared for anything than miss something that I should have thought of. Now,” she says with a smile for Dom. “Why don’t you put that in my room and let me rest. I’m tired, and it’s too late for an old woman like me to be awake.”

Dom walks down the hall and into the second bedroom without making a sound. There’s not much else for me to do except stare at him like the weirdo that I am. At least, that’s the excuse I tell myself while I stare at his ass.

“Freaking ninja,” I mutter before looking at the clock on the wall, the one that calls out Alta as a liar. “It’s not even ten…” I trail off. “You can’t go to bed this early. You should stay up. We can talk or eat something. I have marshmallows.” Yes, even I know that’s weak, but I don’t want to be alone with Dom. I’m a chicken, and he’s here in my space. If I’m not careful, he’ll be able to destroy me, again.

Alta’s the last line of defense I have against him.

“I do what I want.” Alta walks by her son, who now stands in the hall next to her door. “You two have fun. I’ll see you in the morning. I’ll even make breakfast.”

When the door to her room closes with a resounding click, I stand there, staring at the man who stars in every single one of my fantasies… and he’s watching me.

If I were anyone else, I’d think that his eyes were full of hunger. The tension between us is palpable. I know it’s pathetic, but he makes me weak.

He makes me want things that I know would end badly. He makes me want to bend and break every single rule that I’ve ever had. Even if he’s never asked me to give him that power, Dom owns me, and if I give an inch…

Stay away.

I almost give in and actually say those words, but I don’t.

Instead, I stand there in the hall until I can’t take it anymore and I do the only thing I can.

I walk right out the door and sit on the back porch, where I finally let myself fall apart.

The only problem is that I don’t know why I’m falling apart.

It definitely could be the tragedy that’s poured itself into Bianca’s life overnight. But that wouldn’t be the whole truth.

The whole truth is that I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, and I don’t know what I’m supposed to do next.

4

DOM

Sitting inside Emma’s house while I know damn well she is out there crying cuts a hole into my chest and rips out tiny slivers of my heart, one by one.

She may as well be screaming at the top of her lungs instead of the quiet whimpers I hear through the wall. I hear every intake of breath. Every silent sob. Every single move she makes echoes through the silence in her house and brands itself into my mind in a way I won’t ever forget.

Emma Hayes. The woman I can’t have. The only good and shining thing in a world filled with death and violence.

Not even Linc understands why I won’t give her a chance. He’s constantly prodding me into her direction, reminding me of who she is and why I can’t have her.

Why I won’t take what I know beyond a shadow of a doubt belongs to me.

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