Page 19 of Firedrake Betrayal
My eyes fly to his. “What?”
He’s stopped walking. Now that I’m paying attention, so have I. We’re literally in the middle of the sidewalk. People forced to move around us glare at Dominik, then at me.
Dominik doesn’t move. “You are safe. Breathe.”
As if he’s forgotten that he’s my abductor. The funny thing is his assurance chases away a little of the panic that froze me in the middle of the street.
“You kidnapped me.” I don’t lower my voice. “Forgive me if I hesitate to believe you.”
Other than a passing glance, no one on the street bats an eyelid.
If I screamed, would they even care?
Dominik’s appearance is getting more attention than my comment just did. I’d have to be blind not to notice the way he fills out a suit, but is this what New York is like?
Dominik guides me down the street, his palm on my lower back protective, if not downright possessive. “But I would keep you safe.”
“So it’s one of those it’s okay for you to do it but no one else can situations?”
“Exactly.”
That’s it. One word. No hint he’s done anything wrong.
Is this guy for real?
I bristle as the last of my fear melts away, and I wonder if that wasn’t Dominik’s intention all along. “Did you do that on purpose?”
He flashes me a rapid glance. “Did I do what on purpose?”
“Say something that makes me want to kick you.”
A dimple forms on his right cheek, though he doesn’t look at me as he smiles. I hadn’t thought he would have dimples under his scraggly, unkempt beard. “No. I can think of better ways to pass the time.”
A woman is heading toward us, looking right at Dominik with a sultry smile. She’s beautiful. Curly red hair, blue eyes with the longest lashes, and the sort of lean, curvy body that makes me think she’s a model. He must see her, right?
Evidently not, because he peers down at me as his smile darkens into something a little less playful. “I booked a private table. Perhaps I should have booked us a private room.”
“You’re flirting with me.”
He looks surprised. “Of course I’m flirting with you. Why wouldn’t I?”
“You kidnapped me.” Now that my fear has melted away, I can get back to planning how to escape and get back to Wilkerson.
He gives me a long look. “That sounds like a conversation for another time. Come.”
We don’t walk far. Two minutes later, Dominik stops at the doors of a dark and moody restaurant with tinted windows, wood framing, and candles flickering inside.
“Did you have a reservation, sir? Unfortunately, the restaurant is fully booked tonight.”
“Alarik. Table for two,” Dominik tells the man standing at the door in a black vest over a white shirt.
The heavy frown lines on the man’s brow smooths away as he smiles, holding the door open. “Of course, Mr. Alarik. We were told to expect you. This way, please.”
Inside, the soft strums of classical music fill the dark restaurant. Low murmured conversation drifts from the tables covered with white cloth and filled with beautifully dressed diners.
The man from the door motions a blond server toward us. “Eric will be your server this evening.”
Dominik presses on my lower back, guiding me into the restaurant. It’s an intimacy I need to put a stop to.
