That mischievous, beautiful face.
Stew placed the shots before us and I downed mine before reaching over and licking the salt off her skin. “Delicious,” I crooned and moaned for extra emphasis. “But I know where you taste even better.”
She took a deep breath before downing the shot.
As she swallowed, I leaned into her ear. “Let me taste you. Let me love you.”
This time when she swallowed, it had nothing to do with the alcohol. “Dom…”
“I won’t lie to you,” I started, “I’m really struggling to see you with him. I hope what you’re learning is worth it.”
She snorted. “I have learnednothing.”
“Then leave with me now,” I said.
“You sure you don’t want to leave with Rebecca? She’s been all over you. All night.”
“Rebecca?” I asked. I might have nodded to her when she came over to us while we played, but I had scarcely acknowledged her. “I didn’t come here with her, unlike you coming here with Sam Yun,” I snapped. “I didn’t want todate Ivy, I don’t even recall talking to Rebecca. You’re the one desperate to be with anyone other than me. Look around you. How many people here have you slept with?”
Her brows came together as she breathed harshly through her nose. Real fury was upon her features.
“You’re not leaving with him. You’re leaving with me.”
She threw the shot back. Slamming it back down on the bar, she said, “Well, I’m leaving now.”
With that, she hitched up the skirt of her dress and walked out onto the grounds.
41
Physically? Fine. Mentally? Fucked.
Dom
I’d followed Leonie at a distance as she walked out across the patio, the grass and onto the stretch of beach we owned. It was dark by now and the clear sky was twinkling with stars. The path was lit, but she could walk this route blind.
We’d spent so many nights on this beach.
None had felt as ominous as this one.
She kicked off her heels on the decking and walked barefoot on the sand before collapsing onto one of the sun loungers. She fell with such a loss of control that I legged it down to her side, falling on my knees beside her.
She looked down at me with a confused frown. “Yes?”
“Are you okay?” I asked, taking her hand in mine and looking down at her legs for any scrapes.
“Physically? Fine. Mentally? Fucked.”
“Come back in. I’ll grab you some water and—”
She shook her head and looked out to the sea. “Not because of the alcohol. It’s just been… quite a week.”
Because of me.
But she gave me that dull look she often had upon her, full of reproach and dismissal. “Not because of you either. Not completely.”
Her dad.
“I spoke to Derek just now,” she admitted and swallowed hard. “It wasn’t him. When I told him, he… he broke down. If I know anything, I know it’s not him. I’m going to give him Robbie’s details so they can work on it together.”