Page 19 of High-Rise Heat

Dominick stands at the far side of the ballroom with a giant fish tank behind him. The glow of the tank turns him into a silhouette with his arms crossed, acting like the same old stubborn prick I know from college. He’s pissed. Of course he’s pissed, but for all the wrong reasons.

I walk up to him and his jaw clenches, an angry tendon protruding from his neck.

“You’re an idiot,” I say, and—

BAM! Dom cracks me one across the jaw in front of all his fancy business associates.

I stumble back, pain pounding through my face. I look through my burry vision to see Dom shaking out his hand and saying something in Chinese to the men who’ve started to gather. They motion toward me, alarmed, but Dom is waving his hands to calm them.

I swallow the blood in my mouth and shake it off, standing straight again. My ears ring, but I still grab Dom’s arm. “I deserved that,” I clip out. “I admit that. But now that you’ve got that out of your system, I’m going to ask politely for you to walk out of this ballroom and talk to me.”

“Fuck off,” Dom growls, glaring at me before turning to his colleagues to assure them this is nothing to be worried about.

“No, Dom,” I say, gripping his arm tighter to get his attention. “I have no qualms about punching you back in front of all of these men, which isn’t going to matter to me, because I’m not some big fancy lawyer anymore. But it’s gonna look pretty damn bad for you. So, I can throw you down and we can wrestle this out like dogs, or you can walk the fuck out of this ballroom and talk to me like a gentleman. It’s your choice.”

Dom glares at me and the blue light from the fish tank makes his features look severe. He’s doing his best to weigh his options and not explode. Suddenly, he barks out something in Chinese that I don’t understand and he tosses my hand off of his arm, heading for the door. I look at the semi-circle of men in their tuxes, their eyes wide and faces pale. This is exactly why I got out of the corporate world. Because right now, I don’t give a shit what any of them think.

I race after Dom. He’s walked so quickly out of the ballroom that he’s clear down the convention hall corridor before I can catch up.

“Hey!” I tap his shoulder and he whips around ready to throw another punch. “Hey! I know you think this is college all over again. But—”

“What about ‘fuck-off’do you not understand?” he steps forward, furious, squaring off with me. There’s ten years of angry shit he wants to say to me in that glare, which I don’t deserve, but he thinks I do.

“How about we start with the part where I tell you the girl you’re nuts about just told you she’s in love with you.” I toss back at him. “And then there’s the part where you were standing in that ballroom fuming like a fucking asshole instead of going after her.”

His face bunches, his skin fuming red. “That’snotwhat she said,” he snaps. “Actually, I’m pretty sure she said she wants to bangyourbrains out, so …”

“Whichyougave me permission to do, by the way,” I point out. “And—oh yeah—I’m not actually doing right now!”

“And what? You want a fucking metal?”

I shake my head at him. God-dammit! He can be a real prick sometimes.

“What is wrong with you? Did you not hear me say Ilsa isin lovewith you?”

“Yeah, I heardyousay it.” His forehead creases angrily. “But all she said to me was she’s thought about us together, which, as I recall, was the same sentence in which she talked about wanting to fuckyou.” Dom rolls his shoulders and glares at me like he’s made his point, the lights of the hallway hooding his eyes.

“Right.” I shake my head at him. “Andthat’sthe whole damn problem, isn’t it? The fact that she’s even considered me? Right? And what? Does that taint her in your mind somehow? Is your perfect little image of her completely ruined now because she’s capable of being attracted to another man—and, of all people,me?”

Dom stares down the hallway, frowning and avoiding my question. Music from the ballroom pumps down the corridor, muffled by the carpeted walls and filling the silence. He doesn’t want to admit he’s held this grudge for years. He’s never said it to my face, but I’ve seen it in how he reacts. Any woman who’s ever given me a glance has become polluted in his eyes, because … Hell, I don’t even know why. After all, he’s supposed to be my friend.

“Does it hurt more to know I want her back?” I say, throwing salt in the wound. His eyes cut to me something fierce and at least he’s starting to admit his own bullshit. “Well grow up, Dom!” I snap at him. “We’re adults! Stop being childish and living in some fantasyland where the only person Ilsa wants is you. And guess what, we’re all animals. And animals want to fuck. So, when she can’t fuck you, she’s gonna move on and start thinking about fucking—”

“Do you ever shut up?” Dom grabs the front of my tux and gets in my face. He’s pissed as shit, gripping my lapel and seething, but I’m not about to back down.

“Trust me, Dom,” I say, inches from his face. “If you don’t fuck her someone else will.”

“Stop talking about her like that!”

“No,” I say calmly as his hand tightens. “You want to know why? Because Ilsa just told you in so many words that she loves you and you’re standing here pissing a fit with me. So, you can either go back to our suite anddo something about it,or you can let me do it.”

Dom’s second hand slams down against my chest and his eyes are a spitfire that’s about to throw me against the wall.

“Good,” I push back. “Get angry at me! That’s how you’re supposed to feel about the girl you’re in love with!”

His jaw tightens and I can tell he has no clue how to deal with what I’m saying.

“Look, you’re my friend, Dom,” I continue. “Which you may not believe right now, but it’s true. And I fuckingaskedif you’d have a problem with this … and guess what?You do!So who are you really pissed off at right now? Neither of us did anything you didn’t give us permission to do.”

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