Page 49 of The Viper

Rose

It’s like when I put these shoes and this dress on, I suddenly became someone else. Not to mention the moment I saw him in his suit, my ovaries spontaneously combusted and all I wanted to do was use him for my own pleasure.

Once we’re in the car, Dominic pulls me closer to him and possessively splays his hand on my bare thigh. “So we’re going to one of your clubs?”

“The family’s club, yes.” He glances over at me and smirks. Hmm, I wonder what he’s smiling at.

We’ve been in the car for about half an hour before it stops outside a building. There’s a line of people waiting to enter, but there’s no visible signage anywhere. “Is this it?” I duck to look out Dominic’s window.

“It is.”

“Doesn’t look like much.”

Dominic chuckles as he shakes his head. The back door opens and Dominic slides out first before extending his hand to help me. I take it and carefully exit the car, making sure I don’t flash anyone in my short dress.

I turn to look at the queue of people and get a waft of his scent clinging to his suit jacket. Cigarette mixed with ocean breeze. He’s not an ocean breeze kind of guy, more like the smoky embers of a woodfire, or maybe even the bitter aroma of a freshly brewed black coffee. But, the ocean breeze? It’s too soft for Dominic, but for some reason it also works on him.

“This way.” He tugs my hand as I begin to walk to the back of the line.

“Of course,” I reply.

“We don’t wait, Rosa.”

“I figured that.”

He releases my hand and places his to the small of my back as we walk toward the security manning the door. “Mr. Sacco.” The security guy holds the door open for us. The door has been muffling the music, but once open I instantly recognize the song playing. Dominic pulls his hand away from my lower back and I turn to see him giving instructions to Frank. I walk in and wait for Dominic while looking around.

There are life-sized bird cages hanging from the ceiling with women dressed as angels and demons dancing in them. There’s a sea of people dancing and the smell of sex clings to the air. Interesting.

His warm hand finds the top of my ass as he leans in and says, “This way.” Dominic steps ahead of me and reaches back for my hand. “By the way,” he says over his shoulder. “I have a surprise for you.”

Surprise? “What is it?”

“Me telling you defeats the purpose it being a surprise.” I squeeze his fingers and he laughs as he continues to lead me through the club.

“Mr. Sacco.” A different security guard steps to the side and allows us access into a room with one-way glass.

The music is instantly dulled in here and it’s not as dim as the night club. I look around, but I can’t see anything that could be a surprise for me. “This is one of our VIP areas.”

“One of?” I ask as I look around.

“Yes, there’s two VIP areas down here, and we have one upstairs. But that’s reserved for me, Adrian, and Ruben.”

“So, why aren’t we up there?”

“It leads to one of the offices, and I have a meeting tonight.”

“I’m going to be by myself? That doesn’t sound like fun to me.”

Dominic rubs his hands up and down my arms, before stepping back and letting his eyes roam over my body. “I do like my jacket on you.”

When he looks at me like he’s a starving lion, my body ignites with the darkest of desires. I don’t know what it is about him, but I feel drawn to Dominic. And the crazy thing is, I also feel safe with him. My brain whispers worried words, but my heart flutters with reassurance.

I mimic his posture and tone when I say, “I do like that suit on you.”

Dominic’s cynical chuckle tells me he enjoys this back and forth we have going. I guess women don’t usually challenge him. “Bryan,” he calls over his shoulder. A waiter appears and stands beside Dominic. Where the hell did he come from? “A scotch for me and a wine for Rosa.”

“No wine, thank you.” I smile at Bryan who appears as shocked by my refusal as Dominic does. “I’ll have a French martini, please.”

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