Page 15 of Reckless Desire

“And where did you go in your head just now that would have you so skittish?” A devilish grin settled on his face as he slipped his jacket on.

My god, those dimples.She let out a nervous laugh. “Nowhere. I was just … forget it.”

“Uh-huh, well, perhaps we can catch up for a rematch at a later time?”

“I’d like that,” she admitted, unable to contain the smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

As she stood up from the table, Vincent briefly touched her arm, his voice low and husky. “May I have your number? I’d like to keep in touch. If that’s all right with you.”

“Yes, of course,” she replied, feeling warmth spread through her at the thought of hearing that deep voice in her ear later. She grabbed her phone and swiped the pattern to open it before handing it to Vincent. Their fingers brushed as he accepted her phone, sending a sizzling current down her arm. She suppressed a shiver, her dark eyes meeting his light brown ones, filled with intrigue. He keyed in his number and called himself.

“Thank you,” he said softly once they exchanged numbers. The weight of his gaze lingered on her a moment longer before he added, “I’ll be in touch.” There was a hint of longing in his eyes.

She watched him walk away, the intensity of their connection still lingering in the air around her. And for the first time in a long while, Dominique felt like she was more than just a pawn in someone else’s game.

The Chicago Chess Palace seemed suddenly colder without Vincent’s presence; the steady hum of whispered conversations and the shuffle of chess pieces felt almost hollow. She glanced around the room, taking in the hulking bookcases filled with worn chess manuals, the intricate wooden carvings of famous chess players adorning the walls, and the faint scent of coffee and old paper that permeated the air. But none of it could hold her focus now that Vincent was gone.

She stared at the empty chair where Vincent had sat just moments before, the memory of their chess game still fresh in her mind. It had been a dance of strategy and intellect. Their moves reflected the push and pull of their attraction. As she replayed each move in her head, she now wondered what the future held for them.

Would it be possible for them to explore their connection beyond the game and the walls of Club Desire? Or would the demons from her past keep her from taking a chance on something new?

Chess is the most intimate game in the world. It’s like making love. By the time we finish our first slow game, I will know all his thoughts.

~Eloisa James

Chapter 7

Vincent sifted through another stack of papers and was ready to give up when he came across the document he’d been searching for. His cheeks expanded while he blew out the oxygen, sighing in relief. Fifteen minutes prior, panic had coursed through his body while he searched for the stapled packet he now held in his hand. With a keen eye, he thoroughly read over the scribbled handwriting of the police officer who’d written up the report. From what Vincent could tell, everything appeared to be in order. His dad’s friend must’ve made a mistake.

Flipping to the last page, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. His eyebrows slammed together.He had one fucking job to do!

“Dammit!”

He flung the papers on the desk without a care of where they would land. All his hard work would’ve been for naught if this blew back in his face. Vincent reached for his phone, dialing the one person who would be able to get the job done. After a few rings, his call was answered.

“Hello, Mr. Moretti. Is everything okay?”

“No, it’s not. I need your help. And it’s urgent.”

“Sure. What do you need?”

“I need you to apply for a job. Go for an Assistant Manager role or any position that will get you close to her or him. And I need everything you can find about their operations. Can you do that?”

“Yes, sir. Consider it done. I’ll let you know when I start.”

Vincent ended the call. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he thought about his younger siblings. Being the oldest, he was proud of his deep feeling of responsibility to take care of his three younger brothers. And like his parents, he too spoiled them. Joey, the second-to-oldest sibling, had been the biggest pain in his asswhile theyweregrowing up. From a teenager into his young adult years, he’d been a troublemaker. Because Vincent was always there to help Joey, his bad-boy behavior never had negative repercussions. Now, once again, Joey had taken things too far. His brother claimed the woman was lying and everything was consensual, but it wasn’t her story, and that was the problem. Vincent would have to use every legal trick in the book to help his brother get out of this mess. And he would do it. Simply put. He would never let anyone harm his younger brothers. Vincent would go to war for them.

What about her? Would you go to war for her?

Like earlier, without any prompting, she’d infiltrated his thoughts. Much to his delight, he’d run into Dominique at the Chess Palace. Nothing could’ve prepared him for their unexpected encounter, nor that she would beat him not once but twice in a game that he was good at. Their love for chess was inked in their skin, which again was a surprise to him. Something about her was captivating his full attention—no other woman had been able to do that before. Today, Vincent could sense Dominique wasn’t ignoring his efforts to win her over. Soon, the sexy Fem Domme from South Shore would be his. The corners of Vincent’s mouth curved upward. He grabbed his phone and keyed in a text:

Vincent placed the phone on the desk. No sooner had he reclined in his seat with his hands clasped behind his head did the device chime with an incoming notification. He sat up abruptly, and instead of picking it up immediately, he stared at it for a few seconds. Was it her? His pulse raced with excitement, something he was not used to feeling but embraced if it was with her. Everything about this woman made him feel as if she could be the one to break him down and put him back together again. Seizing his phone, he quickly swiped, unlocking it.

When Vincent read her reply to his text message, he paused for a few seconds and blinked a few times to double-check that his eyes were not deceiving him. But what he saw on the screen was crystal clear:

He responded with such speed that he had to pause and double-check his words and spelling to make sure he didn’t make mistakes due to his haste.

Vincent entered the address into the navigation app. After calculating the distance from his rental property to her home, he grinned and declared aloud, “I’ll do you one better. I’ll be there in less than thirty minutes, Ms. Dominique Nyari Benoit.”

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