I turn toward Dom. ‘What did you do that for?’

‘Asshole was lucky. I was in a good mood. He was looking to get his head fucking kicked in.’

‘Because?’

‘Because he fucking looked at my woman, that’s why.’

A totally inappropriate but powerful thrill flashes through me, lighting up cells that have never seen light in their sad little lives. For that second I want to be his woman, I want him to speak so possessively about me. But that second passes as fast as it made its unexpected visit, and an odd sense of loss replaces it. I never suspected that inside me was such a needy being. What the hell is the matter with me! I’m so mentally unhinged by my own pathetic reaction that the words that leave my mouth are like cold, hard bullets.

‘I’m not your woman.’

He glances at me, unembarrassed, unfazed, and without missing a beat says, ‘He doesn’t know that. I’d never disrespect another man by looking at the woman he’s with like that.’

There’s no more to be said after that.

She bends her head, and honey-blonde, silky hair tumbles over her shoulder. Something jerks inside me. Jesus, I can’t do this. It’s too fucking painful. She looks up at me, her eyes as large and enquiring as a child’s.

‘What’s the matter?’ she asks.

The look scorches me. ‘Nothing.’ My voice is harsh. I had not intended that.

She stiffens, her eyes becoming more distant.

I crack a smile and pretend to be the polite gentleman I’ve been all night long even though it kills me inside. I do it because I need her in my bed. I want to run my fingers along the wet seam of her pussy lips and I want to see how fierce and wild she’ll be when my cock plunges into her.

Maybe she can stop the pain.

When he opens the passenger door our hands accidentally touch and both of us draw back as if we’ve been burnt.

‘Sorry,’ I mumble.

He inhales sharply and says nothing.

I slide in and he closes the door for me. When he gets in I glance covertly at his long, strong body. It’s as tense as a coiled spring. Then the car guns into action and we’re speeding through the cool night air.

The car stops outside my little flat. I turn toward him. ‘Thank you for dinner. I really—’

‘I’ll walk you to your door,’ he says, cutting me short.

‘I’ll be fine,’ I say, but he’s already opened his door and slipped out of the car. I shut my mouth and stare straight ahead. I think I’m a bit petrified about what might happen next.

He opens the passenger door. I put my hand in his outstretched palm and, placing my legs together, I swing them out as gracefully as I can and he heaves me out. He holds open the entrance door of my building and we walk together toward the lift. He presses the button to call it and it makes a clanking sound. It’s stopped working again.

I turn to him. ‘It’s broke.’

‘Thank God,’ he mutters. ‘I don’t think I can bear the smell of piss at this time of night.’

I wave a hand in the air. ‘Don’t worry, you can go. I’ll be fine. I always use the stairs, anyway.’

He looks down at me expressionlessly. ‘I took the stairs when I came up to get you. I can’t do bad smells. I only used the lift on the way down because of your high heels.’

‘Oh!’ I exclaim, blinking fast enough to have a seizure. ‘All right, if you’re sure,’ I say airily, and, turning away from him, start walking toward the stairs.

We walk up three flights of stairs without saying much. Outside my door I bend my head and rummage around in my purse for my key. I fish it out and hold it up.

‘Goodnight and thank—’ I begin brightly and then I come to a dead stop.

He’s staring at me in a way that should be outlawed. No man has ever looked at me like that. As if he’s starving and I’m triple-seared rib-eye steak. I feel the breath rush out of me and I don’t think I can remember how to take the next one. I’m still staring into his eyes with my mouth open when he takes the key out of my nerveless hand.

‘This is a grave mistake,’ I whisper.

‘I need it, and you want it,’ he says harshly.

He fits the key into the keyhole. I shake my head. ‘It’s wrong. We’ll regret it.’

He opens the door and walks me backward through it. ‘You might, I won’t.’

He kicks the door shut. I take a deep breath and his eyes drop to my heaving chest.

‘Dom,’ I breathe.

He backs me up to wall, his mouth inches away from mine. His energy is like a force field that is pressing me to the wall. A soft growl rumbles in his throat. It’s electrifying. My body responds by freezing. Blood rushes in my ears, deafening me, and every thought, sane or otherwise, flies out of my stunned brain. He cups the back of my head while his other hand comes around my waist like a band of steel and slams me into his hard body, crushing my breasts. It’s a good thing he’s holding me because my body feels boneless, as if I could melt and disappear into him.

I feel his breath waft over my face. It smells sweetish, like maraschino cherries soaked in alcohol. I’ve never felt so alive, or so vibrant, or so precious. I could have climbed mountains, flown to the stars, melted the sun. It’s as if he’s my secret dream. Something I’ve dreamed of and never known. I gasp with a mixture of shock and desire, and he clamps his lips onto my open mouth.

It’s like falling into a giant tidal wave.

And drowning. I don’t see him produce the condom, tear the foil, or even feel him fit the rubber. It’s all done while I’m sinking deeper and deeper. He snatches his mouth away. I gasp for air. Grabbing the edges of the slit in my red skirt, he rips it right up to the waist. My panties are flung, wet and torn, to the floor. His hands run down my back and over my ass, cupping and lifting me until I’m dangling off the ground at almost eye level with him. Slowly he grinds his erection against me.

Then he points his cock at my entrance and rams into me, hard. Enormous … Foreign … Dominating. The shock of the sheer size of him makes me grunt. My muscles convulse to accommodate the unexpected intrusion.

‘Does this feel wrong?’ he snarls.

I curl my legs around his thighs. ‘Fuck you,’ I spit, and squeeze his cock tight.

‘Yesssss, do that. Just like that,’ he approves hoarsely.

He withdraws and thrusts up into me, so forcefully that my body climbs the wall behind me.

‘Argh,’ I cry out, but in fact it feels fabulous. This is the way it was always meant to be.

‘Want it harder?’ he asks, his voice raspy.

‘Yeah,’ I whimper.

He slams into me again and I start to quake: Oh fuck! I’m ready to come apart—right here—right now. Electric volts shoot through my system. My body begins to tense and contract. My heart pounds so loudly I hear it from the edges of consciousness. I try to push against it, but I’m standing in the way of a juggernaut. I climax with my head thrown back and screaming. He carries on thrusting through my orgasm until with a roar he, too, climaxes. I’m still panting hard when his eyes meet mine.

We stare at each other. Enemies again.

He pulls out of me and I feel a pang. Loss. Having him inside me felt right. Without him inside me I can think rationally again, and I’m suddenly ashamed and angry with myself. What an idiot I am.

He allows me to slide down his body, but when I try to wriggle away, his grip is steely. I quickly push the flaps of my skirt down over my throbbing sex and trembling thighs.

‘Don’t be expecting a repeat of that,’ I say through gritted teeth.

He loses the condom, zips up, and fixes his eyes on me. His voice is unyielding. ‘Don’t kid yourself, baby girl. I’ll have a repeat whenever I please.’