“Well then,” she said slowly.

“Helena, I’m at my wit’s end. You have exactly ten seconds to tell me what you want before I have you thrown out.”

She sobbed. “I love you.”

Felicity’s heart squeezed painfully tight.

Dom laughed. He actually sounded as if he was enjoying himself. “No you don’t. You love my money and power.”

“No, I miss you. I want you back, my love. Please! I need you!”

Felicity heard the jingling of jewelry and the swishing of a dress as Helena moved.

Dom’s hard voice cut. “Don’t ever touch me again.”

“But-but—”

“I loathe you. Any day that I don’t see your face is a pleasant one. You disgust me. You’re a filthy whore and now, thank god, I get to have nothing to do with you.”

Crushing words that felt like blows. Felicity winced and waited, eager to know what Helena would say after such a barb.

“I see.” Helena’s voice had changed. Now it was hard and cold. “This is how it’s going to be then.”

“This is how it’s been for a long time. You were too stupid to notice it.”

“I’ll not be easily put off, Dominic. I’m not a bag of trash you can simply throw away.”

“Do your worst.”

Footsteps sounded, coming closer to the door. Felicity looked around wildly then sped back up to the stairs. She was halfway up when Helena spoke.

“I know her name. Felicity Shaw. Some nobody who’s not worth the pair of shoes I’m wearing. I’d watch her closely if I were you. Sometimes accidents happen.”

A shadow passed over the doorway then the door slammed shut as if something, or someone, had been slammed into it. Felicity ran down a few steps to hear what he was saying, but all she could make out was his low, threatening tone. The door flew open and Dominic held a gorgeous redhead by the back of her neck. She fought in his hold but he didn’t budge. With a toss, he threw her at the front door.

She spun around on him, wobbling in her tall heels. “You’ll regret this.”

Dom looked like a warrior with his broad shoulders, wide stance, and fisted hands. He looked ready to fight and to kill.

“No, I won’t. But you will, Helena, if you pursue this in any way.”

Suddenly, Felicity found herself the object of Helena’s cold stare. Her ruby red lips pulled into a chilling smile. “Well it looks like your little mouse came out to peek.”

Dom didn’t turn to look at her, but he growled. A low, inhuman sound that made the hair on her arms stand up. Helena felt it too for her eyes flared with fear for a moment. Then she ducked out of the house and slammed the door behind her.

Felicity didn’t know what to do, but she had the distinct feeling that she’d just done something wrong. Quietly, she started moving back up the steps, but she didn’t turn her back on Dom. Maybe if she pretended she hadn’t witnessed such a personal fight then he would too.

Quietly, Dom turned around to face her. Just like that her heart started beating too fast. She was intensely aware of him. She hadn’t seen him in days, and it felt like forever. She’d actually missed him, really. Their little banter together. The way he pursued her did wondrous things for her self-esteem, and plus, she liked him a little. Okay, more than a little.

His green eyes centered with gold landed on hers, and then in a blur of movement he stood in front of her, pushed her back into the railing. He cupped her jaw.

“Felicity...”

“I’m sorry!” she blurted out.

His eyes traced over her face. They turned darker and darker as the look came into them. She trembled. It had been four days since she saw him. The effect of seeing him after so long felt like a punch to the gut that left her winded and a bit dizzy.

“For what?” he asked, his voice rumbling.

“For eavesdropping. I was just going to get some work done and then I heard...I shouldn’t have listened.”

“I’m glad you did.”

A brow arched in surprise. “You are?”

She could feel his heat. He wore another suit but he’d popped the top few buttons of his shirt to reveal dark skin. She wanted to lean forward and lick the hollow of his throat, over the bones of his collar, nick him with her fangs, and then sink into him.

“That’s my ex. I separated from her before my father grew ill.”

Separation was a hard thing to do and very rare among vampires. One had to petition the council then convince them to vote in one’s favor. The petitioner also had to pay a large sum to the separated party for the rest of his or her days, which could be quite a long time for a vampire. Felicity would bet in this case it would be in the tens of millions for Helena and who knows what kinds of houses, jewelry, and cars she also got in the process.

“She seems like a real bitch.”

His furrowed brow relaxed as his laughter came slow and low. “Yeah, she is.”

“What did she want?”

His thumbs stroked her jaw making her sigh. It felt good to have him back, to feel him touching her again. She’d really missed him. God, she was in over her head in trouble with this man.

“To try to taunt me with what I don’t want. She wants me back, but until now I don’t think she’s realized just how much I hate her.”

“Oh.” Felicity touched his stomach. She couldn’t not touch him when he was this close to her. Even as she told herself not to do it, her hands spanned across his waist to his back. The heat of him pressed into her fingertips. It wasn’t enough. She wanted to pull his shirt out of his pants and touch bare, smooth skin.

He leaned in making her breath catch. His lips traced her ear. “Did you miss me?”

She found she didn’t want to lie to him. “Maybe, did you miss me?” God, he smelled so good. Breathing became a chore.

His teeth latched onto her earlobe, bit, then disappeared. “I thought of you constantly. I dreamt of you when I slept. Everywhere I went it felt like you were with me.”

He was making her melt. Her hands tightened, crushing their bodies together. He could make her lose her mind, and she loved it.

“Where did you go?”

He tongued her pulse while one hand squeezed her shoulder before sliding down to cup her backside. He didn’t cup her gently, but squeezed, pulling her into his erection with a groan.

“Business. We’re searching out Zeke for the attempt on our lives. He’s a hard were to find. Alpha of the pack makes him the best. If he doesn’t want to be found he won’t be, and his people won’t turn him over. If anyone can find him, it’ll be Grayson.”

“So he’s hiding?”

He lifted her by her backside and the motion pulled her to her toes as his cock nudged against her mound.

She couldn’t keep her eyes open, couldn’t breathe. Damn it, she thought and pulled his shirt up to touch the hot, smooth skin at his lower back. He made a gruff sound as he ground his erection into her.

“Not hiding. He isn’t a coward. He’s just crazy. He’s probably out doing something else. He’ll come to us when he’s ready.”

“Oh,” she said on a sigh. “Did you think about me while you were gone?” She didn’t have time to feel mortified that she’d asked that incredibly revealing question because he answered quickly.

His lips pressed softly against hers. She could feel him smile. “I did.”

“Me too,” she said very, very quietly.

His hand stilled on her bottom, his hips stopped its subtle rocking, and then her eyes opened to meet his serious ones.

“What’s here between us is something different. We both know it. I need you, Felicity. I want you so fucking bad I dream about it. Let me have you. Not once. That wouldn’t be nearly enough. I want you in my bed every fucking day, waking up next to me, with me filling you. Just say yes and I’ll make it happen right now.”

In and out, she breathed in gasps. Her eyes were wide in shock. Worst of all, she wanted that too. To see where they could go and what they could be. She’d bet it’d be something incredible.