Page 33 of Where We Began

It's just Dominic and me now.

“What do you want?” he asks, before I can speak. There's a window behind him. The light makes his edges glow, his front-half sharper with shadows.

“I want to know more about your family's company.”

“Why?” His eyebrows inch up.

I lick my lower lip—he watches me do it. “It's the only way for me to help you and your parents out.”

His mouth glides into a bemused smile. “You want to helpus?”In a smooth motion, the kind meant for dancers, not muscled bodies like his, he blocks me against the wall. “The people who've trapped you here? People that threatened you, controlled you, and kept you from your loved ones?”

Over his shoulder I see the green wallpaper with the red flowers I've counted just for fun. His presence makes the hallway treacherous. How is he capable of turning a sunny stretch of carpet and windows into a dungeon?

His hand rams onto the wall next to my cheek. I jump, but I don't waver. I can't. “You don't need to remind me. I'm not doing this because I like my situation.”

“Then why?”

“Because it's the only way to keep your mom off my back.”

His eyes flinch. “Who told you that?”

“Your dad. He said I need to make her happy, or she'll start taking her moods out on me.”

The bridge of his nose is full of grooves; they smooth away. Dominic's stare goes elsewhere. From my angle, I can see his collarbones cutting through his fitted charcoal shirt. When he inhales, his broad chest swells, nearly grazing mine. His scent swims into my nose. Once, he smelled like parchment... like books. That's been replaced by grass, and something musky; the way stags smell when they're rucking for a mate in the middle of a forest.

He's looking at me again; was I zoning out? “You're hoping you'll come up with a plan so successful, we don't need your dad back.”

I shrug. “If we can do anything that brings in more money, it's enough, I think.”

Dominic smirks. “'We?'”

“I'd do it alone if I could. It's easier with your help.”

“Tempting,” he says, backing away. “How do I know this isn't just a way for you to help your father stay hidden?”

“You don't, but would it matter? You want your parents happy too, or why else bother chasing me last night? You'd have let me go if you didn't care what they think.”

His eyes narrow. “I told you. Stop assuming you know me, or what I want.” He turns partially, the sunlight illuminating him so that it splits him in two. He's impossibly gorgeous. Just looking at him turns my knees to jelly, and I curse myself for it. “We're not on the same side.”

My chin inches upwards. “But wecanbe, Dominic!”

That beautiful devil watches me for a fraction too long. “No. We can't.”

I stare at his back until he vanishes around the corner. Without his company, the light seems brighter... cleaner. But everything also becomes stale. When he's near me, it's like a fog is lifted. So why the hell do I want to punch him in the nose?

Dammit,I think, flustered by how he turned me down. I start to pivot on the ball of one foot, working to figure out my next steps, except I don't have any.

Dominic is still my best option. I just have to convince him that helping me is helping him, too.He doesn't think we can be on the same side.I'm sure he's wrong. He was my confidant once, my savior. He can be that again.

I'm determined to prove it.

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