Page 28 of Firedrake Betrayal
“That’s it. No more. I’m not doing this anymore,” I announce.
His eyes are on the blue silk cocktail dress overlaid with lace and delicate capped sleeves.
“Dominik?”
He doesn’t respond.
“Dominik?”
Nothing. It’s like he’s in a weird, unblinking trance.
Fed up, I turn to leave. If I have to walk to Oklahoma, I will walk.
“Bag up what I’ve selected and this dress. We’ll wait in the car.”
I stop, peering over my shoulder.
Dominik approaches with the suit jacket he took back, throwing it over my shoulder as he leads me out. “It’s cold and you’re wearing silk.”
I struggle to make sense of this man.
He kidnaps me.Literally. Locks me in his hoard. Notices when I’m quietly panicking because I don’t like crowds.
And he cares whether I’m cold.
The streets are a little quieter than they were before. The surrounding storefronts are dark, the source of the brightest light coming from the only store open behind us.
We weave around the few people on the streets and I slip into the backseat of the car Dominik holds open for me.
I sit, staring straight ahead, conscious he’s looking at me again. Maybe five minutes later, the assistant, accompanied by a guard, carries bag after bag out of the store and the driver puts them in the trunk.
“You look beautiful,” Dominik says quietly.
I tamp down my ridiculous burst of pleasure at his softly spoken compliment.
“Buying me expensive clothes and calling me beautiful won’t convince me to trust you.” No compliment in the world is going to change what he did.
“We will see,” he murmurs.
He’s quiet on the drive back to his apartment. So am I. As I climb out of the car, his hand hovers at the small of my back as he leads the way back through the lobby to the elevator. Along the way, he tells the doorman to have the concierge send our bags up.
He guides me back to the same room I woke in before. “This is your room.”
“And the plane to Oklahoma?” I ask after scanning the room. While we were out, someone made up the bed and covered the windows. Twenty years away, and he still has staff on hand to keep an eye on things for him.
“We’ll leave early,” Dominik says. “I can wake you.”
“No need. I’ll be ready,” I say, wondering what he’s waiting for. Me to invite him inside the bedroom?
He’ll be waiting an eternity for that to happen. I don’t know if this apartment has another bedroom. If not, he can sleep on the couch.
I grip the doorknob. “Then I’ll see you in the morning.”
And I close the door.
8
SHEP
