Page 131 of Love Among the Ruins
When they’d made it through a lobby full of people, Dominic stopped, then bent down, his lips barely caressing her earlobe.
“Are you okay?” His breath was warm against her skin, his voice so low and familiar she felt the reverberations in her chest
“Y-yes.” Something blossomed in her belly, something deep and fulsome, like a flower blooming from a bud. She felt dizzy and light, as if she were floating on a cloud high above and looking down. It seemed surreal.
He moved his face away, then, glancing over her shoulder, moved his face close to her neck again. “Have I told you how beautiful you look?” There it was again. His warm breath kissing her skin, his sea breeze scent filling her personal space.
“You’re tickling my neck,” she cried, flinching at his closeness, at her reaction, at the effect of him being so close.
As if to tease her, his lips brushed her earlobe and her heart jumped in her chest.
Her legs threatened to go on strike which meant any moment now she’d hit the floor. “Is this really necessary?”
“Hector is watching,” he murmured. His fingers skittered across her bare arms, reawakening the hot desire she thought she’d safely locked away for now. She didn’t care who was watching, all she could absorb was the feel of Dominic’s fingers across her bare skin, the low whisper of his voice, his breath against her ear.
And then she snapped out of it.
Hector Galatis.
The reason for this façade. Dominic could make her believe that this was real, that he was starting to want her, given the intensity of the attention he was giving her. But it was a ruse.
Never forget that.
She steeled herself as his hands slid slowly down her arms, sprouting goosebumps in their wake. His fingers wrapped around her wrists possessively for a few seconds before he lowered them, then his fingers intwined with hers and she forgot to breathe.
“Smile, Eleni.” He did it again, swooping in and whispering directly into her ear. The heady combination of his closeness, his breath, his voice a deep rumble she felt deep in the echo chambers of her heart.
“I’m trying,” she whimpered, caught up in the fog of emotion swirling around her. She smiled back at him like an obedient little imp.
In this moment, she would have done whatever Dominic asked of her.
