Dominic clasps her elbow. Too many emotions cross his face, which is equally as torn as hers. Assumptions fly through my mind. This is his woman.
Damn, he is in a relationship. Did she catch him—
Something crashes out of the front door. Yup! She caught him in the act! Whoever is inside made an entire ruckus.
The nurse came by. Now, she’s leaving because she caught him in bed with whoever is in the house. He’s groveling. Dominic stops, his eyes searing into mine.
It’s too late to pretend to have just been jogging by. So much for looking cute. I grit my teeth.
“Aria!” he calls out to me, hustling down the driveway. “Dammit, Carlotta!” He punches the air as the nurse’s BMW coupe comes zipping down the lane. The wrought iron gate begins to open. “Aria, wait!”
I turn on a ridiculous pair of heels and continue back out to the street.
“I said, ‘wait!’ ”
Though I intended to ignore him wholly, I chuckle, while having to stop to let a car pass by.
“If I have to chase you, chula, I will pick you the fuck up and carry you inside.”
“With who?” I grit, pausing as another luxury vehicle zips down the road. I wish I had a roaring engine, instead of a quiet, steady car. With all I knew about him before, this was predictable. But I want to speed away, leaving the putrid scent of rubber in the air.
I stalk across the street, yank my car door open. It’s pushed shut.
“You’re coming inside,” Dominic orders. “You came by for a reason, mami.”
“Wow. Nurse Betty—” I zip my mouth shut. There was nothing Betty about her. “First, you have one woman leaving. What am I? Second choice since you couldn’t smooth-talk your fantasy back into the house. Ha! You like ‘em crazy. Whoever is making all that noise in the house, must be muy, muy crazy!” I glare back at the door as something else is hurled out. “You don’t need company.”
“He’ll calm down in a second.”
“He!” My eyes expand.
“Aye Dios.” Dominic chuckles. “You’re reading into the situation. Mi hermano, Dario.”
God, nobody ever accused me of being psychic. I clear my throat. “Ahem, your brother is throwing a tantrum?”
“Sí. No love triangle, mami.” He holds a hand out to me. Something else flies out, crashing along the red clay driveway. Dominic grimaces. “Eh, I believe he’s done. Let’s walk slow, though.”
“How old is your brother?” I imagine a pock-faced teen his parents can no longer handle, but remember their mother is gone.
“Thirty-six, same as me.”
Astonished, I gasp. “Your twins?”
“Sí. But you and I have a better connection at the moment. The nurse who left had worked with Dario. He can’t feel shit from the waist down. Car crash five years ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Yeah? I’m tired of his attitude. A few years back, Dario and Carlotta got a little too close.” Dominic drags his hands over my arms. The sentiment anchors my anxiety and stops me from running. “I’m not sure if it was a fear of walking again, but Dario pushed her away. He was more alive than ever while Carlotta worked for him. He almost felt something.”
Dominic stares deep into my eyes. “Almost felt something” reverberates in my ears. What did his twin brother almost feel at the hands of Nurse Carlotta? Speechless, I lose myself in his gaze, ready to feel something too.
Chapter Nineteen
Dominic
Aria leans against the backdoor of her sedan in contemplation. I hadn’t meant for Dario’s tragedy to soften our tension. I’m the hunter. She’s my prey. But now, my hermano’s story dangles between us.
The warmth is causing the dominant in me to lose sight of the reason I connected to her. I tell myself not to manipulate her emotions, but I step closer to her, craving on the rise.
“Cars zip through here, careless drivers. Come in, Aria, talk to me.”
My cock strains as she licks her flustered lips. When we’d met, she was wearing pajama pants that hugged at the curve of her pussy. Envisioning licking her, tasting every inch of her, sends a hard sigh running through me. The part where Dario’s fucked-up life shouldn’t be my in into this woman’s crazy reality has disappeared. I want her bad. Fuck morals. Innocence is standing before me, and I will have my taste. I soften my tone, “Come inside, mami.”
Aria stops leaning against the doorframe. Her facial expression begs me for space. Relentless, I stand my ground. She groans. “You’re busy. I dropped by unannounced. Remember, I don’t apologize. So, here’s your chance to read between the lines.”
“Do something for me. I’ll forgive you.”
She presses at my chest with one hand. The other is on the driver’s door handle. “Do what?”
I collect both her hands into mine. “Come inside.”
She stares at me like I’m the big, bad wolf. It’s like my lair is off-limits, a danger to her sanity. Damn, I need the key to unlock her hesitation.
Aria works her tiny fingers in mine, but I clasp firm. Glaring at me now, she says, “One question, Dominic, since you’re hellbent on holding me hostage.”
“Tell me your question inside.” I smile as she turns her glower at our entwined hands. “Now. Or we can make dinner of it.”
“A date?” She cocks her brow.
I let her go, hiding a smile. She’s easy to fuck with. “Aye, date, sí, no? Whatever you need it to be.”
As suspected, something in Aria falls, but I pick it right back up. “I adore anytime you’re in my presence. But if you need to give it a title. Let’s go on a date now. You won’t be disappointed.” Pre-cum seeping, the animal in me is ready to pounce.
A peach tone flush highlights across her brown skin. Aria opens the door to her car. She shifts back toward me as if having taken a breath to settle her nerves. “How about you answer my question, Dom, then I take you to dinner.”
“Don’t insult me.” I glare at her. A woman pay for dinner? Fuck that. I’m Cuban. “My treat. I’ll answer your questions, fulfill your unspoken desires. How does that sound, chula?”
She folds her hands across her chest. “Whatever, Dominic. You can be smooth. I’ll be cheesy. So, I’ll trade your machismo for the cliché my way or the highway. Dinner. My place. Seven p.m. You still have the address, stalker?”
“Your place it is.” I wink. The glimmer in my eyes warns that home-field advantage is not saving you from me.
When I returned, Dario had taken the wheelchair lift at the second set of stairs. I haven’t seen him since he laid eyes on Carlotta while in the kitchen. He called her a puta and told her to leave. Before they bonded, my hermano had called her everything under the sun. It was like he had done with the nurses before her. Carlotta stuck it out. Now, I suspect it’ll be a week before he comes down. He has his replacement meals in a kitchenette upstairs—all he needs. I fry croquettes and leave the tray outside his room before heading out.
I’ve found a parallel spot almost half a mile from Aria’s building when her phone number pops up on the screen. I press the answer button, positioning my car to park.