Merger (Triple Threat Book 3) (3 page)

She cleared her throat, hoping he didn’t detect the blush in her cheeks. “If you’re sure you don’t mind, I will take you up on your offer.”

He gave her an easy grin, though it didn’t reveal much about his true reaction to her acquiescence. “I’m pleased to hear that. I hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of having some of the shops send up clothing for you. Whether or not you stayed, I knew you’d need some pieces to get through.” He waved to the couch.

She turned toward it, expecting to see a couple of boxes or bags, since he had said a few pieces. Instead, it was heaped with purchases, and she eyed them in shock. “How long do you think I’m staying?”

He laughed, sounding delighted. “You don’t have to keep them all, Lily. I’m not sure what your tastes are, and though I think I’m pretty sure about your size, I could be wrong—especially on intimate wear. I had to guess on your band and cup size.” As he spoke, his gaze moved briefly to the overflow of cleavage from the black dress, before darting away quickly.

That he had looked at all made her stomach twist into knots, but they weren’t knots of fear or anxiety. Rather, she tentatively identified them as anticipation as she tried to read his expression, hoping to find at least a trace of desire there. Unfortunately, he had a perfect poker face, and she couldn’t determine what he was thinking or feeling.

Instead, she dived into the boxes, quickly selecting a far more suitable outfit for sightseeing, somehow unsurprised that he had accurately guessed her size. She was confident that even the bra would fit, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know how he’d acquired that skill. It seemed likely he had needed to fondle and examine quite a number of breasts in his life to be able to determine a woman’s cup size and band size just from looking at her body, and she didn’t like that idea one bit. In fact, it made her feel blindingly jealous, which was a reaction she’d never experienced before. She hadn’t even cared when the couple of her boyfriends in the past had flirted with other women in front of her, but now she was ready to tear out the hair of whichever women had given him his experience?

She quickly tried to suppress thinking about the whole idea as she rushed back to the room he was letting her use, quickly throwing off Chrissy’s dress and tossing it in the trashcan before dressing in something that was far more her style. She hurried in her movements, not wanting to waste a second of the time she had with Dominic, since it was likely to be limited. He might not be interested in her yet, but maybe there was a chance she could change his mind.

Hours later, they returned to the suite after a day of sightseeing. Her feet hurt from all the walking she’d done in new sandals, but she didn’t hesitate to agree when he suggested they dress up and have dinner at one of the restaurants in the resort. She made her way to the room she was using, his wording suggesting the restaurant would be expensive.

Since she was in no financial place to pay half the bill, the manners her mom had instilled in her suggested she should find an excuse to demur, but she didn’t want to. Manners be damned. She wanted to spend more time with Dominic. She was infatuated with him, and knowing she didn’t stand a chance of gaining his attention didn’t lessen the desire to be around him.

She took a quick shower to wash away the sheen of sunscreen clinging to her fair skin, combined with the grit and grime of the day. After that, she pinned her damp hair in a twist and slid on a tropical-print dress clearly meant for evening wear. It fluttered almost to her ankles, but the revealing slit up the side made it far sexier and revealing, ending just a few inches below her panty line. It was too hot for stockings, and she didn’t have any anyway, so she left her legs and feet bare before donning high-heeled sandals. Her sore feet temporarily protested, but the high-quality shoes were more comfortable than she had anticipated, and the discomfort was only slightly noticeable.

As a last step, she applied lipstick, thankful it was a close enough match to the fuchsia flowers in the dress not to clash terribly. Eyeing herself in the mirror, she decided she looked pretty good. Maybe even sexy. She wasn’t certain if Dominic would find her that way, but she felt sexy. It was evident in the way she walked, and she could feel it herself as her hips swayed sinuously when she moved from her room to meet him in the living room of the suite.

Dominic was already waiting for her in semi-casual resort attire. She stumbled a step when she saw the expression on his face. It was unreadable, but it made her nervous. Self-consciously, she tugged at the straps of the dress, frowning at him. “Is something wrong?” Did she look hideous? Was the dress completely inappropriate for where he was taking her? It didn’t seem likely, since he was dressed in similar clothing, but she was absolutely certain she had screwed up somewhere.

He stared at her for another moment without speaking before he finally shook his head. “There’s nothing wrong. You’re just beautiful. You stunned me.”

Warmth pooled in her stomach and matched the heat in her cheeks when she flushed under the intensity of his gaze. “Thank you,” she mumbled shyly as she looked away from him.

A moment later, he walked over to her, and it felt like the most natural thing in the world when he folded his hand over hers, tugging her lightly to get her moving. She held cautiously to his hand, not wanting to cling to him or be the last one to let go. Apparently, he was soon annoyed with her limp grip, because he sighed and rearranged their hands so hers was folded in his tightly. She would have to expend great effort to escape—not that she wanted to.

“I hope you like seafood. I made a reservation for the most popular restaurant here at the resort, and seafood is their specialty.”

She nodded. “About the only thing I don’t like are clams, but otherwise, I enjoy seafood.”

It was an inane conversation, but she did her best to participate with the right responses as her hormones tried to induce her to sway against him and lift her head, hoping he would take the cue to kiss her.

Sternly, she tried to hold herself in check with a reminder that just because he admired her appearance didn’t mean he was attracted to her. She was building herself up for something that couldn’t be, so she had to return to reality. The idea held little appeal, but it held even less appeal to make a fool of herself by offering something he didn’t want.

They had to wait for a table at the restaurant for a few minutes despite the reservations. She held her breath while she waited to see his reaction, but he merely shrugged at the
maître d’
and led her to the bar, where they both ordered margaritas. She took a sip, and her eyes watered at the strength of the tequila. “I think they forgot the rest of the drink. This is just tequila on the rocks.” She gave him a feeble smile as she made the weak joke.

He didn’t seem affected, but he did nod. “It’s certainly on the strong side.”

At first, she sipped slowly, but as the minutes ticked past and her awkwardness increased, she found herself returning to the drink more and more frequently just to have something to occupy her hands. Before she knew it, she’d finished the entire thing, and her head was spinning slightly. She wasn’t drunk, but she was certainly on the edge of tipsy, so she was relieved when the
maître d’
gestured in their direction a moment later, and she was able to slide off the stool without tripping in the high heels.

That seemed like a major accomplishment, as did covering the distance between the bar and their table without stumbling like a drunken fool. Dominic held out the chair for her, assisting her with sliding it in before he seated himself. She was relieved to see rolls on the table and reached for one, slathering it with a thick layer of butter before she ever opened her menu. She needed food in her stomach if she was going to keep her brain working at even half-capacity.

Even with the bread and a speedy arrival of their appetizers, she was still feeling giddy. It didn’t take long to realize it was the proximity to Dominic as much, if not more than, the alcohol she had consumed. She drank sparingly of her glass of wine that accompanied her meal, determined not to get drunk. The drink had loosened her tongue and lowered her inhibitions enough that the conversation flowed easily, and she learned quite a bit about him, including he was the oldest of a set of identical triplets. He told her about his family for several minutes, answering the questions she asked, before turning the tables on her.

“And what about your family? Do you have siblings? Are your mother and father still together? I know it’s an unusual turn of events if they are.” His eyes sparkled as he made the observation, indicating he was probably teasing.

She shook her head. “No, they aren’t. They divorced five years ago, which was a total shock to myself and my two brothers and sister. We thought my parents were in it for the long haul, but I have to admit they both seem happier without each other than with. It was still an adjustment.”

His expression showed sympathy. “You would have been seventeen when they divorced?”

She nodded, remembering with a small trace of bitterness that it had been the day before her birthday when they’d announced they were splitting up, probably not even giving the timing a thought. It had tainted that birthday and the first one after, but she was mostly over it by now.

“I’m curious about who you chose to live with?” As he asked, he took a bite of the seafood enchilada he’d ordered, clearly relishing the flavor.

“I went to live with my dad. My brothers and sister stayed with mom, but my dad just seemed so lost that I knew he needed someone to pick him.”

“Was it difficult living with him?”

She shook her head. “No, not really. I just maintained the expectations he set for me, and he was happy with that. I think it helped him transition easier, since the divorce was definitely my mother’s idea. She remarried a few months later.”

“I guess you don’t like your stepfather?”

Lily snorted softly. “He’s already gone. That marriage lasted less than a year, but I don’t blame my mom. When she discovered he was getting handsy with my little sister, she kicked his ass straight out to the curb.”

“Good for her. She should have castrated him first.”

He said it was such intensity that it was almost unnerving, though she didn’t disagree with his assessment. “I guess she was afraid she’d be arrested. I’m not sure if my father would be happy to have her thrown in jail, or if he would have been utterly humiliated.”

Dominic frowned. “Why would your father be humiliated if his ex-wife was arrested for an altercation with her current husband?”

She paused for a sip of wine before answering him. “My father’s the police commissioner, so you can see how it would have been embarrassing for him, even though he probably would have gotten a kick out of being able to throw Mom in jail.”

His expression showed his comprehension of the situation, and he laughed. “And has your mother moved on to your next stepfather yet?”

Lily shrugged. “Nothing official yet, but I’m not really sure if she has a candidate in mind. I’ve been living in the sorority house this year after joining Delta Kappa Delta at my mom’s behest. I don’t really discuss dating with her.”

“Not even your relationships?” There was definitely a gleam of interest in his eyes when he brought up that topic. “I thought girls told their moms all those details?”

She gave him a skeptical look. “Perhaps some girls, but I don’t have that kind of relationship with either of my parents.” Her father had pigeonholed her into the perfect daddy’s girl role, and her mother saw her as a bit of a bewildering puzzle she didn’t know how to solve.

Andrea had always been beautiful and popular, a fact that hadn’t changed even as she had left college and entered the real world. She always knew the right thing to say and do, and there was no hint of awkwardness or anxiety when she interacted socially. To her, Lily was a conundrum, and after she had given up trying to make her conform to the standards she understood, her mother had seemed not to exactly lose interest in her, but to accept that they were vastly different people with little in common. She didn’t bear her mother any resentment, but she did wish they could be closer. It seemed unlikely since they had so little in common though.

“I suppose you confide in your sister about your relationships?”

She shrugged. “I’ve mentioned dates and such, but I don’t really talk about those things.” One of the reasons was there wasn’t much to talk about. She’d had two relationships she would consider semi-serious, meaning they had lasted for weeks or a few months, and she’d slept with her second boyfriend, but it had been lackluster, and certainly nothing to discuss with her younger sibling.

Since her sister was a lesbian, she wasn’t likely to want to discuss Lily’s sex life, since it involved men. If Brenda had been inclined to listen the details were so boring she probably wouldn’t have stayed awake to hear how uninspired and downright painful the whole experience had been.

Jerry had tried, but he hadn’t been very good, and she’d had trouble mustering enthusiasm for the whole process, so it had hurt. After three tries, when things weren’t getting any better, she’d broken off the relationship. Of course she didn’t tell Dominic any of those details, finding it too personal and slightly embarrassing that it had been another endeavor she’d undertaken and hadn’t met the expectations for properly.

“Are you close to your siblings though?”

She nodded. “I love them, and they love me, even though they’re far more like my mom than I am. I don’t think they quite get me, but that’s okay. I don’t really understand their interests either, but I still love them.”

He nodded, seeming to approve of her comment. “I feel the same way about my brothers, and my sister too, though she’s a decade younger than me. I feel more protective of her, which makes it hard to see her as a peer.”

“I’m sure that’s normal. If my brothers were older, they might be protective too. I’m the oldest though, so they never really fell into those roles.”

The conversation continued as they discovered they lived in the same city, shared mutual interests, and debated the merits of various musical groups. They had completely opposite tastes in music, but surprising similarities in movie choices. The conversation lasted well into dessert, and they were still talking even after Dominic signed the bill, and they left the restaurant.

They stood in the lobby for a moment, and he took her hand again. “Do you want to go to the nightclub?”

She really didn’t with her feet hurting, but she wanted this night to last, and if it meant having sore feet, she could endure that. She nodded, following along behind him as he led her down the marble corridor, seeming to know exactly where he was going. Either he had good instincts, or he’d been there before. She found she didn’t like the idea of him having been there without her, dancing with other women and pressing his body against them.

The surge of jealousy caught her by surprise, because she wasn’t the jealous type, especially since she had no proof that he’d ever done such a thing. What did it matter if he had? They weren’t involved in any fashion, and she had no claim to him. If he wanted to dance with every woman in the place tonight in front of her, she had no right or reason to complain. She didn’t plan to watch such an exhibit though, and if it began to go that route, she would excuse herself to go back to the suite. She absolutely would not scratch out anyone’s eyes or slap him for being a man-whore.

The music they played was slow and sensual, with a heavy thudding beat that she could feel all the way into the center of her body. She didn’t demur when he pulled her onto the dance floor, skipping the process of ordering drinks. She glanced quickly around her when he pulled her body close to his, soon realizing that other couples were standing in similar poses. He wasn’t holding her outside the bounds of conventionality, but it felt far too intimate. She wasn’t certain if she wanted to pull away for self-preservation or wiggle even closer.