Two Can Play (Celeste and Dominic) novel Chapter 197

Chapter 197

As I began to drive, Domine kept turning to stare at me. Each time I glanced in ftis direction, I caught him looking at me with a soft smile on his face, his eyes tracing my profile like he was trying to memorize it.

“What?” I asked. “Why do you keep staring at me?”

“Because I am worried that I will wake up and realize this is all a dream.”

I looked at him, a smile tugging at my lips. “Haven’t we agreed that we will not wake up from this dream?”

“Ah, but still. You are a delight to look at. You are beautiful. You are perfect. You are a sight for sore eyes. And my heart hurts because I am going to have to part with you very soon.”

“Come on,” I told him. “Didn’t we agree we will see each other later in the day?”

“Yes, but that is a long time away. How am I going to survive the hours in between?”

I chuckled, shaking my head. “Well, look at you, Dominic. Being all romantic and different.”

“But I have always been like this,” he replied.

I thought about it, about the few times I had seen him interact with Seraphine. I had never seen him smile so much or act so playful with her. He had been too serious. But with me, he was different. He laughed. He teased. He looked at me like I was the only woman in the world.

“Fine,” I said. “You have a license to stare. You can stare at me as much as you want. If you want me to stop the car by the road so you can stare at me properly, I will be willing to do that.”

“Now that would be over the top,” he said, leaning closer and pressing a kiss to my cheek.

I felt a jolt move through my body, a spark that traveled from the point of contact down to my chest, my stomach, settling somewhere warm and fluttering. My cheeks heated and I kept my eyes on the road, but I could feel him watching me, could feel the smile in his gaze.

As we got closer to Helix, even I began to feel a little sad that I would have to part with him. I started going as slow as possible, taking each turn with exaggerated care, dragging out every second of the drive. But eventually, the familiar glass of Helix came into view and I had no choice but to slow down and pull up to the front.

I turned the engine off and sat there for a moment, both of us silent, neither of us wanting to break the spell.

“Well,” I said, turning to look at him. “Here we go. I have finally arrived.”

“So,” he said finally, his voice slightly hoarse. “My ride should be behind this building.”

“All right then.”

He took my hand, lifted it to his lips, and kissed the back of it. The gesture was so old-fashioned, so gentlemanly, that it made my heart ache. He held my hand for a moment longer, his eyes on mine, and then he let go, opened the door, and stepped out.

I watched him walk away, his broad shoulders, the confident set of his stride. He did not look back, and something about that made me smile even wider. He was not the type to drag out goodbyes. He said what he needed to say and he left. And yet, the way he had kissed my hand, the way he had looked at me before he let go, told me everything I needed to know.

I laid my head against the seat and let out a long breath, a smile spreading across my face so wide that my cheeks hurt. I felt giddy. Like a teenager who had just been kissed by the boy she had a crush on and could not believe it had actually happened.

I could get used to this.

Comments