Love Thy Enemy (Red Stone Security Series) (Volume 13) by Katie Reus Page B

nodded, looking almost miserable. “I shouldn’t have used the contract as an—”
    “It’s fine.” His words came out more harshly than he’d intended. Viktor cleared his throat. All his muscles tightened as her words sank in. She wanted to go out with him. For no other reason than she wanted to spend time with him. “I would like to take you out as well.” He inwardly cringed at how formal he sounded. But everything about this woman made him forget how to function.
    Her cheeks flushed the sexiest shade of pink. “Okay, then. No contract talk tonight?”
    “None.”
    “Good.” She lightly curled her fingers around his upper arm and gave him a soft, almost shy smile that made him half desperate to kiss her. He could easily imagine her hands stroking over his naked body and had to shut that thought down. “I’m hungry. Let’s get out of here.”
    He was hungry too, but not for food. Keeping that thought at bay, he nodded once. The feel of her fingers grazing him ever so lightly was heaven and hell.
    This woman made him want too much.
    That was a very dangerous thing. The last time he’d fallen for a woman he’d learned too late that everything they’d shared was a lie. That she’d felt nothing for him. The shame of that memory flared inside him now, nearly consuming him. It also reminded him why he only used escorts. There was never any question of where they stood.
    But when he looked at the beautiful woman on his arm he knew that he wouldn’t be able to simply walk away from Dominique, no matter how great the risk.
    Even if she did have ulterior motives, a dark part of him didn’t care if she used him. He’d let himself be used by her if it meant he got a taste of her in the bargain.

Chapter 8

    Dominique couldn’t fight the jitters humming through her as Viktor opened the front door of the restaurant leading out into the parking lot. Dinner with him had been fun, even if he had seemed awkward at times. If anything, it endeared him even more to her.
    He truly was nothing like she’d expected.
    When he placed his big hand at the small of her back she could feel the heat of his touch straight to her skin. And she wondered what it would feel like to have him touching her bare skin. She’d been thinking about it all through dinner and questioning if she’d lost her mind. More than anything, she wondered if he’d be sensual, gentle…maybe a little rough.
    “Thank you for dinner,” she murmured. Her flat sandals crunched over the gravelly parking lot as they made their way to his SUV. She was glad that he hadn’t had a driver tonight, that it was just them. She kept obsessing, wondering if he was going to kiss her—and really hoping he would. Everything about him screamed sex and power, and she really, really wanted to see what it would be like to lose herself with a man like Viktor.
    He grunted a non-response before clearing his throat. “I’d like to take you out again. Tomorrow.”
    Yep, those butterflies were out of control in her stomach right about now. “I’d like that too,” she said as they reached the passenger-side door.
    Instead of opening the door for her, he gripped the handle and looked down at her, his body turned toward hers. She wondered what it would be like if he pressed her up against the vehicle and kissed her senseless, just took complete control. She squeezed her legs together at the thought. Everything about Viktor screamed power and control, and she found that she liked that. A lot. In college she’d dated a little, and when she hung out with her girlfriends they usually brought guys.
    Now, the guys she’d dated or gone out with seemed like boys. There was nothing boyish about Viktor. He had a hard, dangerous edge to him that shouldn’t fascinate her so much, but…she couldn’t help herself.
    When he reached out to cup her cheek, she sucked in a slight breath. His palm was callused and she liked the feel of it against her skin. There was nothing soft about this