Scandalous by Melanie Shawn Page B

unoccupied.
    She walked over to the desk and dropped her offer down on top of the large pile of paperwork that was overflowing on his desk. Organization was not one of Red’s strong suits, to say the least, but in all of the years she had worked for him, she had never known him to misplace a single thing. It seemed he found order in chaos.
    That was definitely not Cristal’s style. She needed her world to be in order. She needed structure. She almost couldn’t function otherwise. She admitted that she may be borderline OCD. But there were worse things, she supposed.
     

Chapter Seven
    Dominic had not slept at all the night before…not that he was complaining. Last night had been the most incredible night of his life. There was something there between them, something real, not just physical. And even if Cristal wanted to, Dominic was not going to let her hide from it or deny it.
    He knew that nothing that had happened equated to happily-ever-after. He smiled. No, nothing could ever be that simple with Cristal Hart. But that was fine. Anything worth having was worth working for, and he had no problem putting in work.
    His morning had been a little nuts. He had checked in at the construction site, on time, and gone directly to see the foreman. He asked if it would be possible to take his lunch early because he had an errand he needed to run.
    The foreman had mumbled something under his breath and raised his hand to shoo Dominic away. Alrighty then. Dominic had no idea what he had said, but especially since this job was going to be coming to an end soon either way, he figured it was safe to just go ahead and assume it had been his seal of approval.
    Even though this was not his “real” job, Dominic didn’t just blow off his responsibilities. If someone was counting on him to do something he damn sure got it done. But, by the same token, getting the proposal over to Red before he got into the office at his usual ten am start time was critical.
    So, with that in mind, he hopped in his truck and made the twenty minute drive from Glendale, where the construction site was located, to downtown LA. As he pulled into the back parking lot, he noticed that Cristal’s car was parked there.
    He smiled to himself and shook his head. He shouldn’t have underestimated her. He thought that after last night she would have been passed out until well after noon. Clearly that wasn't the case.
    Well, he thought to himself, if last night hadn’t worn her out sufficiently, then he would just have to put in more work next time. That was definitely a challenge he was more than eager to take on.
    Since last night he had been filled with…purpose. He liked that feeling. He had had it back in the Marines, every time he had been assigned a new mission. It was like his body would begin firing on all cylinders. It would come alive.
    When he had first started working in private security, some variation of that fire would ignite in him from time to time. But with each new case, the fire dimmed. It had been rekindled when he began working for Red. These cases were more interesting, each a little different from the last. Then, when he had been promoted four years ago to the Head of the Private Security division, he thought that that is what would keep his blood boiling. It hadn’t.
    But last night with Cristal, he realized what he had been missing. Not the sex, although that had been mind-blowing.
    He loved holding her in his arms as she fell asleep. He loved the little sounds that she made while she slumbered soundly, cheek pressed against his chest. He loved getting up and seeing her hair sprawled out on his pillow, her legs and arms tangled in the sheets from their marathon lovemaking. He loved softly kissing her on the cheek before he left for the day. He loved knowing that she would be waiting for him when he got home that night.
    He loved her.
    That realization stopped him short. When had that happened? Dominic had always thought that he was