“Does he treat you like the lady you are?” Dominic shivered as fear trickled down his spine. Was he too late to confess his love? He didn’t know what he would do if he lost her.
“Yes, he treats me almost as good as you do.” She laughed up at him, not seeming to notice that his heart was in danger of being broken.
“That’s good. I don’t think anyone could care about you as much as I do,” he said softly. She studied him in puzzlement. “I’m going to the club. Why don’t you bring Delacourte by after dinner?”
“I’ll see if he wants to. If not, I’ll see you tomorrow morning like usual, right?” She gave him a kiss when he nodded.
“I’ll drop this off for you.” He waved the cash bag and gestured to the limo waiting at the kerb. “Go enjoy your dinner. Looks like your ride is here.”
She waved goodbye and slipped into the car. He wasn’t thrilled to see that no one held the door open for her—where was the respect everyone should show her? He put a black mark against Delacourte in his mind.
* * * *
“Hey, man, your little hottie’s here,” Randy said as he poked his head into Dominic’s office.
“She’s not mine. She’s out on a date and I told her to stop by.”
“Your hottie’s got a date and it isn’t you, man? That’s shocking.” Randy’s voice still held a hint of the islands he came from.
“Shove it,” Dominic said nicely. “Take her to our regular table. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Randy grinned before heading out. Dominic followed a few minutes later. He was surprised to see Randy standing next to the table he and Teresa usually used. If his friend had been a cat, his back would be up and he’d be spitting. A blond man slightly shorter than Dominic sat next to Teresa. She was flushed from something Delacourte had whispered to her. Dominic clenched his hands in anger when he spied Delacourte slide his hand up her thigh. She pulled away before he got too far.
He tried to stifle the raging jealousy inside him. He couldn’t believe Delacourte would try to grope her, especially in public. He managed to ignore the little voice in his head that said he would do it in a heartbeat, if he had the chance.
When Dominic approached the table, Teresa’s eyes light up. Before he had a chance to say anything, her date said, “Finally. The service here is atrocious. I’ll take a Jack and Coke. My date would like a glass of white wine.”
Teresa opened her mouth to protest. He knew she hated wine. Turning, he flagged down a waiter and gave him the order. He didn’t sit at the table yet.
“Do you find the club lacking?” he asked, as Randy blended back into the crowd. Dominic knew if he needed help, his friend would be available, but for now, he had things under control.
“Yes, I do. If I knew the owner, I’d make some suggestions.”
“I never talk about business when there’s a beautiful lady I can enjoy.” Dominic bowed in Teresa’s direction.
The waiter returned with their drinks. He smiled at the man’s frown when a Martini was set down in front of Teresa.
“I ordered white wine,” Vincent complained.
“Teresa doesn’t drink wine. Do you, love?”
“No, I don’t and I would have told you if you had allowed me to order for myself.” Teresa finally found her voice.
When Dominic had walked up to the table, she had been surprised to see what she thought was a flare of jealousy in his eyes. It had to have been shadows from the flickering lights, because she would never believe he would be jealous of any man she went out with. She drank in the image of her best friend. She hadn’t had much time to talk to him when he’d stopped by the bookstore before her date. His dark hair wasn’t as neat as it usually was—she got the feeling he had been running his fingers through it. His chiselled features held a sharp sorrow in them and his blue eyes were the colour of the ocean—they bore mysteries she had always been too leery to ask about. She knew he kept in shape because she had gone to the gym with him a couple of times. She had wondered if he had asked her to go with him because he thought she needed to lose weight, but when she’d asked him, he’d looked at her in shock. He’d told her he loved the way she looked and the only reason he’d asked her to go along was that he wanted her company.
There was a different feel about him tonight. He was eyeing her like she was a juicy peach and he wanted to take a bite. She shifted her gaze from his before the look in her eyes gave away how much she wanted him.
“I’m Dominic LaFontaine and I own The Fallen Angel.” His voice was smooth, almost like how silk felt rubbing against her skin.
She had been embarrassed when Vincent assumed Dominic was the waiter. Of course, Vincent’s inability to see beyond himself hadn’t allowed him to notice the Armani suit and linen shirt Dominic wore with such ease.
She had asked Dominic once why he chose such expensive clothes. He had said in a serious tone, “Life is too long to wear uncomfortable clothes. ” She’d assumed he was joking, but a feeling told her he believed it.
She jumped when a man appeared beside her—seemingly out of nowhere. He towered over the other men in the room, even Dominic, who was the tallest man she knew.
“May I have this dance?” He bowed slightly. His unusual silver eyes danced in amusement at Dominic’s snort.
She looked at Dominic, who shrugged. “He’s harmless to you.”
Vincent started to protest and the man’s eyes turned icy. The protest died away. She didn’t mind dancing with the stranger, since Dominic wasn’t worried about him. Delacourte and Dominic stared at each other while Teresa walked away. She glanced back, not sure she should leave them. She was afraid Dominic would take Vincent apart.
“Don’t worry, Teresa. He won’t hurt your date.” The man must have read her mind.
She wondered who he was. It wasn’t often that she danced with someone other than Dominic.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t allow Dominic to introduce us. I’m Mickey O’Flynn.” He inclined his head.
“I’m Teresa Ryder. Dominic has never mentioned you.” She wasn’t surprised—Dominic had told her very little about his life. If someone had asked her, she would have sworn he hadn’t existed before he arrived in New Orleans.
“We are acquaintances, mostly, so there would be no need for him to say anything to you about me.”
“Like William was?”
“I think he and William became friends while they did business together.”
“It sounds like it, from what he told me while he was in Chicago. How long have you known Dominic?”
An odd look came into Mickey’s eyes. “Some days it feels like forever.”
She laughed. “I know exactly what you’re talking about. He does have a habit of getting underfoot, doesn’t he?”
Mickey smiled down at her. “Underfoot has never been my problem with him. I only talk to him when I have a business proposition for him.”
“Oh, so you do business together as well?”
“Yes, we’re in the same line of work.”
“I’ve never figured out what Dominic’s work is.”
“I’m led to believe he has his hand in many different businesses. He doesn’t like to tie himself down to one type of work.”
Teresa looked back at the table and saw Dominic lean forward to say something to Vincent.
“Don’t worry, Dominic won’t hurt your man. He’ll only threaten him with bodily harm if he hurts you. He takes your friendship very seriously, Teresa. You are the most important thing to him. He has no real family of his own.”
“So he sees me as a sister.” She couldn’t hide the disappointment in her voice.
Mickey’s laughter drew Dominic’s gaze. “Dear, if you were his sister, it would be illegal for him to think of you the way he really does.”
Blushing, she ruthlessly crushed the flash of hope in her heart. She’d been trying to get Dominic to notice her from the moment they’d met, but he never seemed to see her as anything other than a friend.
“He is
scared, just like you. His heart is a fragile thing, so he wouldn’t risk it without a hint that you might accept him.” Mickey looked over his shoulder at the two men at the table. “I think he discovered something while he was away. This discovery has helped him make a decision about you. If I were you, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Dominic looking at you in a very different way. He’s feeling a little off balance now because he has competition. He wasn’t expecting that.”
Teresa had the strange urge to apologise. “I didn’t know he had any sort of feelings for me. He’s so hard to read sometimes.”
“He has never had an easy life. For more years than he cares to remember, he’s been alone. Don’t apologise, Teresa. Competition is good for him.”
As Mickey swept her into the rhythm of the dance, she allowed her worry to seep away for a little while.
* * * *
Dominic stared at Delacourte. There was a darkness surrounding the man that he didn’t like, but he couldn’t figure out exactly what it was. He would have to talk to Randy to see if the bouncer’s reaction was from the man’s self-absorbed arrogance or if there had been something else that had set Randy off. He was glad that Mika’il had shown up to distract Teresa, even though he couldn’t help but wonder what the archangel was talking to her about.
“I’ve been trying to talk Teresa into selling her business.” Vincent twitched the French cuffs of his shirt to a perfect inch outside his suit’s sleeves.
Control was important in any business deal and Dominic saw this as a negotiation. There had been other reasons for Vincent to start dating Teresa. Most men would see her beauty and giving nature and treasure her, but Vincent didn’t strike him as being that type of man. Delacourte saw her as a trophy and a potential business deal. The man thought he could talk her into selling her bookstore for less than market value, letting him get the historical building the bookstore was in. Dominic couldn’t tell from the man’s thoughts why he wanted the building.
“Why should she sell? She enjoys the business and makes a good profit.” Dominic swirled the bourbon in his glass around, studying the man across the table from him.
“She’s a young, beautiful woman. She shouldn’t be working so hard. She should be out enjoying life and seeing the world.” Vincent straightened his tie.
A laugh washed off the dance floor. Dominic glanced over at Mika’il and Teresa in surprise. It had been several centuries since he’d heard the archangel laugh like that. He couldn’t help but smile at the pride he felt knowing it was Teresa who had made him laugh. There was a dark emotion buried deep inside Mika’il’s heart. If Dominic didn’t know better, he would say that the angel had loved and known loss that would have broken a weaker heart. Maybe someday he would ask him about it.
“On the other hand, maybe you should just stay away from that question.” Mika’il’s voice echoed a warning in his head. He turned to see Mika’il staring at him over Teresa’s head, and he bowed in acknowledgement. For now, he would hold onto his curiosity.
“What does Teresa say to your business proposition?” Dominic wondered if she was considering the offer.
“She won’t even listen to me. My business partners and I have some good ideas of renovating the building into a bed and breakfast.”
“Is that really what the city needs? Another hotel?” He took a sip from the glass. The bourbon was the best money could buy, but it didn’t matter. There had never been any taste or kick from it. He could drink every bottle in the club and never get drunk. He drank because it made him feel mortal and less like the freak that he was.
“Do you really see yourself as a freak, my friend?”
“Yes, I always have.”
“What is it with you and William? You’re not freaks just because you are different from them. You’re another one of His creations and that makes you worth as much as they are.”
“I don’t think you’re qualified to be handing out advice to fallen angels, Mika’il. You don’t know what it’s like to lose something you would give anything to have back.”
Sadness flooded his mind to such a degree that tears welled in his eyes. “You don’t know all that I’ve been through, LaFontaine. Never think I don’t understand what you’ve lost.”
Vincent smiled at him. Dominic wanted to wipe the smirk off his face.
“Law of supply and demand, my friend. New Orleans is a very popular destination for travellers. I think there is always room for another hotel. She’s not being cooperative at all.”
“That’s because she knows her business partner wouldn’t go for the idea.” Dominic saw the look of surprise on Vincent’s face. Ah, so the man didn’t know Teresa had a partner. Damn, his lawyers were good. “Her landlord wouldn’t think about selling that building either, even if she wasn’t there.”
“How would you know? I’d only need one meeting with the guy to convince him that my ideas are the best money-making deal he could make.”
Dominic leant forward to study Delacourte. Could Vincent really be that blind to all the currents around him? “It wouldn’t matter if you could guarantee the man would be a billionaire by the end of the year, he wouldn’t sell to you.” He held up his hand to stop Delacourte from talking. “I know because I’m Teresa’s partner and her landlord. I don’t need any more money. If the time ever comes when Teresa wishes to sell her business, she’ll sell to me because it’s in our contract.”
Standing up, Dominic motioned for the waiter to bring Delacourte another drink before looking around the dance floor to find Teresa smiling up at Mika’il. That did it. No archangel with heartbreak eyes and a killer smile was going to steal his woman away. He went after her without looking back.
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About the Author
I’ve been writing for most of my life, but was first published in 2004. I believe everyone deserves love in all its forms. I write about women and men who find strength in loving each other. I live in the Midwest with my two cats, and when I’m not writing (which isn’t very often) I read and watch movies.
Email: [email protected]
Tiffany loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at http://www.totallybound.com.
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