“They’re gone. You’re safe with me. I promise.” The reassuring rumble of Dom’s voice vibrated against her cheek.
Wait. His teeth, his eyes, the strange fog. She should push away from him, but as he stroked her hair, every muscle in her body relaxed. She didn’t want to move away from him.
“I wish you hadn’t seen what happened back there.”
Was this really happening? It didn’t make sense. Not the comfort she felt with his arms around her, the way her body automatically melted into his, or the soothing effect his voice had on her heart. Images of the night flashed in her head, but she blinked them away. Why wasn’t she scared out of her mind given what she’d seen? Why did his embrace feel perfect, so right? She had a million questions for him, but for now, at this exact moment, all she wanted was for him to hold her.
His arms loosened their grip and for a moment she thought he was going to release her, but he didn’t. The harsh overhead lights of the car deck cast angular shadows on his face, but they couldn’t mask the concern and worry in his expression. She smiled up at him as if it were the most natural reaction to want to ease the tension she felt in him.
Her good arm slipped inside his hip-length wool peacoat and wrapped around his waist before she knew what she was doing. Like her body was on autopilot or something. He opened his lapels farther and pulled her inside against him. The smell of him calmed her senses as her cheek pressed against the muscular planes of his chest beneath his tight T-shirt. A tiny moan escaped her lips. Oh God, he felt good and she knew she was safe.
The loud drone of the engines made talking impossible. But that was okay. She didn’t want to think right now, anyway. He held her for what seemed like hours. Then in one movement, he swept her feet from the ground and set her back inside the Porsche.
“Your arm. Let me take a look at it.” His nostrils flared slightly and his mouth pressed into a hard line of concentration. She examined the chiseled lines of the face she hadn’t seen in a week—his strong jaw with its slight stubble, the chaotic state of his hair as it hung in pieces over the forehead currently creased in a troubled frown. It was a week that had felt like a lifetime.
“What happened back there, Dom?”
He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. When he opened them, his expression was hard, like he had a job to do. “Your injury. Let me attend to it first.”
She slipped her arm from the sleeve as carefully as she could, but she clenched her teeth together when sharp, searing pain shot from the wound. He scowled but his hands were gentle.
“Is it bad?”
“I’ve seen worse.” Curiously, his pupils expanded, leaving only a ring of the blue iris.
“Why do they do that? Your eyes?”
His jaw muscle tensed, but he didn’t answer.
The pulse on the sensitive skin of her arm beat against his caressing fingers and when she saw a similar spot flicker on his neck, for some reason she wondered if they matched. He didn’t seem startled when she rubbed her thumb over his pulse; in fact, he leaned almost imperceptibly into her hand. He licked the pad of his thumb then, ran it over her wound. Instantly an effervescent sensation, like the crackling of tiny pop rocks, tickled her skin.
“There. Good as new.” Before she could say anything more, he stood and shut the door.
She could hear him talking on the phone as he walked to the driver’s side. What the hell had just happened? She looked at her upper arm. Rather than a gaping gash, only a thin pink line remained. And even that seemed to be fading. Just like when she’d cut her finger at his loft.
The car shifted slightly when he climbed in.
“What’s going on, Dom? What is all this?”
“It’s complicated.”
“I’m listening.”
He stared straight ahead.
“What if they come back? They probably have my wallet and ID. Don’t I need to know if I’m in danger or not? And my arm…” She rubbed it but felt no pain. “How is any of this possible?”
“My associates are taking your motorcycle home and will make sure your belongings are secure. As for the others, I’m taking you to a safe place then I’m