you know it is. She talked to me in confidence, and I’m not entirely sure that she’d actually intended to tell me as much as she did, I think it all just came tumbling out…’
‘What did he do to her?’ Reece spoke slowly, not taking his eyes off his wife. ‘That’s all I want to know. What did he do to her that caused her all that pain? Because, whatever it was, it’s affected the rest of her life. So, what did he do to her, Martha?’
Martha looked right into his eyes, still not knowing if what she was doing was the right thing for India, but for the sake of her marriage she knew she had to tell Reece the truth. He deserved to know. She couldn’t hide it from him any longer. Even if the consequences of giving him the information he’d wanted to know for over seven years were something she didn’t want to think about.
‘Martha… what did he do?’ Reece asked one more time, his voice quiet, pleading almost.
She took a deep breath, looking down at the floor to gather her composure before she unleashed the all-too-obvious storm that was almost definitely going to come, finally looking up to meet her husband’s eyes. ‘He raped her, Reece. Michael, he – he raped her.’
***
Dominic stood in the doorway, standing back slightly as he watched her sit down on the edge of the bed, pulling her hair back into a loose ponytail. He watched as she stood up, walking over to the mirror, dressed only in the sexiest of powder-pink underwear and for a second he had to look away, rubbing the back of his neck, his stomach somersaulting 360 degrees because just looking at her was enough to make him crazy.
When he looked back up she was brushing mascara over her eyelashes, dusting blusher over her cheeks, applying make-up that her naturally beautiful face just didn’t need. The urge to touch her was almost overwhelming. So, moving from his position in the doorway, he walked into the bedroom of India’s Las Vegas villa.
‘Don’t turn around,’ he said, standing behind her, his hands resting on her hips. ‘I want to look at you, just like this.’
She smiled, meeting his eyes in the reflection in the mirror, leaning back against him as he gently kissed her neck.
‘I just want to take a second to look at you,’ he whispered, running his hands lightly up over her hips, the curve of her waist, taking in the smell of her perfume, the way she felt as he touched her, listening to the tiny sighs she gave off as his fingers stroked her skin. ‘Because you are so fucking beautiful.’
She reached up and slipped a hand round the back of his neck, still looking at their reflections, their eyes locked together, the chemistry so obvious it was practically sending sparks ricocheting off the glass.
‘I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, you know that, don’t you?’ Dominic whispered, his hands circling her waist, pulling her back against him.
She closed her eyes as he continued to kiss her neck, each touch of his lips on her skin sending a million tiny electric shocks right through her. ‘Maybe you’ve just never let yourself feel this way.’
He gently turned her around so she faced him, touching her slightly open mouth with his, kissing her like she was the most precious thing in the world to him. Yeah, things sure were changing in Dominic MacDonald’s world, and even though he was still getting used to these new, unfamiliar feelings, he knew exactly where he wanted to be – right here, with this incredibly complicated and beautiful woman.
He smiled, stroking her cheek with his thumb as he looked into her still slightly questioning eyes. ‘Believe me, honey, I really haven’t felt this way before… You don’t believe me, do you?’
She smiled too, taking his hand and squeezing it tight. ‘Yeah. I believe you. I just don’t want to rush into anything, that’s all. And if this is all new to you…’
‘I’m thirty-six-years-old, India. I think it’s about time I started experiencing some grown-up feelings, don’t you?’
She started playing with his belt, unfastening it, sliding it out of his jeans and throwing it onto the floor. ‘Grown-up feelings are overrated,’ she said, a half-smile playing around the corners of her mouth as she stared up into those incredible ice-blue eyes of his.
He raised an eyebrow, sliding a hand down the side of her pink panties, pushing them down