“That’s two nights I’ve spent in your arms,” he murmured.
She made a humming sound, nuzzling her face against his chest. One of his hands was resting on her belly, and she liked the way his skin was shades darker than hers.
“I’ve never slept overnight with a woman before.”
Arden stilled and looked up at his face. “Never?”
“Never. I never wanted to and never trusted anyone enough.”
He reached past her and turned off the water. He gently pushed her out of the shower stall, and then wrapped a towel around her. She liked the way he looked after her.
He tied a towel around his waist. “My mother was a Mafia prostitute.”
His words made Arden freeze.
“She worked for Salvatore Denaro. He was the head of the Ndrangheta.” He paused. “One of the largest Mafia groups in Europe. My mother was passed around his men. I have no idea who my father was.”
Dom grabbed Arden’s hand and pulled her out into her quarters. Processing his words took a second, but it was the tone of his voice that got to her. So blank, so empty.
She sat down on the edge of the bed, hitching her towel up higher. “That had to be tough.”
He sank into an armchair nearby, resting his hands between his knees.
“She died of a drug overdose when I was seven.”
Sympathy for a tiny, neglected boy rushed through Arden.
“The Ndrangheta controlled the largest supply of cocaine in Europe, and a few decades ago, they’d moved into Zenith.”
Arden recognized the name of the designer drug. It had become popular about fifty years ago.
“After my mother died, Salvatore kept me around.” Dom sat still and straight. “I became his errand boy. He gave me a bunk in the back room of one of his warehouses.” Dom paused. “When I was old enough, he trained me to fight. Turned out I was good with knives. I had to fight for my food.”
A tremor went through Arden. She wanted to touch him but she wasn’t sure he’d welcome it. She tucked a strand of wet hair behind her ear. “That’s cruel. And it’s no life for a child.”
“I owed him.”
No, screw this. She moved over to Dom, kneeling at his feet. She gripped his leg. “You didn’t owe him anything. He was a criminal.”
Dom didn’t say anything, and Arden understood. It was all he’d ever known. Salvatore was the closest thing he’d had to a father, to family. The man had used him, and the small acts of kindness had seemed like something good.
“When I got older, I became his enforcer.” Now Dom’s tone was downright cold. “I killed for him.”
Heart aching, she rose up, crawling into his lap. “You think that changes how I feel about you? You were a child, Dom. An abused one with very few options.”
“But then I became an adult, Arden.”
She tilted her head. “And how did you end up here? At Blue Mountain Base, and then the Enclave?”
He paused, his dark eyes on her face.
“Well?” she urged.
“I was with Salvatore in Sydney when the aliens came. He had a meeting with some drug suppliers.”
“And?”
“During the attack, I…” He looked over her shoulder. “I killed Salvatore and escaped.”
“You finally saw a chance, and you took it.”
“I’m thirty-five, Arden. I’d been doing his dirty work for a long time.”
“Would he ever have let you leave?”
“Never. No one leaves the Ndrangheta. I knew far too much.”
Dom was the only person who didn’t realize that there was a good man buried inside him. She pressed a palm to his bare chest, right over his beating heart. Then she moved her head and touched her lips to his.
As they kissed, his body relaxed. He pulled her closer. “You are too good for me, Arden.”
“Stop saying that. I won’t listen to it anymore.”
A faint smile touched his lips. “I have to meet my squad.”
“I have to go, too. I promised to meet Indy for breakfast.”
They kissed again, and then took their time dressing. Arden watched him shrug into his shirt, then run a hand through his thick hair. He probably had no clue how sexy those simple moves were. As she slipped into her own shirt, she realized they were almost behaving like any other normal couple.
Although they were far from normal.
“Good luck with your search today.” He ran his finger down her nose.
“You, too. I’m hoping my brain won’t leak out my ears from the boredom of searching drone footage.”
“I heard Hemi mutter something similar.”
With one last kiss, Dom was gone. Without his presence beside her, Arden felt lonely. Then she smiled. She had quite a few pleasant aches, and a few sexy memories, that kept him on her mind.
Shaking her head, she headed for the dining room. When she entered, she spotted Indy at a table, tablet in one hand, and a glass of juice in the other. As Arden approached, her friend looked up with a smile on her face.
Indy’s smile froze, then widened. “You got laid.”
Arden stumbled to a halt. “What?”
“Soft face, dreamy eyes, relaxed body.” Indy smirked and raised a brow. “And stubble burn on your neck.”
Automatically, Arden reached up to touch the tender skin on her neck.
Indy lowered her tablet. “I knew it. Spill, girl. I want details. It was that teacher who asked you out the other week, right?”
Arden sat and reached over to pour a cup of tea.
“Arden.”
She met her friend’s gaze. “No, it wasn’t Paul. Um, it was Dom.”
Indy blinked and her mouth dropped open. “Dom? As in Dominic Santora?”
Arden nodded.
“You got naked with the most dangerous man in the Enclave?”
“There are a lot of dangerous men in the Enclave. You sleep with one of them.”
“Yes, but no one radiates that dark intensity that says ‘I could kill you in ten seconds’ like Dom does.”
Arden sipped her drink. “He’s not dangerous to me.” She smiled, thinking of the way he held her.
“So I see.” Indy tilted her head. “Wow. Just give my poor brain
