Just a Bit Ruthless (Straight Guys 6)

“Yeah?” Luke said, giving Dominic a lopsided smile. “Not sure why.”

Dominic sipped his wine. “Are you fishing for compliments?” He had a good, sexy voice, very low-pitched and husky.

“Nope, I know I’m cute.” Luke smiled wider. “It’s just…From what I’ve heard of you from James, you don’t have much respect for people who are born with a silver spoon in their mouths, which is a bit funny. You’re related to a bunch of aristocrats.”

Dominic chuckled but didn’t deny it. “It must be the dimples. I’ve always had a bit of a weakness for them.”

Luke could only smile back. They were flirting, weren’t they? Flirting was good. James would be so pleased with him.

Dominic’s face turned serious. “Look, I’m going to be blunt with you. I don’t want any misunderstandings here. I want to make sure we’re on the same page.” He looked Luke in the eye. “I’m tired of the club scene and casual relationships. At this point I would like a husband and a couple of kids to spoil.” Dominic shrugged. “I really like you, but if a serious relationship isn’t what you’re interested in, you’d better tell me now.”

Luke swallowed, trying to fight the wave of panic. This was good, wasn’t it? This was what he had been looking for. Dominic was attractive and confident without being arrogant, he was firm without being domineering, he was genuinely nice without appearing weak. He had a sexy voice and some nice muscles under that suit. He wanted kids, too. Dominic checked all the boxes. He was practically perfect. The man of his dreams.

Luke brought his glass to his lips and sipped his drink, trying to buy himself some time.

Dominic smiled, looking amused. “I’m not proposing or anything,” he said, reaching across the table and taking Luke’s free hand. His hand was big and warm. “I don’t want you to freak out. I’m just saying I like what I see—a smile like yours doesn’t lie—and I’d really like to get to know you better. Would you like to get to know me?”

It was reasonable.

Luke smiled back and nodded, trying to ignore the anxious knot in his stomach.

The rest of the date went pretty well. Dominic was easy to talk to. He was a good listener and a great conversationalist. He was funny, smart, and attractive. Luke liked him. He liked him a lot.

After the dinner, Dominic bought him flowers on the way to Luke’s flat and kissed him chastely at the end of their date, the look in his eyes fond and fascinated.

All in all, it went great.

Later that night, as Luke stared at the beautiful white roses on his nightstand, he thought that Dominic was pretty much everything he had been looking for all his life.

He fell asleep with a small smile on his lips, feeling pleased and optimistic about their next date.

He dreamed of rough, possessive hands, ice-blue eyes, and a heavy, hot body on top of him. He woke up, breathless and panting, his body tingling all over with longing and hunger, the likes of which he’d never felt before.

Angry tears sprang to his eyes. It wasn’t fair. He didn’t want this. He wanted Dominic. He wanted to dream of Dominic, who was the epitome of everything he wanted in a man.

He wondered what Roman was doing right now.

Luke groaned in frustration. Stop thinking about him, you idiot. It had been a month since Vlad and Anastasia helped him escape. He doubted Roman spared him a thought, and even if Roman did, it was likely because he was annoyed by the loss of a valuable leverage against Luke’s father. Or perhaps Luke had been such an insignificant pawn to him that Roman barely noticed or cared about his escape.

Luke hated how that thought made him stupidly upset. His wayward emotions proved he had done the right thing by escaping when he had. At the rate he had been going, a few more days with Roman would have turned him into a brainless, lovesick fucktoy who was happy to be locked up and used whenever his captor was in the mood.

There was another thing that was constantly at the back of his mind: it had been a month and everything was too quiet. Although Luke hadn’t expected Roman to care enough to go out of his way and kidnap him again, he did expect Roman to do something to get revenge against his father. But so far, nothing had happened. The lack of reaction was a little unnerving. Even if Roman didn’t care about Luke, he sure did care about making Luke’s father pay. Or didn’t he?

Sighing, Luke turned onto his stomach, hugged his pillow, and tried to focus his thoughts on Dominic, reminding himself that his father’s problems were no longer his concern. He had made the decision. He wanted nothing to do with the mafia, drug trafficking, or the criminal world, in general. He didn’t know his father all that well to care much about him as a person, and what he had found out about him from Roman hadn’t exactly endeared him to Luke. He didn’t love his father, and his father certainly didn’t love him. The latter had become blatantly obvious when his father had quickly lost interest in Luke when Luke had told him he didn’t know anything about his kidnapper.