ISABELLA
I tuck my legs underneath myself, getting comfy on the couch while I sip my cocoa and watch Dominic flick nut shells on the floor.
I don’t know what the hell is wrong with him, but he’s all sexy when he’s grumpy like this. I can’t take my eyes off him, which is… well, unhelpful.
Unhelpful because my head isallover the place.
Looking at this man is confusing. Hot as he is, he’s also alotolder than me. Plus, I still don’t know what the hell he’s doing with me here. It doesn’t really make any sense, and he won’t tell me a damn thing.
I sigh heavily as my eyes lower underneath the coffee table, eventually finding a stack of board games. I’m not really the biggest lover of games, but how else are we going to pass the evening? Especially since Dominic isn’t talking.
At all.
“You wanna play?” I ask him as I pull out the first box. “These must be your games, right?”
He darts his eyes my way for less than a second. “Yeah, from when I was a kid.”
I roll my eyes. “Well, should we play one now? Unless you want to do something fun, like maybe go out for the night? We could go to a bar or something.”
He shoots me a side-eyed glare.
“Oh, so it’s okay foryouto spend the whole night out, having fun, but not me?”
“You know why you can’t leave.”
I throw my hands in the air in frustration. “Actually, I don’t. You tell me nothing.”
“It’s to keep you safe.”
I roll my eyes again.
Safe, sure.
“I don’t feel safe here at all,” I grumble back. “And the longer I spend stuck here, getting in my head, the less safe I feel.”
“Fine,” he huffs in a very unpleasant manner. “Whatever. Let’s play.”
I could keep this argument going to see where it leads, but I think Dominic has been keeping his distance from me a little-like he doesn’t really trust himself around me.
That’s a real shame.
I don’t want him to trust himself around me.
I want him to lose control again.
“Pick the game then,” I say instead, trying my absolute hardest to keep myself calm and steady. “I don’t mind what we play.”
I watch intently as he flicks his eyes over the game until he breaks out into a smile. “Oh, this one’s fun. I used to play this with my parents.”
“Just your parents? You didn’t have siblings?” He shakes his head. “Wow, I have four brothers, so I can’t even begin to imagine how nice it must be growing up alone.”
“Well, there are positives,” he admits. “But negatives too. I didn’t have anyone to play with. Any kids anyway. My parents did their best.”
I smirk. “Being the youngest of five means no one plays with you. You’re just tormented.”
Even now really. This whole wedding thing is definitely torture.
Dominic takes one of the board games from me and starts to lay it out. I study him as he does, wondering about this man’s life. He looks like he carries a giant weight on his shoulders. Like there’s always a dark cloud clinging to him.
I wonder what caused that.
Maybe I shouldn’t care. I mean, this is the asshole that kidnapped me, but I’m intrigued by him.
There’s a weird bond between us that keeps on growing, even if it shouldn’t.
“So, what was your life like as an only child?”
I don’t know if he’ll answer me, but I have to try. Maybe he’s in the mood to open up, just a little bit.
“I don’t know any different, so it’s always been fine for me.”
He rolls the dice.
I guess we’re playing the game now.
Cool.
“I was close to my parents.”
“Was?” I jump in. I didn’t miss that.
“Well, they died when I was younger.” He shrugs, but I can see this is something that troubles him. “Mom, when I was fourteen years old from Cancer, and my father died from a stroke when I was eighteen.”
“Wow… that’s rough.” I swallow hard. “Sorry you had to go through that, Dominic. That must have really impacted you.”
He gives me a small smile. “I think it made me more driven. It’s made me work so much harder. When Mom passed away, I threw myself into my education and I got great grades. Then when my father died, I gave my all to the military. I rose up the ranks quickly and even won some awards. Anything I thought I could do to make him proud.”
I can see Dominic light up as he talks about the military.
“Why are you no longer a military man?”
It doesn’t make much sense.
But then his expression darkens and I start to realize that I might have just stepped on something I shouldn’t have.
I backed off.
The last thing I want him to do is stop talking.
“It just wasn’t for me anymore, that’s all. I wanted a change.”
“Kidnapping women? That’s your change?”