Free Midnight Heat (Black Phoenix Book 2) by Sarah Grimm Page A

think she’d survive another heartbreak at the hands of Dominic Price. “Is that supposed to make me all tingly inside? Make me forget how much you hurt me? I haven’t had that problem.”
    “You haven’t…” Dom leaned against the door, dropping his head back and closing his eyes. “Of course you haven’t.”
    “You never called after that first time. You never came to see me, even though I know you’ve been back to the States since then, back in California. It took you being wheeled into my hospital, strapped to a backboard, for me to see you again.”
    “You shut me out.”
    “One phone call.” Tears squeezed her throat until it was hard to breathe. “You didn’t even try.”
    “Becca,” he whispered, pushing off the door and stepping in her direction.
    “Don’t,” she warned.
    “I wish I’d handled things differently. I’m sorry, love.”
    “Spare me your meaningless platitudes. They may have worked on me once, but I’ve…” Her sigh sounded defeated even to her own ears. “We were just sex, Dom. I understand that now.”
    He met her gaze, his blue eyes fierce. “We were more.”
    “No. You didn’t even know me.”
    “I know you, Becca,” Dominic said in a low voice that brushed across her senses like a caress. “I know every curve and dip of your flesh. I know how to touch you to make you come for me. To make you scream.”
    “I don’t scream.”
    “You do for me.”
    An involuntary shudder worked through her. “Incredible sex, yes, but still just sex. I want more than that now; a lover and a friend.”
    “We were more.”
    “No we weren’t. What kind of music do I listen to?”
    “Classical.”
    “Anything else?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “What kind of car did I drive?”
    “A Ford.”
    “Three years ago?”
    “I…” He scrubbed a hand over his face, clearly frustrated. “What does is matter what kind of car you drove?”
    “That very first night you took me in the back seat of that car.” God, she’d been out of her mind for him, totally out of control. Only he had ever been able to make her lose control. “And you don’t remember.” She didn’t wait for him to respond. “What’s my best friend’s name? Have you ever met my best friend? Do you remember?”
    His confusion was obvious. “I—”
    “You never wanted to. It wasn’t important to you. What makes me laugh?”
    “I do.”
    “What makes me cry?”
    For a moment, she didn’t think he was going to answer. Then he did, his voice full of regret. “I do.”
    He did. He made her cry. White-hot pain filled her chest. Without her permission, a tear broke free. She brushed it away with an angry swipe. “Go away, Dominic. Leave me in peace.”
    “Don’t give up on me, Rebecca. I’ve changed.”
    “Really?”
    “Yes.” The force of his reply took her by surprise.
    “So you’re ready for a commitment? Ready to be with me and only me?”
    “You think I would cheat on you? Jesus, that’s flattering.”
    “You believe you’re ready?” she restated.
    “Yes.”
    “For how long? Forever?”
    He didn’t even hesitate. “Yes.”
    Oh, God. Her heart actually skipped a beat. “How am I to believe that? You’re still a damn gypsy. You live out of a suitcase, move from friend’s spare bedroom to friend’s spare bedroom. Do you even have a home?”
    “I have a flat in London.”
    “How much are you there?”
    “I’m a musician. I spend a whole lot of time on the road.”
    His reluctance to answer her question made her push harder. “And when you’re not on the road…How much time do you spend in one place?”
    “Bec.”
    “At your flat in London, how much time, Dom?”
    “Not much,” he admitted.
    “Are you happy living like this?”
    He was quiet, studying her a minute. “I used to be. Now I want more.”
    Rebecca could only stare at him, her heart warring with her head. The first wanted her to cross to him and pick up where they’d left off. The latter warned her it would only lead