She really did deserve better than him. She deserved the suburban house and the white picket fence. She deserved a guy who came from a solid background like hers.
Not someone who'd nearly killed his best friend.
Not a guy who lived with his past every goddamn day, who kept his secrets hidden like a coward, so they'd never see the light of day.
Dominic's mouth was tight when he finally replied. "They've accomplished a lot so far. I'm pleased."
"It's okay to take some of the credit," she said as she placed a hand on his arm. "It was your money that made all this happen."
Money was the easy part. Being happy—and living right—took work. Still, he wasn't going to take credit for all the work of the many people who had gotten this district stadium off the ground.
The event organizer came by to see if he needed anything, and Melissa introduced herself. "I'm Melissa McKnight, Dominic's agent."
Dominic schooled his face into an expressionless mask until the woman walked away. "When did you change your mind?"
"We need to go sit down on the stage," she said, leading him across the field like a dog on a leash, adding, "This afternoon," as an afterthought.
He wanted to pull her against him, kiss her senseless, and find out what her reason was. But he couldn't do that in front of all of these people. Not ever, if he listened to his conscience.
"Working with you will be no different than working with JP," she said in a firm voice.
"Watch your back around him," he warned.
Fire lit her eyes. "Seems to me I should be far more worried about you."
With that, she walked away to introduce herself to other members of his board. Since her father had been in the business for so many years, she knew several of the retired players.
"Melissa," James said, "I haven't seen you in years. You've certainly grown up well." A couple of other guys added their compliments, making her blush.
Dominic saw red. Didn't they realize she was too young for them? Too innocent? They were all married with kids now, but he knew their dirty, fuck-filled pasts.
Silently, Dominic worked out whom he was going to take down first. James had been a middle linebacker, but with his speed, Dominic knew how to make the big guys wish they'd never gotten in his face. He would enjoy taking each of them apart piece by piece. He'd easily find other players to take their places on his board.
Listening to himself, Dominic could see that he was turning into a crazy man. Jesus. How could he expect these guys to act like father figures, rather than horny guys trying to get into her pants or look down her dress, when he couldn't manage it for even thirty seconds?
A dozen teenage boys walked up to their group, and Dominic turned his attention to them. Ultimately, football had saved his life. Without it, he would have been just be another statistic. Another underage drunk driver who'd wrapped his stolen car around a tree because he had no future to live for. Dominic hoped that the year-round football program he was putting together here would help these kids stay out of trouble. Or get them out of any trouble they were already in.
He fell into the familiar rhythm of the locker room and almost succeeded in forgetting about his ridiculous fascination with Melissa. But not quite. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her charm every person she talked to. The men drooled; the women wanted to be her best friend.
When the large crowd sat down for the speeches, Dominic made sure that Melissa was seated beside him. Who knew what another guy would try?
She seemed riveted by the speaker, a high-school principal in his early thirties. Rationally, Dominic knew that this guy was her perfect match. If he had an ounce of decency, he would persuade her to go out with the guy.
Instead, it took every bit of control Dominic possessed to keep himself from tackling the man.
He couldn't let anyone else have Melissa. Not some high-school principal, not one of the has-been players salivating over her, and definitely not some hotshot like JP, who would leave her high and dry when he was done fucking her senseless.
Chapter Fourteen
Melissa sipped a glass of champagne at the reception, with Dominic hovering close to her shoulder. He hadn't let her out of his sight and all but snarled at any man who'd so much as looked her way. She shouldn't have been happy about the way he was acting—if he didn't want her, then why couldn't some other guy make a play?—but she was anyway.
She'd wanted him to pay attention to her for too long to deny herself the thrill of being wanted.
It was time to make a decision. Should she make it clear to Dominic that she was through being toyed with, and make herself step away from the sensual web he constantly wove around her? Or, should she give in to the sheer sensuality of being with him, give in to how much he seemed to want her right now, knowing that nothing long term would ever come of their amazing lovemaking?
The cute principal came over to them, and Melissa smiled. She had a feeling that this was going to be a lot of fun. Especially given the deep frown Dominic was wearing.
"Dominic," the man said, "it's a great pleasure to meet you. I'm Hank Albright. You've done a wonderful thing for these kids."
Dominic grunted something that might have been, "Good to meet you," but to Melissa it sounded more like, "Go away."
Hank turned to her. "I don't believe we've met yet."
She smiled and opened her mouth, but Dominic was faster. "She's my agent. Melissa McKnight."
Elbowing Dominic in his impressively hard stomach, she offered her hand to Hank. "It's lovely to meet you. Your speech was fantastic."
"Thank you." Hank's eyes sparkled. "I really believe in what we're doing here."
She nodded, moving an inch closer to the high-school principal. "Me, too." It was bad of her—she wasn't interested in Hank—but she couldn't resist toying with Dominic. It would do him good to have to work for her attention this one time.
Especially since she'd made her decision: She was giving in to the joy of a no-strings fling with Dominic.
Dominic plucked her half-full glass out of her hands. "Time to go."
She grabbed a full glass off a passing waiter's tray. "See you later, then."
If she hadn't been so suddenly, utterly confident in her ability to wrap Dominic around her little finger—sexually, at least—she would have been shaking in her heels. Because he looked mad. The kind of mad that sent three-hundred-pound defensive lines scurrying out of his way every Sunday.
Amazingly, Hank seemed oblivious to the power plays around him. "How about we find a quieter place to talk?" he asked her, completely missing the look of fiery death Dominic shot him.
"I'm afraid Melissa has to wrap up a contractual detail for me," Dominic said, as smooth as butter. "Maybe some other time."
She turned to Hank. "Could you please hold my drink for a moment? I need to speak with my client. I'll be right back."
Hank nodded, looking between the two of them uncertainly. "Sure thing."
Melissa led Dominic out of the crowded room, out the back door toward the locker rooms. Stepping inside a freshly painted door, she held it open for Dominic. One of her big fantasies had always been to make love with him in a locker room.