Twenty Four
As I get dressed, I think about how I’m supposed to face the man I loathe after waking up in his bed half-naked and hungover because I may have had too much to drink and he brought me here.
Goddamit, Robyn, how could you lose control of yourself like that?
Why the fuck did I even let this happen?
I run my fingers through my hair to comb out the tangles. I open the first drawer in the nightstand and fortunately, there’s a big toothcomb inside, along with other things that I’d rather not touch. I run the comb through my hair, combing out the strands. My hair is a little damp and luckily I always carry one or two rubber bands in my bag. I grab my bag from the foot of the bed and I take one rubber band, wrapping it around my hair in a low ponytail. I slip my feet inside my shoes and risk a glance at my reflection in the full-length mirror.
Well, I don’t look that bad.
I open the door that Helen came in with and I step into a hallway, with a few doors on either side of the hallway.
Well, hello, Gray’s mansion, where the fuck does the hallway go anyway?
“Now, aren’t you the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen?” A voice says in French, startling me as I turn around.
“I’m sorry if I scared you.” The man says in English this time, wearing a seductive smirk as he gives me a quick once over.
I return the favor, letting my eyes run down his body and taking note of how he looks a little like Dominique. This man has dark brown hair, and blue eyes, not as blue as Dominique’s, his face is perfectly shaped, and his skin is obviously kissed by the sun. He’s tall, he stands at least 6 feet, almost the same height as Dominique. Long story short, he’s an attractive man, maybe a party boy, and a playboy. He’s wearing a blue short-sleeved T-shirt that’s not too tight or too loose matched with a pair of dark jeans. Through the thick material of his shirt, you can tell he works out a lot. He has a broad shoulder, and a chiseled jawline that’s cleanly shaven, and boy does he look hot.
“I’m sorry, who are you?” I ask the man who won’t stop smirking at me.
“I’m Leonardo Gray, but everyone just calls me Leo.”
“Leonardo Gray? You’re Dominique’s brother?”
“Younger brother, yes. And you’re?”
“I’m Robyn.”
“Robyn. The mystery woman from last night,” he smiles at me. “You must mean something to Dom for him to bring you here. The Dom I know would let somebody handle that mess instead.”
A mess? So I was a mess last night? I don’t know where he’s going with all this but I don’t fucking care.
“Where’s he?” I ask.
“In his lounge. I’ll take you.” Leo says, walking past me as he gestures for me to follow him.
“Thanks,” I say as I walk beside Leo.
“So what do you do, Robyn?” Leo asks me, turning to look at me as we climb down a spiral staircase.
“Oh. I’m a nurse. A practical nurse actually.”
“That’s nice. When will you be a registered nurse then?”
“I have just three months.”
Leo nods. “If you don’t mind me asking, where do you work?”
“St. Jose.”
“Oh.” Leo turns to look at me, something flashes through his eyes as he smirks at me and nods.
We take another turn again and walk down a short hallway as he stops outside a door. Leo pushes the door open and steps inside, tilting his head for me to follow him. I step inside, definitely not prepared for the sight before me.
Dominique Gray stands behind a billiard table, a glass of drink in his left hand and a Cuban cigar in between his lips as he puffs the smoke into his lungs. I have seen him in various business attire, like his custom-made suits and dress shirts, but nothing prepared me for this. Dominique Gray in a short-sleeved loose T-shirt.
I bring my gaze down his body, shamelessly eyeing the man and how perfect he looks right now. His left arm is fully inked with different tattoos and boy does this man look hotter than he normally does? His right arm is not left untouched, there are a few tattoos on his right arm but not a full sleeve tattoo like his left arm. He looks roguish, like a college bad boy, and not like the arrogant and cocky billionaire I’ve gotten used to.
Who knew he had tattoos? A full-sleeve tattoo for that matter.
Dominique notices me checking him out and he smirks. Bastard. I peel my eyes off of him and let it wander around the lounge. It’s huge, almost the same size as my living room. The far end has a translucent door that clearly views the long swimming pool in his backyard and behind the translucent door, there’s a long balcony. There’s a drink bar at the left corner, a few bar stools placed by the drink bar, a black couch, a flat-screen TV, and a pool table.
There’s another man here and he looks nothing like the Gray brothers. I guess that he’s a friend. He has fair skin, gray eyes, a perfectly chiseled face, and a well-toned body. He’s a good-looking man.
God, where did all these attractive men come from?
The friend shamelessly lets his eyes run over my body as he smirks. “Now, who do we have here? A pretty little thing, huh?” He says in Italian, eyeing me with lust as he nods in approval.
I travel a lot and I like to learn new things so I understand at least five languages and French is one of them. And since my father is Italian, I didn’t have to learn the language. It came naturally.
Dominique removes his cigar from between his lips as he turns to look at his friend. “Take your fucking eyes off of her or I’m going to fucking cut you,” Dominique says to his friend in Italian.
Damn.
I don’t know which is hotter; Dominique speaking English or Italian. I wonder what he sounds like while speaking French. Let me guess… sexy.
But I’m never going to admit that out loud.
The friend clears his throat as he throws his hands in the air to surrender. Dominique places his glass of drink on the edge of the pool table as he drops the cigar inside the glass, the alcohol quenching the smoke.
“You ready to leave?” Dominique asks as he approaches me.
“Yeah.”
“Come on, I’ll walk you out.”
“You don’t have to. I just dropped by to-”
“Robyn, I insist.” He says, tilting his head toward the open door and I obey.
We walk side by side, with Dominique constantly staring at me and that just makes me uncomfortable. I’m literally embarrassed right now and he’s just making everything worse.
“Are you gonna stop anytime soon?” I ask, turning my head to stare at him.
“Stop what?”
“Staring at me. You’ve been staring and it’s fucking creepy.”
Dominique raises his eyebrows, a smirk on his lips as he nods. “Right.”
He opens a door for me and I step outside, marveling at how beautiful and extravagant his compound looks. I’m not surprised by the luxurious house and furniture. After all, he’s Dominique Gray, one of the wealthiest men in the country, why should I expect less?
I wonder how many women he might have brought over. A thousand, obviously. The thought alone makes me cringe and my stomach churns.
What the fuck is wrong with me today?
I turn to look at Dominique who’s already staring at me. “Thank you for last night. I may have been a handful.”
“Mmm. Ross will drop you off.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
“How are you gonna get home then?”
“I can get an Uber.”
“Robyn, I’m offering to give you a ride, it’s no big deal.”
I open my mouth to argue but then I shut it. “Okay.”
Just in time, a black Mercedes Benz pulls to a stop a few feet from where I’m standing. I turn to look at Dominique, flashing him a small smile as I turn around and climb down the two steps. I stop, turning around as I climb up the stairs again.
“About last night… I have a few questions.”
Dominique smirks as he licks his bottom lip before answering, “What questions?”
“Did we in any way…” I point both my hands at myself and him without really having to complete the sentence.
“Fuck? You’re asking if we fucked?”
Oh boy. Why does the F-word sounds so fucking sexy coming out of his filthy mouth?
“You don’t have to be so vulgar.” I groan.
Dominique surprises me by chuckling lightly. “You’re smart, Robyn, I’m pretty sure you’d know if I touched you last night.” He says these words softly.
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I expel my breath through my nose. “I don’t mean intercourse. I just mean… you know. I just want to know if we did anything sexual. It could be a kiss.” I say, hating every bit of myself more at this conversation. “God, this sounds fucking stupid.”
“If it makes you feel any better, nothing happened. I’m not that kind of man, Robyn. I would never take advantage of you when you’re intoxicated even though you wanted me to.”
“Oh, God.” This is so embarrassing. “I’m gonna go.”
“So you really don’t remember?” He asks and when I don’t respond, he takes that as a yes. Dominique exhales and nods. “Well, drunk Robyn is more fun than sober Robyn.” He says as he smirks at me.
“And you wonder why I loathe you.” I roll my eyes and turn around as I climb down the stairs, ignoring Dominique’s chuckles.
Ross, Dominique’s driver already by the backseat holding the door for me. I slip into the backseat and Ross shuts the door. I turn to look at Dominique through the tinted windows of his Mercedes Benz but he’s no longer standing there.
I don’t know what happened last night, but a part of me is glad I can’t remember what transpired between us.