All He Needs (All or Nothing) (8 page)

“Hey!” She poked him in the chest.

“Let me reword that,” he said with a grin. “So long as you know I’m yours. Is that better? Should we send out announcements?”

“Very funny.”

He gave her a small considering look. “Actually, I wouldn’t mind. It would get other—er—people… off my back. My PR people could publicize our relationship, formalize it as it were. What do you say?”

“I don’t like publicity.”

He frowned. “You don’t want people to know we’re together?”

“Dominic, please, this is all very sweet, but you can’t sustain it—not for long anyway. Then I’d have to parlay all the stupid questions, my privacy would be shot to hell, and, at the end of the day, I’d be crying in public instead of in private. If I agree not to see anyone else, I won’t. Personally,
I don’t think you can do it, but we can try because you make me happy too.” She kissed him lightly. “In every imaginable way.”

He knew when to take a break from negotiations. “You’ll find out I can do it,” he said softly. “You’re my world, baby.” He lifted one brow. “So?” He held up his phone. “Do I have your okay to call the doctor?”

D
ominic and Kate waited for the doctor in Dominic’s bedroom, the large space dominated by a four-poster bed contemporary with the nineteenth-century building. Constructed of teakwood to withstand the tropical heat and humidity, the wood had mellowed over the centuries to a warm ochre, the aged finish burnished to a silken gloss. Folding doors, closed now, led out to a veranda; central air kept the heat at bay along with an overhead fan gently revolving in the high raftered ceiling. The bed, chairs, and sofa were all covered in a pale, natural linen, simply tailored and unembellished. The floor was polished teak, the two dressers and desk as well. It was a masculine room.

Dominic had found them robes, Kate dwarfed by one of his that was sizes too large. They were seated side by side on his enormous bed, where they’d just demolished an assortment of sandwiches, cookies, and milk that Dominic had ordered for Kate, along with beer and some Malay street food he favored. He didn’t coax her to try any of it because he was determined to be polite rather than controlling.

“Christ, it feels good to be hungry again,” he said with a sigh of contentment, lifting the snack tray away. “I’ve barely eaten since Hong Kong.” Offering Kate the last cookie, he gestured at the empty plates. “Should I order more?”

“Probably not”—she arched her brows—“with
your
doctor on his way.”

He understood the message loud and clear. “Ask him when he gets here. Yash will tell you you’re the only one. He doesn’t ordinarily do this for me.”

“Oh God…” She sighed. “I wish I wasn’t so—”

“Jealous. Don’t feel alone. I didn’t even know what the word meant until I met you.” His gaze was unwavering, a barely there smile on his lips. “I’m charting new territory with you, babe. No question.”

“Everything about you, this, us—is new for me too. I feel confused, jealous, insanely horny. Like some infatuated teenager with no sense of proportion.”

“I’m sorry,” he said coolly. “You didn’t actually
date
anyone in high school did you?”

A mocking glance. “And you didn’t either.”

“Course not.”

She laughed. “Just so long as we never stray from this fantasy world, everything will be copacetic.”

“Indeed.”

His smile was a thing of beauty—killer, drop-dead gorgeous, tender, with just enough king of the jungle to make her pulse rate spike. “You said that before dinner in Amsterdam in the same hot, sexy way. I almost threw myself at you and promised you anything.”

“Personally, I wanted to drag you upstairs that night and fuck you until I couldn’t move.”

She grinned. “Where did we go wrong when we were both on the same speeding freight train?”

He shrugged, the gray silk of his robe shimmering in the lamplight. “It just took you a while. You were skittish.”

“Is that what I was?”

He crooked an eyebrow. “Or you were fighting me off. Take your pick.”

“Your reputation
was
daunting.”

“That’s all over.”

His voice was husky and low, touchingly earnest. She looked up, held his gaze. “So everything’s good now?” she whispered.

He bent and kissed her cheek. “You have my word, babe,” he said gently. “Nothing’s going wrong this time. Not one goddamn thing. So give me a smile and half that cookie. We’ll order more once Yash leaves.”

He was deliberately recasting the conversation. She wasn’t surprised. He avoided emotional drama. Breaking the peanut butter cookie in two, she held it out and smiled. “I’ll follow orders just this once.”

He grinned. “Hey, once is better than nothing; I’ll take what I can get.” He plucked the cookie from her fingers, then lifted her glass of milk from the tray and offered it to her. “I’ll see that you have chocolate milk tomorrow.”

“I’m good. White milk is perfect with cookies.” She dipped her cookie in the milk.

“Right now
everything’s
perfect,” he said, lightly brushing her cheek with his knuckles. “And it’s gonna stay that way. We deserve it after a month of misery.” He slid the half cookie into his mouth.

“I’ve already forgotten all that. This is heaven. Seriously.”

“No kidding,” he murmured, chewing. But even as he spoke, he was struck with a small, niggling doubt. Katherine was his benchmark for all that was good in his life. Yet their first meeting had been such a random act of fate, like winning the lottery, that he worried the old adage—
the only sure thing about luck was that it would change
—might be true.

“Hey—Earth to Dominic.”

He swallowed, then grinned. “Sorry, dozing off,” he lied. “I haven’t slept much lately.”

“After the doctor’s gone, sleep,” she offered, handing the glass back. “I’m not going anywhere.”

I’m not going anywhere.
Her sweet assurance was like rain after a ten-year drought, or food to a starving man, or deliverance from a life of despair. “Thanks, I might.” He spoke with a perceptible reserve, patterns of a lifetime were difficult to change, his new-found sense of hope too fragile to risk.

The knock on the door was a relief. Not accustomed to dealing with personal feelings, his brain was reaching overload tonight. He set the glass aside. “That’s Yash.” Dominic slid off the bed.

“You’re staying, right?” Mild trepidation underscored her words. “I’m not doing this without you.”

Dominic shot her a look over his shoulder. “As if I’d leave you alone with another man.”

“Oh good. I like that I’m not the only one who’s jealous.”

He swung around, looking grim for a moment before he remembered his manners and wiped away his scowl.
“Jealous doesn’t even begin to describe my intolerance of you with other men,” he said quietly. “Fair warning, babe, you’re mine. Clear?” He held her gaze. Waited.

“I suppose.” A small, frugal compliance.

He shook his head, the movement so slight as to be infinitesimal. “Wrong answer. Come on, babe, humor me.”

“Oh, very well. Yes, then. But not always, Dominic. Not every time.”

“We’ll see.”

“Dominic!”

“Sorry.”

“No you’re not.”

“Give me credit for trying at least,” he grumbled. “It feels like I’m maneuvering through a fucking minefield. I’m never sure what’s going to set you off.” He dipped his head in a small conciliatory gesture, shifted his stance. “Look, I’ll get the hang of it. It’ll just take a while. Could we discuss jealousy and boundaries later? Please, baby? Yash is waiting.”

He was incredibly appealing, restless, that small worried crease between his brows. She smiled. “Sure.”

He exhaled. “Thanks.” Turning, he strode to the door, opened it. “Evening, Yash. Come on in. Meet my girl.”

My girl.
Such warm, fuzzy, beautiful words. Kate felt like some fourteen-year-old with her first crush. A moment later the men were at the bedside. Dominic made introductions, then turned to their visitor and grinned. “Isn’t she adorable?”

Yash concealed his shock. Dominic as stud he knew, but enamored? It boggled the mind. “Absolutely,” he
smoothly replied, turning to the beautiful redhead with a smile. “A pleasure to meet you, Miss Hart.” She’d blushed at Dominic’s compliment—which really
was
adorable. She was also small and delicate in Dominic’s oversized robe—part of her novelty no doubt. Dominic had always been drawn to tall, sleek, glamorous women.

“Call me Kate—please.” Returning his smile, she contemplated the handsome young man casually dressed in jeans and a white polo shirt, his ethnicity an amalgam of Singapore’s multicultural Chinese, Malay, and Indian population. “And I apologize. Dominic shouldn’t have called you out so late at night.”

Another moment of shock.
Dominic chastised by a woman? Surely a first.

“I told her it wasn’t a problem. Tell her it isn’t, Yash”—Dominic grinned—“or I’ll have to listen to her bitch at me.”

Yash had never seen Dominic acquiesce to a woman. “It’s not a problem,” he replied politely. “Dominic and I have known each other for years.”
Often in circumstances that could only be characterized as licentious.

“We met in London.” Dominic turned to his friend. “Probably—what… four, five years ago? Yash was celebrating his medical degree from Cambridge and I was trying to drink the club dry.”

“A memorable night as I recall.” At Dominic’s warning glance, Yash quickly said, “Now how may I help?”

Dominic pointed at the leather bag on Yash’s shoulder. “You brought the shot?”

He nodded. “I have a few routine questions first. Just protocol. There can be side effects with some women.” A
short time later, after Kate had answered no to all his queries, Yash explained how the drug worked immediately within the perimeters of a woman’s period, its safety and effectiveness, the duration of its coverage, possible side effects. “Any questions?”

“What does immediate mean?” Kate raised her brows. “Realistically.”

“There’s no rush,” Dominic interposed. “It doesn’t matter.”

Another spike of her brows. “Speak for yourself.”

“Apparently there’s a rush,” Dominic said blandly, turning to Yash. “What kind of time frame are we talking about—hours, minutes?”

“The literature uses the words
immediately
or
right away
, and while the drug function is clear, every woman’s reaction varies. In fact, studies show three out of a hundred women get pregnant even while on the drug.”

Those were good percentages.
Dominic smiled at Kate. “Your call, babe.”

“Three out of a hundred. Uh-uh, that’s your call.”

He shrugged. “Not a problem.”

“Sure?” A teasing light illuminated the brilliant green of her eyes. “Last chance to escape.”

Christ, Yash thought. He’d seen everything now if Dominic was seriously considering possible fatherhood with this young woman.

Dominic’s smile lit up the room. “Why would I want to escape?”

Yash choked down a gasp.

“Okay then. I’m sure too… I think.” Kate paused, glancing up at Dominic, who was watching her with an indulgent
smile. “Yes—yes… let’s do it.” She turned to Yash with a faint grimace. “Is everyone so uncertain?”

With Dominic’s casual reply still bouncing around in his brain, it took him a fraction of a second to answer. And another fraction of a second to figure out how to answer, since Dominic funded his research lab. He didn’t actually have patients.

“Tell her everyone is uncertain, Yash, or she’ll keep quizzing you. Don’t give me that look, babe; you know you overanalyze every goddamn thing.”

Kate’s brows rose. “Yash can answer for himself, Dominic.”

“It’s a big decision.” Yash replied, tamping down his surprise at this situation. “You’re not alone in wanting to be sure.”

“There. See?” Dominic turned to Yash and gave him a nod of thanks. “So now what, Doctor?”

Yash directed his attention to Kate. “If you’d like to roll up your sleeve, I’ll get the syringe.”

“Let me do that for you, baby.” Dominic quickly closed the small distance to the bed. “Hold out your arm.”

“Dominic, for heaven’s sake. I can roll up my own sleeve.”

“I didn’t say you couldn’t. Let me help though, okay? Shots can be a bitch. Speaking of which,” he added, turning back to the doctor as he shoved the blue silk sleeve aside and held it out of the way. “Will Katherine’s arm be sore?”

“It’s hard to say.” Yash held the syringe up. “Shots affect people differently.”

Dominic frowned. “Maybe you should stay till morning. Just in case.”

“If you like—certainly.”

“Really, Dominic, don’t make him waste his night. It’s only a shot. I’ll be fine.”

“Why take a chance? Yash doesn’t mind.” Dominic gave the doctor a significant look not open to interpretation. “Tan will take care of you. Have that single malt you like for a nightcap. Now shut your eyes, baby. Here we go.”

Afterward, Dominic walked with Yash out into the hall.

“I may need you stateside for a week or so,” Dominic said. “Will your schedule allow?”

“Sure. Although if you’re worried about the lady’s reaction to the shot, you needn’t be.”

“Good. It’s not that though.” Dominic took Yash’s arm and moved him away from the door. “Leo and Danny are coming in from Hong Kong. They should be here in a couple hours. There’s a possibility the Balkan mafia are in town looking for Katherine.”

“Don’t tell me she’s not what she seems?”

Dominic grinned. “Jesus, wouldn’t that be something out of a fucking movie.” Then his smile faded, a rueful note entered his voice. “No, actually she did some work for me that may have put her in jeopardy.”

“Does she know that?”

“No and I want to keep it that way. She’s”—Dominic pursed his mouth—“let’s just say having the mafia on her tail might freak her out. So send for whatever you need for the usual emergencies. We’ll fly out early in the morning and hopefully avoid complications.”

Yash had served as trauma surgeon when Dominic and his crew traveled to the outbacks of the world. Venture capital
routinely pursued natural resources in some of the more violent regions of the planet. So risk and security as well as ransom were major issues. In fact, ransom took the form of a business model in some third world countries; even wearing an expensive watch could be fatal.

“Why is the Balkan mafia pissed?”

“Katherine found twenty million dollars of my money that had been pirated out of a factory I own in Bucharest and circuitously shipped to an account in Singapore. They lost it and we got it back. And they don’t like to lose twenty million.”

“No shit. They’d kill you for a thousand.”

“Pretty much. So I’m going to make them an offer they’d be wise to accept, but in the meantime…”

“You’re getting out of town.”

Dominic nodded. “The States are relatively safe. Between major profiling and stringent visa requirements, only the professionals get in.”

“And these aren’t professionals?”

Dominic shook his head. “Small-time wannabes.”

“It’ll take me about an hour to get my kit and return.”

“Thanks. I’ll see you in the morning, unless Katherine suffers some side effect from the shot.”

“Slim to nil on that.”