Page 76 of Full Throttle

Dominic waited, still wearing that infuriating half smile. She bit her lip.

“So you don’t hate me?”

Dominic chuckled. The sound was rich and deep as chocolate, and she realized that she’d never heard him laugh properly before. It suited him. “I sense that you would be impossible to hate, Marchmont. But no.” His eyes were bright with amusement. “I like you very much.”

She hadn’t realized that she was drifting forward, but somehow she was standing between his legs. Dominic sat on the desk, and she realized with a jolt of surprise that this was the first time they’d been at eye level. His pupils were lighter than she’d expected, punctuated with little flecks of gold like city lights in a midnight sky. He swallowed, and the column of his throat rippled.

“Marchmont,” he murmured.

Dominic raised a hand to her face. The gesture was uncharacteristically tentative, as if she were gossamer spider silk that he was frightened of brushing away, and something warmed in her chest. She rested a hand on his neck; his pulse was gunfire beneath her fingers. He’s nervous too, she realized, and the thought was somehow calming.

Slowly—ever so slowly—she leaned in.

His mouth was warm beneath her own. He tasted of coffee and something like ginger biscuits, but she didn’t have time to identify what, because Dominic was groaning, his hand threading in her hair as if he’d imagined doing it a million times before. He kissed her with single-minded focus, murmuring her name against her lips, and heat erupted in her stomach. It was his hands, she realized dizzily; Dominic had been tentative to begin with, but there was nothing unsure about him now. His fingers were strong but curious, touching her as if she were just another thing that he was learning. Confident that he could master it. His grip slid down her back, and she arched into him, a breathy gasp escaping her—

Noise sounded outside the door.

She jumped, her heart hammering. A quick glance at the clock told her that it was five to one. Reluctantly, Juliette pulled back.

“Your next class is here.”

Dominic raised an eyebrow. “You memorized my schedule?”

He looked remarkably unruffled for someone who had just spent five minutes kissing her senseless. She straightened her skirt.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Juliette said absently. “I have a photographic memory.” She glanced at her reflection in the window. Her cheeks were a bit flushed, but that could easily be blamed on the heat. Her ponytail, on the other hand…

She grimaced.

Hopefully she wouldn’t run into Baz. The last thing she needed was a lecture on all the reasons she shouldn’t get back with Nate. As if she ever would.

“I should go,” Juliette said.

She was already across the room when Dominic called her name, and Juliette paused, her hand on the door handle. He crossed his arms, studying her as if she were a sudoku puzzle that he hadn’t quite cracked yet. She shifted her weight. The voices outside the door were growing louder. Were any of the boys in this class? Or worse, was Frederick in this class? She hoped not. He’d have a field day with this.

“For the record,” Dominic said finally, “I don’t care who knows about us. I took you off my class schedule because it didn’t feel right to be assigning your grades, but…” He shuffled a stack of papers. “If people know that I’m dating an up-and-coming racing superstar, it’ll only raise my social standing.”

Dating. The word warmed something in her chest. Was that what they were doing? She couldn’t deny that she liked the idea. And yet…

“I can’t.”

Her voice came out rueful. Dominic raised an eyebrow.

“Is it my face? Too grouchy?”

Fresh heat flooded her cheeks. God. She’d almost forgotten she’d said that bit about him being grumpy. “You know what it is.”

“Tell me anyway.”

She smiled, although she was surprised to feel a pang of sadness. “The rules are different for me. If I get on a Formula 1 team, I don’t want the world to assume that you pulled a few strings to get me there.”

Dominic shook his head. “Nobody who sees what you can do in a race car would think that.”

He sounded so confident that it pulled at her heart. “Even so.” Juliette cleared her throat. “Can we keep it a secret? Just for now?”

Someone pushed at the door, and she caught the knob, ignoring the shout of protest. Dominic’s dark eyes were steady.

“If that’s what you want.”