Merger (Triple Threat Book 3) Read Online Free Page A

have dinner at one of the restaurants in the resort. She made her way to the room she was using, his wording suggesting the restaurant would be expensive.
    Since she was in no financial place to pay half the bill, the manners her mom had instilled in her suggested she should find an excuse to demur, but she didn’t want to. Manners be damned. She wanted to spend more time with Dominic. She was infatuated with him, and knowing she didn’t stand a chance of gaining his attention didn’t lessen the desire to be around him.
    She took a quick shower to wash away the sheen of sunscreen clinging to her fair skin, combined with the grit and grime of the day. After that, she pinned her damp hair in a twist and slid on a tropical-print dress clearly meant for evening wear. It fluttered almost to her ankles, but the revealing slit up the side made it far sexier and revealing, ending just a few inches below her panty line. It was too hot for stockings, and she didn’t have any anyway, so she left her legs and feet bare before donning high-heeled sandals. Her sore feet temporarily protested, but the high-quality shoes were more comfortable than she had anticipated, and the discomfort was only slightly noticeable.
    As a last step, she applied lipstick, thankful it was a close enough match to the fuchsia flowers in the dress not to clash terribly. Eyeing herself in the mirror, she decided she looked pretty good. Maybe even sexy. She wasn’t certain if Dominic would find her that way, but she felt sexy. It was evident in the way she walked, and she could feel it herself as her hips swayed sinuously when she moved from her room to meet him in the living room of the suite.
    Dominic was already waiting for her in semi-casual resort attire. She stumbled a step when she saw the expression on his face. It was unreadable, but it made her nervous. Self-consciously, she tugged at the straps of the dress, frowning at him. “Is something wrong?” Did she look hideous? Was the dress completely inappropriate for where he was taking her? It didn’t seem likely, since he was dressed in similar clothing, but she was absolutely certain she had screwed up somewhere.
    He stared at her for another moment without speaking before he finally shook his head. “There’s nothing wrong. You’re just beautiful. You stunned me.”
    Warmth pooled in her stomach and matched the heat in her cheeks when she flushed under the intensity of his gaze. “Thank you,” she mumbled shyly as she looked away from him.
    A moment later, he walked over to her, and it felt like the most natural thing in the world when he folded his hand over hers, tugging her lightly to get her moving. She held cautiously to his hand, not wanting to cling to him or be the last one to let go. Apparently, he was soon annoyed with her limp grip, because he sighed and rearranged their hands so hers was folded in his tightly. She would have to expend great effort to escape—not that she wanted to.
    “I hope you like seafood. I made a reservation for the most popular restaurant here at the resort, and seafood is their specialty.”
    She nodded. “About the only thing I don’t like are clams, but otherwise, I enjoy seafood.”
    It was an inane conversation, but she did her best to participate with the right responses as her hormones tried to induce her to sway against him and lift her head, hoping he would take the cue to kiss her.
    Sternly, she tried to hold herself in check with a reminder that just because he admired her appearance didn’t mean he was attracted to her. She was building herself up for something that couldn’t be, so she had to return to reality. The idea held little appeal, but it held even less appeal to make a fool of herself by offering something he didn’t want.
    They had to wait for a table at the restaurant for a few minutes despite the reservations. She held her breath while she waited to see his reaction, but he merely shrugged at the maître d’ and led her to the