Audrey's POV
The words hit me like a wave, stealing the breath from my lungs. I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out. My mind was a blank slate of static and confusion.
Why is he saying this? Why is he looking at me like that?
Dominic was supposed to be the guarded one, the cold one, the brother who kept his distance and delivered flat, indifferent lines. Not this. Not vulnerability.
I couldn't keep ignoring my sixth sense. The way my heart was hammering. The way my skin tingled where his gaze landed. The way everything in me wanted to reach out and—
No.
Dom's expression shifted. The raw openness flickered, replaced by something like panic as he realized what he'd just said. He straightened slightly, pulling back, trying to rebuild the walls.
"Look," he said, his voice rougher now, "don't let what I said get into your head. I was just... worried. That's all. It doesn't mean anything." A pause. "You don't actually want to take what I said to heart, do you?"
