"Where are we going?"

Dominic continued dragging her down the sidewalk. She nearly ran to keep up. "You don't trust me?"

"Of course I trust you. I just...I want to know the plan. Also, what am I supposed to wear tomorrow?"

"That's what we're here to find out. Right now, my father and everyone else thinks you're some helpless source who has gotten dragged into this. Step one is to show him that you are more than a struggling college student."

"Harsh."

Dominic nodded. "But true."

"So, we're shopping for something to wear tomorrow night?"

"We're shopping for your entire wardrobe."

Raelyn stopped short and Crockett, who was taking up the rear nearly walked into her. "Why?"

Dominic pulled her forward. "Trust me. Besides, most of your clothing smell like other men." He slung an arm around her shoulder, pecking the top of her head and breathing in the scent of her hair. "You can smell like you, or you can smell like me. No one else."

"Your brother smelled me, too."

Dominic continued his breakneck pace. "What do you think of him?"

"Gabe? I like him. I'm not sure what he thinks of me, though. He asked me chicken or pasta, and he seemed pretty upset that I said chicken."

Dominic froze and stared for a moment. "Chicken?"

Raelyn glanced at Crockett. "Is this really a big deal?"

Crockett nodded. "He's Italian. It's a huge deal."

"We can fix that," Dominic said. "We're here."

Dominic led them through a metal gate before knocking on a heavy metal door painted white. A few moments later, it creaked open and an older man gazed out. He wore thick-rimmed blue glasses. His eyes flickered over Dominic before landing on Raelyn. She smiled and waved shyly.

Dominic tightened his grip and pulled her inside. He nodded and Crockett waited outside, holding Dane's leash like the dog was poisonous. Dominic, Raelyn, and the older man stepped into an old elevator and the older man closed the gate and pressed the number seven. The elevator must have been over a hundred years old.

The older man pushed Dominic on the shoulder. "You did not tell me she was so beautiful, figlioloi." The elevator stopped and he opened the gate. He then turned to Raelyn and took her arm with both of his hands, leading her down a hall. Raelyn glanced back at Dominic who followed her in.

He led her into a large room with a bay window looking out into the city. Raelyn looked around; it could have been a royal European sitting room. Two women sat in the room with measuring tapes and fabric swatches spread around them with meticulous precision.

The older man led Raelyn to a seat and then went to kiss her hand. Dominic slid his hand between his lips and Raelyn's hands before they could connect. The older man chuckled and let go. He wagged his finger at Dominic. "Non posso crederci, un bruto come te con questa bella ragazza!"

Dominic frowned.

The older man turned to Raelyn. "My name is Giorgio but call me Zio."

Raelyn nodded. "My name is Raelyn, but you can call me...um...well, usually Raelyn, but Rae is okay sometimes."

Zio smiled. "No, I will call you stellina." He clapped his hands. "No time to waste." He looked over to Dominic. "The works?"

Dominic nodded.

Zio turned back to Raelyn. "Stand, stellina" Raelyn nodded and stood up. One woman stepped up and began calling numbers to the other. She glanced over to Dominic, who was staring at her with a small smile. When he realized that Raelyn had caught him staring, he nodded and took a seat.

Zio chuckled and set a light hand on Raelyn's shoulder. "Qualcuno ti ha mai detto che hai un sorriso meraviglioso, stellina?" Zio stared at Dominic. "Because he should."

&&&

"I'm exhausted," Raelyn said, trying to spin spaghetti against a spoon like Dominic.

"We're almost done. They said that they will have a few pairs of pajamas for you and clothing for tomorrow. We can go home with that at least."

"Isn't this a bit much?"

Dominic raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I mean. I get that this is part of the plan, but I can get PJs from TJ Maxx or, like, a thrift shop."

Dominic growled in disapproval. "Do you enjoy smelling like other men?"

"I wash my clothes. I'm not an animal."

Dominic set his bowl down before grabbing Rae's bowl and doing the same.

"I wasn't done."

Dominic whirled around and straddled her hips on the couch. Rae straightened, feeling his thigh locked around her own. "Not an animal. That's the problem." His left hand brushed her hair behind her ear. Then, he leaned in. His breath danced against her jawbone, and she shivered. He brought his other hand up and slid his hand through her hair, embracing her head and pulling her closer to him. "You may not be an animal, but we vampires are pretty close."

In an instant, Dominic slid off and returned to his seat, leaving Raelyn with a red face and panting breaths. Dominic picked up his bowl and handed hers back. Raelyn accepted it after a few moments. "Thanks."

Dominic smirked. "I didn't anticipate that you would be so sensitive to that."

"Sensitive? How else am I supposed to react to a man straddling and...caressing me?"

"If it's another man, I expect you to punch a hole through his stomach. Hopefully he'll bleed out before I get to him. Otherwise, he will suffer a lot more." His tone was matter-of-fact. "I want my woman to have the best."

"It just makes me a bit uncomfortable."

Dominic tilted his head. "Why?"

Raelyn set down her bowl, swallowing the last of her dinner. "We never had the means growing up. It was just my mom and I. So whenever my mom splurged on something, it meant that we couldn't get something else. My mom got angry one time and destroyed my phone. We spent that entire summer without A/C to pay for a new one. It's just. Surely this isn't...I'm not..."

"Worth it?"

"Yeah. I mean, in my head, I can acknowledge that everyone deserves the best, but that's not realistic."

Dominic grabbed Raelyn's hand and wove his fingers between hers. He lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it.

"Ah, ah!" Zio exclaimed as he walked in, covering his eyes. "Zio is entering."

Dominic glanced at Zio before pulling Raelyn's hand into his lap. "What do you have?"

Zio opened an eye and then feigned insult. "What I promised. Girls?"

The two women swept forward with fabric. After a few moment, Raelyn realized that the shiny material was two pairs of PJs. She reached out and rubbed the fabric between her fingers. She glanced at Dominic. "Something tells me this isn't a cotton-polyester blend."

"It's silk."

"Silk is hardly a luxury anymore," Zio muttered, "but it is the best we had on hand." He glanced at Dominic for approval and Dominic nodded. "Good. And for tomorrow daytime..." He gestured and one woman disappeared and reappeared with a sunflower day dress.

Raelyn glanced at Dominic and he shrugged. "Do you like it?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I love it."

"Good. And tomorrow night?" Dominic asked.

"Of course, this way." Zio reached out his hand to take Raelyn's, but as Raelyn reached for it, Dominic smacked his hand away, securing Raelyn's free hand in his own.

He helped her up and then brought her hand up to his chest. "This belong to me, I think."

Raelyn pulled his hand to her chest and gave him a small smile. "As long as this belongs to me."

He chuckled and gestured for her to walk toward Zio, who stood ahead of them, yawning and tapping his foot.

Raelyn walked down the hallway, passing oil painting and rooms which looked each more expensive than the previous. She traced her finger along the heavy wood trim. After a few seconds, the trim ended. Raelyn looked up and gasped.

A mauve, velvet dress stood on a mannequin. The fabric bunched at the hip, accentuating the mannequin's hips. The sleeves draped off the shoulders like the branches of a willow tree—drawing focus toward the deep lunge of the neckline. Raelyn looked away, blushing. She wanted it.

Dominic took her hand and led her up to the dress. "Do you like it?"

Raelyn nodded. "Yeah. It's just...will it fit? And this is for dinner with your dad?"

Dominic shrugged. "The dinner has...evolved. Have you ever been to a gala?"

"Is that like prom?"

"No."

"Good," Raelyn said, turning back to the dress. "Because I definitely didn't go to prom."

Dominic wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Well, then, this dress is only step one."