Outside, Celeste didn't stop walking until she was halfway down the block. Her legs were moving too fast, her heart even faster.
She'd kissed him.
She kissed Dominic Cross.
What the hell was she thinking?
The moment she stepped outside, the cool air slapped her hard. Reality caught up with her in a gust of wind that made her shiver. Or maybe, that was the adrenaline crashing out of her bloodstream.
She leaned back against a lamppost, pressing her fingers to her lips like she could erase the memory.
He hadn't kissed her back. Not really. Not the way a man kisses a woman he wants. But he hadn't stopped her either. He let her. And there was power in that. A little more push would solve the mystery of if he wanted her, or not.
Celeste swallowed the lump in her throat and looked up at the night sky.
What now? This was supposed to make her feel better. This was supposed to be revenge. But all she felt was shaky.
"Celeste?"
Her blood turned to ice when she heard that voice. She turned slowly. Landon? That bastard.
Looking far too casual, a smirk twitching at the corner of his lips, sleeves rolled up, collar open. He looked like sin dipped in honey, but all she saw now was cruelty.
"I thought that was you," he said. "Didn't expect to find you storming out of my uncle's favorite bar."
Her stomach dropped.
"What were you doing in there?" he asked, stepping closer, tilting his head. "Trying to get him to invest in your little pity party?"
Celeste said nothing. She didn't trust her voice. She didn't trust her face.
Landon's eyes narrowed slightly. "Wait."
He looked back at the bar door, then at her again. "You didn't."
From where they stood, he could see his uncle staring at them through the glass walls and doors of the bar.
Celeste blinked. "Didn't what?"
His face twisted, half amusement, and half disbelief. "Holy shit. You kissed him, didn't you?"
She didn't reply. That was answer enough.
"Jesus, Celeste," he laughed, sharp and smug. "You're even more desperate than I thought."
That did it.
Her spine straightened. She stepped forward, too close. Her voice dropped low, yet steady. "Don't mistake grief for desperation. And don't confuse cruelty with cleverness."
Landon's smirk faltered for a split second.
She smiled sweetly. "But if I was desperate… maybe I'd still be better off with a man who actually knows what to do with his mouth."
His eyes darkened. "You think kissing my uncle will make me jealous?"
Celeste leaned in. "I don't want you to be jealous," she whispered. "I want you humiliated."
.....
Back at the bar…
Dominic finally stood up when she walled away from Landon. He couldn't sit in that damn stool any longer. He couldn't breathe in the scent she left behind or ignore the heat pooling in his chest.
He reached into his pocket, pulled out his sleek black phone, and hit a contact.
"Jackson," he said when the line picked up. "I need a full profile on someone."
"Name?"
His jaw flexed as he turned away from the door, and faced forward. "Celeste Monroe."
A pause. "That's your nephew's girlfriend."
Dominic's voice turned cold. "Not anymore."
...…
Celeste got back to her apartment. She kicked off her heels and curled her toes into the cheap carpet of her shoebox-sized living room.
She poured herself a glass of water with shaking hands and sat at the edge of the couch like the cushions might swallow her whole if she relaxed too much.
Her phone buzzed on the coffee table. She rolled her eyes seeing a text from Landon; "You're insane."
Then another; "Uncle Dom? Really?"
She turned the phone over, and sighed. She didn't owe him a damn thing.
....
Across town, Dominic sat behind the wheel of his car, parked in a private lot with the engine still running. The heat was on low, but it did nothing to melt the ice crawling up his spine.
Celeste Marlowe. He hadn't taken note of her until tonight. Now he couldn't get it out of his head.
Not just the name, it was also the way she'd looked at him. The way she kissed him was beautiful. She kissed him as though she was trying to carve a new version of herself with her lips. Like she wanted to become someone else in his mouth.
He clenched the steering wheel.
She was Landon's ex. Barely out of college. Probably going through some kind of quarter-life meltdown. She shouldn't even be on his radar. She doesn't even know what she wants. Young and naive.
"Mr. Cross?" Jackson's voice crackled over Bluetooth, bringing him back to reality. "I've got the basics."
Dominic closed his eyes. "Go ahead."
"Celeste Marlowe. Twenty-three. Lives alone. Final year of a master's program she took a break from after her mom passed away. Worked at a publishing house until last fall. Strong academic record, no criminal history. Oh, and she's got a degree in psychology,"
Dominic exhaled, half a laugh, half a sigh. "She's smart."
"Too smart to be kissing you."
He didn't respond.
Jackson cleared his throat. "Want me to dig deeper?"
Dominic stared out the windshield. "Not yet."
...…
The next morning, Celeste woke up to five missed calls from her best friend, Amara.
Before she could even process it, Amara was calling again. Celeste answered, pressing the phone to her ear with a groggy, "What."
"Oh my God, are you alive?" Amara screeched. "Did you really kiss Dominic freaking Cross?"
Celeste groaned and sank deeper into the couch. "It was one kiss. One mistake."
"Girl, that is not a mistake. That is a lifetime of emotional damage wrapped in a tailored suit and a five o'clock shadow."
Celeste buried her face in a pillow. "Can we not do this?"
Amara giggled. "Too late. The internet is doing it for us. You're trending in our group chat."
"Kill me." Celeste sighed, with half delight.