honeysuckle, she's full of poison. [tag; dominic]

she obliterated everything she kissed.

Fancy.

Sofia liked fancy things. She'd be the first to agree that she had champagne tastes. Merino wool, silk sheets, extraordinarily expensive lacy underwear. Yeah. Her dress was no different. It fit her like a glove, like it had been made for her and of course, it had. Sofia was all about haute couture, practical or not. With a lacy top and a skirt made from expensive, plum coloured brocaded fabric, she felt like a goddess. Sleeveless and a pretty high-low skirt, it awarded people with glimpses of her long slender legs as she strode down the street.

Her nails were painted black, her full lips a deep scarlet, her onyx locks up and back into a sleek chignon, pulling her black trench coat tighter around her slender waist. She liked Paris. She had an apartment here but she spent most of her time in Tuscany lately. Paris was just coming to life. The skyline was bright, shining into the inky blue sky that dusk brought with it. Lovers held hands, pausing to kiss in the street. People were finishing work, tourists were getting lost, happy to gawk at the world famous architecture around them. Sofia strode on, hips sashaying as though she owned the place. In her mind, she did. But she'd always had an inflated sense of self. Whoops.

Sofia got to pick the bar tonight. She'd opted for an opulent one. It was a little away from the centre of the French capital, tucked away, frequently only by the rich and upper class. Dominic had asked her for a drink so naturally, she assumed he had some business he wanted dealt with so she'd picked a rendezvous accordingly. It was a large place, full of dark wood and low lighting, casting a warm glow on the establishment. Dark fabrics, rich furnishings, expensive alcohol, why wouldn't she turn up here? She knew they'd be undisturbed. Sofia was quite used to dealing with Aeric so to have another Regan wanting to see her was peculiar indeed.

"Bonsoir," the Italian said with a smile to the doorman as he held the door open for her. Stepping in, the rush of warm air hit her and she unbelted her coat, peeling it off to hand to a woman to take care of before she climbed the stairs. The bar overlooked the Parisian skyline, the roads and twinkling lights stretching for miles. It was about ten or so in the evening and there were very few people in here, bar the barman and some other staff. Good. Looking over her shoulder, she realised she was late but that wasn't her fault. She had…things to take care of. She just hoped that she'd gotten all of the blood out from underneath her nails.

Looking around, a lone figure caught her attention and she was pleased to see he'd snagged the table right next to the window. A clicking of designer heels and a waft of rich rose scented perfume announced her arrival. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Mr. Regan?" Sofia asked with a slow smile, her dark eyes seeming overly bright in the candlelight. Swiftly, she dropped into the seat, pausing to pick the drinks menu off the table and surveying it with interest. Almost instantly, someone was at her side as she turned to place an order.

"Could I have a glass of the Malbec, please?" She asked with another smile. "The gentleman's paying," she said, gesturing to Dominic with ease. There was no way in Hell she was paying. He'd dragged her away from Italy and her expensive, cast iron bath. She was planning on having a pampering night. Music, candles, expensive bath oils. She was going to get into her pyjamas with a good book and have an early night but here she was. She was interested to know why. Letting Dominic place his order, she reclined, crossing her long legs at the knee as she tilted her head curiously. "What can I do for you?" She asked, interested. "Or did you just miss me?" Sofia asked with a slow grin, a slim eyebrow arched.

She was gone for their safety, dwelling would not change the way things had to be. He felt like an empty shell of himself, constantly regretting his choice. It had to be made, he had watched how this life had destroyed Ivana, to protect what was most vulnerable. She had not been prepared for the dangers that came with being close to his family, that had been clear. Walking the streets of Paris brought back memories of his times traveling. Dom had been so free then, a little misguided but free. It seemed that with age came more troubles then he was sure he could handle. How had Conor managed to run the family so smoothly? He made it seem flawless even when there was trouble brewing. Without him it seemed that the solace that had delayed the subtle panic was gone.

He needed to find the threat and destroy it. So many people he held dear had been affected in some way by this threat. People had been hurt and for that someone would have to pay. Dom had to say that he was impressed with her choice of bars. He should have expected as much being she was who she was. Slipping from his coat he handed it off before walking up the stairs. Brown eyes searched the area before finding a spot near a window, thankfully with a seat against the wall.

The skyline was beautiful even at night. He'd walked the streets earlier in the day, taking in the beauty around him. But he had to admit that now he would love to take a stroll. What would he see during the night hours that would have missed otherwise? His eyes dropped down to his watch as a waiter appeared. "I'm waiting on someone, come back in five minutes." She was late, Aeric had warned him about such things. Dom had not wanted her help but Aeric insisted. Dom had never been a man that worked good with a team. Other people tended to slow him down and make him doubt his choices. He learned early those were two things that did not go well with survival.

Sofia was good at what she did, there was no denying that. He had seen some of her worse work and he was impressed by the creativity she displayed. He wasn't sure she could take to the elegant roll that would be required for what he had in mind. Aeric had been clear that the job would stay under the radar. Talk of a mole had come about so often lately it made Dom wonder. Who was behind it did not matter to the man, only that payment for their crimes were properly received. 

He heard her arrival before he caught sight of her. On different terms in some other world she would have been a perfect match for him. He had watched her closely with the time she had spent working with Aeric. "The pleasure would have been you arriving on time. You know that people do have actual lives to attend to, aside from waiting on you?" His gaze followed her as she moved to sit. There was something about her that he couldn't put his finger on.

He nodded to the waiter who looked more nervous than anything. "Scotch, neat." His hand rose to run through his hair before he settled back into his chair. Brown eyes locked on her as she spoke. "I just want to be clear that us working together wasn't my idea. You're skills however are needed, so here we are to discuss details." A smile crossed his lips for a moment. "I miss very few things Ms. Rossellini, trust me you've yet to make the list." He knew that she was quick-witted.

"I need your help procuring the solution to a problem. This will not be a rush job and it will not be done half a**ed." Too much was at stake. "I need to know that we won't bump heads during all of this. I don't plan on getting in your way and I hope you won't get in mine."

She liked Dominic, always had. He has this funny sort of macho bravado thing going on. He liked schedules and planning and he was no fun. None of the family were. Dominic had a stick up his arse, Aeric had a horrendously shit taste in women and Etain was bonkers. She still wasn't forgiven for the time she threatened to snap the heel off a pair of her new season shoes.

Sofia sat and crossed her leans legs at the knee, arching an eyebrow as he seemed dismissive to the waiter. Upon his return, she offered him a smile as she took the wine. "Thank you," she said politely. "Do ignore my associate. He's forever getting out of the wrong side of someone else's bed," she stated cheerily as she sipped some of the blood red liquid. Delicious. Most of her dealings weren't with Dominic. She didn't really know him. Oh she knew him; height, weight, birth date, general things but as a person? Not so much.

"Oh come now," the Italian said, pooh-poohing his remark with a wave of her hand. "We both know that you didn't have any other plans tonight," Sofia said as she turned her head to look out of the window, the Parisian night lights catching her diamond earrings and making them sparkle. Smiling at him, she twirled a glossy dark lock around an olive skinned finger. She wasn't that late anyway. She couldn't be on time for everything, that was just silly. Things that needed to be done got done, what was the issue?

Sofia's big brown eyes blinked three times in rapid succession. "Ouch," she replied, visibly affronted as she frowned deeply before she relaxed. "I don't like frowning, It causes mayhem with my collagen," she stated, smoothing a hand over her forehead. "If it wasn't your idea, why aren't I meeting with the person whose idea it was?" She asked with a tilt of her head. "I'm sure they wouldn't be so rudely insulting me for no apparent reason," she tutted darkly.

"That's because you don't know me," Sofia said smoothly, dodging his barb as she sipped her wine, a deeply floral and expensive perfume catching on her hair as she moved a hand through it. "There'll be a time when you need me and you'll regret being so noxious towards me," she said, a steely hint to her tone as she glared at him. "You know, I didn't come all this way to be dishonoured in such a way, Mr. Regan," Sofia stated, her Italian accent becoming more apparently the angrier she got. "If you want me to do my bidding, try extolling my virtues first. Like saying my eyes remind you of a sun dappled autumn stream or that you think I've got a slammin' body."

"Something you couldn't solve yourself, Mr. High And Mighty?" The Italian asked with a slim eyebrow cocked before catching the eye of the skittish waiter. "Hi!" She said brightly, holding up a glass. "Could I have the bottle, please? He's paying," she said sweetly to the young man who hurried away like a kicked puppy and she ignored any face Dominic might be pulling as she ordered more drinks. She blinked. "You really don't know me," she said darkly, her brown eyes becoming stormy once of a sudden. "Assassinate my character, sure but do not criticize my work. The only thing I do half arsed is my tax returns," she said breezily as she sipped her wine again, the expensive and deeply fruity taste appealing to her more and more. Yum.

She rolled her eyes and looked back at the Parisian skyline. "Write me letters. Then we have no reason to be anywhere near each other. If you're asking me to obey you, no deal," she said, flicking her eyes back to him sharply. "Not unless you handcuff me to the bed and make me call you "master"," Sofia said with a sunny smile. "What can I do for you?" She asked him, expecting some papers or something she could read. "You said you needed to discuss details?" Sofia already knew she was going to accept. She had her eye on a ludicrously expensive dress she saw that morning in one of the windows of a high end establishment. It'd make her boobs look mind blowing.

There was something about her that seemed more appealing then most women in her profession he'd met. It could be how she carried herself, there was an air around her that seemingly demanded attention. No matter, Dom would not allow such things to cloud his judgement on this task. His gaze shifted from her to the waiter. Shifting in his seat he removed a few Galleons to rest on the tray as his drink was sat before him. "My apologies if I was rude, it's been a very long week." With a sigh he looked at Sofia. Aeric had warned him that she could be a handful. Dom had been surprised when Aeric said that she would be working for the family. She had at one point if he understood correctly kidnapped Aeric in a case of mistaken identity. Or so he had been told, the details of their encounter had been left out.

"That may be true, but you do know you keeping me waiting...for what purpose really were you late?" His brows rose as he asked her, lips twitching in the corner as he fought his smile. He could assume a many of things that had kept her for being on time. He figured maybe like his daughters it had been her looks. Women were strange when it came to presenting themselves. A beautiful as they looked all dolled up Dom preferred a woman whose beauty was natural. All the added ingredients seemed to take from the final product for the formed Slytherin. "It's not my intention to insult you. I'm a solitary worker, I haven't worked well in a group in a very long time." Out of habit his hand went to the scar of his mark, hidden by the sweater he wore,  where he rubbed softly. "Aeric felt that you and I would better suited to work together on this."

He listened to her speak but this time he couldn't keep the smile from his lips. He should have been more careful with his words. It had just been so long since he worked with a woman that he forgot his manners. "I truly apologize for the way I spoke to you." His hand rested on his glass as he spoke. "Ms. Rossellini you and I both know you have an amazing body. You expel no fear in displaying it. You have legs a mile long and when you get angry that accent is..." His glass rose to his lips where he took a sip. "..a very attractive bonus to the fire in you eyes."

He cleared his throat. "Something I am too close to to think rationally." His jaw clenched as he flashed of Kerr laying helpless in a hospital bed, Cassie's face when she saw that heart, Cain's near kidnapping. It all rushed to the front of his brain, causing his blood to boil. His gaze shifted as she spoke the waiter. Looking at her once more he shook his head. "I would never downplay your work. I have seen it and I have been nothing but impressed. I know that my behavior when you first arrived was anything but kind and for that I am sorry." His gaze shifted out towards the skyline.

His chuckle was light as her words pulled his attention from the window. "There may be many thing I would enjoy doing with you, but handcuffing you..." His head tilted from side to side as if he were considering his option. "Yeah, its high on the list." Maybe a bit of banter would relax them both. Dom knew he was on edge so he needed to get his emotion under control. His sigh was long and deep as he finished his drink only to top it off. "I don't know if you've spoken with Aeric about the current threat to the family." He had, they had spoken in length. Things had gone too far, too much had been allowed to go without punishment. They would have to find the threat and eliminate it. They would have to do it fast before something terrible happened.

"I don't enjoy not being able to handle situations where my family is in danger. That is my job, it was why I made the choices I did in my life. Being helpless was never apart of the deal." He twirled his glass in his hand as he spoke. "I need your help doing two things. Finding the threat to cut it off at the head and destroying the life of the traitorous bastard that decided to help them." His eyes burned with his fury for a second before he sighed and tried to calm himself.  "I am willing to do what is needed for your help." With that he sipped from his glass again.

"Hm," Sofia said darkly, a finely groomed eyebrow arched in question as she pursed her plump deeply red lips together before she blinked her big dark eyes. She sipped her wine absently. This bar was very much her style. Modern, sleek, expensive. The Parisian skyline was laid out before them, dark and inviting. She was too old for clubbing now but she did have exclusive access to the most popular restaurants and bars. Sofia Rossellini did not partake in waiting lists. How utterly plebeian.

Leaning back in her chair and crossing her long legs at the ankles, she held her hands, backs towards him, to show him a perfectly completed manicure with a smile. The nails were short and in good condition and painted a deep and timeless onyx black. "Had to wait for the polish to dry," she explained. "And my bath was the perfect temperature. Though I imagine it'd be more comfortable had you been sharing the tub," she commented. Sofia was an aggressive flirt. Always had been. It wasn't like she wanted to get entangled with Dominic, despite him being very much her type. He wasn't worth the hassle.

"Don't add that to your resume," she added cheerfully. Didn't all those odd employers want team work as a skill? There was a reason Sofia also liked to work for herself; she didn't take anyone else's shit. Dominic best not be too domineering because she'd explode. Violently. Everywhere. Over everything.

She laughed, high and tinkering. "He did?" She asked with wide chocolate eyes. "He and I can barely stand the sight of one another." Sofia said smoothly. "He's forever thinking I'm out to get him," she explained with a tut and an eye roll as she sighed. She did wonder where the wonder boy was. Looking over her shoulder slowly, she half expected the man mountain to be at the bar, glowering like he was so set on doing. "Did he explain why?" She asked, hoping Aeric had extolled her many virtues and if he hadn't, she'd kill him.

"Three apologies in one conversation?" Sofia asked, eyes wide. "Shit. You must be desperate," she added. She liked to think of herself as a queen and she did thoroughly enjoy it when men grovelled. Offering a slow and decidedly irreligious smile, she tilted her head to the side, interest clear on her face as she fluttered her eyelashes at him. "Long enough to wrap around you and get you through the long, winter nights?" She asked coyly. She shook her head, her glossy curls shimmering in the low light. "Tesoro," she added, looking at him rather seriously. "You won't like me when I'm angry."

Falling silently, it finally sunk in. Clearly the Regans were in some deep shit. Why hadn't Etain told her? Sofia didn't think they were friends but they trusted each other. Unless Dominic hadn't told her about it? Uh oh. Christ Almighty. Four apologies.

"How high on the list?" Sofia asked, unable to help it. The mood had been sullen, heavy with unsaid words but the mention of bondage did pique her curiosity. "Do you have any tattoos?" The brunette asked suddenly. They were not a prerequisite by any means but it did help. Turning, she waggled her fingers at the waiter that Dom had scared before and held up her almost empty glass indicating that she'd like a top up if possible.

"Never send a man to do a woman's job," she said with a roll of her big and expressive eyes. It was meant to be funny but she shut up as soon as she realised that this wasn't a laughing matter. She nodded. "How do you know it's just the one bastard?" She asked. "You lot have pissed a lot of people off. There could be a whole host of people who want to cause you some trouble." It could take days, perhaps longer to find the back catalogue of people who wanted to harm the Regans.

"You're going to have to be very honest with me," she said lowly. "I need to know the ins and outs of everything. You need to be frank with me with what has happened. If you have any hunches, tell me. I'll check it out. You're my main focus for the time being so I expect you to polite, helpful and courteous." If Dominic was taking up her time, everything else would have to go on the back burner and she'd need compensation.

"Thanks sweetie," Sofia purred at the young man who refilled her glass, offering him a dazzling smile. Reaching into her handbag, she extracted a small and neat notebook. With a pen, she wrote down a rather hefty price, ripped the page out, folded it and slid it across the table towards him. That was what she'd be willing to do it for. "That covers time, expense, resources and the pleasure of working with me.  You up for it?" Hello new designer wardrobe and a holiday in Portofino.

He had been warned before setting the meeting that she may be a handful. She was expressive and rather blunt if he was being completely honest. Qualities that seemed to make a person hard to handle at times. That wasn’t a problem for Dom, he’d worked with a vast range of people in his life. Green eyes shifted away from the window to look at her displayed hand. His head tilted to the side slightly as she spoke, a smirk creeping it’s way to his lips. “Comfortable, maybe..” he gave a thoughtful expression as his head moved from side to side in consideration “but definitely hotter.” It was a bad road to go down, even if it made sense to. It would be a hassle, they worked together.

He cleared his throat softly before shifting in his seat to get more comfortable. “He did and yes I agree I was stunned at first too. I mean with the history and all.” He gave a soft shrug of the shoulders as he topped off his glass once more. “But he did say you were focused and had an attention to detail.” Lifting his glass up he paused just inches from his lips before taking a drink. “I already knew everything he’d told me. I watched you for a bit there in the beginning I could see that much.” Another drink and his glass was rested back on the table. He needed focus. He needed someone to keep him level-headed.

He laughed softly as his hand ran over the sooth surface of the table. He was desperate. He didn’t like the way it felt. It broke into his focus and disrupted his train of thought. His brow rose slightly as his eyes trailed along her frame slowly, before coming to rest on her face. “I don’t think the nights would be long enough.” He knew he should steer clear but the thought was a rather nice distraction. He knew that nothing would come from the flirting, they were both professional who would be able to keep it as such. Right?

“I’d say top five” He gave a nod as he took another drink from his glass, finally finishing it off. “Yes I have quite a few tattoos. Do you have any?” as he spoke his hands shifted she could see the numbers that rested on the side of his palms. Growing up he had never thought he would ever put ink to his skin, but things changed with time. Each tattoo held value and was a calculated decision, because if it was going to last forever it might as well mean something.

She was right, it could be anyone after his family. Even before Aeric took his seat at the head of the family there were a host of dangerous enemies at their doorstep. “I don’t know…I can only hope there is just one. One is easy to handle. More than that and the very…” He paused as his brows come together, bothered by his own thoughts. His eyes drifted to her face as she spoke of honestly. Out of habit his hand moved to rest over where his scar rested beneath his sweater. There were things he was willing to reveal, secrets he would let out. He had spent the better half of his life ensuring that this one secret never revealed itself. “I haven’t been able to think of who might be bold enough, but I do have a few files in my office of who we've quite possibly pissed off.” He could start there, it was a better place than any.

He watched the folded paper being slid across the table before a smile crept to his lips. “If price were an issue, I would have brought that up first.” Reaching out he took the paper to twist between his fingers slowly. “I only ask that no one aside from the two of us know what’s happening. Until we know how deep this threat goes its better to lay low.” Just to see he unfolded the paper and gave a chuckle. “I expected more, so this is a nice surprise.” With that he leaned across the table towards her. “Now we’ll be spending a lot of time together and I want to be sure that we stay….professional.” Maybe he should grab something to eat, after all they were in a restaurant. Lifting his hand he waved over the waiter as he leaned back comfortably in his seat. “Two dinner menus please, thanks.”

Turning back to her he gave a charming smile. “No use in not eating while we're here. wouldn't you agree?” With that his gaze drifted back towards the window. “How honest is honest? What will you need to know from me exactly?”

"Hm," Sofia replied again with a smile, seemingly satisfied with his response. As a family went, the Regans were all terribly good looking. She was sure they simply tolerated her presence. Sofia was a lot like Japanese knotweed: strong, dangerous and she had the ability to invade everything and anything. At an alarming pace.

Regardless of this being a predominately business meeting, her mind did wander. As far as she was aware, the men in the family were a bit shit with relationships. They were short and their partners either died or disappeared. Except Etain. As far as she was aware, the other brunette was happily married. She'd only met the husband the once at the wedding she was coerced into attending. They'd not been introduced but that was exactly how she liked it. It was one less person in the family to piss off.

Sofia blinked. "How uncharacteristically sweet of him," she added gently and she was instantly aware of where everything and everyone was. "What do you mean you watched me?" The Italian said swiftly, her posture stiffening as she straightened up quickly with her finely groomed eyebrows coming down in a rush to furrow. The warmth left her eyes as she narrowed her eyes. If Dominic had been getting too close for comfort then she was losing her touch.

Flicking her eyes up and down his frame, she pursed her lips. They were at a tentative agreement, neither party really willing to give an inch. Sofia knew men were weak. People, as a general rule, we were. Dominic's family were his weakness. The Regans were very clannish. She smiled again and arched an eyebrow. "For all I know, that's just your word. I think you're all bluster, Mr. Regan. Careless words like those will get you into trouble swiftly with me."

Tattoos indeed. Sofia leaned forward to look at his hand and ran a gentle finger over the proffered palm with interest. "What do they mean?" She asked gently, setting down her wine glass to gently take hold of Dominic's hand in both of hers and twist it so she could see the number. Flicking her eyes back to his, she laughed. "That's for me to know and for you to find out," she said simply. She did have tattoos. Three of them.

Setting his hand down, the tall Italian reclined as she looked out on the glittering Parisian skyline that sprawled out for miles before them. "You know, anyone would think that I was fast becoming your family's personal bodyguard," she said gently. Not that she was that bothered. The pay was superb.

With the money pooh-poohed aside, she blinked. "Cross my heart and hope to die," she replied, making the motion of drawing a slow X across her bosom. Confidentiality and discretion was part of the service. It wasn't like she was going to blab to anyone. For all he knew, she could already be working for the people that were threatening him. Wouldn't that be fun?

As Dominic leaned forward, Sofia copied, pitching over the table so that there were barely a few inches between both of their faces. "Professional," she echoed him, her big dark eyes flicking down to his lips before back up to his eyes. "You're the one being suggestive, not me, sir," she said, not moving. She didn't break eye contact as the waiter appeared and then disappeared. "I find that rich coming from you as you've just turned this into a dinner date," she said with a grin, wiggling her eyebrows at him.

"Absolutely," she said smoothly. It was a beautiful, clear night. The restaurant was so astronomically expensive, it was never fully booked. The soft music and pleasant clinking of glasses filled the air as Sofia peered back out of the window, the grandeur of the French capital was always way too much to resist.

"Thank you," she said as the leather bound menus were deposited and she picked one up, scanning the printed words. "The venison looks delicious," she replied. "A regular amount of honesty," Sofia said with a shrug. "I don't like liars. I'm doing you a favour and as such, I don't want to discover hidden...problems," she concluded. "I don't like surprises. Unless they're jewellery. I like to plan. I don't want to find myself in uncharted territory. I'm sure you can understand."

"Pretty standard, I think. Deal?" With that, she extended a lithe hand out to Dominic with another smile. "I'd love another glass of wine. Also, you're paying for dinner tonight."

His lips twitched slightly as his fought back a smile, watching her body stiffen. Slowly, Dom allowed his head to tilt to the side as if considering his answer. As much as he didn't want to the former Death Eater chuckled, giving a shake of the head. "If you think I followed you around...I'm afraid you've gotten the wrong impression." He looked over the finished product of her work, sorted through the steps he supposed she had made to accomplish her goals. With each job he spent hours meticulously breaking it down to it's bare bones. She was working for his family and as a part of his job among the ranks, he vetted everyone. Dom had made several sacrifices for the good of his family and he would do it again and again without thought or pause. He would always do what was necessary.

"I simply mean I was a bit cautious about you. It was better to learn more about you from the work you would do rather than try and follow you around." He gave a slight shrug of the shoulders as a brow rose a bit in consideration. "You can tell a lot about a person by the way they carry out their work." A skill he learned from his father, or rather something that had been drilled into him. His father may have been a hard man but he had been right about a few things in his life, aside from the rare misguided mistakes of course.

His chuckle was soft as his lips pursed a bit. "Trust me, I may do a great many things but using careless words has never been something I'm keen on." Here he leaned forward, letting his voice drop to a whisper, as if he was preparing to reveal some deep hidden secret. "If it were to happen..." His eyes searched over her face as a smile slowly crept it's way to full lips. "you'd wish for more then one night." Sitting back in his seat brown eyes dropped down as he played with the watch on his wrist. He knew he shouldn’t flirt but he simply couldn't help himself.

His mind filled with the harsh thoughts of what a selfish woman had left in ruins. He pictured the moment he had first seen his son and how quickly he had been stolen from him in the night. The pain of those memories were still fresh and being so could always cause a frown to settle onto his handsome features. He looked more thoughtful than furious because he knew things would be changing soon, even if they didn't feel like it. He was a Professor now, he would see Cain more then he hoped he would in the past now. "My son's birthday..." It was the first time since Cain had been born that he had said the words.

No one but family knew of Cain's existence, it had been kept that way to save face apparently. There was nothing worse than a man's fiancee and child slipping away into the night to never be found or heard from again. The smirk that played on his lips gave a helping hand to the wickedness that settled in his eyes as he looked at her. "I bet all the joy is in the searching.." There he went again, flirting. The man was a creature of habit that was for sure. Beautiful women had always been a weakness for Regan men. Dominic was no different. He enjoyed beauty as much as the next man, it was just some women weren't built to live a life as a Regan.

He gave a shake of his head that caused his hair to sway in response. "I could never see you doing personal bodyguard work..." It was quite boring and far too dangerous for any one sane person. He knew, he had played personal bodyguard to a man who made it seem as if Dominic's life was of little value. "the work is too boring and the days too slow. You take me as the type of woman who likes a bit of excitement in your life." Brown eyes watched her closely as she crossed her heart, distant thoughts of his children entering his mind. Their safety and what it meant for this threat to be dealt with quickly. There were new additions to the family, ones who without proper protection would surely be easy pickings for someone looking to cause a bit of pain and strife.
His eyes moved just as hers did, taking a second to appraise her lips before looking back into her eyes. “Well, some would say it’s my job as a man to be suggestive, otherwise most conversations would be dull.” His lips twitched as his fingers drummed over the polished wood of the table, keeping her gaze. “But it was you who picked this location, so if anyone was being suggestive tonight I think it would be you Ms. Rossellini.” He leaned back, lifting his glass to finish off his drink. “Thank you.” Came the soft recognition that the waiter was at the table. He didn’t open his menu because he knew he would be having the lamb.

The man considered her words for a moment and wondered if he could be so honest. If he could say the words he had never been able to say aloud. A hand rose to shake hers confirming the deal. “Dinner was always on me.” His hand rose to call over the waiter. “A bottle of wine please, we should be ready to order when you return.” He reached out to take the waiters arm before he could move. “A good Chateau, please.” Dom waited until the man vanished before he shifted to pull the sleeve of his left arm up far enough to reveal the scar of his mark resting there.

“Another tattoo for you to admire.” His eyes were locked on her as he waited, regretting the choice he had just made. It could all end so badly, but for some reason the man didn’t care either way. He had done things as all people had and if he would be judged for them he was sure his own judgements were worse. “It’s safe to say we may have quite a few enemies…”