“Tell me again,” I beg, sneaking a small bite of bruschetta because I am nothing if not a foodie, even in the throes of passion.
“The gnocchi recipe? Ah yes, well first you need to find a certain type of flour?—”
I give him a small push from the hand still on his thigh and quark an eyebrow at him. He flashes me a feral grin then drags my chair closer so that I’m positioned between his thighs. His other hand comes up to tuck an errant strand of hair behind my ear.
He leans in, his lips hovering near the shell of my ear. “Oh, you mean that I’m ridiculously, absolutely, over the moon in love with you?”
I shiver in response. I tuck my head and lean in for another kiss because I can’t help myself. I drape my arms over hisshoulders as I feel his hands gently land on either side of my waist. This kiss feels like a lazy Sunday afternoon. We take our time, tongues exploring, slow and sensual. He’s gentle but in control, tilting my chin up for a deeper angle. His tongue meets mine again in languid strokes. It takes longer for us to pull away from each other this time, but when we finally do I feel satiated, for now.
“I have something else to show you,” he says to me, his lips plump from our kisses. He stands and offers me his hand, a gesture that leaves me feeling giddy and to be honest, kind of like a princess.
He leads me around the corner to where the less popular book sections are. There are candles here too but fewer, leaving us draped in shadows. He stops more abruptly than I expect and my face collides with his back. He chuckles and pulls me around his body, my hands using his waist as a point of reference in the low lighting.
“You all right there, Hoot? You seem more like a baby duck,” he mocks me as usual, but this time he brings my hand up and places a kiss on each of my knuckles, his gaze never leaving mine. Little flutters tickle my belly as I watch him in adoration.
“I’m not a baby duck. It’s just very dark, okay?” I say.
“Okay, okay.” He releases my hand to put both of his hands up in feigned surrender. “Let me turn on this one fixture and you’ll see.” He flicks a switch. A museum quality display light beams down on us brightly. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust before they land on what it’s illuminating.
It’s a…ladder?A built-in ladder, with brass wheels that leads to…
My eyes trail up the steps of the shelf to where my favourite section sits perfectly within reach. I gasp and begin my ascent. Hand over hand I climb the short distance it takes until I reach feminist horror. Not only is my favourite section now withinreach without the use of a questionably wobbly table, but there have been new titles added.
I look down at Dominic whose hands are braced on either side of the ladder, securing me within his grasp if I were to slip.
“You did this?” I ask breathlessly. He shrugs easily,his nonchalance reaching a new peak. “This is incredible. How did you even dothis?” I ask incredulously.
“I had a lot of help from Ellora actually,” Dominic says quickly. “I will tell you anything you want to know but please, come down the ladder. It’s dark and I don’t want you to slip.” The concern in his voice is adorable. “Plus, your ass looks amazing from this angle and it’s making me question my restraint,” he adds, his voice now laced with lust. I smile smugly, and just to tease him, I wiggle my hips the teeniest amount. I hear a loud sigh from right below me. I chance a look and see his head bowed, hands clenched around the sides of the ladder.
“You’re killing me,” his voice turns gravelly, full of pent-up restraint. It’s my turn to chuckle as I carefully step down, rung by rung until my feet are firmly on the ground. I turn to see Dominic’s arms still tightly gripping either side of the ladder, right at my shoulders. He’s caged me in and the look in his eyes is absolutely feral.
“I’ve held back for so long Celeste, don’t tempt me with overstepping that boundary now.” His words are cautionary but the small uptick of his lips says he’s hoping that I do tempt him.
My returning grin is positively feline as I wet my lips and tilt my head to the side, exposing my jaw and part of my neck to him. “What if I have no boundaries?” I taunt, biting my lip.
His inhale is ragged, as he draws his gaze from my toes to my eyes. “Oh, you have boundaries. And I wouldn’t love you the way I do if you weren’t as confident to protect and uphold those boundaries. This is why I built you this ladder. Not because you need a knight in shining armour to reach those books for you,but someone who will respect you enough to help you reach them yourself. You are an incredibly strong and independent woman. But right now? I want to throw all those notions out the fucking window because you’re mine, Celeste.” He all but pleads my name, making my heart melt and my core heat. My body leans in closer of its own volition, pulling us inches apart. My heart races in my chest, this tension shooting adrenaline through my veins. I feel all the held back emotion settle over me like a warm blanket tucked around my heart. I’m his, and he’s mine.
“Say it again,” I pant, breathless. He pulls back, head tilted in confusion. “My name, say my name again.” This time I’m pleading.
His smirk annoys me and turns me on all at once. His thumb and forefinger tilt my chin so that I meet his eyes. “I’ll say your name like a prayer, Celeste.”
His fingers trail down the column of my throat, between the valley of my breasts, across the fabric of my dress that feels too hot, too tight, before his hands move back to bracing the ladder again.
“You have a wicked tongue, Dominic Miller,” I tease.
“You have no idea what kind of wicked things I will do with my tongue.”
My lips part in shock. This dance we’ve been doing, this pretending and looking the other way, has finally ended. What’s left is the heat that’s been simmering for months between us. My hands trail up the hard plains of his stomach, to his chest, then hold tight to either side of the collar on his button down. I let my eyes follow the trail my hands just drew across his body, meeting his stare, the intensity almost too much to bear. We are two pieces of kindling, a suspended tension between us that we both know will ignite with the slightest of touch. I dare to walk in those flames.
“Ladies first,” I say, my voice barely audible over the sound of my heart thumping in my ears. I slowly lean forward to the space between his open top button. I kiss the exposed skin, warm and smooth. My lips part and I drag my tongue up the column of his throat, his head tipping backwards as the most seductive groan slips past his lips. That sound alone makes the apex between my thighs throb with need. His hands drop from the ladder to hold my waist. His grip is firm but not enough to bruise. He leans me back against the ladder behind me, his mouth crashing to mine with a sense of urgency I’ve never seen from him. Dominic’s usual calm, cool demeanour is nowhere to be seen as my tongue meets his stroke for stroke. We pull away breathless, our foreheads resting against each others.
“I want you,” he gets out between breaths, his jaw tight. “I want you full of me every day. I want your head full of thoughts of me, I want your belly full of food I cook for you, and here?” He hikes up one of my legs, wrapping it around his waist, making my dress ride up as he slowly grinds into my core. “I want to fill you up right goddamn now.”
His stare burrows down to my soul, his words igniting a blaze in my veins, threatening to burn me from the inside out.
“Please, Dom. Don’t hold back. Not anymore, I’m yours.” Just as those final words pass my kiss-swollen lips, he drops to his knees, my one hiked leg settling on his shoulder. Before I can move he lifts my other leg up to rest on his other shoulder, leaving his head between my knees and my ass firmly planted on the ladder step behind me. His eyes lock on mine. “Then be a good girl, and spread those sexy legs for me.”
I whimper as I do as he says, parting my legs further for him, baring my thong to him as my knees arch gently atop his broad shoulders.“You know, Hoot,” he says, his hands tracing small circles on my thighs making me shiver in response. “That night you came to my apartment and I cooked for you for thefirst time.You took a bite and made this breathy little moan that I haven’t been able to get out of my head.”
