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As Shelby settled, I asked, “Do you want me to cry and beg for your forgiveness?”
She laughs again, the sweetest sound, a dangerously attractive one. I know I shouldn’t want to keep making her laugh in that flirty way over and over, but I also can’t seem to stop, barely even want to stop.
As I stand, we look at each other.
She’s smiling, but her eyes have a panicked quality, like she’s not quite sure where to look.
It’s not like with Matilda, where I was certain of how she felt and made it clear.
With Danni, it could be anything. Simple nerves for her first day on a job. Awkwardness at having to get a ride with her best friend’s dad.
I want to kiss her right here in the parking lot and not give a damn who sees.
Except I would because nobody gets to see her like that, ready to erupt into lust.
Just me.
“Shall we get going?” I say, breaking the spell of our longing stares.
Or my longing stare, at least, since I’ve no way of knowing if she wants me.
CHAPTER NINE
Danni
I lie in bed, staring up at the ceiling, trying not to let my hand slide down my body and between my legs. The ride home with Dominic passed without too much conversation, mostly just going over what I learned today.
No, yesterday, since it’s almost one AM.
I should be asleep, but my body’s wired, going over and over the closeness with Dominic. There was no closeness, not really, but that didn’t stop my overactive mind from imagining there was.
It doesn’t stop me from placing extra significance on every smile, every look, every joke, and every laugh.
I spent the evening with Lizzy, talking about her nursing classes for that day, then watching a movie.
All through the movie, I was sitting there, thinking about how she’d react if I looked over and told her how I felt about her dad.
She’d hate me, surely. She wouldn’t be able to understand what sort of evil person I must be, willing to tear our friendship apart.
With a sigh, I stand and head for the door. I’m thirsty, and I forgot to bring a glass up with me.
Part of me wonders if I intentionally did this, and the only reason I’m going downstairs is to satisfy the magnetic pull of Dominic like he’s tugging at me through the walls.
But Dominic isn’t sleeping downstairs. That was only last night.
Duh, obviously. It’s not like he’d crash on the couch every night.
Shelby isn’t down here, either. He’s presumably with Dominic upstairs.
I pour myself a glass of water. The kitchen tiles cool against my bare feet, my nipples feeling crazily sensitive against my PJ vest with the added cold.
Or maybe it’s more the thought of Dominic walking up behind me, slipping his hands down my shirt, finding my breasts, and growling in hunger.
Then he’d rub them possessively, paying special attention to my nipples, making them sore, excited, and even needier for his devotion.
Placing the glass on the counter, I turn, hoping and dreading that Dominic might be standing there. Hoping because it would mean seeing him again, talking, and maybe watching as his gaze moved to my braless chest.
But dreading because it would wreck Lizzy….
Or Dominic would look disgusted, not enthralled, and that would be a different sort of hell.
Returning to my bedroom, I lie down, close my eyes, and try to will sleep to come.
The important thing is work.
This is a huge chance, and I want to be fresh, alert, and focused.
But all I can think about is Dominic, his imagined breath moving over my body, the huskiness in his voice when he tells me he wants me, only me. And he’s going to show me.
I’m not sure how long I lie like this, unable to sleep.
I don’t want to check the clock because then I’ll get into the cycle of checking it again and again, and maybe I’ll bring up Facebook and start scrolling, making it more difficult.
But it feels like a long time.
Then there’s a noise outside my room.
Dominic’s low voice echoes through the hallway. “It’s okay, boy. It’s not your fault.”
I stand up, even though I know this has nothing to do with me. Dominic doesn’t need my help with whatever Shelby’s going through. He used to lead dogs into battle – or they led each other – in the most dangerous parts of the world.
But my attraction takes me to the door, my ear pressed against it.
Dominic walks by my room, and that’s when I sneeze.
Unlike going downstairs hoping to see him, this is truly by accident.
“Who’s that sneaking around, boy, eh?” Dominic says, a smirk in his voice.
“I’m not sneaking,” I whisper, cautious not to wake Lizzy.
I open the door and step into the hallway. Dominic stands with Shelby in his arms. He’s wearing nothing but a pair of shorts, so loose-fitting that I can see the outline of his manhood, huge, and…and no, I must be imagining things.
