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She blew, wincing at the awful sound. But his expression didn’t change. He simply wiped her nose and threw the tissue away.
Then he leaned his hands on the counter on either side of her hips. “I want to insist that you have nothing to do with those assholes ever again. But I don’t have that right.”
He sounded very put out by that.
“I don’t . . . I don’t think I’m going to be in a hurry to call them.”
“I want you to have closure. I don’t want them renting space in your head. But at the same time, I want to protect you from being hurt. I don’t want them to harm you anymore. However, if you need closure, if you need to call them to tell them how you feel, then I will back you. But I want to be with you.”
“I . . . while that sounds good in theory, like I could finally tell them every way they hurt me, I know it won’t make any difference. All they will do is twist things. I’ll be the terrible daughter who blames them for everything. I know the way their minds work. Patrick was their golden child. While I’m the turd the dog left on the front lawn.”
“You stop that,” he said fiercely. “You’re no one’s turd.”
It sounded so stupid, that she found herself laughing.
“Hmm. I might not have quite worded that right,” he grumbled. But his lips twitched.
Leaning forward, she placed her face in his chest, avoiding the wet patch. “I think you worded that perfectly. Thank you, Dominic.”
“For what, my darling girl?”
“For being here for me. For not dismissing my feelings or making me feel like I’m a hysterical idiot with mommy and daddy issues.”
“No one should ever make you feel less, Gwen,” he told her. “Because you’re a star. Shine bright, baby. Because that’s who you are.”
She gathered her strength to lean away from him, even though she could happily stay curled up against him all night. “This isn’t the way I thought dinner was going to go.”
“No?”
“Hmm. No. I really didn’t think I’d offload some childhood trauma, then cry on your lap and have you blow my nose like a child.”
“How did you expect it to go?” he asked as he tenderly brushed her hair back off her face.
“Well, there’s a reason I put on a skirt and left off my underwear.”
He froze. Then he glanced down at her. She heard him swallow.
“You’re not wearing underwear?”
“Nope.”
“Darling girl, you do surprise me.”
“In a good way, I hope.”
“Oh, yes. Now, show me.”
21
“What?” Gwen stared at him in shock.
“Show me your bare pussy.”
Holy. Crap. She hadn’t thought that through, had she?
“And before you start to think about all the ways you aren’t enough, you need to listen to me and hear me. You are everything. Got me? There is nothing about you that I don’t admire and want. Okay?”
That was intense.
And maybe at another time, she might have tried to run. That was her go-to reaction when things got scary.
But right then . . . it was everything she needed to hear.
You’re a star, Gwen. Shine bright.
She drew her skirt up.
“Spread your legs.”
She was grateful for his direction. It meant she didn’t have to think.
She just had to obey.
So she parted her legs. To her shock, he crouched down so he could stare at her.
“Dominic!” she squealed, trying to close her legs.
“Gwen, look at me.”
She glanced down into his stern face.
“Did I give you permission to close your legs?”
Holy. Crap.
“N-no.”
“That’s right. I didn’t. So keep them open while I look at you.”
She gulped. Did he like what he saw?
Suddenly, he groaned. “Fuck me, darling girl. If I knew you were sitting at the dinner table with no panties on, I’d have had myself a feast.”
“What do you mean? You ate dinner.”
“But I didn’t have dessert. Time to remedy that. Lean back against the mirror and then put your feet up on the edge of the counter.”
What . . . what was happening right now?
“Gwen,” he said firmly. “If you want to stop anything, say red. Tell me you understand. Repeat it back.”
“If I want to stop anything, I say red. What . . . what are you going to do?”
“Nothing that you won’t like, I promise. But I might push your comfort levels slightly.”
Shit.
“This . . . it’s not the reason why I didn’t wear panties. I wanted to . . . I mean, I haven’t . . .” She stared down at his crotch. Was he hard?
“What did I say about reciprocation? I’m not eating you out, expecting anything from you in return. I’m going to do it because I’m a selfish bastard who wants you to come all over my face.”
“Dominic!”
“What?” He grinned at her. “Am I not allowed to say that I want to eat you until you drown me in your pleasure? That I want to lie on my bed and have you ride my face while I finger your ass? Can I not say those things, darling girl?”
