AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I’m starting to think that Dom might be the person who takes his coffee black. That doesn’t mind the lack of sweetness. I’m not so afraid of him leaving anymore. At least not in the capacity I used to be scared of. Meeting Dom—truly getting to know him over these weeks—has been almost reminiscent of those first months with Penelope. That gnawing feeling that I often had when forging new relationships wasn’t so strong.
I’m not so scared that I’m entirely too much for them. But while they may be the type of people who take their coffee black, who don’t mind something so intense– so bitter, I’m not just a cup of black coffee. I’m still a shot of espresso. I’m still too much for most days.
I’m still unwilling to change that about myself.
And Dom, he’s like a shot of whiskey. He’s intoxicating, almost addicting. He’s so smooth that even when he burns, I want to savor the warmth. When I’m with him, my world feels hazed, like he’s the only one inside of it. When he’s gone, everything seems so much clearer than it did before, and all I want is more of him.
People don’t think that way about a shot of espresso.
He doesn’t think that way about me.
“I don’t know why I need to keep explaining to you that I’m not going anywhere,” he said.
Not going anywhere as myfriend.
I didn’t say that, though.
“I know that,” I huffed. “But when two people go into a friends-with-benefits situation, it’s easy for wires to get crossed.” That was the most I was willing to admit, my eyes stayed glued to my plate, afraid to see his face. “Where does it end without things getting messy? Without someone getting hurt?”
I heard shuffling on his end of the table before a presence came over me. A pressure found my chin and my head was lifted to meet a pair of blazing brown eyes. “We’re friends. Benefits for not.” He leaned in closer, so close I could feel his warm breath against my lips. “But thebenefits, Mace,” he groaned, “are really damn good. For as long as you may want those benefits, then I’ll want them too.”
My eyes fell closed at the sound of his tone, my lip began to tremble in anticipation at the feel of him so close to me. I bit back a sigh of my own as my heartbeat picked up and drummed between the two of us.
When I opened my eyes, he was back in his seat across the table, leaning casually in his chair. He smirked at me as if he read and understood all of my features and emotions. “At any point, either of us can end it. If we fall in love with other people, or if we think it becomes too much, there will be no hard feelings on my end.”
My breath hitched, and I ignored the way those words stung a little. He wasn’t wrong, though. These feelings I had for him belonged only to me, and if my own heart broke over them, that would be my hurt to deal with, not his.
Dom’s eyes didn’t leave mine as he swirled his glass, brought it to his lips, and drained it. He raised one brow, a silent question. A question on where this night would lead, where the two of us would lead. He knew my answer before I spoke it, his eyes burning with lust—with sin—as if I was making a deal with the devil himself.
I was selling my soul to Dominic-fucking-Evans, and as my head bowed in a shallow nod, I couldn’t find any piece of me that wanted to say no.
Chapter 21
“Ican’tstopthinkingabout it, you know.” His voice was gruff. Almost as if my agreement had cut some kind of thread he was desperately hanging onto. Almost as if he could now unleash himself.
“You can’t stop thinking about what?”
He leaned forward, bracing his forearms on the small dining table. The sun was setting through the window to my right, illuminating him in gold. “The way you taste on my tongue.” His eyes were pure flame as they raked over me slowly, noting the way I absorbed his words; the flush to my cheeks, the fire in my own eyes. “The way you feel around my cock.”
My skin pricked in anticipation, and lightning shot between my thighs, causing me to abruptly squeeze them together and smack my knee against the leg of the table. He let out a low chuckle at my movements, which now made his effect on me crystal clear.
“This isn’t appropriate dinner table conversation,” I murmured.
His chair screeched as it slid backward behind him. I watched his arms flex as he stood and leaned across the table. He didn’t break eye contact as he slowly—deliberately—blew out the candles in the center of the table.
“Well, I’m done eating.” He held out a hand toward me. “Are you done, Mace?”
“Yes,” I said breathlessly. I took his hand and let him lead me into the main room. He began to turn to face me when I halted. “Hold on,” I said. “I’ve got a birthday present for you.”
The corner of his mouth tilted slightly. He stepped into me, and took my face in his hands. “You’ve already made this the best birthday I’ve had in years. You’ve given me more than I could have ever asked for, Macie.” He leaned in and softly pressed his lips to the tip of my nose before pulling back. “Youare the best present I could’ve received.”
I sucked in air, so much so that I coughed. He only laughed at me before leaning in to kiss me. I wondered if his words would ever stop affecting me this way. If he’d ever stop surprising me like that. Taking moments of such raw, sexual energy and creating a tenderness I’d never felt before. I wondered if he made all his friends feel that way.
I hoped not.
I shook out my thoughts and kissed him again, grabbing the hem of his shirt and lifting it in a silent demand. His lips left mine as he pulled the shirt off. I turned away from him and caught sight of a neck tie hanging off the top of his dresser. For some reason, it immediately brought me back to the way I’d felt when he had my hands tied above my head. When he awakened every desire I thought I’d buried so deep they’d never be found. When he turned me into a melted puddle of need. An idea bloomed into my mind.
I’d been dead set on discontinuing our…benefits. Yet, my mind already knew my body would betray me because I couldn’t help but make a pit stop at a certain type of store yesterday while I was waiting for our custom t-shirts to be made. Just in case I thought Dom might want to play with me again. I had to at least make an attempt at stopping myself from getting hurt, but I knew the moment he left my apartment yesterday that I wasn’t going to stay strong for long. I thought maybe I’d blown it, so I wasn’t sure what direction today would go. I had a feeling he would fail at staying away from me just as much as I’ve failed at staying away from him, and I hoped that what I was going to do next would be exactly the type of gift he’d want from me.
