Dom looks at me. “I’m going to take her up and tuck her in,” he whispers, standing and lifting her from my lap, wrapping her tiny body around his torso.
“I’m going to stay for a bit,” I tell everyone. “I’m feeling cozy. I’ll see you all in the morning.”
Everyone murmurs a good night. Georgia tells me how to put the fire out when I’m ready to go up.
I close my eyes. I think I doze off for a while, until something wakes me up.
A pull, a force.
I open my eyes, and Dom is walking back down to the beach.
“Hey,” he says, taking a seat in the lounge chair next to me, leaning back and stretching his long legs out.
“Did she go down okay?”
“Yeah. I told her if she has another nightmare to get Tita Gloria, and she’ll call me.”
“Does she get nightmares a lot?”
“Less frequently now. She used to have them more last year for some reason, but it’s like she’s growing out of it now. It’s usually fine when we’re at home, because she can come sleep in my bed, which actually fits me.”
I hum. “You’re an amazing dad.”
We sit and appreciate the fire in silence. Despite its warmth, I get a chill, the hairs on my arms standing, my skin prickling with awareness.
I look over, and Dom is looking at me with an easy smile on his face.
“What?”
He shakes his head, laughing a little. “I’m thinking about what you said about competency kink.”
“You could make it its own porn category.”
I don’t have to look at him to know he’s blushing.
“The first video should be of you loading the dishwasher.”
He laughs again, leaning his head back in the chair, exposing the column of his neck to the dim light of the fire.
“Or doing that deep breathing thing you do when Frankie is pissing you off.”
He smiles. “I didn’t realize anyone noticed that.”
“Of course I did. Didn’t I tell you I like looking at you?” I hold his eyes. Gone is that lazy cockiness, the tipsiness from last night. That ‘take for himself’ attitude. There’s a nervous anticipation there instead.
Fine, then. I’m Lina. Always happy to take charge.
I stand up and walk over to him, and he watches my hips sway on the short distance across. He’s totally still again, except for his tongue darting out to wet his lips. I stop just next to him, giving him an out, but all I get is a deep, rich hunger in his dark eyes. I swing a leg over.
His large hands automatically go to my hips, gripping tightly, running down to my bare thighs. Up and down, the rough skin of his hands on my soft flesh. His eyes hungrily roam my face.
I settle further into his lap. His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows.
“You’re so soft,” he tells me.
“You’re already hard.” I grind down a little to make my point.Whoa.
His mouth goes slack.
