I sit upright, staring at myself in the mirror of the dressing table across from me, and seeing my undone buttons has me grimacing.
"No, Jess. That's a terrible idea."
"No, it's not, I promise. You just need to keep trying. I have no doubt hedidnotice you, and he probably pretended he didn't so he could get under your skin, but we're doing this to get underhis, and if you carry on teasing him, it'll work."
"I felt desperate. It was mortifying," I add, shaking my head.
She sighs. "Yeah, I get that, but Lissa, you're easily one of the most beautiful women I've ever known, and I know for sure Dom thinksthe same. You have an effect on him, it's obvious to everyone. So, you carry on teasing him, work him up, get him frustrated, and eventually, he'll get sick of having you stuck at home with him, and hopefully he'll loosen your lead a little bit."
"Loosen my lead?" I scoff. "I'm not his pet."
"In his mind, you probably are, or he wants you to be anyway. You'd be easier to control if you were, and as I told you earlier, Dom is all about control."
Glancing at myself once more in the mirror, I groan and hang my head in defeat.
"Fine, I'll carry on trying, but only for a couple more days because if he keeps ignoring me, I fear I may lose all my confidence."
Chapter Twenty-Six
Alicia
Days have passed, and I'm still stuck in this damn apartment.
Since my day out with the girls, Dom has been home every day, and although he's practically ignored me the whole time, he's made it abundantly clear I'm not allowed to leave without his say-so.
The only times I've been outside is when I've had to walk Jellybean, and even then, I'm not alone. He sends either Leo or Percy with me.
I enjoy it when it's Leo, though, because although he doesn't talk to me like he did the first day, he still allows me to stop at the coffee shop. He'll even walk a few paces behind me while I'm on the phone to my sister as well, giving me an illusion of privacy.
Percy, on the other hand, stays by my side the whole time and doesn't allow any detours.
My plan of distracting Dom with the few skimpy pyjama sets I own hasn't been working either.
No matter how often I flaunt myself around in front of him, he keeps his head buried in his phone, staring at the screen intently, not paying me a lick of attention.
The only time he hints at the fact he's aware of my presence is when he walks into the living room every evening with a plate of dinner and sets it down beside me while I binge-watchCriminal Minds.
After four days of failing to get under his skin, I've given up on the idea, and I'm now snuggled beneath a fluffy grey blanket that covers today's frilly red outfit, stretched out on the sofa with Jellybean curled up in my lap.
When Dominic walks into the room with both our plates, I don't bother to turn my head his way, knowing he won't even meet my eyes or speak a word to me as he places the plate down before taking his seat on the armchair to the right of me.
"I don't want it," I mumble, pushing the plate away.
"You need to eat," he grunts, surprising me so much I tear my gaze away from the TV to look at him with my brows raised.
"Oh, so youdoknow how to talk then?" I retort, shaking my head.
He scoffs, scooping up a forkful of rice.
"With an attitude like that, it's no wonder I'd rather not speak to you."
Pausing my show, I throw the blanket off of my lap—regretfully disturbing Jellybean—as I stand from the sofa and glare at him.
"The only reason I have an attitude is because you're keeping me stuck here in this apartment as if I'm some sort of doll you can do with as you please. You wouldn't have to deal with me if you left the apartment!"
"But if I left, then you would, too, and we both know you'd probably create some sort of chaos and get yourself into trouble."
"I didn't get myself into any trouble last time," I tell him, shrugging. "You were the one who made a big deal out of things simply because you weren't getting updates on what was going on and was jealous thinking I was doing something with Leo."
