The problem was that the home I was in wasn't mine.
And the man who owned the home happened to be standing in the hall outside of the bathroom, waiting for me when I opened the door.
Dex's eyes were hooded, his normally sensual mouth parted, and his gaze bore a hole straight into me.
I dropped my own eyes down to the floor, the memory of what exactly had happened at Mayhem only stacking onto my misery. "Not right now, Dex," I told him in a voice that sounded more of a croak than anything. I walked right past him, heading into the living room where I flopped onto the couch, taking over the main length of it, face-down like a fussy kid. My face buried into the soft material of the pillow I set on the end of the sofathatmorning.
The floor creaked with his weight. I could sense him standing just off the side of the couch. If I turned my head, I'm sure his feet wouldhave been in my vision but I didn't do it. He just stood there for what seemed like forever.
"I'm not kidding, Dex."
He huffed. "Why?"
Why? Ohmigod. I wanted to scream again. "I'm feeling pretty worthless right now, all right?" I whispered into the cushion, just loud enough for him to hear. "The last thing I want is for you to make me feel like a patheticmoron again."
Did he say anything? No.
Instead, I felt the heat of his body get even closer right before the pillow below me was lifted,raisingmy head right along with it. A heartbeat later, he plopped into the empty spot, dropping the pillow on top of his lap so that my upper body rested on his thighs. The weight of his hand settled between my shoulder blades.
I tried sitting up onto my knees but his hand kept me down on top of him—well, the pillow. My boobs were smashed against his thigh but I didn't care. The last thing I wanted was for him to see me cry.
"Dex," I kind of whined.
He palmed the back of my neck, shifting down the couch just a bit. "Ritz."
"I don't want to hear it right now."
Dex made a humming noise. "I'm not gonna talk shit to you right now," he said in a silky, low voice. "I wanna know what the fuck had you screamin' in the shower, babe."
I hated him. Just a little.
"First I thought it was me that was makin' you cry but after a while, I figured I couldn't have made you that mad."
"Don't flatter yourself," I groaned. "You made me mad," I turned my mouth just to the side so I wouldn't drool all over the pillow. "But no, I'm not going to cry over you calling me ugly names and being a total dick."
He groaned, the hand on the nape of my neck tightened. His fingers massaging the sides. "I wasprettyfuckin' pissed."
"Anytime you're pissed, you're always reallyfriggin’pissed," I explained to him, earning a snicker from the big man beneath me. "Youwere ajerk."
Another groan. His hand slid over to my right shoulder blade. "You were bein' an idiot, Ritz."
"So you had to call me a dumb little shit in front of your friends?"
He didn't answer. Dex's large palm swept over to my other shoulder, cupping that one, too. "Lu told me I was too harsh with you," he admitted in what I could only assume was a contrite voice. "I was worried, all right?"
Hmm.
"I was plannin' on gettin' home and tannin' your ass like Ma used to do to me." His fingers went right back to my neck, the palm kissing my spine. "I don't really think you're a dumb little shit," he said.
I turned my head the other way to face his stomach. "Oh?"
"You're just a little shit, babe," Dex murmured. "You wanna tell me what all thatmessin the shower was about?"
No, I didn't. Yet, there I was opening my mouth. "My dad's an asshole and an idiot."
"Whoa there, tiger. Watch the potty mouth," said the man that dropped the f-bomb at leastonehundred times a day. Dex's long fingers swept down my spine all the way to where the elastic on my shorts were. A small part of me recognized that this was too intimate but the warm reassurance was exactly what I needed and wanted. "What happened?"
"He has another kid." I totallywheezedout the words. "My mom was friggin' dying, losing all of her hair, throwing up every day, and this asshole was off having babies with some lady, Dex." I gasped. "Does he not know what the hell a condom is used for? What kind of a selfishjackassdoes that?"
