‘Perfect,’ I sign, and he twists his hand around mine. If only he knew how much I mean that.
How perfect I think he is.
I wake up like I usually do in the morning, Rome snoring lightly next to me, his body spread out across the entire mattress. My eyes drift from his gorgeous slumbering face to the cat sitting right between his legs. If I hold my breath, I can hear him purring.
I don’t even try to interrupt the bonding, instead slipping out of bed as quietly as I can and heading to the bathroom. After riding me last night, we took a long shower, Dennis staring at us from the bathroom counter the entire time.
And when we curled up in bed, Dennis disappeared underneath it. But it seems he’s decided Rome isn’t so bad because there he is, cuddled up against him.
I brush my teeth and throw on some deodorant before quietly changing into my workout clothes. My dick is stillthrobbing a little from last night, and my legs feel weak. I think my morning squat class is going to be the death of me.
I scrawl out a message to Rome on a piece of paper and set it on the counter, letting him know that I’ll be back after my class, and I hop in my car, heading toward the gym. It’s still dark out, the sun just barely peeking over the horizon. I love the early morning glow. It reminds me of Rome when he smiles. How it lights up a fucking room.
How it lights up my life.
As I pull into the parking lot, I see a car idling near the back where I usually park. I don’t think much about it until I see someone inside.
I wave, but they don’t return the gesture. They seem to sink down a little lower in their seat.
My eyebrows meet, and I grab my keys. I’ll open up the gym and then text Thom about it. Maybe he knows something that I don’t. Maybe he forgot to tell me that he hired someone new? Or maybe they’re regretting getting up this early to attend a class.
I don’t know.
I unlock the door and push it open, flipping on the lights. Two members move in behind me, their mats in their hands.
“Got here early? You excited to see me?”
One groans, while the other lets out a laugh. “She made me come here. I want to die,” the man says, and I grin at him.
“Well, I promise to try and make it a good time.”
His eyes sweep over me, and he glances away. “If you say so.”
He sounds doubtful, but they saunter away toward the room where I’ll hold the class. I continue to flick the lights on, texting Thom in between it all. Bea should behere any minute now to run the front desk, but right now, the only people strolling in are those who are attending my class.
Thom, of course, doesn’t message me back right away, so I decide that the idling car is probably nothing at all.
I have a class to run anyway, so I focus on that, getting the music going, the beat thumping beneath our feet. We warm up slowly, my sensitive dick making my movements a little more hesitant. No one seems to mind though.
Everything goes to plan until we’re halfway through the forty-five-minute workout when the smoke alarms go off. Everyone freezes, and I see Bea rush into the room, her gaze a little frantic.
“What is it?” I ask, turning the music off.
And that’s when I see it.
Smoke is billowing down the hallway, and flames are licking at the walls.
Everything is on fire, consuming the exit in front of me.
I don’t know if there’s a way out.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
ROME
I wakeup with an inability to breathe. There’s something heavy on my chest. For a moment, I think maybe Dex is waking me up by sitting on my face, but then I feel something sharp against my pec as I move. As I peel a single eye open, orange fur encompasses my entire vision. Then I feel the rumble of a cat purring, and I realize it’s Dennis.
I shift again, and he sinks his claws deeper into me. It is not pleasant. His paws are like tiny knives burrowing into my flesh, and I have no idea how I’m going to get out of this without getting scratched to hell and back.
