She doesn’t wait for me to say anything, just flounces off. But her words have me looking around. This place is close to Dom’s lodge. I could totally work here. At least here I could wear semi-normal clothes and not skimpy skirts. Although I’m sure I’d get better tips if I did, but Dom would never allow me to show off the goods.
My eyes find his in the dim light, and a small smile crosses my lips as I think about breaking a habit of a lifetime, and settle down, making a life here with him. I take my turn and bend over the pool table. My heavy breasts press against the green cloth. My top button pops on my cardigan, revealing my full cleavage. Oops.
His eyes flare as if in warning, but I don’t miss the flash of desire burning behind his dark irises. If I play my cards right, I can rile him up enough to fuck me out of my head.
My core clenches in anticipation, but it’s my heart that melts at the thought of having him and a home to go back to.
28
POPPY
Dom left the lodge early this morning as he has every day since we arrived. He says he goes for a jog. He’s the only person I know that takes a sandwich with him, then comes back and cooks us both breakfast. I honestly don’t know where he puts it.
He’s in the office now. I’m not exactly sure what he does in there, either. I don’t think I want to know. He says he helps find missing people, but somehow, I don’t think it’s kids on milk cartons he’s looking for.
After reading my book, I place it back onto the bookcase, fold the blanket in half and rest it over the armchair. I wander down the hall to Dom’s office, hoping we can go for a walk now the rain has stopped.
With two knocks on the office door, I creak open the wood. “Did you want to go for a walk while the rain’s stopped?” I know he won’t let me out without him, and I’ve stopped fighting him on it for now. At least while Malcolm is still on the loose.
Dom closes his laptop and wheels his chair back from the desk, patting his thighs for me to sit.
I saunter over to him with a smile on my face and a skip in my heart. Even in a t-shirt and sweats, he’s the sexiest man alive, though I’d never tell him that, of course. His ego is big enough, along with his dick.
Sitting on his lap sideways, my lips instinctively lock with his. Our tongues tangle together, and he groans into my mouth as his hands move around my body.
He pulls away with a smirk. “I know your game, little fox.”
“What’s that?” My eyebrows pinch together, but my core clenches when he utters the words little fox.
“You want to get me back in the woods for another game of fox and the hound.”
Thinking of the other day has my pulse racing. “I wouldn’t mind another game, would you?”
He chuckles darkly. “You like being hunted?”
“The thrill of the chase isn’t only felt by the hunter.”
“It’s not the chase that I love so much, Red. It’s me catching you.” His hand moves over the creases on my belly, tingles from his fingertips make their way to my centre. I jump from his lap before I change my mind and have him right here in the office chair.
“Come on, hunter.” I tug his arm. “Let’s go for a walk before it rains again.”
He stands and pats my bottom. “Best get a raincoat.”
I lift my jacket from the hook, feeling my lipstick rattle in my pocket. I apply a fresh coat, knowing he likes the red. Tingles course through my entire body with the anticipation of what’s coming as I slip on my pumps.
Dom pulls a hoodie over his head. Dark eyes bore into me like that of a hungry beast. “Ready?”
I nod, unable to speak when he looks at me like that. After spending so much time with him, he still makes my blood run hot with one look, just like he did when we met in the club.
We step onto the porch. Dom locks the door, resetting the alarm system. His rough hand takes mine and our fingers interlace just like last night when he took me out, as if showing everyone I was his.
The gesture now feels more protective and loving. It’s not for anyone else’s benefit except ours, making me feel closer to him than when we’re making love, or fucking, as he calls it. He can call it fucking all he wants, but I see the love he has for me in his eyes. I feel it with every tender kiss, and I hear it with every trembling breath as he fills me up.
My hound has a soft side, and I’ve no doubt he’s loyal, unlike most guys I know. As we walk through the trees, I take a deep breath, inhaling the humid air, damp moss, and pine. It’s so refreshing, exhilarating even. Being here with Dom makes it all that more uplifting.
“So how much of this land belongs to you?” I ask, loving the outdoor space he has here.
“It follows the lake just around to the side and stretches up to the road.” He points in different directions, as if pointing to the lake and the road, but all I see are trees. “My pa used to hunt and fish here. It was his church in his solitude.”
