Dom’s head snapped up. “What?”
“I do,” I whispered, scared to say the words too loudly. Not because I was ashamed of them, but because I was terrified of what might happen next. That maybe Dominic would turn around and say it was all a joke. That he was just fucking with me. But I knew that if I didn’t take this chance, I’d regret it forever. “I’m so hung up on you, Dom. I can’t sleep without you next to me. Can’t concentrate. Can’t fucking think about anything that isn’t you. You’re under my skin, and I don’t know how to get you out. Worse, I don’t think I want to. I…I like having you there too much.”
He moved towards me so abruptly that for a split second I thought he was about to punch me. Didn’t help when he grabbed my shirt roughly and hauled me towards him.
But he didn’t hit me.
He kissed me.
16
Dominic
Fuck. I was kissing Ryan.
I’m kissing Shadow.
This wasn’t what I’d thought would happen when I followed him from the party. Honestly, I hadn’t been able to think past erasing the hurt on his face.
But here I was. Kissing him like I needed it to survive.
It’d be a lie to say I hadn’t thought about this. I had. Especially during all those nights when I’d lain across from Ryan, his soft lips parted with sleep. It would’ve been so easy to lean over and brush his mouth with mine.
I hadn’t. Obviously. That would have been fucking weird.
Hadn’t stopped me fantasising about it though.
I’d thought kissing a man wouldn’t be any different to kissing a woman. On the surface, it wasn’t. Sure, there was the unusual sensation of stubble from where Ryan hadn’t shaved, aftershave filling my nose instead of perfume, and no real height difference, but the mechanics were all the same. Two sets of lips yielding. Two tongues seeking.
But thisfeltdifferent. I’d had a lot of kisses, but never one like this. One where everything suddenly seemed to centreon the other person. Where it felt simultaneously familiar yet somehow brand new. Like coming home after a long day and immediately bungee jumping out of a window.
I didn’t think it was because I was kissing a man though.
I thought it was because that man was Ryan.
He groaned against my mouth and I deepened the kiss. Fuck, I couldn’t get enough of his taste. Of how he was letting me take control. Of howrightit felt to wrap my arms around him and pull him so close that not even air could come between us.
All the wrongness I’d felt dancing with Gabriella faded away. Suddenly my attempts at moving on felt laughable. Because how could I move on from this? I didn’t even know whatthiswas.
Just that I wanted more of it.
My hand slid up underneath his shirt, pressing against the hard planes of his stomach. Ryan might not have thought he was all that, but he was wrong. His lean musculature reflected his quiet strength and resilience.
I couldn’t get enough.
The need to breathe had me pulling back, but I didn’t go far, resting my forehead against his as we both greedily guzzled down oxygen. “This okay?”
“Yes,” he rasped. “Keep going.”
I groaned, catching his lips once more. Moving on instinct, I pushed my knee between his thighs. As I felt his hardness against my hip, I couldn’t help but break away to moan. “Fuck, Shadow. What are you doing to me?”
He grinned against my lips as he rocked gently. “Think you’re the one doing it to me.”
Too fucking right I was. I held his gaze as I flicked open the button on his trousers, repeating the action with my own. “And I’m the only one doing it, right?”
I’d phrased it like a question, but it wasn’t. I’d never been possessive over my girlfriends, but Ryan was different. Everything was different with him.
It had been since the night he’d fallen to his knees just to call my bluff. Since he’d offered me comfort with no need for explanations.
