He would. And, if I thought we could just be friends, maybe I’d ask.
But Dom wouldn’t settle for that. He’d want more. And I couldn’t give him that. I’d done it once, and still bore the scars to prove it.
Shovelling two sugars into his cup, I finished making the tea. If he didn’t like it, I could make him a fresh one. It was the least I could do given how he’d taken care of me.
I carried both mugs into the bedroom, put them on my small bookshelf, and cleared my throat. Dominic didn’t stir, too deeply asleep.
For a few seconds, I just watched him. Dominic’s beauty hadn’t lessened with age. If anything, he was more breathtaking now than ever before. Even covered instubble and with bags under his eyes, there was no denying that. I studied the lines of his face, my fingers twitching for a pencil so I could note down each and every difference.
No. I didn’t do that now, and for a very good reason. One I’d do well to remember.
I took a deep breath and touched his shoulder. “Dom?”
He jumped awake like I’d electrocuted him. He bolted upright, his eyes swinging wildly around the room before landing on me. “Shit, I fell asleep.”
“You didn’t need to stay,” I said quietly, handing him his cup.
“Don’t be stupid,” he said, grunting in thanks as he sipped his tea. From the small smile he gave me, I’d got the sugar right. The knowledge melted something in my chest. “You had the flu, Ry. You weren’t in any fit state to be left alone. Was worried I’d have to call a doctor at one point.”
I perched on the edge of my bed. The bed clad in sheets that I hadn’t put on. “I was that bad?”
Dom’s face darkened. “Yeah. Fucking scared me, to be honest. What would’ve happened if I hadn’t been here?”
“Guess we’ll never know,” I said lightly as my mind took me back to another night, when another Walker man had found me suffering and saved my life.“I imagine someone would’ve noticed at some point.”
“Hopefully it wouldn’t have taken four days.”
I froze. “I’ve been out of it forfour days?” Dom nodded and I was on my feet in an instant. “Shit! Oh fuck, fuck,fuck.”
I tore around the room like a tornado while Dom watched in bemusement. “What’s the panic for, Shadow?”
“I need to let work know,” I snapped. “I had several big meetings. Oh fuck, I’m so fired.”
Suddenly, Dom was behind me, his hand squeezing the back of my neck. “Calm down, Shadow. I let them know.”
I whipped my head around. “You did? How?”
“Using the wonders of modern technology,” Dom said drily, handing me my phone. “I searched your email for ‘illness’ and contacted the person you messaged last time. Then I messaged the guy on Teams, just to be certain.”
A lump formed in my throat. “Thank you.”
“Can’t have you getting in trouble.” He smiled softly.
I found myself smiling back. “You never used to care about the rules.”
“I still don’t.” He was stroking the side of my neck with his thumb in a distracting manner. “But never ones that’ll have negative consequences for you.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him that him interfering in my life was going to have negative consequences for me. But then I thought about the bags under his eyes. The tubs of food in my fridge. How clean and tidy my flat was.
And the words turned to ash.
“Thank you,” I said instead. “Seriously, you didn’t need to stay here this whole time. Or clean my flat…or cook for me. And since when do youcook?”
Dom’s laugh was throaty. “I’m a man of many talents now, Shadow. Maybe you’ll let me show you others some time.”
I ignored the innuendo. Gently detaching myself, I moved over to the bookshelf and picked up the book on top. “Been reading?”
“Couldn’t stare at you like a weird stalker the whole time.”
