We sleep in small intervals after finding our release with one another, pausing to catch our breath and close our eyes. Sometimes it’s only for a handful of minutes, others it’s an hour. But it’s never long before one of us glides across the other’s body and we're back at it again.
I’m used to Dominique's rough brand of pleasure. To being dominated by him between the sheets. And the first two times he takes me is like that. But everything is… I shiver thinking about it.
Dominique slowed our kisses and gentled his touch before settling me low on his hips and lying back on his pillow, watching as I sank down onto his length.
His expression was open, emotions unmasked. I don’t know if he realized the finality of what we were doing. If he acknowledged the way I was saying goodbye.
He falls asleep around four in the morning, and I wait ten minutes, assuring myself he won’t wake up for a while now before slipping free from his arms to retrieve my dress from where we discarded it earlier.
Slipping into the material, I give his naked, sleeping form one last look before forcing my feet to move. This is goodbye. Not forever. We’ll see each other again. But at the McIntire dinner, he said he’d accepted an offer from the Richland Royals. And while I know now that there was nothing for me to worry about with Tamara, I also realize I can’t put myself through that again.
With my earlier hurt still fresh in my mind, I walk out of his house. Every step I take away from him makes the hole in my heart tear more, but I don’t stop.
Head held high, I try to find comfort in the fact that this time, I’m the one walking away.
TWENTY-TWO
DOMINIQUE
Iwake to find the space beside me empty and the sheets already cold. Looking around the room, I don’t spot Kasey or any sign of her having been here last night. That’s okay. I’ll track her down later. Remind her of that fact she can’t keep running away. Sooner or later we’re going to talk, and if I have it my way, it’ll be the next time I see her.
Throwing on a pair of shorts, I go straight to the kitchen to turn on the coffee pot but find that it’s already on. Frowning, I go to the living room and look out the window. Aaron’s Subaru is still gone from our driveway.
Hmm… Maybe one of us left it on the day before? Turning back, I come to a hard stop when my gaze lands on a shirtless Aaron seated on one of the barstools. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I take him in again. Still there. Not hallucinating.
“When did you get in?” I ask, eyeing him warily as I pour myself a cup of coffee. Is that why Kasey bolted this morning? Did she hear him when he got in?
“Before you got home and banged my baby sister all night.”
Fuck.My stomach drops.
I open my mouth. Close it. Consider my words.Fuck.
Aaron moves around me toward the cupboard and refills his coffee mug. “Take your time,” he says, and walks back to his seat. “I can wait.”
I scrub my hand over my face. None of the explanations I have sound good enough. “Don’t know what to say to that,” I admit with a grimace. This is what I’d been trying to avoid.
He works his jaw and levels me with a knowing look before leaning back on the counter. He blows over his coffee before taking a sip, his attention never leaving my face.
“How long?”
I consider lying, but I get the feeling he either knows, or has a solid suspicion for when shit with Kasey and I started. Lying to him now will only make things worse.
“Since your mom passed away.”
He nods. I’m having a hard time reading him. I expected him to blow up. Shout. Or maybe take a swing at me. What I did not expect is this detached inquisition.
“So instead of looking out for my little sister, like you promised to—“ he holds a hand up, stopping me from defending myself, not that I have much of a leg to stand on here, “you take advantage of her when she’s grieving and think to yourself,hey, now sounds like a great time to get my dick wet.”
“It wasn’t like that.”
His expression is mocking. “No? Then what the fuck is it like, Dom? Because from where I’m sitting, you took advantage of the most important person in my life. The person I’m supposed to protect from assholes like you.” He shakes his head, his lip curling in disgust. “I trusted you, man.”
“I know. I didn’t mean for shit to happen the way it did, but—“
“But what?” he demands. “What happens now, Dom? Is it serious? Are you dating my sister now?” He doesn’t give me the chance to answer. “Of course not. Dominique Price doesn’t commit. He doesn’t do relationships. You fuck and then you move on. Just this time, you made my sister one of your whores.”
“Don’t call her that.” There’s a warning in my voice. I don’t care if he’s pissed with me. If he calls her a whore again, I’m knocking his lights out.
