Love Her or Lose Her

by Tessa Bailey

  “What are you looking at down there, huh?” Dominic panted, putting his middle finger on her clit and jiggling it until the motion blurred. “I’ll tell you. You’re looking at the inevitable, Rosie. Me inside you. Is inevitable. Us fucking like animals on the floor is inevitable. That’s how it’s always going to be, because you own my urges. You created them and you satisfy them.”

  “Yes, yes, yes,” she chanted, her open mouth moving just above the carpet. “I want to satisfy you. I need to.”

  He slid his fingers into her hair, gripping, tilting her head back until she was looking at the ceiling. “You’ll satisfy me by proving I fuck you right.” His thrusts slowed but didn’t lose an ounce of effectiveness as he continued to enter her, grinding deep with powerful circles of his hips. “We both know you’re not done for the night. You might hold out for a week every time, but once those panties drop, you can ride me until morning. Isn’t that right, honey girl?”

  His words tightened the bolts in her middle, cranked them until her thighs were jelly, shaking, another release sailing toward her on a tumultuous sea.

  “You really have to wonder why I stay jacked? I got my wife’s greedy little pussy to satisfy—wouldn’t trade it for anything on this earth, either. I handle my business.”

  When Dominic let go of her hair and continued to rub her clit in perfect strokes, she broke. Couldn’t hold on any longer. Her body jolted and shuddered, the rush of sensations heightening when Dominic’s tongue licked up her spine, his erection pressing deep inside her, giving her inner walls that delicious flesh to seize on. “Dominic.”

  “Don’t worry,” he growled, cinching his hips back and punching them forward, wrapping a forearm around her waist to hold her steady. “I’m taking my turn.”

  Sobbing, dizzy, Rosie nonetheless planted her hands and knees, wanting to give Dominic the same relief he’d given her. Craving the chance to be the instrument that got him there. Instead, she was hauled off the ground, dangling in her husband’s arms for one step, two, before being tossed onto the bed. He grabbed her ankles and flipped her over and—God. My God. She almost had her third orgasm simply from watching Dominic fist his engorged arousal and position his bulky body between her thighs, panting, sweat shining on his brow, falling forward on a curse, and pressing the tip inside her.

  “Fuck yes, Rosie, that’s how I love it.” He plunged his erection inside her halfway, then drew it out, smacking himself against the seam of her private flesh. “You know I love it all soft and satisfied. Don’t have to worry about waiting until you get comfortable with every fat inch.” He thrust deep to the soundtrack of her scream and gathered her wrists above her head, ramming his hips forward. “I can just ride my woman and listen to that slick slide of my cock taking her higher. And you are going higher again, aren’t you, honey girl? Can’t help it after coming twice. A couple of strokes of that sensitive clit and you’ll tighten up like a fucking dream. Again and again.”

  This was her heaven. No denying it. Having her hands pinned, being filled by Dominic, nowhere to go. No way to escape the quickening of her body. She could only spread her legs and absorb the weight of him traveling up and back on top of her. A vessel on the water, cresting the waves and plunging back down. Rising and slamming. Her husband’s hips bucked, his teeth leaving marks on her neck, his thumbs pressing into the insides of her wrists, as if searching for her pulse so he could match it. And she swore he did. As her heartbeat kicked into a sprint, the slap of Dominic’s manhood against her happened in faster succession. Without cease or time to prepare, his flesh tunneled into her again and again, hungry grunts coming from his chest, his mouth. Delivered into her neck, they vibrated through her, and she gloried in the using of her body. In that moment, she was this man’s mate, and he was in need, and it was as simple as that.

  “Christ. Oh Christ.” He raked his teeth over her shoulder, his hands frantically gripping her knees and pushing them up to her shoulders, pressing down with his entire muscular frame and sending euphoria coursing through Rosie. “Ten years later and I still can’t believe what a tight little fuck you are. My tight fuck,” he groaned, angling his hips and—

  “Ohhh. Yes.” Her vision went black, then sparkly, as the base of his driving erection journeyed over her clit. Her fingers flexed in his grip, back arching. “Dominic, don’t stop. Right there. Please.”

  “I got you. I’ve always got you.”

  “Please.”

  Jaw clenching, he bore down with his lower body, and she screamed, a climax tearing through her like teeth one moment, utter bliss the next. “God. Oh my God. Oh my God!”

  His forehead dropped to hers. “Mine. You are mine. You are my fucking life.”

  “I’m yours,” she sobbed, moisture leaking from her eyes, body on fire, heart under attack. “Yours, Dominic. Come inside me. Show me who I belong to.”

  A choked sound fell from his mouth and his body tensed. Rosie clenched him with her intimate muscles for everything she was worth, moaning at the incredible vision above her. This beautiful man floating on the edges of another plane. One they could only travel to when they touched. His flesh jerked inside her, his mouth falling open, hissing her name, big body trembling enough to shake the bed.

  “Rosie. Rosie. Fuuuuuuck. So good, honey. So sweet and tight.” He thrust one more time and fell on top of her, muttering brokenly into her hair, his hips rolling like they couldn’t help it. “Mine. Need my wife. Need her.”

  Rosie was already halfway to losing consciousness, the tumult of emotions and physical satisfaction leaving her a pile of mush. The last thing she remembered was Dominic kissing her cheeks, her forehead, her mouth, then turning her onto one side and tucking her into the warmth of his body.

  What do we do in the morning?

  That was her final thought before everything faded to dark.

  Chapter Twenty

  Dominic woke up to the sound of his phone vibrating. His eyes cracked open and blinked back closed against the early-morning light. His phone wasn’t on the bedside table of the hotel room, and he resented the idea of getting up to find it, because for the first time in . . . he couldn’t remember how long, his wife was naked and wrapped around him, breathing evenly against his shoulder. His arm was asleep and it could stay that way, for all he cared.

  They didn’t do this anymore. Cuddling. Unconscious or conscious. When they touched, it was an explosion of lust. Greedy. When it was over, they went about their regularly scheduled program. Rosie went to shower. Not wanting to admit he needed the comfort and intimacy afterward, Dominic went out to the shed and fixed something or simply went to sleep. They hadn’t gravitated toward each other in the dark and clung like this since those months before he’d been deployed.

  How had he survived for years without this?

  Rosie hummed drowsily in her sleep and the vibration went through him, tumbling end over end in his stomach. His cock stirred against the soft sheets, and he tucked his hips back, not wanting to wake her up just yet. She was too beautiful like this. There wasn’t a time when she wasn’t, but the trust it took to surrender to his protection in sleep was humbling. That trust had been missing—no way around it now. Rosie might have trusted him to provide, to be faithful, to protect her with his life, but she’d been keeping her heart guarded.

  Regret clogged his throat. Why hadn’t he recognized sooner that his contribution to their marriage wasn’t enough? At what point had he forgotten the moments like this? They should have been placed ahead of all others. Holding her in the expensive bed with dawn breaking over the skyscrapers in the distance, he was on the verge of being . . . enough. This was what she needed. Affection. Words. Maybe that was the only answer and he didn’t have to search any further.

  His wife rolled closer and snuggled into his side, resting a closed fist in the center of his chest. God almighty. Dominic breathed through his nose and closed his eyes. This was heaven on earth. She was soft and sweet and he never wanted to move. Words. Encouragement.
He could learn to give his wife those things on a regular basis and this would be his. Last night was proof that he could earn her trust by letting her fly, by supporting her. By being there to lift her up when she needed it. And she did need it. He’d learned from the mistake of his silence and would never let that need go unfulfilled again.

  Dominic reached under the fluffy down comforter and trailed a hand over the curve of her hip, smiling softly when her lips popped open and a breath shook out. Not awake, but definitely getting there. He should wake her up, drive her home, and tell her she’d have the rest of the money for her restaurant soon. It was Saturday and neither of them was working. Maybe he could convince her to test her signature asado dish out on him.

  Jesus, last night she’d called herself his out loud. Something had shifted between them. So while his gut was screaming at him to tell Rosie about the house he’d bought in secret—the sale of which would fund her restaurant—the absolute last thing he wanted when they’d just risen from the ashes was to crumble them into dust again. Unable to draw a decent breath around the panic, Dominic buried his nose in her hair and inhaled.

  Rosie wanted the restaurant. He would give that to her. He had to.

  His conscience spoke from the back of his brain, urging him to wake up his wife and just be honest. Lay everything out there. How much he loved her and wanted to make her happy. How he’d put her restaurant aspirations on the back burner and selfishly pursued the dream he’d thought they shared—a house. How he’d been taught to equate showing emotions with weakness, so he’d pushed her away, instead of keeping his walls down, the way they’d been when he was younger. Before he’d looked around and decided his only offering to Rosie was hard work. Reliability. Instead of confiding in her that he didn’t feel like enough, he’d fallen into the pattern he’d been shown his whole life. Head down, work hard, don’t reveal a single chink in the armor. If he just opened his mouth right here and now, they could walk out of this room with no secrets between them.

  Do it.

  Or he could never tell her about the house and stay on track. Follow the plan. Fix this.

  Needing to get his head straight, Dominic carefully laid Rosie among the pillows and got out of bed, already missing her soft curves against him. Missing her breath, her scent, and her sounds.

  I’ll be a better husband to you, honey girl. I promise.

  Dominic ran a hand over his shaved head and stooped down to retrieve the phone from his jeans pocket. There was one missed call and one text message from Stephen. Since he’d essentially abandoned his friends last night, it was probably a good idea to call Stephen and let him know he was more than fine. Sending one final glance at Rosie where she lay in the bed, Dominic dressed quickly, pocketed Rosie’s room key, and stepped into the hallway. He fell into a green velvet chair in the elevator area and hit call.

  “Oh! Well, if it isn’t the phantom menace. Thanks for letting me know you’re alive.”

  “Christ.” Dominic dragged a hand down his face and laughed. “Calm down, Mom.”

  There was some shuffling around in the background and a door closed. “You did the right thing disappearing. What a scene. They’re probably going to ban Long Islanders from the club and call it the Castle Law.”

  “Shit. What happened?”

  “Wes and Bethany happened, mainly. Which really pissed off my wife, because she likes being the center of attention. It’s been a great night slash morning for me.”

  “Sorry to hear that,” Dominic said, realizing his chest felt lighter than it had in years. How long had he been living with an anvil on his chest? “What do you mean, Wes and Bethany happened?”

  “I mean,” Stephen said, drawing out the word, “Bethany went inside after Rosie to see what was keeping her and apparently handed off a room key?”

  “Yeah, I might know something about that.”

  “How nice for you. My wife isn’t even speaking to me.” His friend blew out a harried breath. “Anyway, after you two left, my sister let some dude at the bar buy her a drink. Before she could take a sip, Wes showed up and drank it—a pink martini, too, so remind me to give him shit about that—and paid the dude back.”

  “What did Bethany do?”

  “What do you think?”

  “Raised hell.”

  “Ding, ding, ding. Good thing the music was loud, because she tore a strip off his ass.” Stephen’s laugh was kind of bemused. “To be fair, I’m pretty sure he did the same to her. I think I really like this guy.”

  “Yeah, he’s all right. Not bad on the job site, either.” Dominic stood up so he could look down the hallway toward Rosie’s room. Logically, he knew she couldn’t have left without getting on an elevator, but he was . . . lovesick. Might as well call it what it was. Having Rosie out of his sight was causing him physical discomfort. “What happened with Travis and Georgie—”

  “Don’t. Don’t bring it up. I just ate breakfast.”

  “They did the opposite of Wes and Bethany, huh?”

  Stephen made a disgusted sound. “Let’s just say you’re not the only ones that needed to get a room. You’d think they hadn’t seen each other in a year.”

  “Gotcha.” Dominic chuckled. Normally, he hated relationship talk of any kind. Why? Because it forced him to reflect on his own shortcomings? Yeah, that must have been it. He’d convinced himself his marriage was normal, if not perfect. In reality, so much had been broken, there almost hadn’t been enough glue to put it back together. “Thank God we came here last night,” Dominic said, not realizing right away that he’d spoken out loud.

  “It sounds like things are getting better, man. I’m glad.” Stephen cleared his throat. “Speaking of you and Rosie. There’s another reason I called.”

  Dominic lowered himself back into the chair. “What?”

  “The realtor called. There’s a cash offer on the house.”

  His heart kicked into a gallop inside his chest. “Yeah? A good one?”

  “Well, you did price it to sell. This offer is slightly lower, but it’s in the neighborhood of what you were hoping for.” He paused. “I made a call to the commercial realtor selling the building on Cove. Along with the money she made through the GoFundMe, it’s more than enough to lock down the restaurant space for Rosie. A cash sale for the owner, some capital for her if she wants to give it a face-lift—”

  “Yeah, I would want her to have enough to do whatever she wants.” Restless, he leaned forward, then pushed to his feet, pacing once again to the end of the hallway and staring at the door. The love of his life slept on the other side. They were so close to getting back on track. He had the answers, he was just . . . weighed down with one final question. Would his honesty be enough? He had the power in his hands to give her the thing she’d always wanted. A simple signature and he’d make up for everything.

  “Dom,” Stephen said, sighing. “You know I’ll help you do whatever you think is right. But I’m going to be the voice of reason one more time. Just talk to Rosie. Make the decision together.”

  Dominic swallowed, taking a step toward the room, then turning back around. He thought of the woman who’d danced last night with total abandon, the woman who’d taken command of those women in Wes’s kitchen and filled needs before they’d arisen. The woman who loved cooking so much, she used to dance in their kitchen. She’d rediscovered that passion on her own, without him, because he’d neglected to give her that support. Right now, he could make up for it. Make up for everything and watch her succeed.

  “Accept the offer.”

  Rosie stared at her hand curled on the pillow, listening to her measured breathing.

  Dominic was coming back.

  They’d turned a huge corner last night, against all odds, and her husband had not just crept out of the room like she was a one-night stand. Forcing herself to relax and be patient wasn’t easy to do—yet. She’d grown accustomed to parting ways with Dominic after sex, mentally and physically. But after last night, she expected more. Wou
ld she get it?

  “Yes,” she whispered, rolling over onto her back and stretching her sore muscles, arms extended over her head, toes pointed. “Definitely yes.”

  She couldn’t believe it. Yesterday at this time, she’d thought her marriage was over for real. Kaput. For good. But she’d just spent the night wrapped in Dominic’s arms and it had been like visiting heaven. He’d made a comeback and she wasn’t going to doubt him. Her heart implored her to trust the only man she’d ever loved—and she could do nothing but comply.

  When she heard the room key slide into the lock, the corners of her mouth ticked up into a smile. Instead of giving in to the modest urge to cover her naked body with the fluffy comforter, she made no move to satisfy the impulse. She crossed one leg over the other and arched her back a little, putting herself on display.

  Dominic walked in and came to an immediate stop, his throat muscles moving in a slow, thick lift and fall. “You’re really trying to make us miss that eleven o’clock checkout time,” he said in a gravelly voice. “I’m not complaining.”

  Her nipples beaded at his abrasive tone. “I didn’t think so.”

  After a brief pause, he tipped his chin toward the door. “That was Stephen on the phone. I didn’t want to answer and wake you up.”

  “Work stuff?”

  “Yeah.” Tongue resting on his lower lip, Dominic stripped off his T-shirt, dangling it from his fingertips for a moment before letting it drop. “Feels good. Coming in here and knowing I can just get in bed with you. Talk to you. Touch you.” He shook his head. “Can’t believe I haven’t been doing it all along.”

  “We better get started making up for lost time—”