by Julia Wolf
He chuckled low and soft. “I think you might be a liar.”
“Hmmm? Why?”
“Because…” he nuzzled his nose into the side of my neck, “I’ve seen every inch of you, and I haven’t discovered a tattoo.”
“Oh.” I wiggled beneath him. “You didn’t take my top off.” And the night I’d thrown myself at him, when I’d taken my own top off, he’d been too focused on my breasts to notice anything else.
“You’re right. Damn.” His forehead fell on my shoulder, and with a groan, he pulled out of me. He shifted so he was beside me, gathering my thin cami in his fist. His impatience to find my tattoo made me grin into the pillow.
“Hold on.” I rolled over to face him, lifting my cami to expose my ribs. “I hope this doesn’t freak you out.”
He propped himself on his elbow to examine it closely. I’d gotten this tattoo a month after I left Derrick. He’d never liked them, so getting one was a great act of defiance for me—especially since I’d always wanted one.
Dominic’s stony silence worried me. If I’d known I’d one day be working for him—or worse, naked in bed with him—I probably wouldn’t have gotten his lyrics inked on my skin.
“I told you I love that song.” This man had just seen every intimate part of me, and only now did I feel shy. He traced the watercolor angel wings with his fingertips, then read the words scrawled between them. “I wanted to remind myself what I was going through wouldn’t last forever.”
“Nothing is forever
Even if it feels like dying
Lift your broken wings
And start flying”
He dipped his head, kissing my inked flesh, then bit along the edges of it. His arm crushed me against him, rough and demanding.
“I’m honored. This is beautiful.” He lifted his head, giving me those deep, dark eyes. “I wrote ‘Angel Moon’ when someone I once knew was going through something unspeakable that would break a lot of people. Not her. Just like you, you’re not broken either.” He bit my side again, dropping his forehead there as he exhaled a long, slow breath.
“I’m just starting to believe that might be true.” I patted his sweaty hair and stared up at the ceiling, unsure of anything. “I should go get dressed.”
“Yeah.”
For the longest time, neither of us moved. He held me there, and I let myself sink into his arms. Finally, Dominic’s alarm got us moving. I threw on my clothes from last night, hoping I wouldn’t run into anyone we knew in the hall. When I straightened with my shoes in my hand, Dominic was sitting on the corner of the bed, keeping vigil over me.
I sighed, pushing my hair off my face. “Is this where we have some big talk?”
He opened his hands. “I don’t need to have a talk. Do you?”
“No, I’d rather avoid that, thanks.”
He stood and closed in on me, cupping my nape. “For the same reason you didn’t want to talk about the last time you spent the night in my bed?”
Because you might say it can’t happen again, and I don’t want to hear that.
“It could be.”
Dominic nibbled on my bottom lip, his hold firm on my neck. “Good. Then I’ll see you in an hour.”
“Mmmhmmm.” I leaned into him, taking just a few more of his sweet-like-arsenic kisses for the road. “See you later, sir.”
Dominic shoved me away with a smack on the ass and a low, rumbling chuckle from his chest. I ran back to my room like a thief in the night, unseen by anyone I knew.
The first thing I did was call my sister.
“Hello, whore,” she answered.
I groaned. “If you only knew.”
“You gave it up? What a floozy! Tell me everything.” Annaliese sounded as excited as she’d been when I told her I got this job. If she tried to throw me another celebration dinner, I’d have to draw the line.
“I just came from his room.”
“Who? I don’t even know which gentleman caller you’d decided on. Or...was it both?”
I snickered and fell back on my bed. “There was only one, and I don’t think anything we did could constitute as gentlemanly.”
“Okay. I’m really proud of you for getting banged dirty. But you still haven’t said who you were with.”
“Dominic. So inappropriate.” But I couldn’t find it in myself to regret him.
She sighed, but it didn’t sound especially judgmental. “Wow. When you go big, you go big.”
“Big,” I concurred.
That made Annaliese laugh. “I am...I am flummoxed. Truly. How old is he again?”
“Forty-two.” I cringed because our age difference was also big.
“And…? Did it feel weird being with a man who could be your father if he’d had you in high school?”
“Well, now it does.” My arm flopped over my head onto my pillow. “No, it didn’t feel weird. He was incredible. So much so, I hardly felt self-conscious being naked in front of him. Like, there wasn’t even a chance for my brain to formulate those thoughts. They just didn’t happen.”
A big breath whooshed out of my sister. “That is incredible.”
“Yeah.”
“So, you have sex with an extremely famous rock star who made your brain switch off, and now, you’re...what?”
My lips curved up with how good I felt. “Satisfied. I just...I’m not overthinking things. There’s not a chance of Dominic and I actually being together outside of this situation, so if it happens again, I won’t protest.”
“I love that for you, baby. I love it so hard. You deserve a little slice of satisfaction after everything. Are you going to come back to me a brand-new Claire?”
I thought of the friends I’d made, my experiences, and Dominic. Yes, I’d changed already. But I’d already been on this path since my husband knocked me unconscious in our bedroom. I couldn’t be that girl anymore. She wasn’t an option. I was only finding out who the woman I was becoming would be.
“I think so. Now, tell me, how are you? Did you go out with that chick from Tinder?”
“You mean the psycho who cackled like a damn witch at my, and I quote, “little plant hobby”? Because yes, I went out with her, we had sex, and she ghosted.”
Annaliese spilled her dating woes, and I listened with a curl of a smile on my lips and a light heart. I still had battles to fight and walls to climb, but those were far off in the distance. I’d just had ridiculously hot sex this morning, and it deserved one whole day to be the center of my thoughts. Tomorrow, I might allow thoughts of Derrick and my divorce and my lack of home to slip in, but there was every possibility I might not.
Chapter Twenty-two
Claire
Dominic fell over me, sweaty and panting. His full weight crushed me into the bed, and I wrapped my legs around his waist to keep him there. Not that he seemed to be going anywhere. His arms were banded around my shoulders, and his cock was still firmly planted inside me. We were both shaking. He tried to catch his breath while I tried to catch reality.
But this was real.
We’d arrived at our Salt Lake City hotel an hour ago. It took five minutes for Dominic to barge into my room. Another couple for him to rid me of my clothes. And a few after that for me to come.
“Jesus.” He groaned, lifting his head from my neck to peer down at me. “Pretty sure you’re going to kill me.” His hand came up to my jaw, cupping me roughly. “How is my dick still hard when I just came? What magic spell do you have inside you?”
I grinned, clenching around him. The smile was wiped from my lips when he thrust forward, swelling against my sensitive walls.
“Claire…” He smacked the side of my thigh. “No more.”
With a sigh, I let my legs fall to the mattress so Dominic could pull out. He stayed for another half a minute longer, dragging his teeth over the bite marks he’d left around my nipples, then he shifted to lay beside me. He took care of the condom, tying it off in a tight knot and wrapping it in a tissue, then he captured my j
aw in his hand, his mouth coming down hard on mine. His tongue swept into my mouth, tasting me until I couldn’t breathe, but I didn’t give a damn.
He yanked his lips from mine and looked like he was angry at me for making him kiss me again. His eyebrows pinched tight over inky black pools. Fingers curled in my hair. Breath grazed my cheek.
“Let’s go to dinner.”
My lips parted, but no words came out. He’d surprised me. Having dinner together was the last thing I’d expected him to suggest.
“Come on. There’s a place I want to go that I think you’ll like. I’ll have my security make the arrangements.” Dominic squeezed my breast, dipping his head to suck my nipple into his mouth. “Or I could fuck you again.”
Heat throbbed between my legs. “We should probably eat first.” The anticipation of what would happen when we returned to the hotel would be so crazy hot, I was willing to press pause. “But wait. Can you go out to dinner? At a regular restaurant?”
He chuckled against my skin. “Yes, Claire. I’m able to go to dinner.”
I slapped his shoulder. “Fuck you, Dominic.” The growl he emitted had me laughing. “I meant, won’t you be mobbed? Your fans know you’re in town…”
“Don’t worry about it. My guys will handle it. People might show up, take some pictures if they get a chance, but the place I want to take you is pretty private.”
“All right.” I scratched the skin under his beard, then tugged him down for another quick kiss. “I’m convinced.”
His hand came down on my thigh again. “Good girl. I’m gonna head to my room and clean up. Is an hour enough time for you to get ready?”
In my past life, I would have needed more than that. Derrick only liked my hair straight, but I embraced the curls these days, my makeup routine had been pared down, and my clothes were simple. Still, it was sort of sweet for Dominic to think I put a lot of time into getting ready.
“That’s plenty,” I answered.
I saw him on his way, took a quick shower since I smelled too much like sex to be fit for the public, then dug through my clothes, settling on a kelly green jersey dress that nipped my waist so tight, I actually found myself hot, which wasn’t a common occurrence.
Only a half hour had gone by when there was a knock on the door. I opened it with bare feet and no lipstick, but otherwise ready. It wasn’t Dominic standing on the other side, though.
“Look at you, C.” Marta gave me an exaggerated once-over. “Pretty, pretty.”
“Well, thanks, M. With the shape this dress gives me, I should have bought fifty of them.”
She reached out and gave my waist a pinch. “I’ve seen you in a bikini, woman. Don’t be shy.”
I should have invited her in, but even though I’d made the bed, there had to be sex pheromones in the air. I wasn’t at all prepared to answer any questions—especially not from Marta.
“You’re making me blush. Stop it.” One foot pressed on top of the other, and I leaned my head on the edge of the door. “What’s up?”
“I wanted to see if you wanted to go grab dinner. Did I send you a psychic message that I was going to ask so you got dressed up for me?”
“Actually,” I glanced down at my bare toes, “Dominic and I are going to grab a bite.”
“Oh.” Marta’s slitted brow rose, then she backed up a step. “I see.”
I reached for her arm, but she backed up another step. “It’s not like that. Please. He just wanted company, and I happened to be the first person he saw.”
“I got it. I’ll just go check in with Iris and friends. One of them is bound to be hungry.” She slinked off down the hall before I could say another word, which made me feel sick.
I should have known this would happen. We didn’t live in a vacuum where only Dominic and I existed. We were traveling in close quarters with a lot of people who would notice us hanging out...if that was what we were doing.
I texted Marta, hoping she’d forgive me.
Come to dinner with us! Don’t be mad at me.
It took her a few minutes, but she finally texted me back.
It’s all good. I’m with Iris and Callum. Maybe we’ll both get laid tonight.
Me: It’s not like that, M.
Marta: C, please. It’s so like that. I know Dominic. He doesn’t take women out to dinner if he’s not banging them too. Just don’t let yourself get wrapped up. He won’t.
Me: Have fun tonight. Breakfast?
Marta: Yeah, let’s do that. But if I show up at your room and see Dominic’s naked ass, I won’t be thrilled.
Me: I will make sure no asses are naked. Xoxo
Marta: xxx *wink*
Dominic showed up just as I was dissolving into a pit of self-hatred. I tried not to show it, but he grabbed me by the jaw and examined my face like a soothsayer reading tea leaves.
“What’s wrong?” he demanded.
“Marta asked me to have dinner with her. She put two and two together pretty quickly when I told her you and I had plans.” I tapped his open lips. “And no, I am not quick enough on my feet to come up with a plausible lie. So, there you go. She knows.”
He took my finger between his teeth and growled, but not angrily. “Marta knows everything. There’s no sense in even attempting to hide from her.” He gave my butt a smack. “Let’s go.”
I shoved my feet into brown leather sandals that had a short heel and grabbed a small purse that only fit my phone and lipstick. Dominic’s two bodyguards accompanied us in the elevator. He didn’t touch me at all, but I didn’t mind. We weren’t a couple. We weren’t going to walk around holding hands while staring into each other’s eyes.
In the car, Dominic took his usual position across from me, and only then did he really take me in. My knees were tucked to the side, skirt flowing over them. Normally when I wore this dress, I put a camisole beneath, but not tonight. The deep V left the upper swells of my breasts exposed. In the hotel, I felt somewhat daring. In this car, I had become unsure.
Dominic said nothing. His expression remained stoic. He never stopped drinking me in, but he always did that.
My insecurity was a deep-rooted thing that had been carefully tended to over the years. My husband had complimented me, but only when I was absolutely perfect. If he were here, he would take one look at me and ask me if I wanted to be confused with trash, because that was what I looked like. I could almost hear his voice, but I shook it off.
I liked compliments as much as the next woman, and I’d gotten an epic one from Marta earlier, so I really didn’t need one from Dominic. I sure wouldn’t be telling him how sexy his arms were peeking out from the sleeves of his button-up shirt. Or how I wondered if the heavy silver watch on his wrist would feel cool on my heated skin if he touched me. No, I’d keep that to myself.
The car pulled up to the side of a nondescript restaurant, and we were escorted inside to a small, partitioned area near the back. The interior of the restaurant was just as plain as the outside, but the Mason jar of wildflowers surrounded by fairy lights in the middle of the table gave me a fuzzy feeling about the place.
“This is awfully cute for you.” I gestured to the lights and flowers and gauzy white fabric draping from the screen separating us from the rest of the restaurant. “I’m surprised this is your spot.”
Taking the seat beside me instead of across, he straightened his collar and arched a midnight brow. “This isn’t my spot. I’ve been here a few times and thought you might like it.”
“How thoughtful.” I picked up my menu, blocking my view of him. I hated that I was annoyed with him. It wasn’t entirely his fault. Marta finding out about us already had me on edge before he even showed up.
“Claire—” He pushed down the top of my menu, but whatever he had intended to say was interrupted by our waitress.
“Hi, I’m Layla. How are you tonight?”
Dominic murmured that he was fine, which made her beam pearly white teeth at him. His eyes flicked to her and held for a be
at before returning to the menu.
“I’d love to answer any questions you have about the menu or make a drink suggestion if you’d like.” She placed her hand on the table directly beside where Dominic’s rested.
Layla was pretty, in a very obvious way. I didn’t have to study her or examine her features to find what made her special. One glance and—boom!—pretty. I didn’t fault her for that, since prettiness was mostly an accident of birth and she couldn’t help it any more than I could help that I sometimes blended into furniture until someone got to know me.
What I didn’t love about Layla was that she only addressed Dominic. I might as well have not been at the table. That made her both a shitty waitress and crappy human.
Dominic didn’t look at her again. His eyes found mine, and a flare of amusement lit in the black depths of his gaze. He knew exactly what she was doing, and he found it funny.
We ordered drinks, and then dinner when she returned minutes later. Dominic didn’t try to address me again until after she’d retreated a second time.
He leveled me with a heavy, black stare that read trouble. With no menu to hide behind, I had to face him. Taking a deep breath, I waited for him to say what he needed to, hoping it wasn’t more than I could handle.
Chapter Twenty-three
Dominic
Claire was...maddening.
Not that it was her fault. Not really.
Seeing her neatly made bed when I picked her up for dinner had sent me deep into my own head—a place I never liked spending much time.
“Claire.” Despite the shitstorm taking up residence in my skull, the pissed off woman across from me had me fighting off a smile.
“Dominic.” She had no idea how stunning she looked right now, her cheeks full of color, traveling all the way down the dip in her dress. The shape of her breasts caught me up, distracting me. My fingers twitched to take them in hand.
Then I remembered how she’d smoothed out her sheets and fluffed up her pillows, erasing the time we’d spent in her bed earlier. Something about that image stabbed a place in my gut I’d forgotten existed.