by Lee Piper
“Either way, eww.”
“Dom’s already promised to take care of Riley.” Levi nuzzled G’s neck.
Yes. He. Has.
I somehow found the will to avert my eyes, though shifting on the spot did next to nothing to ease the sudden, unbearable ache between my thighs. “Yeah, ah, like I said, no thanks.” Swallowing with effort, I continued, “You two head on back to the hotel and, um, have fun.”
Grace was about to argue but I spun her on the spot and pushed her toward the exit. “Honestly, it’s fine. Now go.” And with that, they were gone.
I was on my way back to the bar when it happened. The sight of it made me stop dead in my tracks.
What the fuck?
Dominic was kissing someone.
Okay, so not kissing exactly—my subconscious might have overexaggerated slightly—but he was definitely leaning down and whispering in some random woman’s ear while she giggled, fluttered her appallingly fake eyelashes, and then trailed manicured talons down his eight-pack.
So I counted them one time. What of it?
Anyway, Dominic indicated to talon girl to follow him and the two made their way backstage. Together. Her squeals of delight echoed throughout The Ruby Room while I just stood there with my mouth gaping open like a fucking idiot.
He was going to have sex with her. I mean, that was where he took his groupies, right? To the green room? It suddenly felt like my ribs were made of dagger-like thorns that punctured my lungs with each breath.
I had to get out of there. Now.
I practically bolted to the exit and was almost across the finish line when a strong hand gripped my wrist, detaining me.
“What’s going on?” Finn’s perceptive grey eyes took in my manic expression before glancing over my shoulder. “Where’s Dom?”
“How should I know?” I spat, surprised by my vehemence.
But Finn just did that I’m-gonna-force-you-to-tell-me-the-truth-with-my-hypnotic-gaze thing and I immediately hung my head, defeated. The fight drained out of me, no doubt morphing into a puddle of gooey humiliation layering the sticky black floor.
“He’s in the green room,” I mumbled. Finn kept staring. “With some woman.” More staring. “Blonde hair, tiny waist, hot outfit. She was all over him like an eczema flare-up.” I glanced away. “I think.”
He was silent for a long time before nodding once. “Right.” Two seconds later, he strode toward the door just off stage.
I raced after him. “Finn, wait.”
He ignored me.
Stepping in front of him, I put my hand to his chest, halting his progress. “Stop.” He did, thankfully, so I took my hand away. “This isn’t high school, he’s a grown man who can make his own decisions.” I looked away, muttering, “No matter how shitty they are.” Turning my gaze back to one very furious Finn, I added, “I’m okay with it.”
Another grey stare. He was going to burn a hole straight through me at this rate.
My voice only trembled slightly as I repeated, “I’m okay with it.”
Finn let out a long exhale. “Fuckin’ asshole.”
I blinked back tears. “Yeah.” And the small part of me that held onto any hope of a miracle between Dominic and I, shriveled up and died.
Which was why what happened next came as such a surprise.
Chapter Fourteen
Escape is useless now,
No one will survive,
No one.
—MONDEZ, “Distance”
I was on my third drink by the time the pounding started. At first, I thought it was my head, but when the door shuddered on its hinges, I knew it was not the alcohol.
“What the hell?” Clambering to my feet, I made my way over to the source of the noise.
Since returning to the hotel, I tidied the cushions on the balcony, rearranged the bath towels by size, and even reordered the minibar according to alcohol potency and calorie quota. Yeah, I was not in the best frame of mind. Not that any of it worked, mind you, because my heart hurt, body jittered, and head refused to do anything but tick.
Dominic. Tick. Talon girl. Tick. Their steamy sex in the green room. Tick, tick, tick.
Fucking hell.
So I took a long bath, slipped on my favorite silk nightie, and shrugged into one of the suite’s fluffy white bathrobes—before drinking myself into oblivion. Doctor Powell would have to deal, I was desperate.
After opening the door, I was met with two blazing eyes. They scanned me from head to toe before a low voice growled, “Thought I told you never to answer the door like that.”
“What are you even doing here, Dominic?” I retorted. “Just leave me alone.”
Huh. The alcohol’s kicked in.
But Dominic still glared, his jaw working hard. How he managed to make it both vulturine and sensual, I had no idea. The guy was a master at mixed emotions.
My grip on the door handle tightened, though not in response to his close proximity, that would be stupid. “Go away,” I barked, shutting the door in his face.
Okay, so I tried to shut the door in his face. His palm flattened against the wood veneer, preventing me from actually doing it. And he also scorned my attempt at blocking the entrance on account of being twice my size and all. Easy as you like, Dominic pushed past, slammed the door, picked me up and then threw me over his shoulder like an inebriated sack of potatoes.
“Put me down.”
He did. I was unceremoniously dumped onto the bed. Scrambling to cover myself with the robe, I crawled onto my knees to glare up at him. Only, it was impossible because he was pacing and a pacing Dominic was hot as hell, despite being a complete douche.
Left. One, two, three. Right. One, two, three.
Such a fine ass. I mean, jerk.
Finally, he stopped, raked tense fingers through his hair—a small part of me might have whimpered—and demanded, “Why’d you run out on me?”
I scoffed, crossing my arms and refusing to answer.
His eyes flicked to my now-exposed cleavage and then back to my face. I scowled at him, pretending his dilated pupils were nothing more than an irritating figment of my imagination.
Dominic moved closer to the bed. “Riley.” His voice held a cautionary warning. One I really did not give a shit about no matter what my tingling spine had to say. “Why’d you leave without me?”
Silence.
“For Christ’s sake, woman,” he exploded. “My cock’s supposed to be inside you right now. I’m supposed to be giving you the mother of all fuckin’ orgasms—”
“You mean—” But I quickly snapped my mouth shut. After all, there was no way I was going to voice that question out loud.
Not that it mattered, like usual, he could see through me, anyway. “Angel.” Dominic’s voice turned pitying while I squirmed on the mattress trying to relieve the building torment between my thighs. “The other two orgasms you thought you had were just a warm-up. You ain’t felt nothin’ yet.” There was a dark promise in his eyes which almost made me forget talon girl.
Almost.
“Come here,” he ordered.
I swear, my body tried to launch itself into Dominic’s orbit. There was even a moment when I gravitated forward slightly because, so help me, I really wanted to. But I didn’t.
Wouldn’t.
“You asked for it.” He crouched low—jaguar style—and slowly crawled across the bed toward me. I, on the other hand, hastily scrambled backward like a crab with directional issues. When my shoulders bumped into the padded headboard with an ominous thud, my heart began beating at quadruple the normal rate. Clearly, it wanted me dead.
“Leave me alone, Dominic.” I shut my eyes, pissed that the quiet plea did not even begin to sound convincing.
Stupid voice box. Fucking useless.
“No.”
They popped open again and he loomed above me.
Whoa. So beautiful. Such a bastard.
His earthy scent hit me like a waft of cologne and I unashamedly bre
athed it in. Deeply.
Sweet Jesus.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Dominic murmured, his voice deep and so damn sensual I grew breathless. “Not until you tell me why you left.” His gaze dropped to my parted mouth, it seriously did not help.
So I avoided his eyes after that, they were simply too blue for my liking. And his lips. Well. They were another matter entirely. Let’s just say there was an open for business sign where my vagina used to be.
“Look at me.”
Damn it.
“Why are you acting like this?”
I tried to feel angry, truly I did. I tried to summon my inner Grace and tear him to shreds with well-chosen slurs about his intelligence or penis size. But I couldn’t. For one, he was not stupid, two, his penis was, well, huge, and three, what was the point? It did not change the fact he slept with someone else. I swallowed, willing my eyes not to well up with tears. They did.
Christ.
And the bastard wiped them away.
Resigned, I took a shuddering breath and mumbled, “I saw you.” My gaze flicked to his impenetrable blue stare and something in my stomach shifted. Something big. “You were with a girl and you took her to the green room.”
“So?”
I stared at him, beyond incredulous. “So?” Pushing him off me, I sat up straighter, my face level with his. I did not want to suck his lips. “You had your fingers inside me this afternoon, you tell me you want your cock inside me right now, and yet you have a goddamn quickie in the green room with some random groupie? What the hell am I? The bread of a fucking sandwich? Is she the salad to my rye, Dominic? Is that what she is?”
“Shithouse analogy, Riley.”
“You know what?” I yelled. “Screw you. Screw you and your stupid smile, your stupid hands, your stupid…” I threw up my arms, beyond livid. “Stupid everything.” Turning, I went to climb off the bed, only the mattress was so large I suddenly wished I brought my analogy with me for a fucking snack on the way.
Dominic grabbed my ankle mid-crawl and the heated contact sent a shockwave directly to my center. I bit my lip. Ironically, I grew even more furious at how quickly he could diffuse my anger.
Don’t you dare moan, Riley Jayne. Swear to God—
“You reckon I bagged that chick.”
Kicking his hand away—and with any luck, those lingering aftershocks—I continued crawling in silence.
“You do, don’t you?”
“Well, what am I supposed to think?” I shot over my shoulder. The look in his eyes made me pause, but I blinked, shook my head and continued the epic journey across the bedspread. “It wouldn’t be the first time you took a woman backstage while I was around. Hell, it wouldn’t even be the third time you hooked up with a girl right in front of me.”
He followed, and I felt an intensifying heat building behind me. Both of us must have looked like a camel train in the fucking desert. His hand suddenly clamped down on my calf, stopping me from finally climbing off the side of the bed. Dropping my head, I begged my molten pussy to play nice with me. She didn’t listen. Turned out, she was a cruel bitch who wanted what was owed.
Lord, give me strength.
Dominic’s hand slid up my leg and right on cue, goose bumps formed. “Look, I might not be a spokesperson for committed relationships.” Despite his low tone, I snorted. “But I’d never do that, Riley.”
I faltered on the edge of the mattress, my heart in my mouth.
“Not to you.”
And fell.
There was a tangle of arms, legs, hands and feet until I landed with a soft oomph on top of Dominic’s chest. How he managed to hit the floor first I have no idea—I blamed his muscles, those babies must have weighed a ton. Anyway, after our epic tumble, we lay on the plush carpet of the hotel room floor for what felt like hours in silence.
What a disaster.
I rested my head against his heart, reassuring myself that he was still alive. Yep, those rhythmic heartbeats rang strong and true. His hand systematically caressing my ass was also a pretty strong indicator.
Finally, Dominic raised his head, his blue eyes searching. If he was looking for my dignity, it was somewhere back on the quilt. “You okay?”
I gazed at him, nodding and the room shifted slightly with the movement—alcohol, not concussion. “Yeah, you?”
“Yeah.”
Tracing small circles on the fabric of his dark sweater, I gave in to curiosity and asked, “What were you doing in the green room? I mean, if you didn’t take her back there to … you know.”
“Fuck?”
I could feel a blush coming on and Dominic raised his hand, trailing the backs of his fingers down my cheek. The gesture did next to nothing to ease my embarrassment and that secret smile playing on his lips was seriously doing my head in.
“She wanted a copy of our EP, we brought some with us.” He chuckled; the deep, throaty sound did dangerous things to me. “Could’ve just downloaded it from our website, would’ve been a hell of a lot cheaper.”
“Oh.”
And that was it, all the reply I could muster. Truth be told, I was ridiculously frustrated with myself. I mean, rather than drink myself senseless or channel my inner Alice from The Brady Bunch, Dominic and I could have been having passionate, soul-destroying sex. For hours. If my pussy had feet, she would have kicked me.
Dominic tucked some hair behind my ear, his voice teasing. “You’re a jealous little thing, aren’t you?”
I glared at him. “I’m not jealous.” Then, looking away, muttered, “I just don’t like sharing.”
Strong fingers drew my face back and Dominic stared at me for a long moment. It was the strangest thing, when our gazes locked, the carpet, the bed, heck, even the hotel suite itself, disappeared. And I’m talking, completely.
It was just the two of us. We were drawn together by heat, desire and something altogether more powerful.
Whoa.
I could feel it. I could feel the connection. It was there in his eyes, his breath, his touch.
His heart.
In all honesty, I could have stayed wrapped in that little cocoon for hours, days even. Never before had I felt so existent. It was strange because for the first time in my life it felt like someone saw me, really saw me. Dominic moved past the illusion of perfection, he sidestepped the anxiety and crawled under the fear. None of that stuff mattered to him and it felt… Beautiful.
Finally, Dominic murmured, “There’s no need to be jealous, angel.” He swallowed. “I’m yours.”
I inhaled—is he serious?
Then, as though realizing what he had said, hastily added, “For tonight. I’m yours for tonight.”
And the spell was broken.
Christ.
I blinked and clambered off Dominic while he scrubbed one side of his face with his hand, muttering, “I need a drink.”
Standing, I turned to face him. “The stuff you want is at the very back of the minibar.” He raised a questioning eyebrow but I shook my head. “Don’t ask.”
“Right.” Dominic got to his feet and strode off in the direction of the alcohol. “Want anything?” he called over his shoulder.
I shook my head. At least the room stopped moving. “No thanks, I’ve had enough. Maybe just some water?”
“On it.”
A short while later, I was wandering aimlessly through the second room of the suite. I left the lights off—quite frankly, the darkness was soothing—and eventually found myself standing in front of the glass windows. The night was clear and, despite the many skyscrapers, if I craned my neck slightly to the left, I could make out the twinkling stars above. They were timeless. And I loved how all my insecurities suddenly felt so inconsequential, so unimportant in their presence. It was a nice change, let me tell you.
Strangely, my head was empty—I know right? There was no internal dialogue between myself and Doctor Powell, no conflicting tirades, no pep talk, nothing. It was so peaceful, like everything I had expe
rienced in the past few weeks, all the contrasting emotions, angst and confusion had been leading up to this very moment.
I was ready.
Dominic and I were going to have sex. We were going to acknowledge our physical chemistry, revel in it and then move on with our lives. Okay, so that part I was not exactly ready for, but everything else I could deal with. Honest.
I sighed.
“You sure you wanna do this?”
I spun on my heel, my eyes wide—that guy had ninja blood. He stood in the doorway with a beer in one hand and water in the other. The light coming from the bedroom behind him cast his body in shadow. I could still clearly make out every contour of his face though, even in the darkness. God knows I memorized each feature often enough. His eyes were soft, his lips moist from recently taking a sip of his drink. A strange fluttering started in my chest the moment our gazes locked. I chose to ignore it. Mostly.
The only problem was, I could not answer him because I could not speak. And I am talking not a single word. Seriously, it was like my tongue had attached itself to the roof of my mouth with an industrial strength adhesive. I mean, in front of me was the physical embodiment of everything I never knew I wanted in a man—commitment issues aside—and yet he was willing to forgo his obvious desire if I truly was not okay with it all.
It was official, my pussy took over my brain.
Some might even say steamrolled.
The poor sucker did not stand a chance.
Without taking my eyes off him, I reached for the belt of my robe, carefully untying the knot with unsteady fingers. Even from where I stood, I could see Dominic’s grip on his beer tighten. He knew my answer and he liked it, awesome.
With a heart thumping so loud I was sure he could hear it, I opened the material wide and shrugged it off my shoulders. It cascaded down my body and pooled at my feet. I lifted my chin, daring him to misconstrue my meaning. He did not. However, he did not come charging toward me—raging rhino style—like I thought he would either. Oh no. Instead, he remained where he was with eyes full of dark promise. Dominic took a long, slow drink from his beer while I watched, thirstier than ever before.