Page 29 of Worth the Vow

Sofia pats him on the back before pulling me into a hug and whispering in my ear, “There’s more to this story. I’m just not sure how your part plays out.”

“I don’t know either,” I confess, hugging her back.

Kate

Once everyone leaves, Dominic and I usher the kids back into the house. I’m reeling from today. Not only the marriage, but also the interaction with Savannah. But mostly the kisses.

I find myself absentmindedly spinning my wedding band on my finger, the weight slightly weird on my skin, and look to Dominic’s hand. The black titanium band looks gorgeous on him. If I had been asked a week ago what my thoughts were on a black wedding band, I’d have been horrified. What kind of person would pick anything black for a marriage? But looking at Dominic, I can see now that it’s just his style. It signifies strength and power. The edges of his band are steel, and the juxtaposition of colors really expresses Dominic’s personality quite perfectly. Stoic, quiet, but will cut you if necessary. Introspective but incredibly knowledgeable. And now that I’ve kissed him, I can say he might look bland, but there’s one hell of a fire underneath the surface of that solid statue of a man.

“Are you gonna sleep in Daddy’s bed now?” Aspen asks.

“What?” I gasp. “No! Oh, God. No. No. Absolutely not.”

Say no one more time, and they’ll really believe it.

My inner ho is almost screaming at this point. You’d totally sleep in his bed if he asked, ya slut.

I shake my head to force my thoughts away. Envisioning Dominic in just a pair of pajama pants, slung low on his hips, sliding beneath the covers next to me. Pulling me toward him, the scent of his cologne and body wash cocooning me as he gives me a goodnight kiss, which invariably leads to more. Him using that clearly talented tongue on … other places of my body that desperately need a tonguing.

“Katharine.” At Dominic’s snapped tone, my eyes bounce to his.

“What?”

“Aspen asked why you won’t be sleeping in my bed.”

“And you couldn’t answer that?” I blurt out.

“I did. She didn’t believe me, and asked you. Clearly you haven’t been paying an ounce of attention.”

“My mind zoned for a minute. Cut me some slack, Dominic. Not everyone can be as perfect as you,” I retort.

“I told you,” Dominic remarks as his eyes leave mine to look down at Aspen. Fuck. I forgot the kids were even here. First I’m thinking about Dominic giving me a good tonguing, then a good dicking, but in reality, when he opens his mouth, I just want to tape his damn lips shut.

“You told me that you’re perfect? Not surprising.” Crossing my arms, I feel a quick second of vindication when his eyes drop to my chest.

“I’m fairly certain I’ve never uttered those words. In any case, Aspen would like to know why you won’t be sleeping in my bed.”

One look at Aspen’s cherubic face that still has a teeny bit of baby fat makes me crouch down to be eye-to-eye with her. “I happen to love my room in the basement, and I have an excellent mattress. Plus, it is great for sleepovers, isn’t it?”

“Oh, yes! It is!” Aspen says excitedly, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet, her brown eyes sparkling. I never realized how much she looks like Dominic. Sienna is the spitting image of her mother, whereas Carter is a mixture of the two. Aspen is all Dominic. “But if you’re married, you’re supposed to sleep in the same bed.”

“Not necessarily. I know lots of married couples that have separate bedrooms. It doesn’t make them love each other any less,” I tell her.

“So you love Daddy?” she asks.

Well, fuck. I didn’t think this through. “I’ll forever be grateful to your dad for coming up with a way to make sure I can get medical care. Not many people would do what your daddy did.”

“I guess that’s the same thing,” Aspen murmurs before scampering off to follow her siblings into the house. Standing, I turn to Dominic, unprepared for how much closer he got to me while I spoke to Aspen. I quickly inhale as he crowds my space.

“Would you like to sleep in my bed, Katharine?” he asks deeply. His scent surrounds me as he rests his nose against mine, rubbing it gently against my skin.

“Ground rules, Dominic,” I squeak out as a hand rests on my hip.

“Have I told you how spectacular you look today? Stunning. Captivating. You took my breath away,” he confesses quietly.

“What are you doing?” I breathe, my eyes closing against my better judgment. “This — this isn’t a good idea.”

“Maybe I’m sick of making all the right choices. Doing all the correct and noble things. Maybe, just once, I want to be bad.”

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