Page 90 of Force Play

“Shout it from the mountain tops, Baby. You can brag about how well, and often I eat that sweet pussy anytime you want. Loudly too.”

“And to think I missed you.”

“Fuck yes. Mark it down in the history books.”

“Or how about you kiss me and then take me home?” I say, no longer interested in the coffee I abandoned at the table.

The only thing I want now is to soak up his easygoing nature. Just being around him is a sedative to calm my anxious mind and body. Especially with the phone call from the clinic shadowing my every move. Our coffee date this morning was a temporary distraction, but they don’t know what I’m facing, and I want to keep it that way. I don’t think I could stand it if they started looking at me with pity and fawning over me like I was already sick.

“Under one condition.” His voice is deep and velvety, infused with a sultry amusement. To think this time last year, I would have pretended it was one of his annoying qualities instead of turning to putty in his hands.

“What’s that?” I ask, fully expecting something filthy. The door to Buns & Roses shuts behind Dom but I don’t bother looking up to see who it is.

“We go to your place so that I can see Ronnie.”

“That dog has got you wrapped around her finger.”

“Just. Like. You.” He punctuates each word with a kiss peppered to my nose.

“He looks good on you,” Poppy hums as she walks past, tucked under Hendrix’s arm. It seems like they have the same idea, not stopping on the way to his car.

“Damn right I do,” Dom fires back, opening my door and helping me into the car.

Dom drops into the driver’s seat a moment later and checks traffic before pulling out. “Did you and the girls get to enjoy your coffee before we barged in?”

“We were just getting into some quality girl talk before you showed up.”

“Oh shit, do I need to take you back?”

“No. Don’t,” I say, a little too quickly. Making his cocky smile light up the whole damn car. “It’s alarming how quickly you go from charming to annoying.”

“Don’t get mad, Baby. It’s cute that you missed me. I missed the fuck out of you too.” His calloused palm fits itself with mine and we stay like that, our linked hands resting over his knee, as he pulls away.

It’s the little things with Dom, the ones I never expected, that make me turn into a puddle for him. Like the way he holds my hand as he drives us to my place, as if it’s not a big deal. Jensen always hated holding my hand—he said it was childish. I linked Dom and my ex together in my mind early on and spent so much energy making Dom out to be something he never was. Sometimes I still have to remind myself that they are nothing I like.

“How are you feeling?”

It’s the same ambiguous question he’s asked me every day since the blood draw at the beginning of this week. Mostly I’ve pushed him off, insisting I’m fine, but today I’m tired of pretending. Maybe it’s the warmth of his hand on mine that makes me feel safe enough to admit my fears, but I can’t hold it back any more.

“I’m scared, Dom. Every day that I don’t hear from Maryann, it gets a little harder to keep the anxiety from taking over. I’m working as much as I can to try to distract myself, but it’s still there, in the back of my mind, all the time.”

“I hate that I wasn’t here for you.” He squeezes my hand, his jaw hard and his knuckles turning white on the steering wheel.

“You were, more than I’ve ever let anyone else be. And it’s not your job to face this for me. Only I can do that.” It’s not even a lie to ease the obvious guilt he’s feeling, it’s one hundred percent the truth. Other than my dad and Poppy, when my mom passed, I’ve never given someone else this much access to the real me; to my fears and worries. But I can see how it’s affecting him even if he won’t admit it. He hides it behind jokes and lavishing me with affection, but I’ve noticed the lines at the corners of his eyes from not sleeping and the early morning batting practice or extra runs.

The rest of the drive is mostly quiet. Every time I glance over at Dom, I can see his wheels turning. When he feels my eyes on him, he gives me a tight-lipped smile. It’s nothing like the easygoing, panty-melting smile he usually tosses around.

There’s barely enough room for me to turn the key in the lock with Dom hot against my back. Fumbling with the lock, I finally get it open and he’s guiding me through the door so fast that my head spins trying to track our movement. Lowering to one knee, he pulls me down to sit on his thigh and keeps one arm firmly around my waist. Like he’s afraid to let me go out of fear that I’ll slip away from him. Ronnie skids across the floor, crashing into him.

My stomach flips at how she burrows her wet nose into his neck like she can’t get close enough. Me either, girl. This feels right. We feel right; the two of us laughing in the middle of my kitchen as Ronnie’s tail thumps against the linoleum. This girl was meant for us, and right now, she eases the pain in the way only she can with sloppy kisses and her happy wagging tail.

“My two favorite girls. Life doesn’t get any better than this. I think the three of us could use a nice long hike and maybe a picnic. What does my goodest girl think?”

I will not get jealous of a dog. I will not get jealous of a dog. I will not get jealous of a dog.

Repetition makes the mantra finally sink in and I notice Dom watching me. He’s carefully waiting for my reaction more than Ronnie’s. The polar opposite of me, she’s clearly hyped based on the puppy sprints she’s doing between us and the door on a loop. I’m less excited. It’s not that I don’t want to hike, it’s exactly what I need, but I’m worried that it’s not what he needs.

“What do you say, Firecracker? Want to spend the day exploring with me?”

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