Page 208 of Plaything

“Is this necessary? You know my legs are perfectly fine,” I all but groaned as Wyatt placed me down on the sofa after carrying me downstairs—and everywhere else all morning.

We slept for a long time, at least by our standards. It was nine when we finally got out of Niko’s bed, the smell of his pancakes beckoning us.

“You complain as if you mind being carried,” Wyatt sent me a knowing look while placing both hands on either side of my head, trapping me in his looming gaze.

I was beyond fucked up physically and feeling the furthest away from sexy. Still, his tall stance over me made my stomach flutter with nerves. I may resemble a rotten, bruised peach, but the monster between my legs was still aware of the provocative men in the manor.

Of course, I wasn’t in any kind of mood for sex, and I was sure they weren’t either. It would be days until my bruises even began healing. Truth be told, looking at myself in the mirror and seeing the damage... made me gag. I got sick this morning after catching my reflection before showering. The reminder of what Charles did was covering nearly my whole body.

They wouldn’t think differently of me if they saw my body in this state. But for now, I wasn’t comfortable in my own skin and definitely wouldn’t be showing it off anytime soon. The oversized sweats and sweater were telling of that.

“You’re right. You should be my personal manservant and carry me everywhere,” I joked, shrugging innocently.

He stood to his full height and laughed. “Don’t tempt me,” he warned before walking to the kitchen.

Aiden was quick to plop down beside me, turning on the next Harry Potter movie in the series.

It was decided that none of us would do anything today—no cramming for a final and no working. We desperately needed a day to relax and enjoy each other’s company, especially after the nightmare that was last night.

Even so, we found ways to busy ourselves. Wyatt was quick to email an attorney to validate the housing documents. Dominic still sat with a stack of papers, insisting that he wasn’t really working, just ‘going over a few things.’

Respecting the rules of the day, Aiden, Niko, and I were all sitting on the floor around the coffee table in the living room. The board game Life entertained us—well, it entertained Niko and me; Aiden was tolerating the childish game. He was frustrated that it was a game purely based on luck and not skill. Really, I think he was bitter that he lost twice in a row.

“What’s that look for?” Aiden suddenly speculated, cocking a brow behind me.

Following his eye-line, I turned to see Dominic looking... relieved? No, it was more than that. He looked somewhere between excited and dumbfounded as he stared at his computer screen. It was strange seeing the serious man look so neutrally overjoyed. He was smiling, and his eyes looked as bright as they did whenever he got his first sip of coffee in the morning. For most people, it was a look of content, but Dominic wasn’t expressive. Not like this.

The four of us shared a look, confused by his expression and following silence after Aiden’s question.

“Did you finish grading everything?” Wyatt guessed.

Dominic’s eyes flicked up at us. For only a second, he looked caught off guard that we’d noticed his reaction to whatever he looked at. “Uh yeah... everything’s—everything’s graded,” he chuckled absentmindedly.

He was frazzled! I was slightly worried about his unguarded behavior, but mostly, I thought it was refreshing to see him so happy. “You look excited,” I noted with a grin. I was sure it was more than finishing his work for the school year.

Niko stretched his arms in the air and groaned. “Seriously, it’s kind of creepy to see you smile like that. What’s going on?” He teased.

Gaining some of his composure back, Dominic quickly ran a hand through his hair before leaning forward, his arms folded in front of him. His gaze wandered between us as if struggling to form a sentence.

This behavior was so not him. Part of me wanted to be excited with him about whatever had him so antsy, but another part of me was unsettled by how serious his demeanor was. It was clear his following words would be significant, and we were all on the edge of our seats—or carpet.

“Dom...?” Aiden pushed gently. Not even Aiden could crack the code of what was going through his head.

“I did something a little crazy,” Dominic started hesitantly. “Well, I’ve been doing something crazy for several years now,” he chuffed before shaking his head. “And I know I’m a dick for not mentioning it, but—”

Three knocks on the front door interrupted our attention. None of us expected anyone, which showed in our annoyed glances.

Niko rolled his eyes, ignoring whoever was knocking. “Out with it! What’d you do?” He demanded impatiently.

“I got—”

Three more knocks made Aiden stand abruptly off the floor, nearly stomping to it. We all wanted to know what Dominic was going to say and were equally irritated at the intrusion.

“Can I help you?” I heard Aiden say as he opened the door. The sofa was blocking my view of the front door.

“Yes, I was told I could find Miss Whitlock here,” an elderly woman’s voice answered.

I shrunk onto the floor, stopping a groan. “I’m not here,” I whispered to Wyatt and Niko, who seemed amused. I was sure this was about what happened last night. She probably worked for Charles and wanted to make sure I kept my mouth shut.

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