Page 25 of Strip for Me

“I just–” I get out before Andre presses his lips to mine. I don’t expect it, but I don’t push him away as he pulls me closer and deepens the kiss. I run my hands into his hair as he kisses me more, and his hands slide under my top, pushing it up as he goes.

The doorbell rings, and we ignore it as he walks us back towards his bed. The doorbell rings again, and Andre pulls away with a groan.

“I should get it,” he says, and I shake my head.

“I will, I wanted to get a drink anyway,” I tell him honestly, I’m always thirsty. I’m blaming the pregnancy and the hot men in this house. I’m not sure it’s any of their fault, but still.

“Come back up, and we need to talk,” he tells me and gently kisses me again. I have no idea why he would kiss me after I admitted everything that has happened recently. I know our conversation is going to be a long one. The doorbell rings again, and Andre lets me go. I walk down the stairs as the doorbell goes again. Wow, this person must really want something.

I pull the door open and the smile on my face dies instantly as I see the cold, blue eyes of the man standing on the porch. The man who is dressed in the same perfect suits I was used to seeing and the same nearly white, short hair that is always gelled perfectly straight. Drew, my ex-husband looks up and down my body before he slowly smirks.

“So, not only are you a god-damned, pregnant bitch, but you’re living with four guys?” he says with a laugh, and every part of me feels cold as he laughs. A large hand on Drew’s shoulder is the first thing I see before Drew is pulled back, and a fist is slammed into his face. My eyes widen as Drew falls to the ground with the force of the punch, and I look up at Dominic as he stares down at him.

“I think you’d better fucking leave this house before you aren’t going to be able to walk away,” Dominic says coldly as Drew climbs to his feet. I watch as Drew stares at Dominic and wipes the blood off his face.

“I’ll be seeing you, Ellie,” Drew says before turning to walk away, and Dominic comes to my side.

“No, you won’t,” Dominic says to him, and Drew’s cold eyes meet mine before he gets in his car. The only thing I see is the man who never loses at anything.

Twenty-One

ELLIE

“What happened?”Andre asks as he walks into the kitchen. I’m holding a bag of frozen peas over Dominic’s swollen hand, and he’s trying to tell me that his hand is fine, which is a load of bull. He just punched my ex-husband.

“Ellie needs to explain who the jackass was at the door,” Dominic says, but doesn’t pull his hand away as I hold the peas in place. I don’t want to explain that I married that jackass and stayed with him for years because I was a stupid fool. Holy ducks, I know I am now, but I didn’t see it then. My eyes catch his as I look up, and he gently smiles.

“You can tell us anything. We only want to protect you,” Dominic tells me, his brown eyes watching me closely. I feel Andre come to my side and place his hand on my back.

“That was my ex-husband,” I find myself saying.

“Tell me about him, I don’t like the way he spoke to you or how he looked at you,” Dominic says, his tone is gentle, but I can’t miss the venom in his words. I’m not the only one who picked up on his tone.

“What did he say?” Andre says next to me, his words are deep and frightening, even to me. Dominic shakes his head as an answer. I’m glad he doesn’t repeat my ex’s words.

“So not only are you a god-damn, pregnant bitch, but you’re living with four guys?”The words he said keep floating around my mind, and I don’t want to hear them out loud, so I force myself to continue with my story.

“When we err . . .,” I say with a blush to Andre, and he gives me a quizzical look.

“Well, that night we met, I was celebrating my divorce,” I say, and he nods, with a far-off look.

“What’s going on?” Todd asks coming into the kitchen and moving to my other side.

“I punched Ellie’s ex-husband because he has a nasty mouth,” Dominic says gruffly.

“What did the fucker say?” Todd growls out.

“Nothing that should be said to a woman,” Dominic answers dryly.

“I’m going to find him and teach him some manners,” Todd says, surprisingly calm. The calmness is scarier because his face clouds over in anger when I turn to meet his gaze, and he storms out of the room.

“I’ll stop him,” Andre sighs and kisses my cheek. My eyes are locked on Dominic’s as Andre gently presses his lips to my cheek. What should have been a weird moment, just isn’t, and I wonder why as Andre walks away.

“Should I go after Todd, too?” I ask, hoping my husky tone isn’t coming out in my voice, and Dom notices.

“No, but I do want to know more about this Drew,” Dominic tells me, and I nod. His hand takes over mine on the bag of peas, and I move away as he stands up.

“Keep it on for a bit, it will stop the swelling,” I tell him when he tries to take it off, and he smirks a little.

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