Page 60 of Starts With a Bang

“I barely looked away from my phone on those nights,” Dom said. “I was more interested in your thoughts and reacted to your opinions rather than sharing my own.”

I cocked my head to the side and narrowed my eyes. “You mean you liked to rile me up by arguing?”

Dom shrugged and ate the popcorn in his hand with maddening neatness. I hadn’t planned to knock his kernels free. My hand had acted independently when it snaked out and smacked his arm. That was my story, and I was sticking to it. Dom stared at me with a shocked expression that quickly morphed into one of retribution. Instead of being afraid, I shivered with delight. He tackled me to the bed, spilling the rest of the popcorn onto the comforter, and pinned me beneath him. Dom’s fingers sought my ticklish spots, and I alternated between laughing and begging for mercy. I’d been well and truly fucked, so I didn’t think it was possible to have any spark left. Turned out I had a can-do libido that would arise, literally, to any challenge.

“Huh-uh,” Dom said when he felt my arousal prodding him. “You’re not getting rewarded for bratty behavior.”

“Yet you’re kissing a trail down my stomach.”

“Teaching you a lesson,” he replied.

I tucked my arms under my head and submitted myself to his mastery, watching as he worked my dick with his mouth and hands while maintaining eye contact. Dom crawled back up my body after he swallowed my release. He kissed me, and I loved the way I tasted on his tongue. I would’ve returned the favor, but he hadn’t gotten hard again and seemed content with two orgasms for the day.

“Well, have you learned something important?” Dom asked when we parted for breath.

“What it feels like to be cherished.”

Dom’s lips parted into a wide smile. “Good, because you are.”

I brushed my fingertips over his cheeks, his bristly jaw, and his full mouth. “I’m falling in love with you, Dom.”

“I’m falling for you too.”

“Don’t let go,” I whispered.

“I’ve got you.”

Just like the earlier conversation about our intense feelings, we sealed our vow with a kiss. One stretched into two and then became a make-out session that lasted long beyond the rolling credits on the movie.

I knew the rest of the holiday wouldn’t pass without bumps or potholes in the road just because we’d culled the toxic people from the group. I expected John’s and Emerson’s presence to linger in haunted expressions, but Janet and Christian proved tobe more resilient the next morning. They’d worked together to prepare a lovely breakfast for everyone.

“I baked cranberry and orange scones,” Christian said. “First time in several years, so they might not be up to scratch.”

“They smell like heaven,” I said, reaching into the breadbasket and helping myself.

Helen assessed her oldest daughter over a cup of coffee. “You look fifteen years younger since tossing the cheating bastard out.” Then she reached for a scone. “Christian, you probably haven’t baked pastries because Emerson banned butter and sugar in your home. It’s unnatural if you ask me and probably accounts for his miserable existence.”

“Mom,” Molly Beth whispered.

I bit my lip and lowered my head so I wouldn’t laugh. Dom, who’d just taken a drink of orange juice, spluttered but managed not to choke. I peeked from the corner of my eye to gauge the other reactions around the table. Dom Sr. covered his mouth with his napkin while Christian saluted his grandmother with a scone.

Janet snorted. “It’s okay. There’s no need to tiptoe around us.” She placed her hand on Christian’s shoulder, and he smiled at her. “We’ve had a shock, to be sure, but both of us have already taken steps to put our lives in order. We’re going to come out of this stronger than ever.”

“I have no doubt,” Molly Beth said.

“What miracles have you pulled off this close to Christmas?” Helen asked.

“The first thing I did was hire legal representation,” Janet replied. “My dear friend is one of the best divorce lawyers in Colorado, and she is all too happy to stick it to John.”

“Glad to know there’s at least one woman John hasn’t already stuck it to,” Helen said.

“Mom!” Molly Beth said.

“You’re right,” Helen replied. “You and I never fell for his smarmy ways either.”

“She missed the point of my objection,” Molly Beth said to Dominic.

“No, love. She ignored it. Big difference.” He leaned toward his wife. “Why would you expect anything different after all this time?”

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