When Isneezed, he jumped out of bed, looking alarmed.
“Did Igive you a cold? Are you okay?”
“Idon’t know. It’s fine.”
“Doyou have a fever?”
Whenhe tried to feel my forehead, I pushed his hand away.
“I’mfine, Tye. Knock it off.”
Hiseyes widened in disbelief.
“You calledme by my first name. I’m shocked.”
I wentto the living room and slid into my jeans, ignoring his comment.
“I’mgoing out. I need some fresh air and vitamins. Do you want something?”
“Iwould kill for a chocolate muffin,” he practically begged. “What’s your firstname, by the way?”
Ilooked around, trying to remember where I left my sneakers.
“Dominic.”
Ispotted them under the chair and put them on. When I straightened up, he wasgrinning like an idiot.
“What?”I said with a frown.
“Dominic,”he repeated, smiling widely. “I like it.”
“I’lldie happy.”
Thorsen
Dominic.
Itsuited him. His boxers suited him too, which I wasn’t surprised to discoverwhen he crawled out of bed looking like a sex god. One glance at his ass wastoo big of a temptation, so I looked up, skipping one threat after the other.Namely, a fitted, black T-shirt, the black ink on his arm, messy hair, andgorgeous sleepy eyes. Not to mention his crotch that featured what could havebeen either impressive morning wood or a full-blown erection. Who was he hardfor? Vicky? Or for a certain someone with whom he cuddled all night long?
Stopit.
Unlikehis underwear, Vic didn’t suit him at all. Was I jealous? Hell, yeah, but itwasn’t why she didn’t sit well with me. I disliked her because she seemed likea collector, both of pretty things and of pretty people. At some point she’dcollected Dominic Carter, and now she wanted to put him on the shelf betweenher Patek Philippe and Manolo Blahnik. It bothered me because Carter was a goodguy, and I wanted him to find an equally good girl who would appreciate him. Orhe could choose me. I would appreciate him, too—all night, every night, untilmy balls would fall off. Days, too. Weekends, especially.
At thesound of the front door opening, I threw myself on the sofa and turned on theTV, willing my boner down. Carter closed the door behind him with his foot,holding a bunch of bags in his hands. How did he manage to return so quickly?Or was I daydreaming again?
“Achocolate muffin with extra chocolate,” he said, as I jumped to my feet andhelped him with the bags. “And groceries.”
“Icould kiss you right now," I mumbled, biting into the muffin with relish.“How are you feeling?”
“Muchbetter,” he replied as I handed him the milk so he could put it in the fridge.“A walk in the fresh air felt good. By the way, I washed your clothes lastnight. They smelled bad.”
Iswallowed the rest of my muffin, staring at him. Big, bad Dominic “The Trigger”Carter washed my clothes while I lay sick in his bed, and the realizationfucked me up.
“Aww,"I said, walking up to him. “That’s so sweet. Thank you.”
Andthen, because I’d been a gambler in my previous life, I hugged him. I couldn’thelp myself. He did something sweet, and it moved me, and I wanted him to knowit. Was he happy with my expression of gratitude? Undecided. He tensed up, buthe didn’t push me away. He didn’t punch me, but he didn’t hug me back either. Iglanced around to make sure his gun wasn’t near when I got an awkward clap onthe back that made me smile. Dominic Carter wasn’t a hugger. I knew that. Whichmade this a big deal. I would have kept on hugging him too, but I had to pullaway because I was getting hard again.
“Iappreciate it,” I said when my eyes met the jungle green gaze. “Really.”