Page 10 of The Doctor

“Look, kid, you came to me.” I knew he was exhausted too, but there were things he needed to hear. “But with me comes Bex and her family. And to be honest, those are the people you want surrounding you when trouble comes knocking. You will be safe but you need to understand that we are in charge.”

Dominic narrowed his eyes. “Are you two, like, together?”

“No.” Bex frowned and continued to pace with Victoria.

I glared at her and raised a brow before turning back to Dominic. “Not yet.”

“So did you break up?” I wasn’t sure if he was annoyed or curious. Or if that scowl had more to do with the fact that he was a teenager. “I mean, after me?”

The details didn’t seem pertinent to the discussion. The last thing he needed to know was that Bex had dumped me as soon as he was born.

“We broke up while we were still in high school.” It was vague but truthful. “I was headed to Columbia and Bex joined the Army.”

“But you’re still friends or something now?” Yeah, the kid was curious.

“We are friends. Who are looking to be more.” I wasn’t going to lie. I needed his trust. Besides, there was no harm in being honest with the kid. The last thing we needed on top of everything else was for him to discover we were lying to him. “But we were… Uhm, we’ll see. You don’t need to worry about that.”

Well, that was less than truthful. I mean, we would go on our second first date at some point but that was so not what we were thinking a few hours ago. Though, that would not be happening now. Not with three kids in the house. I mean, I knew parents had sex with children in the house all the time. And I’d even heard how they attempted to keep things quiet. Noah, who had a teenage girl, had mentioned that sleepovers were great since he could make his woman scream.

I planned on making Bex scream the first time we were together.

“So, if you’re not together, that means one of you will take the couch.” He folded his arms as if he was the parent and we were the wayward teenagers. Which means I will be stuck in the room with Landy and Victoria until all this is over.

Bex rolled her eyes and stopped pacing to look at him. “I said you could have the couch tomorrow night, if you really don’t want to share. Logan and I are grown-ups. We are perfectly capable of sharing a bed.”

Well, we were, but I didn’t think that was a good idea.

Dom eyed her with suspicion. I was sure I did, too. It was the kid who spoke however. “I thought you were still new. Won’t you want to… you know?”

Bex’s cheeks were scarlet. And the only reason Dom’s weren’t the same color was because of his darker skin tone. Though I could just make out the light shade of pink. Yeah, he was curious but I needed to shut down the conversation. For one, it was notappropriate. And secondly, the idea of having Bex in my bed was making me hard. Again.

Bex did smile though. “Logan and I are grown-ups,” she repeated. What happens when that door is closed is nobody’s business. Besides, just because two adults share a bed, doesn’t mean they have to have sex.”

That had Dom’s cheeks turning a little more pink and he turned away from Bex. “I know.”

With that, the topic was shut down. I stifled a smile and imagined the situation was pretty close to what happened in homes with teenagers every single day. Everyone was embarrassed to talk about sex, but it occasionally creeped into conversation.

Instead of allowing the silence to grow awkward, I continued with the sleeping arrangements. “I’ll sleep on the couch tonight, though. That way Bex can have some privacy.”

“I don’t need privacy.” She frowned at me and I knew I had a battle on my hands. “It makes more sense for me to sleep on the couch. I’m a little smaller. Besides, I’m the one who should be closer to the door.”

Yeah, that was not going to happen. “Really, where was that concern when Dominic wanted the couch?”

“That will be tomorrow when I’ll have organized more security for the apartment and the building.” Bex moved Victoria to the other shoulder. “For now, I’m the best person to guard the apartment.”

She was starting to piss me off. Not that I could do much about it other than standing my ground. “Thanks to your brothers looking after Julie, this is most likely the most secure apartment building in its price range in the whole of fu… freaking California. If someone tried to get in here, you’d have plenty of time to come from the bedroom to protect us.” The truth was I knew Bex was better at that kind of stuff. It didn’tbother me. I would always defer to her judgment when it came to our safety. Especially with Dominic and his siblings in our care. Still. “There is no way I will sleep in my king-sized bed while my woman sleeps on the couch. That is not happening.”

Her shoulders slouched and I knew I had won that argument. She knew it had nothing to do with wanting to protect her and everything to do with the kind of man I was. The kind of man her dad taught me and her brothers to be.

“Fine.” She handed the baby to Dom and walked to the small open plan kitchen. “Is anyone hungry? I’m sure I could make us something quick.” She opened my cupboards and then the fridge. “Tuna sandwiches?”

I shook my head, but Dom nodded. “Landon and I had a burger a few hours ago. This is way past his bedtime, but I am sure he’s hungry.”

The little boy was lying on the couch tucked into Dom. His eyes were drooping showing how tired he was. Still, he needed to eat something.

Bex frowned. “Where did you get the money to travel here? Did you take a plane or a bus?”

“I used the credit card my mother gave me for emergencies.” Dom shifted as if he were guilty. “I drew as much cash as I could. I didn’t want anyone to know where I went and I was sure they’d be able to track the transactions. Then, I bought a train ticket and traveled to San Diego. When I was there, I did a search for where you stayed. Took a bus and then a RideShare. I used cash every step of the way.”

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