Page 60 of Between Love and Loathing
Also, a large muscular arm was draped across my waist. I tried to slide away, I felt the scruff of his five-o’clock shadow as he nestled into my neck and yanked me closer. “Go to bed next to me, you wake up next to me, cupcake.” I felt his cock and the length of him immediately made my body react by rolling my hips. “Don’t tempt me unless you want to deliver.”
I sort of did.
But I needed to remind myself that this was fake. I sighed. “Stay in bed if you want, but I have to get up and get ready for the market. Plus, Sugar and Spice are here. Did you let them in?”
“They were meowing at your door this morning.” He shrugged. “I fed them, and they scarfed it down like two full-grown dogs.”
“Yeah, I think they were starving outside when I picked them up,” I murmured, trying to stop the pitter-patter of my heart. Did people know the Dominic Hardy I did? Or did they just know Mr. Hardy? Because Mr. Hardy was quiet and ruthless but had earned respect. Dominic Hardy on the other hand, didn’t wait for respect. He’d taken it last night, swiftly and unapologetically before he came here to worship me and then took care of my freaking kittens.
He rolled over to pet both of them, whispering something only they could hear.
I evil-eyed them both. “You two slept next to him when you know your mother feeds you every single day?”
“They know when there’s a good man in their bed.” He claimed to hate animals, but he wasn’t acting like it as he scratched Spice’s neck.
“You should be ashamed, Spice.” I swear she narrowed her eyes at me before I huffed and got out of bed right as my phone rang. I knew that ring tone, and I winced before I silenced it.
“Who are you avoiding?” He glared at the phone, probably hoping it would announce an answer to his question. With a stare that inquisitive, I was surprised it didn’t.
“Anastasia.”
The usual vibration from deep in his chest rumbled out before he said, “Not talking?”
“She doesn’t approve of my being here. So, I don’t really talk to them much at this point.”
“But she’s calling because…?”
“I don’t really know.” I shrugged. This was my new start, and I was trying my best not to taint it. Boundaries were built through blood, sweat, and tears. Mostly tears here because I wanted something with my sister that I couldn’t have. “I’m avoiding it right now. I’ll answer later, but I have enough going on with this bakery. I realize my boundaries are probably—”
“Just what you need. Keep establishing them, babe.” He said it with conviction like he knew.
“You have boundaries over there too?”
“Well, you met my Natya,” he offered, and I waited for him to continue, my whole body tensing at her name. Muscles that were conditioned in feeling heartbreak, feeling like second best. A mind can ready itself for that type of thing after enough time spent with people who tore them down.
“I met your ex,” I said softly.
“Well, the woman is good at wiggling between every boundary but I made quite a few of them after I left her.”
“Most women in love are good at that.” I picked at the fabric of my bed. If I was being honest with both of us, he needed to consider what he might be doing, passing on Natya for a fake relationship with me. “I think she loves you and you should probably be sure—”
“Sure I want her out of my life?” He chuckled and pulled me close by the wrist of the hand I was using to fidget. “You hedging on whether or not I want to keep dating you, little fighter?”
“I’m not… I’m trying to make sure you don’t make some catastrophic mistake in your life by pushing her away if you really—”
“I’d be making a catastrophic mistake losing you. How about that?”
I sighed and tried to smile as I glanced at Dominic staring at me and shook my head before I got out of the bed. “We’ll stay in bed all day if we don’t move.”
“I don’t mind,” he grumbled, but that was a lie. Dominic worked harder than anyone I’d ever seen. His eyes roved over me before they froze halfway down and widened on my body.
He was up and out of the bed so fast, I jumped. “What?! Is there a spider?”
“Not a spider.” He growled, snapping his hand out fast to catch my arm. Then he said in a grave tone. “What is this on your arm?”
Looking down, I saw the culprit of his worry and immediately relaxed but slapped a hand over it to hide it away. Wrinkling my nose, I turned around and went digging through my closet to find a light long sleeve. “I get rashes sometimes.”
“Sometimes?” I heard rustling but didn’t turn around. “Since when?”
