Page 70 of Darkest Retribution

Dominic is crouching down, grabbing his clothes and throwing them on. My heart feels hollow as I watch him.

“Please stay,” I whisper, quietly enough that he doesn’t hear.

Once he’s dressed, he turns to me, smiling when he sees me awake. “I’ll be right back,” he says, kissing the top of my head.

I frown as he leaves the room, wondering where the hell he’s going and why he’s coming back. But I’m too tired and in too much pain to care, so I pull the blankets over my shoulders and close my eyes.

After a minute, I hear my bedroom door quietly close, and then the light flicks off.

What?

“Grumpy?”

“Right here.” The mattress dips on the empty side of the bed, and the blankets shift, like he’s getting under the covers.

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like?” His arm wraps around my waist, pulling me until my back is pressed into his front.

It’s comforting, having him hold me like this. I don’t need him here—I know I don’t. But it’s still really fucking nice to have him.

“I can go if you want me to,” he whispers, and I realize I haven’t responded.

Silence bleeds through the air until it’s so quiet I’m sure Dominic can hear the mess of thoughts in my head.

Finally, I roll over, my hands finding his body, warm and firm and everything I’ve come to want. “No. Stay.”

We settle into each other as I fight the thoughts warring in my mind.

This is a terrible idea.

What if Rosie walks in on us together?

You’re going to leave in a couple days and never see him again. Let yourself have this.

Goddammit. Why is he so...so...Fuck.

“You’re not supposed to feel like this,” I murmur.

“Like what?”

I scrunch my eyes shut as a silent tear falls onto my cheek. And then I whisper one word that makes my heart crumble to pieces. “Safe.”

Chapter seventeen

Dominic

Inthemorning,Iwake before Jade. Well, more specifically, I wake to her hair in my face. I’d be annoyed if it didn’t make me so damn happy.

Smoothing it back, I take her in. She looks relaxed in a way I’ve never seen before. For once, she doesn’t seem guarded.

I could see her fighting to keep her walls up last night, but I don’t think she succeeded. Especially since she asked me to stay, so quietly I’m not sure she meant for me to hear her.

I was dreading going back home, so I snatched up the opportunity.

Careful not to wake her, I untangle my legs from Jade’s. Then, quietly, I slip my pants and shirt back on. It’s a quarter to seven, and Rosie’s bus shows up a little before eight. I’m not sure what their morning routine looks like, but I can at least take care of breakfast so Jade can sleep a little longer.

I send Felix a text letting him know that I’ll be coming in to work late. He replies with a smirking face emoji, and I roll my eyes.

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