Page 107 of For the Love of the Gods

“I should or we should?” I asked and Rose gifted me with a smile. One of the real ones that sent a flash of pride through my chest when I did something to earn one.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Rose asked carefully.

I nodded, restraining what would have likely been a desperate plea to get her into my bed.

And starting tonight I was turning it intoourbed. No more of this sleeping in separate rooms bullshit. I rinsed the dishes quickly and led Rose upstairs by the hand.

She disappeared to the bathroom to wash her face, but came back to our room to strip off her dress and throw on one of my t-shirts. I had the same reaction I did the morning after the lockdown. Pure and utter satisfaction.

Rose looked fucking hot in my shirt.

At the glint in my eyes, Rose walked over and pressed a soft kiss to my lips, then wrapped herself around me and didn’t let go until we fell asleep.

Chapter 28

Rose

I woke up in Dominic’s bed. Again.

The night after the beach felt like a result of exhaustion, the night of the anniversary of his parents passing felt like a desperate grab for comfort.

But there was no good explanation for the other nights I’d spent here. No reason other than the warmth of his bed and his body that kept me turning back towards his room every night.

Every time I walked back through the door, I could have sworn Dominic sagged a little with relief. But that could also be my traitorous brain trying to justify the flips my stomach did when I saw him lying shirtless amongst disheveled sheets.

So, this was my routine now, waking up with Dominic curled along my back, a strong arm banded around my waist.

After a rather extended wake up that ended with him leading me downstairs to the kitchen with flushed cheeks, we went about our routine.

Dominic and I now had aroutine. One we did together.

I cooked. Dominic made his coffee and my tea. We sat at the kitchen table and had a conversation that contained a maximum of two minutes of bickering on a good day, eight most. Only about ten or so epithets thrown around.

It was weird.

But I’d come to crave the twisted feeling in my chest when I saw him, the instinct to trust him even though my brain hadn’t quite caught up yet. Shit, I’d basically told him the entire Pine story on the day ofhisparent’s death.

Dominic hadn’t changed the way he treated me though. Just took in the information and proceeded as normal and it was everything I could have asked for.

I knew there were so many conversations we had to have. But for now, I was living in sweet blissful ignorance and enjoying my tea with Dominic’s warm hand on my thigh. Because that was what people who hated each other did.

Right as we were talking about updating the gates on the Upperworld side to Purgatory, Marcus entered the kitchen, drawing our attention to his hulking form.

“Morning,” he greeted, somewhat terse. Bubble: burst.

“Good morning, Marcus,” I said. Dominic just grumbled. I laughed softly, then added, “That was his way of saying good morning too.”

Marcus crossed his arms over his chest but grinned. “Figured as much.” He paused, breathing in. “Look, can I steal you for a second?”

My back straightened involuntarily. “What for?”

“We need to talk about…” Marcus trailed off, but his hand moved over his shirt slightly, signaling that this was about the dress.

Guess they found who it was. My stomach sank slightly at the thought. I hated having to retaliate, but this was pretty bad.

I must have physically reacted in some way, because Dominic squeezed my leg softly. And then I made a decision. “You can tell me now. Dominic can hear.”

I could hear the shocked snap of air Dominic sucked through his nostrils.

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