Page 121 of For the Love of the Gods

He had dropped his head and his shoulders were jutting forward every few seconds as a silent sob wracked his body.

“Dominic,” I beckoned, pulling on his arm so that he’d face me.

He shook his head.

“Dominic, baby, look at me.”

He listened, slowly revealing his face. He looked so distraught, his eyebrows pulled tight and his eyes glassy.

“Dominic, I’m okay,” I said softly, begging him to believe it.

“No.” God, he sounded so pained. “This is my fault.”

I shook my head. “No, it's not.”

“Yes,” he said, refusing to meet my eyes. “I was such a dick to you. I made it okay for everyone to treat you the same.”

“You didn’t make them do anything.”

Regret was visible on his entire body, from the way his eyebrows pinched together to the way he was gripping my elbows in a silent plea to blame him. “Didn’t I?”

“No. However we acted towards each other in the past is in. The. Past.” Because I hadn’t spared an insult or quip in front of anyone. Didn’t plan to in the future, either.

Anyone who had hurt me did so on their own volition.

“I’m sorry,” Dominic shook his head, flicking water in my face. I smiled and his breath hitched. “I don’t know how to fix this.”

“You don’t need to fix anything. Everyone is either dead or in the dungeons, ready for us to get to the bottom of it. We can trust our friends to handle it. Right now, I just need you.”

The wordneedcaught his attention. “You need me?”

“I do,” I said, in lieu of a different response, the one I was hiding away for now.

Dominic breathed out and closed his eyes for a second, and then faster than I could blink, slammed his mouth down on mine. The kiss started slow and wet, his tongue dragging over my bottom lip and against my own tongue in a long stroke.

The second my nails dug into his back, Dominic backed us against the heated tile wall and hiked me up so that my legs could wrap around his waist.

“Wait,” he said, pulling back and leaving me heaving and trying to catch my breath. “I need you to know that you don’t need my forgiveness, but you have it.”

I started crying, slow hot streams down my face. Overwhelmed by the force of what existed between us. Dominic looked like he just found me folded on the floor again.

“Please, Rose,” Dominic begged. “Please don’t cry. I’m barely hanging on by a thread right now and your tears will take whatever is left of my sanity.”

“I’ve had a rough day,” I said, my voice watery.

“Tell me how to make it better.” His wet hair was falling into his face, a darker brown than normal. “I’ll do anything.”

I pulled on the back of his neck, threading my fingers through the strands there. “Kiss me, please. I need you.”

He listened, bringing his lips back to mine. The desperation was thick between us, heightening every touch, making me focus on every place his hands dug into my skin.

I could feel him hard and ready against my thigh, but he kept his hands pressed against my ass, kneading it in slow strokes as I attacked his mouth. I was burning, aching, and needed him in between my legs, not imprinting his fingers into my skin.

I whimpered, pulling on his wrists. Dominic broke the kiss to drop his mouth to my ear. “You need me, huh?”

I nodded furiously, grappling with his forearms, begging him to move.

“Where do youneedme, sweetheart?” Dominic growled in my ear. “You can’t just grind all over me and expect me to know what you want. Use your words.”

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