Page 71 of For the Love of the Gods

“I hate you, too,” I agreed, drifting off with Rose’s shampoo filling my nose and her body warming my side.

Chapter 20

Rose

The sound of banging and screaming woke me up from a dreamless, deep sleep. I was sore, but in the best way possible, and I stretched my hands above my head, pressing against the headboard before I registered just how urgent the banging was.

Dominic seemed to notice it at the same moment as a voice came through the door.

“Two seconds, or I’m breaking this thing down!” That yell definitely belonged to Marcus. And I was naked. We both were.

Dominic and I looked at each other, giving me just a moment to stare at his delicious bed head and sleepy brown eyes before shooting out of bed.

The room was a disaster. His clothes were everywhere, I had no idea where my dress was, and god knew where my underwear had disappeared to.

Dominic managed to throw on his boxers and chucked a shirt at me, hitting me square in the back of the head. I yanked it over, the hem falling indecently short. It was bigger than anything I owned, but I was still tall, and I was showing way too much leg.

I looked up to find Dominic staring at me with pure hatred in his eyes.

Or at least, I thought it was, but then I blinked and I realized the expression was the most raw, carnal look of desire I’d ever seen. It looked like he was being held back by invisible restraints, his body tilted towards mine, but something stopped him.

“That’s yours, now.” His voice, hismorningvoice, sent a shiver from my head down to my toes.

This was so beyond fucked. Now it was going to be harder to lie to him. Especially when I’d admit to just about anything when he had his hand wrapped lightly around my throat and had a hand between my legs.

I. Hated. Him. I reminded myself. There was absolutely no indication he felt guilty about the way he had treated me.

Wasn’t it justified?The thought crept into my brain, running across it like a scurrying bug. It was doubt, in its purest form, and I shoved it away as quickly as I could. Dominic didn’t fit in my life, end of.

My spiral was cut off by the sound of a door breaking off its hinges.

Marcus and Raiden came bursting in like they were expecting to find us tied up with knives pressed to our throats.

Instead, they found a rumpled bed, clothes all over the floor, and Dominic and I standing five feet apart, staring at each other, with nothing more than a pair of boxers and a shirt between us.

My face immediately flushed in embarrassment.

Raiden and Marcus stopped short, both standing equally tense as they realized what they just walked in on.

“Well,” Marcus said, always first to diffuse a situation, “Glad you two didn’t kill each other.”

You’re killing me, I’d cried last night, head thrown back against a pillow with Dominic’s face between my legs.

My face had to be the color of a pomegranate now.

Dominic stepped in front of me, even though Raiden had his eyes trained to the ceiling and eyebrows raised just as high, and Marcus was looking at Dominic instead of me.

“Both of you,get out. We will be downstairs in a minute.”

“A real minute, Dominic.” Raiden sounded like a cat had its claws embedded in his throat, he was so uncomfortable.

They left, wisely fleeing, with the locks in hand. My room was now open and welcoming, but I stayed where I was, scared to move a muscle.

“Get dressed.” Dominic’s voice was hard, unwavering.

“Okay.”

And that was it, it seemed. No discussion, no obvious regret, but also no appreciation, nolet’s do that again, how about now?

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