Page 53 of The Bad Girl List

I leap straight into the opening she has provided. “He has a lot of women. Tourists are his specialty. That way he never has to commit to anyone.”

“That sounds ideal,” Dom says.

Now I’m confused. I’d pretty much just called Kevin a man slut. “How does that make him ideal?”

“I mean, it makes him a good candidate for number ten,” Dom says. “If tourists are his specialty, then I just have to go through the motions with him so I can cross number ten off the list.”

The idea of Dom going through the motions with Kevin does not sit well with me. “I think we can find you someone better.”

“Okaaay.” Dom looks at me, not saying anything else.

I stare back at her. The unspoken question hanging between us makes me simultaneously uneasy and aroused. My dick has been partially hard ever since Dom slid into the back seat of Thomas’s Tesla with me. I want her as much as I did that first night, maybe even more so now. But I can’t shake the guilt over Elle that arises every time I think about being with Dom.

“You’re right,” I say at last. “He’s fine for number ten.” Saying those words makes me more irritable than it should. I try to shake off the feeling. “Hey, should we go inside and see what Annika and Thomas are up to?” I point to the doorway that leads back into the bar, which is now pulsing with music from the deejay.

She frowns. “Kevin is bringing back drinks for us.”

“Don’t worry, he’ll find some other beautiful girl to share them with. Come on.” I rise and hold out my hand, eager to leave before Kevin finds his way back to us and monopolizes all of Dom’s attention.

Her eyes search mine, and again I feel the unspoken question surfacing between us. The skin between my shoulder blades begins to itch. I don’t know what I’ll say if she voices the question–if she asks me to be her number ten.

Dom opens her mouth to speak. My anxiety ratchets up another notch, but all she says is, “Okay, let’s go back inside.” She rises, reaching for the jar of compost I’d given her.

I’m reminded of how lame the present is. I could have brought her fresh flowers from the vineyard, or even a bottle of wine, or some other stupid tchotchke from the tasting room, like a branded wine opener. What in the world had possessed me to bring her dirt?

But Dom turns the jar in her hand, flashing me a brief smile before dropping it into her purse.

“This is officially my favorite wine country souvenir,” she says.

I hadn’t even realized I’d been holding my breath until my chest relaxes. Dom takes my outstretched hand. I pull her against my side and rest my hand on the bare skin of her back. She’s so petite that my hand stretches from one curve of her waist to the other. The feel of her makes my dick twitch. Touching her makes it hard to think, but not touching her seems like an even worse option.

I lead her back into Platitude. We make it inside before Kevin can return with the promised drinks.

If possible, the bar is even more crowded than it had been when we first arrived. I spot Annika and Thomas. Minnie has joined them, the three of them playing pool. There are shots lined up on the green felt. No doubt a drinking game is underway.

Kevin is at the bar, his back to us. Three glasses of wine are in front of him, but he’s busy talking to a girl in a low cut shirt. I shift, putting my body between Dom and Kevin.

It occurs to me that I’m behaving like a jealous boyfriend, but I can’t seem to stop. And now I’ve dragged her into the overcrowded bar, which both of us dislike, all in the name of getting her away from Kevin.

I point to the dance floor in front of the deejay, trying to rally. “Do you dance?” I have to lean down to shout in her ear.

“Hell, no.” She shakes her head emphatically.

“Thank God. Neither do I.”

She laughs. The sound of it heats my blood.

“Um, I don’t think there’s room around the pool table to join them,” she says. “Not unless we want to be trampled to death by those guys.” She points to a group of people dry humping one another as the deejay plays Anaconda.

“Do you want to grab that table over there?” I point to a bistro table near the front entrance, barely visible through the crowd. When she nods, I keep my hand on her back and guide her through the throng.

Twice she has to sandwich her front against me so we can squeeze through a narrow opening. It takes all my willpower not to wrap her in my arms. I settle for glaring at some of the dicks I see checking her out.

We finally make it to the empty bistro table. I have just pulled out her chair when someone says, “There you guys are! Decided to join the fun, huh?”

Fucking shit. Kevin bustles around me. He plops the glasses of Pinot Noir on the table and grabs a chair, inviting himself to join us.

I force myself to lean back in the chair while Kevin launches into a spiel about Pinot Noir. Dom is genuinely interested, tasting through the wine selections and asking questions.

---