7. Dominic
DOMINIC
F or a few minutes, I lie awake watching the beautiful woman asleep on my chest. I like the way Este looks atop me, how peaceful she appears as I stroke her back, and I delight in the little purring noises she makes as I continue touching her.
While I’m not sure I believe in fairytale clichés like love at first sight, when I laid eyes on Este in that registration tent, sunbeams dancing across her face, something came over me. I had to know her.
And now that I know her, despite how soon it is, I won’t let her go. Not even for a second.
I know I’m going to love her.
Este has allowed herself to be vulnerable with me.
There’s no more vulnerable act than sleep—even sex.
Waking up next to another human being with crazy hair and morning breath leaves a person feeling exposed.
Given that I’m her first kiss since her late husband, I know Este trusts me, and I feel like we’re on the same page.
Casual relationships no longer appeal to me, given my age. With that tornado bearing down upon us last night, I realized I would have given my life to protect Este and her sweet daughter. So, Este was probably right—this is infinitely more than a third date.
Mom talked a lot when I was a younger man about the “just knowing” part of meeting your true love, how she knew from the first date that she was going to marry my father.
I figured she was looking back with rose-colored glasses, but then I saw Este standing there at the table, stabbing herself with her name tag, and I realized anything is possible.
It's not long before I doze off, too. I don’t wake for five hours, until I hear Este yawn loudly beside me.
My eyes flutter open and focus on her sweet face: her high cheekbones with a smattering of freckles on them, the slight flush on her face, the crinkles surrounding her big blue eyes fixed on my own, framed by long, dark eyelashes that curl perfectly.
She’s beautiful, and I can’t help but tell her so.
A blush creeps to Este’s cheeks. “Thank you, Dom.”
Her stomach growls so loudly, we both throw our heads back and laugh. I want to keep her in bed forever, but instead, I ask, “Shall I take you out to lunch? It’s nearly one.”
“That requires leaving my house.” She harumphs and turns to lie on her back, clicking a remote button to turn the ceiling fan on higher. It’s a little warm in here.
“I can order from an app. What sounds good?” I roll closer to her as she stretches, her waist-length tank riding up her ribs, and on impulse, I press my open mouth to the adorable slight curve of her belly.
She erupts in giggles that only encourage me to keep teasing her, and I bring my fingertips to her sides and tickle them while I keep kissing up her ribs and nearly graze the lower part of her breast.
The giggles fade, replaced with a long, high-pitched moan that’s like music to my ears.
Holy shit.
I slide my hand up her side beneath the tank top and move it up and down slowly as I kiss the exact spot that just made her moan so loudly.
Este throws her head back. I love the effect I have on her.
It makes me want to rip her clothes off and fill her with my already-hard cock.
But I don’t. Somehow, I think better of it and pull down her shirt.
As she pouts, I put a couple of inches between us until I regain control.
“What do you feel like eating?” I ask again.
“Egg salad,” Este announces, as I stare at the peaks of her nipples through her thin shirt.
This is no way to calm myself down, continuing to ogle her until she waves. “Hello?”
She gasps a second later, and I follow her gaze down to the boxers I’m wearing. Immediately, it’s clear she’s staring at my exposed cock, which is hard and jutting out of my waistband, the whole tip exposed to her. I’m embarrassed, though she’s already seen all of me in the creek.
I want to tell her I’m all hers. That my cock already has her name on it. I don’t want to scare her off, so I shift around and lie on my stomach.
“You’re, like…” Este trails off with wide eyes.
“What, honey?”
“Big.” She exhales noisily with trepidation rising to her face. “And I haven’t been with anybody in three years. And never anyone quite as impressive as you are.” She closes her eyes. “You’d really only be…”
I peer up at her as she lies on her side next to me, our faces close together. Reaching up, I rub her cheekbone in circles with my thumb, and she lets out a deep breath. “You’d only be the second man I’ve been with. Ever.”
Holy. Fucking. Hell.
Other than her husband, she’s never been with anyone else? Well, hell, now I feel like I’ve been inappropriate with her. We’ve spent two total days together, and our third has been a long, cuddly nap, and I’m already terrifying her with my slightly-above-average package. Way to go, bro.
“Let me see you again,” Este whispers, the last thing I thought she was going to say. I don’t ask questions, just roll back over and wait as she ogles me.
“More.”
More? Ah, what the hell? I push down the boxers until my cock springs free and listen to Este breathing heavily beside me.
“I’d never hurt you,” I promise her.
“You’re…curved.”
“For your pleasure.” I laugh. “Trust me, it’s in a good way. Not a scary way.”
I’d certainly never had any complaints about this particular body part.
She looks at me with wide, lust-filled eyes and a hint of fear.
“You must have expectations. You know, men want women who know what they want and know what to do with…all of that. I’m inexperienced. And honestly? Wholly intimidated.” Este cringes.
I hate that she’s worried for no reason.
“Hey, I just want you, Este. Trust me, I only have hopes, not expectations. And like I said, I would never hurt you. Could never. I care about you too much,” I promise her.
She closes her eyes, reaches out, and pulls my face to hers.
I kiss her without holding back, slanting her head with my hands until she opens her mouth and gives me access, allowing my tongue to duel with hers.
When she shoves her chest against mine, I push up her shirt until it’s bare skin against bare skin, her lovely moans dancing in my ears.
This kiss is relentless. It shows no mercy: I’m making her mine, staking my claim, undeniably.
Universe, this woman is mine.
And when her small hand reaches out and fists around my cock, I nearly come from the unexpected sensuality of it.
Este sucks my tongue as her hand squeezes me, and I risk ruining the moment by releasing her face and ducking my head to use my tongue on her peaked, pink nipples.
“Oh! Oh!” Este cries out with total abandon as she smothers me into her breast, and I suck until she begins to shake. I wonder if I can make her come just from this, but then, I suggest something else.
“Touch yourself, Este.”
She’s all too eager to obey. Este sneaks her hand beneath her pajama shorts.
“Yeah, honey,” I practically whimper at the sight. “How wet are you right now?”
“So, so wet.”
I only wish I could see what is going on under those panties as I continue my ministrations on her breasts. Eventually, she stops stroking me to focus on herself, which is fine by me. I squeeze one nipple while I lick the other up and down and in circles, and she screams out, grabbing my hair.
Este’s hips thrust up against her fingertips, and I hear the wet noises coming from between her thighs. God, they sound sexy. I long to see her, taste her, but I resume kissing her instead as I pinch her nipples, and she moans into my mouth.
She tilts her head back and cries out, her entire body shuddering as she orgasms. Then, she seems to need me to hold her tight, so I wrap her up in my arms and hold her close, whispering how perfect she is.
“What a good girl,” I tell her, and she gives me a dazzling smile.
Finally less dazed from the afterglow, she lies back on my chest and sighs happily.
“I can’t believe I did that.” Este blushes. “That’s kind of the last thing I expected to do in front of you today.”
“It was so hot witnessing you get yourself off like that. I liked the way you touched me, too.”
She licks her lips and then bites her lower one.
“I would have gone further, but I got a little freaked out. I lost my virginity at seventeen years old after prom. Nine months later, I had Reed and had to become an adult overnight. I got married a few years later, but my late husband wasn’t around much during her younger years.
My parents and both sets of grandparents were great until we had to relocate, and it was mostly me raising Reed on my own. ”
I run my hand through her hair and kiss her forehead.
“What do you want with Holland Creek?” Este asks me out of the blue.
“Your grandparents’ place?”
“Yeah. You’ve made so many offers, and you’ve gone way over what it would normally sell for. What’s the appeal?” Este makes eye contact with me.
“Veteran housing. There’s not a lot of low-cost veteran housing in the area, and my buddy Finn, whom you briefly met, has a charity that helps build tiny homes and prefabricated houses for veterans in need.
I’d like to partner my organization with his and use some of my property, as well as most of Holland Creek, to create a small neighborhood. A community.”
Unmistakable pride in Este’s eyes, she nods. “Admirable. Makes it infinitely harder for me to hold on to it.”
“That’s not what I want,” I tell her. “Don’t feel even a little bit bad. If you’re attached to the property, I don’t want you to lose it. I can start the tiny homes on my land, but I’m afraid you might lose some of your privacy in the creek.”
A war wages on Este’s face. On one hand, she’s disappointed to hear about the creek. It appears as though she’s deliberating. I don’t push her either way because this is a decision that’s only hers to make.
“Egg salad,” Este finally announces. I laugh as she rolls off me and pulls her tank top down, and I finally yank my boxers back on.
I reach for the T-shirt on the floor, and Este stops me. “Um, no. A chest that gorgeous is made to be stared at. Besides, it’s like a hundred degrees out. Keep the shirt off.”
Jeans it is.
I can’t help but look around her room and wonder if she has any remaining photos of her late husband, but I don’t see any.
There are tons of photos of her with people whom I assume are her parents, her grandparents, and lots of Este and Mallory.
Endless selfies in a collage of Este and Reed—obvious adoration on her face as she beams at her daughter.
Photos of me and Gwen’s kids line my stairwell, but I’ve never had the chance to be a parent. Never found the right woman. Now, I’m old. When the hell had that happened? I’d probably missed my chance.
Lord knows Este had her baby young, and now that she’s thirty-four, I doubt she’d want to start over again. I’m afraid to even ask.
One day, maybe Reed could grow to see me as a stepfather figure. Or at least a positive male influence in her life. That seems like the most I can hope for as I find the food app and type the diner's name that offers carry-out. Their egg salad is unbeatable.