Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
DEX
“I’m heading home,” I tell Thom as I move through the gym. “Rome is waiting for me.”
Thom waggles his eyebrows. His mood has improved since the fire. For a while there, he was constantly upset, but now that the rebuild has begun, we’re both a lot less stressed.
“A special surprise?” he asks, and I slug him in the arm while he laughs. “I’m kidding, I’ve got it from here. See you tomorrow.”
Truth be told, Rome has been acting a little weird the last few days. Peering at his phone too often, fibbing when I ask him what he’s looking at. I’ve been worried and trying not to show it. But the truth is, I’ve grown dependent on him. I’m fucking obsessed with this man.
Now it seems like things are slowly going sideways, and I don’t know why. I know I’ve been busy dealing with insurance, the fire department, and contractors, but I’ve always made time for him.
I’ll always make time for him. So if this is about how busy I’ve been lately, I can make some changes. I just want him to be happy. I need to tell him how I feel and figure out why he’s been acting so weird lately.
I need to beg him to stay with me. To give us a chance. I know I’m catastrophizing, but I’ve been under immense amounts of stress, and I can’t help but feel slightly overwhelmed.
Without as much heart as I’d like, I give my brother a wave and walk through the different workout stations, seeing people using the machines, greeting some and even correcting one’s form as well. They’ll thank me for it later when their spine stays attached to their ribs.
My eyes swivel to the part of the gym that was destroyed in the fire. Right now, it’s taped off, and we’re in the process of rebuilding. Luckily, we were able to reopen fairly quickly because the main part of the gym wasn’t damaged, and the fire affected nothing structural.
The only problem is, it was arson. Someone set this on fire on purpose, and we don’t know why. Luckily, Thorne still has his contacts and is trying to help us as much as he can, but so far, he’s turned up nothing.
I just hope whoever did it will be found, and then we’ll be able to ask why they targeted our gym. Was it random? Or do they have a personal vendetta against someone working here? Until they’re caught, we won’t know.
As I move toward the lockers to grab my bag, I see someone enter the gym, his head on a swivel. It’s Milo. He looks a little out of place, wearing jeans and a well-worn shirt, but when his eyes meet mine, he gives me a nod.
I want to head home to Rome, but instead, I make my way to the front of the gym and greet him.
Bea is blinking up at him from behind the counter, like she doesn’t know what to do with herself.
“I got it, Bea.” I wave Milo over. “Hey, you looking to join a gym?”
“No, I work out enough by moving bodies.”
I let out a strained laugh, and he blinks at me. Oh-kay. I can’t tell if he’s joking or not. “Well, why are you here?”
“Making sure Dennis is okay.”
“He’s great, still a little rude, but you know, nothing I can’t handle.”
“He wasn’t here during the fire.”
“Dude, no. He was cozy in my condo.”
“Oh, good.” It’s almost like he’s relieved he doesn’t need to kill me.
I bounce on my toes nervously. “Anything I can help you with?”
“Heard through the grapevine it was arson.” He nods toward the back that is cordoned off.
“Yeah. Seems like it.”
“Just stopped by to let you know that if you need me to take care of it for you, I can.”
I stare at him.
“You know where to find me,” he adds.
I nod, unsure of what the fuck he means, but he just turns and leaves without saying anything else.
Bea stares at me from her perch behind the counter and shivers slightly. “He’s scary.”
“Yeah.”
My phone beeps right then, distracting me from the thought of Milo moving bodies like it’s a workout routine, and then I see a message from Rome asking me when I’ll be home.
I grab my bag and rush out. He told me not to hurry, but the anxiety building over the last few days has made me do exactly that. I break every speed limit in this small town to get to him as quickly as possible.
I’m so fucking head over heels for this guy it’s not even funny. If he tells me this is over, I’m going to lose my shit. I will not survive it.
Pulling into my parking space, I hop out, locking the car door and taking the steps to my place two at a time before I’m at the door. I open it carefully so Dennis doesn’t try to escape and sneak in before he tries to rush me.
He did that last week, bursting out when we were bringing in groceries. He ran up a tree and then sat on a branch and howled like he was dying until we climbed up and brought him back inside.
Fucker doesn’t know how good he has it.
The door shuts behind me, and Dennis is at my feet to greet me with a bat of his paw against my ankles.
And that’s when I see him.
Rome at the table, looking nervous and afraid. Everything else is forgotten. I rush toward him, feeling my heart in my throat. ‘What’s wrong? You okay?’
He swallows, and I take a seat across from him, pulling one of his hands into mine and squeezing. ‘Yes, I’m fine. Just nervous.’
I blink at him as Dennis hops up and rubs against Rome’s arm. They’ve gotten closer over the last month. Probably because Rome is always here, waking next to me every morning, falling asleep in my arms.
It’s fucking perfect, but right now…right now, everything seems wrong.
‘Tell me what’s up. You’ve been acting so weird the past few days. I’m so fucking anxious.’
His eyebrows meet. ‘Have I?’
‘Yes. Are we okay?’
His eyebrows rise this time. ‘Yes. Of course. Shit. I’m sorry you thought something bad was going to happen…nothing bad is going to happen. I hope.’ His hands flutter nervously, and then he sighs loudly. ‘I just wanted to ask you a question.’
Now it’s my turn for my eyebrows to do acrobatics. Suddenly, I feel faint. Is he going to propose? Because we haven’t even said I love yous yet.
‘I wanted to discuss something with you.’
Oh, well, maybe not a proposal then. Shit, what is it? I hold my breath and wait.
‘I wanted to talk to you about…moving in together.’
My mouth drops open as I stare at him.
‘I mean, I live here most of the time anyway, and Dennis likes me…’ He’s starting to ramble now. ‘And we get along, and you know, we like each other.’
His fingers stumble on that one word, and I understand the feeling. It’s more than like for me.
‘So I thought…you know…I move in? We live together?’
I blink, and he lets out a small gurgle of desperation. But then I’m on him so quickly Dennis jumps up and yowls.
But I don’t care. I’m straddling his lap in the chair and kissing him roughly. This is so much better than I thought it was going to go. I was really fucking worried, but this whole time, he was just asking me to move in? Fuck.
Of course he’d make this harder than it needed to be.
When we finally pull away, his pupils are dilated, his breathing uneven.
‘Is that a yes?’ he asks when I stare at him.
‘Yes.’
He groans in relief, and I kiss him again, rocking my hips against his, feeling his hands land on my ass, squeezing gently. I want more. I want to solidify this with me inside of him, but first, I need to ask some questions.
I pull away slowly, and our eyes meet. ‘I have some questions, and then I’m going to take you to the bedroom and make love to you.’
He makes a desperate whimper in the back of his throat.
‘First, do you want to live here or me with you?’
‘Here,’ he signs, and I kiss him gently.
‘Good. Now, when are you moving in?’
‘Whenever you want.’
‘How about today?’
His lips quirk up, and I lean forward to kiss them. He moans into my mouth, and I swallow each sound down. I’m so fucking hard. I want inside of him now, but I have one more question.
‘I have one thing too.’ I reach between us and touch his dick. It’s hard and throbbing in my palm. His lashes flutter a little, and I take his chin in my fingers, forcing him to look at me. I bring my hand up and touch his swollen bottom lip softly.
‘What is it?’ he asks with his free hand.
‘Not a question,’ I tell him. I lean back slightly so he can see me and make sure to sign each one clearly. ‘I.’ I point to my chest and then bring both hands up to cross my chest. ‘Love.’ My finger drags forward. ‘You.’
His gaze softens, and he pulls me into him once more, his tongue slashing into my mouth as we kiss frantically. When he rips his mouth from mine, his fingers shake slightly as he repeats it back to me.
‘Just so we’re clear, I love you too.’
Relief floods me at those words. I’m going to remember this moment for the rest of my life. ‘I figured.’
He rolls his eyes and then arches his hips up, reminding me of what I want to do with him. Not that I forgot. I could never forget. I stand up and drag him with me. Then we stumble to the bedroom, where we lose our clothes and fall to the mattress.
He’s laid out beneath me, all rippling muscles and heat, like something decadent meant to be tasted.
So I do. I drag my tongue across his pecs and rock-hard abs, making sure to play with the piercing at the tip of his dick until he’s writhing beneath me. Then I open him up with my fingers and tongue, getting him ready for me.
I do it slowly, purposefully, until he’s using his voice to beg. That’s when I hover over him and slot my cock at his hole. His ankles wrap around my lower back as I enter him. His spine arches up as I push inside.
So tight, so hot.
So perfect.
I let out a long breath and feel his hit my cheek. When we’re connected, his hands run up my back, and he holds on to me.
“I love you, Dex.”
His voice is so fucking perfect. I lean down and kiss him, dragging the I Love You sign up his chest to his lips. He kisses each finger, and I push two into his mouth, letting his tongue curl around them, sucking. I groan as I arch my hips back and then slide forward.