Chapter 17 Dom
DOM
She was still catching her breath when I closed the last inch between us.
Water lapped at our shoulders, a current swirling around us, but all I felt was her—small in my hands and warm despite the cool river.
I slid a hand up her spine just to feel the way she responded to me.
Autumn had no idea how well I knew her by now. The way her pulse fluttered when I got close, the way her breath hitched just before my lips brushed hers, and the way her fingers curled like she wanted to grab hold of me but wasn’t sure if she should.
She was still figuring herself out around me.
I had her figured out already, and I simply wanted her closer.
Her breasts, visible beneath her soaked singlet, pressed against my chest. I gulped just from the contact, my head buzzing with wants. My gaze traced the line of muscle that told me she was a swimmer. Her beauty was rare and young, and never meant for someone like me to hold.
I caught the edge of her jaw with my thumb, tilting her chin just enough to meet my gaze.
Her eyes, hell, those eyes…she wasn’t used to feeling this much.
Neither was I.
“So, no one’s waiting for you back in Cheyenne?” I asked, nudging her nose with mine. “A college swimmer with shoulders like boulders? Traps you could use for storage?”
“And you don’t qualify?” Otter snorted, then slid her hand up and pressed her fingers into the exact muscle I’d mentioned. The pressure was light, but it traveled deeper than it should’ve. Meanwhile, she appraised me closely. “Hmm.”
“Great,” I said. “So now my traps are officially objectified.”
“They earned it,” she whispered. “Hero tax.”
The river lapped between us. I dipped my head, brushing my mouth along her jaw. “Seriously, though. He must be young, full of promise.”
She snorted. “On that matter, I must say, you’re not qualified.”
“Ouch.” I guided her hand to my chest. “That’s my pride, right there.”
She looped her arms around my neck, pressing close until her body floated into mine. “If I did have someone,” she said, her breath catching on my ear, “he’d be close to a seal, right?”
I tilted my head, one brow cocked. I knew what she meant—not the animal, but the capital letters and all. Navy SEAL. The fantasy type. The kind women posted about in thirsty book club threads.
“More like a sturgeon,” I muttered. “Bottom-feeding. Ancient. Kind of salty.”
She laughed, full and bright.
“Oh, Dom,” she said teasingly. “I never thought you were the insecure type.”
“I’m not,” I said. Then I dropped my hand to her lower back, holding her there, half in the water, half on me. “Except when it comes to you.”
I felt her body lean in.
She said, “No, there’s no one else. No old flames. No hunky swimmer exes.”
The water tugged gently between us.
“Stay with me, Otter.”
“Dom…”
I didn’t wait. I claimed her mouth and caught her gasp, hers to give and mine to keep. Her fingers curled behind my neck, hauling me in as if she couldn’t stand the idea of space between us.
She collided with me, starved for contact.
God, I lived for that. For the way she clung, all in, no holding back. And my cock was already straining from the way her body fit against mine.
And if I drowned, I wouldn’t have even remembered it was the river that did it.
I slid my hands lower, over the slick fabric clinging to her body, and gripped her hips.
She shivered, but it wasn’t from the water.
Her breath hitched as I trailed my lips along her jaw and down the column of her throat.
When I reached the place where her neck met her shoulder, I pressed a hot, open-mouthed kiss there and felt her pulse stutter under my lips.
Then I bit down. Hard enough to startle her. Hard enough to leave something behind.
Her fingers clenched around my shoulders, but she didn’t pull away. Instead, she arched into it. Into me.
I smoothed my tongue over the spot, easing the sting.
It was a claim.
A warning for others.
She wasn’t just Autumn anymore.
She was my Otter.
My cute, brilliant Otter.
Her hands skated over my shoulders, her fingers tracing muscle, cautious at first, then bolder. She wanted to know me too, to learn every inch of me the way I already knew her.
I let her. I let her explore at her pace and take control for all of two heartbeats, until her nails raked down my chest and snapped something in me.
I lifted her, pressing her against me, her thighs brushing mine beneath the water.
She gasped against my mouth, but she didn’t stop me. She let my hands find the curve of her waist and let me kiss down her throat, past the mark I’d left behind.
Even when I dipped lower, trailing my mouth over the wet fabric of her singlet, she didn’t stop me. Her chest lifted in shallow breaths, and her fingers sank into my hair, uncertain but needy.
I knew exactly what it did to her.
My lips brushed over her breast, and her body answered before her mind could catch up—arching, pressing, and seeking.
Jesus.
I groaned, my grip tightening at her back. Even with layers between us, I could feel her. The lushness of her curves, and the way her body fit against my hands like she was made for this. For me.
Heat rushed through me, settling low and insistent.
I wanted her.
But more than that, I wanted to make her feel good. To show her exactly how much I worshipped her and adored her, and how much I’d been holding back.
I slid a hand beneath the water, skimming her upper thigh, testing, waiting—
And then I felt it.
The smallest shift in her body. Away from me.
She probably didn’t even realize she’d done it, but I did. I caught the way her breathing changed, and the way her fingers twitched against my shoulder, uncertain.
So I stopped.
I eased my grip and pressed my mouth against her skin before pulling back entirely, cradling the back of her head with one hand.
Autumn’s lips parted, confusion flickering across her face.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her voice small.
I cast her a look, doing my best to match her innocence with something soft and sincere. “For what?”
She bit her lip. “For…stopping you?”
I exhaled a quiet laugh, pressing my forehead to hers. “Don’t ever apologize for that.”
Her fingers curled against my chest. “But you—”
“I want you, Autumn,” I said simply. “But more than that, I want you to feel safe with me. I want you to trust me.”
Her body went still.
I let my hand settle against her cheek, brushing a damp curl away from her face.
We were eye to eye, and the piercing pull in my chest told me this wasn’t just fooling around anymore.
It wasn’t just heat and chemistry and the thrill of stolen moments.
It was more.
I didn’t know what to call it yet, but I sure as hell wasn’t letting it go.
We waded back to the riverbank, the water sliding off us in rivulets. The late afternoon sun had started its descent, casting everything in a golden glow that made Buffaloberry Hill feel even more like home.
Autumn wrung out her tank top. She kept sneaking glances at me, her lips looking a little swollen from kissing. But then she held herself.
“Where’s Lulu?” she asked, scanning the park.
I searched the clearing. She’d been up the hill when we jumped in.
“Lulu!” Autumn called out.
Nothing. Not even a paw print.
I sighed. “Go on, you get back to the house and get dressed. I’ll find her.”
Autumn hesitated, but I nudged her toward the path leading back to my place. “You’re dripping, sweetheart. You’ll catch a cold.”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s not how colds work.”
I just smirked and sent her on her way.
Then I went hunting for Lulu, calling out her name.
I found her near the edge of the riverside park, barking her head off at a man.
With his cap pulled low and sunglasses on, he crouched and stretched a hand toward her. She held her ground, still barking. The man rose. Something was off about his neck. Spinal fusion, maybe?
He tried again, edging closer to Lulu.
“Hey!” I called out, striding over. “Leave my dog alone!”
The guy startled, lifting his hands. “Sorry. Thought she was mine.”
My jaw ticked. “That so?”
“Yeah,” he said, nodding too quickly. “I lost my dog a few weeks ago. Thought maybe she’d come back.” His eyes flicked down to Lulu. “Lulu, you said her name was?”
I didn’t like how he said it, or the way his nostrils flared before he forced a calm breath. I wasn’t about to give him anything.
Without another word, I grabbed Lulu’s collar and turned away, leading her back toward the house.
I was still running through that weird little exchange in my head when I heard Autumn’s voice at the door.
“There you are!”
She was waiting just ahead, her hair tied up in a messy bun. Lithe, golden, and impossibly tempting. If I hadn’t just run into a guy who set off every alarm I had, and if she hadn’t hesitated in the water, I would’ve had her on the floor by now. Laid out, legs open, mine to worship.
Instead, I forced a grin. “Yeah. Naughty dog. She just walked right up to a stranger and barked her head off.”
Autumn frowned, glancing at Lulu. “Huh.”
I clocked the shift in her expression.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing. Maybe we shouldn’t have left her on her own again.”
That sat heavy between us for a beat.
Then I shook it off, unwilling to let some random guy ruin what had been a damn good day.
“Hey,” I said, slinging an arm around her shoulders and tugging her against my side. “You hungry?”
Autumn’s face lit up. “Starving!”
That’s my girl.
I pressed a kiss to her temple. “I know just the place.”