Chapter 43
When I’m done telling Abby about Dom’s failed engagement, and how he’s been too nervous to introduce women to his family since then, she finally gets it.
“I need to talk to Dom,” I say slowly. “Do you think he’s going to be mad that I Googled him?”
“Well, I Googled him, not you. And it’s all out there online. If he doesn’t like that, he needs to talk to the internet gods. These are modern times and Googling your date is part of the package now.”
I smile. She’s right. If Dom is mad about it, then that says more about him than me. I’ve Googled Tinder dates for my friends before letting them meet up with someone random. So this is hardly an invasion of privacy from me or Abby. Plus, I don’t want to hide that I know more about his personal life than I did the last time I saw him.
A text pings on my phone.
Can’t stop thinking about you. Or last night. I can be there in 20 min with croissants and Starbucks
A rumble of anticipation rolls through me. Twenty minutes to shower, tidy this place, and hide Pru.
“Dom is coming over,” I tell her. “I’ve got twenty minutes. He’s bringing breakfast.”
“Go! Go get ready!” she cheers. “Are you going to bring all this up?”
I consider her question carefully. “I think I have to.”
“Good. Start off with no secrets. Now go!”
Speaking of secrets, I stare at Pru.
I race around throwing dirty laundry into the closet, wiping rogue toothpaste from the sink, and finally rinse off in the shower, then throw on a silky, pink pair of shorts and a matching camisole. It’s pouring rain outside — I’m just putting Pru in the closet with a bowl of cat food when I hear Dom knock on the door.
“Please, just take a little nap, I’ll be back to get you soon,” I tell her. Then I close the closet door and run to greet Dom.
I smile as I open the front door. “You know, you don’t have to knock at your own place.” His hair is still a little disheveled, and he’s wearing a soft white T-shirt with a red pair of jersey shorts. God, he looks sexy with his hair still ruffled and messy like that. His biceps strain at the sleeves of his tee, and I can see the outline of his pecs underneath. I pinch myself, remembering why he’s here.
He shoves two coffees and a bag of pastries on the counter before lunging at me, wrapping me up in a bear hug, then tipping me backward and kissing my neck. I shriek with a laugh, throwing my head back when he dips me toward the floor, giving him more access to my collarbones. He kicks the door shut with his heel and picks me up in one swoosh, carrying me straight to the bedroom.
“What about breakfast?” I yelp, bouncing down the hall.
“That was just an excuse to get you back in bed,” he says gruffly. “It’ll still be there later. First, we need to work up an appetite.”
Dom tosses me onto the bed, then immediately crawls onto the mattress above me. I wrap my arms around his shoulders — solid, like two oversized softballs — and revel in the weight of him pressing me down.
“I didn’t sleep at all last night.” He leans down to kiss me before pulling away. “Every time I closed my eyes, I saw you.” He pushes my hair back and kisses me again. “Every inch of your body.” Dom runs one hand down to my ass and squeezes once, then trails it back up to my hair. “You, floating under that moonlight.” He kisses me again. “Tasting your salty lips.” Another kiss. “I could still hear your laughter in my dreams when I finally did manage to sleep.” The next kiss is longer, and it ends with him nipping my bottom lip. My whole body is on fire. I feel like I could explode, and we haven’t even gotten undressed yet.
He tilts my chin up, staring down into my eyes, before devouring my lips again.
“I can’t believe I let you leave after all that.”
I laugh. “I still can’t believe we did that.”
He cracks into a smile, the intensity in his eyes melting a little. “Which part?”
“The swimming at night part. Naked.”
“Afraid of being seen?” He leans back to see my face more clearly.
I look up at him from below my lashes. “Actually, I kind of liked it.”
“Skinny-dipping?” He leans onto his elbow, looking amused.
“There was kind of a rush in doing something so . . .”
“Out in the open?” He looks delighted about what I’ve just said.
“I guess.” I grin. “Back in New York, there are so many people everywhere, at all times, there was something kind of delicious in being so open and free in what would usually be such a private moment.”
“Maybe you need to come back and try that again. Tonight.”
He starts kissing my neck, the sun streaming through the window, across his back. Then he sits up and pulls his shirt up over his head, tossing it aside. Looking like an absolute dream, with tanned muscles everywhere. Then he bends down to kiss me again.
He turns his back to the radiating sunlight and drinks me in. I open my knees another inch, which is all it takes for him to practically levitate back onto the bed.