Chapter 5
ROSE
Sweetpea got one solid bite in, or maybe two, before I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. He froze in place, his tail twitching angrily as I detached him from Dominic’s leg.
“What in the seven circles of hell is that?” asked Dominic, staring at my little baby in horror.
“This is my cat, Sweetpea,” I said primly, as I stroked the little ball of fury to calm him down.
“That’s not a cat,” replied Dom immediately. “A demon, definitely. Lord of the Flies, maybe. But a cat? Hell no!”
Meanwhile, Trevor had wisely retreated behind the door as soon as he’d heard Sweetpea’s battle cry. He now poked his head out from behind the door and cringed at the state of Dominic’s leg.
“Ouch! How did one kitty cause so much trouble?” he asked.
“That’s not a kitty,” insisted Dom, as he glared at Sweetpea. “That is a weapon of mass destruction.”
“Don’t listen to him, Sweetpea. You’re my sweet little boy, aren’t you?” I cooed into his little ear and was rewarded by a loud purr, although he still kept a wary eye on Dom.
“Step away from the beast, Rose,” said Dom with a glare. “He’s not safe.”
“Don’t be silly. Sweetpea loves me. He would never hurt his Mommy,” I argued.
“That’s true,” said Trevor. “He does love Rose to bits. He just hates men.”
“Especially men who get in my face,” I added snidely. “You’re lucky he didn’t rip your face off.”
Dom glowered at Sweetpea, his face set in hard lines.
I called myself all kinds of a fool as I stared at his lush, biteable lips, wondering if I had imagined that almost-kiss.
Fake almost-kiss, I corrected myself. Dom had just put on a show of wanting to kiss me for Joe’s benefit.
And I was an idiot for wishing it was real.
I had lusted and obsessed over this maddening man ever since I was old enough to realize that he wasn’t just my godmother’s son, but a gorgeous man who simply oozed sex appeal. But he had never looked at me that way. Not once.
I had spent the past few years calling myself all kinds of fool for being attracted to a man who refused to see me as anything other than plump little Rosie Posie.
I gritted my teeth in anger at that thought.
I knew he was here because he’d promised my mother he’d look out for me, but if he tried to bully me tonight, he would soon discover that this little rose had thorns!
All I wanted was a quiet night. I was still reeling from my sudden, unplanned breakup and Dom’s fake announcement.
And I just wanted to take a hot bath with lots of candles to process what had gone down tonight and sleep it off, with my cat curled up next to me.
Like that was ever possible if I had to sleep in the same house as the man of my dreams. If I went home with Dom, I was probably going to spend the night tossing and turning, trying to ignore an ache of a completely different sort.
If only he’d stop treating me as a sister. We weren’t related by blood. There was nothing to stop him from dating me. I sighed again as I realized that you couldn’t force an attraction where none existed. I was not Dominic Carlisle’s type, and it was time to accept that.
I shook my lascivious thoughts away because I needed to keep my wits about me to deal with him. The man had an IQ higher than Einstein’s, and he was as stubborn as a mule. If he’d made up his mind to take me home tonight, I hadn’t a hope in hell of changing his mind.
Trevor waved at me behind Dom’s back and gave me a rueful shrug that said I might as well give in, because there was no way I could stand up to Dom.
Give in, my ass, I decided with a toss of my head.
I didn’t need the big, bad grump to come charging in to my rescue.
I could take care of myself. Even though my knees turned to water at the thought of Joe coming back to settle scores, I stood up straight and glared at the bane of my life.
“Joe won’t be coming back anytime soon. You took care of that. Now, I just want you guys to leave,” I snapped.
“We’re going nowhere, Rose. Not without you. Get that through your head firmly,” he snapped back.
“Look, I know you’re worried about me, but I’ll be fine. I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself. Besides, I can’t leave my cat.”
“When did you even get him?” he asked curiously.
“I found him crying outside my bedroom window a month ago, completely starved and miserable, and I took him to the vet, who said he was probably a feral cat who decided to domesticate himself out of hunger and fear of the storm. So, now I have a cat.”
“Let me get this straight. You took one look at that feral spawn of Satan and decided to call him Sweetpea,” he replied with a straight face.
“Yes,” I snapped. “I have to set the right expectations for him, Dom. And a nice name is the first step to rehabilitation. He didn’t have a mom to teach him how to be a sweet kitty. That’s my job now.”
“Here’s a thought. What if Rose could bring her cat along?” suggested Trevor.
That was a horrible idea! I had never been in Dominic’s flashy penthouse that overlooked the river West, but I was sure it was nothing like my shabby little cottage with the peeling wallpaper and suspiciously damp patches.
Sweetpea had taken a personal dislike to my already peeling wallpaper and was on a mission to rip it clean off the walls.
I’d have to sell both my kidneys to replace whatever he destroyed in Dominic’s house because I was sure he didn’t stick colourful butterpaper on his walls to cover the missing bits.
I shuddered at the damage my little monster would do to his pristine home.
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” I began, but Trevor didn’t let me finish.
“Why did you break up with Joe?” he asked. “You were all set on marrying him when I spoke to you this afternoon. What changed suddenly, Rose?”
I gave a quick glance at Dom’s stony face, not wanting to discuss this in front of him, but Trevor had his nosy face on. He smelled dirt, and he wasn’t going to let up until I dished.
“He threatened to hurt Sweetpea,” I admitted, and told them about Joe’s text.
Trevor’s face turned scary, and I knew he was about to do something very stupid.
“Excuse me while I track down that piece of shit and feed him his own entrails,” he snarled and made for the driveway.
I grabbed him by the back of his shirt and tried to drag him back, but he was too strong for me, and I shot a pleading glance at Dominic.
“Do something,” I mouthed, and he rolled his eyes.
“You’ll go to jail if you touch him, and you know what that means, Trevor. Community showers, no skincare, and no weekly mani-pedi,” he said loudly, and Trevor froze in his tracks.
“Babe, you’re too pretty for prison. And Joe’s not worth the daily cavity searches,” I added when he turned to glare at me.
“Fine! I won’t kill him. But you can’t stay here by yourself tonight. What if he comes back to hurt Sweetpea?”
I opened my mouth to say he wouldn’t, but I stopped because while I knew Joe wasn’t dumb enough to do anything to me directly, I could totally see him trying to get back at me by hurting my cat.
“What about Sweetpea?” I asked because I couldn’t leave him here all by himself.
“Fine! Bring Beelzebub along by all means,” he said with a pained sigh, as if this were all a big inconvenience.
“I know you mean well, Dom, but trust me, you will come to regret that invitation,” I said desperately. I didn’t want to be around him any more than he wanted to be around me. But even worse, I didn’t want Beelzebub…I mean, Sweetpea, to be around Dom’s house.
“Well, it won’t be for the first time I’ve regretted something when it comes to you,” he said, with a great scowl, and I straightened my spine. Fine! If he was going to be such an asshole about it, he deserved to suffer.
“Alrighty, then! Don’t blame me for whatever happens next,” I said, with a shrug.
I binned the burnt lasagna and forced Sweetpea into his carrier, which set off another round of loud protests, but he settled down to sulk in style when I threw in a couple of treats and toys.
Dom knocked on the open door of my bedroom as I was trying to pick out a couple of outfits.
The small room seemed to shrink further when he poked his head into the room.
He was clearly struck speechless at the sheer amount of purple and glitter in my bedroom.
“It looks like a bunch of unicorns exploded in here,” he said finally.
“Glitter makes me happy,” I said defiantly, wondering why I even felt the need to explain my taste.
Dom’s eyes fell on the row of books displayed on a revolving bookshelf by the window - my pride and joy. My life’s work. A stack of fat, steamy romances.
“Are those your books?” he asked with interest, and I almost threw myself over the bookshelf, trying to block his view.
“Yes. Now, if you don’t mind waiting downstairs for me, I’ll be out in a tick,” I yelped.
“Why don’t you want me to see your books?” he demanded. “Are you hiding something?”
“Pfft! What would I have to hide?” I scoffed. “I didn’t think you’d be interested in romance, that’s all. You’ve never shown any interest in them until now.”
“I’ve never seen any of your books until now, have I?” he reasoned.
“It’s not so difficult. All you need to do is step into The Next Chapter. They always display my books front and centre,” I shot back, referring to the only indie bookstore in Maplewood.
“Come on, Rosie,” he said, with a lazy grin that sent tingles straight to my lady bits. “Stop hiding your books and let me have a look at them.”
Over my dead body, I thought desperately.
If he read even one of my books, he’d discover my secret.
And I didn’t want him thinking I was dying of unrequited love just because my heroes looked, sounded, and acted like him.
I wasn’t! I was just attracted to him. It was just physical. And extremely inconvenient.
But the more I tried to hide my books, the more I was going to pique his curiosity. So I forced myself to shrug delicately and step away from the bookshelf.
“I never hide my books from anyone because I’m very proud of them,” I told him loftily. “I’m proud of every sexy, steamy word I write.”
He blanched at the mention of sex and steam in the same sentence, and I hid a smile. I ran my fingers over the first row of books and plucked one out at random. It had a shirtless man on the cover, covered in tattoos.
“You should start with this one,” I suggested, holding the book out to him. “The hero gives big dick energy for a reason.”
I wondered if steam would come out of his ears at this point, but Dominic was clearly made of sterner stuff.
“I’d love to read it, thanks,” he replied, taking the book from me, without meeting my eyes.
He tucked it away in his jacket pocket, and I tried not to panic.
I wanted to pounce on him and grab it back, but maybe that was too obvious.
I’d have to steal it back while I was at his house, before he had a chance to read it.
When he went back downstairs, I threw a couple of skirts, tees, and cardigans into my old duffel bag.
I didn’t know what it said about me that I picked out some pretty notebooks and pink and purple erasable pens from my stash with more care than I did the clothes.
I was halfway out of the door when I remembered I needed undies too.
Cursing my ADHD, I added undies and some socks.
I was sure Dominic and I would be at each other’s throats in less than a day.
He’d put up with me for half a day more after that before he got sick of me, and he’d let me return home on the third day, after he’d convinced himself he’d done all he could to keep me safe.
I also threw on my brown leather jacket before I ran down the stairs.
When I got downstairs, Dom grabbed the bag out of my hand and threw it in the back of his Range Rover, while I maneuvered Sweetpea’s cat carrier into the back seat. But before I could get in next to him, Trevor nudged me out of the way.
“You can sit up front while I try and get to know my homeboy better,” he said, with a wink.
The traitor!
“For what joy?” I asked sarcastically. “Do you like having your face ripped off?”
“You shush and get in before the boss gets impatient,” he retorted.
I knew what he was doing, and it wasn’t going to work.
Dom wasn’t suddenly going to notice me just because I was sitting next to him, and this sort of obvious matchmaking was only going to embarrass me.
But short of dragging Trevor out of the car and kicking his bony ass into the front seat, there was nothing I could do right now.
“Fine, but do not stick your fingers in through the bars of Sweetpea’s carrier,” I warned. “He’ll bite them right off.”
“Noted,” he replied, giving me a quick shove towards the front seat.
I slid into the passenger seat, and Dom gave me a quick glance before he started the car.
He put his hand on the back of my seat as he reversed out of my tiny driveway, and the feel of his face so close to mine set my heart pounding.
I forced myself to look straight ahead with a blank face, even though every fibre in my body urged me to turn my head just a little bit and nip at his tight jawline. I mean, it was right there.
As if he could sense my thoughts, Dom’s face dipped a little, and I raised my eyes to find him staring down at me. His Adam’s apple jerked as he swallowed hard. My breath came in short, heated puffs, and I tilted my chin a little. Just then, Trevor let out a little yelp.
“Stop,” he squawked, and Dom hit the brakes. “You almost reversed us into the ditch, boss. Eyes on the road!”
With a muttered curse and a screech of the tires, Dom turned the car onto the main road, and we set off.
I snuck a quick look at him, but he kept his eyes studiously on the road.
My face flamed as I wondered what just happened.
I mean, I could totally see myself getting distracted when I drove, which was why I never drove if I could help it.
But Dom? The most driven and focused man I knew?
I couldn’t believe he’d ever get so distracted, and by me, no less!
To get my mind off that track, I fiddled with the knob on his car stereo until I found a station that played country music.
Forever and Ever, Amen came on, and I closed my eyes to lose myself in the honey that was Randy Travis’s voice, only to be met with silence.
My eyes shot open in surprise, and Dom scowled at me.
“We don’t play mushy songs in this car. Ever,” he stated sternly.
“Well, what kind of songs do you play?” I asked, bewildered.
“None,” he replied. “I listen to podcasts when I drive.”
“Who hurt you?” I wondered, wide-eyed, as I settled back into my seat.