Chapter 18
DORI
I uncomfortably glance around the room after finding something for Jami to eat.
I’m not going to lie. The tension in the room is enough to send me into hiding, but I brush it off for Mel’s sake.
This night is about her. Not me trying to figure out how to be around Jami and Hunter when I’m openly in a relationship with Jami.
I return to our table and sink into my chair. “Most of the appetizers are gone, so I’m having the server bring you some chips and salsa. I don’t want your stomach to get upset.”
Jami adjusts himself to get more comfortable. “Thanks. I’m not hungry, but after downing that martini and taking pain medication, I need something to keep my wits about me.”
“Jami, you’re not?—”
“Before you lecture me about mixing the two, I had to do something to keep myself from taking a swing at Hunter.”
I want to laugh because there’s no way Jami could hit Hunter with his injury, but I swallow the urge.
Jami already told me he feels like he’s losing some of his manhood by leaning on me. I don’t need to make it worse .
“It’s all good, stud. I know you are more than capable of knowing what you need. I just enjoy being your nurse.”
“Ugh. That nickname.” He pretends to growl and eases back against his chair. “In all seriousness, you’re the best caretaker anyone could ask for. Plus, I have some dirty fantasies I’d like to share with you one of these days.”
“Oh, tell me about them.”
“They include you and a nurse’s uniform.” His eyes twinkle in my direction. “You’re on your knees, taking care of me in a certain way.”
“That could be arranged.” My abdomen clenches. “What else are we doing?”
He shifts and adjusts himself. “We can discuss this later because if we keep talking about it, I’m going to demand we leave.”
“Melanie would kill us.”
“That’s why we should quit talking about it.” He takes my hand. “Playfulness aside. You look absolutely gorgeous right now. I can’t describe how much I love you.”
My insides warm as my smile erupts. I’ve waited most of my life to share these types of moments with him. Every time he openly compliments me, my heart grows ten times bigger.
I’m so in love with this man.
Melanie breaks my thought, sliding into a chair next to me. “You two are beyond cute. I’m so happy you found your way back into each other’s lives. Not that I think it’s good you got shot, but I guess if that’s what it took, then yay!”
My eyes bulge. “Melanie! That’s a horrible thing to say.”
“Stop overreacting. You know I didn’t mean it like that.” Melanie scans the room. “I forgot to say thank you for inviting all these hot as fuck beefcakes tonight. Just look at them. God blesses me after all.”
She claps her hands, making Jami and me laugh. She always knows how to make things light and fun .
I relax. “One question for you, Mel. Which one are you going to spend your last night in town with?”
She taps her index finger against her lips. “I think I’ll take Luke home. He’s fun and up for anything. But then there’s Jonah, and he’s all-around fantastic. He’s even been flirting.”
Jami’s brows come together. “Jonah? I thought you two were on the outs.”
“I think he’s over it. He even got involved in the planning of this event. Not only that, he flashed me a command to behave, so he was definitely telling me he’s up for getting down. If you know what I mean.” She tosses a flirty grin at someone off to the side of me.
I track the trail and land on Jonah. His eyes are glued on her, looking like he’s about ready to take her into the back room for some fun.
Jami grunts as he pushes forward. “What’s this about him giving you commands?”
“Like you don’t know what I’m talking about.” Mel deadpans his way.
Jami peeks over at me and shoots a quick desire-filled gaze, then addresses Mel. “I know nothing about you and Jonah, so I can’t comment on the similarities.”
My face heats with the mere mention of Jami giving me directives. He might not be a pleasure dom like Jonah, but he’s definitely a man who enjoys giving direction.
And by the way Jami just looked at me, and after hearing his suggestive fantasy, I’m about to combust. He’s pure fire. I can barely stand it, so I scoot my chair closer to him, wanting to tease him a little by tickling his thigh.
Mel stands. “I’ll let Dori tell you about Jonah. Right now, I have to talk to him. He’s looking way too good, but so far away.”
She flips her hair and saunters straight to Jonah. His smile grows as she approaches.
“I guess they made up.” Jami turns to face me with sex dripping from his eyes. “Do you want to tell me about this command giving Mel was talking about?”
I slide my hand up his leg and dip my fingertips into the crease of his thigh and groin. “Jonah’s a pleasure dom. He can make her come on demand.”
Jami’s Adam’s apple rolls. “Is that something you’d like to learn how to do?”
“You could teach me that?” My nipples grow tight. Just imagining having an experience like that with him has me getting wet. “Like right here?”
“Dori, I can teach you a lot of things. Just say the word.” His hand slides over mine as his eyes grow dark and heated. “But remember, if we keep talking about this, I’m going to make us leave.”
My breathing kicks up and chills scatter over me. I want this man more than I’ve wanted anyone in my entire life. I brush my hand against his shaft as we stare promises of what’s to come into each other’s eyes.
He guides my palm over his hard length, and I whimper. Teasing him backfires. I’m a turned-on mess stuck at my best friend’s going away party.
Jami laughs under his breath and shakes his head. “Temptress, when will you learn I’m better at this game than you are?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll have fun while you teach me.”
I’m about to reach over and kiss this sex god who’s bringing me to my knees when a commotion erupts behind me. My attention spins to Melanie. Jonah and Luke are in an intense exchange.
I pat Jami’s arm. “Stay here. I’m going to go separate those two.”
“Dori—”
“I’ll be right back.” I push out of my chair and race to them.
Jonah straightens his spine. “I said step off. ”
As I approach them, Luke pulls back his arm to prepare for a swing. His elbow catches me between the eyes and my vision goes black. My brain spins in confusion.
Hunter’s hovering over me as I lie on the floor. “Take it easy. You got hit in the face.”
“What the hell? I got knocked out?” I push up with my nose and head pounding.
Luke kneels beside me. “I’m sorry, Dori. I didn’t see you behind me.”
Mel grabs his arm. “You took that too far. I think it’s time you leave.”
He huffs and shakes his head. “You want me to leave?”
“That would be best.” Mel glances at a furious Jami. “Otherwise, her boyfriend might end up killing you.”
Luke peeks at the crowd around us as Hunter moves my hair from my forehead, assessing me for injuries.
Jami steps forward, holding his chest. “You heard her. Leave, or there will be bigger issues you’ll need to address.”
Luke rises to his feet and nods. “Sorry again, Dori. Mel, if you want to get together later, call.”
Jonah faces him. “Don’t count on it.”
Mel steps between them. “Stop it. The last thing I want to deal with tonight is you two fighting.”
Jonah’s cheeks are red, and his breathing is rapid—he’s about to blow. Luke takes a second and then excuses himself. I peer at Hunter. His worried gaze comes to mine.
“Let me help you up.” He assists me to my feet.
A dizzy wave hits, and I sway.
He grabs my waist. “Lean on me and I’ll get you to the chairs.”
“Let her go, Hunter. I can handle it from here.” Jami joins me by my side.
“You can hardly stand. There’s no way you can help her. Use your head, Jamison, and let me care for her.” Hunter brings me closer to him .
A pang of anxiety pulses through my insides. These two are a ticking time bomb.
Jami’s eyes flare with hostility. “I said?—”
“I’m fine. You can both relax.” I shuck away from Hunter, hoping to calm Jami. “Thanks for your concern, but I can walk by myself.”
Pain smears across Hunter’s face. He covers it by taking a moment to gauge my injury.
My posture goes slack. I hate that I’m hurting him. I lower my head as the crowd clears the area.
Mel orders everyone to go back to enjoying the party as she leads Luke out. I raise my head to find Jami and Hunter glaring at each other.
I clasp Jami’s hand and tug it to get his attention. “You need to be resting, so let’s sit and take it easy for a minute.”
His distressed eyes scroll over my face. “Okay, but are you sure you don’t need to go to urgent care and get your head checked out?”
“I’m fine,” I lie. There’s no way I’m missing my best friend’s going away party. I address Hunter. “Get Jonah calmed down so Mel can enjoy herself when she returns.”
He nods and turns to Jonah. “Let’s get some air in the courtyard.”
They leave as I face Jami. “You shouldn’t have put yourself in the middle of a fight.”
“If you think I was going to sit there after you had been hit in the face, you’re crazy.” He shifts closer and checks me for injuries.
“I’m sure everything will be fine after a minute or two. I’m not hurt, just shocked. Now, let’s go sit down for a while.”
“I tried to get you to stop and not get involved.”
“I know, but I didn’t think I’d get elbowed between the eyes.”
“They should’ve been more aware of their surroundings.” He intertwines our fingers and leads me back to the table .
We sit, and Melanie joins the second we do.
She places her hand on my arm. “I’m sorry, Dori. I didn’t expect them to get into a fight.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m not even hurt.” I ignore the pounding in my head.
“Are you sure?” She nervously peeks over at Jami. “Please don’t be mad at me.”
Jami sighs as he settles back in his chair. “I’m not upset, Mel. I’m just worried about Dori.”
They both stare my way. Their concern is as clear as day. A sudden ripple of fear rolls through me.
If Hunter gets my job back, I will lose two of the most important people in my everyday life. The weight of that closes my windpipe.
Jami cocks his head. “What’s with the look, Dori? Is something wrong?”
I slide a hand into one of each of theirs. “I just realized you’re both leaving soon, and I can’t stand the thought of losing you.”
“Does that mean you’ve given more thought to my proposition?” Jami leans closer to me.
“What would that be?” Mel glances between us. “Come on and tell me. We don’t keep secrets.”
“After your suggestion, I spoke with Jami, and he asked me to move to Miami with him.” My lips curl into a smile.
“And you’re just now telling me this?” She playfully pushes my shoulder. “So, what’s your decision?”
A calmness blankets me and warms me to the core. “I’m going to move with you two. I can’t imagine being away from either of you, so I guess that means you’re stuck with me.”
“Oh, yay!” Mel draws me into a hug in seconds. “I knew you couldn’t live without me. This calls for mandatory shots.”
Hunter and Jonah approach us.
Jonah’s eyebrows pinch together. “What calls for mandatory shots? ”
Mel releases me with a grin from ear to ear. “Dori’s moving to Miami with us.”
Hunter’s expression sobers as Jonah’s eyes round into saucers.
Jonah’s hands fly up. “What about your job?”
“What about it? If my memory serves me right, I don’t have one.” My chest compresses with shame.
I avoid making eye contact with Hunter. The pain coming off him is hard enough to deal with. Seeing it written across his face would only make me feel a thousand times worse.
“Beauty, don’t decide before we’ve had time to get the board’s decision overturned.” His voice cracks at the end of his sentence.
Jami grits his teeth, causing his jaw to twitch. “Her name is Dori.”
I didn’t even realize Hunter used his pet name for me. My throat tightens and I swallow a ball of guilt.
Before I can respond, Hunter cuts in. “You told me at dinner the other night you would take your job back if we could get the board to change their minds.”
“I know, but that might not happen, and I’m not going to just wait around.” I dwindle into myself.
Hunter moves a smidgen closer. “We only need one more person for them to overturn your termination. You can’t go when I’m certain we can get you reinstated with Efron Worldwide.”
All their eyes are stuck on me. I want to shrink and disappear from this situation.
It’s a fantastic thing to tell Jami and Mel and a terrible disclosure to Hunter and Jonah. No matter how hard I try not to, I continue to hurt Hunter at every turn.
Jami takes my hand. “If Dori stays, she’ll have to continue to worry about your mother. The farther away from the Efrons, the better for Dori. ”
Hunter growls under his breath. “We don’t know it’s my mother.”
“If it’s not her, who else could it be?” Jami pegs Hunter with an accusatory scowl.
Hunter jerks his chin in my direction. “Her brother works undercover for the FBI. It could very well be someone Aiden has been in contact with.”
My blood drains from my limbs. And not because of what Hunter said.
Jami and I haven’t talked about telling Aiden about us, so a new mountain of stress presses on me. My head throbs harder as the blood races through my ears.
Jami sneers. “Either way, Dori’s safer with me.”
Hunter points at Jami’s bullet wound. “Is she?”
Cold prickles cover me. Will I ever be safe again?