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Lula
On Sunday evening, Lula stood in her hallway in her new outfit, nervously walking in circles while waiting for Dom. They had chosen a dark pair of jeans that Amy promised made her ass look phenomenal, gorgeous cognac boots, and a deep purple blouse that was feminine and delicious on her skin.
Amy had also taken control of her hair and make-up, and though she felt like she might just survive the evening as far as looks were concerned, whether or not she’d be able to put two sentences together remained to be seen.
Her heart skipped a series of beats when Dom arrived. He unfolded his long, lean body from his car looking devastatingly handsome in jeans and a long-sleeve Henley that clung to his abs in a way that ought to be outlawed.
She could only hope that her appearance had a tenth of the effect his did. He was a modern god. And Lord, did she want to do dirty, dirty things to him.
“Hey, beautiful,” he said with a smile when she pulled the door open, quickly stopping in his tracks when he got a good look at her. “Wow, Lu, you look amazing.”
She beamed at him, her heart filling. “Thank you, you look pretty good too.” She ran a finger down his chest and abs. “This shirt makes me want to do very naughty things to you, Mr. Adams.”
He grinned and stepped closer. “Is that so, Miss Stanley?”
She leaned into him and dropped her hand lower, brushing her fingers against his cock. “That is so.” She felt him harden against her hand and he kissed her with a growl.
“You keep touching me like that and we won’t be going to my mom’s,” he told her, nipping at her neck. “I’ll just throw you over my shoulder and have my way with you.”
“Promises, promises,” she said coyly and slipped away from him and onto the front step.
“You kill me, Lu,” he said, gripping onto the doorframe.
She laughed and took his hand. “Come on, I don’t want to be late.”
“I do,” he grumbled as she locked the door and pulled him toward the car. “I’d much rather bury my tongue in your pussy than meet Steve Richardson.”
She giggled. It still amazed her that he wanted her so badly. Her. It didn’t make sense but it thrilled her all the same. “Lucky for you, there’s a good chance you can do that when we get back home later. But”—she waggled a finger in his face—“you have to make it through this dinner without misbehaving.”
He pouted. “Can’t I misbehave just a little bit?” he asked, eyeing her with a challenge dancing in his eyes.
“Just a wee bit,” she answered and then kissed him on the lips before he pulled her car door open and helped her in.
“Fine,” he said, shutting her door. When he climbed in next to her, he added, “But I get to eat your pussy all I want when we get back.”
She flushed all the way to her toenails. “I think that’s a fair deal, Mr. Adams, now drive.”
He grinned and put the car in reverse.
––––––––
Dominic
Something about having this beautiful woman by his side as Dom headed toward his mother’s house made him feel like he could survive the worst.
Before he saw Lula smiling at him from her doorway that evening, he had been an absolute mess, a jumble of nerves. His stomach had tossed all day and he hadn’t been able to sit still for any productive amount of time. He felt like he was losing his shit.
And then there she was, gorgeous and calm and smiling at him and everything felt better.
He loved the way she smiled, that single dimple that appeared, the way her lovely eyes shined at him. It shifted something significant in him every fucking time.
As they got closer to his mother’s he felt his heart rate pick up again, but she immediately calmed him by threading her fingers through his.
He would be okay as long as she was there.
“Here we are,” he said, pulling up to the brick two-story house he had grown up in. The sight of it always gave him a rush of memories, good and bad, and always a feeling of deep love.
He spotted Mason’s car in the driveway and another he didn’t recognize. Probably Steve’s. His jaw tightened.
“Oh, it’s lovely,” Lu said, her voice a balm to his nerves. “Is this where you grew up?”
“My whole life,” he answered with a smile and climbed out to open her door. Her presence made him happy. Maybe his last-second Hail Mary to bring her was actually going to work.
“I can’t wait to see your old room,” she told him as he handed her out of the car. “I’m picturing baseball cards and trophies, and giant history books.”
He chuckled and pulled her arm through his. “You’re not that far off actually.”
Just before they got to the front door, he stopped her. “Thank you for coming tonight, Lula, it means a lot.”
She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him quickly on the lips. “You are welcome, Mr. Adams. Thank you for inviting me.”
He smiled at her kiss. “Are you nervous?” he asked her, amused to see her take a steadying breath.
“Only completely.” She giggled quietly.
It was charming. But everything about her was. “You shouldn’t be; they’ll love you, especially my mother. She’s been waiting for me to bring a girl to dinner since I graduated college.”
Lula froze and looked at him with wide eyes. “You’ve never brought a girl home?”
Dom grinned and kissed her forehead. “You’re the first.”
He watched the emotions work across her face—surprise, fear, and then a flash of pleasure.
Christ, she was beautiful.
“Come on,” he said, leading her to the door, “I promise they won’t bite.”
“Not even Seb?”
He laughed and opened the door. “I’ll kill him if he even tries.”
“Dominic!” his mother greeted him at the door. She looked radiant in a beautiful blue sweater. Her face was aglow with a happiness he hadn’t seen there in a long time and her hair was stylishly set. It immediately tore him in different directions.
She kissed his cheek then turned to Lula.
“You must be Lula. Oh, I am so happy to meet you. I’m Katherine,” she said and pulled her into a hug that made Lula’s eyes widen comically.
“I’m happy to meet you too,” Lula said sweetly, clearly overwhelmed by her reaction.
Finishing the hug, his mother held on to her hands to look at her. “You are so beautiful,” she announced and then looked at Dom. “You didn’t tell me how lovely she is.”
He felt his chest expand with ridiculous pride. “To be fair, Mother, it’s hard to find the right words.”
“Oh my,” his mother said, putting a hand to her chest, looking from him to a blushing Lula who was smiling at her feet. “Well, come on,” she said, breaking the tension, “everyone is here.” She took Lula’s hand and led her to the family room. He followed after, his stomach rolling at the thought of what lay ahead.
Mason and Seb were seated on the sofa, and the man he assumed to be Steve was sitting across from them chatting about baseball.
Seb looked by far the most comfortable. He had an open beer bottle in one hand and his arm slung casually over the back of the sofa. Mason, on the other hand, sat rigidly with his hands on his knees as if he were about to jump up. He could definitely relate.
“Steve,” his mother said, her voice a lot more musical than it was a moment ago. He found it cloying and his stomach instantly rolled. “This is Dominic and Lula.” She said Lula’s name as if she were a wonderment.
Steve stood from his chair and came forward to shake his hand. He was tall, broad-shouldered, handsome, and had a head of thick greying hair. He looked like he had just walked off an erectile dysfunction commercial. “Dominic,” he said, holding his hand out to shake, his voice was irritatingly deep and confident. “It’s so nice to meet you.”
Dom looked at the hand and tried. He really tried to reach out and shake the hand of the man dating his mother. But he just couldn’t do it. Everyone was watching silently and no one was breathing.
He even felt Lu push him a little, but he just couldn’t fucking do it.
Instead he simply said, “Steve.”
He heard his mother’s astonished intake of breath. Lula looked white as a sheet and even Mason looked astonished.
Seb just chuckled silently.
Steve, on the other hand, simply turned his attention to Lu. “It’s nice to meet you, Lula.”
She smiled sweetly and took his hand. “Thank you, Steve, it’s nice to meet you too.”
“Holy fuck,” Seb said from the sofa, breaking the rising tension, everyone’s eyes flew to him as he pointed his beer at Lula. “You’re the jazz bird from Mo’s.”
“Hi, Seb,” she said, blushing cutely and wiggling her fingers.
“Nice,” Seb said, mostly to Dom.
For good measure, Dom tucked her into his side a little tighter and led her to the loveseat. He knew that look in his brother’s eye.
He introduced her to Mason, who looked torn between wanting to tease him about bringing a girl home and wanting to punch the man that had settled onto the sofa with his mother’s hand in his.
He could wholly relate.
As Lula chatted lightly with Mason, it amused Dom to see his normally suave, muscle-bound brother become tongue-tied by his intelligent, sweet, radiantly beautiful girl. Increasingly tender feelings pushed forward in his chest, but he didn’t shoo them away as he normally did.
Steve cleared his throat after a few minutes—a sound that irritated him beyond measure. As if sensing that he was about to launch off the sofa, Lula gripped his hand and he stilled.
“So, Lula,” Steve tried, it couldn’t have been comfortable with everyone staring wide-eyed at him. “You’re a jazz singer?”
Every single one of those eyes suddenly turned on her and she flushed brilliantly. After swallowing and catching Dom’s eye for a moment, she answered, “Actually, I’m a teacher, jazz is just a side thing.”
“It shouldn’t be,” Seb chimed in. “You should hear her, Steve, she’s like the perfect mixture of Ella and Etta in one voice.”
He felt her melt a little beside him and she looked utterly flustered by the compliment. “Seb, that’s so nice of you to say, but really, teaching is what I really love.”
“Damn shame,” Seb quipped.
“What do you teach, dear?” his mother asked, shooting Seb an irritated look. She had settled next to Steve on the opposite sofa and their closeness was making Dom’s blood pressure rise.
“Literature,” she answered and silence filled the room again.
“Is that how you two met?” Steve asked, trying way too hard.
Dom squirmed, just the sound of the man’s voice made him want to punch things. Anything. Especially him.
Thankfully Lula spoke up before he said something terribly rude.
“Yes, we work at East High together, three years now.” She looked at Dom with a smile and he felt his tension ease a little.
He still didn’t understand how she had escaped his radar for three fucking years. It had to have been those sweaters. It didn’t matter, she was here now.
“Wow, three years?” Katherine looked at Dom. “I’m surprised you didn’t bring her home sooner.” Lula flushed and looked at her hands, and when the room fell silent again his mother redirected her attention to his brother. “So, Mason, how is the business going?”
Lula let out a breath only he could hear, clearly relieved to have the attention off of her, and listened intently as Mason updated them on his furniture business.
He squeezed her hand and she wrapped her fingers around his in response, it occurred to him that she had never really had an experience like this before. Even as stilted as this family gathering was, it was still a family gathering. He had asked a lot of her and she was here, taking it like a champ. This woman was something else.
A half-hour or so of heavily forced conversation later, his mother finally corralled them all into the kitchen and served dinner during which she made a point to give Dom pointed, angry looks. He deftly ignored them.
As dinner progressed, Dom made a note of every single interaction between his mother and Steve. Though he hated to admit it, the man was doting, caring, and clearly in love with her. He pulled out her chair, helped her carry the heavy dishes to the table, and told her to hush when she fussed about him helping. He even sliced the fucking ham for everyone.
Somehow that pissed him off even more. It was only Lula’s calm presence that kept him from saying exactly what was on his mind and, to make it worse, his mother beamed at Steve the entire night as if he were the most amazing human in the universe.
He really, really wanted something to punch. He considered just decking Seb but let it pass.
Conversation was stiff; Steve was well versed in baseball, which drew a few sentences out of Mason, but there were mostly awkward silences.
Seb was the only one who seemed completely comfortable and saved everyone from drowning in silence by chatting happily with Steve about his band and their upcoming tour.
Lula interjected when she could; she was witty and kind and absolutely sparkled like a diamond. His brothers were smitten too, and he couldn’t blame them. Lula was everything.
She was the only thing getting him through this, and as much as he appreciated that, he was becoming concerned about how attached he was becoming. But every time he looked at her and their eyes met for just a moment, the electricity of their connection made him forget that he should be trying to find his way out. She outshined everything.
When dinner was over, his mother made it clear to him just how unhappy she was while everyone filed into the family room. He could only shrug. “I told you I’d come, Mom. I’m here.”
She shook her head, her eyes a mixture of irritation and hurt. “But would it kill you to be nice?”
“It might,” he bit and pushed past her.
Unfortunately Steve caught him just as he got through the door. He looked just as uncomfortable and unsure as Dom felt. “I just wanted to thank you for meeting me tonight,” Steve offered.
Dom swallowed and tried to keep from making a face. He wasn’t sure he succeeded.
Steve waited for a reply.
Dom leaned in very close and spoke softly. “I want you to know that my brothers and I will do anything it takes to protect our mother. And if you ever do anything to her, or if your intentions are in any way untoward, we will kill you.”
Steve’s eyes flared and he swallowed uncomfortably. “I can appreciate that,” he said carefully, nodding.
“Seb knows where to hide bodies,” he mentioned and pushed past him to get to Lu.
“I think it’s time to go,” he told her.
The understanding in her eyes made him melt. She nodded and wrapped her fingers around his.
Just before they got to the door, his mother caught him.
“We will talk about this,” she told him with a rigid, angry tone.
All he could do was shrug.
She shook her head in disappointment at him but turned to Lula for a gushing good-bye. “He is something else,” she said pointing at Dom. “But you are lovely, dear. Thank you for coming tonight; it was so wonderful to meet you.”
Lula took the hand she offered. “It was lovely to meet you as well, Katherine.”
“Will you promise to come back again?” his mother asked. “With or without that one,” she said, gesturing at Dom again. He rolled his eyes.
“Of course,” Lula answered graciously. She was flushed and slightly bewildered. “I promise.”
And he knew she would be. At least he hoped.