Two months after the twins’ graduation, I prepare for Dom to arrive.
In Seattle.
In my condo.
In my life.
If I didn’t have to work, I would’ve picked him up from the airport. But there was a deadline, and he said he was fine getting a rideshare. Now I’m pacing my kitchen, done with my tasks for the day, staring at my phone screen as I wait for updates and reread the ones he’s already sent.
Dom: Landed
Dom: Off the plane
Dom: On my way. Can’t wait to see you.
Tingles vibrate throughout my body, and I do a giggle dance, then swear to never repeat the move because it was creepy and weird. After another five minutes, I decide waiting five floors up is a waste of time. I shove my feet into some worn sneakers and abandon my condo.
On the first floor is a small sitting area, the gym, and our mailboxes. Unable to sit down, I fiddle with my key in my mailbox, eyes on my hands. It’s either this or press my face to the glass and wait for him to appear.
There’s a whoosh of a door opening, a heavy footstep, and the sensation of eyes on the back of my neck.
“Maddie.”
I don’t remember how the kiss started, only that it doesn’t stop even as we stumble into the elevator and travel up five floors.
“I’ve missed you.” He whispers the words on a hot, harsh breath against my neck.
I let out a whimper just as the metal doors slide open. Luckily, to an empty hallway. Dom steps back and gestures for me to lead the way. On not-so-steady legs, I show him the door to my apartment, feeling his looming presence at my back as I unlock the door.
When Dom steps into my home, I brace for him to start kissing me again. Immediately. I mean, that elevator ride left so much heat lingering between us I half expect my smoke detectors to start wailing.
But Dom sets his bag inside the door, steps past me, and wanders around my home. His sharp eyes flick around the space, and I can imagine what he sees. My half-finished puzzle and knickknacks and throw pillows are all useless clutter. No clear organization to the bookshelves. His books were arranged alphabetically by the author’s last name, which theoretically is good practice for finding things, but in practice seems like too much work when I could spend the time reading. Everything here is too soft, like my underbelly that he’s about to gut if he insults my randomly cultivated home.
“This feels like you,” he says.
I release a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
“Feels like me?” I repeat, not sure how to take his comment.
Dom finishes circling the main living area that butts up with an open–floor plan kitchen.
“Cozy. Warm. Comforting.”
“You think I’m those things?”
Dom rests his hands on my hips. “You are to me.” He leans in to press a line of kisses down my neck. “I’m hungry.”
Knowing Dom was coming, I prepared for this. “I have lots of snacks. Most of them involve cheese. Not a granola bar in sight. You can have whatever you want.”
His lips smile against my skin and shivers roll through my body. “Not for food. I want you. Want to taste you again. I’m starving, Maddie.”
As he speaks, Dom’s hand flattens on my lower belly, then slips down until he’s cupping my core with only my shorts between his flesh and mine.
“Oh,” I half gasp, half groan. “Well, I told you to eat whatever you want. If that happens to be me, it’s my own fault for encouraging you.”
Dom’s laugh is a deep rumble in his throat, the sound so deliciously distracting I don’t realize his intention until my shoulder blades meet the wall and Dom’s knees hit the floor. I have to tangle my fingers in his silky hair to keep my balance as he drags the cotton shorts down my legs along with a set of cute lacy underwear that I wore in hopes he’d want to see. But Dom is more focused on what lies beneath, setting his thumbs at either side of my entrance and pulling apart my folds until I’m fully exposed.
“Oh god,” I groan, not sure if I’m more embarrassed or turned on.
“Don’t bother praying,” he mutters. “Just say my name.”
Then he swipes a long, slow lick over my sensitive center, and I spend the next however many minutes trying to breathe and keep my knees locked as Dom eases his appetite.