I thought when Dom arrived in Seattle he’d want to go out. Want to see the city. Be eager to explore.
But the man is more interested in visiting every possible destination on my body.
He got here an hour and three orgasms ago. But who’s counting? His enthusiastic approach eases any past insecurity until I don’t feel the need to check in that he’s enjoying himself.
Dom makes that clear every moment his body touches mine.
Like right now, with me bracing my hands on the cushy back of my couch as I stand with legs splayed wide, Dom slowly sinking into my soaking, tender pussy. His muscular thighs press against the back of mine with every thrust and his fingers dig into my hips, keeping me in place for his leisurely strokes.
“So good,” he grunts low, as if talking to himself. “Can’t get enough.”
Luckily, I’ve been training for endurance exercise, though I’d had mountains in mind, not sex marathons. Truly a lack of creative thinking on my part.
I’d probably grin if my face hadn’t melted with pleasure. My whole body is overly hot like I have a fever. Tender to the touch. Which is Dom’s fault because he insisted on taking his time. On exploring all the positions that feel divine and don’t compress my lungs. And he insisted on earning one of my orgasms in each one.
As if this is a training session for my pleasure. And damn it if his organized approach doesn’t make me even hotter.
But now I want him to lose control.
Reaching down, I find his wrists and grab hold, then drag his rough palms up to cup my boobs. Then I use his fingers to massage and pinch my nipples. When his pace falters, then speeds up, triumph has my body clenching down on him.
“Maddie.” Dom hisses my name with warning and need.
I let go of my hold, happy when he keeps his hands where I set them. Straightening as much as I can, I reach back and twine my arms around Dom’s neck until the hair on his chest teases the bare skin of my back.
In this position, each of his penetrations sends me up on my toes, and I love the powerful drive.
“You’re gonna make me come.” He growls the words against my ears as he thumbs my nipples.
“I could never make you do anything.” As breathless as my voice is, I still manage to taunt him.
The man moans, deep in his chest, and reaches down to press the heel of his hand against my clit, knowing I’m too sensitive for a direct touch. My pussy clenches in the shadow of an earlier orgasm, and that paired with an hour of erotic play finally sends Dom over the edge. He plunges deep before going rigid, gasping my name while his heavy hands hold me close.
As Dom comes down from the high, he whispers my name between kisses on my neck, his voice reverent.
It’s intoxicating.
And scary.
But I ignore the fear as Dom slips out of me. After tossing the condom and cleaning up, we start to discuss real food. Only, our conversation is interrupted by an insistent, familiar pounding on my door.
“Maddie, I miss you!” The words sound clear even through the door. “I’m feeling needy. Pay attention to me!”
Fuck.
“Who is that?” Dom’s heavy eyes stay on me rather than glancing in the direction of the voice.
“Oh, that’s just my downstairs neighbor. Jeremy.” I slide off my stool, shivering at the leftover tenderness from Dom’s enthusiastic greeting.
“Maddie!” Jeremy wails dramatically, playing a game he refers to as “the scorned lover,” oblivious to the fact that I have company. Because I still haven’t told him about Dom. “We were so good together! We’re soulmates!”
Dom raises a single eyebrow, and I try not to cringe.
He’s joking. No reason to feel guilty. “He’s a really good friend,” I explain, wavering between admitting Jeremy and pretending I’m not home.
“Maddie, let me in. Please. I know I was vanilla when we were together, but I’ll go kinky for you. I will do anything in bed that you want me to. Anything at all!”
This time I can’t help the cringe, and once again err on the side of honesty. “Also, technically my ex. But he’s joking.”
Too late. Dom is across the kitchen and wrenching open the door before I can explain the odd friendship dynamic Jeremy and I share.
“Maddie! When did you turn into a hot man?” My friend sounds perturbed on the other side of Dom’s wall of a body. “If I’d known you could do this, we would’ve lasted so much longer.”
I hurry to shove myself between Dom and my best friend, who is asking for a throwdown, whether he knows it or not.
“Hey, Jeremy. This is Dominic Perry. My, uh…” Crap, we haven’t talked about this. What is he? My death trip fuck buddy? Yeah, no…“My brother’s friend. Josh’s best friend.” Shit. From the way Dom tenses out of the corner of my eye, I get the sense he would’ve applied a different label. But which one? Is there any label in existence for what we are to each other?
Ignoring the way Jeremy’s eyes go comically wide, I continue the introduction. “Dom.” I reach behind me to pat his stomach in what I hope is a reassuring gesture. “This is Jeremy. One of my best friends.”
“You never mentioned him,” Dom says, voice noticeably emotionless.
With my eyes on Jeremy, I catch the flash of hurt in his face. But he covers it quickly with a jovial smile. “Not surprised. Maddie is a closed book until you earn her trust.” He steps in close and slings an arm around my shoulders before pressing a kiss against the side of my head.
A gesture Dom might not think is platonic.
This is getting out of hand. Why didn’t I just tell everyone about everyone beforehand?
Oh yeah, because I didn’t want my friends to know I was still messed up over a guy I liked as a teenager, and I didn’t want Dom to know about my life because up until North Dakota I fully expected him to walk out of it.
I back into my apartment, dragging Jeremy with me as I scramble for a way to fix this. When I turn to face Dom, I find his expression a cold mask.
“Jeremy lives downstairs. With his partner, Carlisle. We haven’t slept together in years because we’re just friends.” Not sure if it’ll help, I add, “Also the sex wasn’t very good when we did have it.”
Jeremy gasps and narrows his eyes at me. “How dare you tell the hot man I’m lackluster in bed. At least say I was a decent lay.”
Dom offers a stiff nod. “Good to meet you, Jeremy.”
“And you, Dominic.” Jeremy lets his hold slip from my shoulders as he tilts his head, studying the man in my kitchen. When he speaks next, the teasing note is gone, replaced with hesitant sincerity. “I’m sorry about Josh. I only met him a handful of times, but he was one of the good ones.”
Something in Dom’s posture eases slightly. Meanwhile, I suck in a deep breath through my nose, suddenly sure there’s less oxygen in this room than there was before. When I feel my friend’s gaze searching my face, I duck into the kitchen. “Are you here for food? I was going to make nachos.” I call over my shoulder.
A weighty pause, then, “I wouldn’t say no to them.”
As I dig through my fridge, deciding to cut up toppings rather than just dumping salsa on top of cheese and chips, Jeremy settles on a stool at my butcher block island and Dom leans against the counter near where I’ve set up my cutting board.
He’s not in the way, exactly. But he is looming.
I preheat the oven and ignore the ever-thickening silence.
Jeremy, of course, is the one to break it.
“Are you here to talk Maddie out of this wild plan to climb an Idaho mountain by herself?”
“The hike is in a mountain range,” I correct him, not for the first time. “But I’m not hiking an entire mountain.”
“I’m going with her.”
Shit.
That sends Jeremy into a long enough silence that I turn around to check on him.
“You’re going to Idaho? With Maddie?” Jeremy glances between the both of us. “Is this a new plan?”
“No,” Dom says. “Been planning for a few months now.”
Damn it. I clench my teeth to hold back a groan.
Jeremy is a smart guy, even if he likes to play the silly, helpless flirt. His brow wrinkles as he keeps his attention on me but speaks to Dom. “And did you happen to go to South Dakota with Maddie?”
Dom doesn’t hesitate. “Yes.”
“Kansas?”
“Yes.”
Jeremy knows all the states. I told him and Tula that night they converged on my condo after I got back from Josh’s funeral. He could list off the rest, but he doesn’t need to in order to know I’ve gone with Dom to every one so far.
To know that Dom isn’t the only one I’ve kept things from.
Pain flashes in Jeremy’s eyes before he tucks the expression away behind a broad smile.
“Well, good. I’m glad Maddie had someone she trusts to share the trips with.”
Ouch. That may have sounded kind, and there’s a genuine note in Jeremy’s words, but I also pick up on the underlying context.
Jeremy thinks I don’t trust him. Not enough to tell him the full truth anyway.
Well, he’s right, isn’t he?
I’ve had over a year to explain to him and Tula the full extent of my brother’s final wishes. To reveal that the task wasn’t for me alone, but a joint venture.
But I knew if I told him, he’d ask about Dom.
And if he asked, Jeremy would hear in my voice there was something more, and he would joke and cajole and dig and pry. He would be a loving sort of relentless until I laid out everything.
I didn’t trust Jeremy with that vulnerable piece of me, and now he knows.
A thickness gathers in my throat, feeling like guilty tears. But my cheeks stay dry. As I pretend to be fully engaged in the creation of nachos, Jeremy asks Dom surface questions about his trip and what it’s like to live in Philadelphia.
He stays away from the meaningful stuff, where with my actions I’ve made it clear I don’t want him to go.
After an awkward half hour, Jeremy makes an excuse about needing to meet up with Carlisle, which is BS because he only comes scrounging for food when his partner is out of town or working late.
Before slipping out the door, my friend sets his hands on my shoulders and presses a kiss to my forehead.
“You’ll do great on your hike. Alone or with him. I’m proud of you.”
He squeezes my shoulders and is gone before I can find my voice to say thank you. Or maybe to say sorry.
Jeremy deserves a better friend than me. Honestly, I’m surprised he still spends time with me. Maybe this will be what makes him leave me behind.
“Maddie?” A warm finger under my chin tilts my head upward until all I can see is a dark set of eyes. “How are you doing?”
I shrug. “Fine.”
When Dom continues to stare at me like he doesn’t believe me, anger stirs deep in my belly. I glare at him.
Dom smiles. “I have a gift for you.”
That reroutes my temper, morphing it into surprised curiosity. “A gift? What is it?”
His smile widens to a grin. “Greedy little Magpie.” Dom releases my chin and leaves me in the kitchen, reeling from his words.
Josh would call me that sometimes, especially when I showed him some random treasure I found or bought for myself. Magpie.
But I can’t help it. I like things. Cute, beautiful, cool things.
I wouldn’t consider myself a hoarder. My condo is plenty easy to navigate, and I make regular trips to Goodwill with the items that lost their immediate appeal and don’t feel like treasures anymore.
But I could never be described as a minimalist.
And the things that never go in the donation bin are gifts. Thoughtful items someone else chose for me. I have so few of them. They mean so much more.
Dom comes out of my bedroom, where he tossed his bag earlier, carrying a folded clothing item. He holds it up so I can see.
A letterman jacket.
“Oh my god, you brought it with you?” Without another thought, I’m in front of him, my hands fisted in the dark blue wool under his company’s name.
Dom watches my eagerness with a teasing glint in his eyes. “Gotta make sure everyone in the school knows you’re my girl.”
High school Maddie is squealing and passing out right now.