“He’s not mad at you. And he won’t be. And you have nothing better to do.”
The wind whips around the house. “He’s not back from his hike. It’s been hours and it’s storming. You think he’s okay?”
Dominic flips another page, reading at lightning speed.
“It’s rude, you know, to ignore a direct question.”
“It’s a stupid question. I don’t answer stupid questions.”
“You are a rare bastard.”
A smirk. “A rare bastard you can’t seem to stop fucking.”
“It takes two,” I run my finger along the band of his pants. Apparently, he deems it inappropriate to read in the nude. “Why did you hate me?”
His gaze drifts from the page to me. “Who says I don’t hate you?”
“I do,” I straddle him, snatch his book, and toss it behind me. His eyes flare in annoyance as I dip low and hover above him, putting my hands on his shoulders to pin him down. “And if this is the closest thing I’m going to get to a date, the least you could do is give me a little conversation.”
“A date,” he chuckles dryly, and it stings. “You’re barking up the wrong tree.”
“I know, I know, you’re not Sean.”
His eyes snap up to mine. “I’m not.”
“So, tell me who you are.”
“You know who I am.”
“A closet geek and introvert with horrible manners and excellent taste in music. It was you who played DJ at the party you kicked me out of, wasn’t it?”
He nods. “I was working.”
“Until you saw me?”
Another dip of his chin.
“Have you ever had a girlfriend?”
“When I was younger and thought getting my dick wet was the second coming of Christ.”
“Have you ever been in love?”
Silence.
“That’s not a stupid question.”
“It is if you find love irrelevant.”
“Why is love irrelevant?”
“Because it doesn’t interest me.”
“What interests you?”
“The book I was reading.” I huff and move off his lap to pick the book up before I hand it to him. He resumes his reading as I move for his door.
“Pick one,” he says just as I reach the handle.
“One what?”
He nods toward the shelves.
I run my hands over my face in frustration. “You drive me insane.”
I move toward the shelf and look over his collection. I pause when I see a few familiar titles. “You have a whole romance section.” I giggle and pull a book from the shelf. When I open it, a receipt falls to the floor. Inspecting it, I see he’s just bought ten books and spent a few hundred dollars opting for some pricy hardcovers over paperbacks. “You just bought these?”
Upon closer inspection, I see most of them are romance titles by my favorite indies. There’s also a few suspense and an older historical, all of them titles from a familiar list that I wrote on a bookmark in my bedroom. When he was in my house, he had to have snooped in my room while Sean was distracting me. “You looked through my stuff?”
He keeps his eyes on his book.
It’s a stupid question. And the answer is so obvious, but I can’t help myself.
“You bought these for me?”
Silence.
And again, I’m floating off the ground as he continues to read, feigning indifference. But I know differently now, and it changes everything. Beneath that mask is a man who’s been paying attention, very close attention to me.
He turns another page and pulls an empty pillow closer to his shoulder. He wants me to read, with him, in his bed. And what better way to pass a day in stormy weather than curling up with a gorgeous man and getting lost in the words.
Hours later, he’s on his second book, and I’m deep into an erotic suspense, my breath growing shallow as I flip the page and begin to ache. Dominic’s scent envelops me as I reach out and tentatively run a hand down his chest. We’ve been like this, stroking each other’s skin on occasion since I sidled up next to him. Desire runs through me as I get to the part where all of the delicious tension explodes and that’s when I feel his kiss on my stomach, my eyes drift from the page when he jerks me to the edge of the bed, spreading my legs.
I move to set down my book and he jerks his chin.
“Keep reading.” He lowers his head as I attempt to resume my reading as he spreads me, thrusting his tongue into my center. I’m already close when he begins to lap at my clit. Dropping the paperback on my chest, I thrust my hands in his hair and he stops, the command in his eyes clear as I pick up my book, my thighs shaking as I try to read the paragraph for the third time. His thick fingers plunge into me just as the hero starts to pound into her, ripping at her hair, taunting her with filthy words. The words start to blur again as I get lost in Dominic’s torture, my mind far more interested in my own story.