“Well, we’ve only been official for about two months.” This time she didn’t bother to hide her defensiveness. “We were seeing each other, mostly exclusively for about six months before that. I guess I never really added it up. I’ve known him for longer than that. We were friends before we started… seeing each other.” She wasn’t really sure she should call what they’d been doing as bondage buddies as ‘dating.’
Though it had been… they’d rarely gotten together for just a quick fuck. They’d always talked, joked, and enjoyed spending time with each other, even when they were casual.
Damn.
They’d been building a relationship, and she hadn’t even noticed until now.
“Well, then we’d be happy to meet him. Officially.”
“Really?” Relief flooded through her.
“Should I be insulted you’re so surprised?” Marcus chuckled. “You’ve been seeing the guy for months, Domi. You obviously have strong feelings for him. While last Wednesday might not have been the best first impression, any guy who can convince you to give him a second chance… well, I kinda assume he’s in for the long haul. Plus, Ana will be thrilled.”
There was that. Domi felt almost saggy with relief as she sat back on the couch. After saying goodbye to Marcus, she laid there for a long moment, feeling like she’d run a marathon.
She was still nervous as hell, thinking about including Mitch in her family time, but it was the right step. The next step if she wanted a serious relationship with him, and she did. Why was change so scary, even when it was a good change?
Maybe because it was so out of her control.
A submissive with control issues. Though, she guessed it made sense. She’d hardly be the only submissive who enjoyed giving up control in the bedroom because she felt like she had to be in control everywhere else.
The front door slammed open, taking her by surprise. Domi jumped up with a small cry. Spinning around, she stared at Rae, who stared back at her. Despite her dark skin, she somehow managed to look pale, and her dark eyes were wide and almost frightened. Domi had never seen her look like that.
“Someone bought my book.”
“What?”
“I looked at my sales dashboard, and someone bought my book.”
They stared at each other for another long moment as what Rae said sank in.
“Oh my God!” Squealing, Domi raced around the couch, throwing herself at Rae. Once they were hugging, Rae finally responded, starting to bounce up and down with Domi in happy excitement. “Someone bought your book!”
“Someone bought my book!”
“Someone bought your book!”
“Someone bought my book!”
“I told you so!”
“Woman…”
Mitch
Waking up next to Domi was the best kind of morning.
He’d come over late the night before after his shift. Domi had invited him over to help her and Rae celebrate Rae’s first book sale. He didn’t tell them he’d been the one to buy it as a gift for his mom. What? She liked romances. He wasn’t sure if she read romances with two men usually but doubted she’d object. Plus, it would give his dad something to worry about if his mom told him what she was reading.
And if she liked it, she’d tell her friends. She was in a book group with a bunch of other women her age, and Mitch had overheard them talking before. They were a bunch of filthy perverts, despite their white and grey hair and normally prim demeanors. Mitch wasn’t sure how dirty Rae’s book was, but going by the cover, he guessed it would be at least a little dirty.
Head resting on the pillow next to Domi, he studied her features. She was snoring, very softly, and her curls were a rumpled mess. Soft. Vulnerable. He doubted she’d appreciate hearing either word used to describe her. Content to watch her sleep, he felt warmer, happier than ever.
Last night, she’d invited him to dinner with her family. While he couldn’t go tonight, he’d be able to next week. Scary in its own way but exciting. They were really doing this.
Her phone went off. Unlike him, Domi didn’t have extra ringtones, but she used the ones provided by her service to assign to different people. Mitch recognized Marcus’ tone immediately, and so did Domi. Before Mitch could move, she was lurching toward her nightstand, hand outstretched, and he wasn’t sure she was actually awake yet.
“Hello?” Voice thick with sleep, there was still a fair amount of panic, and Mitch felt his own worry surge, feeding off of hers. Apparently, she hadn’t been expecting a call.
With her phone pressed against her ear, the high-pitched voice—a woman’s, so it must be Julia—was muffled, so Mitch could only make out a few words here and there, probably because he was so used to hearing some of them, Ana… throwing up… doing… sick…
He was already moving when Domi put down the phone, stumbling to her feet, half asleep and half-panicked.
“Julia says they’re all sick and throwing up… thinks it’s the flu or something… I gotta go, I’m sorry.”
Mitch snorted and shook his head. He already had his pants on and was picking his shirt up off the floor.
“Get dressed, Domi. I’m going with you.”
“But… you don’t have to do that.” She seemed confused. Mitch wished it was because she was asleep, but he had a feeling she’d be the same way if she was fully awake. It was a reflex to be so self-reliant, thinking she had to do it on her own. They’d work on that.
“Domi.” He exerted a little authority in his tone, enough she halted her movements and stared at him wide-eyed. “Get dressed. I’m going with you. They’re sick, right? I’m a nurse. And your boyfriend. I’m going with you.”
“Oh.” She gave herself a little shake and started moving again. There was a little frown on her face as if she was trying to figure out why he wanted to go with her. Exasperating woman. “Okay.”
Domi
Bringing Mitch had been the right thing to
