I reacted without a second thought. I slapped him hard, jarring my entire arm. While he froze in shock, I put distance between us and glared at him. “I said no!”
He suddenly glared back at me. “What the fuck, SJ?!”
“I should ask you the same thing! I thought you wanted to be my friend. Why did you do that?” I wiped my mouth and shook my head. “You need to leave.”
He laughed humorlessly. “I can’t believe you hit me.”
“I told you no, Logan! You didn’t listen!”
“It was just a kiss! Jesus. What’s your fucking problem?” He stormed past me and stopped just on the outside of the cove of trees. “I’m trying to be your friend. You don’t have to act like that!”
“You were trying to kiss me. That’s not the same thing. I don’t want anything like that with you. I thought we were having fun as friends. Were you planning on doing that all along?”
“Get over yourself, SJ. You were putting out signals all over the place. I just did what I thought you wanted. Jesus, I’m out of here.” He jabbed his finger at me and narrowed his eyes. “This is why you’re so desperate for friends, by the way. You’re an asshole.”
I stood there and watched him storm away with my heart racing. I couldn’t believe the way he’d acted, but even as I stood, shocked by his behavior, his words lashed out at me.
I was an asshole. The one solid, lifelong friend I had would be gone soon if she found out what I’d been doing.
I screamed and jumped when a crash of thunder sounded right overhead. Bracing my hand over my chest, I walked out of the trees to see a flash of lightning in the distance.
Feeling scared of the dark suddenly, and freaked out by the interaction with Logan, I hurried back toward home. Only, when I reached the sidewalk by the house, I didn’t stop walking.
The sky opened up and rain suddenly poured down, soaking me to the bone for the second night in a row. Still, I kept walking until I reached Dominic’s big house. I had to push the button at his gated drive and wait, but I couldn’t make myself turn around and go back home.
Thunder boomed again and I jumped and yelped, unable to keep my tears in. At least the rain would hide them. When the small intercom next to me crackled on and Dominic’s voice growled out, I knew the rain wouldn’t do much to hide the way my voice cracked when I asked to come in. I just didn’t care.
The gate swung open without another word from Dominic. I ran up the long driveway and saw him run out his front door, his face a storm of its own. He ran to me and scooped me into his arms without a question.
An earthshaking roll of thunder filled the night, but I just clung to Dominic. Without needing to be told, I knew that he’d take care of things. At least for the night.
36.
36
***Dominic***
Theforceofmyheart slamming against my rib cage might’ve been painful if I could feel anything other than a crushing fear that something was wrong with Sugar. Her broken voice over the speaker from the gate had sent every deep, dark space in my brain spiraling. Even cradling her in my arms, seeing that she was physically okay, I couldn’t calm down until I made sure that nothing had happened.
She shivered against my chest, though, and I couldn’t stand to leave her wet and cold. I jogged upstairs with her and pressed a kiss to her head. The dominance I needed in relationships was at times a double-edged sword. For the right woman, it wasn’t just a need to control for the sake of control. It was an intense need to keep her safe and take care of her in every way. It extended past sex when I allowed it to, and I’d allowed it almost instantly with Sugar.
Something about the shakiness in her confidence at times, the way she openly trusted, her very spirit, had drawn me in and set off every need I had to dominate and take care of her. Sugar pushed all my buttons and I seemed to push just as many of hers. Her showing up on my doorstep when she was upset told me she knew I’d take care of her. She trusted me.
“We need to warm you up. I’m going to put you down on the counter while I run a bath for you, but I’ll be right here.” I rubbed her back gently as I put her down and her arms didn’t unlock from around my neck. “I’m not going anywhere, Sugar. I promise.”
Finally, her arms loosened and she immediately wrapped them around herself as she watched me closely. I adjusted the water in the tub and poured in some of the oils that relaxed my own stiff muscles after a hard workout. I rummaged around in one of the drawers beside her legs to find a brush and a hair tie.
“Whose are those?” Her words were quiet, but strong. She didn’t like the idea of me keeping another woman’s toiletries in my bathroom.
I stood between her thighs and tipped her head back so I could ease the brush through her hair. It was thick, and with the rain matting it down, it took my entire focus to not pull. “My housekeeper stocks my bathroom and assumes that someday, I’ll need these things. There are also tampons, bottles of bubble bath, and at least two boxes of pregnancy tests.”
Her eyes narrowed and her lips turned down. “Pregnancy tests?”
I hid my smile. If she was well enough to feel jealous, I assumed she was mostly okay. I pulled her hair into a ponytail that sagged to the side and frowned at it. “It’ll do for now. Come on, Sugar. Up.”
She lifted her arms for me and allowed me to pick her up and slide her down my body to the floor. She kept her arms raised when I nodded at them and stayed still when I gripped the bottom of her dress and pulled it over her head. Her body, curvy and so damn delicate, called for me to explore, but I ignored my desire.
I unhooked her bra and slipped her panties down her legs, before having her step out of her heels. She rested her hands on my shoulders and stared down at me, her eyes full of confusion.