Текст книги "Watch Over Me"

Автор книги: Sydney Landon

сообщить о нарушении

Текущая страница: 3 (всего у книги 16 страниц)

“Oh crap, sorry.” Gwen moved suddenly to her knees to give him some room, which was a big mistake in a slippery bathtub. She had just enough time to squeak out, “Yikes,” before her knees went out from under her and the silky water engulfed her. Before she could panic, hands were pulling her up and he was gently pressing a towel against her face.

“Baby, are you okay?” Dominic asked, sounding concerned. “Shit, I didn’t mean to startle you. Do you need to get out?”

“No, no,” she stammered as she pushed her damp hair out of her face. Dominic kept a hand on her shoulder while he stepped in carefully behind her before pulling her gingerly between his legs. She sighed against him before letting a giggle escape. “Oh, dear Lord, that was so ugly, wasn’t it? I think Justin Timberlake can relax because there’s no way I’m ever ‘bringing sexy back,’ ugh.”

His chest vibrated against her back as he laughed along with her. “It was quite a sight, but I disagree with the sexy part. You don’t need to bring it back, babe, because it never left.”

“You’re pretty sexy yourself,” she joked, running a hand down his thigh. “I mean, where did you get a body like this? I know you run because I see you when you’re coming back all hot and sweaty. But, you’ve also got serious muscles so you must spend a lot of time at the gym.”

Chill bumps covered her body as he lazily moved her hair aside and kissed the nape of her neck. “We have a workout room at the office that we use in the mornings. It’s easier to get it out of the way early instead of waiting until the evening. Running is just something I enjoy doing to de-stress. How about you? You’re tight in all of the right places so you obviously exercise.”

Gwen shifted around nervously, not wanting to answer his question. There was no way a hard-core fitness buff would be impressed with her brand of exercise. He would probably laugh her right out of the bath. “I . . . um . . . take classes at the gym next to the office.”

“What kind of classes?” he asked, sounding genuinely interested.

“Er . . . water classes,” she replied, still trying to keep her answer short.

“You mean like swimming?”

“Well . . . not quite.” Good grief, the man was like a drill sergeant. Couldn’t he just let it go?

He turned her sideways until he could look at her and asked, “If you’re not swimming, then what kind of water classes could you be taking?”

“Senior Swingers, okay? Are you happy now?”

“Senior Swingers?” Dominic parroted as if testing out the words on his tongue. “What’s that?”

“It’s a water class for active seniors. We do jazz exercise, Zumba, water ballet, and water spinning. It’s completely awesome,” she finished defensively.

He studied her for a moment before saying hesitantly, “You know you’re not a senior, don’t you?”

“Duh,” she snorted, “of course I do. I just thought it would be fun to join a gym and all of the other classes are full of nothing but a bunch of Lycra-wearing Barbie dolls who look down on those of us who are less than . . . coordinated. I always felt so self-conscious that I found myself not wanting to go. One day in the locker room, I met a nice lady named Marion who was sitting next to me on the bench in a swimsuit. She was really friendly and urged me to bring my suit the next evening and take a class with her. Well, I did and I loved it. Yes, I’m the youngest one in the class, but everyone is so friendly that I look forward to going. And . . . I never feel bad about wearing a swimsuit.”

Gwen hadn’t realized how worked up she had become until he rubbed her arms, instantly calming her. The man probably thought she was a nut-job after that rant. She had not meant to give out so much information, but after feeling like some of the women were so judgmental at the gym, she got easily riled over it.

“Baby, I think it’s great,” he said earnestly. “It sounds as if you’ve found a group of friends that you really enjoy spending time with. Who cares what their ages are? I’ve been a member of some health clubs before where I wasn’t comfortable and I didn’t go for long. As for other women not treating you well—honey, it’s just pure jealousy. You’re a beautiful woman with a body that men dream of. You have curves where they’re supposed to be. Contrary to popular opinion, most guys want a woman to look like a woman, not a stick-figure drawing. I’m not an artistic man, but I could write poetry about your ass. It makes me weak in the knees and hard in the cock. Never . . . ever . . . even consider getting rid of it.”

This man was driving her crazy. Every word that came from his mouth was more perfect than the last. Both her head and her heart were ready to explode from the abundance of compliments that he bestowed on her, and she didn’t think he was the type to spout meaningless flattery. Heck, what would be the point; she was already having sex with him. She was almost sure that he meant everything that he was saying. He liked her body just as it was and heaven knows she loved his. Actually, she wanted to love it some more, like right now, and she had noticed how he had thickened in the last few moments as well. “Dominic?”

“Hmmm?” he drawled against the top of her head.

“Could you take me to bed, like immediately?”

“Tired, babe?” he asked as he began to release her.

“No. I want more . . . sex?” She cringed briefly at her choice of words. It had come out as more of a question than a firm statement of fact.

“Do you now?” he asked, sounding as if he were choking on laughter. “Well, as you said last night, I’m glad we’re both on the same page.” Standing behind her, he stepped out before turning to help her. “Let’s get you all dried off, babe, so I can make you wet again. . . .”

And did he ever.

Chapter Four

“You did it how many times?” Crystal asked in disbelief.

“Um . . . three not counting the—other stuff,” Gwen replied, knowing her face was probably redder than her hair by now. She wasn’t one for sex talk; well, mainly because she never had any good enough to share . . . until Dominic.

“I love the ‘other stuff,’” Mia purred, fanning herself.

“That’s such bullshit,” Crystal pouted. “My ex told me it was bad for a man’s system to come more than three times per week. He never—and I mean never ever—did it more than once per night and even that was a letdown.”

“How about other men you’ve dated?” Gwen asked¸ curious.

“What other men? My parents were so strict with Ella and me that we really didn’t get to date much. Bill attended our church and was a carbon copy of them so they were constantly pushing us together from the moment I turned eighteen. I swear I think they secretly arranged the whole marriage. I was so desperate for freedom that I went along with it, and before I knew what was happening, I was married to the male version of my mother.”

“Oh wow,” Mia winced. “I’ve heard a few stories about her from Suzy. She’s . . .”

“Batshit crazy,” Crystal offered. “Yeah, you can say it. I love the woman, but she acts freaking nuts most of the time. She has barely spoken to me since I divorced Bill. To her, I’m completely in the wrong, and she wants me to beg him to take me back.”

“Do you miss him?” Gwen asked, noticing an underlying hint of pain in her friend’s voice.

Expelling a breath, Crystal said, “I miss the idea of him. For so many years, I did everything I could to make him happy. I thought if I could be the perfect wife then our relationship would improve. Only that never happened. Both he and my mother had been pressuring me to have kids, and I just couldn’t go along with it. I knew if I did, then he would have me trapped forever. It forced me to finally accept that I was miserable. I gave him an ultimatum to change and he tried for all of five minutes. A few months later, I packed my bags and left him. So . . . in answer to your original question, I have no experience outside of my relationship with him.”

Mia threw an arm over Crystal’s shoulders, giving her a brief hug before saying, “Well, I’ll go ahead and tell you that men are definitely capable of coming more than a few times a week without breaking their plumbing. You just need to find the right guy.”

“Hey, how about the one you kneed in the crotch a few weeks ago? Didn’t you say he was cute before you emasculated him in the parking garage?” Gwen joked.

Dropping her head, Crystal shuddered. “Oh God, you mean Gage.”

“Doesn’t he work with Dominic?” Mia looked intrigued.

“Wait. That was Gage?” Gwen asked in disbelief. She remembered Gwen telling them all about the incident but didn’t remember her mentioning the man’s name.

“Yeah, that’s him,” Crystal groaned. “He had asked me out a few times before I shoved his balls up around his neck. I mean, it wasn’t on purpose or anything. I had worked late that evening and was walking through a mostly empty parking garage when someone suddenly grabbed my shoulder. I thought I was being mugged so I did one of my self-defense moves and kneed him right in the baby-maker. That shit works, too, because he dropped like a stone. I looked down right before I took off and recognized him instantly.” Looking dejected she added, “He’s avoided me like the plague since then.”

“Well, duh,” Mia laughed. “No man wants his dick chopped off.”

“Who got their dick chopped off?” asked an interested male voice from behind them.

Gwen whirled around in her seat to see Dominic standing behind her, looking equal parts curious and amused. “I . . . oh . . . hey.”

“Hey, babe,” he said in reply before dropping a kiss on her upturned lips. “Hi, ladies,” he turned to greet her friends.

Crystal kicked her under the table, snapping Gwen out of her daze long enough to introduce her friends. “Dominic, this is Crystal and Mia.” He shook each of their hands, and she noticed both of her friends swooning under his handsome gaze.

Returning his attention to her, he said, “I dropped by your office on the way out to see if you needed anything. Sorry. Things were a bit hectic this morning and I missed bringing you coffee.”

“That’s okay.” She fidgeted under the watchful eyes of her friends.

“How about dinner tonight?” he offered as he rubbed lazy circles on her shoulder. She wished he would stop touching her because she was only seconds away from panting with desire for him. He had magic hands with a direct link to her clit.

“Oh, I can’t. I’m babysitting for Shannon tonight.” Shannon was a neighbor, as well as a single mom. She worked at a local hospital and sometimes had problems finding a sitter when she worked the evening shift.

“The Shannon who lives a few doors down from you?” Dominic asked, which surprised her. She should have known that someone in his line of work would make it his business to know the people he lived next to.

“Yes, that’s her. I help her out with Megan and Maddy occasionally.”

“I know,” he said, again surprising her. “I’ve seen you with them on the complex playground. How about I pick up some pizza and come along? Do you think the girls would like that for dinner?”

It was on the tip of her tongue to warn him about how rambunctious the kids were when she suddenly thought better of it. Maybe he needed a reality check on how tough it could be to spend the evening with a couple of little girls who looked like angels yet acted more like devils most of the time. The poor man would probably run screaming for his life after the first hour. Trying to hide her smirk she said, “I think that’s a great idea. The girls just love pizza. I’m supposed to be at Shannon’s at six so why don’t you come on by when you get home?”

“Sounds great, babe,” he said as he dropped another kiss on her lips. “I’ll see you this evening.” With those words, he walked toward the front of the restaurant and picked up a couple of to-go bags before waving a final time on his way out the door.

“You totally just set him up.” Mia shook her head. “I’ve heard you talk about those kids before.”

Leaning back in her chair, Gwen couldn’t stop the evil laughter that escaped her throat. “Ladies, it’s time to separate the men from the boys before I go any further. If he makes it an hour tonight, then I’ll know that he’s got more staying power than my last three boyfriends combined.”

“And if he doesn’t?” Crystal asked, playing devil’s advocate.

“I’ll just use him for sex, without relationship potential.” Gwen rubbed her hands together, suddenly looking forward to babysitting more than she ever had before. Come on, Maddy and Megan, don’t let me down now.

*   *   *

“Do you have a penis?” asked the little blond-haired cherub standing in front of him. Dominic couldn’t remember if this was Maddy or Megan, and he wasn’t sure it mattered at this point.

“How about another piece of pizza?” He attempted to derail her train of thought without answering her question.

“I got a gina,” she continued, completely ignoring his food offer.

The older of the two put her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes. “It’s a V A G I N A,” she carefully enunciated. He almost sagged in relief when Gwen walked into the room, shook her head at the conversation she had obviously overheard and then did the unthinkable—she turned and walked away, leaving him in hell. The older girl continued in a scary, matter-of-fact voice, “A penis is like a stick and a vagina is a hole. You gotta be careful so nothing falls in there, you know.” Fucking shit, how could Gwen have left him? He wasn’t supposed to be having a conversation like this.

“Who wants to watch a movie? I think Frozen is on. I bet you love that movie.” The remote shook in his hand, and he tried desperately to find the correct channel.

One of the little fountains of horrifying information blurted out, “Jimmy Miller told me that I have cooties and boobies.” The remote fell from his nerveless fingers and clattered to the floor. He looked helplessly away, not knowing what to say when the younger rammed her finger almost to the knuckle in her nostril before pulling it back out and sticking it in her mouth.

Dominic felt his stomach rolling as the little girl made sucking noises. “Um . . . do you need a tissue?” he asked.

The older one shook her head. “She eats her boogers all the time. I told her she should just wipe them on her shirt like I do.”

“Yeah, ’cause that’s much better,” Dominic said to himself.

“Do boys wipe their pee?” the older one asked as she pointed to a spot near her sister on the floor.

He was getting ready to run for the door when the little one walked up to him and tugged on his hand. “I had an accident. I forgot that I had to pee pee.” He looked down to see a puddle that seemed to be following her. Dear Lord, how many gallons had she been holding in her small body?

“Pee comes from your hole,” the older one said nonchalantly as she picked up a slice of pizza and stuffed half of it into her mouth. “How do babies get in your stomach?” she managed to ask between bites. Right in the middle of eating another piece of pizza, she suddenly tossed it aside and stood, waving frantically. “I . . . ate . . . too fast. My flux is coming!”

“Your what?” Dominic shouted in alarm as he jumped to his feet. He was afraid she was choking, and he started doing what his mom had always done for them. He held one of her hands in the air, for what he had no idea, and began patting her between her shoulder blades. In retrospect, not the best move for someone with reflux because she spewed like a fountain not thirty seconds later. “Son of a . . .” He stopped himself before he could release the last word as he looked upon the scene before him. There was puke all over her and everything in the nearby vicinity as well as what looked like an even bigger puddle of urine covering the floor under the little one. The puker—who he now knew was Megan, thanks to her sister Maddy screaming her name when she got vomit on her—looked right as rain despite the chunks clinging to her clothing.

He was stunned when Megan turned to the nearby pizza box and resumed eating as if nothing had happened. “My uncle Mason has a boyfriend. Did you know that boys could have boyfriends?”

He was trying to process Megan’s statement when Maddy added another level of alarm as she started dancing in place. “I’ve got to poop.”

“Gwen!” he shouted in desperation. She came skipping into the room with a smirk on her face that disappeared as soon as she looked around.

“Wh-what happened?” she croaked out, wrinkling her nose at the foul smell.

“Maddy had an accident,” he answered, indicating the nearby puddle, “Megan ate too fast and triggered her reflux”—he pointed to vomit and then pointed back to Maddy—“and she’s got to poop, stat!” Gwen took Maddy’s hand and rushed her down the hallway. He looked over at Megan, who was munching away and shook his head in resignation. He went to the kitchen for a roll of paper towels and a bottle of cleaner. He grabbed the trash can on his way back to the living room and then dropped to his knees and got to work. He’d seen some nasty shit in the military, but this was right there at the top of the list.

When Gwen returned from the other room with a freshly changed and hopefully bathed Maddy, Dominic had just finished mopping the floor and wiping down Megan as best he could. She smelled so bad that he’d even considered spraying her with the 409 cleaner and hoping that it helped. In the end, he did his best with damage control until Gwen could change her clothes. “You cleaned up,” she said, looking at the once again tidy room.

“Yeah, I think I got it all. Now, if you’ve got this, I’m going to run the bag of trash to the Dumpster and then go shower and change myself.”

“Sure,” she agreed as she motioned Megan toward the bathroom. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” she threw over her shoulder as she turned to follow the little girl.

“I’ll be back as soon as I shower,” Dominic assured her as he held the foul-smelling garbage bag in front of him. She just waved as if she didn’t believe him, which made him feel a bit guilty. Truthfully, he’d love nothing better than to go to his place, take an extra-long shower, and pop the top on a cold one, but Gwen needed him. Look at how out of control things had gotten in just a few minutes tonight. There was no way he was going to leave her there alone. Those two little girls could probably take down an entire team of Army Rangers without breaking a sweat. No, they were in this together, and regardless of how much he wanted to run, he wouldn’t do that to her. She needed to know that she could depend on him and that meant even when he had puke squishing in his shoes. Holy shit, Linda Blair had nothing on that kid.

*   *   *

Gwen couldn’t believe that he’d come back. Earlier she’d sat in the kitchen, dying of laughter as Maddy and Megan had tortured him with their favorite topic of discussion, body parts. Actually, that one was pretty mild. Apparently, their grandfather was quite a character and they picked up a lot of not-so-great tidbits of wisdom from him. Poor Shannon, she had her hands full.

“What are you doing back?” she blurted out in surprise. He looked puzzled as he walked through the doorway, shutting the door behind him. Oh, sweet mother, he looks and smells so good. She was pretty sure he had just caught her sniffing him as he threw an arm over her shoulders.

“I told you I’d be back, babe. I would have stayed, but I figured you’d appreciate me washing the stink off. Where are the girls?”

“I . . . I was just tucking them in,” Gwen murmured, still in shock that he was here. The man was certainly a glutton for punishment. He had not only cleaned up a mess that would have had most parents gagging, but he had returned for more. She had to admit that Dominic Brady now officially had more staying power than any man in her past. Then he further impressed her by following her down the hall instead of dropping into a chair and leaving her to it.

He walked to the center of the girls’ room and put his hands on his hips. “All right, you little monkeys, which one of you threw all of the super slime on Uncle Dominic earlier?” The sound of giggling filled the room as both girls broke into fits of laughter. Then Maddy and Megan started pointing at each other. So much for having your sister’s back under fire. Dominic teased them for a few more minutes before walking to the bookshelf and thumbing through the books there. “I don’t know about you ladies, but I’d love to hear a story. Anyone else?” Gwen raised her hand along with a very enthusiastic Megan and Maddy. Dominic settled onto the floor with his back against the nightstand and began reading Cinderella. Looking at the two small girls, Gwen could tell that she wasn’t the only female in the room completely riveted by Dominic.

When he shut the book, both girls were asleep, and she was yawning. He held out a hand, pulling her to her feet before putting the book back on the shelf. “Thank you,” she whispered, after shutting the door quietly behind her. “You’ve gone above and beyond tonight.”

He pulled her against his chest, dropping a kiss on her head. “I’d say it was my pleasure, Red, but you might not buy that.”

She giggled against him, remembering the scene she had walked into earlier. “I can’t believe Megan threw up on you. I never expected that.”

Dominic pulled back slightly, looking down at her with raised brows. “So, you expected the other stuff?”

“Um . . .” She squirmed, trying to get away. “Of course not. I’ve never heard them talk like that . . .”

“Gwen.” Dominic stared her down, and dammit, she had to look away, unable to contain her grin.

She took off running, trying to quiet her shrieks of laughter as Dominic gave chase. He finally cornered her in the kitchen, tickling her with one hand, while putting the other over her mouth. “Keep it down before you wake the girls, babe. Now . . . I believe there’s a little matter of some payback for your earlier evilness.”

“What?” she croaked out against his hand.

“Drop the innocent act. You totally set me up, didn’t you? You knew good and well that they would eat me alive.”

“No . . .” She giggled, unable to keep a straight face. Dominic’s hand was just beginning to slide down her ass when the sound of someone clearing their throat sounded behind them.

Shannon stood leaning against the kitchen counter trying hard to keep a stern expression. “Is everything okay in here, Gwen?”

Gwen felt her face heat up as she looked into the amused eyes of her friend. “Yep, Dominic was just helping me . . . clean up.”

Shannon’s eyes dropped to where Dominic’s hand was still wedged in the back of her jeans. “Really? Just what kind of cleaning does he do and where can I hire someone like him?”

Dominic jerked his hand out, and Gwen was surprised to see him actually flushing as well. He recovered quickly though and gave Shannon a lazy grin. “Just a little retribution. Hi, you must be Shannon. I’m Dominic.” Gwen noticed that he kept the hand that had been in her pants to his side and offered the other one to Shannon, who by this time was literally swooning.

“Hi, Dominic, nice to meet you. I’ve seen you around the grounds before . . . jogging.”

Gwen wanted to roll her eyes. Geez, apparently every woman in the building watched him jog. Maybe she should suggest he start wearing some loose-fitting sweatpants and a shirt. He needed to stop displaying so much of his man candy to the world. Gwen quickly filled Shannon in on Megan’s reflux issue but left the rest out. She knew how much it embarrassed the other woman when her girls went into detailed discussions of their body parts. She figured after a long evening at work, she didn’t need any added stress. Dominic seemed to be of a like mind and didn’t mention it, either. They all talked for a few more minutes before they left.

Once outside in the hallway, Dominic took her hand, leading her to his apartment. She pulled against his hold, causing him to stop. “It’s late and I really need to get some sleep tonight.”

“I know, baby,” he said, before pulling her forward once again. “I’m tired too so we’ll just go home and crash.”

“But . . . I should go to my place,” she protested. “I don’t have any clothes to wear to work tomorrow.”

He stopped again, turning to face her. “Gwen, do you want to go home tonight? I want you to stay with me, but I’m not going to force you.”

She stood there uncertainly, wanting to be with him, but feeling like she needed to put some space between them. They barely knew each other and already they were spending every available moment together? What would she do when he was gone? She needed to keep some distance; it would be easier in the end, right? “I’m just going to go on home.”

Without another word, he turned them toward her apartment and waited while she fumbled with her keys. “See you tomorrow,” he whispered huskily against her lips as she stepped in the door. “Lock up,” he instructed.

She stood in the entryway of her lonely apartment and wanted to kick herself. Way to go, Gwen, this is so much better than going home with Dominic. There was no changing her mind now, though. She’d made a decision, and she had to live with it. Dammit, she was already way too attached to a man who would walk away soon.