Dom is always eager to make her forget. ;) He's so naughty! xoxo
MILES To say things were awkward between Dominic and I would be putting it mildly. We had returned home (yes, with bags of things I was forced to buy) and gave each other this sort of awkward wave and disappeared into our rooms. Sunday morning was strange as hell. Maverick had my bagels ready, much to my mother's annoyance, and Dominic had actually served me coffee. I wasn't gonna lie, I had expected him to be the asshole I knew again since I had told him he could do so, but he hadn't. He'd been pleasant all day. We talked at breakfast and even Maverick and my mother were surprised. He noticed, then shut down like he didn't know what else to do. After that, he sat with me in the study, and I let him borrow a book of mine, even though he lost the bet. It was too adorable seeing him react to a smutty chapter. Deliciously adorable. He'd gotten flushed and had to adjust himself, then, when he saw me watching, his entire face turned red, and he left in a hurry. I wanted to follow him to
DOMI thought I was going to lose it seeing some guy pick up Miles in a hug and smile at her like she was the only fucking person in the world. Who the fuck did that guy think he was?Miles looked surprised to see him, but I caught that little smile when she turned to look at him. Did she like him? Because it was pretty fucking obvious that he liked her with his beaming smile and beady fucking eyes."You're sulking," mumbled Marcus on our way home."I am not." I was. I so, so, was. I had my arms crossed and was looking out the window. I told Marcus to drive because I almost couldn't contain my rage when that guy kissed Miles on the cheek.Did I let it out during practice? Yes. Was I still seething after practice? Fucking yes."They seemed pretty close," said Marcus, turning on our street."Don't care." I did. I so fucking did."Yeah, you do. I can see it on your crybaby face.""Fuck off."Miles couldn't hear our conversation since she had her headphones on while listening to music as s
MILES "I can't believe this!" Exclaimed my mother. She stormed into the dining area Friday evening with her phone in her shaking hand. Dominic and I had just finished being fitted for our wedding attire for tomorrow and were now waiting for dinner. "What's the matter, honey?" Maverick got up from. his seat and made his way to go comfort her. "It's going to rain!" She sobbed. "Our venue is outside! We can't get married in the rain!" "Oh honey, we can just move the wedding inside. The Ballroom Plaza has a beautiful venue with an elegant touch." Maverick rubbed my mother's back in small circles, attempting to soothe her. She began to cry into his chest. I could tell it pissed her off how nonchalant he was being about what she wanted. It made me smile. Dominic bumped my shoulder, and my smile dropped. "What?" I mouthed to him. "It's not funny," he mouthed back. It definitely was. I hardly ever saw my mother upset this way and it gave me delight. My mother took a step back. "I jus
MILESMarcus was away for the weekend. He was visiting some family a few hours away from here. He had texted me several times Saturday morning, apologizing for not being able to protect me. I called him immediately."Hello?" He sounded surprised."Marcus.""Yes?""It is not your job to protect me," I chastised. I honestly didn't know how to feel about him knowing everything. He tried not to show it, but I could see the way he looked at my mother, with empty smiles and eyes full of indignation. It reminded me of Kenzie.The first time she found out, I had to threaten never speaking to her again. I almost lost her as a friend after that, but it wasn't that I was protecting my mother. It was because Kenzie would be taken away from me, and she was the one thing I looked forward to. I didn't know the lengths my mother would go. I'd seen her do bad things, but I couldn't tell Kenzie that. So I told her that I wouldn't talk to her again, that I'd never forgive her if she tried to out my mothe
DOM Maybe I was deluding myself, but Miles seemed nervous. She was sitting on the island while I iced her shoulder. I stood between her legs, resting my other hand next to her hip. I was definitely this close on purpose, but she was avoiding my gaze. She had her head turned away from me, opening her neck, and I wanted to bury my face in it. In all the times we had been together, she was never nervous, and I couldn't figure out if it was a good thing or not. Or maybe she was embarrassed about what happened earlier. I learned some pretty interesting things. *Earlier.* Dad: We're leaving! I meant to go home and say goodbye, but I ran out of time. Don't fight with Miles. Be nice. Don't leave her on her own. Make sure she eats. Take her to the manor library. And the greenhouse, she doesn’t get out much. Love you. The fuck was this? It felt like I was babysitting my dad’s kid even though I was my dad’s kid. Did he really expect me to do all of this?... I sighed. I probably would. I’
*WARNING EXPLICIT SEXUAL CONTENT*MILES"I need you."A shiver went up my spine at his tone, urgent and deep with exigency. I was fully aware of his hands that rested on my thighs, his fingers skirting the bottom of my long shirt.I tried not to think of it as anything more than an itch needing to be scratched. Maybe he'd gotten over being an asshole but I had a feeling it was out of pity that someone was already giving me a hard time. He'd caught a part of me I hadn't wanted him to, and now he felt bad.He looked between my eyes and my mouth, his face hovering so close I could drown in his smell. That feeling in my chest was there again, sharp, as if it were going to cut me open and bleed me dry.Sometimes, it felt like it wasn't just pity. Sometimes, he looked at me like he actually liked me. It was similar to how I first felt with Maverick, but Dom's kindness meant something different than Maverick's. Sometimes it felt like... more.Would I let it?No, I didn't want to let it. It wa
DOMMarcus knew something.MARCUS: Stay around lil sis this weekend, hm?That was a strange request. First, my dad and now Marcus? I mean, I wasn't already planning on being with Miles this entire weekend anyway. Our parents wouldn't be back until Tuesday, so I planned to get well acquainted with her.Were my intentions entirely pure? No, definitely not. I was going to try and fuck her in as many places in the manor as I could.DOM: Why?I had to figure out what he knew. Marcus wasn't one to hide things from me, but that did not mean that he couldn't. He was actually a master at keeping things a secret until it didn't need to be one anymore.MARCUS: Just don't leave her alone with those love birds. She told me their PDA is gross.Our parents? Strange.DOM: They're gone until Tuesday.MARCUS: Oh... then just watch over her, will ya?I wanted to ask him why he cared so damn much. Was he falling for her even while knowing we were fucking?But that's all we were doing, wasn't it? We weren'
DOM She was getting fucked up. She was just ready to leave twenty minutes ago and now she was in the middle of a game of beer pong, totally killing it, but still getting shit-faced. I sighed, bringing my fingers to the bridge of my nose. I should have told her that I didn't want to come. Why in the fuck did I agree to come? 'Because you're turning into a kiss ass,' I told myself. 'Oh, fuck you,' I responded, with my other self. Another sigh. She had me talking to myself now. Her head swayed, and she wore a lazy smile on her face. Her eyes were already as glazed as Tanya's were and it had only been twenty fuckin minutes! Her friend Kenzie glanced at me with some sort of smug-like scowl as she placed her arm over Miles's shoulder, pulling her in snug and turning her head to kiss her on the cheek. It irritated me, but she wouldn't get the rise out of me that she wanted. So I crossed my arms and smirked as if I were amused she would even try. She wouldn't get me out of my character
DOM What was I gonna do with my fucking self? I was starting to feel like I was in a place between not knowing who I was and finding out who I could become when I was around this woman. It felt like fucking witchcraft or something. All I wanted to do was be inside her and stay there. That was all I wanted to do since I met her, except now, now there was more. Now I wondered what her favorite color was. Now I wondered which of all the books she's read was her favorite and why? Not to mention how I felt like shit every time that fucking tower hovered around her like a damn drone. The guy followed Miles around like a lost puppy, and it pissed me off. She wasn't waiting in front of the library like she usually did when I drove up after practice, so I went inside to find her since there was a huge possibility that she was asleep. I wished she was asleep, but no, she was there in the back of the library, at a table for two, giving silent, cute little hee hee's and pushing him playfully
MILES *WARNING SEXUAL CONTENT* He was fucking crazy. I had just told him about my flawless record, and he still wanted some action while the professors were in the room? I understood that we were just in a heated make-out session, but sometimes things can get in the way. Like these damn professors. That's how I felt, but I was still spreading my legs for him as his fingers skimmed my inner thighs. I never in a million years thought I would be doing things like this in a closet while there were people in the room, our university’s professors to boot. I knew why. It was because my core still burned for him to touch me. Because despite worrying about getting caught, the thrill of the possibility had me opening up for him. It couldn't have been anyone else. I only wanted him badly enough to do something like this. His eyes were dark like aureate as his lips parted. He was excited. I could tell by the way his pupils were blown and the slight flush of his cheeks. He wanted to touch me
DomFuck, I missed her. She'd only been mad at me for a day, but it felt so long. Miles not speaking to me or even looking at me drove me up the fucking wall. Marcus at least got a few glares from her, but I got nothing.I told her not to care about me, and that's exactly what she did. She made me feel like I didn't exist. It had only been a day, and I had convinced myself that I could live like that.Thinking about it, I wasn't being fair. I cared about her all day and night, and I knew she felt it from me. Yet I had the nerve to try to cut her off. I was an idiot.But, if I had never found out about her mother, I probably would have left things the way they were. And now, I had a sick sort of happiness that there was something in the way of our parents getting married. I had hoped and prayed that they wouldn't work out. I wanted it to be anything, any reason, big or small, to break them up.And I had gotten exactly what I wanted. I just hadn't expected it to be at Miles's expense. I
MILES I told him everything. All of her schemes, even how she threatened Momma Jay's. I told him when it started. How she handled things when people asked questions. I opened up my dusty box and pulled everything out for him to see. It had just poured out of me, and I couldn't stop myself. His eyes had remained on my the entire time, filled to the brim with a calmness I could only dream of. There was no judgment in his gaze, only understanding. I had been afraid of him not believing me, or if he did, that he would blame me or hate me for it. Or that he would go to my mother and Maverick and tell them that I must have been crazy to make up such a story. "Miles?" I blinked and tuned back into the conversation. I hadn't realized he had said something to me. "I'm sorry, I'm just... processing." Dominic gave a little chuckle even though there was nothing to chuckle about. "Me too. Did you happen to get any evidence? If we want to take her down, we'll need it." There was defini
DOM I was silent for several seconds trying to process what hell this woman was saying to me. Not even the sight of her delicious legs under that skirt I told her not to wear wasn't distracting enough. I hung onto every word, and it sounded crazy. It sounded like she was insinuating that her mother had something to do with his death. "Is that not how he died?" I asked her carefully. I had to be cautious with how I perceived this information. I needed every detail before making assumptions. "That man was as healthy as a horse. He was thirty-seven and constantly bragged about his fat percentage. His death didn't make sense. But I knew my mother worked at the hospital. She knows how to make things look." Something inside my chest was twisting in what I could only call dread. It couldn't be true. She wasn't that crazy right? I pictured Ms. Valentine's small frame in her dresses and fretting over wedding designs and catering. She didn't look or act the part. "How did you know it
MILES I felt like a different person. The moment this man got close to me, my heart went on a rampage, and my body felt flushed with excitement and anticipation. Suddenly, I wondered how I would feel if he touched me right now but quickly banished the thought. I was afraid of what would happen afterward. I was already anxious because of the little stunt Marcus pulled, but when Dominic was this close to me, when his smell dominated my senses, it was all I could focus on. It was such a stupid thing to focus on given the damn situation. "Is. It. Her?" His deep tone was making my brain fry, and the heat coming off his body was making me dizzy. All I could do was nod. The absolute rage that consumed his eyes as he looked down at me was palpable. He craned his neck to the side as if he wanted to stretch the tension gathered there. "That explains a lot." He was angry, that much I could tell. I just didn't know if it was at me for being weak or at my mother for obvious reasons. "How l
MILES "You guys coming to The Cliffs this weekend? There's supposed to be a wicked storm coming through. A buddy of mine said the view is superb for a bonfire on the north end." "Won't the waves get too crazy? The north end is too close." "That's the thing. For some scientific reason, the waves don't touch the north end. It never has. My buddy says it's Branshire's tradition to bonfire during a storm. The parties are known to be epic." "Small town folks sure are creative... but I'll take the bait. Pick me up at eight." The Cliffs bonfire. That's all the whole of Branshire University talked about. I couldn't even concentrate on my assignments in the library because students left and right were too excited about some stupid storm. I gave a frustrated sigh and dug around in my bag for my headphones. Exams were coming up, so the library had been busier than ever, and it was beyond annoying. I'd almost cussed out a few people already but decided moving to a different spot was
DOM Something was happening right before my eyes, and I had no idea how to go about it. Marcus almost never said things without reason. Even a joke or his teasing always had relevance. He liked to control mindsets and steer them in the right direction... or sometimes the wrong. He was quite good at it. It didn't take me very long to figure it out when we were younger, but when I did, I found myself much more knowledgeable about people and situations. I could read the room by looking at it from his perspective. It was a necessary skill I needed in order to succeed in law, so I learned quickly. Sometimes, I'd let him steer me, and sometimes I didn't. I knew he always had the best intentions for good people. But the ones who crossed him, the ones who stepped on the weak... Well, his intentions for them were not so good, and I knew that made him dangerous. I had known he knew about Miles's abuser and suspected Miles had told him not to tell anyone. He found out about her back
MILES Marcus came and got me for dinner. I wasn't hungry at all, but I knew Maverick would be expecting me. He now made it a personal mission to make sure I ate. If he noticed the way my mother looked at me in disdain, he hadn't shown it. "Come on, Miles. The fight couldn't have been that bad," said Marcus as we descended the stairs. The fight wasn't bad at all. In fact, I would have preferred it to be a big fight rather than these stupid feelings that caused the ache in my chest. Now I was resentful. "It wasn't," I replied. "We simply made our... situations clear." I heard something along the lines of "What a fucking idiot," but I couldn't be sure since Marcus had mumbled it under his breath. "Well, are you okay?" Before, I always had a quick answer to this question. I'd say, "I'm fine," or "Yes, but this time my heart clenched. I was not okay. I was far from okay. Everything I had built to protect myself felt shattered, and now I have given more people control over