Dominic took a step back, trying to dislodge her hold on him. He had no problem with women taking charge from time to time in the bedroom, but an overly aggressive attempt at getting his attention did nothing for him. “I’ve been a member here for a while now,” he said politely.
The woman who continued to stroke his arm stepped closer to him while saying, “My name is Brandy, and this is my friend Misty.” He nodded his head at both women. When they looked at him expectantly, he grudgingly answered the unspoken question. “I’m Dominic. Nice to meet you.” He didn’t mean a word of it, but again, his mother had raised him to always be respectful of women if possible. Misty seemed content to let her friend Brandy do the talking while she stood twirling her hair and looking at him like he was her last meal.
“So, what time are you usually here, Dominic?” Brandy asked, seeming far too interested in his answer.
“I don’t have a usual time. I’m not here that often,” he replied, beginning to tire of the unwanted attention. Where in the hell was Gwen? He was past ready to get out of here.
Brandy giggled in a way that made his hair practically stand on end. She reached up to squeeze his arm. “Oh, come on, there’s no way you are in such great shape without hitting the gym every day. Maybe we could work out together. Misty and I also take some of the spinning and Zumba classes if you’re interested in those.”
Just as he was debating leaving and texting Gwen, he saw her walking slowly toward them. She took in Brandy’s hold on his arm, and he saw her mouth tighten and her eyes narrow. She looked like she was ready to kick someone’s ass, and he had a bad feeling it was his. Surely, she couldn’t believe that he would have the slightest desire for the stick figures standing far too close to him. She was the perfect woman to him. Her face was carefully blank as she stopped a few feet away. He had the feeling that she had been considering walking past without stopping. He gave her a soft smile over Brandy’s head. “Hey, baby. I was wondering where you were.”
Both Brandy and Misty swung around, staring at Gwen in shock. Dominic took the opportunity to step away from Brandy’s suddenly limp fingers and walk around to Gwen’s side. He dropped his arm around her waist, pulling her to his side. “Who—how do you know each other?” Brandy wheezed out, looking faint.
When Gwen remained silent, Dominic gave Brandy an easy smile, saying, “This is my girlfriend, Gwen. Have you met? She’s a regular here. She prefers the water classes though since everyone is so much . . . nicer there.” He dropped his hand to her hip, caressing her skin. “You can’t argue with the results, can you?” He turned to look into Gwen’s eyes, asking, “Ready, baby?” She nodded in reply, and he put a hand in the small of her back as they began walking toward the door. Over his shoulder, Dominic said, “Nice meeting you, ladies.” Yeah, like hell, but they looked too shocked to register the insincere tone of his voice.
When they cleared the doorway, Gwen pulled out of his hold and threw her arms around his neck. He had no idea what had prompted this unusual display of affection, but he wasn’t above taking advantage of it by pulling her even closer. “Oh, my God, thank you!” she squealed against his neck before dotting kisses there. “It was so nice to see those two speechless!”
Pulling back, Dominic looked down at her beaming face. “You know them?”
Still smiling, she replied, “We’re not friends, trust me. I used to go to one of the Zumba classes that they were in. It was horrible. Th-they made fun of me and were always so mean. I almost quit coming here at all because of them.”
“They’re the reason you started going to the water class,” Dominic mused, remembering her earlier comments about how uncomfortable she had been before making her new friends. He could easily see both Brandy and Misty being jealous of someone as beautiful as Gwen. They might not be able to admit it, even to themselves, but that was exactly the reason for their behavior. No matter how much they dieted and exercised, they could never hold a candle to the woman in front of him. She was a natural beauty—healthy, and luminous. No amount of money could buy those things. He couldn’t imagine any red-blooded man picking the other two over her.
“Yeah, the terror twosome,” Gwen said dryly. “They hated me from day one, and I never did anything to them other than be nice. I tried staying in the back of the class and off their radar, but it didn’t help. They always found a way to throw a tacky comment or insult at me. I’ve never hated anyone in my life, but I came close with them. I joined the gym to exercise and feel better about myself, but I found that they were actually causing the opposite to happen.”
“Baby, I told you that it was all jealousy even before I met them. They were choking on it when they saw you. You’re everything that they’ve always wanted to be. Never, ever let someone like that change how you see yourself because that’s what they want.”
“They were only jealous because you were with me,” she said softly as she absently rubbed his back.
He kissed her softly, keeping it somewhat PG-rated since they were still standing in the front of the gym. “That was just the final straw for them, sweetheart. They’ve been green with envy over you all along. How about I run by Starbucks and get us coffee on the way? I’ll bring yours to your office when I get there.”
“Oh, that sounds amazing,” Gwen moaned. Her breathy sound had his body twitching in an uncomfortable place as he helped her into her car. He followed her out of the parking lot and they parted ways at the light for his stop at the coffee shop. When he reached his destination, he sat in his truck for a moment, taking a deep breath.
He was in over his head with her, and a part of him was terrified. He’d shamelessly used the condom mishap to get close to her and stay there. Yes, there was an off chance she might be pregnant, and if she was, they would cross that bridge then. He would have wanted to take care of her regardless, though. She brought that out in him. He’d wanted her for so long that now that she had let him in, he wanted to shift from taking it slow to running like he was in a fucking marathon. In some crazy way, he had known that she was “the one” for him almost from the moment he saw her. He had never had that feeling before, not even close, which was why it had gotten his attention. He wasn’t a man who believed in nor had he experienced love at first sight. There had been moments of desire or lust, but that was it. With Gwen, he had been close to obsessed from the beginning. The feeling had been so strong that it had scared the hell out of him for a while. Hence, why he’d waited to make his move and almost lost her to his best friend. He wouldn’t make that mistake again. This last week with her had shown him that no matter how strong his feelings had been for her from afar, they were nothing compared to how he felt now that he knew her intimately.
He was terrified of a possible pregnancy, but for completely different reasons. He was afraid that she was letting him close only because of it. What would happen when and if she found that she wasn’t expecting his child? Would she push him away and move on? He couldn’t lose her now that he finally had her. Each day with her only solidified the depth of his feelings for her. He was trying to pace himself to keep from scaring her. He knew that she wanted him, but she was skittish. She seemed to almost believe that she wasn’t good enough for him, which was a joke. He wanted to drop to his knees and thank God for bringing her into his life because she was perfect.
He didn’t know that much about a woman’s cycle or timing, but he knew one thing for sure. He had to make her fall for him, and he figured he had a couple of weeks to do it before they found out if their night of passion had consequences. He wanted to be with her, but he wanted her to want it too, and for the right reasons. It was time for him to show her that there was something real between them. If he had to take a water aerobics class and make a fool of himself or give her orgasms until she couldn’t walk, then so be it. From this moment forward, he would be her dream man because she had been his dream woman from the start.
* * *
Gwen was on a call with the purchasing department, requ
esting some purchase orders for invoices when Dominic knocked on her door and walked in. God bless the man, he was carrying a drink tray with two huge coffee cups and . . . a bottle of water? Maybe that was for him. Right now, even though she knew the damn thing would be caffeine free, she needed that steaming cup more than her next breath. She ended her call and clapped her hands together enthusiastically. “Gimme.” When he raised a brow, she batted her eyes and added, “Please.”
He laughed softly as he took a cup that was marked decaf on the side and handed it to her. While she was taking a sip, he took the bottle of water and put it on her desk. Okay, so maybe it was for her after all. Then he surprised her further by setting his own coffee down and pulling a small bottle from his pocket. “I bought these for you yesterday. All of the baby articles say that you should be taking extra folic acid so I picked up some. You already take a multivitamin, right?”
She knew she was staring at him, but she hadn’t seen that one coming. If someone had told her a month ago that she’d feel weepy over the gift of vitamins, she would have thought they were insane. Now, though, she was fighting the urge to melt into a puddle in her seat over his care of her. How could the man whom she had only a short time ago thought of as such a tough guy be such a tender caregiver? He thought of things that would never have even crossed her mind and she was the woman. Almost on the heels of that thought came the pang of fear that this would all be over if she wasn’t pregnant. She had never imagined that men like Dominic existed and now that she knew, she wanted to wrap her arms around him and never let go. She cleared her throat when he shook a tablet into his hand and handed it to her. “I . . . thanks,” she murmured as she took the water bottle he offered her.
Touching her arm briefly, he said, “Sure, babe. Anything else before I go?”
Boy, what she wouldn’t give to answer that question honestly. He probably wasn’t expecting her to beg him to never leave when he asked, so instead she smiled and shook her head. “I’m good. Have a great day.”
Dropping a kiss on her upturned lips, he replied, “You too, baby. I’ll touch base with you later on.” As he walked out of her office, she knew that unlike other men that she’d known, he would contact her at some point during the day. Dominic didn’t make false promises. Her head slumped back against her chair. She had a few weeks to form a relationship with him that didn’t involve the prospect of a baby. Maybe giving up now before she was further under his spell would be better, but she couldn’t. She had tried to keep some distance between them, but it had proved futile. She was just too drawn to him and was powerless to deny herself his company.
She was still wallowing in misery when her office door slammed and she jumped in her seat. Mia stood with her hands on her hips and a concerned expression on her face. “For someone getting laid on a regular basis now, you sure do look miserable.”
“That’s because I want to keep my new amazing sex life,” Gwen groaned.
Mia perched on the chair in front of Gwen’s desk, giving her a questioning look. “Has something happened between you and Dominic?”
Rubbing at the headache that was beginning to form at her temples, Gwen said, “No, he’s more perfect every day.”
“Then what’s the problem?” Mia asked quietly.
She couldn’t hold the truth from her friend any longer, and she was in dire need of support. “He’ll leave when he finds out that I’m not pregnant.”
Mia had nodded once before her eyes bugged out as Gwen’s words sunk in. “Why would he think you might be pregnant? You’ve only been together for what, a few days, haven’t you? Unless . . . ?”
“No, we didn’t have sex before that.” Feeling strangely embarrassed, Gwen told Mia all about the condom mishap, as she had come to think of it.
Mia put her hand on her chest. “Oh, my God, he brings you decaf coffee and folic acid? Where in the world did this man come from? Don’t get me wrong. Seth is usually beyond thoughtful, but I can’t imagine him thinking of vitamins.” Noticing Gwen’s despair, she added, “And now you’re afraid that he’s only Mr. Perfect until he finds out you aren’t pregnant, and then he’ll turn into an asshole?”
“I don’t think Dominic has the asshole gene,” Gwen defended him. “I’m just scared that he’ll take all of himself and his awesomeness and move on to someone else when there is no longer anything holding us together.”
“Gwen,” Mia said gently, “no matter what you want to believe, it was the attraction between you two that brought you together in the first place. If he hadn’t felt the same way he would have shown you the door. You might have had some liquid courage that night, but he’s the one you went straight to. I’ve got a strong hunch that he has been hoping something would happen between you two for a while—and maybe you have as well.”
“It was just sex—men never turn that down,” Gwen argued weakly, afraid to get her hopes up. “And I was dating Mac until very recently.”
“Honey, don’t be dense,” Mia snapped. Gwen braced herself for the tough love she knew was coming. “I’ve seen you and Dominic together a couple of times now and trust me, he doesn’t act like a man just going through the motions until he can move on. He looks at you like there’s no one else even on the planet but you two. I’m not bragging or anything, but I consider both Crystal and myself at least glance worthy, and he only gave us the barest bit of polite interest. We could have been naked and fondling each other’s breasts and the man wouldn’t have noticed or cared. He was centered on you completely. Plus, if Mac was really thinking of Ava while you two were together, I’m pretty sure you were thinking of Dominic as well.”
Ignoring her comment about Mac, Gwen said, “He did take me to dinner with his sister, but we had made plans to go out already when she contacted him. I think he hated to cancel on me.”
“Oh, bullshit.” Mia snorted. “A man just killing time would not have cared about canceling plans with you, and he damn sure wouldn’t want you meeting any family members. Men guard that like some national security secret. He is showing you in every way possible that he’s more than interested in you so don’t go running scared. Nothing has to change between you if you aren’t pregnant.”
Gwen took a few sips of her rapidly cooling coffee while she pondered Mia’s reassurances. Finally, she admitted, “I’m afraid to believe that something this good could be happening to me. I haven’t exactly had much success with my past relationships. Usually, I end up doing everything I can short of proposing to make it work and it just always seems to go into a downward spiral that I’m helpless to stop.”
“We’ve all had relationships like that,” Mia grimaced. “You just have to realize something that takes that much energy to hold on to wasn’t meant to be in the first place. You know I went through some tough things when Seth and I started out, but from the beginning, he was always different. I felt it, and I’m betting you do here as well. I’m not suggesting you go and profess your love today . . . but stop acting as if someone is holding a stopwatch over your head and just enjoy getting to know Dominic. I have seen nothing from him to indicate that he’ll be packing his bags if two pink lines don’t appear on that white stick in a few weeks. Heck, you’ll probably both have a drink and a big laugh over the scare before having some amazing sex to celebrate.”
Gwen felt her heart lighten for the first time in days. Could Mia be right? Who said that a relationship had to begin in the typical first date dinner and a movie manner? She had to believe that fate had led her to this point in her life, and it was up to her to embrace the opportunity. She needed to put all the fears from her mind and just focus on how much she loved being with him. They had jumped the gun a bit on that part with the whole sex even before the first date, but she couldn’t pretend to regret that. She might love his company out of bed, but dear Lord, the man could do things with his body that she had only dreamed about.
She had no idea what the future held, but he was hers right now and maybe that was all that mattered. Looking a
head and trying to avoid a relationship disaster had never helped her before, so trying to live for the day might be worth a shot.
Chapter Seven
Dominic walked through the door of East Coast Security on Monday after a lazy weekend spent largely with Gwen. He had left early that morning to get a start on looking through the security feeds from the weekend. He planned to take a break in an hour and pick up a coffee for her. He looked forward to that stolen moment in her office each morning. If he was being truthful, he had more than a couple of fantasies involving bending her over the desk and burying himself deep inside of her while he palmed that amazing ass.
His head was still in the clouds—or on Gwen’s ass—when the sight of Mac sitting in a chair in front of the row of monitors brought him up short. “Please tell me that Ava hasn’t already kicked you out,” he asked warily.
Mac looked up, giving him a lazy grin. The bastard looked entirely too content for this early in the morning. Mac turned his chair to face him, crossing his ankles, and reclining backward. “Nah, I’m still in her good graces. I decided to go ahead and come in when she said something along the lines of ‘have mercy.’”
Dominic chuckled¸ knowing full well what the woman must have meant with that comment. After waiting for years for the woman he loved to finally return his feelings, Mac probably hadn’t let her out of bed much in the last week. He was damn glad it had finally worked out for his friend. Now, though, he needed to tell Mac about the new development in his relationship with Gwen. The other man had given him his blessing on pursuing her, but he might not have expected it to happen so soon. Heck, he hadn’t expected it himself, but he sure wasn’t complaining. “We could have swung another week here without you, man. I hate that you had to come back from your honeymoon so soon.”
Mac took a sip from the cup sitting at his elbow while Dominic settled into a seat beside him. “Ava had some meetings scheduled this week that she hated to cancel without more warning. Everyone really helped her out by taking over for her on short notice last week. We figured we’d take some time off in a few months when things are a little less hectic.” Looking blissfully happy, he added, “It’s all gravy anyway because I have my woman in my home and in my bed for good this time. I could give a shit if we never take a vacation because every day with her is paradise to me.”