Page 5 of Where He Ended
His lips form a terrible smile. “I suppose you had other things on your mind.”
Why does that hurt?Because you can feel the distance growing,I realize. It's awful, a cold pit that gradually spreads through my body, radiating outwards, forming a wall. But it's still transparent. We can still see each other.
In a desperate action that I blame squarely on my lack of sleep, I jump to my feet. “Tell me,” I say, shivering. “Tell me that you didn't do it.”
If possible, he becomes stiffer. “Kara couldn't keep her mouth shut.”
“Dominic, just say if it's true. Please. I have to know if you could . . .” I trail off.
He watches me with his eyes narrowing. “Can't even say it out loud, can you?” He's wearing black work boots; they crush the wood floor as he comes towards me. I have nowhere to go. I'm blocked between the couch and the giant windows. “Go on. I want to hear it from your lips.”
My breath comes out in short bursts. “Are you a murderer?”
Raw, unfiltered energy rips through his wide eyes. His coffee-colored irises sink beneath a sea of black. His right hand rises, floating beside my face, as if he wants to touch me but there's something in the way. “Yes.”
The ribbon of regret winding around my heart becomes barbed wire. I lean backwards into the glass. “I don't understand.”
His hand comes for my cheek again. I flinch, and he freezes. “There's nothing to understand.” Those fingers curl into a fist that drops to his side. Dominic turns his head, his eyes squeezing shut. “Murder is murder. My cousin is dead because of me.”
I'd wished, prayed, that Kara was lying or that she'd somehow misunderstood. It's impossible to pretend now that he's confirmed the story. “I can't wrap my head around this,” I whisper. “There has to be more going on here.”
The muscles in his shoulders bunch. He shoots a look at me, his subtle smirk setting my heart on overdrive. “You're amazing.”
“What?” I ask, lost.
“I just told you I'm a killer, and you're trying to find a way to justify it. Why is that?” He closes the short distance. His shadow smudges out the morning sun that's working hard to dry up the leftover rain outside. “What would make you so desperate to believe I'm not as awful as I just stated?”
His lips inch closer to me. My mouth waters; I want to kiss him. My body resonates with the memory of how good his kisses feel. I clamp my teeth shut, but that makes me have to suck in air through my nose—I get a whiff of his delicious scent.
“Laiken,” he whispers, all shadow and sin. He looks at my lips, then into my eyes. “Could you possibly still want me, even after learning what I'm capable of? Does your desire run that deep?”
I experience a full body shudder that's pure lust.
“It does,” he answers for me. His palm cups my cheek, and the warmth of it rolls through my cells, right down to my pussy. “My god, I could take you right here, right now. Couldn't I?” His eyes widen as he marvels at the possibility.
Buttery ripples consume my belly. He rocks against my hip, his erection massive as it digs into me through his jeans. “What's wrong with me?” I whisper.
He strokes my bottom lip, keeping his thumb there. The pressure of it is wonderful, but it's the salty taste of his skin that has me whimpering. “What's wrong? Nothing. What'srightis that your body remembers who its owner is. I told you, Laiken. I warned you when we fucked. I'm the first person to make you come, and the last, and your pussy knows it.”
I close my eyes and groan. He shivers; I feel it where his thumb rests on my sensitive lip. He slides his thumb further, running it on my slippery tongue. My body is my enemy—it makes me suckle him, has me imagining it's his cock. Reminding me I never even tasted that thick, warm, throbbing—
“What the fuck is going on?” Kara shouts.
Dominic's thumb escapes me with a filthy wet “pop.” Both of us gape at my sister in the doorway. Her pretty face is contorted in disbelief.
“Ka—Kara,” I say, her name coming out in fractured pieces.
He faces her boldly. Daring her to interrupt. My sister marches forward, shoving her way between us. “Back off,” she spits at him.
Dominic doesn't move very far. He considers her, and I wonder if he plans to push my boundaries with her watching. Last night, he gave her the space to talk to me. Now he's acting like he owes her nothing. “I'll back off,” he says softly, “if Laiken tells me to.”
I work my jaw, searching for words. My core is flexing, my nipples painfully hard inside my dress. The velvety interior feels so damn good, but not as good ashewould feel if I let him finish what he started.
“Laiken,” Kara implores me.
Inhaling until I'm steady, I meet Dominic's smoldering black gaze. “You need to leave.”
His eyes narrow perceptively. He's fully aware my skin is aching for more of his skilled touch. “Fine. I'll go.” I expected him to argue more. I'm kind of frustrated that he didn't. But the wicked way he rubs his lips with the thumb I sucked . . . the unsubtle way he adjusts his hard-on before he exits . . . he's showing he's not done with me.
