Chapter Seven
Dominic
My sister was suspended from school, which meant it was a day for my parents to force her into working the cash register of Hot Bagels as a punishment. Which also meant everyone screaming at each other all day.
You’d think I’d be used to this after a couple of months, but instead of getting better my tolerance for the constant arguing was worse. My father’s shouts boomed like gunshots in my ears and when he slammed his palms on any available surface for emphasis, tension went through my body like a knife. Even more so when he got in my or Adriana’s faces.
“Wipe off that expression when you talk to the fucking customers,” Duffy snapped, pointing at Adriana.
My fingers closed into fists as I stared at the clock just over the row of freezers.
“I’m bored,” she said. “What do you want me to do?”
“Act like you give a shit about your family’s business. What is the matter with you?”
I took a deep breath and told myself to count to ten.
“Keep acting like an idiot and see how far it—”
I spun towards him and stepped out from around the counter. “Do me a favor? Don’t call my sister an idiot.”
Duffy’s eyebrows flew up. For a minute, it seemed like he didn’t know how to respond. It was the first time I’d directly challenged him since coming back home, and he liked being alpha dog. But the confusion fled his face almost as fast I fled the shop every night, and it was replaced by the cool edge of his rage.
“You gonna be a tough guy, Nicky?”
“I’m not trying to be a tough guy,” I said evenly. “But you’re verbally abusing Adriana, and I think you need to reevaluate your parenting style.”
“Verbally abusing?” he demanded. “You have no idea what abuse is, you spoiled little motherfucker.”
I snuck a glance at Adriana. She was sheet-white with her back pressed up against the wall of cigarettes. Her wide blue eyes flew from me to my father before she gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head.
“You’re right. I am a spoiled motherfucker. But don’t worry, I’ll be out of here as soon as I get my shit together. Until then though—”
“Yeah,” Duffy said, voice full of mocking. “Get your shit together and do what? What was that stupid shit you said the other day? Become an EMT? Like you could get through the classes. If it wasn’t for the girls you convinced to do your homework, you wouldn’t have gotten through high school.”
Heat filled my face. Funny how I had no problem standing off with him when it was to defend Adriana, but him crushing the first real idea I had about my future was like a kick in the nuts. Why had I told him?
“This isn’t about me,” I said. “It’s about you cursing and screaming at your daughter like she’s some asshole off the street. You act like you hate her. Is that what you want her to think?”
Duffy’s mouth dropped open, but no words came out. The words seemed to actually sink in. His eyes flicked to Adriana and he frowned deeply.
“Don’t be a jerk. She doesn’t think I hate her.”
Adriana stared at him coldly.
“Both of you get back to work. I’m done with this conversation.”
“I’m taking my break,” I said. “So I’ll get back to work in an hour.”
Or two.
I strode towards the door, stopping only to drop a kiss on Adriana’s forehead, and was out in the brisk air in about thirty seconds. Going home was my usual lunch deal, but today I just stood with my back pressed against the brick side of the building. I took deep breaths and tried to calm down.
Why was this starting to weigh on me so heavily? Every day I got more and more shaky, and my patience wore thinner. Something bad was going to happen eventually. I knew it.
Desperate for a distraction, I checked my phone, ignoring the texts from a couple of my friends and opening Grindr. Luke was on. Which was weird. He didn’t normally get online while at work. But then I noticed he’d sent me a message only two minutes ago.
Luke: Busy?
StaffSgt: Dying for a bright spot in this fucked up day. Congrats! You’re it.
Luke: Maybe I can further my brilliance.
StaffSgt: how?
Luke: I don’t have another job for two hours and I’m at home. Swing by?
My heart leapt.
StaffSgt: be there in 5 mins?
Luke: Make it 3. I’m impatient again.
I didn’t bother to respond and took off in a jog to Manor Road. I was already picturing all the filthy things we could do together and my dick was responding accordingly, but I felt something else too. Warmth in my chest and butterflies in my stomach.
He wanted to break his rule for me. He didn’t want to wait for another two days.
That meant something, right?
Or maybe it just meant he was hornier than usual.
Either way, gratitude and affection swelled inside of me. He was giving me an escape.
Luke opened the door looking so damn sexy that for a second all I could do was stare. His hair was messy, dirt smudged one of his cheekbones, and he was wearing jeans and a battered white V-neck T-shirt that displayed his defined pecs and arms. It was a pretty basic work outfit, but seeing Luke grimy from work was a turn on.
“Man, you look good today.”
Surprise crossed his face. It was followed by a flicker of a smile. He grabbed the front of my shirt, which is when I realized I was still wearing my apron. Fuck.
“You look and smell edible,” he rumbled with his nose buried in the crook of my neck. “Really. Why do you smell like baked goods?”
“Uh.” Fuck. “I’m doing this catering thing for a friend. He needed a hand.”
Luke kicked the door shut and locked it. His lips moved along my neck as he drew me further into the house. “You can cook?”
“I can follow directions.”
“Yeah. You can.”
I laughed. “I meant for a recipe, you perv.”
“Whatever.” Luke undid the knot at the back of my apron once we were in the kitchen. He draped it over the side of a chair. “You hungry?”
“For your dick or real food?”
Luke’s gaze heated. “You can wait for food.”
“I—”
“Turn around and put your hands on the counter. Palms down.”
My heart skipped a beat. I complied with the directions but hesitated just enough for him to get antsy. Fire swept through my body every time he manhandled me, and I think he knew it.
“Am I being frisked?”
“No.” Luke undid my jeans. He shoved them down over my ass and kicked my legs open so my stance was wider. “I just know what I want to eat.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” The jeans sagged to my ankles. “This beautiful fucking ass.”
Breathless didn’t begin to describe me. I was panting, and he’d barely touched me. My dick was already hard enough to throb. But there was still a tiny bit of me that wasn’t quite sure what to expect. No one had ever—
“Oh holy shit.”
Apparently anything touching the sensitive nerves between my ass cheeks was kryptonite, because my knees buckled as soon as he began tonguing my hole. I hunched forward, hair hanging in front of my face, and tried to keep in my ragged groans. It mostly didn’t work. As strange as it felt at first, the sensation was indescribable. This thin line between tantalizingly amazing to not enough pressure at all. It was torture. And he didn’t stop spearing his pointed tongue into my ass until my lips were trembling and I was keening.
“Luke, come on… please.”
The broken sound of my voice roused Luke’s inner beast. He went caveman on me and dragged me upstairs without asking my opinion on the matter. Not that I gave a damn. We nearly died going up the stairs because I couldn’t stop groping him. By the time we reached the bed, my touch addiction was rewarded by such a fierce pounding that I saw stars every time he slammed into me.
“Ye
ah,” I whispered, my knees pressed to my chest. “Just like that.”
Luke redoubled his efforts. He watched me the entire time, pale blue slits beneath his dark lashes. It was such a turn on that I couldn’t keep my hands to myself this time around. I was stroking my dick as we stared each other down, all while he was deep inside of me.
“Wish you could come in me.” The words were raspy and barely intelligible. I wasn’t thinking straight as I pumped faster. “Wish I could feel that big dick raw.”
Luke’s mouth dropped open. For the first time, it was his voice going high and desperate. His fingers tightened on my thighs. “Gotta settle for your mouth.”
The meaning didn’t click until he was ripping out of me hurriedly. He shed the condom and scooted up to shove his length into my mouth. I went off like a rocket, making a mess all over my torso as he unloaded down my throat.
It was impossible to think after that.
My eyes slid closed as I shuddered. As usual, post-orgasmic sleep wanted to steal over me but the weight of a hard body roused me.
“Sorry,” I murmured. “Be out soon.”
“Shut up.”
I shut up.
I also didn’t expect the tongue bath Luke was giving me. Instead of grunting at me to make tracks so he could erase all traces of my presence from his bedroom, he was all hands. Rubbing them over my skin, nosing at me, and running the flat of his tongue over the damp spots of my ejaculation. I almost purred like a cat.
“Mmm. You ain’t givin’ me much motivation to get my ass up.”
“We have time.”
The warm wet heat of his mouth encircled my nipple. He sucked hard, and I moaned.
“Fuck, dude. You’re like… doing things to me I’ve never even thought about.”
Luke peered up through his messy black and silver hair. He released my nipple after biting softly. “Tell me more.”
“Uh.” I licked my lips and shifted. “First dude to fuck me until I nutted. First rim job… and I didn’t even realize my nipples were that sensitive. If you keep doing that, I’ll probably get hard again.”
A wicked grin crossed his face. “If we had more time, I would.”
“Mmm.”
Luke went back to cleaning me up, and I closed my eyes. He didn’t shove my hand away when I buried my fingers in his soft hair, and he didn’t seem uncomfortable with the way I was melting into his bed. The slow exploration of my body was so relaxing that I dozed off again. This time, I didn’t wake up until something smooth and cold pressed against my bare skin.
“Gotta go soon.”
My eyes popped open. I found a plate sitting on my stomach. Instead of PB&J, I’d been upgraded to turkey and cheese with lettuce and tomatoes. There was also music playing. Pearl Jam. Nice.
“Man, you must really be in a good mood.”
“Don’t fuck it up by commenting on it.”
I snorted and scooted up. Yawning, I pressed my back against the headboard and tore into the sandwich. Sex made me hungry. I didn’t even try to not inhale the delicious snack regardless of Luke watching me from the edge of the bed.
“You doing okay, kid?”
“Nah.”
Luke raised a brow. “No?”
“I mean right now I’m great, but other shit sucks.”
“Same thing you told me about the other day?”
I polished off the sandwich and nodded. “My situation isn’t ideal. Most days I just want to fucking—” The rest of the sentence was too pathetic to finish. I sneaked a glance at Luke. He was watching me closely. “Most days I just feel like all of this is pointless.”
“Explain.”
“Just—” Gesturing vaguely, I tried to find the words to explain without saying too much. “I’m just… I’m a waste, man.”
Luke moved the plate from the bed. I almost expected him to give me some empty platitude or to brush it off and change the awkward subject, but he just kept giving me that thorough glare of his. “You feel like a waste because you’re wasting your time. Decide what you want and follow through with a plan.” When I didn’t say anything, he went on. It was the longest he’d ever spoken to me in person. Which was sort of weird to realize. “You’ve been thinking about this. Tell me what’s on your mind.”
“It’s stupid.”
“It’s stupid of you to act like a shy kid being asked to the prom when I’m asking about career prospects.”
A laugh popped out of my mouth. “You’re such a grown-up.”
“What do you want to do with yourself, Dominic?”
“Fine. Jesus.” I raked a hand through my hair. “I was thinking about being an EMT, but that’s probably not going to happen.”
“Why do you want to be an EMT?” he asked, totally skipping over my pity-party.
“Because I’m good at being a first responder. I have fast reflexes. I don’t freeze up in an emergency. I can handle gore.” I searched his face for a sign of judgment. My father had scoffed and said I was still trying to play hero without taking on the responsibility of having to once again carry a gun. Maybe other people saw it that way. They probably did. It was partially true. “I want to do something that matters.”
Luke nodded shortly. “Makes perfect sense to me. Do it.”
“Really?”
“Yes. And you’d be good at it. Your sense of humor would be a good distraction. You could ask them about whether the Mets have a shot at the pennant while checking their vitals.”
I smirked. “That would depress them.”
“You know what I mean.” Luke stood up, long and strong in his briefs. “And like you said, you’ll keep calm under pressure. It’ll soothe them. Being charming won’t hurt.”
“You think I’m charming?”
“When you’re not being a joker.”
“Aw, baby.” I sat up and knee-walked over to him. “You so sweet. Gimme some sugar.”
Luke stared at me like I’d sprouted a second head, but his lips twitched. He didn’t pull away when I smacked a loud kiss against his cheek. I wanted to pull him close, something to show him how much it meant to me that he hadn’t blown me off or cast aside my ideas for my future. Most people seemed to tolerate me until they had an excuse to get away from me. But Luke gave me his full attention. He asked questions, listened to my answers, and gave a shit. And being the sole focus of Luke Rawlings was like basking in the sunlight.
He squeezed my shoulder. “I need to get ready to go back to work.”
“Shit, me too.” I glanced at the clock and cringed. There was no way I could go back to work reeking of sweat, sex, and Luke. Also, unsanitary. “Uh, do you mind if I shower?”
“It’s fine. We can shower together.”
Luke was walking to the master bathroom before I could process the fact that this was starting to feel like more than a quickie.
* * *
Luke
I had a dozen things on my mind. We were behind on our job for a widow who needed a total yard overhaul. Micah was disappearing with Adriana for long periods of time. Chelle wanted her fucking nose pierced. And on top of all of this, I hadn’t seen Dominic for a week and I missed him. Which made me cranky. I was kidding myself that I wasn’t attached, especially because I found myself googling New York’s requirements for EMT certifications and was two seconds away from printing them out for Dominic.
I hadn’t been blowing smoke up his ass. I did think he’d make a great EMT, and my research showed the field was supposed to grow over twenty percent in the next five years. Yeah, I’d made fucking notes and shit.
I wanted him to be happy. When I’d told him I thought he’d make a great EMT, his whole face had lit up. It pissed me off he didn’t have other people to encourage him. Except… I liked being the one who made him smile.
“Dad!” Chelle shouted. “We leaving or what?”
Micah had convinced us to walk down the street to pick up lunch. I wasn’t one to turn down a hero sandwich, but I knew it was just an excuse for him to s
ee Adriana at the store where she worked. I caved because Hot Bagels was my favorite deli out of the twenty in a five-block radius, and I never got to go in since work took me to the other side of the island. They also made amazing pastrami sandwiches.
I joined my kids at the front door, and we began our less than five-minute walk. Fall was in full effect, and Chelle kicked at dried leaves with her boots.
“So about the nose thing.”
“Jesus Christ,” I muttered.
“It’s just a little stud. There’s an app where you can put all kinds of piercings all over your face to see if they look good, and Dad, I looked amazing.”
I sighed. “Let me talk to your mom about it.”
“You said that last week.”
“Well, I’m saying it again this week.”
Chelle gave me a look, the all-attitude one. See, I thought she would look gorgeous with her nose pierced, and that was most of the problem. I was biased, but she was beautiful—like her mother, and had matured before most of the girls in her class. She stood five-six and looked older than sixteen. Reining in my overprotective streak was hard as fuck.
“Look, just give me some time. I’m not saying no. And if you lie about your age and get it done anyway, I will throw out all of your makeup.”
She gasped, and I couldn’t help but grin.
“Wow.” Micah whistled. “That’s a threat. I think she even sleeps with it on.”
“Shut up,” she snarled.
“Stop it, or no lunch.”
They both fell silent. Parenting was ninety-percent bargaining.
When we reached Hot Bagels, I was eager to get inside because the breeze was picking up. Inside, it smelled like it always did, fresh-baked bread and melted cheese and premium deli meats.
Adriana stood behind the register, paging through a magazine with a sullen look on her face. When we walked up to the counter, her cheeks flushed with color and her eyes brightened. She turned a mega-watt smile onto my son.
I’d seen her before, a couple of times, but something about that smile struck me as familiar in a way it hadn’t before. I brushed off the feeling and opened my mouth to order when a voice called out.
Fast Connection (Cyberlove #2) Page 8
