Page 21 of Graves

My eyes snap up to his. “Really?”

“It’s an ugly story.”

The shortness in his tone makes it clear that it’s not up for discussion, and I can definitely respect that.

We eat the rest of our food in a comfortable silence. You’dthink that it would be awkward, eating quietly in your house with a guy you basically just met, but honestly, it isn’t. There is something calming about Dominic, soothing almost. At first glance, I’m sure he would intimidate the shit out of you, but I see more to him, the softer side, the one he clearly tries to hide but for whatever reason, is allowing me to see.

Once we are finished, I clean up the containers before tossing them into the trash. Dominic stands, grabbing his phone and pocketing it. Disappointment fills me as I watch him.

“You leaving?”

He pauses, turning to face me fully. “I do need to get back to the office to look into some things.”

“Oh, cool. Thanks for lunch,” I say, doing my best to right my tone.

He’s clearly not buying it. He slowly closes the distance between us, weaving his fingers through my hair on both sides of my head before forcing me to look up at him.

“You don’t want me to leave?”

“Well, no. I mean, you have to get back to work. I just kinda thought you were coming over to…you know?”

He watches me for a moment before a sly smirk spreads across his face.

“You disappointed that I was gonna leave without making you come, baby? Need an orgasm or two before I head out?” he asks almost teasingly.

“I mean, I’d be stupid to turn down an offer like that,” I huff on a laugh as I look away.

Dom’s fingers curl into my hair, gripping it tighter beforeforcing my head back, leaving me no choice but to make eye contact with him.

“I can’t leave my woman wanting. I’ll give you a ten second head start,” he says as he pulls away his hands and begins rolling up the sleeves of his shirt to his elbows.

“Your woman?” I question dubiously, despite the hard thudding of my heart at his words.

“I told you that you’re mine. I meant it.”

“Does that mean that you’re mine?” I say, biting back a smile as I do.

“Absolutely,” he agrees seriously.

A giddiness fills me as I bite my lower lip and nod.

“Okay.”

“Okay,” he says. “Ten seconds.”

“Ten seconds until what?”

“Until I catch you,” he says as he finishes rolling up his sleeves.

I watch him with a small smirk as his eyes flick up to me.

“Seven, six, five.”

I don’t waste another second, adrenaline suddenly coursing through my veins as I take off running down the hall. There isn’t really anywhere good to hide, so I figure just getting to my bedroom is the best chance I have.

I slip inside the room, slamming the door shut and plastering my back against it as my chest heaves. Excitement buzzes through me as I hear his heavy steps casually stroll through the house. He tries to push the door open, but I put everything into holding it back, an excited giggle slipping outof me as he almost gets it open before it’s slammed shut again.

“Back away from the door, baby. I’m gonna break it down, and I don’t want you hurt,” he says through the thin wood.

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