Page 70 of Sweets and Sycamores
“Nothing.” Her friend looked at Allie until her scowl smoothed and turned into a pout. “Brandon.”
“Oh?” Allie couldn’t mask her surprise, her eyes the size of grapefruits. It was the first time Mia brought up Brandon on her own. “Do you want to…talk about it?” Allie asked slowly, keeping the food in her mouth still, as if the chewing sounds might scare Mia.
The Archivist studied her friend for a long moment, blinked more than the average person, and opened and closed her mouth a few times.
“I’m good.” She waved awkwardly and left the store in a hurry, almost tripping over the long skirt of her dress.
Allie wasn’t hurt by it. After all, they were only recently friends, and?—
The bakery door slammed open.
“He’s just such a… Ugh!” Mia paced around the floor like a lion in a cage, gesticulating with her hands and yelling in a language Allie didn’t speak. She had no idea how to console her friend, much less when she didn’t really understand the problem, so Allie did what she knew best.
She snuck a cookie between her fingers and approached her friend with careful steps, stopping whenever Mia’s eyes fell on her. When she was close enough, Allie gently grabbed her by the elbow and stuffed the cookie in her mouth.
Mia chewed with wide eyes, a faint smile shadowing her full lips. Allie grabbed her by the arms and fixed her most intense gaze on her.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No?” She deflated, then her brown eyes followed the narrow hallway to the staircase. “How’s Dom?”
Allie’s mind was flooded with his rich laugh, a sound so whole and genuine, and so precious from someone like him. How the skin around his eyes had crinkled, and how his lips had parted with the large grin, how his cheeks stretched and crowded his eyes.
“He’s surprisingly energetic for a magically depleted Mage.”
Mia wiggled her eyebrows, a smirk wiping the grimace off her face. “I might have an idea why.”
“So did you want to tell me about Brandon?” Allie countered, feeling her face heat. Mia’s smirk died a swift death.
“Mean.” She hugged Allie and left, promising to return later to check on her brother and eat more of her cookies.
Allie felt a little bad for feeding Dominic only tea and soup, so she plated two cookies and took them with her after tidying the place up.
When she returned to Dominic’s room, she found him sound asleep. Between standing by the door and sitting on the floor, Allie didn’t know where to place herself inher boss’s bedroom.After awkwardly looking around for a moment, Allie decided to go to the living room and perch on the blue sofa.
“Hmm.” The hoarse purr made Allie stop in her tracks.
“Dom?”
“Come here,” he said in a thick, sleep-coated voice. Allie approached the bed, dropped the cookie plate on the nightstand, and sat down on the edge of the mattress, so far away from him that she was seconds from falling to the ground on her ass. She checked his fever, which had decreased but was still higher than healthy.
“I’m going to—” Dominic shifted and hauled her into his arms, snuggling her under the cover. A move too fast and sneaky for someone who was sick. “What’s happening?” Allie asked, feeling her entire body solidify like a brick wall.
Dominic pulled her closer, lining the back of her body with his front, his big, heavy arm hugging her around her middle. He was hot like a furnace, and Allie wondered how much of it was from the fever, and how much was just…Dom.
“You smell so good,” he drawled out, propping his chin in the crook of her neck. His prickly short beard sent shivers all over her body, and her heartbeat sprinted to the front of her chest.
Allie discreetly pinched the side of her arm, hard enough that she barely suppressed a hiss.
Wide awake.
“Was this your first medicine potion?” He hummed in response. “I think I made it too strong. Maybe it wasn’t the best for you,” she whispered and attempted to break free. Dominic’s hold tightened, squishing her to him with no intention of letting her go.
“You are the best for me.” His voice was deep and guttural, but it was the statement that made Allie’s heart quiver and turn into mush. Her skin was on fire and not because of Dom’s heat, but because of the way he drew lazy circles with his thumb on her abdomen, and the way he nuzzled her neck with his nose and chin, and the way he wastouching her everywhere.
It was everything she ever wanted. And more.
Allie took a deep breath and relaxed, melting into him like clay into the perfect mold. And she fell asleep.
