Page 30 of Cross Check My Heart
“I’m sorry. Do you want to talk about it?” I question in case I’m reading his expression wrong. Dominik looks at me, shaking his head slowly. I squeeze his arm one last time, nodding once before getting up to grab the pot of coffee, if only to give him a moment alone. When I come back and fill both our mugs, he flashes me a pained smile.
“We can save my family issues for next week’s trauma dump date night.” I chuckle at the fact that we’ve somehow made that a thing. Checking the clock above the oven, I realize it’s already eight thirty.
I’ve never been much of a morning person. Normally, I need a good hour to wake up and require complete silence the entire time. Yet this morning, it felt nice to wake up and talk with him.
“What time do you have to leave for work?” Dom glances over his shoulder to the clock. Shrugging before turning his focus back to his breakfast.
“It only takes ten minutes to walk to the arena, so I should probably leave here in a few to freshen up and grab my gear.”
“Okay. Are there any other rules or ya know…something that we should talk about before we go any further?” He finishes up his last piece of bacon as he contemplates the answer. Standing and bringing his empty plate to the sink before he turns and leans against the counter to face me. Holding his hand up as he recaps what we have discussed so far, adding a finger each time he says one.
“The only people who know will be Garrett and Paige, other than that, we keep this private. Although I do think that if either of us start to feel like we want more than us behind a closed door, we need to let the other know.” I nod in agreement.
“No hooking up with or dating other people. If either one of us meets someone, we need to be honest and just say it.”
“We’re both clean, and you’re on birth control. I know last night we agreed to no condoms, but was that a heat of the moment thing or an every time thing?”
My face flushes, but I refuse to let myself shy away. This is an adult relationship, maybe not a boyfriend and girlfriend relationship, but two people agreeing to get to know each other both physically and emotionally. I avoided talking about sex with Cam for four years and look where that got me.
Unsatisfied and alone.
I refuse to be that same person who bent over backwards and ignored my needs.
“It wasn’t just the heat of the moment. As long as you’re comfortable with it, I’d like to not use a condom.”
“So that’s three guidelines to this… umm…” He cocks his head to the side, curiosity taking over his expression. “I don’t want to say relationship cause we’ve only known each other for five days. Neighbors sounds too impersonal. And saying we’re friends seems wrong since I’ve seen what you look like when you cum.”
Blushing at his bluntness, I lick my lips, gesturing between us.
“I mean, do we need to put a label on this?”
He studies me before shrugging his shoulders. “Not at all. You just got out of a relationship, we both just moved to a city that is completely new to us. Right now, I think knowing that neither of us are sleeping with other people while we get to know each other in secret. Add on the bonus that I get to keep seeing you naked.” He smiles as his gaze slowly traces over me. My thighs clench tightly together, which is something he doesn’t miss given by the way his tongue darts out and licks his bottom lip.
Not only does he listen to what I say, but he also notices how my body reacts to what he says or does. He seems to know exactly what my body needs before I do. Biting my lip, I realize that I’m most likely nowhere near Dom’s level of experience or confidence in the bedroom.
While we’re getting all this out in the open, I decide to tack on one more request before I can talk myself out of it.
“Considering the fact that we skipped a couple steps and you already know more shit than normal… I have one more thing to ask.”
Dom keeps his full attention on me as I take a breath and just blurt out what I’m thinking.
“I need to be more comfortable in the bedroom. Like when it comes to talking about sex and all that without being awkward. Now that I know I’m not broken, I realize that I never got used to talking about what I like and don’t like. Hell, I didn’t even know I could like anything.” I look away, realizing that I’ve basically just asked someone I don’t know to teach me how to be good at sex.
Dominik’s silence has me second guessing myself. After a long moment I finally glance at him, ready to take it back.
My heart skips when I turn to find him staring at me. The desire in his eyes as he grips the counter has my knees feeling a bit wobbly. He holds me captive as he pushes off the counter andstalks toward me, not stopping until he is standing right in front of me. I tilt my head back to keep my gaze on his, resisting the urge to touch him as I wait for him to speak.
His hungry gaze drops as I wet my lips. When he finally finds words, he’s still honed in on them.
“Are you asking me to be your sex educator?” I snort, needing to break some of the tension.
“I mean, when you put it like that, it sounds dirty.” I move to step back, the air between us taking over my thoughts. He needs to be getting over to his apartment in the next couple minutes if he doesn’t want to be late. So, getting turned on and distracting him should be avoided.
Except the moment I start to put distance between us, he’s wrapping his arms around me. A gasp escapes as my palms fly up to his chest to help catch my balance, even though I’m certain he wouldn’t let me fall. The expression on his face has me grateful I skipped putting panties on.
“Sunshine, if you need help learning what brings your body pleasure and how to talk dirty, then Hell. Fucking. Yes.” To emphasize his point, he pulls me impossibly closer and claims my lips. Effectively wiping every thought from my mind. The only thing I can focus on is the way his mouth moves against mine, claiming me and warming every inch of my body.
I honestly can’t tell you how long we stand in the middle of my kitchen, kissing until I’m forced to break away. Clutching his arms, I pull back slightly to look up at him which doesn’t help with catching my breath.
