Page 6 of Counterpoint
“I feel like I should pay for half of yours,” Dominic murmured, his cheeks once again a little red.
“Oh, you treated me in the sharing.”
A chuckle. “I do try.”
They rose and made their way out to the sidewalk, and Dominic fidgeted for a second. “Look. I think I do want more than a quick—” He waved his hand and swallowed. “Sometimes my schedule is...erratic. Can I get your number, just in case I need to reschedule or—something?”
Poor Dominic, so flustered at not being dragged off for a nice uncomplicated hookup. “Of course.”
They exchanged numbers, then Adrian drew that blushing man in for a kiss. Once more it took only a hint of control to soften Dominic in his arms. And yes, poor thing was still all nice and hard.
Adrian broke the kiss. “If you end up liking the Saul book, I can recommend some others to you.”
Oh, the lust and interest in Dominic’s eyes—and not just for sex. “Can you?”
“Mmmhmm. Wednesday. Dinner and book recommendations.”
“And more?”
Dominic was breathless, so Adrian drew him close again, cupping that nice hard cock again. “I promise that part of more will be worth the wait.”
A laugh, as if Dominic couldn’t believe what he was doing. “I’m gonna hold you to that.”
Good. Very, very, very good.
Chapter Two
Sunday morning, and Dom was in hell. Well, he was actually just south of Hell’s Kitchen, in Chelsea, in a practice and recording studio trying desperately to get into the groove of playing. The weight of his guitar felt foreign against his shoulder, the strings too rough against his fingers, and his head still rotated around and around images of Adrian Doran.
He’d been so hot and horny and still fucking hard when he’d gotten home on Saturday night. Spent a good part of that night jacking off to memories of Adrian’s voice and smile. And that should have been enough, should have burnt the man out of his system.
But it hadn’t. Not with his number in Dom’s phone. Not with plans for Wednesday.
He was most definitely not Domino Grinder today, and that was a huge problem.
It was no wonder he flubbed the chords in “Finding Light” each time they tried to run through the song. It was a tricky transition, but one he was normally up for. After all, he’d played harder songs. Hell, he could play freaking guitar concertos on the instrument in his hands. But not at the moment. Might as well be a newbie plucking at the strings for the first time.
The song skidded to a halt mid-chorus, and silence descended on the studio.
“Dom, what the hell?” Ray slapped his hand against his thigh, his frustration so evident. “What’s going on with you?”
Shit, yeah, he’d really fucked that up. His head wasn’t in the right place. Too much Dominic and not enough Domino, all because Adrian’s voice still echoed in his ear. “Sorry—I—Sorry.” He turned away and plucked a chord, ostensibly tuning, though he’d done that several times already.
He heard rather than saw Ray’s sigh and curse.
Mish caught Dom’s eye, her arms cradling her upright bass. “Hon, it’s okay. We all have off days.”
This wasn’t an off day, this was—he didn’t even know what this was. He didn’t feel like himself. Well, he did, just the wrong version. Dominic Bradley wasn’t a rock star, but he couldn’t get out of that skin and into Domino, the persona who was.
Zav thumped a little roll on the high tom. “Why don’t we take a little break?”
“Yeah, maybe that’s for the best,” Ray said. When Dom turned back, Ray was watching him. “We need you here, Dom.Ineed you here.”
His oldest friend. Hisbestfriend. And he was letting the whole band down. “I know. Let me get some coffee in me and get my head back on.” He unshouldered his guitar and set it in its stand. Fresh air—he needed that, too. So he poured a cup of coffee from the carafe that had been delivered with the snacks and headed to the open window.
He wasn’t even surprised when Zavier joined him. Pretty common, really, during breaks. They both liked air and contemplation.
But that wasn’t in the queue for today, it seemed.
