Chapter 24 Indie

Chapter 24

Indie

Is this couch infused with some sort of sedative? That’s the only plausible explanation for why I keep waking up here feeling more rested than I do after a full eight hours in my own bed. I refuse to believe it has anything to do with the owner of the house.

Speaking of the dopey owner, he’s going to absolutely murder me if I don’t find his dog soon. She was right here when I fell asleep. But I’ve called out for her and searched the house without luck. The backyard is empty too.

My throat is tight with panic when I see the duffle bag by the front door. They’ve got to be around here someplace. Sliding open the patio door, I check the backyard again. I’m about to give up when I hear him praise, “Such a good girl!”

Making my way around the side of the house I freeze when I see them. My hand comes to my mouth, stopping my laugh because I can’t possibly interrupt this. A shirtless Dom is bent over with his teeth snapping at the water spraying out of the hose .

“You try.” He holds out the hose and Ronnie mimics him, bouncing on her front paws as she tries to catch the water with her teeth.

Well fuck, this is not helping my brain convince the rest of me—my ovaries, my heart, all my instincts, really—that I should stay away from this man. Nope, my already weakening resolve snaps.

And it only gets worse when a moment later he lifts the nozzle above his head, sending rivulets of water cascading over his tanned muscles, making sexy rivers in the valley of his spine. Just like that, the endearing moment turns into something much more sensual that I’m sure will invade my dreams.

Backing away slowly, self preservation has me sneaking back inside to gather my things and slipping out the front door. When I’m safely down the block, I sit on the curb and order an Uber. The whole time I wait, I try to convince myself I’m not a coward, just a self-aware queen who knows when she’s in over her head.

Delusional.

An hour later, I’ve showered and distracted myself in as many ways as I can think of, but there is still that insistent ache between my legs. The same one that’s been there since I metaphorically ran from Dom’s house; ran from all the things that seeing him like that made me want. A future where we take Ronnie for long hikes, a white picket fence picture of our own.

Now I’m lying here, unable to sleep after barely escaping Dom’s without doing something I shouldn’t. Although I was tempted to ignore the text that came through from “Yours”—the contact name he entered himself—I knew it would only end with him showing up at my door. Which would defeat the whole point of leaving. So I reply with a vague text letting him know I’m okay and turn off notifications on my phone.

Thanks to the little show he unknowingly put on, I’m right back to where I was this time last year. Twelve hours of sex and pouring our hearts out to each other shouldn’t have been enough to unravel everything I’ve learned about falling for guys that seem too good to be true. Yet that’s exactly where we seemed to be headed after our one night stand. Except now I know he’s not like the others. Dom’s not cruel and cold like Jensen. Or the other guys in college who saw my sexuality as an obstacle to overcome, a phase, or worse yet, bragging rights.

Dom is kind and thoughtful. He’s taken care of me when I’ve needed it, knowing me well enough to know how to make me give in and accept help when it’s the last thing I want to do, but exactly what I need. And it feels good, so fucking good, to have someone who wants to take care of me for once.

This time I’m not sure if I can make myself walk away.

Tomorrow, in the light of day, I might hate myself for this decision, but right now I don’t care. With a huff, I reach into my nightstand drawer and grab the one thing that comes close to the feeling of Dom’s mouth on me and press the toy between my legs, letting the suction work its magic.

Sagging into my pillow, the relief is immediate. I’m climbing fast and hard, his face and body at the forefront of my fantasies. They blend together old tender memories of the way he touched me back then with the rougher, more demanding way he is with me now. Both spur me on, but part of me can’t deny that I long for the moments that I’ve tried so hard to avoid.

Those locked away moments of him whispering how perfect I am against my skin; kisses, silent promises of more, have me shaking on the edge of losing control. The words he said last year when he thought I was asleep are what crack me wide open, stars bursting behind my closed eyelids.

“I feel like I’ve been waiting all my life for you, Indie Moreno.”

Yep, definitely going to regret that in the morning. Not because it felt better than it should’ve, but because I don’t hate myself for it. If anything it only makes me want him more, especially recalling those words that I locked away to protect myself for the last year. It’s only a matter of time before I lose this battle I’m fighting so hard. Each day the reasons I’ve held him at bay fade a little more.