Chapter Five

“I'm telling you—she's the one,” Dominic's voice lured me from sleep.

I frowned and opened my eyes. Took in my bedroom. The sun shining through the lace curtains. Binx curled up near my feet. Something woke me. What was it?

“I don't care about some woman you met in a bar,” Dominic growled. “Look, I'm not coming home yet. I need to get to know her better.”

I turned toward the open door. Dominic's voice was coming in from the hallway. I had the urge to get up and creep closer to the door, but it wasn't necessary. He was speaking loud enough for me to eavesdrop without looking like an eavesdropper.

“She's amazing, and she saved my life,” he went on. “No, I wouldn't have survived! They were fucking hunting me. If they had caught me instead of her, I'd be dead right now. She found me, and I fucking passed out. They could have taken my head. But that fucking angel brought me into her home and protected me. She's amazing.” A pause. “Whatever. Go after your woman. I'm staying with mine. And I will make her mine. I don't care what you say. She's the most incredible woman I've ever met, and I'm not letting her go. I'm staying as long as it takes.” Another pause. “Fuck you. I'm not bringing her around you two assholes yet. I have to ease her into meeting you. Especially you. You're a dick.”

The conversation ended.

I was surprised to find that my heart was racing. Dominic really had meant what he'd said. He thought I was incredible. Holy shit. That had to be one of his packmates he'd been talking to. Another shapeshifter. Holy shit, he was a shapeshifter! They were real! And I had sex with one of them. A man who could turn into a dog! No, I hadn't seen it yet, but I believed him. It was impossible not to after he fell at my feet looking like a honeycomb and then filled in those holes as I watched.

I heard soft footsteps come into the room, and I turned toward him, deciding to be real with him. Honest. That's how we had begun, and it was how I wanted to continue. Besides, I hadn't eavesdropped on purpose. He had spoken loud enough for me to hear. Right outside my bedroom.

Dominic stopped beside the bed. He was naked and holding a phone. He blinked. “Uh, good morning.”

“Good morning.” I sat up.

Binx cried, stood up, stretched, then stepped over to me. I stroked his head as I grinned at Dominic.

“Did you, uh, hear any of that?” Dominic asked.

“Any of what?” I grinned broader. “How incredible I am? How you're going to stay as long as it takes? That's unexpected after I jumped into bed with you mere hours after we met. I must be a hell of a lay.”

He winced, squeezing his eyes shut, then chuckled. “You have no idea.” He sat down on the bed and absently stroked Binx. “Well, at least you only heard good things. So, are you going to let me stay long enough to plead my case?”

“Plead your case?”

“Yeah.” Dom smirked. “You know. Woo you. Court you.” He leaned in and kissed my cheek, then whispered in my ear, “Seduce you to the Cerberus side.”

“You can stay for a while. At the very least, we have to get you some new clothes.”

“And condoms,” he said as he sat back. “Lots of them.”

I burst out laughing. “Actually, I could just use a potion. I didn't have any prepared last night, and it takes a bit to whip one up. But I think I have time now.”

“I don't know about that.” Dominic slid closer and nuzzled my neck. “You're so beautiful with your curls wild around you.” He eased back to run his hand through my dark, curly hair, dragging it down to the ends near my waist. “You're like a wood nymph, painted with sunshine.”

I widened my eyes at him. “You're a poet too?”

He snorted. “Hardly. Someone as beautiful as you can make a poet out of anyone.”

Full-body meltdown. In a good way. As in, everything melted into a puddle of happiness. It's funny how that happens when the right person compliments you. With Darius, it had felt like nothing. Less than that. It made me defensive enough to say that shit about knowing how gorgeous I was. The potion may have promoted that as well. Still, that's not how I saw myself. I didn't have problems with insecurity, but I didn't have the confidence of a goddess, either. So when someone as incredible as Dominic—someone who wasn't a player—told me I was beautiful, it lit me up. Couldn't be helped. Superficial? Yeah, maybe. But what woman doesn't want to be beautiful?

And this was after what I had expected to be a one-night stand. To wake up hearing him declare his intentions to a friend had been astounding. It also gave credence to his compliments. To everything he had said. Dominic was real, while Darius had been all kinds of fake.

A strange, overlapping combination of memories suddenly hit me when I thought of Darius. I saw him kneeling before me in my office, but I also saw Dominic kneeling before me in my kitchen. The similarities I'd noted before, the ones I chucked up to being brought on by my magic, were glaringly obvious in that image. The same coloring. The same haircut. Similar build. Even their eyes were similar. Darius had silver flecks while Dominic had gold. That was strange. But as a witch, strange was acceptable. Sometimes that was how the world worked. You get two nearly identical options with one glaring difference, and the difference usually clarified things. It was generally a metaphysical kick in the ass. A way to see what was truly best for you.

There was no contest here. Dominic was the best.

“Oh, yeah,” I whispered to him, all those bubbling, bright feelings rising into my smile. “You can stay.”

Dominic grinned and reached for me.

I slid back, taking Binx with me. “But I need breakfast, you need clothes, and I still want to pick up some condoms. Just in case I don't have time for the spell.”

Dominic fell onto the bed with a dramatic sigh. “You're killing me!” He waved at his hard cock. “Do you see this? How am I supposed to leave the house like this?” Then he looked me over. “Oh, Gods, look at you!” He sat up. “Come to daddy, angel.” He held out his arms.

With my grin widening, I shook my head and snuggled Binx. “Not happening. And you're not leaving. I'm going to run into town and grab everything while you feed Binx.”

“What? No. If you're going, I'm going. I'm not letting your gorgeousness out of my sight.”

“What are you going to wear to cover all of your gorgeousness?”

“You think I'm gorgeous?” He smirked and reached for me again.

“Down, boy.” I waved a finger at him. “Focus. What are you going to wear?”

“My jeans. They're bloody, but at least they cover me. I can wait in the car while you get me something cleaner. And then we can go out for breakfast. My treat, of course.”

“You were just whining about your dick.”

He widened his eyes at me as he popped to his feet. “Oh, I like a woman who talks dirty. Say it again. Go on, talk about my cock. Ple-e-ease!”

I snorted. “Stop it, Dom. You can come with me if you want. Put on your jeans.”

I went to my walk-in closet and got dressed, going with something girly. My style was already a combination of Stevie Nicks and Florence Welch—lots of lace, velvet, flowy skirts, and big sleeves. But I felt especially witchy after the magical night I'd spent with my new puppy. So, I went with a tiered long skirt, each silk ruffle adorned with antique lace, a tight tank top layered with a puffy-sleeve lace crop top, and Edwardian boots. After finger-combing my hair and pinching my cheeks, I went back out to the bedroom to find it empty.

Frowning, I called, “Dominic?”

Nothing. No Binx either.

I went to the bathroom first. In my haste to look pretty, I'd ignored my body's morning needs. After taking care of business, I washed up, including my face, lathered on some moisturizer that I made myself—beef tallow and castor oil—and used the excess on my hands to moisturize the ends of my hair. Dominic seemed to like it loose, and so did I. So, I only pinned back a small piece at my temple, securing it with an antique comb. A dab of lip gloss and I was ready.

I found my puppy downstairs, feeding my cat.

Leaning in the kitchen doorway, I watched Dominic with Binx. He had found a can of wet food and given Binx the whole thing, piling it onto a pretty plate for him. Noticing me at last, he stopped petting the purring cat and stood up to grin at me as if he'd invented soap.

I snorted and went past him, trailing my hand over his tight, bare belly as I passed by. He was in his stained pants, but the blood had darkened to cinnabar and looked more like paint. Not so bad.

“I don't think so, Binxy,” I said and scooped up the plate.

Binx meowed in offense.

“Nope. You thought it was your lucky day, huh?” I got his cat dish out of the washer, scooped about an eighth of what was left on the plate into the dish, then put the rest in the empty can that was on the counter. “Here you go.” I set the plate on the plastic feeding mat. Then I covered the can and put it in the fridge.

“Shit,” Dominic said. “Sorry. I've never had a pet.”

“You tried. Thank you for that.” I pulled Dom to me by a loop on his jeans and kissed him. He tried to take the kiss further, but I leaned out of it. “Come on, Romeo. Let's go get you some clothes and then food. In that order.”

“And condoms.”

“Yes, and condoms.”