CHAPTER TWELVE

AVERY

Elsie's talking to somebody at our front door, so I pause Tangled on my laptop and carefully crawl to the end of my bed, peering around the bedroom door into the living area.

It's Dominic.

Dominic is here.

At my apartment.

Elsie lets him inside, and I scramble backward to avoid being caught spying. When I look up from my nest of blankets, Dominic is at the foot of my bed with a grocery bag in his hand.

"What are you doing here?" I texted him earlier that I wasn"t feeling up to working on office plans today. My period started in the middle of the night, which means I woke up with awful cramps and a headache. I"ve already taken a Midol to relieve some of the symptoms, but the cramps are being uncooperative, hence the need for a feel-good Disney movie.

"I figured we"re both having a bad day, so I"d join you. I brought medicine since I wasn"t sure what was wrong with you." He holds up the bag.

That's sweet.

"Thanks, but none of that can cure what I have," I say awkwardly. "Since you"re here, though, I guess you can stay." I pat the space next to me, wondering what the hell I'm doing. My bed is twin-sized and wedged between the wall and Elsie"s bed because our room is so tiny. It's close quarters, yet here I am inviting Dominic to join me.

A large mountain of a man who will dwarf the itty-bitty mattress.

And me.

"There won"t be a lot of space, but if you can handle it, so can I."

Kicking off his shoes, he climbs in beside me after setting the bag down. The bed rocks with each movement as he gets situated.

Why did I think this was a good idea again?

"Be careful! I don"t want us to fall through. The frame has wheels that don"t lock, and the mattress is being held up by two by fours."

Dominic shoots me a look of wild disbelief. "Why? Just... why?"

Embarrassment spreads over my cheeks. This is such a bad idea. I hadn"t planned to sleep on something so rickety when I bought the frame, but these kinds of frames don't come stationary or with beams to hold a bed. A fact the salesman failed to mention to my newly graduated twenty-two-year-old self.

So, I made it work. Kind of.

Dominic mutters inaudibly to himself after I explain the situation. When he settles, he props his head on his hand and lays on his side facing me.

Damn, he's big.

My back is pressed against the wall in an effort to put some space between our chests, but it's not working. I still feel his heat. Smell his cologne. Can study the navy flecks in his eyes.

"What do you have that"s so incurable?"

Thankful for the distraction from my perusal of his firm body, the opportunity to shock him is too irresistible.

"Mother Nature"s gift."

"Oh." Now, he's the one blushing. Why is that so adorable? "What are you watching?"

Deciding not to tease him for his reaction about my period, I reminded him of the other day when I mentioned Tangled and how it prompted a rewatch. "I"ll start it over, so you can see it from the beginning. You"ll like Flynn."

"You don't—" He tries to stop me from restarting, but I shush him. He's going to watch this movie and enjoy it.

We lay together for the duration of the movie, and I studiously ignored the hormones dancing around my body. Apparently, they've decided that cramping is over and now it's time to morph into lust. If I were by myself, I'd grab my vibrator and let the sweet endorphins of an orgasm make me feel better, but I'm not alone. Elsie's in the living room, and Dominic's practically tangled up with me in bed.

Once the movie ends, Dominic agrees with me about Flynn and admits that the movie wasn't bad.

"See? I told you so." Happy that I created another Tangled fan, I close my laptop and fully lay back on my pillow. Which has me looking up at the sharp lines of Dominic's stubbled jaw.

Don't touch. Don't touch.

"What was so bad about your day?" I blurted out. "It"s the weekend."

He's silent for a moment then, "One of our clients is switching to a different firm. They said they wanted a company with more experience."

"That sucks. What made them decide to switch?"

"Don"t know. I tried convincing them to stay. Reiterated my commitment to working with them, but they wouldn"t listen. We can"t afford to start losing clients. Not with us moving into an office."

Frustration and concern outline his features. This is taking more of a toll on him than I realized because he looks worn out. Dark shadows lie under his eyes from lack of sleep and worry lines crease his forehead.

"I hate how everyone expects you to have a certain amount of experience, but they won"t let you acquire it by working with you. It"s so unfair."

"Agreed." It's a catch-22 that I've also experienced because the same thing happened to me when I graduated college.

All the jobs I was interested in required at least five years of work experience in the field, plus whatever other hoops they wanted me to jump through. It was tough going there for a while. Which is why I was so grateful when I got the job at Design Time. It wasn"t exactly what I was looking for, but at least it was in a career path that I wanted to be on.

Or so I thought.

Dominic sighs and rests his head next to mine. We stare at the ceiling, contemplating our situations. Dominic is only a few years older than me, but he seems light years ahead when it comes to our careers. It's surprising that he still has to deal with people who don't take him seriously or expect more from him. I mean, he owns a freaking company! How is that not impressive enough?

Yawning, my lashes flutter shut. "People are dumb."

"And quick to judge."

"Mmmhmm."

He readjusts on top of the covers, removing the laptop from my legs. "Are you falling asleep on me?"

I shake my head but don"t open my eyes, "Maybe... A nap sounds nice." There's no way I should sleep with Dominic right next to me, but I don't retract the subtle suggestion. I'm too tired to fight what my body wants—to be cozied up to Dominic's soothing strength.

"I haven"t taken a nap in forever," he whispers softly, his breath ghosting over my cheek.

"Then it"s a perfect time to start again. Here." I pull out one of the pillows beneath me. "You can use this."

***

I jerk awake from my dream.

Dominic"s arm is wrapped around my waist, spooning me from behind. How in the world we ended up in this position, I have no idea. But somehow it resulted in him invading my dreams.

"You okay?" he sleepily asks.

"Yeah, I"m fine."

"You sure? You jolted out of sleep like you were having a nightmare or something."

Or something.

Like a mind-blowing orgasm from your piratical counterpart.

But no way in hell am I ever telling him that. Because he doesn't belong in my dreams or my bed.

"I"m good," I insist. "But you should go. It"s getting late, and Elsie"s probably uncomfortable being confined to the living room." Our bedroom is the only way to the bathroom, and while I know she'll walk through if she needs to, I'm not above using her as an excuse to kick Dominic out.

"You"re right. I didn"t expect to stay this long, anyway. I have some other work to do at home." He removes his arm from my waist and sits up. "I"ll check with you tomorrow about possibly going over some more of the office details. See if you"re feeling any better."

I nod and scramble out of bed to escort him to the front door. After saying goodbye, I shut it with relief.

"That was interesting," Elsie drawls from her place on the couch. I"m guessing she watched movies all day while I was with Dominic.

"Yeah, sorry about that. We fell asleep."

"Strange… Since you"re supposed to hate him."

"I wouldn"t say I hate him, but we"re not friends. He bothers me too much," I state firmly, unwilling to admit to any other feelings.

"Well, he may have gotten under your skin, but I think you want under him." Her eyebrows twitch suggestively.

There"s no way Elsie could know about my dream, but that doesn't stop a hot flush from rising at how close she is to the truth. Hurrying back to the safety of my bed, I yelled at her to shut up.

Elsie just laughs—knowing she hit the nail on the head.