20. Thea

"God, it's beautiful here," I breathe, taking the fresh air in. I cap my hand over my eyebrows as I look out over the lake. My gaze moves up to the cement walls of the dam as the water ripples in the breeze. The wind ruffles my hair and for the first time in a long time, I feel alive. Dom was right. I needed to unwind. I've been stressed for so long that I'd forgotten what normal was. Well, not that having a picnic with Dom is normal. It is anything but. Still, I'm surprised at how perfectly natural it feels.

"I think you're beautiful," Dom replies, finishing off one of his three chili dogs he bought at the park.

"Oh, that was slick," I sass.

"It's true."

"Whatever you say." I shake my head as I look at him.

It really has been the perfect day. Dom picked me up at the college. Since Mattie dropped me off this morning, I didn't have a vehicle to worry about. We took the back roads, enjoying the feel of the bike beneath us and the surrounding nature. I worried things would be awkward between us. I shouldn't have. It feels easy between us, and I don't know how that's possible. I mean, the time we've been spending together has been like this, sure. Yet, now, there's an underlying current of attraction that is roaming freely between us. I could say I didn't like it, but I'd be lying if I did.

"You have some chili …"

Looking at Dom, I see him motion his finger toward the corner of his lip. I immediately raise my finger to my lip trying to find it. I wipe the corner of my lips with my fingers. "Better?" I ask.

He shakes his head no and leans in closer. "You're missing it," he argues.

"You're doing this to steal a kiss. There's nothing on my lips," I murmur.

I want to make it clear to him I know what he's doing. I mean, I want to kiss him, but I'm not going to let him play me either. He needs to know that.

"You're right," he confesses, his lips just a breath from mine. "I really fucking want to kiss you, Thea."

"This could end really badly." I might warn him out loud, but mostly I'm reminding myself.

"It could also lead to something spectacular," he counters, his fingers wrapping into my hair. "I know I haven't given you a reason to trust me, Thea."

"Dom…" His name comes out as a soft breath and it lays between us, our lips hovering over one another and yet, not touching.

"I haven't touched a woman since I came back into your life. I don't want any woman in my life but you. I'm all in, Thea. We'll take it as fast or as slow as you want, but I'm begging you to give me a chance here. I swear, baby, if you let me in, I'll never hurt you."

"You can't promise that, Dom. People are human. They hurt one another. It's inevitable when feelings are involved."

"I can promise that if I hurt you, it wouldn't be on purpose, and I'd do whatever I could to fix it. I'm not the same man I used to be, honey. I want to be better. I wanted that before we spent so much time together. Now that you're in my life daily, I want it even more. I want to be better for myself, but more importantly, I want to be better for you."

"Do you always try to kiss a woman and ruin it by talking so much?" I ask, my heart pounding in my chest like a sledgehammer.

"Only when it's important and you're the woman."

"Lucky me," I mutter.

"Thea…"

"Shut up and kiss me, Dom."

"Yes, ma'am," he purrs, and then his lips are on mine and all rational thought is gone.

His tongue slides along the bottom of my lip, teasing me before sliding between my parted lips. I moan and he swallows the sound, deepening the kiss. I feel his hands on my body. One is against my neck, holding me steady for his continued assault on my mouth. Oh, but it is his other hand that is deadly. Dom's arm is wrapped around me, his palm branding my skin as his fingers splay out against the side of my ribs. His hold is firm, strong, and drugging. He pulls me in tight against his body. It's not like I would want to get away from him, I want more of his kiss too much for that. Still, that he's not giving me an option excites me. I can feel evidence of my desire slowly sliding out of my body and making my panties wet. My body trembles. It's only a kiss, but somehow it feels like more, and I don't entirely know what to do about it. We kiss until my lungs burn from lack of air. My bruised lips are wet and swollen, and I love every moment of it. When I force myself to pull back, our jagged breathing is echoing around us. Dom doesn't even try to hide the fact that our kiss has heavily affected him—which is good because I can't hide what it has done to me, either.

I pull back to catch my breath, using the tip of my tongue to soothe my ravaged lips. I can still taste Dom. The hunger to taste more of him is almost too big to resist. God, he's a drug, and I'm not sure how long I can resist him.

"Fuck, Thea," Dom says raggedly.

"I think I might be in over my head," I admit shakily.

"You're safe."

"I don't feel safe," I insist.

"You are. I'm here with you, Gorgeous. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."

"This is kind of crazy. It has barely been a minute since whatever was between Raze and I was over."

"The point is, it's over. I'm here now, and I'm not giving you up."

"What about…" I break off, not really wanting to bring her up. If I never have to think of her again, I'll be happy. Just the thought of Gabby makes me lose eye contact with Dom and look down at the ground.

Dom puts a hand under my chin and applies enough pressure to force me to look directly at him. His face is serious, but tender. It's seriously a damn sexy look on him.

"That's over. It was over before I ever drove into Breaker's driveway and saw the woman I've been dreaming of fucking, kissing a brother and realizing I wanted to kill him for touching what should be mine."

I gasp at his confession. I study his face, but with the intensity and heat I see written all over him, I don't question what he's saying at all. He's being completely serious. My heart literally skips a beat, and without thinking, I lean back up to kiss him again. Slowly, Dom moves so he's over my body and gently maneuvers me backward until I'm lying against the lawn. As I feel proof of his desire pressing against my body, I whimper. Our kiss becomes hungrier, desperate, and filled with so much desire that I completely surrender to it.

I never want it to end.