Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 96129 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96129 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 481(@200wpm)___ 385(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
At 4:13, when I shot up in bed, I heard him leave his room and soon after, the sound of the treadmill. I pushed the sheets off me and stopped by the bathroom to brush my teeth and fix myself a bit. I was wearing an off-the-shoulder Grey’s Anatomy shirt with four last names written on the front and matching shorts that barely covered my ass. I had no qualms about nudity, though. I opened the door to his little gym and froze, wondering if seeing him shirtless would ever not affect me this much. It was his back, I told myself. He had a wide back and a body that people trained hard to achieve. He was perfection, truly. He was running at a speed of seven point five again and somehow kept his breath steady. I shook my head.
“You must be half man, half machine.” I walked over to the front of the treadmill like I did the other day.
“Do you want to find out which half is what?” He threw a wink at me.
I felt myself blush and looked away. People did not make me blush. I was a dancer. I’d spent the last ten years of my life in a neighborhood where questionable-ass dudes were constantly whistling and hollering remarks when I walked by.
I cleared my throat. “Do you run a certain number of miles or by time?”
“Time.”
“Hm.”
He slowed his pace to walking speed, then shut it off completely, using the t-shirt hanging on the treadmill to wipe the sweat off his face and neck as he stepped down in front of me. I watched the way his throat worked as he downed his water, watched the way his arm flexed before forcing myself to look away. I needed to stop this.
“I always thought people who enjoyed running liked to show off how many miles they conquered,” I said finally.
“Interesting.” He set his water down and searched my face for a moment. “There are a couple of things I’d like to conquer. Running a ton of miles isn’t on my list.”
“What’s on your list then?” I asked, and my voice sounded flirty to my own ears.
“You.” He stepped forward, further invading my space. “Your pussy.”
My jaw unhinged. He smirked, taking a step back. I had no words. Who said things like that and how the hell could I even respond to it? Instead of trying to come up with something, I focused on settling my heart into a normal pace and breathing. He picked up his water and tossed the shirt over his shoulder. I pushed away from the door, walked sideways to give him space, and bumped into the bench. People did not make me blush. People did not make me nervous. Somehow, Dominic managed to do both.
“You can’t say things like that,” I said once I found my voice.
He ignored me, his gaze falling to my shirt. “Who the fuck are those guys? A band?”
“They’re not all guys.” I laughed. “They’re Grey’s Anatomy characters.”
“Huh.”
“Santi gave it to me for my birthday even though I haven’t watched since season five or something.”
“I don’t like it.”
“The show?” My brows shot up. “I’m surprised you’ve seen it.”
“I haven’t. I heard it’s dramatic and tragic.”
“You don’t like tragedy? Really? In your line of work?”
“What’s my line of work?” His eyes danced.
“I don’t know. Whatever it is mobsters do.”
At that, he laughed.
“So, what don’t you like?”
“Your shirt.”
“What’s wrong with my shirt?” I looked down at my perfectly cute shirt.
“My name’s not on it.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t see that one coming.” I laughed, shaking my head. “You want me to get a sharpie and write your name under O’Malley?”
“Fuck no. I want it over Grey and while you’re at it, you can cross all of theirs out and just keep mine.”
“That’s a little possessive, don’t you think?” I asked, pretending that didn’t make my heart skip three beats.
“Maybe I’m a little possessive with what’s mine.” His expression shifted from playful to all-consuming in a way that threatened to take me under. I waited, heart pounding. He took one step forward, leaning down. I held my breath. Was he going to kiss me? Was he trying to kill me? He pressed his cheek against mine. I shivered at the stubble on his face. “When you let me conquer that pussy, I’ll make sure to draw my name on it with my tongue.”
My jaw dropped as he walked out, shutting the door behind him.
I pressed a hand to my chest.
Holy fuck.
14
DOMINIC
I yawned but didn’t take my eyes away from the bar that Roselyn was currently at with her friend Yaritza. As far as I could tell, this was her only friend. I’d met her once when I’d been at Oui, dropping something off in the safe I kept there. I didn’t know much about her, but Veronica said she was one of the best people we had. Watching how she made Rosie laugh, all carefree and light, made me smile. I couldn’t seem to take my eyes off Rosie. She’d taken her hair out of the bun she had it in when she went to the MET earlier. It was down now, dark brown hair hitting her elbows in waves. I shut my eyes and inhaled for a moment, smelling the memory of the flowery shampoo from here. I’d kept my word and stocked up on it.