Watch Over Me (Danvers #7)(20)
And it was at that point that the evening went to hell. Gwen barely tasted what she knew was probably the best seafood of her life while Dominic tried to convince his sister that she had misunderstood things. For the rest of the meal Gwen spoke only when she was asked a direct question and then felt horribly guilty for being so rude to Meredith. She was determined to get her e-mail address from her ass of a brother and apologize.
A heavy silence hung over them as Dominic drove them home. He put his hand in the small of her back when they left his truck, and she childishly wanted to step away, but let it go. When they reached her door, she stopped and quickly found her keys in her purse. He took them from her hand and opened her door, as if he planned to come inside. She stepped up, blocking the doorway. Good manners kicked in, and she said stiffly, “Thanks for dinner. I’ll see you . . .”
He didn’t let her finish her brush-off. Instead, he put his hands on her hips and pushed her gently forward enough for him to enter behind her and shut the door. “Not so fast, baby. I’m not letting you go to bed and stew on how pissed off you are at me all night. We need to talk about this now.”
Gwen clenched her hands at her side to keep from wrapping them around his neck. Instead of yelling, though, she said sweetly, “Don’t you think I need my rest? I mean . . . we need to be cautious right now, just in case.”
He ran his hand through his hair, causing the spiky strands to stick up even more. She hated that she was so riveted even by his damn hair. It was hard to stay mad at him, when she just wanted to stare at his masculine beauty. Meredith was right; her brother was all things hotness. “Gwen, f*ck, I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t have said anything in front of my sister. I embarrassed you and made an ass out of myself.”
When he paused, she pointed her hand saying, “Keep going.” She was still mad, but he was on the right path. At least he could admit that he was wrong.
“I don’t have any excuses. I just panicked when I realized how much wine we drank. Hell, I think I even poured one of the rounds and it never entered my mind. I’ve been insisting that you drink decaf coffee, yet I plied you with alcohol tonight.”
For the first time since the mess at dinner, Gwen noticed how upset he was over it. She had been so mad at him at the table that she hadn’t thought about anything beyond that. But, now he just looked scared and guilty. Like he was the one who had done something wrong. Moving closer, she laid her hand on his chest, trying to give him some measure of comfort. She was fast learning that he was a natural caretaker—he felt like he had failed with her tonight, and it was tearing him up. “Dominic, I’m an adult and it’s my job to remember things that concern me and my body. I’ve done some research on the Internet and there’s no reason to change my habits until I take a pregnancy test and know for sure. But if it makes you feel better, I will cut way back on caffeine and alcohol while I’m waiting to take a test.”
He still looked upset as he stared down at her. He dropped a kiss on her nose before curling his arms tightly around her waist. “I want to take care of you, babe. It’s not a job for me—it’s a privilege. There’s never been a woman who I’ve wanted to keep close and protect like I do you, and I’m probably going a little overboard with it. I can’t seem to help myself, though.”
Gwen found herself relaxing into his embrace, enjoying the feel of his strength surrounding her. He made her feel delicate and petite, which was unusual for her. “It’s okay. I think we can both agree that there are things we could have handled differently.” Poking her finger playfully in his ribs, she added, “But if you ever spring a family dinner on me again without any warning, I won’t be responsible for my actions, capisce?”
He had the good grace to look shamefaced. “That was a dick move,” he agreed. “I already had plans with you that I was looking forward to when Meredith called me at the last minute. I hated to tell her no, but I wanted to spend the evening with you. Yet another thing I know that I could have handled better.” When his hand moved lower to caress the curve of her ass, she started to squirm against him. “I’d love to make my bad behavior up to you,” he breathed against her ear as he pulled her close enough to feel his hardening length.
She knew she should at least put up a token protest. Instead, she was all but panting against him while he ground lightly against her. Her voice was horribly wobbly and husky as she moaned, “Dominic . . .” She was ready for him to push her against the nearest wall and take her, but despite urging him in that direction, he resisted, trailing gentle kisses across her throat.
“I want you in a bed tonight, babe. We’re always so crazy for each other that it’s hard to make it that far. I want to touch and kiss every inch of your delectable body before I take you.”
“Oh yes, please,” Gwen shuddered before she could help herself. Just hearing Dominic say something like that in his rough, sexy voice was more of a turn-on than any of her sexual experiences with other men. When he looked at her, it was as if he couldn’t get close enough. She felt like the center of his universe when they were together, which should have been strange, considering they hadn’t actually been together for long. He was taking all of her walls and breaking right through them. To be the sole focus of a man like Dominic was heady and intoxicating. She was drunk off the feelings he ignited inside of her. “I want you—so much,” she admitted, helpless to deny him.