Home > Dominick (Growl and Prowl #1)(7)

Dominick (Growl and Prowl #1)(7)
Author: Eve Langlais

Then Anika got out of the car. “Is there a reason you’re not letting me leave?”

“You hit my brother.”

“He deserved it.” The truth.

The girl snapped. “He’s a veteran. Who’s been through enough.”

“He was an ass who should have walked home. But I was being nice.”

“Leave her alone.” All eyes flicked to Dominick, who shifted uncomfortably. “Um. Er. It was just a misunderstanding.”

As he hemmed and hawed, Anika couldn’t stand it.

She jabbed a finger in his direction. “Don’t you dare try and minimize what you did. He called me a lesbian because I wouldn’t drop my panties for him. So, I hit him.”

If she’d expected his family to be pissed, she was wrong. The bearded guy on the porch laughed, while the purple-haired girl nodded. “Good for you. I’d have flattened him, too.”

Whereas the old lady eyed her up and down and said, “Do you like cookies?”

Before Anika could reply, the purple-haired girl did. “You’ll regret it if you say no. Nana Hubbard is the best cook you’ll ever meet.”

“I can’t. I should get home.”

“Husband? Children? Pet?” Mrs. Hubbard fired questions at her.

“None of the above. It’s been a long day. I worked a twelve-hour shift.”

Mrs. Hubbard’s expression brightened. “A hardworking girl like you needs food. Come. I have something.”

Dominick appeared surprised, which didn’t alleviate her discomfort. “I shouldn’t.”

It was the purple-haired girl who said it aloud. “I swear, we’re not planning to dismember and freeze you for food or turn you into a broodmare to form a hillbilly army.”

Way to read her mind. “Isn’t that exactly what a murdering hillbilly daughter would say?” She’d yet to close her car door. She could still jump in and run people over.

“Jesus fucking Christ. She wants to go. Let her go. I can’t believe you want to feed her. I’m the injured party here,” Dominick pouted.

“You disrespected her,” Mrs. Hubbard chided, and he hung his head.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize to me. She’s the one who needs it.” His mom pointed at Anika.

Anika lifted her hands. “It’s fine. Whatever. I’m sure he’s learned his lesson.”

“I can’t believe a son of mine would act in such a manner,” Mrs. Hubbard declared, and he shrank even further.

Anika almost felt sorry for him. “The military changes people, I hear.”

His mom snorted. “You’re being too polite. Which is why I won’t take no for an answer. You’re coming in for a snack.”

The woman insisted, and Anika knew she shouldn’t, yet her feet, driven by curiosity, moved.

“Let her go home. She doesn’t want to be here,” Dominick protested.

“The girl needs food, and I need someone to do the dishes.”

“You have a dishwasher,” he pointed out.

“Not good enough. I want hand-washed dishes. Hand-dried, too,” Nana declared as she marched into the house.

“Ignore them. I’m Maeve.” Anika found herself led to the porch steps by the purple-haired girl, who linked her arm with Anika’s.

Anika hesitated near the first step.

“It’s okay. You won’t die. Promise.” Maeve propelled her forward. “Welcome to the insanity. As I said, I’m Maeve, Dom’s sister. You met Mom—Nana—and the guy sucking back cancer is my other brother, Stefan. And you are?”

Seriously confused.

 

 

5

 

 

Holy fucking mess. And Dominick wasn’t talking about his nose.

His emotions seesawed. Pissed. Incredulous. Hurt. Horny. And all of them because of Anika, who was now in his house, which meant cookies or cake. Maybe even Mom’s special hot cocoa.

The thoughts of a yummy snack drowned out the warning bells until too late. By the time the door slammed shut, and Anika was sitting on a kitchen stool, he’d missed his window to send her on her way.

Panic stilled his heart as his mom, a determined look in place, set to work on Anika.

“What’s your name?” Mom asked as she slid a plate in front of Anika, the surface covered with thin slices of roast beef, a chunk of ham, cherry tomatoes, and cheese.

“Anika.”

Looked yummy. When he would have joined them, his mother shot him a look. “Clean yourself up first. This is not a boxing ring.”

He did the fastest face wash and shirt change ever and, in less than a minute, pounded back down the stairs, only to run into his brother Stefan at the bottom.

Stefan hung onto the newel as he drawled, “When do you want lessons on what not to say to a woman?”

“Fuck off.”

“Don’t get pissy with me. I’m not the one calling women lesbians because they don’t like my caveman tactics.”

“Again, fuck off.” Dominick didn’t need his suave brother rubbing his face in his failure. He’d not spent most of his adult life chasing skirts like Stefan had. He’d been serving his country. He didn’t have time to flirt and charm. Sex was mostly about filling a need, and those kinds of women didn’t expect or need sweet talk.

“You get better results if you fuck on,” was the teasing reply, “but that will only happen if you learn to control your temper, brother. You are like a powder keg, always ready to go off.”

He felt it, too. Even now, the rage bubbled, as did a pacing anxiousness to get back to Anika. What had his mom said to her by now? What was she eating? Would she share?

“I don’t need your advice.”

“If you say so, bro. But if you change your mind, you know my address.”

His Casanova brother had a condo in downtown Ottawa, but he visited the farmhouse regularly.

Dominick paced past him, heading for the kitchen in time to see Anika’s face as she took her first bite of Mom’s famous flaky pastry filled with a homemade cherry jam and fresh whipped cream.

Pure rapture filled Anika’s expression. He stumbled to a halt and stared as she chewed with obvious enjoyment. Then licked her lips. Missed a crumb that looked delicious—

His mom hip-checked him as she moved past, still talking to Anika. “Tell me, Anika, where do you live?”

“Beckwith.”

“But you work at…” His mom had a way of interrogating that got results.

“The Food Basics in Richmond.” A recent build that hadn’t existed the last time he’d spent a few weeks at home.

“You have family in the area?”

Anika shook her head. “My parents are alive, but I don’t see them often since they moved to Florida. When they’re not down there, they tend to go stay with my sister in BC.”

“What’s wrong with visiting you here?” Dominick asked, breaking the repartee and drawing her gaze.

She rolled her shoulders. “Shittier weather, a pullout couch, one bathroom, and the fact I am a disappointment to them.”

“Assholes,” he said vehemently.

Anika’s lips quirked. “Yes, they are. Which is why it’s not a big loss.”

Hot Books
» House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1)
» A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire
» From Blood and Ash (Blood And Ash #1)
» A Million Kisses in Your Lifetime
» Deviant King (Royal Elite #1)
» Den of Vipers
» House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City #2)
» The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air #
» Sweet Temptation
» The Sweetest Oblivion (Made #1)
» Chasing Cassandra (The Ravenels #6)
» Wreck & Ruin
» Steel Princess (Royal Elite #2)
» Twisted Hate (Twisted #3)
» The Play (Briar U Book 3)