Most men barely registered on her radar. But Dominick? He annoyed her. Even as he exuded some kind of vibe that made her want to climb him like a tree.
Maybe she should have said yes to the thousand bucks. She could have used the money. Especially since she never seemed to get ahead. Just like she barely lived. Work, clean, sleep. That was her life.
Boring.
So fucking boring.
When was the last time she’d done something fun? Bingeing a show on Netflix didn’t count.
Why did everything have to suck so bad?
Entering her shitty apartment, she couldn’t help but grit her teeth and ball her fists. It was unfair how Thomas had taken everything from her. How had a guy who’d always had an excuse for why he had to quit his job conned a judge into giving him everything he asked for? Including alimony.
Since she’d been fired as a dental hygienist, though—because Thomas had filed a false report of sexual misconduct—she’d had the alimony revoked. Because in an ironic twist, she no longer made enough to pay it.
Which pissed Thomas off. Enough that he’d been coming around lately to harass her. Apparently, the restraining order wasn’t worth the paper it was written on.
Asshole. She sure seemed to attract them, even as she couldn’t figure out what Dominick saw in her.
She lacked the petite or willowy figures most guys preferred. She didn’t wear makeup often. Her hair was long and simple, usually pulled back from her face.
As she stared at her reflection, she couldn’t help but think that she’d given up.
No. That wasn’t true.
She just didn’t give a shit anymore. Not about how she looked anyhow.
And despite that, Dominick kept flirting with her, if you could call his crude attempts flirting. His saving grace?
His family. He must have some redeeming features, given they still seemed to like him. His mom came across as nice. His sister, too. Anika had not known him well in high school. The first time they met after she’d moved into the area, he’d been crude at that party, and she’d hit him. Then, she’d avoided him out of embarrassment.
Almost twenty years later, he was still crude. But apologetic.
Why was she still thinking about him?
Fatigued, she should have been collapsing into bed. Instead, restless, she flung back the covers, dropped her panties, and pulled her knees up and to the sides.
Licking a finger to moisten it, she slid it between her legs.
A quick stroke over her clit, and she trembled.
Most definitely overdue.
Her slick finger worked her clit, slipping back and forth. Knowing the right kind of pressure. The right type of touch.
She had her eyes closed, but for the first time, she saw a face.
Dominick’s.
Her breath hitched as she imagined him touching her.
Would he be a rough lover? Or the kind that seemed gruff and tough but was tender in bed?
Arousal moistened her sex, giving her all the lube she needed to keep playing. But tonight, fingers wouldn’t be enough.
Rolling to her side, she found her broken vibrator in the drawer. It didn’t shake or roll, but it had the length and width to fill.
She ran the head of it over her clit before slipping it into her sex.
She seesawed it back and forth, shoving it deep. Letting it fill her.
Pushing it against the spot that brought a hiccup of pleasure.
In and out she shoved, panting as she thrust. Imagining him above her. Covering her. Fucking her.
Tension coiled within until it burst. She came with a gasp, rippling with pleasure. Breathing hard.
Then, she lay there unsatisfied. Because it just wasn’t the same as the real thing.
A sex toy couldn’t hug.
7
Anika had said yes to coffee, and Dominick couldn’t have said why it excited him. But his mom noticed.
“You’re jumpier than a cat on a metal roof,” she proclaimed the next morning as she whipped out various breakfasts and packed some lunches—the two younger kids had school.
“Would you believe I’m nervous?” He didn’t mention the real reason and went with, “I haven’t had to apply for a job in years.” And rather than print out a resume and hand it out to businesses, Raymond had submitted applications for him online. Apparently, paper was a thing of the past.
Fucking technology.
“You got a package,” his mom announced as she stuffed a lunch bag with a sandwich, an apple, some cookies, yogurt, beef jerky, and nuts. He remembered his own packed meals fondly and missed them when he’d had to scrounge for protein in the desert.
“A package for me?” Odd since he’d not ordered anything.
“I left it on the front hall table.”
He moved to the space and noticed the bubble envelope. The neatly printed label addressed to him. No return address.
Odd.
Suspicious.
Could it be dangerous?
He headed outside with it before he started palpating it. He’d seen how small bombs could be and knew there were deadly threats out there that were no bigger than a few grains of dust.
But who would want to kill him?
A shake and a grope didn’t tell him shit, other than it was flexible. He tossed it to the ground and covered his face.
It didn’t explode. He crouched in the yard and pulled out a pocketknife to slice along an edge.
He pried open the envelope to see a baggie with something green inside.
Weed?
Who the fuck would mail him weed?
His lips pressed tight.
Tyson.
The little bugger must have used his ID to order some online. After all, it was legal now in Canada.
He tucked it back into the bubble envelope. He’d be having a talk with the boy after school. Time to get all big brother on Tyson’s ass. Only dopes did drugs.
Dominick didn’t tell his mom because she didn’t need the stress. Restless, he mowed the lawn around the farmhouse. Chopped some wood for the stove. Winter was coming. He fed the chickens, despite how they squawked and freaked every time he got near. The goats bleated. And their one horse lay down on the ground. Only the barn cats seemed to like him.
He kept himself busy because, despite all his applications, he didn’t get a call to go in for an interview. By mid-afternoon, his pacing feet had him going for a jog, which, no surprise, led him to the grocery store.
He saw Anika right away, standing at a register, wearing her bright smock. It eased something within him to see her.
He caught her eye as he walked in. She arched a brow, and he took it as an invitation to saunter over and say hello since no one was waiting to be checked out.
“Hey.”
“Back already for more junk food?”
Dominick almost told Anika the truth, that he’d come just so he could see her. But that sounded lame, so he had a choice: either buy more food they didn’t need or—
“Came to apply for that job you were telling me about.”
Her brows rose. “You, a stock boy?”
“Are you saying I can’t do it?” He bristled.
“I would have expected, with your military background, you’d go after something a little more security-oriented with better pay.”
He shrugged. “I’ve applied to a few places, but until they get back to me, a man’s gotta work.” Or he ended up in a grocery store lying his ass off to a woman he couldn’t stop thinking about. And he’d tried. A few times in the shower, but his hand couldn’t compare.