Bondage Buddies (Masters of Marquis #1) - Golden Angel Page 0,87

his shift. Domi had invited him over to help her and Rae celebrate Rae’s first book sale. He didn’t tell them he’d been the one to buy it as a gift for his mom. What? She liked romances. He wasn’t sure if she read romances with two men usually but doubted she’d object. Plus, it would give his dad something to worry about if his mom told him what she was reading.

And if she liked it, she’d tell her friends. She was in a book group with a bunch of other women her age, and Mitch had overheard them talking before. They were a bunch of filthy perverts, despite their white and grey hair and normally prim demeanors. Mitch wasn’t sure how dirty Rae’s book was, but going by the cover, he guessed it would be at least a little dirty.

Head resting on the pillow next to Domi, he studied her features. She was snoring, very softly, and her curls were a rumpled mess. Soft. Vulnerable. He doubted she’d appreciate hearing either word used to describe her. Content to watch her sleep, he felt warmer, happier than ever.

Last night, she’d invited him to dinner with her family. While he couldn’t go tonight, he’d be able to next week. Scary in its own way but exciting. They were really doing this.

Her phone went off. Unlike him, Domi didn’t have extra ringtones, but she used the ones provided by her service to assign to different people. Mitch recognized Marcus’ tone immediately, and so did Domi. Before Mitch could move, she was lurching toward her nightstand, hand outstretched, and he wasn’t sure she was actually awake yet.

“Hello?” Voice thick with sleep, there was still a fair amount of panic, and Mitch felt his own worry surge, feeding off of hers. Apparently, she hadn’t been expecting a call.

With her phone pressed against her ear, the high-pitched voice—a woman’s, so it must be Julia—was muffled, so Mitch could only make out a few words here and there, probably because he was so used to hearing some of them, Ana… throwing up… doing… sick…

He was already moving when Domi put down the phone, stumbling to her feet, half asleep and half-panicked.

“Julia says they’re all sick and throwing up… thinks it’s the flu or something… I gotta go, I’m sorry.”

Mitch snorted and shook his head. He already had his pants on and was picking his shirt up off the floor.

“Get dressed, Domi. I’m going with you.”

“But… you don’t have to do that.” She seemed confused. Mitch wished it was because she was asleep, but he had a feeling she’d be the same way if she was fully awake. It was a reflex to be so self-reliant, thinking she had to do it on her own. They’d work on that.

“Domi.” He exerted a little authority in his tone, enough she halted her movements and stared at him wide-eyed. “Get dressed. I’m going with you. They’re sick, right? I’m a nurse. And your boyfriend. I’m going with you.”

“Oh.” She gave herself a little shake and started moving again. There was a little frown on her face as if she was trying to figure out why he wanted to go with her. Exasperating woman. “Okay.”

Domi

Bringing Mitch had been the right thing to do, even though it felt weird. In her head, she’d been thinking she shouldn’t bring him over until after the official meeting, but she hadn’t been able to come up with a good reason to argue.

I don’t want you to feel like you have to take care of me or my family.

I don’t want to be a burden.

She had no idea where these worries were coming from. Single mom guilt? Too long being on her own without leaning on someone else? Hell, she would have told Rae to stay home, not wanting to risk infecting her. That’s what she had texted Rae when she’d remembered to send her an update. She’d brought up that same point when she and Mitch were already in the car, and he’d reminded her he probably had a better immune system than she did and told her maybe she should be the one to stay home. After that, she hadn’t pointed out any more reasons for him to stay away.

“He’s a good guy,” Julia murmured. Sitting next to Domi on the couch, one hand on her belly, which was more clearly rounded in her fitted shirt than it had been in the dress she’d been wearing last week, she winced as the sounds