Love Her or Lose Her: A Novel (Hot and Hammered, 2)

Dominic woke up to the sound of his phone vibrating. His eyes cracked open and blinked back closed against the early-morning light. His phone wasn’t on the bedside table of the hotel room, and he resented the idea of getting up to find it, because for the first time in . . . he couldn’t remember how long, his wife was naked and wrapped around him, breathing evenly against his shoulder. His arm was asleep and it could stay that way, for all he cared.

They didn’t do this anymore. Cuddling. Unconscious or conscious. When they touched, it was an explosion of lust. Greedy. When it was over, they went about their regularly scheduled program. Rosie went to shower. Not wanting to admit he needed the comfort and intimacy afterward, Dominic went out to the shed and fixed something or simply went to sleep. They hadn’t gravitated toward each other in the dark and clung like this since those months before he’d been deployed.

How had he survived for years without this?

Rosie hummed drowsily in her sleep and the vibration went through him, tumbling end over end in his stomach. His cock stirred against the soft sheets, and he tucked his hips back, not wanting to wake her up just yet. She was too beautiful like this. There wasn’t a time when she wasn’t, but the trust it took to surrender to his protection in sleep was humbling. That trust had been missing—no way around it now. Rosie might have trusted him to provide, to be faithful, to protect her with his life, but she’d been keeping her heart guarded.

Regret clogged his throat. Why hadn’t he recognized sooner that his contribution to their marriage wasn’t enough? At what point had he forgotten the moments like this? They should have been placed ahead of all others. Holding her in the expensive bed with dawn breaking over the skyscrapers in the distance, he was on the verge of being . . . enough. This was what she needed. Affection. Words. Maybe that was the only answer and he didn’t have to search any further.

His wife rolled closer and snuggled into his side, resting a closed fist in the center of his chest. God almighty. Dominic breathed through his nose and closed his eyes. This was heaven on earth. She was soft and sweet and he never wanted to move. Words. Encouragement. He could learn to give his wife those things on a regular basis and this would be his. Last night was proof that he could earn her trust by letting her fly, by supporting her. By being there to lift her up when she needed it. And she did need it. He’d learned from the mistake of his silence and would never let that need go unfulfilled again.

Dominic reached under the fluffy down comforter and trailed a hand over the curve of her hip, smiling softly when her lips popped open and a breath shook out. Not awake, but definitely getting there. He should wake her up, drive her home, and tell her she’d have the rest of the money for her restaurant soon. It was Saturday and neither of them was working. Maybe he could convince her to test her signature asado dish out on him.

Jesus, last night she’d called herself his out loud. Something had shifted between them. So while his gut was screaming at him to tell Rosie about the house he’d bought in secret—the sale of which would fund her restaurant—the absolute last thing he wanted when they’d just risen from the ashes was to crumble them into dust again. Unable to draw a decent breath around the panic, Dominic buried his nose in her hair and inhaled.

Rosie wanted the restaurant. He would give that to her. He had to.

His conscience spoke from the back of his brain, urging him to wake up his wife and just be honest. Lay everything out there. How much he loved her and wanted to make her happy. How he’d put her restaurant aspirations on the back burner and selfishly pursued the dream he’d thought they shared—a house. How he’d been taught to equate showing emotions with weakness, so he’d pushed her away, instead of keeping his walls down, the way they’d been when he was younger. Before he’d looked around and decided his only offering to Rosie was hard work. Reliability. Instead of confiding in her that he didn’t feel like enough, he’d fallen into the pattern he’d been shown his whole life. Head down, work hard, don’t reveal a single chink in the armor. If he just opened his mouth right here and now, they could walk out of this room with no secrets between them.

Do it.

Or he could never tell her about the house and stay on track. Follow the plan. Fix this.

Needing to get his head straight, Dominic carefully laid Rosie among the pillows and got out of bed, already missing her soft curves against him. Missing her breath, her scent, and her sounds.

I’ll be a better husband to you, honey girl. I promise.

Dominic ran a hand over his shaved head and stooped down to retrieve the phone from his jeans pocket. There was one missed call and one text message from Stephen. Since he’d essentially abandoned his friends last night, it was probably a good idea to call Stephen and let him know he was more than fine. Sending one final glance at Rosie where she lay in the bed, Dominic dressed quickly, pocketed Rosie’s room key, and stepped into the hallway. He fell into a green velvet chair in the elevator area and hit call.

“Oh! Well, if it isn’t the phantom menace. Thanks for letting me know you’re alive.”

“Christ.” Dominic dragged a hand down his face and laughed. “Calm down, Mom.”

There was some shuffling around in the background and a door closed. “You did the right thing disappearing. What a scene. They’re probably going to ban Long Islanders from the club and call it the Castle Law.”

“Shit. What happened?”

“Wes and Bethany happened, mainly. Which really pissed off my wife, because she likes being the center of attention. It’s been a great night slash morning for me.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Dominic said, realizing his chest felt lighter than it had in years. How long had he been living with an anvil on his chest? “What do you mean, Wes and Bethany happened?”

“I mean,” Stephen said, drawing out the word, “Bethany went inside after Rosie to see what was keeping her and apparently handed off a room key?”

“Yeah, I might know something about that.”

“How nice for you. My wife isn’t even speaking to me.” His friend blew out a harried breath. “Anyway, after you two left, my sister let some dude at the bar buy her a drink. Before she could take a sip, Wes showed up and drank it—a pink martini, too, so remind me to give him shit about that—and paid the dude back.”

“What did Bethany do?”

“What do you think?”

“Raised hell.”

“Ding, ding, ding. Good thing the music was loud, because she tore a strip off his ass.” Stephen’s laugh was kind of bemused. “To be fair, I’m pretty sure he did the same to her. I think I really like this guy.”

“Yeah, he’s all right. Not bad on the job site, either.” Dominic stood up so he could look down the hallway toward Rosie’s room. Logically, he knew she couldn’t have left without getting on an elevator, but he was . . . lovesick. Might as well call it what it was. Having Rosie out of his sight was causing him physical discomfort. “What happened with Travis and Georgie—”

“Don’t. Don’t bring it up. I just ate breakfast.”

“They did the opposite of Wes and Bethany, huh?”

Stephen made a disgusted sound. “Let’s just say you’re not the only ones that needed to get a room. You’d think they hadn’t seen each other in a year.”

“Gotcha.” Dominic chuckled. Normally, he hated relationship talk of any kind. Why? Because it forced him to reflect on his own shortcomings? Yeah, that must have been it. He’d convinced himself his marriage was normal, if not perfect. In reality, so much had been broken, there almost hadn’t been enough glue to put it back together. “Thank God we came here last night,” Dominic said, not realizing right away that he’d spoken out loud.

“It sounds like things are getting better, man. I’m glad.” Stephen cleared his throat. “Speaking of you and Rosie. There’s another reason I called.”

Dominic lowered himself back into the chair. “What?”

“The realtor called. There’s a cash offer on the house.”

His heart kicked into a gallop inside his chest. “Yeah? A good one?”

“Well, you did price it to sell. This offer is slightly lower, but it’s in the neighborhood of what you were hoping for.” He paused. “I made a call to the commercial realtor selling the building on Cove. Along with the money she made through the GoFundMe, it’s more than enough to lock down the restaurant space for Rosie. A cash sale for the owner, some capital for her if she wants to give it a face-lift—”

“Yeah, I would want her to have enough to do whatever she wants.” Restless, he leaned forward, then pushed to his feet, pacing once again to the end of the hallway and staring at the door. The love of his life slept on the other side. They were so close to getting back on track. He had the answers, he was just . . . weighed down with one final question. Would his honesty be enough? He had the power in his hands to give her the thing she’d always wanted. A simple signature and he’d make up for everything.

“Dom,” Stephen said, sighing. “You know I’ll help you do whatever you think is right. But I’m going to be the voice of reason one more time. Just talk to Rosie. Make the decision together.”

Dominic swallowed, taking a step toward the room, then turning back around. He thought of the woman who’d danced last night with total abandon, the woman who’d taken command of those women in Wes’s kitchen and filled needs before they’d arisen. The woman who loved cooking so much, she used to dance in their kitchen. She’d rediscovered that passion on her own, without him, because he’d neglected to give her that support. Right now, he could make up for it. Make up for everything and watch her succeed.

“Accept the offer.”

Rosie stared at her hand curled on the pillow, listening to her measured breathing.

Dominic was coming back.

They’d turned a huge corner last night, against all odds, and her husband had not just crept out of the room like she was a one-night stand. Forcing herself to relax and be patient wasn’t easy to do—yet. She’d grown accustomed to parting ways with Dominic after sex, mentally and physically. But after last night, she expected more. Would she get it?

“Yes,” she whispered, rolling over onto her back and stretching her sore muscles, arms extended over her head, toes pointed. “Definitely yes.”

She couldn’t believe it. Yesterday at this time, she’d thought her marriage was over for real. Kaput. For good. But she’d just spent the night wrapped in Dominic’s arms and it had been like visiting heaven. He’d made a comeback and she wasn’t going to doubt him. Her heart implored her to trust the only man she’d ever loved—and she could do nothing but comply.

When she heard the room key slide into the lock, the corners of her mouth ticked up into a smile. Instead of giving in to the modest urge to cover her naked body with the fluffy comforter, she made no move to satisfy the impulse. She crossed one leg over the other and arched her back a little, putting herself on display.

Dominic walked in and came to an immediate stop, his throat muscles moving in a slow, thick lift and fall. “You’re really trying to make us miss that eleven o’clock checkout time,” he said in a gravelly voice. “I’m not complaining.”

Her nipples beaded at his abrasive tone. “I didn’t think so.”

After a brief pause, he tipped his chin toward the door. “That was Stephen on the phone. I didn’t want to answer and wake you up.”

“Work stuff?”

“Yeah.” Tongue resting on his lower lip, Dominic stripped off his T-shirt, dangling it from his fingertips for a moment before letting it drop. “Feels good. Coming in here and knowing I can just get in bed with you. Talk to you. Touch you.” He shook his head. “Can’t believe I haven’t been doing it all along.”

“We better get started making up for lost time—”

A growl interrupted Rosie. It was coming from her stomach.

A beat of silence passed before they both broke into laughter. Dominic unfastened his jeans and shucked them off with zero fanfare, leaving him in a tight pair of black boxer briefs. Rosie was granted only a glimpse of his inked, honed muscle glory before he planted a knee on the mattress and dove onto the covers beside her. “Would you rather . . .”

Laughing, Rosie turned to her husband and buried her face in his chest. “I remember this game.”

“You should.” He slipped his fingers into her curls and cradled her head. “We used to play it constantly.”

Rosie gave an exaggerated sigh. “We must have stopped because I won all the time.”

Dominic snorted. “You must still be half-asleep, because you’re dreaming.”

“There’s only one way to settle this.” She bit his nipple lightly and felt his sex thicken against her thigh. “Fire away.”

He caught her mouth in a quick, groaning kiss. “I’ll throw you a softball to start. Would you rather get room service for breakfast, or should we get dressed and go out?”

She fingered the waistband of his boxers. “Is that even a question?”

“Room service,” he rasped, rolling his hips forward. “Got it.”

“My turn.” She took a moment to think, her lips curling at the memory of how they used to play this game for hours at a stretch, trying to outdo each other by coming up with the most outlandish scenarios. “Would you rather walk through the lobby of this hotel without your pants on, or . . . with a face full of shaving cream?”

“Shaving cream.”

“Really? Why?”

“My legs are too sexy, honey girl,” he teased against her lips. “I’m not going to be responsible for inciting a riot.”

Rosie dug her fingers into his ribs and tickled him, resulting in Dominic flipping her over onto her back and pinning her wrists above her head. “Your turn,” she breathed.

He dropped his head to the crook of her neck and laid a hot, openmouthed kiss on her sensitive skin. “Would you rather take a bath in refried beans, or . . . with an iguana?”

“Oh God.” A shiver passed through her. “Beans. One thousand percent.”

His mouth spread into an amused smile. “I had a feeling you might say that.”

“I’m trying to get sexy here and now all I can feel is a scaly green body scampering around all nervous and shifty-eyed—”

“Christ. Maybe you’re right and my game is slipping.”

Rosie hummed and passed him a little side eye. In truth, she was having no problem getting sexy. At all. With her husband’s hips wedged up tight between her thighs and his erection at the ready, she was growing wetter by the second. God, he smelled like faded aftershave, sex, and man. But the best part of the moment was the ease between them that was returning. The time they’d spent together since she’d left had started off stilted, but this was the furthest thing from stilted. She looked up into Dominic’s eyes and saw her husband again.

He pressed his thumbs to the pulses of her wrists and gave her a cajoling look. “Can I get a redo?”

Her shoulder shrug was prim, as if she was in control and not at the mercy of her powerful husband. “I’ll allow it this once.”

“Thank you,” he murmured drily, before his expression turned thoughtful. “Would you rather spend the day in the city, or head back to Port Jeff and call the realtor so she can show you that building on Cove?”

In the space of a second, she was breathless, her heart fluttering wildly. “Go back to Port Jeff and look at the building.”

Dominic nodded, his gaze running over every inch of her face. “Good. Let’s call her.”

Rosie made a sound of agreement, positive she might explode into a million tiny pieces. Not only did she seem to have her marriage back and improved, but the silver lining she’d been reaching for was now closer than ever. And with her husband on her side, she felt as if she could do anything. “Yes, we’ll call. After.”

He tucked his tongue into his cheek. “After what?”

Rosie spread her legs wide and watched Dominic’s jaw slacken as gravity ground his hips down into the juncture of her thighs. “Would you rather . . .” she whispered, forcing him to lean closer to hear her, “finish with my ankles around your neck, or lay back and watch me ride?”

His breath released in a rush, warming the side of her face. “You’re right. You always did win this game.”

Their low laughter was warm, intimate. “I see your memory has been jogged.”

“Thoroughly.”

She freed her wrists from where he’d been keeping them stationary above her head. She slipped her hands down his back, into his briefs, and dug her fingernails into his rock-solid ass. “How do you want me?”

Before she could finish phrasing the question, Dominic rolled them over, his brown, tattooed skin beneath her on the crisp, white sheets, forming the most beautiful contrast. His pupils were dilated, his breath coming in short pants that shuddered in and out of his huge chest. While he shoved down the waistband of his briefs and took out his arousal, Rosie captured handfuls of her curls and lifted her breasts, making him moan in the quiet hotel room. She bumped her hips side to side, dancing seductively in the morning light, before leaning down and bracing her weight on his shoulders. Letting their sexes mold together and dragging her wetness up and down his length, glorying in the sight of his clenched teeth, his strained neck muscles.

“Fuck me, Rosie.”

Her nails speared into his shoulders. “Oh, I plan on it.” She reached back and took his thickness in her fist, guiding it home and impaling herself inch by painstaking inch. Enjoying the rare occasion of having Dominic underneath her, Rosie savored it, taking him deep, grinding lightly, and teasing herself back up to the tip. “Do you like that?”

His punctuated laugh was rife with frustration. “You know I fucking live for it.” Their eyes met. “That I live for you.”

With an emotional tide rising in her chest, Rosie reached up and gripped the headboard and rode her husband hard. His mouth fell open, hands flying to her hips and gripping tight. Yanking, pushing, shoving, bruising. After a handful of minutes, her thighs started to burn, but she didn’t cease the rough marriage of their lower bodies, even when the wet, smacking sounds blurred together and he shouted her name, his abdomen knitting in that telltale way. “Come with me, Rosie.”

She was close. So close. So close—

“Changed my mind,” Dominic said hoarsely, flipping Rosie onto her back, her head at the foot of the bed, his body covered in a sheen of sweat. “Your husband knows what gets you off. Get those ankles around my neck.”

“Yes.” One brutal drive of his hips and Rosie screamed, Dominic swooping down to eat the sound with a filthy kiss, his lower body pounding down again, again, until his face screwed up and he came apart along with her, holding his hardness in the deepest recess of her body and shuddering violently.

They collapsed side by side into the bedsheets a moment later, their heads turning at the same time, eyes locking. Their hands slid toward each other, fingers locking. And they smiled.