Chapter Twenty-Four
Dominic
Brooke looked amazing in her sexy mermaid costume. I particularly liked the long red wig she’d chosen to match. That’s how I ended up as Prince Eric. At least it was an easy costume, and honestly, I was willing to let Brooke have whatever she wanted as long as she agreed to come with me. I’d only had one glass of beer since we’d gotten there. If we were going to be talking at some point during the night, I didn’t want to be impaired in any way. It was obvious we both wanted to be here together, but now we had to see where we stood on everything else.
Specifically, a relationship.
I wanted one. I could only hope Brooke did too and that none of the shit that had happened between us made her change her mind.
The girls had decided on all dressing up as their favorite princesses. That’s how me, Josh, and Liam ended up dressed like fools. At least mine and Liam’s weren’t so bad. Josh’s included fur. We’d had a good laugh at that one. As far as Liam and Caroline went, they seemed happy. Liam took good care of her, and I liked him. He seemed like a great guy. I could only hope that meant Caroline would be on my side when I pushed Brooke to try this relationship thing.
I smiled at Brooke as she talked to Quinn across the room. She blushed and started talking to our friend, probably rambling nervously. It was adorable how much she blushed every time I looked in her direction. Josh was standing next to me, rubbing at a patch of fur and cursing under his breath.
“I can’t believe I let Riley talk me into this. Distract me. I need to think about anything other than how bad this shit itches.”
I should feel bad for him, but I didn’t. It was too fucking hilarious. “Tonight’s the night.”
He stopped rubbing. “No shit?”
I grinned. “More like tonight’s finally the night.”
“If you two fuck this up again, I’m done. It’s been impossible dealing with either one of you for the past seven months.”
I continued watching Brooke move through the crowd, talking to friends and swaying to the music. The wicked smile on her face was enough to make me go crazy.
Josh waved a hand in front of my face. “We were talking, asshole.”
“Not anymore,” I called over my shoulder. “Find someone else to distract you from your fur issues.”
I would pay for that one, but I couldn’t make myself care. It took me a few minutes to stalk up behind Brooke to surprise her. She relaxed against me as soon as I wrapped my arms around her from behind. “Trick or treat, baby?”
She shifted in my arms and pressed her hands to my chest. “I think you deserve a treat for being a good sport about this costume.”
“Are you ’bout ready to head out?”
She bit down on her full bottom lip. “Promise me that whatever happens tonight, we’re going to be okay.”
I cupped her cheek in my hand. “I promise you, Brooke.”
She put her hand over mine and leaned up on her tiptoes to press her lips to mine. “Then let’s go.”
***
Within minutes I had us on the road and on our favorite lookout at Mount Bonnell. We’d spent so many afternoons exploring the trails on days we needed to escape from campus. It was special to both of us. I gripped one of her hands in mine, carrying a blanket and flashlight in the other. We walked up the familiar path with ease, even in the darkness. When we reached our spot, I spread out the blanket. Brooke immediately settled on her back so she could look up at the stars. I smiled down at her, taking in the gorgeous expression of awe on her face.
I could remember the first time we’d ever come up here. Brooke was just as pretty then as she was now. Only my stupidity kept me from reaching over and kissing her then, but this time I wasn’t about to stop myself. She knew how I felt, and if she wanted me to stop, she’d tell me.
“What are you looking at?” Brooke asked, catching sight of me. She patted the blanket next to her. “Come down here.”
I settled in next to her with one arm thrown behind my head and the other wrapped around her. She used the crook of my arm as a pillow, lazily threading our fingers together and resting them on my stomach.
“Can I go first?” she asked softly.
I kissed her temple. “Whatever you want.”
She braced herself and started. “The day you were in the student union with Talia, I was coming to tell you how I felt.”
“What?” I hissed.
Oh my God. All that missed time. I could’ve had Brooke this entire time.
“I’d been looking for you all morning. When I saw you two sitting there, I knew I was too late. You were still so mad. I wanted to make you listen to me, but I was scared. We’d never fought like that before.”
I closed my eyes, pained at her admission. I’d fucked up.
“Brooke—”
She squeezed my hand. “Just let me get this out. After we nearly kissed in your apartment, I started letting myself feel everything I’d pushed back for so long. The night I went out with Austin, I didn’t feel anything. There was some excitement from finally getting him to cave and ask me out, but I wasn’t attracted to him, not like I was to you. I was trying to figure out how you felt the next day without being the first one to say anything because I didn’t believe what Caroline and Quinn kept telling me.”
I grimaced. “And I was a complete jerk.”
She smiled weakly. “I should’ve approached it differently. You were caught off guard, and we’d both been hiding how we felt for so long—”
“It wasn’t a business deal, Brooke.” I sat up and rubbed my hands down my face. “I can’t believe I did that.”
“After I left, I convinced myself I was wrong—you were mad, I misread the situation, and you didn’t have feelings for me—because you never came straight out and said it.” She rubbed my back softly. “I didn’t either, though.”
We could talk about everything in the world except for how much we loved one another. That shit was changing tonight.
I turned so we were facing one another. “Since the first day I met you, I wanted to be your boyfriend, not your best friend. I wanted to be able to kiss you, love you, touch you when I wanted, Brooke.” My voice was fierce, leaving no room for misunderstanding. “My world has revolved around you for the past three years, and, baby, I don’t see that changing anytime soon.”
She sucked in a breath as I ran my thumb over her lips.
“I didn’t want Talia to be a replacement for you, but she was. She was smart and sexy and funny—”
“You better start naming off some of my good features too or so help me, Dominic.”
I smiled against her lips as I pressed mine to hers to cut her off. My girl was jealous. Fuck if I didn’t like that.
“Baby, she doesn’t hold a candle to you. It’s always been you. I quit pretending to date two years ago because those girls weren’t you. It took me too long to realize why everything between us had changed practically overnight. Josh was a dick. He butted in where he didn’t belong. I wanted to punch him so many times for making you feel like you were anything less than perfect.”
“Do it. I’ll bring the popcorn.”
I laughed and pressed my forehead to hers. We both sat there in the quiet night, relieved that everything was out in the open.
“Where do we go from here, Dom?”
“Back to my apartment. I’ve got a lot of making up to do to my girlfriend. I was kind of a dick to her and she deserves better.”
Her eyes twinkled in the moonlight. “And just how do you plan to make amends?”
I leaned in closer. “I’ll start with a few orgasms tonight. Then I’ll make sure she doesn’t leave my bed for days.” I kissed her neck and she whimpered. “She’s going to have a hard time going to class on Monday.”
***
I slammed my bedroom door behind me, and Brooke’s back hit the wall. She moaned loudly, causing me to grin against her mouth. Our hands were everywhere, tearing at our clothing and gripping skin as soon as it was exposed. I wanted to worship Brooke’s body. She deserved it, and I was going to make it happen. Her head rolled back, her mouth open in a silent plea for more.
My body pinned hers against the wall and my hips drove forward, giving her the friction she wanted. Her ridiculous red wig was halfway off her head, and we’d ripped her long skirt in our frantic efforts to touch one another. She sighed into my mouth in relief as I circled her clit with my fingers. Buttons from my shirt popped open and flew across the room as she ripped the fabric to expose my chest. Her mouth clamped down on my shoulder and she bit hard.
Holy fuck. I gripped her ass in my hands and swung us around so I could put her down on my desk. The purple bra she’d so painstakingly glued beads onto was flung across the room carelessly.
“I need you to fuck me now, Dom.”
I nipped at her neck, careful not to bruise the sensitive skin. She cried out as my tongue licked where my teeth had grazed her.
“I’m not sure you’re ready just yet.”
She tugged at my dress pants, shoving them down to my ankles, leaving me standing in only my boxer briefs. Her elbow caught my lamp and it went flying to the ground as she pulled me down over her.
“Foreplay isn’t supposed to last for years. Fuck me, Dominic.”
I growled into her neck. God, she was sexy. Her wig cap had come loose and her hair was wildly hanging around her shoulders. As I looked into her eyes, I could see the deep forest green in the moonlight. They burned with desire. I’m sure my own eyes had the same glazed look.
“You’re so fucking responsive.” I pinched at her nipples, and she whimpered. “I’m going to take my time tonight, baby.”
She slid off the desk and onto the floor, pulling my boxers down with her in one elegant move. When her hot mouth wrapped around my cock, I had to fight back the urge to thrust deep into her throat. One of my hands gripped the window frame behind me. I heard the beginning of wood splintering and immediately let go so it didn’t splinter beneath my hands. She grinned up at me before swallowing my cock again. I’d give this girl anything she wanted.
“I’m going to—oh God, Brooke.” I pulled my cock out of her mouth. “I’m not going to come in your mouth. Get on the bed.”
She took my hand, and I helped her stand up. The cocky look in her eyes told me she believed she’d won this round. I smacked her ass to hurry her along.
“How do you want me?”
I kissed the back of her shoulder and she trembled. “What do you want, Brooke?”
She silently crawled onto all fours facing the headboard. I wanted to thank God that this girl was so fucking perfect for me. Her breaths came quickly as she waited for me to grab a condom and roll it down my length. I ran my fingers down her entrance and found her drenched.
“Quit stalling. We both want this, so make it happen.” She looked at me over her shoulder and wordlessly dared me to slide my cock deep inside her. My hand braced the headboard as I slowly slid into her. She cried out in relief and I groaned. This was better than the last time. There was nothing unspoken between us, and I knew we were going to be together.
“Fuck, Brooke.” Her back arched and she pushed against me. “Are you ready, baby?”
Her response was muffled by the pillow, but the sharp cries following were not. I fucked into her, running my hands along her back and hips. She pushed against me with every thrust, demanding more, harder, faster. God, she was perfect. I reached to brush my fingers against her clit. This couldn’t last much longer. We were both on edge. The headboard pounded against the wall in time with my thrusts. It gave me something to focus on besides how amazing my cock felt inside her.
Her sharp scream and the way she pulsed around my cock made me come along with her. I wrapped one arm around her and braced the other against the wall as I came. She slumped down on the bed, breathing hard with a huge smile on her face. I kissed her shoulder and carefully pulled out. Once I threw the condom into the wastebasket beside the bed, I lay down next to her. She smiled into my shoulder and snuggled in.
“I really hope you have a fast recovery time because I already want to do that again.”
I laughed and kissed her forehead. “You’re in luck because I plan on doing that several more times tonight.”
We spent the rest of the night talking and making love. Everything with Brooke was better than I could’ve imagined. We finally came up for air the next morning, mainly because we needed food if we were going to continue.
I opened my bedroom door and Matt sat at the breakfast bar, eating a bowl of cereal. He glared in our direction. Brooke stood behind me, dressed in only my shirt. I wrapped my arm around her waist, and she snuggled into my shoulder.
“You two are assholes.”
Brooke giggled and I grinned. “Sorry, Matt.”
“Seriously, I need to bleach my brain after hearing the noises coming out of there. Do you ever fucking stop? God, don’t answer that because I already know the answer is going to be no. Just. Ugh.”
I laughed again. “We’ll try and keep it down.”
“Don’t bother. I’m going to sleep on Josh’s couch. If I have to listen to you two go at it again, I’ll lose my breakfast.”
I snorted a laugh. “Maybe you should see if Drew is willing to share his bed tonight. We have a lot of missed time to make up for.”
Matt grumbled as he put his bowl in the sink and walked to the door.
Brooke grinned as the door closed behind him. “I think we scarred him for life.”