The Foster Girls #2: Finland

Chapter 2: Finland

Ten months ago...

Stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Pull it together, I chanted to myself. The message clearly didn't make it to my heart, which was threatening to beat itself right out of my chest. Dominic Romano had slid into the bench seat right next to me, his thigh near enough to touch, if I wanted.

I wanted.

Boy, how I wanted. 

But in the seven times (yes, I was keeping count) I'd been back to the Dragon's Inferno clubhouse since that first night I'd come here with Harper, he'd never sat directly next to me. He'd always pulled a chair up to the table and sat so I was blocked in and no one could get close. In my romantic mind, it was a protective gesture, one meant to calm me when so many unknown men were around, without making me feel threatened by the one who was protecting me. It couldn't have been, however, since he had no idea of my background. Harper wouldn't have told my story to Dominic, so there was no way anyone could know.

Tonight, though.

Oh, tonight he was sitting next to me, so close I could smell the deep, rich scent of his cologne, the leather of his cut. His brother sat across from him, a huge arm cuddling Harper close to his massive body. To say I was happy for her was understating the facts. Of the four of us Foster girls, Harper was the mother hen, always clucking over the rest of us, fighting for us, guarding us, ensuring we stayed together. She'd found her one in Rome, that was for sure. Before him, no man had caught her eye; and he'd not only caught her eye, but her heart and soul as well. None of us Foster girls knew much about relationships with men, but you could just see there was something special between them, even though it was early days.

It was while the two of them were whispering to each other that Dominic leaned down to me.

"How's the new book going?"

When he'd been sitting near me about two clubhouse visits ago, Harper and I had been chatting about my newest book. Not thinking it had registered with him since he'd been talking about motorcycles with Dante, I was surprised by his question. Embarrassed, as well, because my new hero resembled him, right down to the dragon tattoo that curved around his bicep.

"Really well, actually," I stammered, hoping he wouldn't push for details since I wrote romances...erotic romances that garnered reviews like, "So hot and steamy I had to wake up my boyfriend and fuck his brains out!" (Yes, that was an actual review left behind by a fan.)

He smiles at me. But there's a little something behind that smile, something teasing, mischievous. "So what's this book about?"

Cars that go zero to sixty in 2.3 seconds have nothing on how fast my blush crawls up my face. I can literally feel my face and neck heating up and wonder if a person could really spontaneously combust.

"Oh, um, you know, it's about...you know, it probably wouldn't be anything interesting to you. Just a new series I've started."

"A series about what?" he pushes.

Shit! "Well, it's about a...motorcycle club," I finish in a rushed whisper.

His grin is positively evil. He'd heard.

"How would I not be interested in that? Can't wait to read it."

I start choking on the drink that I just took when he said that. He pats my back a few times and that doesn't even register with me until much, much later.

"So how are you doing research for life in an MC?"

"I...I..." I've been taking copious mental notes ever since Harper started bringing me around, basing every single detail of my hero on you...you know, the usual stuff. "Just, ah, just reading a lot, watching documentaries, you know."

"If you need any questions answered, I can help."

So, Dominic, is this position actually possible? Can a man really fuck a woman for an hour straight? Is it possible for a man to get a woman off three or four times before he does? Just how long can a man stay hard after he...Nope, I will never be asking Dominic one single thing about my books.

"Because I know a lot about MCs and motorcycles...and other shit." Am I just imagining the dirty gleam in his eyes? Could Harper have told him about the subject matter of my books? No, she wouldn't have. I know her. Where the four of us are concerned, she plays things about all of us close to her chest. There's no way he knows. No way. I even write under a pen name, so he couldn't know. I calm myself down with the knowledge that he couldn't possibly know. 

Just to make sure, while his attention is diverted by someone coming up to talk to him, I send Harper a text asking if she ever told Dominic anything about me.

She texts back immediately: No

So I write it off to my overactive imagination, happy to know my secrets are safe.