Safe Place

Chapter Sixteen

Dominic

"Hey, baby, you home?" I asked, halting my secretary from speaking. I pointed to the door, and she stepped out, closing it after her.

"Yeah, a while ago. I just tucked Lizzy in."

"How's she doing? I have to admit, I actually miss her."

"She's fine. Keeps asking about you and Ollie."

It was weird to say that even though I've known Sienna for a short time, I could feel her nervousness over the phone, and hear the slight tremble in her voice that would go overlooked if I didn't listen closely.

"What's wrong?"

"How do you know something's wrong?"

"Because I know my girl. What's wrong? What happened? Did something happen?"

I found myself standing up and reaching for my coat, prepared to cancel everything and head over to check on her. She was quiet on the other line, and I could hear her breathing pick up in that nervous, shaky way it did when her panic arose, and I put my coat on and stepped out of my office.

"Dominic, you're only sleeping with me, right? There's no one else, right?" She finally asked.

"I'm not having this fucking conversation over the phone. I'll be at your house in an hour."

I hung up, not giving her a chance to speak, and told my secretary to cancel everything and reschedule my meetings for after tomorrow since I was taking tomorrow off. I stepped out and into the elevator to go to the underground parking lot. 

I slid inside my car, tossed my coat, and my wheels screeched aggressively as I pulled out of the lot and drove back into town. My hands gripped the wheel tight, my knuckles ghost-white, and I bit back a million thoughts.

I couldn't even blame her for asking me, for questioning me, because I still didn't know what the fuck we were doing. I needed her to sign that contract because that's the only way I knew to be with someone. I couldn't be with her without one, yet the thought of leaving her after thirty days was tearing me up inside. 

We needed to figure it out, to get this big elephant out of the way so that we both knew what we were doing and where we were going. Either we were together, or we were just fucking around, it needed to be said. The thought of being with Sienna in the way I was with the other women didn't sit right in my stomach, and I felt my gut twist and churn.

I was unsettled at the thought of her being another contract, another woman that I'd be with for thirty days, and then having someone else after her. I don't think I ever wanted to be with another woman after her. 

Just her. The rational part of my brain knew she wouldn't cheat on me, wouldn't betray my trust, and break my heart, while the irrational part of me was untrusting, merciless as it reminded me that any woman was capable of doing what she did to me.

I was feeling too many emotions, and they felt all scrambled up in my brain, and I couldn't pick them apart and make sense of them, because what I felt for Sienna didn't make any sense. I parked my car and walked over to the apartment. 

She buzzed me in, and I took the shitty elevator to her level. It took me a minute to walk all the way down the hall and knock on her door. She opened it and I walked inside and felt so amped up I couldn't even sit. 

Sienna came round and sat on the couch, and I saw her pull her knees up to her chest and wrap her arms around her legs.

"I'm not sleeping with anyone else," I said, looking at her and it didn't make her relax and her eyes didn't soften. "I'm only sleeping with you."