Dive into Temptation [ManxBoy]

53. Fifth Wheel

A/N: Whoops accidentally made another 6000 word chapter that I'm going to split into two parts. Here's the first. Btw Dom's POV will show what happened after Adam passed out. Sorry this won't!

~*~

I woke up in the hotel bed, disoriented and with no recollection of how I ended up there. The weight of sleepiness kept me glued to the bed, as the early morning sunlight streamed through the wide-open door of the hotel room. Through my hazy state of consciousness, I glimpsed Dominic bustling in and out, loading up the car. Grimacing, I sat up, feeling a dull soreness in my back. It seemed that my body had finally caught up with all the nights spent in the car and on the ground in a tent. I blinked sleepily, rubbing the sand from my eyes, trying to make sense of how I had arrived here. The last thing I could remember was being at Lily's show.

Across the room, I noticed Lily standing, her hand resting on a small bump on her belly. She squeezed it, a pout forming on her lips as she moved on to assess the slight weight gain in her arms. Seeing her triggered a memory, Dominic and me deciding to head to the hotel without her. But the details were fuzzy in my mind.

"What time did you get in?" I asked her.

Startled, she jumped and quickly diverted her attention to her makeup, attempting to conceal her actions. She was still keeping the pregnancy a secret, despite the subtle changes in her body over the past few months. It wasn't a significant weight gain, but it was a noticeable change from the petite frame that she had maintained her entire life until now.

"Partied too hard? You were passed out when I got here. Dead to the world," she chuckled.

In that moment, a rush of memories flooded back to me. I remembered the guy who had tried to give me a pill by his car, and fragments of Dominic's anger came crashing back. I could have sworn he had made some kind of threat... My hand instinctively went to my throat, recalling his tight grip and the fear that had consumed me. Oh, right. He had warned me that he would hurt me if I continued seeing Ryan.

Ugh, that fucker. There was no way I was going to let him dictate who I could be with. Ryan was my solace, my escape from Dominic's persistent presence in my life. Annoyed, I pulled out my phone and texted Ryan, letting him know I would be arriving later in the evening and that I wanted to see him. It was a partially a way for me to spite Dominic, but also a genuine desire to see my friend again.

Just then, Dominic returned to the room, his gaze scanning my disheveled appearance. I quickly averted my eyes, feeling my cheeks flush as memories of his possessive jealousy from the previous night flooded my mind. His hands on my junk, up my shirt, his desperate kisses, and his threat...

He didn't seriously want to hurt me, did he? Surely not, especially now that I wasn't actively provoking him... I just needed to play the part of an obedient partner, act like his good boy, and maybe he would forget about his threat and let me have Ryan. Yes, that seemed like the right approach. If I buttered Dom up enough, he would have to give in and let me have my way.

"About ready?" His voice cut through the haze of my thoughts. Lily nodded, her eagerness clear. It seemed all of us were keen to get home. Dom's gaze shifted to me, expectant.

I glanced around to see if anything of mine needed loaded into the car, still finding it bizarre that I had no memory of even arriving to the hotel. Did I pass out? Did I walk in and just forget? A quick scan of the room confirmed nothing of mine was left to pack, but then my eyes landed on the denim heap on the floor—my jeans, discarded and crumpled. A frown creased my brow, confused.

I couldn't remember removing them but I definitely wouldn't have gone to bed with them on, as I hated sleeping in jeans. But I also would have taken my shirt off... but hadn't, I realized, looking down to see I was still in the same shirt I wore yesterday. I looked back at Dom with a questioning expression but he remained emotionless, staring and blinking slowly, still waiting for my response.