Something Worth Fighting For

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

BRAYLEE

A shudder rippled through me, pleasurable and searing, leaving a lingering caress over the plateau of my flesh as it pooled and quivered between my thighs.

God damn Dominick Mulder, I cursed silently, squeezing my legs together.

"Cold?" Stella asked, raising a brow.

I hadn't realised I made a noise, but obviously I did. I couldn't help it- every time I thought back to that afternoon at the venue with Dom leaning in close, so close I thought he may actually kiss me, my body went into horniness overdrive. Thankfully, there was a bit of a nip in the air I could blame the involuntary pleasure-ripple on.

Since we were outside, and it was dark, the excuse was a believable one.

"Mmm." I wrapped my fingers around the steaming mug of hot chocolate. "A bit. Do you want to go back inside?"

"Nah. I'm waiting to see this porcupine you've domesticated." She took a sip of her own steaming drink and settled back in her chair.

We had perched ourselves in wooden lawn chairs on the veranda outside the house, surrounded by the abundant garden of the property, while the boys played video games or watched rugby inside. Who knew, truly, what with all the aggravated shouting and bellowing going on indoors.

"Geraldine should be making her appearance any minute now," I said, eyeing the bush I had left some vegetable scraps under, discreetly out of the way so Dom wouldn't notice that I was still feeding the porcupines. "She normally visits 'round this time- nice and late. Which is why I've convinced Dom to let the perimeter beams stay off until after 11pm, otherwise the alarm will go off every night."

She slurped noisily at her hot chocolate, studying the shadows looming around us for any sign of our porcupine friends. "Speaking of," Stella mused, "you really ought to make a move on that guy."

I huffed a sigh, feeling something inside of me warm at the frequent reminder of just how close I had gotten to Dom that very afternoon. It wouldn't have taken much, if I was honest with myself, to kiss him in that garden. Not much at all- and I wasn't sure how I felt about that. "We've been through this," I mumbled. "Not gonna happen. It would be a terrible idea to act on this little crush I have on him."

She spun her head around to stare at her, her eyes glittering in the dim light. "Would it though?"

"Yes."

She snorted, returning her attention back to the bushes. "I know you're gonna fight me on this tooth and nail, but I'm gonna give you my two cents about it regardless, so you just sit there and listen for a minute. Deal?"

I knew that it didn't matter if I agreed or not- either way, Stella Huxley would have her say. She was stubborn and tempestuous to a fault, but I knew she only had my best interests at heart.

"Alright," I said, tapping a nail against the mug in my hands. "Deal."

"Good, I'm glad you're being reasonable about this," she began, her tone amused, but then she turned to me and the smile that had been curling her lips settled. "Don't deny this, or try to argue this, but I have a hunch that Dom is kinda crushing on you, too-"

"Uh-"

"I just said, don't argue this." Stella rolled her eyes. "Just hear me out, Bray, just for a minute. I have this feeling- intuition, if you will- that the vibes between you two have, just, changed. And it may not be such a bad thing if you explore this little crush of yours, that's all. What have you got to lose?"