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“I don’t know,” Grace admitted. “She’s going to question me either way.”
“True. But I’m sure she’d have a lot more questions if you told her I was your Dom.” He winked at her, trying to lighten the mood.
It worked. A tiny giggle escaped her lips. “You’d be okay with that?”
Alexander didn’t answer right away. He seemed to be debating how to respond to her question. Unease began to fill her gut.
The look on her face must have tipped him off to her thoughts because he moved closer and placed both hands on her face, drawing her in. She could smell her soap on his skin from their shower. He searched her eyes before pressing his forehead against hers. “You are more than my sub, Grace. Much more. I...” He swallowed. “I don’t have a problem with you telling your sister we’re dating.”
“You’re sure you don’t mind?”
He kissed her forehead, and then leaned back in his chair and resumed eating. “I’m sure.” He motioned toward her plate. “Your food’s going to get cold.”
Still somewhat concerned over what he obviously wasn’t saying, Grace picked up her fork and began to eat.
Several minutes passed before he spoke again. “How would you feel if we were dating?”
She had to force the food in her mouth down her throat. “I don’t know. I mean... we’re friends...”
“Grace, what I feel for you is much more than friendship.” There was no misinterpreting his words. He wasn’t talking about their play arrangement. “Besides, it only seems right if I’m going to defile my best friend’s widow that I at least be dating her.”
“So you want to date me because of some sort of sense of honor?” She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.
“No.” The look in his eyes gave her no reason to doubt him. “I want to date you because you deserve more than just me coming over every weekend to fuck you.”
Blunt. But she wouldn’t have expected less. “So what would that mean? Us dating?”
Alexander pushed his chair back and reached for her, pulling her into his lap. He nipped his teeth along the side of her neck and ran a hand up her leg. Her heart beat faster, anticipation coiling in her belly. “It would mean you’d be my girlfriend.”
“Your girlfriend?” She was only half paying attention to his words. Most of the blood in her brain was going south. “That sounds kind of cheesy, doesn’t it?”
“Hmm.” He nuzzled his nose along her collarbone. “Lovers?”
Grace sighed and tangled her fingers in his hair. “Better.”
“I’m not sure I like that. Lovers still implies our relationship is limited to the bedroom.”
“Relationship?” The words were barely out of her mouth before he pressed his lips to hers, cutting off anything she was going to say. It was the last word either of them spoke for a while.
At a little after eleven Alexander said goodbye, promising to call her later. He gave her a kiss that left her breathless and wanting more, even after their intense make-out session in her kitchen. The man could kiss. It took her a full ten minutes after he walked out her front door before her heart rate returned to normal.
The drive to her mom’s felt as if it took no time at all. She made every traffic light between her house and her mom’s, which in and of itself was some sort of miracle, or maybe it was a curse. She hadn’t decided which. Grace had kind of hoped she’d get stuck in traffic or something, anything to postpone the inquisition from her sister. If only Gabby hadn’t stopped by Friday night. Or if Grace hadn’t opened the door.
Grace groaned. If she’d thought it’d been bad before...
Luckily, Grace got a small reprieve. Her sister didn’t come out to greet her when she pulled up. That was probably in part due to the fact that they were experiencing a cold snap. St. Louis didn’t get as chilly as places farther north, but it wasn’t uncommon for it to get down into the thirties at night in November. Unfortunately, they hadn’t been above forty-five for the last three days. She, and almost everyone else in the city, was ready for it to warm up a little.
A high-pitched shriek greeted her as she opened the door to her mom’s house, followed by the sound of a little girl giggling. Taylor.
Hanging up her jacket, Grace followed the sound into the kitchen. The sight tugged at her heartstrings. Gabby had Taylor in her arms, half upside down, a huge smile on her face. Grace and Kurt had been talking about starting a family, but they’d wanted to wait until his deployment was over. He didn’t want to miss the doctor’s appointments and the birth because he was stationed half a world away.
“Hey,” her sister said when she noticed her standing there.
Grace buried her melancholy feelings and headed into the room. At least she had her niece. “Hey.”
Their mother strolled into the room. “It’s about time.”
“I’m on time.” Grace even double-checked with the clock hanging on her mother’s wall.
