Page 47 of The Dom with a Safeword

Sometimes a man likes a challenge. A girl with a little spirit.

Q

You thought I was too much work, remember?

Nico

Maybe I was wrong to be so lazy.

Q

Don’t fuck with me.

She slammed the laptop closed, growling. There was a time she’d have done anything to please him, but his betrayal still stung too much for her to disregard.

Catching her reflection in the mirror, she stopped herself. Today wasn’t the day to worry about Nico being a jackass. She pushed thoughts of him away. Jude’s strong hands and pretty mouth quickly came to mind. She glanced down and wished she’d made the shorts shorter.

***

How they were supposed to concentrate on painting with Sabrina dressed like this was beyond Q. As Sabrina knocked, Q’s gaze slid over her curves, all very distracting in the spaghetti-strapped navy blue sundress. Her hair was up in its customary messy bun, with tendrils of it brushing the back of her neck and shoulders, drawing attention to her sexy tattoo. Looking that mouth-watering and seeming so oblivious about it was just cruel. She’d give it no more than an hour before she pinned her down somewhere and did an underwear check. It was only fair.

After a moment, the ornate door swung open and Jude was there in all of his shirtless, muscled glory. His chest and abs were amazing, but it was his arms that made her drool. It wouldn’t take much effort for him to overpower her. She forced herself to look him in the eye, but she’d already been caught checking him out.

“See something you like?” he mocked.

“The washboard just reminded me I have some laundry to get done.”

“Yes, I wondered about that. You’re wearing shorts instead of long pants today. Your knees are mostly showing. Very risqué. It’s a laundry issue? And here I thought you were just trying to distract me from painting.”

“No, if I was trying to distract you, you’d know it.” She smirked. “And I got the memo on the way over, that my shorts are too long. I just cut them off this morning. Apparently I should have looked up how to make cut-offs online, because Sabrina thinks I did a piss poor job.”

Jude smiled and winked then turned his attention to Sabrina. “You also look delicious, as usual, Jersey girl. I’ll have to make sure to give you all of the high parts to paint.”

She laughed and eyed him coyly. “I’m the shortest. Why on earth would you have me paint the stuff that’s higher up?”

The look he gave her left little mystery to his intentions. “Because that little dress will look even sweeter when you’re up the ladder.”

“You’d better not try peeking up my skirt!” Her mock glare was flirty, but she slapped his chest all the same. Her hand lingered there and she gazed up into his eyes. A moment later, the spell broke and she shrugged. “It’s an old dress so I don’t care if it gets covered in paint. Unlike our goth friend here, I don’t see any point in owning clothes that aren’t pretty.” She turned to give Q a bratty look then asked Jude, “Do you have scissors handy? I'm going to fix Q's shorts for her, so she looks like a normal person.”

Q rolled her eyes and shook her head in feigned disbelief. Her roommate had made snarky comments about her old concert t-shirt on the car ride over too. Apparently she should have consulted her before selecting a painting ensemble.

“I’m all for that,” he answered. “There are scissors with the painting tape.” Chuckling, he led them through to the back of the house, to a large room with cathedral ceilings. A big bay window with a vast and comfy-looking seat drew her attention. The view was of the spacious backyard that ended at a distance in greenbelt. The shed where he’d scared them the first night they met was in view.

“The scissors are there.” Jude pointed to sturdy-looking wooden scaffolding that stood against a side wall. “This is the color I’m doing,” he announced. Q turned as he opened a paint can and revealed a rich cream color. “With ochre accents.”

As she stood in the middle of the room with her arms folded, Q watched Sabrina fiddle with various painting implements. She chose a roller. “Are you going to keep fucking around, or are you going to cut my shorts?” If they looked dumb she wanted them fixed now.

Grinning, Jude reached up and grabbed the scissors then held them out to Sabrina. He leaned casually against the wall beside the scaffolding.

Sabrina’s blush reached her hairline. She met Q’s gaze contritely. “I was joking. You do look like a normal person. I like you even if you do dress like a freak. It’s part of your charm. I wouldn’t actually want you to change who you are. Even for me.”

A warm fluttering in Q’s chest started as she looked into Sabrina’s eyes. The temptation to tell her again that she loved her was strong, but she resisted. Repeating it would just make her look pathetic, since Sabrina obviously wasn’t ready to reciprocate. The silence was getting too long to be comfortable. Time for a distraction.

With a glance at Jude, Q shrugged. “Put the scissors down before your arm gets tired. She’s too chicken to follow through with her threats most of the time. She’d have to touch me and that scares her.” She swallowed a grin and hoped Jude was watching Sabrina, because this was going to be fantastic.

“Chicken?” Sabrina growled. “I’ll show you chicken.” She stomped over to Jude and grabbed the scissors out of his hand. “I try to tell you that I accept you as you are, and you mock me. Do you think I’m just some cutesy doll that you can play with? I’m just as tough as you are, you know. Just because you can get me to kneel at your feet doesn’t mean I’m a doormat.”

“I appreciate the fact that you don’t expect me to change who I am for you, Sabrina. And I know you’re not a doormat. But the fact remains that You. Are. Chicken.”