Page 147 of Say My Name

Instead, I say, “Tonight.”

“Only tonight?”

“I don’t know.” My voice breaks. “I only know I can’t watch you leave again.”

Dominic looks down. For one terrible moment, I think he’ll refuse.

He probably should. I’m asking for the physical part of a relationship I’m still too frightened to choose with words.

When he lifts his head, the control in his face is thinner.

“If I come home with you, it doesn’t change what I said.”

“I understand.”

“The conception arrangement is over.”

“I know.”

“And this can’t become another way to avoid the question.”

I force myself to hold his eyes. “I know that too.”

He studies me, searching for something I’m not giving him. Then he picks up his jacket.

We don’t touch in the elevator or during the ride to my condo. The car still feels like him. I picture his hand resting on my thigh last week, the easy weight of it, and the quiet of the car feels like a judgment.

When the elevator opens onto my floor, Dominic lets me step out first.

He remains behind me as I unlock my door. If I want him inside, I have to ask.

I enter the condo and turn. Dominic stands in the hallway, waiting.

“Come in.”

He crosses the threshold.

I kiss him before the door closes.

My hands close around his loosened tie, and I pull him against me. The door slams behind him. Dominic catches my waist to steady me, but he lets me set the pace.

I kiss him harder, pull his shirt free from his trousers, and slide my hands over the hot skin of his back.

I whisper against his mouth, “Touch me.”

“Elena.”

“Please.”

His mouth hovers over mine. “Tell me what you want.”

“You. I want you, Dominic.”

The words are torn from my throat, stripped of every excuse.

The words are plain. No timing window. No practical purpose. No excuse.

Something in his face breaks.