I Shouldn't Fall for You

Tessa

I walk down the staircase of my new home, the pads of my feet hitting against the cold marble floor as I make my way toward the kitchen.

It’s been a little over a week since I signed my life and soul away for fifteen months.

It hasn’t been too bad so far. I only see Dominic in passing. Alister is showing Dominic how to take over the family business, so late nights and early mornings are a thing.

Sucks for him, I guess. But it’s great for me. I don’t have to see his stupid face, and it also means I can freely walk around dressed as I please: pantless.

The time on the clock tells me it’s after 8 a.m., and my stomach rumbling tells me it’s time to eat. I open the fridge door, trying to find something to eat but coming up empty.

It’s not that the fridge is empty. Quite the opposite, actually. A notepad sits on the fridge, and if I ever want anything I just write it down and a few days later it’s in the house.

But my problem is that nothing looks good to me right now.

My fingers slide along the countertop as I walk across the kitchen contemplating what to eat.

I open a cabinet and see Froot Loops on the top shelf. Perfect. Nothing like pure sugar to wake you up in the morning.

I reach up, standing on my tiptoes, and try to grab the box from the top shelf. My fingers graze the box, and finally, they wrap around it. Success. I bring the box down off the shelf.

“You should really wear pants,” a voice growls behind me, scaring me and causing me to jump slightly.

I turn around, the box still in my hands as I face a shirtless Dominic, showing every muscle, light chest hair, and a tattoo on his upper body.

The lower half of his body is hidden by the kitchen island.

I roll my eyes at him before opening the box. “First off, is this not my place too? I should be able to wear, or not wear, what I want.”

I shove my hand into the box and grab a few pieces. “Secondly, it’s after 8 a.m. You aren’t usually here.”

I shove a few loops in my mouth and chew as I tilt my head to look into his gray eyes, keeping my eyes on his face and not his insanely toned body.

Seriously, where does the dude find the time to go to the gym?

I get the allure of Dominic Caldwell. He has that bad-boy vibe, muscles and tattoos, and a stare that could kill. I used to think he was good-looking, and I guess in some ways I still think that.

But Dominic is a player. At least, he was before our unhappy engagement. He went through different women the way I go through underwear.

“Plus,” I add, “you’re one to talk.” I motion toward his shirtless chest.

How dare he even get mad at me for walking around dressed like this in what is now my home while he walks around like that?

And then an idea comes to mind. I set the box of sugary goodness down on the counter behind me.

Then, in one quick movement, I remove my oversize tee and stand in the kitchen in my matching light pink bralette and panties.

I watch as Dominic’s gaze trails slowly down my body, his eyes growing darker as the seconds pass.

“Now we’re both shirtless,” I say complacently as I grab the box of cereal off the counter and walk out of the kitchen, away from Dominic’s dark gaze.

***

“. . . And then I walked away,” I say with a shrug as I pop a grape in my mouth.

As soon as Dominic left this morning, I called my two best friends, Peyton and Noelle, and told them about what happened between Dominic and me.

“He didn’t say anything? At all?” Peyton asks.

“Nope, not a single thing. Just eyed me up and down.”

Noelle cracks up, her laughter filling the earpiece on my cell phone. “You probably rendered him speechless, Tess. You have a smoking-hot body.”

I roll my eyes at her words. Noelle is tall and lanky; she could easily be a Victoria’s Secret model.

“Yeah, I agree with Noelle. You know I’m envious of that ass,” Peyton says.

Peyton may not have as much of an ass as me, but I wish for her boob size.

“He’s just . . . such an ass. I mean, who is he to tell me what I can wear in my own home? I mean, it is my home for the next year.”

I showed up at Peyton’s house after signing the contract. She called Noelle, and I told both my best friends everything.

The three of us have known each other since diapers and have always been inseparable.

Did I break the contract by telling them? Yeah. But something like this isn’t something I can keep from them. They are my family.

“Come on, Tessa. He’s a man, and you’re a woman—a very sexy-looking woman. He obviously feels some sort of sexual attraction toward you. Plus, he can’t have sex, remember?” Noelle says.

“Yeah, the poor dude probably has blue balls by now.” Peyton giggles.

“He has two perfectly good working hands. I don’t see the problem.” I shrug.

I can hear the eye roll through the phone as Noelle says, “You don’t see the problem because you’ve never had sex. You don’t know what you’re missing out on.

“The right dick can change your world, make you see stars.” I can imagine Noelle suggestively moving her eyebrows up and down.

I huff. “Okay, can we stop talking about my virginity now and talk about something else?”

“Sure,” Peyton says. “How’s the wedding planning?”

I groan as I thunk my forehead on the table. “Y’all are killing me here.”

Peyton and Noelle laugh at me as I groan into the table.