Sweet Sensations

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Xavier

The next fall...

I stood in front of the gigantic bathroom mirror, adjusting my tie for the hundredth time that morning. Steam rolled out of the shower behind me, and when the water switched off, Dominick stepped out, hitching a towel around his hips.

"I'm still not used to how big this bathroom is," I said, turning to kiss him on the cheek. "The one at my old house was so cramped."

"Maybe a few more locker room roleplays will help it sink in?" he teased, swatting at my butt. "A little truth or dare?"

I giggled, pushing his hand away. "Too distracting," I said. "You might think big speeches are boring, but I barely slept last night."

Dominick draped his arms around my shoulders, then started working on my tie. I relaxed my shoulders and leaned back into him while he swooped the fabric into a symmetrical knot. "You're going to nail it," he said. "Plus, you're wearing the perfect tie for the event."

I looked down. The tie was covered with a bright print of different candies. "It's not too much?"

Dominick tightened the knot, then rubbed his beard against my cheek for a quick kiss. "For the opening of a candy museum? It's perfect."

I headed down to our first floor while he changed into his own suit in the bedroom. The house was positioned close enough to Sweet Sensations and the museum that I could bike there when the weather was nice, but also proximate to downtown so Dominick wasn't always stuck in traffic. The open spaces of the floorplan were generous enough that my father's furniture only partially filled it, but once Dominick's grandfather and I had connected over our love of antiquing, we'd started filling the space up properly.

What I really cared about, however, was the backyard. It was big enough to host all of our friends, with plenty of space for Bea and her new Labrador buddy, too.

"Hello, Peaches," I said, petting his rear enthusiastically, then pulled away before he could slobber all over my nice shirt.

Dominick came downstairs. He was wearing my favorite suit, a rich gray color with just a touch of purple. He grabbed the bouquet of flowers that had been delivered that morning, handing them to me, then took me by the arm.

"What if I forget what I'm supposed to say?" I asked.

He pressed his lips against my ear. "Don't you remember what happened last night?" he teased.

I did remember. We'd been practicing the speech all evening, and eventually, things had slipped over the line. I'd pretended to forget my lines, and Dominick had pretended to scold me. Soon enough, my pants were around my ankles, and he had rolled up the printed copy of the speech to give me a solid spanking.

"At least I woke up feeling relaxed," I said, stepping outside and into the crisp fall air. "Even if I got myself all worked up again."

"Trust me, we'll have plenty of time to unwind tonight," he said, holding the door for me.

I had no doubt about it. Ever since moving in together, we'd been able to explore our kinks in a way I had never even imagined possible. I'd especially learned how to enjoy naughty behavior. While I normally was too fussy to accidentally leave the laundry undone or to sass a guy I cared so much about, doing it on purpose was a whole different game.

And teasing Dominick was ridiculously fun.

Teasing him with my voice or by strolling through the living room in a cute new pair of undies that hugged my butt just right.

Eating the last cookie in the jar and staring him in the eye while I did it.

I'd gotten so good at it, in fact, that Dominick had started playing around with rope. He said I might get out of control otherwise, although I knew that wasn't true.