His Arrogant Human Mate novel Chapter 38

"Oh, kitten," he sighed. I hated that tone of voice. Pitying me. There was no reason I would ever need anyone's pity. Especially his. And I wasn't a feline.

But I didn't want to fight him anymore. At least not today. I shouldered roughly past Dominic, shaking my head. A small part of me still wanted him to run after me, but I quickly pushed those thoughts aside. I needed more time to think. And Dominic clouded my thoughts and distracted me if he was around. Plus he doesn't care. He thinks my emotions are invalid and exaggerated. He won't come after me this time.

Gentle fingers curled around my wrist, holding me in place. The small touch made the mark on my neck burn and my eyes water even more. "Let me take care of you, sugar," Dominic offered quietly.

Before I could respond, he was holding me to his chest like a toddler - my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck while he held my thighs to carry me. Dominic kissed the only part of me within reach: his mark. My body shuddered at the contact. It wasn't fair how at odds my body was with this. One part of me was still fighting, but that part was getting tired and weak without the support of my best friend. The other part, which was fueled by Dominic's mark on me, was clawing to be released and give into everything Dominic offered.

He was somehow able to stroke my hair with one hand and keep me against him with the other, something I was mildly impressed by. But he was quickly coming onto another one of my weaknesses. Getting my hair played with.

After a minute or so, I recognized the direction we were going. Back to the bedroom. Thirty seconds later, he was sitting me on the bed, against the headboard. "Caroline."

"Hm?" I hummed, looking down at my hands.

"Look at me." Hesitantly, I followed his directions. "Say it."

I pulled my knees to my chest - or tried to. Dominic grabbed my ankles and held them in place. "Don't hide. Look me in the eyes and tell me you're sad. That you need me to take care of you for a little while."

"But I-"

"Caroline." This time his voice was soft, gentle. He tucked my hair behind my ears while keeping a stern gaze on me. "Let me do all the adult things today. And you can be pampered and spoiled. But I won't do it until you tell me you need it, because we both know that you do."

The first thing I did was get Caroline out of her clothes and into some pajamas. I even found a pair of fuzzy socks. After she gave in to my demands, she wouldn't look at me. She was embarrassed by being even slightly needy, and also that I was able to wear her down and make her comply.

Caroline wasn't by any means weak, but she was weakening. Anyone close to her could see that. A large part of it was due to the blowout her and Alfie had, but she was also so out of her element here. It was obvious from day one she was scared. And living in that fear is so tiring. Then add onto it the nightmare she had? Caroline needed a day of doing nothing and letting me be in control.

"Are you gonna hold this against me later?" she asked once I finished tucking her into the bed.

I gave her a soft kiss again, this time lingering in hopes that she would kiss me back. She didn't, but I felt like there was more there each time I tried. "Of course not, kitten." God, she was cute. When Caroline wasn't storming around the house being the stubborn girl she is, she was adorable. With big, innocent eyes and pouty lips. I didn't like making her upset or nervous, but it made her look like a lost kitten.

Especially bundled up in a sweatshirt of mine that was way too big for her. "Since you never ate breakfast, I'm going to have some of the waffles brought up here for you to eat while we watch a movie. How does that sound?"