I really don't want to have to give this warning, but I'm going to anyways.
There is some slightly graphic content in this. I don't consider it graphic, because it is a natural part of life, but I know someone is going to comment and say "ewwwww I don't want to hear about this whyyyyyy gross. This is too icky for my brain to handle I'm never reading again, I'm offended." Y'all. It's a period. Most female bodies have one. Chillax. They suck, but be mature about it lol
Anywho, this is more of a filler chapter, but it does have character/relationship development in it. But of course, both Dominic and Cara cross the line in it once or twice, because guess what. They are human (eh, more or less) and they're very different people thrown together in a relationship.
I'm sorry I'm ranting. Just read the chapter, you'll see :)
Love you, guys!
Chapter Thirty
Dominic decided that he didn't want to hear about the new information I got from Nina. He insisted that we have a lazy night in and stuff our faces with pizza.
And who was I to argue with that logic?
I crawled into bed beside him with a plate of different types of pizza as well as a large glob of ranch to dip them in. Dominic had already ripped through half a pizza by himself by the time I was content with the amount on my plate. "Are you okay with what I decided for Scott?" I asked Dom when I'd finished my first piece. Realistically, I knew the answer was no. Dominic wanted something much harsher, but he was letting his feelings for me cloud his judgement. Anything he wanted would have been cruel for even Scott.
"I'm okay if you're okay." The answer was unexpected, but it did calm me a little. Yes, I had my problems with Dominic and I had my own problems period, but I didn't want us to disagree and argue about everything. I did seek his approval on some things. "Are you?"
I gave a light, unsure smile. "I'm not sure if I am yet. I'm just glad to be away from that horrible hearing and all those people looking at me. I'd rather be here and watch old reruns with you."
Dominic nodded in agreement, turning on his television and flicking to Netflix. "Parks and Recreation?" he offered.
At least there were a few things we could agree on.
~ ~ ~
I fell asleep first, but was awakened when Dominic shut the TV off and removed the plates from the bed. Slightly miffed at having been woken up, I rolled so my back was to him. Dominic made a light chuckle, a warm sound that sounded endearing and made my stomach flutter a little, and shifted into the blankets behind me.
When his arms circled around my waist, I decided that I didn't want to fight his cozy embrace tonight. All I wanted was for life to slow down and start making sense again. And being snuggled up against Dominic's heated, bare chest, his lips pressing into my hair and temple repeatedly, I felt for a moment... it was possible.
Until the next morning.
Instead of waking up to either Dominic moving or the sun lighting up the room, I woke to a familiar, deep pain in my lower stomach. It took me a second to realize what it meant, as the sleepy fog lingered in my mind. At first, I thought "it couldn't be, it isn't that time," but as I did the math, I realized that it was indeed that time. Peeling my eyes open, I glanced back at Dominic.
He had laced his legs through mine at some point, with one arm draped protectively over my midsection while the other was curled to support his head as he slept. How lucky to never have to wake up to period cramps.
As I shifted to roll out of the bed, I realized quickly that the cramps weren't just warning me of the week to come. They were the signifier that they had indeed already hit me at some point during the early morning and I was about to ruin a pair of pajama pants.
Dominic didn't wake as I pushed his arm down and waddled as quickly as possible to the bathroom, trying to keep my thighs clamped together. As soon as I stepped into the bathroom, I realized that it was much worse than I had hoped. Luckily, I always store an emergency set of clothes in the bathroom for times like this, but I hadn't needed it in a long time.
As I assessed the damage, I found myself cursing repeatedly.
It was everywhere. Both my panties and pajamas shorts would have to be thrown away. I quickly did a clean up, changing into the pants I had while breaking into the feminine supplies Dominic and I had bought at the store.
"Cara?" Dominic groaned from the other room as I was washing my hands.
"In the bathroom," I replied just before exiting.
It hadn't occurred to me that yet that if my pants were destroyed, everything I had also been in contact with would be affected too. Not until I opened the door and noticed red marks not only on the sheets, but on the front of Dominic's pants, where he had been pressed against me. There was even some on his pant leg, where he had stuck his thigh between mine when our legs had been tangled up together.
"Oh, my lord," I gasped.
He sleepily opened one eye, giving a tired smirk. "Thanks, gorgeous," he replied, thinking I was admiring his body. "You look ravishing too."
I launched myself at him, throwing the blankets to cover up the blood and then shoving his chest as much as I could. "Whoa, whoa, what's going on?" he asked groggily, not moving.
"Get off of the bed! No, wait, close your eyes first!" I snapped frantically, putting my hands over his face. "Just get off and don't open your eyes, please."
Dominic's body stiffened as his hands clutched my wrists, immediately going into Alpha-Protection Mode. "What's wrong? Is everything okay?"
"It's fine! It's all perfectly fine as long as you don't look, okay?" I gushed.
Just before I could push him out of the bed, he happened to glance over where the bedding had slid away from the sheets. His hands rested on my lower back as he gave me a sympathetic smile. "Oh, sweetheart," he hummed.
Following his gaze, I felt myself groan in embarrassment. "Stop looking, I'm going to fix it. I promise."
Dominic laughed, hugging me to his chest. "Caroline, calm down, silly girl."
I bit my bottom lip, glad he wasn't flipping out, but he had yet to see his sweatpants. His nose pressed into my hair and he inhaled. "Good morning, beautiful. How are you today?" Then he paused and snickered. "Wait, that's a dumb question. Are you cramping? I know a good home remedy to soothe them."
"Dominic."
"What?"
I rolled off of him and covered my face sheepishly. "Y-your... Your pants," I squeaked.
"I'm not sure what you're referring to, sugar."
With a groan, I threw the covers off of him and pointed to the red smear adorning his bottoms. It wasn't a lot, but he had definitely started cuddling me as soon as my bottoms stained. "Caroline. You aren't seriously embarrassed by this, are you?"
"Of course I'm embarrassed!" I cried. "I got it all over you."
He grinned lopsidedly at me. "Silly girl, it's just blood. If anything, I am glad to see that you have a healthy cycle. My wolf is especially pleased with it. Is your cycle regular?" Dominic asked.
I grimaced. "I don't want to have this conversation. We need to wash everything. Before someone else sees it."
"I will have the maid do it."
"God, no!" I gushed. "Please, no. Let me."
Dominic rolled his eyes and kissed my cheek repeatedly. "Silly girl. Answer my earlier question please, it's important."
I glared sharply at him. "Dom, I am trying to be more open with you. But I do not want to talk about my monthly cycle with myself, let alone with anyone else."
He leaned close to me again, sniffing my throat and then my hair. "You smell healthy. And by your reaction, I would assume you knew this was coming. So I will take that as a yes, they are regular. Which means you should begin to ovulate within a couple weeks. When we begin to try for pups, it is vital that we both know your cycle so that we can have the best chance of getting you pregnant."
I frowned at him. "That's gross. Stop thinking like that."
"I won't be able to. Now that I am aware of your cycle, my wolf will become extremely restless when you are at your most fertile."
"Dominic," I hissed, mortified. "Ew." It always weirded me out how easily Shifters talked about the female cycles and having sex to produce offspring. It was like they were all super comfortable with it. They even compared their mates' cycles in front of each other and talked about their ability to conceive. I'd rather pee lightning than talk about that with anyone, let alone another couple.
He chuckled, pinching my side teasingly to bring me back to earth. "Let me go change. I'll be back. I want you to lay back and take your top off while I'm gone, so I can get rid of those cramps."
Our eyes met and his gaze left no room for argument. "Don't get handsy," I told him. "I am not in the mood to battle your sexual needs this week. Or the next three, for that matter."
With a laugh, Dominic swiftly stole a kiss before standing up. "You are so funny. I will try my hardest, my lady." He bowed dramatically before ripped all the bedding off in one powerful swoop, almost throwing me off of the bed in the process.
Dominic set the bedding down in a heap on the floor, not even bothering to hide the red stains on it while he strolled to the bathroom, unaffected by the fact that he had period blood on his bedsheets and his pants. With an annoyed sigh, I folded the sheets and bedding up carefully and set them by the door, so that I could easily take them down to be washed. "Dom?" I called towards the bathroom.
"Hm?"
"Where is your laundry room?" I asked. When giving me the grand tour of the place, I realized that he hadn't mentioned one. "You have one of those, right?"
He laughed, though it was slightly muffled by the door between the bathroom and the bedroom. "Yes, I have one of those. We can worry about that later, sugar. I want to help with your cramps."
"I don't need help with them, what I need is some advil and a washing machine," I responded.
The door to the bathroom opened, Dom standing there with nothing but a towel covering his jiggly bit. My eyes were wide as saucers as I saw the deep v-line that disappeared behind the cloth, the mark on my neck warming and tingling. He smirked in satisfaction at me, but didn't move. "I told you earlier. Take off your top. Get on the bed. I'm going to make you feel good."
Mwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha