Ash lifted his hand and scratched his neck. “We’re friends.”
Dominic took a threatening step forward. “Let’s see how long that lasts, shall we?”
I stared at him. “What the hell does that mean?”
Dominic flicked his eyes to me. “It means he might have trouble breathing when Ryder finds out he was touching you like that.”
“Touching her like what, man?” Ash asked, his tone firm, as he grew impatient. “We’ve been on shift the last eight hours and for once we have ten minutes where a woman isn’t giving birth. We were just joking around. I was tickling her, not dry humping her.”
I nodded in agreement. “He’s tellin’ the truth and I don’t appreciate you insinuatin’ somethin’ other than harmless fun was goin’ on because I would never betray Ryder.” I frowned then. “He probably won’t even care anyway, he never does.”
I felt Ash take a step closer to me and Dominic quickly closed the distance between us, putting his body in the way of us.
“What?” Ash taunted. “Are you gonna hit me for seeing if my friend is okay?”
“I’ll see to her,” Dominic growled. “You go stare at a massacred pussy.”
He did not!
“Dominic!” I growled.
He held up his hand to shut me up. “I was there when Jax was born, don’t you try to convince me all births aren’t as horror filled as that. Bronagh makes me watch One Born Every Minute. I know what I’m talking about.”
“And the trained midwives don’t?” I questioned.
Ash shook his head and turned to me and asked, “Is he always this pigheaded?”
“Hey!” Dominic snapped, clearly offended.
“Yeah,” I replied to Ash. “He is.”
Dominic turned to face me and stared down at me, his expression displeased.
“Can we leave?” he asked me. “I don’t want to hurt your friend, but I will.”
I held his gaze. “You wouldn’t dare.”
He turned to his side and with his eyes on me, he lifted his arm and in the blink of an eye, he reached out and jabbed Ash in the shoulder with his left hand.
“Ow!” Ash gasped and grabbed hold of his shoulder. “That hurt, you arsehole.”
I blinked at Dominic as he shifted his gaze to Ash. “You bastard.”
“You challenged me,” he said to me without looking away from my friend.
I wanted to smack Dominic who leisurely dropped his hand to his side and laughed at Ash who was behaving like he was shot in his arm, instead of just being punched.
“It’s on fire!” He hissed and gripped it tightly, furiously rubbing the aching spot. “What the fuck is your hand made of? Steel?”
Dominic looked at Ash with distaste. “I barely touched you.”
“Barely…” Ash repeated, his eye-wide. “My future fucking grandchildren felt it.”
Dominic snorted, but said nothing further.
I shook my head in annoyance. “You’re being very immature and irrational right now, Dominic.”
He blinked. “I’ll apologize later.”
He was as stubborn as Ryder, if not worse.
“Get your stuff,” he continued. “It’s four, your shift here is over.”
I think what he meant to say was my time with Ash was over.
“Okay, I’ll get me coat and bag.” I pointed my index finger at Dominic and gestured to Ash with my head. “Leave him alone.”
“No promises,” he muttered.
I rolled my eyes and quickly scurried into the break room where I got my coat and bag from my locker. I put my coat on, hooked my bag over my shoulder and rushed back out front where I found Dominic and Ash staring at one another. Well, Ash was staring while Dominic was glaring.
“Stop it,” I hissed to Dominic and pinched his arm.
He grunted and rubbed the spot once before taking my arm and tugging me to his side. I resisted fighting him because I was in my place of work, I’d save the arse whooping I had in mind for him when I got home.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Bran,” Ash said as he backed away, his eyes on Dominic.
I sighed. “Bye, sweetie. I’m sorry about him.”
Ash waved me off like it was no big deal, and I hoped it was no big deal because I didn’t want Dominic’s rudeness to make him uncomfortable around me. I thought this over as I left the hospital and power walked ahead of Dominic all the way to his car.
“Why’re you running away from me?” he asked when he unlocked his car and we climbed inside.
I punched him on the shoulder when he was settled. “Because I can’t bash you outside, but in here I can.” I spat and punched him again.
“Are you supposed to be hurting me?” Dominic asked, grinning as he easily dodged my swinging hands. “Because you aren’t.”
I growled in frustration as I buckled my seatbelt and folded my arms across my chest.
“You’re bloody maddenin’!”
“Bronagh tells me that all the time,” he mused, not seeming bothered one bit.
“She’s not lyin’, you can be a real prick. How dare you behave like that on me ward? That’s me job, and co-worker, Dominic!”
He backed out of the hospital car park and pulled onto the main road.
“I didn’t like what I saw, so I acted on an impulse. Sue me.”
“I’d never cheat on Ryder.” I bit out. “Never fuckin’ ever.”
“I’m sorry if I implied you would.” He frowned. “I know you wouldn’t do that. I don’t know Ash but I do know that he likes you. It’s obvious.”
I widened my eyes. “We were jokin’ around! Ash is me friend. He flirts with everyone. Literally everyone.”
“If he knows you have a man, he shouldn’t flirt with you. Period.”
“You can’t just treat people like that though, Dominic. He was only messin’ around,” I scowled.
He grunted. “Sorry for making sure some stranger wasn’t groping you.”
I scoffed. “You could tell that we were jokin’ around. I was laughin’!”
“You can laugh without him touching you,” Dominic countered.
I glared at him then looked out the window of his Jeep, contemplating on whether or not to murder him.
“You might want to square shit with Ash because when I tell Ryder about this, he might end up in a body bag.”
I exploded.
“What the fuck are you goin’ to tell ‘im?” I angrily asked. “That me friend was ticklin’ me. Really?”
“Yeah,” Dominic countered. “Really.”
He was un-fucking-believable.
“I can’t talk to you anymore, I’ll go crazy!”
With that said, I focused my attention out of the car window until we pulled up outside my house some twenty minutes later.
“Thanks for the lift,” I said politely as I unbuckled my seatbelt and grabbed my bag, making sure not to look at Dominic for fear I’d bite his over-reacting head off his shoulders.
He grunted. “Remember what I said, tell Ash to back off.”
I set my jaw as I exited his Jeep and slammed the door behind me.
“Rude little bastard,” I muttered as I walked up the driveway of my garden.
I didn’t look back as I unlocked my front door and stepped inside my house, closing it firmly behind me. I hooked my keys up on the key rack and then headed into the kitchen, turning on the hallway light along the way. I hated the winter months; it got dark out way too bloody early. It was only nearing four pm and the sun was already set.
“Damien?” I called out; making sure my voice was loud enough to carry up the never-ending staircase.
I heard movement from upstairs then, “Yeah, Bran?”
“I’m makin’ cottage pie for dinner, do you want some?”