Chapter 2
Dominik
Fisting her hair, I jerked her head back and smirked when she moaned.
Then I drove deeper inside of her.
Feeling her heat.
Tightening around my cock.
“That’s it, Minx, milk it dry.”
She moaned again as she wove her fingers into my hair, then it was time for me to moan.
I brought my thumb up and started circling her clit, all the while moving my lips to the column of her throat, my beard tickling the sensitive flesh there.
“Give it to me, Minx. All of it.”
She cried out, “Dom.”
I grinned, then pulled out and slammed home, over and over again.
Repeating the process until her body was shaking, until her perfect little pussy clamped around my cock.
Then I was following her right over the edge.
It was moments later when I whispered, “Fucking love your pussy, Minx.”
She tossed her head back, laughing, and said, “Fucking love your cock, why do you think I keep coming back for more?”
I pinched her ass cheek, “Minx.”
She laughed.
Then I pulled out of her tight heat and marveled at the way her pussy didn’t seem to want to let me go.
“Fuck, love you, Dom.”
I winked, “Fuck, love you too, Talia.
***
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
I slapped the alarm clock and groaned, then shoved my hard cock into the mattress and groaned again for my misery.
Not a-fucking-gain.
Another fucking dream where I was fucking Talia Vienne Griggs.
Fuck. Me.
The name she called me, Dom, should have clued me in that it was a dream.
Yeah, I know, I don’t let her call me Dom, because like the sucker I am when it comes to Talia Vienne Griggs, hearing my full name on her lips, it’s like a calming balm for my soul.
***
Sparkles – Eat me, Paul Bunyan.
Be a fucking pleasure.
But I didn’t say that.
Instead, I typed out something else.
Me – Thanks, but no thanks. I don’t want syphilis.
Sparkles – Dickhead.
I snorted.
Then my mind went back to the day she had told me about a woman she worked with, whose daughter had leukemia. Talia had spent a few hours with her, and she loves anything sparkly. It had made her day to see the little girl so happy.
I recall the way my face went soft.
Just like it did in that very moment.
Fuck. Me.
***
Last night I had done something I rarely do.
I apologized, but I did it without words.
I knew she didn’t know that.
And that would be another secret, I got to keep.
But it was also because, for a few brief moments, I got to be close to her, breathing her in, as I placed a kiss on her forehead.
Chocolate and cherries.
I often wondered if she did that on purpose. Hunting for those combined scents in a perfume.
My fucking kryptonite.
***
I was in bay three working on an old Ford Fairlane when I heard a shout.
I looked up and, seeing who it was, I smiled.
Then I grabbed the rag and headed over to the group.
Callie, Caine, Briar, Brent, and Grant.
Caine and Briar owned Sawyers, the auto body shop, a few towns over.
Callie, Brent, and Grant worked for them.
Then I heard, “Big Foot?”
I sighed, trying to hide how happy it made me that I was going to see her today.
Seeing Talia walk into the shop in a pair of tight-fitted jeans and a white blouse that was tight up top and flowed around her waist.
I jerked my chin up at her.
She looked at Callie, Caine, Briar, Brent, and Grant, smiled at them, then turned her gaze to me and narrowed her eyes as she kept walking.
She had her little finger in my chest pushing, when she said, “Guess what I was asked at Frozen Tree a little bit ago?”
I smirked, “That you sell feet pics to pay your bills?”
She gasped, “It was you.”
I snorted, then I nodded.
Then I said, “You deserved payback for telling Mrs. Donaldson that I wouldn’t mind giving her a happy ending.”
She snickered, then she snorted.
Shaking her head, she turned on her foot and walked away.
My eyes went right to her ass.
Fuck. Me.
It was a damn sight better than Mrs. Donaldson. She was seventy-eight.
She had told me that she could show me some moves I’ve never seen before.
And I had informed her that it wasn’t true, that Talia was giving me a hard time.
She had sighed and said, “Oh, you two.”
Talia climbed into her Jeep and pulled out of the parking lot.
“You're going to marry that girl,” Callie said.
My head snapped in her direction as I narrowed my eyes at her, “Don’t you go pushing your lovey-dovey shit my way.
She snickered, “It’s not lovey dovey shit, Dom. Known you almost all my life. Never seen you act like that with anyone else. They either get grunted at or ignored. Or in our case, yelled at.” Callie said with a snicker.
Grant and Brent nodded.
Caine chuckled, then he wrapped his arm around Briar and pulled her close and said, “Or they get the death glare.”
Callie snickered.
“At least I don’t tell everyone they can suck my nuts,” I said as I lifted a brow at Callie. She had done that on more than one occasion.
Callie snickered, “Speak for yourself, Crunch.”
“Gah, am I ever going to live that name down?” I asked.
It was as if the entire scene had been choreographed. Callie, along with Caine, Briar, Brent, and Grant, said, “Not a chance.”
I had been learning about cars and things from Briar’s grandfather, Sawyer, ever since I was twelve years old.
See, I would have asked my father, but he died in a freak accident when a drunk driver ran into his car when he was on the way home from work when I was six.
And my ma, bless her heart, wanted to give me everything I wanted.
She had been used to having help, and then suddenly, she had to be both mom and dad.
When I had asked her about learning more about cars, she had called around and gotten Sawyer.
The old man was knowledgeable about everything, and I learned it all from him.
Now, as for the Crunch nickname... I said I could drive a manual, when I couldn’t... yep, ran that old truck right into the side of a building and it made a crunching sound.
Hence the nickname, Crunch.
I shook my head at them and asked, “So, what brings y’all by?”
Briar smiled, “We wanted to talk to you and Garrick. We found a rare car out in a field. We’d like y’all to restore it and make it into its former glory for a shop piece.”
Caine nodded, “We remodeled the shop about a year or so ago. We have been looking for the perfect piece to showcase there, but we were unable to find anything until Grant stumbled upon it.”
I nodded, then asked, “Well, what is it?”
Grant grinned, “A 1967 Chevy II Nova L79.”
At the description of the car, I whistled through my teeth.
Holy. Shit.
They only made six or seven of them that year.
“Damn good find,” I said.
Then I called Garrick over, and we hammered out the details.
After agreeing to bring the car to us in a few weeks, they left.
***
“Okay, Shorty. Where are we going?” I asked Sage as I buckled her into her booster seat.
She smiled, showing off two of the teeth she had lost over the course of the past two months. And said, “Frozen Tree.”
I nodded, then closed her door.
Once a week, I took Sage out for a little date.
I was her godfather after all.
The moment I climbed into the driver’s seat, I started my SUV, and we were off.
Just then, her favorite song came on, and before she could say, Turn it up, Uncle Dom , I turned it up.
Sage’s favorite song started with, Turn it up .
Just then, as we were both singing Sweet Home Alabama, Talia’s two-door Jeep Wrangler pulled up next to us.
She looked into the open windows, waved at Sage, and then flipped me off inconspicuously by rubbing her right cheek with her middle finger.
I chuckled.
We were still singing along as I pulled into the parking lot.
And like I always do, I waited until the song was finished before I turned my SUV off.
We had just sat down at one of the picnic benches they had outside, when a woman walked over to us, smiled, and said, “Oh, my. You and your daughter are so cute.”
I looked down at Sage, who, just like her daddy, rolled her eyes. I chuckled.
I nodded at the woman and then kept eating my ice cream.
She wasn’t bad-looking.
But her dark hair didn’t have that shine to it.
Her blue eyes didn’t have those little flecks of green in them.
And her body, it wasn’t curvy and perfect.
Then I looked up and watched as Talia drove past.
Her head was banging to a rock song, and she was in her own little world.
“Umm, did you hear what I said?” The woman asked.
I shook my head, but it was Sage who filled me in, “She asked if you were single.”
I nodded at Sage, “Thanks, Shorty.” Then I looked up at the woman, “I am, but I’m not interested.”
My mind went straight to Talia, and I wondered where she had gone, what she had done.
Then I shook it. I need to get her out of my head.
I couldn’t go there for a few reasons.
And I was keeping those reasons to myself.
I didn’t need to go down that rabbit hole.
Not when I was spending time with Sage.
And like the bond the two of us shared, we both ignored the woman and kept eating our ice cream.
The moment we were finished, I asked, “Okay, Shorty. What’s next?”
Her little sable-colored eyes, just like her mother’s, lit up, “That new Jurassic movie is out. Can we go see it?”
I lifted a brow at her, “You going to be able to sit still?”
She giggled, then she nodded.
I stood, held out my hand for her, and then we both walked around the woman who had still been standing there.
I got her all buckled in. Then said, “Let me check with your mom, okay?”
She nodded and smiled.
I rounded the SUV, climbed in, pulled my phone out, scrolled to Tatum’s name, and shot her a text.
Me – Okay to take Sage to that new Jurassic movie?
I started the SUV and started driving in the direction of the drive-in.
My phone pinged not even a few minutes later.
Tatum – Yes, please. She’s been talking about it, but with the expansion y’all did to the garage, we haven’t had the time. Thank you, Dom.
Then I pocketed my phone and winked at Sage in the rear-view mirror.
She fist pumped the air.
I laughed.
***
The Griggs family had welcomed me in with open arms after I made friends with Garrick.
And that was why my ass was in a seat at all their family dinners.
This one included.
The meal had been great.
Chopped brisket sandwiches and fresh-cut fries.
When I heard Misty call out, “Dom?”
I lifted my head at her and said, “Yes?”
She looked at Talia, who had surprisingly been quiet the entire night, and I watched as Misty’s face softened.
I got it.
She felt bad for taking my side.
And... so did I.
I winked at her and nodded.
She smiled.
But Talia tensed ever so carefully.
I hadn’t missed it.
And that alone told me Misty had not yet apologized to Talia.
Just another one of the reasons I gave Talia a hard time.
My Ma had been right.
Being the so-called surprise baby and the only girl in their family other than Misty, it had forced her to dull her shine.
And now that I realized it had been happening, I made a silent vow to her.
I was going to help her let that light shine.
I just didn’t know how... but I would figure it out.