Chapter 23 #2
A lone tear dropped down Dominic’s cheek.
I wiped it away. He was as still as a statue, not breathing, not moving.
For some reason, that gave me the strength to keep talking.
“They were rich white kids. One was the son of the college dean, another was the son of the police commissioner, and another was the son of a lawyer. Not only did we not get any justice, but they also made our lives hell. They got my dad fired from his work and bullied us into leaving the city. I never graduated. I lived with my parents for a year, depressed and broken. And it wasn’t just me who broke.
They broke my family. My parents were utterly defeated.
My own father couldn’t look me in the eye.
My mother constantly cried and worried about my future.
My little sister was terrified to go to school.
She was afraid of her own classmates. My younger brother got into so many fights.
We were all just so fucking broken. So one day, I just packed my bag and left my house.
I couldn’t watch my family suffer. I couldn’t handle what I’d let happen to my family.
Every time they saw me, their faces dropped.
They forgot to smile. They forgot to live. And I couldn’t take it. I…”
“You…what, sweetheart? ”
I looked into his eyes and found nothing but kindness. Compassion. No pity. And I was grateful. “I miss them,” I whispered in a broken voice. “I miss them so much.”
Dominic’s chest heaved. Pure anguish tore through his chest. “You haven’t seen them since then?”
Tears rolled down my cheeks freely. I quickly wiped them off, loath to give my past power over me.
“I couldn’t before. But after I got my revenge, I became a Wildcat.
And if…if something were to happen to me, I couldn’t put them through that kind of suffering again.
I did send them a letter that the rapists were taken care of.
That I was alive. That it was time for me to move away for a while.
I check in on them often, just to see if they’re okay.
And it seems they are. I just can’t risk their lives. I can’t be that selfish.”
A hundred words seemed to be on the tip of his tongue. His eyes burned with red-hot rage as helplessness like never before appeared on his face. But only four words escaped his lips. “Tell me they’re dead.”
My mind flashed with the memories of the sweet, sweet revenge I’d exacted on those three scums. I still remember their tortured screams, their whimpering apologies, the warmth of their blood on my fingers, the coldness of their dead bodies.
I met Dominic’s eyes, and mine were filled with the memories of cold vengeance. “They’re dead.”
His chest expanded as his fist clenched tightly on my thigh. “Tell me they suffered.”
A victorious smile came over my face. Softly, I held his face. “They’re the first three dicks I chopped off.”
“That’s my girl. My vicious fucking tigress.
” He rose on his knees and pulled me into his arms, tucking my face in the crook of his neck.
“I’m so fucking sorry that happened to you.
It kills me, fucking guts me, that two of my favorite women had to suffer.
I want to bring those fuckers back to life and kill them all over again. ”
I nuzzled into his chest, breathing in his spicy sandalwood scent. Warmth spread through my body, thawing the coldness that had seeped into my bones. He gently ran his fingers through my hair as he kept apologizing.
I pressed a light kiss on his neck. “It’s okay, Dominic. It was a long time ago.”
I felt him shake his head over me. “It’s never okay.
” All of a sudden, he froze. He pulled me out of his arms by my shoulders and looked down at me.
A severe frown line ran between his eyebrows as he clenched his jaw.
“Maira, I wasn’t exactly gentle or kind while we were intimate.
Did I hurt you? Was I too rough? Too blunt? ”
I loved that he worried. I gave him a small, consoling smile. “You were perfect. For a long time, I didn’t have sex with anyone. However, over time, I began to learn about my own body. What I liked. What triggered me. What made me soar.”
“And?” He sat back on his knees near my feet and took my hands in his. It seems like he needed the touch more than I did.
I caressed the side of his face, playing with the strand of hair that fell over his forehead. “With the right person, I like to give up control. I like rough sex. I love to be mishandled a little under my explicit consent. Makes me feel like I’m reclaiming a part of me that I lost.”
“I would never do anything without your consent. Please tell me you know that.”
I pressed a kiss on the line between his eyebrows.
“Dominic, maybe it’s the way we met or the circumstances that brought us together, but I’ve never felt wary of you.
My mind and my body have never, not even for a second, considered you a threat.
There is nobody I trust more than you to not only ask for my consent but also give me exactly what I need.
Your one kiss was better than all my past experiences combined. ”
“Fuck, baby. You’re going to be the death of me. And please don’t talk about your past experiences. It makes me want to punch something.”
I chuckled. “On the contrary, I’m here to protect you from a certain death. Don’t you forget that.”
“Hmm. Can’t even try.” He pressed his lips to my forehead, breathing me in. Goose bumps raced across my skin with the way he was being soft and careful with me. Like he needed to just hold me and didn’t plan on letting me go.
How was I ever going to let him go? Dominic was slowly burrowing his way into my heart, making himself fucking vital for my happiness.
With every conversation, with every kiss, with every soft smile, I was turning greedier and more obsessive.
I wanted his laughs. I wanted his early morning kisses.
I wanted to sleep with him buried inside me.
I wanted to wake up with my nose pressed against his throat.
I wanted to cook him my chai. I wanted to eat breakfast with him and his family.
I wanted to ride my bike with him. I wanted to watch a movie with my head in his lap as he caressed my hair.
I wanted to protect him. I wanted to please him. I wanted to kill for him. And I would.
My heart knew I wouldn’t let anybody else have him.
My body knew it would jump in front of a hundred bullets before they ever reached him.
But my brain, the logical, practical part of my mind, the part that had seen and experienced the cruelties of this world, that understood the consequences of actions and the price to be paid to love someone, refused to claim him. All it wanted to do was keep him safe.
Dominic stood from where he sat, pulling a wounded sound from my chest. He pressed a kiss to my head. “Just give me a minute.”
My hands tightened into fists as I watched him walk back to his table.
He pressed a button on the phone, and Kai’s voice came over the speaker.
Dominic’s voice was straight to the point when he said, “Kai, I’ll send you my report by tonight.
I’ll be leaving now. If you get any calls for me, please take a message and email me the transcripts. ”
“You got it. Have a good evening.”
He turned his computer off and looked at me. “You ready to go?”
I got up and packed my laptop in my purse. “Where are we going?”
He moved closer to me and held my neck. “Home, baby. I need to hold you and feed you cake in bed. That’s the only plan I have for us.”
Laughter burst out of me. I flexed my biceps. “You think I got these muscles by eating cake in bed?”
He grabbed my hand and moved it over his rock-hard abs. “I’ve eaten many a cake in bed and kept these. You won’t lose those guns if you eat it once.”
“You’re spoiling me, Dominic. This bodyguard gig is starting to sound more and more like a vacation.”
He pressed a soft kiss on my lips as if he couldn’t help himself. “First, feeding you cake in bed is hardly spoiling you. Second, if you want, we can fight it out in the ring after.”
Now that had me smiling like a fool. “Sounds perfect.”
He mock-gasped. “Wow, so beating me up sounds better to you than eating cake in bed, huh?”
I lightly jumped and wrapped my arm around his throat in a headlock. “Gotta toughen you up, baby.”
I quickly let him go as he tickled my ribs and said, “Let’s go. I’ll text Maxim to pull the car around to the entrance.”
I led the way from his office to the car. While he answered some of his emails, I realized how Dominic had managed to pull me out of the darkest memories of my past with his warm hugs and soft kisses. And I knew there was nothing I wouldn’t do for this man.
Whoever dared to harm him was going to pay.