CHAPTER 7
DOMINIC
Kirby hasn’t allowed us to get all that close to her over the last few days, not since the night that we barged into the room where she was having a session with a sub. I know I’m not the only one affected by what happened that night, and I’m not just talking about Wolfe and Hendrix either.
There have been moments when I’ve caught Kirby watching us out of the corner of her eye. I swear I could see longing in her eyes, even as she tried to ignore us. Watching her talk to Charlie and other men who approached her had me considering going on a killing spree.
The only thing holding me back was the knowledge of how disappointed she would be if we gave into the blood lust. The only person I’ve ever been worried about disappointing is my mom. And now Kirby. It’s kind of a mind fuck.
What has kept me going, what has kept us going, are the small moments when we’ve been able to talk to Kirby.
Honestly, I was expecting her to freeze us out completely, but we’ve been able to have short conversations with her from time to time over the last few days. It wasn’t like we talked about anything serious, and we sure as fuck didn’t bring up her past or the role that we played in it. Still, they’ve been little moments worth cherishing.
It’s felt like walking through a field and picking flowers along the way. I’ve tucked each interaction into my soul, creating a bouquet slowly, one full of meaning. I hope she feels the same way, but it’s hard to get a read on her.
I know Hendrix and Wolfe feel the same way, maybe not the flower part though. But, hell, you never know. It wouldn’t be surprising to know they feel something similar.
Not knowing if Kirby is there with us is hard, but I also know I can’t push her. At least I haven’t been able to yet.
Tonight is different though because we had to do some work and couldn’t ignore it. Not that we would have, but it’s possible that we would have tried. Considering the reports we’ve gotten about some of Mikhail’s associates selling drugs on the streets of Seattle, we had no choice but to try and track someone down and put the fear of the devil and his demons in their heart.
Since our hunt was a bust, I’m on fucking edge.
Not only are we late getting to Club Sin to see our woman, but we don’t have anything to show for it. Blood is pumping through my veins and I’m just enough on the edge of my control to be dangerous.
Not to my Phoenix; never to her.
The moment we step into the main room of Club Sin, I see Charlie following Kirby like a lost fucking puppy. I don’t even think about it as I stride over to her and throw her over my shoulder without missing a step. I can feel Wolfe and Hendrix at my back.
Charlie makes a small yelping sound, but I shoot him a look, one I hope conveys that Kirby isn’t in danger from me and that he needs to back the fuck off.
“We’ve got her, Charlie,” Hendrix murmurs.
Wolfe moves in front of me, and I know, without him saying a damn thing, that he’ll make sure to intercept anyone who tries to stop me. Kirby lands a punch to my kidney that has me letting out a low, painfilled grunt, but it doesn’t stop me.
Nothing could stop me right now.
Not her anger.
Not her fire.
Not a damn person stepping into my path.
I need our woman. This day has been complete shit, even more so after the pure torture of not having our woman in my arms for the last few days. I can’t do it anymore. I won’t.
I’ve been trying to not push her, but I think she needs a little shove. Normally, I think long and hard about my actions, but I also listen to my instincts. We need this.
It only takes a few minutes to get back downstairs and leave The Centennial building behind me. I only shift my hold on our woman when I’m standing at our SUV. Wolfe opens the door, and I slide into the backseat with Kirby on my lap.
Her eyes, normally more like a slate blue, are practically glowing and have turned a brighter blue. I’m mesmerized for a moment and don’t see her hands move until it’s almost too late. Just before she can land a punch to my jaw, I grip her wrist but make sure it’s not enough to hurt her.
I make a tsking sound and shake my head slowly. “Violence isn’t the answer, little Phoenix,” I admonish her.
She narrows her eyes, her voice downright glacial, “Abduction isn’t the answer either.”
When the front doors of the vehicle slam closed, she startles slightly, her eyes widening as if she just realized exactly what kind of situation she’s in. I expect her to come at me again with her claws, but she scrambles off my lap and presses herself to the opposite door.
My heart sinks and I second guess myself for a second. Fuck. I should have thought harder about my actions. This is so not like me.
“We’ll never hurt you, Kirby,” Hendrix’s voice is a gentle seduction.
Kirby blinks a few times and looks between us. I almost breathe a sigh of relief that there’s nothing frantic in the movement. But it’s not until her shoulders drop that I start to relax.
“I know you’d never hurt me,” she snarls the words.
It’s not like I can blame her; not really.
I did just walk into where she’s working, throw her over my shoulder, and walked right the fuck back out. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to apologize for it, but that doesn’t mean I can lie and say I don’t understand why she’s pissed.
“What the fuck were you thinking?” The color of her eyes turns greyer and darken as she pierces me with her gaze. “You could get in real trouble for doing that. You know they have security and management and shit. What if someone tried to stop you?”
The vehemence in her words, as well as the fact that she was more concerned about me than herself, is slow to sink in and time seems to slow around us. The way Wolfe sucks in a breath tells me the impact of her words aren’t lost on him either.
“No one was going to stop me,” I let my surety of that, especially with my brothers having my back, fill each word.
Kirby’s lip peels back in the most adorable snarl I’ve ever seen. It’s not easy, but I hold back my laughter, but I can’t stop myself from smiling at her. The way she glares at me makes it clear that she’s not pleased with my reaction to her.
“Why did you even do that?” Behind the hard tone of her question, is a hint of curiosity.
I’ll fucking take it.
“We had a shit day, and we were late coming to see you. I wasn’t going to share you tonight or be able to handle staying there and playing the game we’ve been playing.”
“Not going to share me?” She arches her eyebrow with a pointed look at Hendrix and Wolfe in the front as we move through the city. The challenge on her face isn’t lost on me, but it doesn’t bother me in the least.
“It’s different and you know it.”
The huff she lets out is fucking adorable. So is the way she crosses her arms across her chest. Fuck. It pushes her tits up in the silk camisole she’s wearing tonight. It hugs her and skims across her body at the same time; how is that even possible?
Kirby grumbles, “Where are we going?”
“Our place,” Wolfe pipes up from the front, a giddy quality in his voice.
I can feel the way Kirby looks at me out of the corner of her eye. She can look all she wants. I’m hers anyway.
It’s a little strange because I wasn’t expecting to find a woman that I want with the desperation I feel when it comes to her. I suppose that I could try and figure out what it is about her, but I don’t need to. I’ve accepted the way she makes me feel—the protectiveness, the need, the desire—and that’s all there is to it.
The fact that life and fate brought our paths together again after so long means something. It must. Right?
Silence descends as we get closer to our place, but it’s not uncomfortable. I’m only a little surprised that she’s not fighting us more, but it’s not like it would change anything. I can only hope that her silence means that she’s started to accept what we are to each other.
When we arrive at our place, Hendrix is out from behind the wheel and opening the back door where Kirby is sitting before I even realize what is going on. His hands are gentle as he pulls her out of the SUV and throws her over his shoulder. I chuckle under my breath as Kirby lets out an annoyed huff and grumbles something I can’t quite hear.
Anticipation thrums through me when the door closes behind us with a thump. Wolfe must be feeling it too because he’s practically bouncing on the balls of his feet, his eyes wide and a little wild.
He grins at me before he steps closer and drops his voice an octave, “I can’t fucking believe you threw her over your shoulder like that. I thought for sure Hendrix was going to be the one to break first.”
I smirk and shrug one shoulder like it’s not a big deal even though we know it is. Now that I’ve accepted the fact that I need Kirby in my life, I’m determined to make it happen. It has become very clear to me that we need her. Even more importantly, she needs us.
Hendrix looks around the living room for a moment as if he’s not sure where to go or what to do. The indecision doesn’t last long. Then he’s taking long strides which take him up the stairs and toward the bedrooms. While Wolfe and I have decent sized rooms, Hendrix’s room is the primary; I’m not surprised when he doesn’t stop until he steps inside his room.
Kirby lets out a sound from the back of her throat that has my cock going from hard to a steel fucking rod. I want to be buried inside of her and feel her tight, wet heat. I know she’s going to squeeze my length just fucking right.
Wolfe’s voice is soothing, “We might have brought you back here without your consent, our Phoenix, but nothing else will happen unless you want it to.”
Her mouth twists into a smirk that has me taking a step closer. While I do need the words, we all do, I know her answer already. It’s written all over her face and in the way her eyes flash with need and desire.
Even though she’s been working in kink clubs and giving her clients their desires, I have to wonder when the last time her passions were fueled. When was the last time she was put first without it being about what a man wants and desires?
I say a silent vow to myself that I’ll be putting her pleasure first and making sure that we take her out of her head.
“Before you answer,” Hendrix’s growled tone is filled with want, “this won’t be what you’re used to. While we won’t demand your complete submission, you will give up the control you’ve been holding onto so tightly.”
Kirby narrows her eyes as I give him a sharp look of my own. But he doesn’t care. He keeps his gaze steady and sure. I’m sure he wants to show her the truth of his words and that she can trust him, trust us, with what is being asked of her.
I can completely understand why she has held tight to her control after what happened to her. She needed it to feel secure. But we were there, we helped to rescue her. That has to count for something. As the silence stretches and my soul yearns for her to understand and for her trust, I realize just how deeply I need and crave it.
Over the years my brothers and I have realized how closely we resemble each other when it comes to our deepest desires. The thought of chasing her while she knows she’s safe but hunted makes me want to drive out to the land we own on the outskirts of the city and turn her loose.
Fuck.
I glance over and meet Wolfe’s gaze. The predatory look in his eyes and the feral grin on his face tells me he’s thinking the exact same thing as I am.
But first she has to be willing to give herself over to us tonight. Can she? Can she put that kind of trust in us?
My breath stalls in my lungs as it feels like the moment stretches. It yawns. It thrums with what could be but may never come to fruition.
Just as it feels like it’s time to give up hope, Kirby takes a deep, slow breath. There’s a softness in her voice, a vulnerability, she’s hidden from us until this moment, “I want this.” She looks me in the eye before doing the same with Wolfe and then Hendrix. “I want you. You were,” her eyes close slowly and she swallows hard before opening her flinty eyes, the resolve there shored and strong, “there. I know I’m safe with you. I know you won’t hurt me. I’m not scared of you or this,” the last word is whispered so softly that I’m not entirely sure she said it.
Her admittance, her acceptance, is a balm to my soul. And I can breathe again.
When Hendrix takes a step closer to her, I do as well. Wolfe and I flank her sides as Hendrix takes her face in his hands.
“Thank you,” there is reverence and gratitude in Hendrix’s words, “we will never allow you to regret this, our Phoenix.”