Chapter 27
Dominic
Ifeel like I’m suspended somewhere between heaven and hell. My head is screaming at me to stop before this goes any further, but my heart … damn, it’s all fucking in.
My hand glides over the outside of her underwear, and when she widens her stance slightly, I can already feel her wetness through the fabric. My cock is so hard it threatens to bust through the zipper of my jeans.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been intimate with a woman, too damn long, but Emily Ashford isn’t just any woman; she’s the holy grail. Utter fucking perfection.
She ignites the kind of fire you can’t ignore, the kind that burns through everything else until all that’s left is raw, uncontrolled desire.
“Em,” I groan as the tip of my finger slips underneath the elastic. She’s dripping fucking wet and completely bare.
I want to turn her around, lift her onto the countertop and bury my face between her sweet thighs, but I can’t do that. I shouldn’t even be doing this.
She arches her back and moans softly when my fingers slip between her folds, gliding back and forth through her slick heat. Fuck, I need this woman so badly; it’s going to be the worst kind of torture to deny myself and walk away once I’m done.
“Dom,” she whispers, lifting an arm and hooking it around my neck.
“Emily,” I murmur back, lowering my head to the crook of her neck, letting my lips rest against her soft skin, wishing it were her mouth I was kissing instead.
“Yes,” she breathes when my finger alternates between circling her nub and moving down to slip the tip of one digit inside her. I do this over and over until her body begins to tremble.
She’s fucking soaked and so damn tight. My dick leaks with precum as it throbs with need. Need for her.
When Emily widens her stance further, I slip two fingers knuckle deep inside her, using my palm to stimulate her clit.
“Dominic,” she moans, and hearing her say my name in that tone is going to replay in my head on repeat forever.
She bends her legs slightly, bearing down, and taking more of me into her sweet pussy. It’s so fucking hot, I swear I almost blow my load then and there.
“Come for me, cupcake,” I growl against her skin as my thick fingers pump into her at such an alarming rate that my dick becomes jealous.
My other hand is still palming her tit as I drag her body closer until my cock digs into the base of her spine.
“I-I’m …” she stutters as the inner muscles of her tight pussy clench around my fingers. “Ahhhh, Dom.”
She starts rolling her hips, and the little noises she’s making are driving me wild. “That’s it, baby, fuck my fingers.” I tug her even closer, my dick desperate for any kind of friction.
I don’t stop pumping into her until her body goes limp in my arms. My hand on her tit moves down to circle her waist, keeping her upright.
The other slowly withdraws from her body and underwear, and I groan the second I bring them to my mouth, sucking off all her juices.
This woman ruins me in the best possible way.
I give her a moment to recover before I release her and take a step back. For some reason, I have this burning need to apologise, but I don’t.
I’m not sorry for what I did. I want to do it again, and again, and again. I want to do so much more. Like bury myself deep inside her and never leave.
When she turns to face me, wearing one of those sweet smiles I adore, I take another step back, because if I don’t, I’m going to drag her straight into my arms again.
“I have to go out for a while,” I say.
The smile drops off her face. “Why?”
“I have a job to do.”
“A job?” Something shifts behind her eyes.
Hurt, doubt, and that quiet kind of panic she tries to hide sometimes.
I know exactly what she’s thinking. That I’m going to see another woman.
That I’d choose someone else over her, and the thought cuts her to the bone.
I can see it. I bet that slimy fucking ex of hers cheated on her.
I know what those bikies are like with their club sluts.
Doesn’t she realise she’s the only woman I think about? The only one I crave? The one I can’t seem to get out of my damn head no matter how much I try?
“Can you watch Lil’ Peach for me while I’m gone?”
“Do I have a choice?”
I clear my throat. “Yeah, you do. I have to swing by and pick up Romeo, so I can leave her with Lucia if you don’t want to watch her.”
She turns her face away, staring at the backsplash like it’s the most interesting thing in the world. I can practically see her mind ticking over from here.
She’s been hurt, lied to, and betrayed. Her trust has been broken, and I know what that feels like, so I step forward and cup her face, bringing her eyes back to meet mine.
“I have a job to do tonight, and when I’m done, I’m coming straight home. I haven’t been with a woman since I got custody of Peach, Emily,” I admit.
Her pretty blue eyes widen. “You haven’t, but—”
“It’s been years,” I say, cutting her off. “My niece always took precedence.”
“I-I …” When I see tears rise to her eyes, I brush the pad of my thumb across her cheekbone.
“Shh,” I breathe as I lean in to place a soft kiss on her temple. “Go to bed, Em, and if I can find a pharmacy open while I’m out, I’ll bring something home for your sunburn.”
With that, I drop my hands and turn, heading for the front door. If I don’t get the fuck out of this house right now, I’m going to do something stupid, like take her to my room and show her just how much she means to me.
Since I had to virtually go past Romeo’s and Dante’s places to meet up with Lorenzo, it made sense to grab them on the way.
Lorenzo organised a vehicle for us to use. Something clean, untraceable, and nothing that can ever be linked back to us. We might be vengeful, but we’re not idiots.
I’m lost in my own head, replaying everything that happened with Emily, quietly beating myself up for not being strong enough to say no when she practically begged me to touch her.
She’s my addiction, my obsession, so saying no was like trying to stop an alcoholic from drinking when the bottle’s been their only company for years.
“You okay?” Romeo asks when I leave his place, heading towards Dante’s.
When I keep my head trained forward and grunt in reply, he chuckles beside me.
By the time we pull up near the Steel Reapers’ clubhouse, we’re all silent and focused on the job ahead. As I predicted, this place is a fucking dive, and just looking at it makes my jaw tighten, knowing it’s somewhere Emily should have never been.
Lorenzo has everything we need stored in the car’s boot, so we pull up our black hoods, slide our hands into the gloves Dante provided, and exit the vehicle.
We discussed how this would play out in length earlier today.
After we cut through the lock on the gate with bolt cutters, we move through the shadows, hitting every entry point one by one.
Heavy chains rattle in our hands as we lock each door from the outside, sealing the whole place shut.
It’s methodical, controlled, not sloppy or rushed.
When the last lock clicks, Lorenzo tosses Dante a look, a question and a confirmation all in one.
Dante nods once, and a grin tugs at the corner of Lorenzo’s mouth. I catch the spark of something like pure excitement in his eyes, and it makes me wonder if that’s the same look I get when Emily is around.
The boss signals for Romeo and me to follow him back to the car, ready for the firebug to do his thing.
I lean against the vehicle, watching as the accelerant pours out. Lorenzo has thoughtfully curated every move he makes.
The flames catch with a whoosh, bright and vicious, climbing the walls like they’ve been starving for years. The fire spreads fast, too fast for anyone inside to do a damn thing about it.
We stand back, watching the inferno devour the clubhouse. Even from this distance, the heat licks at our faces as black smoke spirals into the night. The flames roar, hungry and relentless, and serve as a warning to anyone who wants to fuck with the Famiglia.
No one says a word.
We don’t need to.
They tried to torch La Riviera. We simply made sure it wouldn’t happen again.
When Lorenzo dropped us back at my car, the distant wail of sirens was in the air, but that hellhole was long gone. The fire was already out of control by the time we drove away.
We stripped out of our hoodies and peeled off our gloves, leaving everything in the vehicle for Lorenzo to dispose of.
After dropping Dante and Romeo back at their houses, I headed into town to find a late-night pharmacy. I should’ve known Griffith wouldn’t have one with extended hours. One of the joys of living in the bumfuck of nowhere.
I ended up driving to Wagga Wagga. One hundred and eighty kilometres each way. A four-fucking-hour round trip. But I already knew there was nothing I wouldn’t do for that woman. I would’ve driven all the way to damn Sydney if need be.
When I stopped to fill up on the way home, I even considered grabbing Emily a bunch of those cheap, nasty gas-station flowers, but decided not to. I don’t want to give her the wrong idea. I crossed a line with her last night, one that can’t happen again.
What could I say to her anyway? I’m sorry I stuck my fingers deep inside your tight pussy and brought you to orgasm. Fuck that, I’m not sorry. It’s a rare moment I’ll carry with me forever, etched in my memory as one of the best in my life.
The sun is starting to peek over the horizon when I finally pull into the driveway.
I move as quietly as I can, slipping inside without a sound. Lil’ Peach’s room is the first one I pass, so I crack the door and peek inside. A smile tugs at my lips when I see her curled up with her teddy, sucking on her thumb as her breath comes out soft and even.
I head to Emily’s room next. She usually keeps it closed, so I get a shock when I see it wide open. Did she do that so she could hear my niece if she woke, or is it an invitation for me to join her?
I almost scoff at my last thought. She’s just lonely and confused. When she sees sense again, she’ll know I’m right. She’s been to hell and back these past few years, and dragging her into whatever this is between us would only make things worse.
That woman is a fucking goddess with a heart as golden as her hair. She deserves so much more than what I could ever give her, even if I wouldn’t hesitate to channel my inner Lorenzo and burn the entire fucking world down for her if push came to shove.
I intended to hang the paper bag I got from the pharmacy on her door handle, but when I reach her room, I hover on the threshold as an inner war rages inside me.
I’d give anything right now to be able to slip beneath those covers, bury my nose in her caramel-scented hair, and wrap her tightly in my arms.
From here, I can see she’s still sound asleep, and although I was never going to enter her room, my feet start moving of their own accord.
I pause when I reach the side of her bed, placing the bag on the bedside table. I also drop a wad of hundreds beside it, payment for looking after Lil’ Peach.
I grabbed everything the pharmacist recommended and more.
Inside the bag is a tube of aloe vera gel, a bottle of after-sun lotion, a small jar of hydrocortisone cream, some ibuprofen, a fragrance-free moisturiser, and a caramel-flavoured Chapstick that contains SPF. It’s similar to the one I have of hers.
It’s been sitting in my drawer since I moved her in. I no longer need to carry around a token if I have the real thing right here, living under my roof.
I stare down at her like a fucking creep.
Her long, golden hair fans out across the pillow, soft and almost glowing in the dim morning light.
Her lashes rest gently against her cheeks, and she looks almost untouchable.
Even in sleep, there’s a quiet strength about her, a pull I can’t fight, which fills me with a mix of longing and frustration.
She looks so peaceful.
So enticing.
So fucking mine, even if that’s just wishful thinking on my part.
Reaching down, I gently brush a lock of hair off her forehead. I take a step back, letting my hand fall away because I need to leave before I fuck things up again.