Chapter Three
Donny Rae
The clink of the heavy silver fork against the fine China sounded like gunshots in the dining room.
I couldn't even fix my mouth to eat, even though the spread laid out before me looked like a feast fit for a king: thick cuts of steak seared to a perfect medium-rare, roasted root vegetables glazed in honey, and a glass of dark red wine that probably cost more than my daddy's whole life.
I just sat there, feeling the weight of the black silk dress against my skin and the heavy, unyielding gaze of Dominic from across the table.
He didn't look like a thug right now. He looked like a monarch on a throne, his black button-down crisp and his movements smooth, but that cold, calculating look in his eyes told me he was still the most dangerous man I had ever encountered.
He watched me with a quiet intensity that made the fine hair on my arms stand up with his presence filling the room until it felt like there wasn't enough oxygen left for me to breathe.
"You ain't touched your plate, Donny," Dominic noted, his voice dropping an octave and vibrating through the air between us like a low rumble of thunder.
He wasn't yelling, but the sheer command in his tone made my spine straighten instinctively, my body reacting to his authority before my mind could even process a protest.
Dominic set his knife down with a slow, deliberate motion and leaned back in his leather chair, his large frame filling the space as he watched me with an expression that was impossible to read.
"I know you're stressed, and I know your mind is racing a mile a minute trying to find an exit that doesn't exist, but I don't run a house where my woman goes hungry so go ahead and take a bite for me before I have to come over here and feed you myself."
I looked at him, my heart doing double time against my ribs, and I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks despite the chill in the room.
It was crazy because I should've been trying to find a way to jump out of the window.
He did kidnap me and lock me in a room for three days, but something about the way Dominic called me his woman made a fluttery, terrifying sensation go off in the pit of my stomach that I couldn't explain.
I was a virgin, and I hadn't even been in a real relationship because the boys from my hood were always too loud, too messy, and too immature for me to take seriously.
However, Dominic was a different breed entirely.
He was stern, was hood as hell, but he carried himself with a quiet, expensive power that made me feel like the safest girl in the world, even though he was the one who had technically kidnapped me from the only life I knew.
"I'm just not used to all this, Dominic," I whispered, finally picking up the silver fork just to satisfy the demand in his eyes.
"One minute I'm at home trying to figure out how to pay the light bill and keep the fridge full, and the next, I'm being told I'm a wife in training because my father was too much of a coward to man up and pay his debts.
It's a lot to take in at once, and I don't even know who you really are under all this expensive jewelry and stone-cold talk about legacies and seeds. "
I took a small bite of the steak, and despite my fear, it tasted incredible. The rich flavors exploded on my tongue and reminded me that I hadn't eaten an actual meal in over twenty-four hours.
Before he could answer my question, the heavy double doors at the end of the hall swung open with a thud that made me jump nearly out of my seat.
I turned my head and saw an older man step into the room, leaning heavily on a silver-headed cane that clicked against the marble floor in a rhythm that felt like a heartbeat.
He looked just like Dominic but weathered by decades of stress and a sickness that you could see in the hollowness of his cheeks and the gray tint to his skin.
This was the man from the warehouse, Dominic's father, and the air in the room gotten ten times heavier the moment he stepped into the light.
Dominic stood up immediately, showing a level of respect that told me exactly how deep the Masters family tree's roots went, and for a second, the two men stood there in a silent exchange of power that made me feel smaller than I ever had before.
"Sit down, Dominic. I ain't come in here to disrupt your dinner or make the girl feel like she's on trial," the old man rasped, his voice sounding like gravel being crushed under the weight of a heavy truck.
He walked over to the table, his sharp eyes landing on me and staying there until I felt like I was being dissected under a microscope.
"So, this is the Taylor girl. Renny was always a buster and a snake, but I see he managed to produce something of value after all.
She's got a pure look to her son. That's good.
We need that kind of purity to balance out all the dirt we've had to walk through to get this empire to where it is today. "
He moved closer, the scent of expensive cigars and medicinal herbs clinging to his clothes, and he looked at me with an intensity that mirrored his son's. He turned his head to look at Dominic, his expression getting serious in a way that made the atmosphere in the room feel suffocating.
"You know the stakes, Dominic. This empire wasn't built with blood and sweat just for it to crumble into dust because you didn't have an heir to pass the torch to.
I'm tired, and my body is failing me a little more every day, but I ain't going to my grave until I know the Masters name is secured for the next hundred years.
You take care of this girl, you protect her with everything you've got, and you make sure she understands what it means to carry our blood and our secrets.
You hear me?" His voice cracked with the effort of the command, but the authority behind it was absolute.
Dominic nodded once, his jaw set tight and his eyes never leaving his father's face, revealing a side of himself deeply rooted in duty and tradition.
"I got it, Pops. You ain't gotta worry about nothing on my end.
Donny ain't going anywhere, and she's gonna have everything she needs to be the woman this family requires.
I already claimed her in the warehouse, and what's mine stays mine until the world stops spinning.
" He reached out a hand to steady the old man, a brief flash of genuine concern crossing his features before he pulled the mask of the stoic boss back over his face.
The old man gave a small, satisfied nod and turned to leave, his cane clicking away into the distance until the room was quiet again, leaving me trembling in the wake of their conversation.
I felt like I couldn't breathe, the reality of the situation hitting me like a freight train — they weren't just talking about a marriage or a simple arrangement.
They were talking about a whole dynasty, and I was the vessel they had chosen to carry it forward.
Dominic walked around the table and stood directly behind me, his large, warm hands resting on my shoulders, and the heat from his palms soaked through the silk of my dress until I could feel the pulse in his fingertips.
"Don't let him scare you, baby," Dominic murmured, leaning down so his lips were right by my ear, his breath hot against my neck.
"Pops is old school, and he's pressed for time, but he's right about one thing — you're the most valuable thing in this house now, and I'm gonna make sure you're treated as such.
I know you're scared, and I know this is moving faster than you can keep up with, but the moment I saw you in that warehouse, I knew I wasn't letting you go.
You're gonna learn to love it here, Donny.
I'm gonna give you the world on a silver platter, and all I need from you is your loyalty and eventually your heart.
" He squeezed my shoulders gently, a gesture meant to be comforting but only served to remind me of the strength he possessed.
He guided me out of the chair with a firm but gentle hand and led me toward the glass doors that opened onto a massive balcony, the cool night air hitting my face and offering momentary relief from the tension in the dining room.
The city lights were sprawling out beneath us like a sea of diamonds, a glittering map of a world that felt a million miles away from the life I was now trapped in.
Dominic stepped up behind me, wrapping his thick arms around my waist and pulling my back flush against his chest, holding me with a possessive strength that made me feel both captive and cherished at the same time.
He was so big, so solid, and the way he held me was dominant but strangely tender, like he was actually trying to protect me from the very world he reigned over.
"I'm gonna be stern with you because that's the only way I know how to be, and the life I lead doesn't allow for any weakness or second-guessing," he explained, his deep voice rumbling against my back and vibrating in my chest. "But I ain't ever gonna be mean to you, Donny.
You're my queen now, and I'm gonna spend every day making sure you know your worth in this family.
Tomorrow, I'm taking you to the jeweler, and I'm gonna put enough ice on your finger to let every nigga in this city know exactly who you belong to.
You're a master’s now, and that means you're untouchable, and anyone who thinks otherwise is gonna have to answer to me personally. "
I leaned my head back against his shoulder, closing my eyes and letting out a long, shaky breath I didn't even realize I had been holding in.
I was still terrified of the unknown, and I didn't know how I was gonna navigate this world of rich menaces and blood debts, but as Dominic held me under the moonlight, I felt a spark of something brand new ignited in my soul.
It wasn't just the fear of a prisoner anymore.
It was a deep, magnetic pull toward the man who had claimed me with such absolute certainty.
I was falling, fast and hard, into a life I never asked for and a love that felt like a beautiful collision.
Still, as I looked out at the city from the safety of his arms, I realized I didn't want to be anywhere else.
The cage was made of gold, and the man who held the key was the only one I wanted to look at for the rest of my life.