Chapter Seventeen
Donny Rae
The tropical sun was a golden weight on my skin as I stood on the edge of the infinity pool, wrapped in a sheer white sarong that caught the St. Lucian breeze.
It had been three days since the night I finally gave myself to Dominic, and I felt like a different version of the woman I used to be.
The constant, low-level anxiety that had hummed in my veins for years was gone, replaced by a grounded, heavy sense of belonging.
My body felt awake, sensitized to every touch of the wind and every glance from the man who was currently watching me from the shaded patio.
Dominic was sitting at a glass table; his large frame relaxed in a woven chair.
He was wearing nothing but a pair of black swim trunks, his dark skin glistening with a light sheen of oil and sweat.
He was focused on a laptop, his brow furrowed as he navigated the business that never truly slept, but every few seconds, his eyes would snap up to find me.
It was a possessive, predatory look that used to scare me; now, it made me feel like the most secure woman on the planet.
"You're doing that overthinking thing again, baby," he called out, his voice a deep rumble that traveled across the water.
He closed the laptop with a definitive click and stood up, moving with that effortless, panther-like grace.
"Come here. I didn't bring you to the middle of the ocean for you to stand there and stare at the waves like they got the answers. "
I walked over to him, the stone warm beneath my feet.
As I got close, he reached out and pulled me between his knees, his massive hands resting on my hips.
The ink on his arms looked even darker against the bright island light, with the lions and legends on his skin telling the story of the man who had fought his way out of the mud to build this paradise.
"I'm not overthinking," I disagreed, my fingers finding the thick, soft hair of his beard. "I'm just… observing. It's quiet out here, Dominic. I'm not used to the quiet."
"Get used to it," he murmured, pulling me closer until my stomach was pressed against his chest. "This is what life looks like when you don't have to look over your shoulder.
I'm making sure the quiet stays that way.
I just got words from Taz. The transition back home is smooth.
My father's making moves to legalize some of the more…
gray areas of the business. By the time we get back, the Masters name is gonna be as clean as a whistle in the public eye. "
"Is that what you want?" I asked, looking deep into his eyes. "To go legit?"
"I want whatever keeps you safe and my pockets fat," he replied with a smirk, that sharp, witty glint returning to his gaze.
"I'll always be a menace to the niggas who try to test me, but for you and the kids that we're gonna have, I'll be the most respectable businessman in Georgia.
I'm building a vault, Donny, and you're the only one with the key. "
He stood up, towering over me, and guided me toward the edge of the cliff where a small, private path led down to a hidden cove.
The water there was turquoise and still protected by high volcanic rocks.
He didn't say anything as we walked; he just kept his hand firmly on the small of my back silent reminder that he was always there.
When we reached the sand, he turned me around, his expression softening into something raw and vulnerable.
"I've been thinking about what you said the other night.
About being scared, you wouldn't be enough.
Donny, you're the only thing that's ever been enough.
I spent my whole life chasing a crown I thought was made of gold and blood.
I didn't realize the crown was sitting right here in front of me, with ginger curls and a heart too big for the hood. "
He reached into the pocket of his trunks and pulled out a small, waterproof pouch. Inside was a necklace—a delicate gold chain with a pendant of a lioness, her eyes made of small, glowing emeralds.
"The lion is the king, but the lioness is the one who keeps the pride alive," he explained, stepping behind me to clasp it around my neck.
The gold felt cool against my skin, a heavy weight that matched the ring on my finger.
"You're the queen of the A now, Donny Rae Masters, and I want the world to know that if they even think about coming for you, they gotta go through me first."
I turned back to him, my heart overflowing with a love that felt bigger than the island itself. I reached up and pulled his face down to mine, my lips meeting his in a kiss that tasted like salt and the promise of a thousand tomorrows.
"I'm not going anywhere, Dominic," I whispered against his lips. "I'm right where I'm supposed to be."
? ? ?
We spent the rest of the afternoon in that cove, swimming in the warm water and talking about the future—not the business or the wars, but the home we were going to build, the family we were going to start, and the legacy that would finally be built on love instead of fear.
As the sun began to dip below the horizon again, casting long, orange shadows across the sand, Dominic pulled me into his lap, his back against a smooth rock.
He pulled a backwood from a sealed container and lit it, the earthy smoke drifting up toward the first few stars.
We shared it in a comfortable silence, the only sound being the gentle lapping of the waves.
"Dominic?" I asked, watching a cruise ship twinkle in the far distance.
"Yeah, Mrs. Masters?"
"We're gonna be okay, aren't we?"
He took a long pull of the smoke and blew it out, his arm tightening around me, his thumb tracing the new gold necklace. "Baby, we're better than okay. We're legends, and legends don't die. They just get stronger."
Dominic kissed the top of my head, and as the darkness settled over The Sanctuary, I knew he was right.
The menace had found his peace, and the girl from the west side had found her throne.
The world was still out there, loud and dangerous, but here in his arms, the only thing that mattered was the beat of our hearts and the promise of the life we were about to begin together.
The honeymoon was just a start; the real magic was in the forever.