Chapter 6 – Dominic
Hours after everyone left to take their tipsy asses home, I found myself in the gym, hands wrapped, fists blazing.
All evening, I’d been on edge. Part of it was leaving Greyson behind. Despite the fact that he was a cocky asshole, he was still family. Mari’s and mine. It felt wrong to be here without him. Almost as wrong as having Nate here. This was our home, our sanctuary. He didn’t belong here anymore.
Mari said she trusted him. That she’d forgiven him for what he’d done, but I hadn’t. I couldn’t. He’d put her in danger. He’d sided with Cash against us. I didn’t think there was anything in the world that could make me forgive that.
He took a bullet for Mari. You took one for him.
But was that enough?
“I thought I’d find you here.” His voice had my shoulders rising, and I threw an especially savage punch, rocking the bag back too far. I kept punching, refusing to slow my stride or acknowledge him, but that didn’t seem to bother Nate. He kept stepping closer.
“Go away,” I growled. Things were too on edge for him to be here. The need to beat his teeth in was hot in my veins, and if he didn’t leave, I was going to have a hell of a lot to explain to Mari.
Of course, the asshole didn’t listen. “We have to work this out, Dominic.”
“There’s nothing to work out.” It was a lie, and we both knew it, just like I knew I had no choice but to forgive him someday for Mari’s sake. But that day wasn’t today.
He rounded the bag and held it while I let loose. It was more satisfying than I expected to hear him grunt as he tried to stay steady. “You hate me. That seems like a big thing to fix.”
“Only if you stick around.”
On the next punch, Nate caught my eye and held it. “I’m not going anywhere, Dominic.”
I scoffed, turning away because I couldn’t look at him. “Heard that before.”
He sighed. “What will it take to move past this? Do you need to fight me?”
“What?” He couldn’t be serious.
“If it’ll help, fight me.”
Crossing my arms, I twisted to face him with a huff. “Why would I do that? You’ll let me win, hoping I forgive you.”
“I want to earn your forgiveness, Dominic. That includes your respect. Letting you beat me doesn’t get it.”
Did I believe him? Not even remotely, but it wasn’t a bad idea. I didn’t know how Mari was going to respond, but I wanted to put him down for what he’d done. Maybe if I humiliated him enough, I’d find that I was right. He hadn’t changed at all. Hell, maybe he’d leave, and we could figure out our lives, just the three of us. I didn’t mind sharing with Grey anymore, though I’d never admit it.
He’d earned my loyalty; Nate had lost it.
Part of me wondered if, after it was over, I’d find it easier to be around Nate if he did stay. What do you have to lose?
Nothing.
“Get in the ring.”
The faintest smile crossed his face, but it was gone before I blinked. “Gloves?”
“Wraps.” I wanted to feel his skin break under me, but I wasn’t stupid enough to risk an injury right now. Not while Cash was attempting to surround us. “Hurry up.”
In minutes, we were circling each other in the ring, both ready to pounce.
Nate bounced on his toes, stretching out his body as he went. “First blood?”
Scoffing, I countered, “Tap out.”
This late at night, no one was around to referee. We were counting on the other to be honorable and stop when we said. If he tapped, I’d end the fight. But Nate had to bleed for what he did to Mari. To me. If she wouldn’t seek justice against him, I would.
It felt like the only way to move on.
We met in the middle, bumped fists, and jumped back. The circling continued with Nate feinting a few jabs here and there to get me to move. Finally, I saw an opening and leaped, cracking my knuckles against his cheek.
Once I started, I couldn’t stop. As the punches poured out, so did the words, and we went round after round.
“You fucked up.” I went for another one, but Nate blocked it, lobbing one of his own that got my ribs. He’d pulled his punch, as expected, but knowing he didn’t want to injure me either made me wish I could let myself go all the way. That I could cause whatever damage I needed to get the poison out of my bloodstream.
The rage that I’d bottled up ached, and I needed it out.
As if he could see that, his next punch hurt more. He’d stopped holding back as much. Thank God. After that, we traded blows.
“You hurt her.” Right cross.
“I did.” Block.
“You betrayed her.” Uppercut.
“I did.” Left cross.
“You betrayed us.” Block. Jab. Jab.
Those got him, and he stumbled back.
“I did.” His voice cracked, but I was too far gone to care about anything beyond the feeling of meting out justice. While he tried to gather himself, I struck him like lightning, taking us both to the floor and raining punches wherever I could hit.
Punch. Punch. Punch. “You were my brother. I accepted you because you swore you wouldn’t hurt her, and look at us now. How can I trust you with her? With any of us?”
Block. Shift. Block.“You can’t yet, but I’m not going to do it again, Dominic. Hell, I wouldn’t have done it if I’d had a choice in the first place.”
He tried to shove me off, but I held fast, hitting him in the shoulder enough to hear a small pop. Before I could grimace, his shoulder popped again. Not dislocated, but close. Too close. Rein it in or Mari’s gonna be pissed.
“And now?” I asked, taking a second to gather my breath.
“Now I get my family back.” He rolled me, freeing himself and bouncing on his toes. “You’re still my brother, Dominic. You and Greyson and Mari are the only people who matter.”
“I’m not your anything,” I snarled, shoving to my feet and putting all the power I had into my next punch. I smashed my fist into his diaphragm until Nate’s next exhale was a breathless cough.
Getting the wind knocked out of him dropped him to one knee. Even still, Nate tried to talk through the gasps. “You are, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make you see that. It’s the four of us against the world.”
I moved forward again, but the urge to hit him was gone. I was just tired. So fucking tired. Tired of hating him, tired of fighting against him, fighting for him, fighting myself. I knew what I had to do for Mari, but I wasn’t sure how to make it happen.
Finally, I just sighed. “I don’t believe you.”
“I know, and I’m sorry.”
“He’s telling the truth.” It said something about my singular focus to beat the shit out of Nate that I hadn’t realized when Mari had come in. “If you don’t believe him, believe me, Dominic. He didn’t want to hurt us, and he won’t do it again.”
It was only because I was staring right at him that I saw the change on Nate’s face. The way his eyes lit up and the pure joy in his smile as he whipped his head to face her. “You believe me?”
She smiled. “I do.”
Everything about him screamed reverence. Respect. Adoration. It stung the part of me that still wanted that for Mari. That craved the security of giving her a family, something she’d been missing for too long. But how could I accept him? How could I just let it go?
“You trust him?” I asked.
“I shouldn’t, but I do.” I heard nothing but truth in her voice. “We all make mistakes, Dominic. Where would we be if we didn’t have forgiveness in us?”
She wasn’t talking figuratively; she was talking about herself and me. Where would we be if she hadn’t given me another chance? When I’d been too stubborn to see that she was still my Mari, she’d given me a chance to prove myself to her. To make up for my idiotic mistakes.
At least Nate was trying to save his mother’s life. I’d just been focused on resurrecting a ghost.
“I’m sorry. To both of you. To all of you.” Nate’s voice was sad and hopeful at the same time, and it tore me to pieces.
“We know, baby.” Mari smiled at him, so sweet despite the late hour and the exhaustion I knew was dragging her down. We were making it worse for her. No. Not we. I was making it worse.
My girl needed stability, and so did our family. The people we took care of outside these walls. They needed a united force, and I had to be the one to give it to them. I had to choose the possibility of the future we were planning together over the potential for revenge. I had to trust that she knew what she was doing when she said she believed Nate.
I had to take the first step. “Make it up to her.”
They both startled, turning toward me slowly. Mari’s eyes were wide and curious, if not a little concerned. “Dominic?—”
“How?” Nate asked.
“How else? On your knees, fuckboy. Best way to earn it is through orgasms. Should we say one for every omission?”
The plan formed quickly, a way for all of us to get what we wanted, and despite how concerned I was about Nate, I knew it was the right thing to do. I wasn’t sure I could even go through with it, but I wanted to see how far he would go to regain his position at her side. What he would do to get back to being my friend and my brother, as he said he wanted.
“Dominic.” Mari’s voice had hardened, but Nate had already knelt in front of her, grabbing her hand in his. She jerked around to watch him.
“Let me do this, Mari. Let me show you how much I mean what I say.”
“You don’t have to, though. I know you mean it.” The way she caressed his face was so painfully soft. Like he meant the whole world to her. I wasn’t jealous; I was heartbroken. He’d nearly caused that softness to leave, not just for him, but for Grey and me too. He’d nearly broken her.
Focus on the now. Focus on the positive. We made it through, and she’s herself again.
Pressing myself to her back, I slipped my hands around Mari’s hips, loving the feel of her. Bullet wounds or not, it had been too long. “But I don’t. Come on, Mari. Let the man show you he means it. Let him prove himself to us.”
“Fine, but I don’t think it’s necessary.”
I laughed into her neck. “Are you really arguing about orgasms?”
She pouted, crossing her arms just enough to prop her tits up for me. An obvious ploy, but one I didn’t intend to ignore. “Yes.”
“So you didn’t get wet watching us fight? You don’t want what we’re offering?” I slid my hand into her sleep shorts, covering her pussy. It soaked my fingers, but I didn’t move to do anything about it, even when she rolled her hips against me.
“I did. I do.”
“Have you forgiven him so soon for what he did, mariposa?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm. I think he should have to put that lying mouth to work. Take off her clothes, Beckstrom.”
“Black,” he grunted, but he did what I asked. I ripped off my shirt too, wanting more contact with my girl. When she was bare in front of us, his eyes locked on Mari’s cunt like it was his favorite treat.
“See how you affect him, mariposa? It’s the same for Grey and me. You’re an addiction we just can’t shake.”
“Are you complaining?”
“Fuck no,” Nate promised, sliding his hand up and down her thigh, but he didn’t go any further until he asked me, “What now?”
“Show her what a good apology feels like.”
“Dominic.” Her breaths turned to gasps, her fingers digging into my forearms when he put his mouth on her. I didn’t need to watch him when all my attention was riveted on her.
The way her skin pinkened as he sucked and flicked and fucked her with his tongue. The way she keened and cried when he bit and nibbled her skin. The way she leaned into him, hand in his hair, pulling him as close as could be.
She trusted him in the most primal way you could trust another person. With her body. Her pleasure. Her soul. What more proof did I need? If Mari was willing to put her body on the line, I could put my faith in her and try to see past this, to heal so we could all move on.
Because, for Mari, I’d do anything.
Her first orgasm brought a flush to her skin that was addictive. With everything going on with Grey, we hadn’t had time to connect in a bit, and even with Nate here, I was soaking in the skin-to-skin. Needing her to feel me, I rocked my hips against her bare ass, desperate to slip through her legs and find my way home inside her. But we weren’t done yet.
“Again.”
“Dominic,” she whined, and I laughed under my breath, even as Nate and I moved away so she could breathe and decide if she wanted to keep going.
“You say done, and we stop.” When she nodded, I plastered myself to her back and smiled against her damp skin. “Good girl, mariposa.”
A look at Nate had him diving back in, and this time, Mari squirmed.
“Are you too sensitive, baby?” She mewled in my arms, clinging to me like I was her last hope of sanity. “Good. I like you best like that.”
Mari’s groan vibrated through me, and I lifted my hands to cage her nipple between my fingers and her throat beneath my palm. Keeping her close to my chest, I pressed hot kisses to every inch of skin I could reach. “Does it feel good to be at our mercy, baby?”
She moaned against me, those hips flying as she raced for another orgasm. I debated taking her ass, just so I could get inside her, but we didn’t have lube in the gym and I wasn’t going to hurt her. Next time.
As she writhed and rolled over top of him, Nate reached for his shorts, but I kicked his hand away. “This isn’t for you, asshole. It’s for Mari. Jerk off later.”
He growled at me but didn’t stop. The whole time he worked her up, Mari answered my every question with her favorite word.
“Do you like his tongue on you?”
Yes.
“Do you like it when you get all our attention?”
Yes.
“Are you needy for us?”
God, yes.
“Do you want my cock? Want me to stuff you full while he eats your cunt?”
Yes, yes, yes.
When I didn’t move, still tweaking her nipples and biting at her neck, she whined again, and it was music to my ears. “Dominic.”
Yeah, I’m done being patient.
“On your back, Black. Our girl needs filling.”
Nate went gingerly with a grateful smile, and I realized how much his injuries were probably hurting him. I wanted his apology, not his suffering. He didn’t seem to mind too much with his face covered in Mari, though.
Our girl went to slide onto his lap, but I caught her by the waist and dropped her on his face. Nate grinned at her little squeak when she almost didn’t catch herself in time.
“Show him how much you forgive him, Mari. Ride his face. Give us what we want.”
“Will you forgive him if I do?” she asked, though she was already rolling those sinful hips.
“No, but it’ll certainly help to remind me why I shouldn’t kill him in his sleep.”
She glared at me, hovering too high above his mouth, so Nate wrapped his arms around her thighs and forced her down. She squeaked again, and before she’d righted herself, I pushed her forward until she was curled over his head, palms flat on the floor. It left me straddling Nate’s chest, but he didn’t seem to mind, his sole focus on Mari’s pleasure. He tightened his grip, adjusting so her ass lifted just enough for me to slide inside her.
Mari’s pussy was a dream, as always. Warmth and wetness aside, there was a connection between us that I’d never felt with anyone else. I needed her. To breathe, to laugh, to survive. I loved her so much that I wasn’t sure how to be without her. Not anymore.
And she needed Nate.
It was a fact. She forgave him because she needed him, just like she needed Greyson and me. I could either accept that fact and get on board—or end up on the outside of my own fucking family.
Yeah, right.
Without uttering anything but praise for her, Nate and I worked Mari over until there were claw marks in the mat, her skin was coated with sweat, and I wasn’t sure if I could even breathe without coming.
“You ready for one last go, baby?” I asked, adjusting my angle so my cock hit her right where she needed it.
“No more,” she begged. “I can’t take any more.”
“You can and you will. Last one, then you can sleep.”
I saw the divots in her thighs as Nate held her close, even when she tried to move away. I wrapped my own hand around her neck and hauled her up, letting her feel every inch of me as we took her past the point of no return one last time. She was still shuddering on my cock when I came. I’d never felt more at peace than I did when I was inside her.
For a while, there was only the sound of heavy breathing and the satisfaction of a job well done. Then she shivered, and the moment broke.
Nate and I moved Mari carefully off his face, pointedly ignoring her shaking legs. He went over to the cabinets and searched until he found what he wanted—towels. He threw one to me before he cleaned her up himself. “Here you go, angel. Let’s get you sorted. You did so good for us.”
Everything about the way he touched her, checked in with her, reassured her, was soft. So fucking soft. It was strangely beautiful seeing someone with so much death on his hands take care of her. Was this what it looked like when I provided aftercare? I kind of hoped so.
Fuck, I’m going to forgive him.
Grumpy about it, I threw both towels in the hamper and helped him dress Mari in nothing but my T-shirt.
Was it petty? Yeah.
Did I care? Absolutely not.
When she was clothed, I pulled her into my arms, kissing her everywhere I could reach. “You okay, mariposa?”
“Tired, but yes.”
“Was that the best apology you’ve ever gotten?” I waggled my eyebrows like an idiot. She laughed, and fuck, we didn’t hear that enough nowadays.
“No, but it was a very thorough one.” She grinned at Nate, then me. She didn’t ask if I felt better, because I think she knew I didn’t have an answer to that. Not yet. Letting me come to terms with it on my own was a blessing.
She gave me another long, slow kiss before cracking into a yawn so big her eyes watered.
“Time for bed, baby.” I leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips. “Get some sleep.”
“You’re not coming?” Her blinks were slow, her eyes obviously heavy. Good thing I’d used the gym on our floor for once. She didn’t have far to go.
“In a little bit.” Though I’d made peace with my decision, I needed space and a little more time to accept that Nate wasn’t going anywhere.
When he caught my eye, I jerked my chin toward Mari. “Take her up with you, please.”
I wasn’t one for big declarations, but I had a feeling Nate understood.
I don’t trust you yet, but I’m willing to try. Don’t make me regret it.
“This isn’t over,” Nate promised as he pulled her away from me. “I’m going to make it up to you one way or another.”
Seeing how gentle he was with Mari as he swept her near-sleeping form off her feet, that was what I was afraid of.