Chapter 9
K ate
Once everyone leaves, Dominic and I usher the kids back into the house. I’m reeling from today. Not only the marriage, but also the interaction with Savannah. But mostly the kisses.
I find myself absentmindedly spinning my wedding band on my finger, the weight slightly weird on my skin, and look to Dominic’s hand. The black titanium band looks gorgeous on him. If I had been asked a week ago what my thoughts were on a black wedding band, I’d have been horrified. What kind of person would pick anything black for a marriage? But looking at Dominic, I can see now that it’s just his style. It signifies strength and power. The edges of his band are steel, and the juxtaposition of colors really expresses Dominic’s personality quite perfectly. Stoic, quiet, but will cut you if necessary. Introspective but incredibly knowledgeable. And now that I’ve kissed him, I can say he might look bland, but there’s one hell of a fire underneath the surface of that solid statue of a man.
“Are you gonna sleep in Daddy’s bed now?” Aspen asks.
“What?” I gasp. “No! Oh, God. No. No. Absolutely not.”
Say no one more time, and they’ll really believe it.
My inner ho is almost screaming at this point. You’d totally sleep in his bed if he asked, ya slut.
I shake my head to force my thoughts away. Envisioning Dominic in just a pair of pajama pants, slung low on his hips, sliding beneath the covers next to me. Pulling me toward him, the scent of his cologne and body wash cocooning me as he gives me a goodnight kiss, which invariably leads to more. Him using that clearly talented tongue on … other places of my body that desperately need a tonguing.
“Katharine.” At Dominic’s snapped tone, my eyes bounce to his.
“What?”
“Aspen asked why you won’t be sleeping in my bed.”
“And you couldn’t answer that?” I blurt out.
“I did. She didn’t believe me, and asked you. Clearly you haven’t been paying an ounce of attention.”
“My mind zoned for a minute. Cut me some slack, Dominic. Not everyone can be as perfect as you,” I retort.
“I told you,” Dominic remarks as his eyes leave mine to look down at Aspen. Fuck. I forgot the kids were even here. First I’m thinking about Dominic giving me a good tonguing, then a good dicking, but in reality, when he opens his mouth, I just want to tape his damn lips shut.
“You told me that you’re perfect? Not surprising.” Crossing my arms, I feel a quick second of vindication when his eyes drop to my chest.
“I’m fairly certain I’ve never uttered those words. In any case, Aspen would like to know why you won’t be sleeping in my bed.”
One look at Aspen’s cherubic face that still has a teeny bit of baby fat makes me crouch down to be eye-to-eye with her. “I happen to love my room in the basement, and I have an excellent mattress. Plus, it is great for sleepovers, isn’t it?”
“Oh, yes! It is!” Aspen says excitedly, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet, her brown eyes sparkling. I never realized how much she looks like Dominic. Sienna is the spitting image of her mother, whereas Carter is a mixture of the two. Aspen is all Dominic. “But if you’re married, you’re supposed to sleep in the same bed.”
“Not necessarily. I know lots of married couples that have separate bedrooms. It doesn’t make them love each other any less,” I tell her .
“So you love Daddy?” she asks.
Well, fuck. I didn’t think this through. “I’ll forever be grateful to your dad for coming up with a way to make sure I can get medical care. Not many people would do what your daddy did.”
“I guess that’s the same thing,” Aspen murmurs before scampering off to follow her siblings into the house. Standing, I turn to Dominic, unprepared for how much closer he got to me while I spoke to Aspen. I quickly inhale as he crowds my space.
“Would you like to sleep in my bed, Katharine?” he asks deeply. His scent surrounds me as he rests his nose against mine, rubbing it gently against my skin.
“Ground rules, Dominic,” I squeak out as a hand rests on my hip.
“Have I told you how spectacular you look today? Stunning. Captivating. You took my breath away,” he confesses quietly.
“What are you doing?” I breathe, my eyes closing against my better judgment. “This — this isn’t a good idea.”
“Maybe I’m sick of making all the right choices. Doing all the correct and noble things. Maybe, just once, I want to be bad.”
Oh God. I want to be bad with him. So bad.
Before I can speak, my cell phone rings, jarring me as I jump back from Dominic. I avert my eyes, knowing his are laser-focused on me and probably look like pools of the most exquisite, melted milk chocolate I’ve ever seen, and he could reel me in like a fish that hasn’t eaten in days. Weeks.
Or, in my case, close to a year.
The lake has been dry in my area.
And right now, Dominic is looking at me like he’s a shark and I’m the first bit of bait he’s seen. I bet it would be phenomenal to be eaten by him.
Looking at my screen, I groan when I see it’s Arianna calling. “It’s your sister.”
“Ari?” Dominic asks, and I nod. “You’d better answer. She’ll just keep calling until you do.”
All of these Santo kids have stubbornness built into their personalities. Sometimes it’s cute how steadfast and cantankerous they can be. Other times, it’s aggravating.
Answering the call, I say, “Hey, girl. Can I call you back? I just got home.”
“No, you can’t call me back, Mrs. Santo,” she snaps. “What the actual fuck did you do?”
Great. I take a deep breath as I calculate how to explain myself to one of my closest friends, who had no idea I would be marrying her brother.
“Did you read the article, or talk to your mom?” I ask.
“Both.”
“Then why are you asking me questions? You already got the story.”
“I was giving you an opportunity to come clean! You’re one of my best friends, and you didn’t tell me you were going to marry my brother! That’s really messed up,” she pouts.
I sigh. “I didn’t tell anyone, Arianna.”
“Why? Were you trying to hide it? You know gossip never stays hidden in Eternity Springs.”
“I wasn’t trying to hide it, but it is a little humiliating.” Dominic’s eyes narrow as he stares at me. “Dammit. I can’t handle one Santo on the phone and another one staring at me all menacingly. Dominic, go inside or something.”
“Not until I hear why you’re humiliated to be married to me,” he responds. His eyes have dulled a bit, and I can see a smidgeon of hurt in his gaze.
“I didn’t mean it that way. I’m humiliated that it’s come to this. That I had to basically contract out a husband so I could get medical coverage. That I have no fucking idea what I want to do with my life, so I’m working all these odd jobs, and nannying the kids, and I’m barely scraping by, and I’m the worst twenty-eight-year-old I know!” I wail, not even sure when I began crying.
Dominic sighs as he pulls me into his arms. Taking the phone from my hand, he tells his sister that I’ll call her back before ending the call and placing the phone in his pocket. I sob against his shoulder for a few minutes as I attempt to process the last few months of my life. How did it all come to this?
“You’re not the worst twenty-eight-year-old out there,” Dominic murmurs against my hair as he softly strokes his fingers up and down my spine. The movement is soothing as he keeps a consistent pace, never deviating from the spine.
“I’m the worst one that I know,” I mumble. “Do you know any who have four part-time jobs trying to make ends meet?”
“Not personally, no. But I’m sure there are others in the same set of circumstances as you. And there are some in worse situations. You could be homeless. Or without a support system or family.”
“I don’t have a family!” I cry.
“Yes, you do. My family is yours, raggio di sole .”
“What?” I ask, unsure of what he just said. I assume it’s Italian. What did he call me?
“Nothing,” he chuckles painfully. “You have a support system and a family, Katharine. Don’t forget that. I need to go check on the kids and get dinner started. Call Arianna back.”
As he releases me from his grasp, he pulls my phone from his pocket and hands it to me. I feel the heat from his embrace pull away from me … and I miss it. It’s the oddest sensation. I don’t know how to process that as I prepare to call Arianna, but a text comes through simultaneously.
Arianna: Did you see what my sister-in-law did?
Claire: Wait. Do you have a sister-in-law?
Arianna: I do now!
Hannah: Oh sweet Jesus, SHE DID NOT!
Natalie: Someone going to clue me in here?
Claire: OMG, I just saw!
Arianna: Can you believe it?
Natalie: Sometimes I really hate this group chat.
Me: Sigh.
Arianna: Kate, why don’t YOU tell Natalie what I’m talking about?
Me: Why? You’re on a roll.
Natalie: OMG, did you marry Dominic?
Me: Great. Now everyone has seen the shitty gossip article.
Natalie: What article?
Natalie: I didn’t see anything. I just figured if Ari is saying you’re involved, and she has a new sister-in-law, that it means you married the hot single dad you’ve basically been lusting after since you moved here. Unless you married Alex, which I guess could be the same thing? Were you lusting after him too?
Me: NO! I haven’t been lusting after either one of them.
Claire: I have to agree with Nat. You have. You play it off like you despise Dom, but really you want to mount him like a spider monkey.
Me: I don’t want to mount him.
Hannah: Even I don’t believe that, Katharine. I bet you get wet when he says your name like that too.
Dammit. She’s correct.
Me: Dominic irritates the hell out of me.
Claire: Then why did you marry him?
Me: He told me we were getting married because I need health insurance.
Arianna: I thought you could get doctors through Medicaid?
Me: You can, but not specialty care. And the OBGYN I saw basically mansplained periods to me, said they’d be lighter if I lost weight, and told me the pain from my endometriosis and PCOS “couldn’t be that bad”.
Natalie: Give me his name. I can have his home address in less than five minutes, and a plan in place that will keep all the dirt from our hands immediately.
Hannah: Maybe don’t announce a potential crime in a text chat.
Natalie: I didn’t say anything about crimes, my sweet Southern belle. Maybe I just want to go see what color his siding is.
You know, just for kicks, I want to see how quickly she can do this. I pull open the notes app on my phone, where I keep track of every doctor I’ve seen, the dates I’ve been seen, as well as any diagnoses.
Me: His name is Paul Johanson.
Arianna: Anyway, you really don’t think Dom is going to play fair, right? I bet he starts changing shit up immediately. I assume you set some rules?
Me: We did. No sex, I don’t want any of his money, other than what he already pays me, and whenever this ends, he can’t keep the kids away from me as a weird penance.
Arianna: You were thinking he might?
Me: I don’t know. I just wanted to be sure. I love those kids, Ari. I’d be shattered if I couldn’t see them anymore.
Arianna: You’re more of a mom to them than their actual mom.
Natalie: Doc’s siding is red. Who the hell chooses red siding?
Claire: That was only about three minutes. Her skills remain unmatched.
Me: You’re not gonna actually DO anything to him, right? I mean, he’s a jerk, but I’d prefer you staying on this side of the prison glass.
Natalie: I won’t do anything to him.
Claire: We should probably specify some things, Nat. Don’t touch him, his family, his friends, his car, his work, or his home.
Natalie: I can work with that.
Arianna: Just to be proactive, let’s start setting aside a little money each pay period for Natalie’s bail.
Natalie: Probably wise.
“Kate, can I ask you a question?” Sienna asks as we’re sitting down for dinner that evening.
“Sure, sweetie.”
“Aspen asked you if you love our dad, but you actually didn’t answer,” she whispers, looking over her shoulder to see if Aspen is listening.
I sigh, looking at Dominic for some help, but he’s stoically watching me, and waiting for my response. “Well, sometimes people get married for reasons other than love. This is one of those times.”
“Do you think you could love our dad?” Sienna asks, her eyes full of pain and turmoil.
Dominic finally speaks. “Right now, we’re focused on getting Kate’s health back on track. No matter what, we’ll always care for each other.”
“I guess that’s okay,” Sienna mutters, frowning before looking down at her lap. She blows out a loud exhale.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?” I ask.
Sienna shrugs. “I want Daddy to be happy. I want him to find someone who loves him and makes him smile.”
Dominic stands from the table, going to kneel by Sienna. “I don’t need that in my life, sweetheart, because the love I feel from you, your brother, and your sister overflows my heart. I wouldn’t change anything about our family, because I love it exactly as it is.”
“So that means you do love Kate!” Sienna gushes immediately, her joyful eyes dashing between the two of us. “Right? Because she’s a part of our family too!”
Dominic stares at me, a hint of a smile on his face. “Right.”
His look is different. Almost peaceful, like maybe he believes what Sienna is suggesting. I feel emotion overwhelming me as I think back to everything that happened today. I try to stifle it before Dominic notices my eyes filling with tears, but of course, he sees right through my ministrations as I focus on putting my hair up in a messy bun.
I don’t notice he’s moved until he’s crouched next to me. He’s like a stealth ninja sometimes. One hand comes up to grab my neck, his thumb resting against my pulse point, which beats wildly. The position seems too intimate for our situation, and I immediately try to pull away, but Dominic maintains his hold.
“It’s okay to be overwhelmed, Katharine,” he whispers, and my eyes whip to his. “It’s okay to not have all the answers. We’ll figure this all out as we go.”
“I never have the answers. I’m used to that,” I blurt out.
He gives me the same smile as before. “But you don’t have the answers for us.”
“There is no us,” I stammer.
“I disagree, wife.”
He squeezes my neck ever so slightly, a move which has my breath catching in my lungs. Sitting at the table with his children, Dominic’s aura has overpowered the room. The heat I feel from his gaze is oppressive. I think I’m in over my head.
“...And they lived happily ever after,” I whisper, closing the book quietly as I peer down as Aspen’s beautiful face. Carefully sliding off her bed and onto the floor, I tiptoe out of her room.
Closing the door as silently as I can, I check on Carter and Sienna to find them both asleep. The rest of the house is quiet, except for the sound of dripping water. Following the sound, I find Dominic’s bedroom door open, and I finally recognize the sound of water is from his shower.
His bathroom door isn’t closed all the way, and the glass walls of the shower do nothing to hide his physique. Good fucking God, he is absolutely spectacular.
As Dominic tilts his head back into the spray of water, I find myself stepping closer and closer to get a better look. I know I’m crossing a line, but I can’t seem to force myself to leave. His chest is lightly covered with hair, and I see the faint outline of a series of tattoos above his heart. I think they’re dates, and assume it’s the kids’ birthdays. Of course, Dominic would have a sentimental tattoo.
Deep ridges outline his abs, and the V on his hips leads deliciously into his groin, and I gasp when I see his engorged penis fully erect. Dominic leans back against the shower wall and takes his cock in his hand, stroking steadily as his eyes close in bliss.
I can’t walk away. I’m utterly captivated by the sight of my fake husband jerking off, and I’m tempted to charge into the bathroom to demand he let me take over. What would he do? Would he let me? Would he immediately annul the marriage, and fire me? God, I’m so unbelievably tempted to find out.
I hear his groan as his pace quickens, and the sound reverberates out of the bathroom, straight to my clit, it seems. Smashing my legs together to find some relief, I can’t take my eyes off Dominic. He groans again as his movements become irregular, then he grunts as he comes, shooting line after line of his release against the glass door.
I’m completely panting. That was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.
Dominic slowly rubs the tip of his penis, catching the last bit of cum, then rubs it onto his abs, and my knees almost buckle.
When his eyes open, and he looks my way, I dash out the door and hope he didn’t see me.