37. Dominico
37
DOMINICO
A s we speed away from Luca’s estate, the car’s engine humming and the city lights blurring past the windows, I can feel the adrenaline starting to drain from my body. The pain in my shoulder, the dull, throbbing ache that I’ve been ignoring, begins to make itself known with a vengeance.
I grit my teeth, trying to push past the discomfort and focus on the woman in my arms. Sofia is alive, she’s safe, and she’s here. With me. That’s all that matters.
I pull her closer, burying my face in her hair and breathing in the scent of her. The sweet, intoxicating essence that is pure Sofia, untainted by the stench of blood and sweat and fear that clings to my own skin.
“I thought I was never going to see you again,” I murmur, my voice rough with emotion. “When I saw you in that chapel, in that fucking dress, with Luca’s hands on you… I–I thought I was too late. That I’d failed you. I thought I'd pushed you away so badly that you would rather be with him than me.”
Sofia shifts in my arms, her head tilting up to look at me with those big, beautiful eyes that always seem to see straight into my soul. “You could never fail me, Dom,” she whispers, her hand coming up to cup my cheek. “You saved me. You saved me from a fate worse than death. Luca… he?—”
Rage rises within me. “What did he do, Sofia?” I rasp, my heart thundering.
She bites her lip and looks away, and for a heart-stopping moment, I think the worst. That he’s forced himself on her, made her do something horrible…
“He–he told me that he was planning on getting me pregnant,” she murmurs, her blue eyes glassy with tears. “So then you could really see the depths of your failure.”
My ears ring and my blood pressure rises at the thought of Luca having sex with Sofia, of her becoming swollen with his child, bearing his baby…
“Breathe, Dom,” Sofia whispers.
I exhale, my heart racing as I finally allow fresh air to circulate in my lungs. “He’s lucky he’s dead,” I growl. “Because for him to do that—to even want to do that… Did he touch you?”
I don’t care if he is dead. I’ll go back, resurrect him, and kill him again if I find out that he did something to Sofia.
But thankfully, Sofia shakes her head. “No. No, he never touched me.”
Relief courses through me. Thank fucking God .
“I love you, Sofia,” I murmur, my voice cracking with the weight of my emotion. “I love you more than life itself. I’ve never stopped loving you. And I swear to you, I will never let anyone hurt you again. I will spend the rest of my life making you happy.”
She smiles then, a soft curve of her lips that makes my heart skip a beat. “I love you, too.”
I capture her mouth with my own, pouring all the love and the passion and the desperate, aching need that I feel into the kiss. She responds with equal fervor, her hands tangling in my hair as she presses herself closer, the silky material of the wedding dress brushing against me.
But even as I lose myself in the taste of her, in the feel of her soft curves molding to my body, I can’t shake the simmering anger that still burns in my gut, the fury and the disgust that rise up like bile in my throat every time I think of that fucking dress, of the way Luca tried to claim her.
“I want to burn it,” I growl, my lips brushing against the shell of her ear. “That fucking dress. I hate it. It’s an abomination.”
Sofia shivers in my arms, her breath hitching in her throat. “Please,” she whispers, her voice low and fierce. “Please, for the love of God, burn it. Destroy it. Do whatever you need to do to get rid of it. I don’t want to ever be reminded of him.”
I nod, my jaw clenching. “It’s done, baby. As soon as we get home and cleaned up, I’m going to take great fucking pleasure in watching that dress turn to ash.”
She laughs then, a soft, breathless sound that’s like music to my ears. “My protective Mafia prince,” she murmurs, her fingers tracing the line of my jaw. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”
I shake my head, my heart swelling with a love that’s so all-consuming, it feels like it might burst out of my chest. “You didn’t have to do anything, Sofia. It’s me who wonders what I ever did to deserve you . You have brought light and laughter and joy back into my world. You make me want to be a better man, a man worthy of you.”
She kisses me again, soft and sweet and filled with a tenderness that brings tears to my eyes. “You are worthy, Dom. You always have been. And I will spend the rest of my life showing you just how much you mean to me, just how deeply and completely I love you.”
I tighten my arms around her, ignoring the sharp, stabbing pain in my shoulder as I hold her close. None of that matters, not the blood or the sweat or the ache in my muscles. All that matters is her, is the fact that we’re together and that we’ve won this battle.
And hopefully, we’ve come out the other side stronger than ever.
Taking a deep, shuddering breath, I gaze into Sofia’s eyes. “Sofia,” I choke out. “I’m so sorry. For everything. I’ve been such an asshole to you in so many ways. From breaking your heart all those years ago, to not treating you as you deserve now, to lashing out at you and causing you to run off. I was selfish and stupid, but almost losing you…” I trail off, swallowing hard.
“It made me realize that I can’t live without you. You’re my whole world, Sofia. Please forgive me. I swear I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”
To my surprise, Sofia leans against me and takes my hand. “I need to apologize too.”
I furrow my brow. “No, you don’t?—”
She shushes me, placing one finger over my lips. “No, I do need to apologize. I said such horrible things to you, things I didn’t mean.” She winces. “I told you to drop dead, that I only wanted to get pregnant just so you would leave me alone for a year. I was so cruel, and I’m ashamed of myself now.”
I’m stunned by her words, my heart aching at the pain I see in her eyes. “Sofia, I?—”
She shakes her head, squeezing my hand tightly. “Please, let me finish. I need you to know that I never stopped loving you, Dom. Even when I said those awful, shitty things, my heart still belonged to you. I was just so heartbroken, so desperate to make you feel the same pain I felt. It was wrong and childish of me, and I’m truly sorry.”
“We both made mistakes,” I murmur, bringing her hand to my lips and pressing a tender kiss to her knuckles. “But none of that matters anymore.” I pause, wrestling with a question that just popped into my mind. “But if you don’t mind my asking, what made you change your mind? Before Luca took you, you said that you were done with me.”
Sofia winces again, biting her lip and looking away. Suddenly, I worry I went too far in asking her this question. Before I can retract the question, Sofia turns her head, gazing at me seriously.
“Luca,” she says. “When I saw the dark path that resentment and hatred can lead someone down, like it did with Luca, I realized that I didn’t want to live like that anymore. I didn’t want to be consumed by anger and bitterness. I just want to be with you , Dom. I want to put the past behind us and leave it there. I want an actual marriage. A kind that my parents have.”
“That’s all I want too,” I murmur, pulling her again close to me. “I love you, Sofia.”
Sofia smiles, her eyes filled with tears. “I love you too, Dominico.”
Tilting her face up to mine, I capture her lips in a deep, passionate kiss. As we lose ourselves in each other, I know that this is a new beginning for us, a chance to heal, to love, and to build the life we’ve always dreamed of together.
Sofia winds her arms around my neck, mindful of my injured shoulder as she presses her body flush against mine. I wrap my good arm around her waist, pulling her impossibly closer as I sweep her mouth with my tongue.
Sofia nips at my bottom lip, eliciting a low groan from me as I retaliate by sucking on her tongue, sending shivers of pleasure through my body. Our hands roam feverishly over each other, reacquainting ourselves with every curve and plane of our bodies.
When we finally break apart, both panting heavily, Sofia rests her forehead against mine, her eyes closed as our breaths mingle. “Let’s go home, Dom,” she whispers, her voice husky with need.
I nod, my eyes dark with desire as I capture her lips in another heated kiss. “Yes,” I murmur against her mouth. “I need to make you mine again in every way possible. And then I’m burning that dress.”
Somehow, we make our way back to the mansion and slip inside without anyone knowing. I’m really not sure how, but I’m thankful all the same. As soon as we enter our bedroom, Sofia takes my hand and leads me to the bathroom.
She turns on the shower, adjusting the temperature until steam begins to fill the room. Slowly, she undresses me, her fingers trembling slightly as she reveals my body, careful not to jostle my wounded shoulder. I watch her with hooded eyes, my breath catching as she removes that damned wedding dress and kicks it away, baring herself to me completely.
“You’re beautiful,” I rasp, reaching out to skim my hands along her sides. “I can’t believe this is really happening.”
Sofia steps into the shower, pulling me in with her. “It’s real,” she assures me, winding her arms around my neck and capturing my lips in a deep, sensual kiss. “I’m yours, forever.”
But just before I’m able to deepen the kiss, Sofia steps back from me with a wink and leans over to grab the shampoo. She presses the shampoo bottle into my hand and presses her ass against my erection.
I don’t even care that my shoulder is injured and that this might be slightly painful. My wife is asking me to wash her hair, and goddammit, I’m going to do that.
Even though my shoulder protests at the movement, I squirt some shampoo into my hands and work it into her hair. There is something incredibly erotic about running my soapy hands through Sofia’s wet hair. Maybe it’s the slight tug, the way her head tilts back. Maybe it’s the intimacy of the act.
My hands glide over Sofia’s smooth body while I press my lips to her neck and inhale the familiar flowery scent of her shampoo. With my good hand, I massage her breasts, my more injured arm splayed possessively over her body. Sofia’s head falls back onto my shoulder before she turns to me to kiss me while my thumb flicks over her nipples.
Sofia reaches down and touches herself between her legs.
“Yes,” I breathe out. “Let me see you touch yourself, Sofia.”
I adjust myself so my erection fits between her legs as her back rolls against my front. As her fingers pulse deep inside her, her knuckles sometimes catch the head of my penis and pleasure shoots straight through me, causing my knees to weaken.
Jesus fucking Christ.
God, this is so hot. From the way her hand moves against herself, to the way she rolls her hips with her movements. And the way she moans my name. Fuck, it’s too much to bear.
I swing her around and pin her to the wall. In her surprise, Sofia’s fingers slip out of her, and I push my cock into her instead.
Adrenaline must be rushing through me again because I’m able to thrust inside her with a speed I never tried before. I don’t even feel any pain in my shoulder. All I feel is exquisite pleasure. Sofia’s eyes widen, and her back arches as she braces against the shower wall.
“Dom!” she calls out as I go faster and faster.
“Fuck, Sofia,” I growl. “Come for me.”
Sofia’s hands press to her breasts and water trails down her body. Her breathing hastens, and then she comes apart with a gasp. She clenches around my fingers and falls forward onto me. I wrap my arm around her back and support her as we stumble back into the shower stream once more.
“I…” I start, but bite off the words. “You’re fucking amazing,” I say instead.
Sofia grins at me and kisses me again before she turns around and leans forward against the shower wall. My eyes trace up and down her perfect form, and she eyes me from over her shoulder, quirking a brow.
This can’t be real. I groan and step behind her, my dick still hard and ready to go. “Fuck, I want you.”
Sofia chuckles, a soft, sensual sound that makes my cock jolt. “You’ve got me, Dom.”
I lean forward, my lips at her ear. “Then let’s take this to the bedroom, shall we?”