40. Dominic
Dominic
The lingering sense of contentment followed Dominic into his sleep and back out again, where he roused slowly with Onyx still cradled within his arms. Even with the concerns of the day before and the knowledge that there was undoubtedly a leak of some kind within his household, those concerns felt very far away and not nearly as important as the witch in his arms.
The witch whose body he’d feasted on the day before, and would again at some point. Perhaps not soon. Dominic could be a greedy and demanding lover, and he usually was. But he’d given his word that things would return to how they had been, and so they would — for a time.
But now Onyx knew the pleasure that he could have at Dominic’s hands, without the pain that had once been bestowed on the Rayne witch in his possession.
The pain had served a purpose, and Dominic was not one to feel regrets.
Even now, it served its purpose in the fact that Onyx would continue to plan his eventual demise.
Now that Onyx knew what Dominic’s instructions to his sister were…
Well, he might be considering Dominic’s death more fully.
Onyx could turn on him at any moment, and there would likely be a moment when he did.
That moment had almost been the day before. Dominic didn’t think he’d had an occasion where Atropos’ breath had been so cold on his neck prior to that point. Even in the past when Onyx had attacked him, fully intending to kill him, the odds had not been so stacked against Dominic.
And the Rayne witch had hesitated, had returned to him to be collared again.
Onyx had already expressed his regret for doing as much, which was unfortunate, if unsurprising.
His thumb traced a light circle on Onyx’s chest, then he pressed his face into Onyx’s hair, breathing in the scent of him. He felt the Rayne witch twitch and tense in his arms as he jerked awake. “Shh,” he soothed softly. “I’m not going to fuck you.”
And just as on every other occasion where he’d said that, he would keep his word.
The pressure that had been riding him for so long to take and claim was still well satiated, and very likely would be for some time.
Eventually the pressure would rise again, if Onyx took too long in coming to his hand, but that was a concern for later days.
He pressed a soft kiss to the back of Onyx’s neck.
Dominic couldn’t say that he was surprised when Onyx didn’t relax in the slightest despite his reassurance.
“I’m keeping my word,” he said softly, soothingly.
“Things are back to where they were before. I didn’t expect to fuck you when I woke up yesterday, and I don’t expect it today.
” His thumb continued to trace its slow circle on Onyx’s chest. “Do you want anything specific for breakfast?”
Onyx shook his head. “No. The usual is fine,” he mumbled.
“Very well,” Dominic murmured, placing one last kiss on Onyx’s neck before pulling away to get out of bed.
He went to his desk and ordered breakfast for them both before starting to get dressed.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t get the work done that I was supposed to yesterday.
For obvious reasons. So I’ll be doing that this morning. ”
Onyx propped himself up on his elbows, watching him. “Why do you even bother? You don’t need to work a day in your life, but you work all the time.”
Dominic chuckled. “My parents did not raise their children to be idle. And because I enjoy what I do. I match supply with demand, finding businesses that are capable of finding larger markets and assisting in their growth to meet the available demand.”
It also provided him with an extensive network of contacts and a pulse on the way the world continued to develop that he took pains to maintain.
With such a large network, he had ways of getting information that he might not otherwise, especially when he planted so many informants among the companies that he grew.
It wasn’t necessarily to damage the companies or to compromise them, but to listen and report.
The more whispers he collected, the more he knew.
But he hadn’t known that anyone was trying to get to Onyx. That Ambrose was trying to get to Onyx, and had somehow found out where they would be that day — and that they’d be vulnerable to attack.
“That sounds really fucking boring,” Onyx replied.
Dominic laughed. “Alas, someone must do the boring work in the world."
Onyx rolled over onto his back. “What am I doing today?”
“What do you want to do?”
“I want to play in the rec room,” Onyx replied without hesitation.
Dominic hummed thoughtfully, pausing in his dressing.
In truth, that was what he had planned for Onyx for the day, but better to let him haggle for it a bit. One day, Dominic would make a negotiator out of him.
A servant arrived with their breakfast and left it on Dominic’s desk. “I’m negotiable." He crossed over to the desk to sit down.
Onyx got up, joining Dominic at the desk to start to munch on a piece of bacon.
“I think you got plenty yesterday,” he said darkly.
“And yeah, you’re gonna say I also got to play in the warehouse, but then there was the near death experience and all, and I think I should have time to myself instead of being bored all day. You got what you wanted.”
Dominic chuckled. “Fair points, all. There’s only so long you’ll be able to use that argument,” he warned with a faint smile.
“But today I’ll allow it.” He sobered slightly.
“Someone knew where to find us yesterday, and until I determine exactly how, and whether anyone within my household assisted in it, I will be making additional precautions to ensure your safety.
So you can have time in the rec room, but Shane will be checking on you regularly.
He does not have to stay, and I would prefer that he not, seeing as that's when things seem to go poorly, but he will be in proximity in case there are additional plans since yesterday failed. I do not believe Ambrose acted alone.”
Onyx eyed Dominic. He scowled, but his voice was also thoughtful as he replied, “They’d have to be beyond stupid to try anything here.
You have defenses for days. It’s your home, and you’ve had…
” He trailed off. “Anyway, you’ve had a long time to prepare against intruders. No one’s going to attack here.”
“I’d have said that anyone would be beyond stupid to try anything against me anywhere, and yet here we are,” Dominic said grimly.
“It is far less likely that someone would attack here, but there are many things that could be done without it being an attack of that sort. Someone within the house would not need to attack it to get to you. And if neither Shane nor I are around, there are chances that that could happen.”
Was it likely that someone within his house was planning to do something?
He wouldn’t expect it, but without being able to rule it out entirely, he would not take the risks.
The servants and human slaves in the house rarely had any interactions with Onyx at all, but that did not mean that nothing could happen.
If Onyx was alone in the rec room, he could be reached. Not easily, but he could be.
“There’s stupid, but then there’s…” Onyx trailed off as his brow furrowed.
Dominic waited for him to share his thoughts, eating his breakfast as he regarded Onyx.
“There aren’t many chances for them to get to me anywhere else, so you think that if they really want to, they’ll try to make it work here,” Onyx said after a moment. “But it’s just so fucking dumb.”
“Indeed,” Dominic agreed. “Ideally, this will be only until I have had the staff re-vetted.”
Which itself was going to be a not-insignificant task.
While he didn’t have a truly extensive staff for the house, the fact that someone could potentially have already slipped through his vetting processes and through the binding contracts that he had his employees sign was highly concerning.
And there were also the household slaves to consider. Would one of them have been involved?
Perhaps he should have all of them replaced. Or would that allow further penetration through his defenses?
“Are you reporting the attack?” Onyx asked.
“Not at this time,” Dominic answered. “While the attackers will obviously know that the attempt on you failed, I don’t yet know if there are other elements in play.
Additional scrutiny from the Council into matters when there is little more than suspicion of involvement other than Ambrose’s could make it harder to find out anything more. ”
“Yeah." Onyx fiddled with his napkin. “Do you think it’s possible they really did want to just use me for something?”
“In the hands of someone who could control you, you are a powerful weapon. Even now with minimal training with your gift, you have the raw power to inflict significant destruction. The rebellion had no idea how to use you properly, or you would not have been wasted in the manner that you were during that attack. Obedient to someone who understands how to use you… As I’ve said before, you could decimate armies,” Dominic replied, calmly and factually.
“There are few — very few — who would let such power slip through their fingers.”
“But you think that Ambrose would’ve just tortured me,” Onyx countered. “Unless you think that he’d be able to control me by hurting me.”
Dominic hummed in agreement. “He’d have tortured you until you were broken or dead. Broken, he may have realized your further worth, but he was always short-sighted and driven more by impulse than planning.” His lip curled in derision.
He could at times be beholden to his deeper drives, but he never acted without a plan — often layers of plans. He had little use for someone so enslaved to their impulses.
“And if there is some additional element involved, as I suspect there is, they may have stepped in before you were dead as well.” In such a state, the young witch would easily see someone stepping in to stop the torture as a savior.
And broken that way, it would not be difficult to mold him into the weapon that would obey their every desire.
It was psychological manipulation not too terribly dissimilar from what he had done by changing the course of his treatment of Onyx. Going from tormentor to elements of a savior himself had bonded Onyx to him in ways that the Rayne witch would not consciously realize.
Onyx nibbled on his bottom lip. “What do—” he began, only to shake his head.
“In any event,” Dominic said when it became clear Onyx wasn’t going to continue, taking a last drink from his coffee cup before setting it down and standing.
“I must get to work. You cannot remain in the rec room the whole day, but I give you the option of being there before or after lunch. What would you prefer?”
Onyx finished off his own juice and stood as well. “Morning."
Dominic nodded, accepting Onyx’s choice easily, and gathered his laptop and files from his desk drawer. “Come." He led the way out of the bedroom and guided Onyx to the rec room. His hand on Onyx’s shoulder prevented the young witch from darting directly into the room. “Give me a kiss."
Onyx grumbled, but he pecked him reluctantly on the lips before trying to pull away.
Dominic chuckled at the brief barely-there kiss, but he let Onyx pull away from him, locking him into the rec room before turning to head toward his office.
Once there, he alerted Shane to the fact that Onyx was in the rec room and that his instructions were to remain in the vicinity of the room for the morning and to check on him periodically.
He thought about leaving explicit instructions for him not to interact with Onyx any more than was strictly necessary, but in the end chose not to even though his patience for any further issues between the two was strained nearly to breaking.
He set up the tablet to show him the video feeds from the rec room.
If something went wrong, he would make sure he knew about it immediately.