81. Kiera
KIERA
Dom’s arm flexed, knuckles whitening against the pillar as she closed off my only exit.
I tensed at the sight, clutching my sweatpants to my chest and preparing myself for some sort of punishment. It had been foolish to think we’d get away with it when this was always the inevitable consequence.
But instead of grabbing me, Dom just shook her head with a sigh. “You know, Kiera, I expected this kind of petty frat boy shit from Spencer…”
I was completely caught off guard by the disapproval in her voice. As if I owed her something, as if I was the one who had made this petty. At the sound of her tone, the fear coursing through my veins turned into white hot rage.
How fucking dare she?
“You know what they say. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.” I spat back, glancing past her arm for some other way out of the garage.
But Dom leaned into my sightline, her hulking frame dominating my field of vision. “Be honest, Kiera. How much more is it going to take for you to forgive me?”
“You need to want it, for starters.”
“I do want it.”
“Oh?” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Your little bitchfit upstairs, that’s you wanting forgiveness? If that’s the case, I’d hate to see you angry.”
“Upstairs was…” She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I was in a bad mood. Thinking about too many things at once. But if that’s what you’re mad about, we’re even, right?”
She gestured over to the precious gold Camaro behind me, its trunk still glistening with my excitement. “Certainly that was enough to get your point across.”
“That’s not what this is about,” I grumbled. “There’s no way in hell we’ll ever be even.”
“Do you hear how crazy that sounds?” Dom threw up her hands, pacing away from me before wheeling right back.
“You want me to just live in this purgatory forever? Taking all of your slights and demands and accepting the fact that none of it will ever be enough for you? That you’ll always look at me like some monster?
I don’t get it Kiera, seriously. It’s like you like being mad at me. ”
“I hate being mad at you!” I snarled, throwing down the pants as I stepped closer to her. “I don’t want to be mad at you, okay! I just am! And every time I think I’m close to getting over it, you have to do some stupid shit that makes me question you all over again. This is exhausting for me!”
“I’m never allowed to have a bad day? Is that it then?”
“Oh my god,” I threw my hands up. “It’s like talking to a fucking brick wall.”
“No, seriously, since we’re keeping score, let’s tally up my points. I protected you your whole childhood, I saved your fucking life…”
She was pacing the room now, her chest rising and falling hard with each breath.
“I sheltered you from a psychotic cyber stalker, I’ve kept you fed and comfortable, I have killed two men for you!
I made you Christmas dinner, I closed down an art gallery for your birthday, and not only did I let you get your fucking dog, but I have let her terrorize my expensive furniture and continued to train her anyway! ”
Her breathing was absolutely ragged as she towered over me, snarling. “And what you’re mad about is a lie I told to protect you . A lie I’ve already fucking apologized for!”
My throat tightened as I met her eyes, uncertain what to say. But before logic could have me conceded, my ego pushed the words past my lips. “Oh, so you admit it? You only did that shit to get on my good side?”
Her eyes widened as the tension in her shoulders ratched. “No! No, Kiera, that is not the only fucking reason.”
The set of her jaw feigned rage, but for just a moment, I could see the faint flicker of emotion behind her eyes: panic as the walls began to set in, fear that I might actually never forgive her.
As she closed her eyes, every muscle coiled against the feeling, quickly caging it off before she met my gaze again. “I don’t know what you want from me, Kiera. I’m begging for forgiveness.”
“I don’t see you begging.” I spat back, pacing across the garage before I could be tempted to forgive her.
“What?” she tilted her head. “What do you want? For me to get on my hands and knees?”
As I got closer to the Camaro, Dom started to stalk behind me, reaching out a hand to grip my shoulder. But I slapped it away, glaring at her over my shoulder. “It would be a start.”
I strode away from her, hopping back up on the Camaro’s trunk. But as I took my seat, she just stood frozen in the middle of the garage, jaw tight as she tried to piece together what was happening.
I waved my hand at her dismissively. “Go on, then.”
Snarling, Dom dropped to her knees with a thud, her chilling gaze never leaving mine. “Kiera, pl?—”
“Can’t hear you.” I snapped, picking at my nail. “Too far away.”
“And how exactly do you suggest I fix that?”
I raised an eyebrow, lowering my gaze from her eyes to the floor with a shrug. I knew she’d have a limit, a point at which she wouldn’t indulge my demands. But so far, she was doing exactly as I said.
Growling, Dom leaned forward, her shoulders rounding predatorily as she lowered her hands to the floor. Her eyes stayed locked on me hungrily as she crawled forward, a jungle cat closing in on its prey.
And though I didn’t doubt that she could have devoured me whole, I kept my shoulders rolled back and my chin held high. Right now, I had all of the power here. But the second she caught a whiff of my fear, I was done for.
“That’s better,” I cooed as she drew closer. Impatience painted her every feature as she sat back on her heels, but I simply smiled down at her. “You wanted to say something.”
Resting her hands on her thighs, she drew in a deep breath. “Kiera, I’m sorry.”
“Is that the best you’ve got?” I cocked my brow.
A sigh. “I… shouldn’t have lied to you. I shouldn’t have been so cruel. And I should have known better than to expect it all to go away on its own.”
“All true…” I tilted my head to the side, relishing in the sight of my tormentor groveling.
“So I’m on my hands and knees, begging you, Kiera. Please forgive me.”
“Do you think you’ve earned that? My forgiveness.”
“I think—” her rebuttal was immediate, but she swallowed it down with a grimace before it could dig the hole she was in any deeper. “I want to earn it. I’m trying to earn it now.”
“Show me then. How badly you want it.” I leaned forward on the trunk, forcing her to crane her neck to meet my gaze.
Then, much to my surprise, she grabbed my ankle, pulling me closer to the edge of the car. I could feel my authority starting to slip already, “Did I say?—?”
But before I could finish the sentence, Dom was pressing her lips to the sole of my foot, kissing up its center. “Please. I will do anything — anything you want me to. But I can’t live like this.”
With each word, her kisses grew more passionate, her hand drifting up my calf and massaging the muscle as she worshipped my feet with her lips. “I need you, Kiera. More than I’ve ever needed anything. And that fucking terrifies me.”
Her attention shifted to the tendons lining the top of one foot, while her spare hand idly massaged the arch of the other.
“I will crawl through glass, I will carve your name into my skin, I will ruin my life all over again, but I just need you to let me in. Let me prove to you just how worthy I can be.”
The words, along with her soft breath tickling at my ankle, was enough to make me shudder. I was still so sensitive from Spencer taking me, and now Dom’s caress was like a livewire connected straight to my nervous system.
I couldn’t imagine that this was the same Dom who’d taken me against the bar of that train car. Though the desperation was the same, the need in her eyes paired with the reckless, shameless pursuit of the thing she wanted most.
Me.
Just the thought of that night was enough to summon a flush of excitement to my core.
“I’m sorry that I ever hurt you, Kiera. I’m sorry for every single time. But I swear on my life, if you let me back in, I’ll never let you get hurt like that again.”
The words broke something open in my chest. I gasped as I met her gaze, my legs spreading slightly as her kisses began to trail higher up my calf, crossing over the sensitive skin between my knees.
But before she could rise fully to take me, I pushed her head back, sending her right back down on her heels.
One more second, and I lose all control.
As confusion flooded her gaze, I hopped down from the Camaro and scooped up my sweatpants, leaving her on her knees as I strode toward the door.
“Kiera…” She called after me, still on her knees.
But I hardly glanced back, afraid of what might happen if I saw her like that. “We’ll talk later. Apology under consideration.”