Chapter 14
Dominic
Dominic couldn’t explain why a swarm of restless, green wasps was crashing around inside him as he watched a young, pleasant-looking Benedict Griffin hug his fiery little Rayna.
Actually…it had a lot to do with the man being young and pleasant-looking in the refined way all the unmarried ladies of the ton would have swooned over.
And Dominic wasn’t daft to think he could compete in that department, even if they were of a similar height.
Very little about his roughened face and bullish size was refined.
But Benedict was family to Rayna from what Dominic understood, so it shouldn’t have mattered the way he looked, nor the way he touched her with such ease and familiarity.
Maybe it was just the foreignness of it all, the open affection, the little clothing Rayna had on, but every second they touched twisted at the perverse possessiveness Dominic held for her.
He had no real reason to be jealous. Except…
I wish to hold her thus. I want her to welcome me in her arms too.
It was pathetic of him. But the whimpered voice echoed through his bones, making them near ache with yearning.
It was witchcraft. It had to be. She’d trapped him in her most powerful spell.
Did he want to break free? Neves, no. Not at all.
Thankfully, as the night went on, through dinner and post-dinner board games, Dominic’s jealousy lost all the wind behind its sails.
It became increasingly obvious that the dynamic between Rayna, Benedict, and George was that of troublesome siblings just like his own.
They competitively argued over the property game they played, threatened each other with knives and fists, and then snickered and grumbled as they were scolded by Winnie, Declan, and Victor alike.
The exact relationship between Rayna and Victor, though, in fact, Rayna, Victor, and George, was still unclear. But asking directly didn’t seem possible when every time Dominic hovered in Rayna’s vicinity, Victor’s hands closed around the closest sharp object with a bitter scowl.
It meant that at some point in the evening, while Declan, Victor, Winnie, and Rayna chatted around the dining table, Dominic found himself sitting between Benedict and George on a sofa.
“There,” Benedict said, handing Dominic back his smart mobile phone. “Now you can watch endless videos of mindless modern entertainment. You just scroll like this.” Benedict swiped up on the screen, and a video of a ginger cat chasing its tail started playing.
“It doesn’t seem like a good idea to put him on social media yet,” George said, taking a sip from the aluminium can in his hand.
Benedict waved him off. “He needs exposure to modern culture to fit in, and this is the best way he’s going to get it.”
“He’s going to see something inappropriate and be traumatised.”
“No, he won’t,” Benedict said. “Dominic, you’ve had your internet safety talk, right?”
Dominic nodded. “Yes. After River showed me how to use the phone, he spoke of passwords, internet scams, and…” He faded off as his eyes darted to the two women in the room. He lowered his voice, a faint heat touching his cheeks. “And porn.”
Dominic had seen his fair share of inappropriate drawings as an adolescent that he and his friends lusted over once women became objects of desire.
He’d even attended a clandestine ball once as an adult, held by a duke who enjoyed tupping multiple prostitutes in front of an audience, where Dominic discovered he didn’t at all like watching.
But none of that could have prepared him for the flood of shocked embarrassment he felt when River explained to him what porn was. Not even his usual curiosity could have convinced him to search up such scandalous websites, let alone actually watch it.
A massive grin burst onto Benedict’s face. “See, he knows already. He’ll be fine.”
George shook his head in disapproval. “Rayna’s gonna be pissed. And I’m gonna blame you.”
“That’s why Dominic isn’t going to tell her until they’re back in their own house.” Benedict nudged Dominic’s arm with his elbow. “Right?”
Rather than answering, Dominic’s gaze slid past the grinning man to Rayna as she laughed at what had been said along with Declan.
Winnie threw her hands around in animated chatter, which made Rayna laugh delightfully louder, and she flopped into Victor’s side.
The spectacled man smiled softly, then planted his lips to her hair in a quick, loving kiss.
Dominic immediately faced George, unable to hold the question in any longer. “What is your relation to Victor and Rayna?”
Caught off guard, George’s brows lifted as he lowered the can from his mouth. “What do you mean? Didn’t Rayna tell you? We’re family.”
“Yes. That is what she said. But how? You do not look anything alike.”
“Oh. We’re adopted. Victor’s our adoptive dad.”
“Adopted?” Dominic echoed.
“As in, in the eyes of the law, he’s their parent,” Benedict clarified. “Their guardian. Legally speaking.”
Dominic narrowed his eyes in consideration.
So Victor had created a legal document to make Rayna and George his children?
He stilled.
Wait. They were his children…Victor was Rayna’s father?
Oh…Oh.
Cold realisation trickled through Dominic’s blood.
He’s her father.
That realisation quickly solidified into dread as he dared to glance at the man.
Fuck. Shit.
Bloody woods, no wonder the man hated him.
Dominic scowled at Rayna as he lay atop her bedding later that night, back in their own farmhouse. She tapped on her mobile phone, oblivious to his foul mood.
With one final press of her thumb, Rayna stretched over and placed the device on the bedside cabinet. She returned to her position on her back with a rustling wriggle.
“What is it?” she said, her bottomless eyes illuminated by the lamplight to his back. “Why have you been staring at me like I kicked your puppy?”
“Is there something you wish to tell me?”
Her eyes darted away before crinkling in confusion. “No? Is there something I was supposed to tell you?”
He untangled his crossed arms in a burst of outrage. “Victor Johnson,” he accused. “I have asked you on many occasions who he was to you, yet every time you brushed me off. I had to discover from George that he was your adoptive father. Your father. Why did you fail to inform me of this?”
Her brows eased up, casting a wary blankness over her features. “Why does it matter that I didn’t tell you?”
Why…does it matter? Why does it matter? Had this damned woman just asked him why it mattered? Was she bloody serious?
Had she forgotten how he’d strangled her then rutted like a shameless animal with the hopes of bedding her, while her father watched from the other side of a glass screen?
Her father!
To make matters worse, Dominic had then proceeded to insult Victor when he’d only been worried about his daughter, having assumed they were lovers. Then he’d cornered Rayna into being his Guardian against Victor’s wishes. Oh, and he’d insulted George—his son—too.
Had another man done to one of his sisters what he had done to Rayna, Dominic would have severed the man’s head from his body in the slowest, most painful way possible.
“Of course it matters,” he rumbled. “Have you forgotten how atrociously I behaved in that room? Had I known he was your father, I would never have offended him in nearly every way humanly possible, and then neglected to apologise profusely.”
“You shouldn’t have offended him anyway, whether you knew he was my father or not. You can’t treat someone better or worse based on what their relationship to someone else is.”
The line of frustration between his brows deepened.
“You are being purposely obtuse to what I am saying, Rayna.” Her own frown pinched tighter, but he stormed on ahead.
“Yes, my behaviour to him regardless was inexcusable. But no father ought to be forced to watch his daughter being harassed only to then himself battle with the same man. Had I known sooner who he was, I would have earnestly apologised for what I subjected you to.”
Rayna lifted her head higher on her pillow with an angry jerk.
“Considering I’m the one who you actually harassed, Dominic, I don’t see why you think it’s more important to apologise to V just because he’s my dad.
Apologise to him for how you treated him.
But to apologise to him because of something you did to me makes no fucking sense. ”
Guilt wormed its way through his stomach, causing him to fumble over his words. “That is not—I would not dare apologise to him without apologising to you. I have apologised to you. Neither am I saying he deserves an apology more than you, Rayna, but he is your father—”
“Dominic,” she interrupted, but her glare had waned. “I understand that to you insulting a woman is the same as insulting her male relatives—”
“That is not the reason I wish to apologise.”
“Then wha—”
“Dammit, woman, would you just listen?”
Rayna clapped her lips together, but a storm of insults rolled around in her narrowed stare.
Dominic let out a calming exhale and tried again. “I made a terrible first impression on Victor. I wish to rectify that, because I do not want him to think that I could ever truly bring you harm.”
She sighed and shook her head. “He doesn’t. You wouldn’t be here with me if he did.”
Dominic nearly threw himself onto his back and yanked at his hair with a frustrated growl.
Damn it, why didn’t she understand that it wasn’t about that?
Victor was her father. Dominic had to make amends with him immediately so that Victor didn’t think badly of him.
Because if Victor didn’t like Dominic being around Rayna, if her father didn’t approve of him, how was he—how could he—what if Rayna decided she didn’t wish to be around him either as a result?
Having Victor’s favour was crucial if Dominic wanted to...to…to…
To what?
To court her? And for what? Marriage?