The Dominator (36 page)

“Tommy!” my hands landed on his chest and I tried to push him back. He reared back onto his knees at the end of the bed and I sat up and scooted backwards.

He gave me a grin, “I’m very pleased with you right now. Let me show you.” He reached forward and ran his hand up my leg. I swatted his hand away and blazed a dirty look at him. He reached for me again and when I went to swat him away again, he caught my wrist in his hand and his expression darkened, “I said I’d like to show you how pleased I am with you. You want me
this
pleased, trust me.” His facial expression made a chill crawl up my spine.

He laid me back down and started kissing from my throat down my arm and then his mouth was over and between my breasts. He looked up while kissing me and gave me a little smile. I laid there stiffly, a scowl on my face.

He stopped and looked up at me and sighed, “Okay, yes. You passed. Can you forget about it so we can move on with our day? I have so many things planned. So many things…” he started tonguing my earlobe.  I winced, feeling a little sick. He’d left me alone here for hours wondering where he was and then I’d been afraid that those old people were part of something sketchy. And they were; they were here to scam me. To see if I’d try to, to what, escape with them? Would they have driven me right to him? Then I’d have been in big trouble. What would he have done?

I shook my head. He rewards obedience. He punishes defiance.

“Don’t be mad at me,” he whispered, “I’m
so not mad
at you.”

I squirmed out from under him and went over to the table and took another mouthful of coffee and then wandered over to the screen and looked out at the pond. He came up behind me and put his arms around my waist and his chin on my head, then softly said, “I wanted to believe that you’re being real with me, about what we discussed last night. I guess I just had doubts and I wanted to put it to rest. Either you’d pass and I’d know you’re really giving me a chance, or you’d fail and then I’d know.”

I spun around, “Know what? That I was capable of Oscar-worthy performances? And then what would you have done?”

“I…” he started, took a deep breath, then said, “I don’t know what I would’ve done. But I’d have been devastated. Devastated. I’m glad you passed. Now I can breathe easier, baby. Please don’t be upset. I want us to have a good day today. We can go fishing, I bought us fishing rods. We can go to dinner later; I booked a table at this little place not far from here.”

I shook my head, giving him a disapproving look.

He continued, caressing my face as he talked to me, “I’ll cut wood and we can have a bonfire with some marshmallow roasting tonight, then tomorrow morning we’ll head back to the city. I called the Crenshaws and they were busy today but we’re meeting them at their house tomorrow for brunch and then we’ll head home. I have to jet away for a business trip and I’ll be gone for a couple days so this is time for us before I go.” He was looking at me with puppy dog eyes. I wanted to stay mad. But I didn’t, at the same time. I wanted today to be the first day since the day before grad of not hating my existence, I wanted today to be the first day of my engagement, the engagement I’d agreed to be in last night. I meant it last night. But the reality was that this wasn’t a typical engagement. He wasn’t a typical man.

“You didn’t trust me. Last night meant so much to me and you thought I was playing you. I thought we decided on a new beginning.” I looked down at my feet away from those puppy dog eyes. They were totally adorable and cracking my armor.

“I want that so much. I wanted it to be real. I fell asleep believing it was real. I was so happy last night, baby. It meant a lot to me, too. It meant everything. But when I woke up this morning I had this little voice telling me it was too good to be true. You probably wanted me dead a few days ago. When Earl shot at me, all I could think of was that you’d be relieved if he’d killed me, relieved thinking you had your life back. You’ve been through a lot. I started to doubt that I deserved this about face and then I started to think maybe you were just placating me until you got a chance to run. I couldn’t think straight so I went for a walk and picked those flowers. Then I went for a drive. Then I just decided to set up a little test, that’s all. You passed. I feel better. Please just…” he looked a little bit lost. He ran a hand through his hair and looked at me, eyebrows raised, lips a little pouty.

I felt my anger soften a little. I guess he picked up on it because he started jerking his head to and fro, searching my face, looking like he was searching for a sign I wasn’t angry. He smiled but it was punctuated by a question mark. Then he raised his eyebrows again and I smiled back, “S’mores,” I said, “For the bonfire and you’ve got a deal.”

He scooped me up in his arms and kissed me hard. Then he popped me onto the bed and rolled me onto my belly and laid on top of my back, pinning me to the bed, holding my hands above my head while he nuzzled the back of my neck and then lifted my top and started to rain kisses up my bare back. It tickled a little so I squirmed. He must’ve liked that because then I felt his erection poking me in the backside and then he started to really tickle me and I started to struggle. He flipped me onto my side and I caught his expression and the struggling seemed to wake something up in him and he let out a little “Rawr” and flipped me onto my back and pinned my arms above my head. His hands and eyes travelled up and down my body and then he started to undo his pants, holding my eyes captive in his gaze.  I swallowed hard.

“Don’t move,” he warned, his expression looking deadly serious. My heart started hammering against my chest.

He pulled my already undone skirt the rest of the way down, smirking seeing I was commando. He kissed my hip and worked his way over to between my legs.

His tongue certainly knew what it was doing. I went off like a cannon in what felt like about 90 seconds. Bang, boom; holy shit! As soon as I came, he rammed hard into me and grabbed me by the hair. I winced as it was a little painful and then he twirled me so that he was suddenly sitting with legs dangling off the bed and I was straddled, riding him. He grabbed my shoulders and looked me right in the eye, “Never leave me. Ever.”

I blinked hard and shivered.

“Because. You. Are. Mine,” he hammered into me with every word. I closed my eyes and I think I winced because he got my chin into his grasp and pulled my face forward and his nose was an inch from mine and he said, “Right?”

I swallowed hard. His eyes softened, “Say it,” he said softly but there was still an edge to his voice.

It was all too fresh. I wasn’t ready for this declaration. Nowhere near ready. I wasn’t remotely interested in playing
this
game. But judging by the look on his face, I needed to play it. I needed to play it and then move on from it otherwise the lovely day he’d organized for us would be gone to pot.

“I didn’t leave,” I whispered, chin trembling.

“Why?” his eyes narrowed.

“Because I didn’t want to. I told you I’d give you a chance. I meant it, Tommy.”

“You’ll marry me?” he asked, eyes narrow.

“Yes,” I answered.

He huffed and then pushed my shoulders slightly back so that I was sort of suspended in midair. He grabbed my legs and pulled me tighter to him so that he was driving so deep into me that it felt like he was hitting parts he shouldn’t be hitting.

“You can’t leave me, Tia,” it was more like a plea instead of a demand. There was something that looked a little like pain in his eyes.

I had nothing to hold onto, my abs were killing me. I grabbed at my stomach and he spun me around so that I had the bed to lie on and now he was standing up, pummeling me from standing, pulling my legs up, driving in so deep that I started to cry out but it was sweet pain and the look on his face was so sexy I would’ve swooned if I wasn’t already horizontal.

As he plunged into me he started tweaking my clit with his thumb, almost in a strumming motion and the heated stare, the sensation, and the feeling of him sliding in and out at that rapid pace all culminated in a loud moan from me. But he wasn’t done. I’d come twice and he still wasn’t done. I was flipped back onto my belly, my ass in the air and he climbed onto the bed and drove into me from behind. Ramming hard, fingers gripping my hips, and then out of nowhere he made a low growling sound and a stinging slap rang across on my ass. I jolted, dislodged him, and then he grabbed my hips and rammed back in, eliciting a squeaking protest from me.  He gripped my rear hard with his hand and I didn’t know if I loved it or hated it.  His breathing pace changed and then he groaned my name as he came. I collapsed face first on the bed under the weight of him collapsing on top of me. He stayed on top of me for a few minutes. The feel of his breath on my neck, of his heart pounding through his chest against my back, it gave me a weird feeling, a peaceful feeling.

He started to caress my head, then gathered my hair to one side and began running his fingers through it.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered against my ear, “It’s going to take time for us to both trust one another. I want us to have a good day together. Still upset?”

“Not really,” I answered, but in truth I wasn’t sure how to feel.

“Did I fuck you into submission?” I felt him smile against my shoulder and then he planted a soft kiss against it.

“I think you might’ve.” I smiled back.

He rolled me onto my side and spooned me, “I may do that often, you know?” he kissed my ear and gave me a squeeze, “But you didn’t submit 100%, did you?”

I knew he wanted that
Yes, I’m yours,
from me and I didn’t give it to him. But he didn’t seem angry right now, “Mmm, maybe 90ish.” I said and he let out a little laugh.

“Progress,” he murmured, “Huge progress.”

I heard a flock of birds overhead and as they flew over the barn and the expanse of the property and I sighed, “It’s lovely here.”

“I love it here,” he said, “I needed to feel like you were safe. Home wasn’t safe. Here feels better.”

I turned over so that I was facing him and put my arms around him and nuzzled into his chest. His bruises were fading. He looked down at me happily. I felt safe there, then, in his arms, which was the strangest thing because I’d probably never known actual true danger before I’d met him. I traced his tattoo with my finger and enjoyed the feel of a gentle breeze that swooped through the loft.

Tommy

I hadn’t earned it yet. I hadn’t earned a “Yes, I’m yours.” I hadn’t earned, “I love you” yet. But I would.

After making love we laid in bed for the longest time. It was funny to think of it as “making love” instead of fucking, like it’d always been, but I guess my mindset had started to shift. Did it qualify as making love if it was a little rough? To me it did. I loved her and I wanted her and I was expressing that love and that hunger with my body.

She cuddled up to me and drew circles on my arm and then my back with her fingertips and then I did it back and she squirmed. She made me feel like a teenager. A horny teenager who couldn’t get enough of her and who, in that moment at least, didn’t care if it was vanilla, chocolate, or blackjack berry thunder as long as it was with her.

“You’re very ticklish,” I told her, “I like how you squirm against me when I tickle you.”

She blushed and batted her eyelashes at me.

“Why don’t we warm up those sandwiches and eat and then we’ll go fishing?” I suggested and tapped her on the bottom. She smiled and stretched.

I got out of the bed and popped the bag into the microwave.  She got up and put a new pair of panties on, a sexy silky pair that I’d bought her, put a matching bra on, and then pulled the yellow cotton dress over her head and started hunting for something to put her flowers into. I found her a mason jar that was down in one of the stalls and she cleaned it, put the bouquet in, and then put the yellow strap back around the waist of her dress.

We ate and then I walked her downstairs and pulled out the new fishing rods I’d bought that morning. I bought her a pink one and she thought it was hilarious that it was pink. We made our way down to the pond and I put the worm on for her and taught her how to cast. She was a natural; she caught twice as many fish as I did but wouldn’t touch the worm or the fish.  I finally grabbed her as she muttered “one more cast” for the fifth time and carried her back to the barn over my shoulder, “We’ve been fishing all day. We have reservations, no more casts.”

She giggled as I put her down near the bed and reached for my keys.  She wanted five minutes to freshen up and grab her purse so I waited in the jeep for her, thinking about the fact that I had to go to Vegas for some business and that I didn’t want to leave her at the house.

I didn’t want to leave her because, a) I still wasn’t content the security issues that plagued me after Earl and then after the shooting yesterday were totally resolved. I knew that there’d very likely be blowback from what I did in Mexico because Castillo had a local nephew who was a small time drug dealer and thug and it was him and his guys that’d breached security and gotten in by scaling up and in from behind the swimming pool but I had taken care of it and now that threat was eliminated. A taller fence was being put in today to make sure no one could get in that way.

Still, I needed to see that nothing would go wrong before trusting anything. And besides, b) I hated the thought of her not being beside me at night.  What a 180 from congratulating myself so frequently that I had my king-sized bed all to myself to now aching for her when she wasn’t in my sights. The night I’d taken her to dinner and the beach when I’d left her alone for the night had been a long cold and sleepless night in the guest room without her warmth wrapped around me. The nights in Mexico without her had been torment, not feeling her, not hearing her breathing.

The Japanese restaurant I took her to was almost empty. The hostess I’d talked to that morning wasn’t in sight. The rest of the staff welcomed us and pointed to a table. She didn’t know what to order so I told her I’d order for us.

She examined everything carefully and skeptically but tried every dish that the server put in front of her after having first asked the waiter about shellfish. The waiter had waved her concerns off because of what we’d ordered but he didn’t speak very clear English so we were careful about what we’d ordered.  She was good-natured about it despite telling me she hadn’t been a very adventurous eater in life so far.

“No shit, Miss Vanilla Ice Cream is my Favorite,” I laughed and she blushed, “Until I found you, Mr. Blackjack Berry Thunder. Or should I say, until I was betrothed to you.” She didn’t look unhappy when she said that. I smiled at her.

“I’m expanding your palate, and your horizons,” I wiggled my eyebrows at her.

She wiggled hers back at me, “Mmm hmmm. So you’re off on a business trip?” she added.

I scrunched up my face, “Yeah,”

“Unpleasant business?” she asked, then she said, “Or should I not ask?”

I shook my head, “I’m just not looking forward to leaving you at home. I’m thinking I should take you with me.”

“Really? Why? Where?”  She looked excited and the idea of her being happy to come with me instead of having time without me felt good. Real good.

“Yeah, it’s too soon for me since the security breaches at home to feel comfortable so I don’t know that I’d be all that productive unless you were with Dare. But he’s too wrapped up with work shit to be your bodyguard 24/7. I’m vetting a few of my senior guys and will make a decision soon about rotations for security for the house. And I’m not sure I want to be without you.”

She blushed and smiled at me.

“So, tomorrow maybe after we see your foster parents we can go home and pack for Vegas.”

Her face lit up, “Vegas?”

I nodded. She clapped her hands and then was suddenly downtrodden.

“What?” I asked.

“I’m 19. Vegas isn’t fun unless you’re 21.” She pouted.

“Unless you’re a high roller.” I said, “No one will card you when you’re with me, baby girl.”

Her smile returned. She took a sip of her Japanese green tea and then started to scratch at her chest.  I leaned forward because I could see big blotchy hives across her neck and cleavage. She was looking a little pale.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. I hope nothing we ate had any shellfish.”

She didn’t look good at all.

“You’d better go make yourself puke, Tia. Now!” I waved the waiter over as she dashed to the bathroom. I tried to talk to the waiter but he kept telling me No to the shellfish question. Clearly she was having a reaction to the food.

I burst into the bathroom and she was sitting on the floor beside the toilet in a cold sweat and she looked like death warmed over. Fuck!

I pulled out my phone and called 9-1-1. They were too slow so I called back from the jeep and told them nevermind as I’d carried her to my jeep and sped down the highway to the hospital five minutes away and then carried her in myself, losing my shit until they rushed out and got her on a gurney. She’d still been conscious but she was covered in hives and she told me her heart was racing.

By the time she was stuck with a needle, stable, and admitted in the little country hospital, I’d found out the restaurant’s miso soup’s secret family ingredient was clams. The hostess had originally had no idea because it was a ‘secret’ recipe and the waiter was a fucking bonehead.

She was going to be fine. They’d given her epinephrine and wanted to watch her overnight. I slept in the chair in her room, sort of, sitting up.  The following morning I called her foster parents and told them that we couldn’t make brunch and I explained what had happened.  Two hours later they turned up in the waiting room, despite my telling them on the phone that she’d be fine and that they didn’t need to come. I never should’ve told them what hospital we were at.

I wasn’t best pleased about it because I wasn’t on the ball. I’d slept like shit and they approached me all judgmental-looking. I’d been on the phone with my brother, dealing with some business stuff and giving him an update. I told him to keep everyone there, that I’d bring Tia home tomorrow, a day later. After she was let out of the hospital I’d take her back to the farm for one more day. I wasn’t ready to step back into my regular life quite yet.

“Mr. Ferrano? Cal Crenshaw. My wife Rose,” the tall, fair, thin professor-looking guy said. I was walking through the lobby when he’d stepped away from the nurse’s station where the nurse had pointed at me. He stopped me and as soon as he did, he shook my hand quickly and his wife, a short roundish Italian woman held her hands together firmly in front of herself.  She was shooting daggers at me with her eyes.

“Glad to meet you,” I said. And then I almost lost my shit totally because coming up the corridor directly behind the Crenshaws was Gregory Fucking O’Connor. I’d seen his picture before. He was looking at me, looking like he wanted to shit his pants.

“
We
called Tia’s father,” Rose Crenshaw said, shooting more eye daggers at me.

Great.

Tia

Hoh, boy…did I
ever
feel like shit. Tommy was like a scary psychotic madman trying to get me help when we got here. And he’d been here since last night doting on me, holding my hand while I slept. Yelling at nurses to make sure I had more pillows, more blankets, etc., etc. He was like the worst den mother I’d ever seen.

I was getting out of here today, the doctor feeling like I had everything under control, and he told me I needed to carry an epi pen with me all the time. I’d always found it easy to keep my allergy under control because I never ate in fancy places where they didn’t understand you when you asked them about their ingredients.  Now things were obviously different.

Tommy told me, this morning, we’d go back and relax for the day at the loft, if I wanted, and then we’d go home tomorrow and pack for the trip to Vegas. The quiet of the loft sounded good to me and maybe then seeing the bright lights and sin city would be fun. The only place I’d ever been was Florida that once and the idea of travel really appealed to me.

My hospital room door opened and it was Rose and Cal. I felt my heart constrict. Did Tommy know they were here? Where was he? Rose quickly hugged me and Cal stood behind her.

“How are you, Tia?” Cal asked. Rose dabbed her eyes with a tissue in her hand at the sight of me.