A Dominant Fallen (A Dominant Series Book 2) (38 page)

“Please, daddy, answer me, please,” I plead softly, as the tears have seized my voice.

I try to contain myself, but it’s impossible. The floodgates have opened and they show no signs of stopping. I’ve held it in too long and now it’s coming at me threefold.

That’s when I feel the comfort of his familiar arms take ahold of me and cradle me close, but when I go into smell his cologne, I realize it’s Hunt. I stare up into his eyes pleadingly and he places my head back onto his still clothed chest. I throw my arms around his neck, pulling myself up and laying my head on his shoulder. I wrap my trembling, naked body about him, clinging desperately while I let out choked, stifled cries.

He doesn’t say a word. He doesn’t have to. He soothingly pets the back of my head, swaying us so we’re almost dancing. I’ve never felt so safe, so free, so loved. I whimper into his neck and squeeze tighter, never wanting to let him go.

I
walk into our room, lying in bed on my stomach, still naked. It feels extraordinary as the warm night breeze creeps in from the open glass wall, flowing over me. I turn over and stretch, moaning happily. I actually feel happy, relieved. Then, I remember this afternoon’s cathartic meltdown, Hunt’s comforting embrace. I shut my eyes and smile to myself, fondly thinking about that tender, loving moment when I needed him most, and he was there without hesitation.

“Did you sleep well, angel?” Hunt asks.

I don’t have to peek up to see the pleased smirk that spreads his cheeks widely; I can hear it in his voice.

“Yes,” I reply, lifting my head. I spot him standing near a table for two set in the center of the room, with tapered candles and a brilliant bouquet of tropical flowers. He’s wearing a cream linen button up and khaki shorts, shoeless. He’s breathtaking.

“Is it formal attire?” I ask, teasingly. He holds up a slinky lavender dress and saunters over to my side of the bed. “What’s with all the lavender?”

“It’s a very fetching color on you.” He runs his finger over my exposed breast, circling the nipple. “Come on, get up.”

I rise and crawl out of bed, standing before him. He sluggishly scans me up and down, crossing his arms and shaking his head once his eyes meet mine. “Fuck. If we didn’t have something so serious to discuss, I would have you dine like this tonight.”

“Serious discussion, huh?”

“Yes,” he replies, gathering the dress and holding it open. I hold up my arms, staring up at him with a wicked smirk, and wait for him to dress me like a little doll. He slides it over my arms and down my body, guiding it with his hands running over every curve. He slithers his hand up my skirt, over my exposed rear. I shut my eyes and wobble in a daze.

“You really are stunning,” he murmurs, tucking loose hair behind my ear. I gaze at him admiringly, finding he’s doing just the same. He leans in, and I fall into his arms, kissing him deeply. He lifts me up and walks us over to the table, removing his lips to set me down near my chair. I take a seat while he pours wine into our glasses. He takes his seat and lifts up his glass, which I mimic. “To us.”

I take a sip of the wine then scan my plate, licking my lips.

“It’s prawns sautéed in coconut oil with lavender rice and snow peas. I hope you enjoy seafood, we’ll be having it quite a bit.”

“I love it! This looks amazing, and the view is wonderful. This is perfect, Damian. Thank you for bringing me here, and convincing me to talk to my mother…I’m still a little hurt, but now I can focus on healing.”

“I only want what’s best for you, Gabrielle. Your happiness and well-being mean everything to me. I also understand that life is too short to fight with the ones we love.”

He reaches across the table and takes my hand in his, rubbing my knuckles with his thumb.

“Yes, which is why I’m sorry for my overreaction yesterday. I was stressed about my mom and you keeping secrets from me. I’ve just been so overwhelmed…”

“Gabrielle, there’s no need for you to explain why you reacted to me the way you did. You have every right to feel strained…Let’s eat. I have something I need to talk about once we’ve finished.”

“Why not talk now?”

“If we discuss anything serious before you have a chance to eat, you’ll lose your appetite, and I didn’t slave over a stove for you to let it go to waste.” He smirks at me.

“Next you’ll be telling me I don’t notice when you change your hair, or I work too much.”

He chuckles. “Are you trying to tell me I sound like a whining housewife?”

“You said it, slick,” I giggle out, and he laughs harder, throwing his head back. When he recovers, he plucks a prawn off his plate between his fingers, extending it across the table for me to take. I open my mouth, allowing him to place it on my tongue, and chew it with delight. I realize the energy has shifted between us, not any less electric, but open and exciting as if there are no barriers blocking us, as if anything is possible for us.

“I could get used to this, you know,” I mumble, still chewing the huge morsel and smiling cheerfully at him.

He smirks at me and shakes his head. “That’s my plan.”

O
nce he stuffs me to the brim, we take a walk down to the beach to digest and talk. We stroll hand-in-hand along the surf, allowing the cool, wet sand to bury itself between our toes. It’s a moonless night, only a sky full of stars lights our way. It’s truly astonishing.

I glance up at him, on our way back to our room, and notice he’s rubbing the back of his neck. It’s his only tell when he’s worried about something. “What is it, Hunt?”

He rips his hand from his neck, thrusting it into his front pocket, and then glances down at me hesitantly, slowly pulling his hand back out. “It’s nothing. I just have some work stuff on my mind.”

“Anything you want to talk about?”

“No,” he replies, smirking down at me, “it’s all very dull. Normal stresses of running a corporation.”

“Well, if you ever need an ear, I’m here.”

“Thank you.” The smile on his face is faint. Whatever’s on his mind must be pretty serious, so I decide to change the subject.

“So, weren’t we supposed to have a serious conversation?”

“Let’s get back to our room,” he says, ignoring my question. “I want to immerse myself in you the rest of the night.”

“That sounds like paradise,” I purr, overlooking his odd behavior.

I
roll off him panting, content. He pets and kisses my face while I slowly come down from this incredible sexual high, listening to the beautifully intense song, ‘Au Revoir’ by OneRepublic. Hunt wraps me in his arms, spooning me until my breathing steadies and my body relaxes into his.

“Elle,” he whispers in my ear.

“Yes?” I sigh out.

“I’m ready to tell you about my parents.”

This shocks the hell out of me, and I leap up, kneeling beside him to stare into his terrified, emerald eyes. He rises, gloriously naked, and sits on the bed, facing me with his legs crossed. He looks so…normal, nothing like the strong, alpha male that he portrays to the world, but the true man underneath it all, a Dominant fallen. For the first time ever, his wall has come down, and he is ready to let me inside himself. I mimic his pose and wait patiently for him to gather himself. I place my hand on his knee for support.

“I loved my parents more than anything in the world. My family was my whole world, my safe place…It was my birthday, and I was so excited when I woke up, I could hardly contain myself. I remember realizing they hadn’t woken me up early with my birthday pancakes, which was a tradition in our family.”

He takes a steadying breath and shuts his eyes, only to reopen them with fresh tears pooling at the bottom.

He continues, and I hear the tremble in his voice, “I thought it was odd, so I went to go find them, heading downstairs to see if they were in the kitchen, but they weren’t, so I searched the rest of the house. When I couldn’t find them, I headed back upstairs to their room and noticed the door was cracked open…I spotted my mother first, bound, gagged, bloody…Oh, Gabrielle, I just shut down. I couldn’t handle it. It was as if a part of me had died right along with them.”

“Oh, my sweet, loving Damian.” I crawl into his lap, wrapping my arms about his neck and hold him as tight as I can.

“Please, no more,” he pleads.

“No, shhhh. You’ve done so well, Damian. I’m here.”

He throws his arms about me and digs his face into my neck, releasing all the pain and suffering he ever felt. His hot tears roll down my neck and back, bathing me in his sorrow.

“I will say this about them,” I mutter, lifting my face from the crook of his neck, “I will be forever indebted to them, forever grateful, because they gave me you.”

I kiss him softly on his cheek and caress the other with my hand. He lifts his head to look at me with red, glossy eyes, and I nearly break down at the sight of this closed off man, exposed, vulnerable, and raw.

I jump out of his lap and walk over to the sink near the shower, grabbing a washcloth and wetting it with cool, clear water. I walk back over to him, stopping abruptly when a thought that jolts me to my core pops in my mind.
I love this man more than I could ever truly comprehend. After this afternoon, I realize I can’t live without him, I won’t.

“Marry me,” I softly blurt, and his eyes find mine, widened with amazement.

“Gabrielle,” he murmurs.

“Marry me, Damian.”

He stares down at his lap, smiling a knowing smirk, and then climbs off the bed, naked and splendid. He picks his shorts up off the floor, sliding his hand into the pocket he was messing with earlier, and palms something. He saunters up to me with his omniscient smile and opens his hand to reveal a tiny white box, just big enough for a ring. I smile up at him with tears in my eyes.

“If you think for one moment I would allow you to propose to me, you don’t know me very well,” he states, shaking his head at me.

I giggle and anxiously bite on my bottom lip as he kneels before me, spectacularly naked, clutching my trembling hand in his, which is just as unsteady. He stares up into my eyes, tears returning to them, but these are different, these are joyful. He removes the belt-shaped ring from that most significant finger and places a stunning princess-cut diamond ring at the tip, holding it there while he gazes up at me with the most loving gleam in his eyes.

“Gabrielle Sophia Hyde, you are my light, my love, my everything. Without you, I don’t exist. I want to spend the rest of my life taking care of you, loving you, growing with you. I love you more with every passing moment. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife…Will you marry me, Elle?”

He knows my answer, yet there’s a look of sheer panic in his eyes.

“I’m nothing without you, Damian.” I gently pull my hand away and stare down at the stunning, reasonable stone framed in tiny diamonds. I pinch it between my fingers and slide it on the rest of the way. “Yes, I will marry you.”

He leaps up and embraces me in his sculpted, protective arms, melding our bare bodies together. He’s trembling, and I toss my arms about him, burying my face into the crook of his neck. We stay like this for a few moments, basking in the brilliant glow of our love, and after some time, he clasps onto my hair, gently pulling my head back, and stares deeply into my eyes.

“Are we going to make love now?” I ask in a breathy voice.

“Yes, angel, we are,” he answers, coming down on my lips softly, caressing them, tasting them, claiming them as his own. I run my hands down the sides of his face, wiping away the hot tears trickling down his defined cheeks, and he moans into my mouth.

He takes me to bed and makes love to me, desperate, roaming-hands-and-lips-all-over-your-body love.

I
wake the next morning feeling refreshed and ready for another day in Eden. I stretch, reaching out for Hunt, but my hand catches air. I stare at the ring on my most significant finger and smile warmly at it. I stretch with a loud groan, grinning stupidly to myself.

I rise, tossing on my robe lying at the end of the bed for me, and head out to the main house. I skip up the stairs, and as I get higher, I hear an upbeat tune blasting from the open-air living room. When I enter, I find the cutest sight I’ve ever seen in all my days. Hunt’s cooking and singing along to the song ‘You Make My Dreams Come True’ by Hall & Oates. He shakes his hips and pushes the spatula about the pan on the stove. He actually has an amazing voice, and I find myself moving to the music.

He does a turn and stops abruptly when he finds me watching and dancing along. He laughs and starts dancing towards me, snatching me up and spinning me about the space. We sway back and forth, spin and dip, singing like fools to the song.

As it comes to an end, he pulls me in close and kisses me with such passion and lust that my body melts like butter, going limp in his secure arms.

“Good morning, future Mrs. Hunt. Did you sleep well, angel?”

“Good morning, Mr. Hunt. Yes, I did…like a log. You?”

“I slept very well. The best sleep I’ve had in ages.” He kisses me on the temple, lingering for just a moment. “Are you hungry?” he asks in a seductive tone.