Adaline (The Wallflower Series Book 3) (15 page)

Slowly, Adaline followed the men back into the main area where they became part of the crowd. Sasha and Dmitri took seats at the center of the room and began to open the presents everyone had graciously brought for the expecting couple. They oohed and aahed appropriately at the baby clothes and equipment. However, even as Adaline watched, she could feel the heat of Dominic’s body behind her. From the light brush of his breathing upon her neck to the occasional brush of their bodies, Adaline was reminded of what had just transpired and a heavy rock of guilt had settled in her gut. She almost felt physical ill as she found herself again leaning closer to him. When their hands brushed one another, Dominic took the opportunity to gently caress her open palm. At his touch, Adaline slowly turned to him and became transfixed. In his gaze, he pleaded with her. There was still a mark of confusion at finding out her relationship with Murphy. And she couldn’t blame him. It had not been too long ago that she had basically been throwing herself into his arms, asking to become more than friends. But she had finally done what she had been unable to do- move on. So while she understood his confusion and his hurt feelings, she knew she would never apologize.

But Adaline had no doubt Dominic was sincere in
his
apologies, though it was too late. She couldn’t return to that woman who pined after him. Her infatuation in high school had neared an obsession. What would it say for her to fall right back into that trap? Plus, what of Dina? Was she to believe that overnight he had fallen out of love? His eagerness to run to her side that night revealed how much Dominic still cared for the mysterious woman. Adaline didn’t want to feel as if she was a second choice, not when she had always imagined herself in love with him. Inconspicuously, she moved closer to Murphy who stood at her other shoulder.

At the sound of the doorbell, Dmitri excused himself politely after bending down to place a kiss onto Sasha’s cheek. The person who entered the fray was enough of a surprise for Dominic to step away from her. Curious, Adaline turned to the door and immediately recognized the wild curly hair and the grey eyes as if her thoughts before had summoned the other woman. She didn’t want to delve deeply into why, but her attention flowed quite naturally to Dominic. Adaline took in every expression on his face as his attention lay upon Dina. She shouldn’t care how he reacted to Dina, but she did. She needed to know if what he felt for her was real? Or was he still in love with someone else?

~~~~

Dominic wasn’t surprised that Dina had shown up to the baby shower. He was shocked however that she hadn’t come alone; standing beside her and holding on tightly to her mother’s leg was the little girl Dina seemed to have kept hidden from everyone. Now that he knew her parentage, he wondered why it hadn’t occurred to him almost immediately. There were certainly traces of Slade’s features even in her nubile face. While she had inherited her lips and her hair from her mother, the color and shape of her eyes and mouth reminded him eerily of the handsome Asian man.

For a moment, his eyes locked with Dina, but Dominic quickly moved his attention from her to Sasha. He wondered in that moment if Sasha had known all along about the baby. They were friends; it made sense that she would be the first among them to know of the child’s existence and her parentage. But it was unlikely that Sasha wouldn’t have told Dmitri, who would have told him. His questions were answered at the look of complete shock on Sasha’s face. Her eyes had softened at the first glimpse of her friend but then immediately turned into confusion at the little girl at her side.

“Hello, Sasha. I’m sorry I’m late. This little one is always a handful to get ready.”

The atmosphere in the room was filled with questions. Those who didn’t know Dina were confused as to why her appearance was causing such a heavy silence in the room. Those who did couldn’t take their eyes off of the child by her side.

Teagan thankfully broke the tension in the room with what most were thinking. “Hold the fucking phone. Am I seeing things or is there a little person hanging onto her leg?” She looked around for confirmation from others, particularly Sasha.

Dominic watched as Sasha slowly stood from her seated position, a hand at her lower back to support the large bump protruding from her front. Their audience held their breath in anticipation of what she would say. Sasha stood in front of her friend with tears brimming in her eyes.

“I want to slap you.”

Dina, seeming to know how much she had done wrong, lowered her gaze and merely nodded. “I understand. I’ll go.” She began to turn back toward the front door but was halted by Sasha’s next words.

“Don’t you dare move. You’re going to stay and celebrate with us, and allow me to get to know my goddaughter.”

At her words, Dina wiped away the tears that brimmed in her eyes and nodded her assent. “Of course. I-I brought you this.”

Instead of taking the gift offered to her, Sasha ignored Dina’s outstretched hand with the gift bag and pulled her into a hug. They both laughed at the awkward feel of the large baby bump between them but held each other close nonetheless. Everyone looked on at the emotion reconciliation, relieved at how the tension ebbed from the room as the two embraced one another. Just as quickly, there was excitement; Dominic watched as Dina’s daughter Sofia was introduced to both Sasha and Teagan, her so-called aunts for the first time.

There were several questions that had yet to be answered, but it seemed as if the three women had silently decided and agreed that now was not the time. For his part, Dominic simply stayed away from Dina after a short nod of greeting. His attention reverted back to Adaline and her date, Murphy. Throughout the night, he found himself incapable of looking away as they continued to sign to one another. He felt his eye twitch every time they smiled at each other secretively or when Murphy leaned into her as if they were whispering to one another. His imagination seemed to run wild with scenarios of intimacy between the two. Within his jealousy, there were also feelings of hurt and regret. He couldn’t help but wonder how she could ignore the heat between them in favor of someone else. Dominic didn’t know what came over him in the kitchen earlier. He had tunnel vision, a need to dominate her in response to her avid avoidance. That night, he had ended up choosing her over Dina. But now it was simply too late.

How could he in good conscious stand in the way of their fledgling relationship after recently having someone do the same to his own?

“So…is she the one?”

At the interruption to his thoughts, Dominic jumped slightly. His heart immediately returned to its former harmonious state at the sight of his older brother, Dmitri. Following his brother’s gaze, he realized the statement was in reference to Adaline.

“What do you mean?” he asked coyly.

“You’ve been staring at that woman for the better part of the night. And, if my memory serves me right, the one you used to date just walked in with another man’s child hanging on her leg. Now, I’m not one to judge your need to move on after a blow like that, but it does seem to me that when relationships end that way, there is a long mourning process.”

Dominic snorted at that. “I’ve already mourned what never was. Consider me over it.”

Dmitri raised his brown in confusion at the coldness lacing his brother’s tone. “Adaline must be something special then. You’re in quite a conundrum though, because need I remind you she did come with her boyfriend.”

“When Sasha was with Carter what did you do?”

With a cocky grin, Dmitri replied simply, “I went for what was mine.”

“I need to talk to you.”

The words were simple enough, but Adaline found her mind paralyzed by just the mere sight of him at her door. She cleared her throat nervously and shook her head.

“I can’t talk to you right now, Dominic. Especially after what happened. We shouldn’t.”

Ignoring her, Dominic waltzed past her into the living room. Her protests fell on deaf ears as he paced from one side of the room to the next in deep thought.

“You know we need to have this conversation, Adaline. Stop running from me,” he said, finally turning to her.

“Stop running from you?” She felt a burst of anger heat her veins at his audacious behavior and arrogance. “You’ve been running from me for years! Who was it that first decided we should just be friends? And now that I’ve finally accepted that, you want to waltz into my home and make demands. Do you even hear yourself?”

It seemed as if her words had gone unspoken. Dominic approached her menacingly and towered over her. Adaline looked up at him, her breath leaving her rapidly in anticipation of what he would do next. She already knew what was coming. So why didn’t she stop him? Because as his lips pressed down harshly on hers, she couldn’t help the relief that made her muscles sag and then the desire that made them reflexively tense up. But unlike before, Murphy’s face appeared in her mind almost immediately.

Dominic’s groan of frustration sounded between them as she pushed him away with a solid hand on his chest. Though her feelings mirrored his- protesting the separation- she ignored them.

“Dominic, no. I’m with Murphy now.”

“Why?” he croaked in anger. “Why are you with him when you know what’s between us? What’s been happening?”

Adaline was caught by the tremor in his voice and the desperation in his gaze as they connected deeply with her own. “Because I was tired of waiting for you to make up your mind, Dominic. I refused to be a second thought to you while you pined over another woman. Not again.”

Knowing she was referring to Carla humbled him. He hadn’t realized he was making her feel that way. “That wasn’t my intent. You mean something to me; I didn’t want to use you as some sort of rebound. When I realized just how deeply I felt, I decided to screw conventionality. I want
you,
Adaline. Not Dina. Not Carla. Not fucking Audrey.

“And I know you want me as well. You’re the one who was there for me when Dina betrayed my trust. I realized that night that I was trying to be too much to every one, and in the process I was losing the blessing right in front of me.”

Dominic couldn’t stand the space between them anymore. Grasping her face between the large palms of his hands, Dominic forced her to look up at him. He held her gaze as he revealed his feelings and confessed, “You are mine, Addy. You’ve always been mine. And I refuse to sit by as you walk away with someone else. I didn’t fight for Dina, but I
will
fight for you.”

Adaline couldn’t think, she couldn’t move. Mindlessly, she followed him as he gently tugged her to the bedroom hallway. His presence always overwhelmed her, but now she was completely overcome by his admission as well. What should she do? Everything that she had wanted, he had just told her. He was exactly what she had always wanted, but was he what was best for her? Adaline couldn’t answer.

Dominic led her into her bedroom and gently laid her down onto the bed. Her expression had not changed since his revelations; he knew she was in a trance and what exactly to do to get her out of it. Adaline’s body relaxed into the cushions beneath her as Dominic crawled onto its surface and leaned over her gently.

“If you want me to stop, tell me. I won’t do anything you don’t want.” He leaned down and pecked soft kisses from her cheeks down into the valley of her neck and the sharp indentation of her clavicle. “Let me show you how much we belong together, Addy. Let me show you how much I want you.”

She wanted to protest. She told herself that she wanted to say no, but her body was a completely different matter. At the feel of his soft breath brushing against the tops of her supple breasts, Addy turned her head into the cushion and moaned. His presence always did this to her; it completely deprived her of reason. Her hands immediately reached up to delve into the soft locks of his hair, encouraging him to continue. Dominic responded immediately; he pushed her blouse up to reveal her stomach and the peaks of her hardened nipples encased in a silky bra.

Just at the mere sight of her, Dominic felt his cock harden considerably. But tonight wasn’t about his desires; it was about her. He could visibly recall the look of ecstasy on her face as she came from his hand roughly caressing her jean-encased pussy. Dominic wanted to see her writhe and gasp from an orgasm again. He wanted her to know just how much she belonged to him.

Gently, he lifted one breast from its casing and placed it into his mouth. His tongue flicked at it in quick motions spurred by the tightened hold she had on his hair. Dominic switched his attentions from one breast to the other. The combination of her natural scent and her scented lotion enveloped him in a warm cocoon. He inhaled, taking her scent deep into his lungs until she felt a part of him.

Adaline, moaning at the feel of his mouth on her, humped her hips into the space between them. Dominic knew what she wanted but didn’t settle against her hips like she wanted. Instead, his lips trailed from her hardened nipples until he came across the rough texture of her jeans hiding her treasure. Making quick work of removing the garment, he took both her knees into his hands and spread her legs so that he could settle his broad shoulders between them. Completely exposed, Adaline’s hands came to her face to hide behind them in embarrassment. He could only grin smugly at her bashfulness because she had nothing to worry about. Staring down at her plump lips and the sheen of wetness coating the sensitive skin, Dominic could feel his mouth water in anticipation. There was a gentle dusting of hair coating her cunt that made her delicious scent even more potent as he leaned in slowly.

Despite his plans to tease her until she cried for his attentions, Dominic couldn’t hold back his desires anymore. His mouth came down on her and suckled strongly at her engorged clit. For his efforts, Adaline released a gasp that settled into a deep moan at the pleasure that coursed through her body. With each pull from his lips and tongue, she felt her lust deepen, her wetness increasing.

“Oh, Dominic…please don’t stop,” she moaned aloud. “Oh god, yes!”

Her legs stiffened but were held tightly in place by his hands. She couldn’t move; she was only able to lift her hips slightly for more. For his part, Dominic couldn’t fathom removing his lips and tongue from the deliciousness between her legs. His tongue found its way inside her; he could feel her inner muscles tightening at the intruder, desperate for more. And he wanted to give it to her. Pre-cum dripped in excess from the tip of his cock at her taste and smell. It was taking every bit of his strength not to shove down his pants and push himself deep inside her warm, wet cavern.

Suddenly, Dominic removed his mouth from her. Confused and frustrated, Adaline looked down at him questioningly. Her body acted of its on accord, her hips continually moving toward him desperately. But he ignored her. Instead, his hands put more pressure on the back of her knees until she was almost folded in half.

“I want to taste all of you, baby.” Not breaking eye contact, Dominic bent down and licked the tight rosebud between her plump ass cheeks left open from her vulnerable position.

At the unfamiliar feeling, a shudder ran through her body. Her toes curled as he continued to explore her forbidden hole. She fisted the comforters and bit her tongue to hold back the loud moans of pleasure. Adaline had never done anything like this. Of course, she had read about it in her romance novels, but her mind still couldn’t believe what they were doing. Dominic was eating her out and from the gleam in his eyes, enjoying it.

When his mouth returned to the small button between her engorged lips, she felt herself climbing the peak. Sporadically, her muscles twitched in reaction to every suck and nibble. Until eventually, she could no longer hold back. Biting her lip, she reached for a pillow and burrowed her face into its softness to release the scream of pleasure. Seeing her actions, Dominic pulled the pillow from her grasp so he could listen triumphantly to her cries.

When they had finally settled into soft moans, he finished licking up the last of her wetness and removed himself slowly from between her legs. With a deep contented sigh, he lay beside her and tried to ignore the ache between his legs. While he wanted to continue where they had left off, a part of him could acknowledge how wrong that would be. Not that what they just did wasn’t any less wrong.

Dominic turned and looked at her. With her eyes closed, Adaline seemed to still be recovering from the powerful orgasm he had given her. A smug grin spread across his handsome features at the look of awe upon her face. Gently he turned her to face him with a hand upon her cheek.

“
Go out with me,”
he signed to her. “
I’m tired of fighting what’s between us. I know that you feel this too and what you feel for him can’t possibly compare.”

Adaline felt torn by what her heart desired and what her mind told her was best. Murphy was whom she should be with. He was a great person and he understood her in ways that Dominic probably never could no matter how much sign language he learned.

Seeing the doubt and hesitation on her face only strengthened Dominic’s resolve. “Forget Murphy, Addy. Be with me.”

Staring into his eyes, she wanted to say yes. She wanted more nights like this, to lay in his arms and feel him surrounding her. But shouldn’t she be fighting these childish dreams? She should be moving on from him.

Finally, she spoke, “I have to think about it, Dom.”

Knowing he couldn’t do anything else to change her mind that night, Dominic nodded his head in understanding. He kissed her farewell, allowing her to taste herself still on his lips.

“Goodnight.”

Adaline watched him walk out of the room and then fell back onto the bed in defeat.

~~~~

“So you’re not going to even greet me properly?”

Dominic heard the teasing tone and looked up from his smartphone to see his older brother grinning at him. The large leather chair he sat on squeaked slightly in protest from his weight as he stood up from behind his desk. It was unusual seeing Dmitri at the hotel conglomerate’s headquarters. After all, the position Dominic was now in hadn’t been intended for him as the middle child, but after the rift that widened between Dmitri and their father Nikolai over Nadia’s mental health, Dominic had been placed in Dmitri’s stead.

Though Nikolai still refused to retire despite health scares of his own, Dominic at least had more leeway and control over the direction of the hotel moving forward. In fact, Dmitri was here per his request. With the upcoming opening of several new resorts, Dominic hired his older brother to bring a fresher look and new perspective to their outdated public relations department. It had taken some persuading given the still contentious relationship between Dmitri and their father, but the old man had finally conceded that Dmitri was one of the best in his field, and it would be a huge risk to the company to not hire him as an advisor.

Walking around his desk, Dominic greeted Dmitri with the familiar handshake and hug.

“I didn’t even realize where the time had gone. Thanks for coming man! We really need your help with this one.”

Dmitri shrugged, “That’s what family is for.”

“Good because I was prepared to go straight to Sasha’s office and whine about how you were refusing to help me and weren’t being a good big brother and how you were unfairly punishing me out of jealousy and…”

“Want me to go buy some tampons and chocolate too for the balls you’re missing?”

Dominic merely laughed and patted him on the back. “You’re one to talk. You think you were the one pregnant with how much Sasha complains about your worrying. We already know who’s going to be the helicopter parent between the two of you.”

“Damn straight. Any person who fucks with my child is asking for it.”

Noting the look of pride in his brother’s face, Dominic nodded his head in understanding. “I can’t wait to meet the little guy myself. If only so your wife no longer looks like she’s going to pop if she so much as sits down incorrectly.”

At that, Dmitri laughed. “I know! It’s fucking adorable. I’d keep her pregnant if I could just to see that cute little waddle.” As if an afterthought, he added, “And the sex.”

“Whoa, whoa…slow down there. I don’t need to hear anything else about your sex life with my sister-in-law.” Dominic shuddered for effect. “I’m traumatized enough when I sleep over.”

The mischievous grin decorating Dmitri’s face showed just how little sympathy he had. “Enough about my sexy wife. You looked pretty serious when I walked in. Is everything okay with the board?”

Dominic grimaced slightly but nodded his head. “As good as things can be when you’re the youngest and trying to bring them into the twenty-first century. No…it wasn’t about work. I’m just waiting for a phone-call or text…basically any form of contact at this point.”

“Really?” Dmitri asked with a raised brow. “So I’m assuming you took my advice to heart and laid it all on the line for Adaline.”