Through the Fire (11 page)

Brandon?”

“Yes. It is. None of that,” said Brandon,

kissing the tears away. “Now rest up. I have a

long night planned for you, wife.”

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“And I for you,” she murmured sleepily.

“I’m sorry. I seem to only want to sleep when

I’m with you. You make me feel safe.”

“I’m your husband, Dominique. You’re

supposed to feel safe with me. Rest, love,” he

whispered.

That was all Dominique needed to hear

before she fell into a sound slumber.

While Dominique slept, Brandon lay

awake contemplating how he was going to tell

his family about his marriage to Dominique. He

knew that Tristan and Sinjin would want

answers. But he’d put off telling his family long

enough. It was time to move on. He would have

to do it soon. He’d ask his brothers to meet him

in New York this week where he would explain

everything.

He’d promised Dominique that he’d keep

that part of their relationship a secret until they

both made the announcement together, but

Brandon felt if he didn’t talk to someone soon,

he’d go crazy. If Dominique wanted to wait to

tell her family, he’d respect her wishes. After all

it was
her
family. As for him, he didn’t like

keeping such a secret from his family,

especially his brothers. He knew Tristan and

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Sinjin would keep the secret until Dominique

was ready to reveal all to her family.

Brandon needed to take care of one more

potential problem: Felton Hobbs. He’d make

sure he had the information on him soon. They

didn’t need another Alisha incident, nor would

he allow anyone or anything to come between

him and Dominique again. If Felton thought

Dominique was going to be his wife, he was out

of his damn mind. As his friend David would

say “
not bloody likely.”
Besides, Dominique

was already married to him, and he had every

intention of keeping it that way. Her father

would just have to get used to it because he

wasn’t giving her up.

Brandon looked down at Dominique’s

sleeping face, gave her a quick kiss, sighed

deeply, and closed his eyes. Tomorrow they

would part ways for a little while. A very little

while.

CHAPTER SIX

Brandon awoke with a start. His eyes

immediately sought out Dominique, then he

propped himself up against the pillows on the

bed. The noise coming from the bathroom

indicated that she was in there. Just then she

walked out with her makeup case in hand and

fully dressed. Damn, what time was it?

“Hey where are you going so early? And

why didn’t you wake me?” he asked.

She jumped.

“Oh, Jesus! You startled me. I’m not

going anywhere yet. I have an early flight but I

wanted to have breakfast with you first. I

figured the only way we’d both eat and I’d make

my flight on time was to get up and get dressed

first. I ordered room service. It should be here

in a moment.” She smiled up at him.

Brandon glowered. “Think you have

everything figured out, huh? I could just as

easily undress you.”

“You could, but you won’t,” she sassed.

Brandon was up, out of the bed and had

Dominique in his arms in a flash. “Those are

brave words, wife. Care to make a wager?” he

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whispered, his lips close to hers as he grabbed

hold of her hips, grinding his growing erection

into her.

“Uh, no,” she muttered on a breathless

whisper. “Besides, I don’t think I could go

another round with you today, even if I wanted

to. I’m sore from that sex marathon you’ve put

me through this weekend.”

“Well, that’s what happens when you

make me wait for six months. That and the fact

that I love making love to my wife,” Brandon

smirked, taking her lips in a passionate kiss.

They were interrupted by a knock on the

door.

“Hmm, I think that may be our room

service,” Dominique murmured.

Brandon groaned loudly. “I think you’re

right.”

“You need to put something on. I don’t

think whoever it is will appreciate seeing you in

the buff,” she said, as she reached between

them and took hold of his rod, and squeezed.

“Hmm, maybe they wouldn’t mind. You’re

packaged pretty nicely, if I may say so.”

Brandon scowled at her. “Don’t start

something you can’t finish, Dominique. Do that

again, and I’ll have you stripped and my cock

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115

buried deep inside of you so fast it’ll make your

head spin. And to hell with whoever is on the

other side of that door,” he said using his grip

on her hips to grind his lower body into her

hand and the lower part of her body.

“Gotcha.” Dominique cleared her throat

and tried to push him away from her as the

knock on the door sounded louder. “You’d

better get that.”

“Be there in a second,” Brandon yelled

towards the door, then looked down at

Dominique before disengaging himself. “Have a

seat at the table. I’ll get the door.”

Brandon dashed into the bathroom,

grabbed a towel, wrapped it around his waist,

and went to answer the door.

After Brandon tipped the guy, he placed

the food on the table and went to the bathroom

to brush his teeth and wash his face before

joining Dominique at the table for breakfast.

They ate in silence. Brandon didn’t want to

spoil the nice time that they had had together,

but he needed to know what her plans were.

“So Dominique what are we doing after

today?” Brandon asked. Seeing the questioning

look in her eyes, he added. “I’m talking about

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our marital situation. When are we breaking

the news?”

“I’m due to start a big trial this week. I

don’t know how long this case is going to last—

I’m taking it over from someone else. I’m going

to need time to prepare. I also need to start

going over my other case files, and if I’m going

to be moving to New York I’ll have to give

proper notice so that the firm will have

coverage. They’re pretty efficient, so I’m not

worried much about that. Oh, and I really

would like to wait until Diamond’s back from

her honeymoon before I tell everyone,”

Dominique said.

“So how long are you proposing,

Dominique?” Brandon questioned.

“Not long, Brandon. Maybe two or three

weeks, depending upon how long this trial

lasts.”

Brandon heaved a heavy sigh. “I’ll agree

to this only if we get to see each other on the

weekends. Either I come to you or you come to

me, whichever you prefer. The weekends are

ours, and that’s non-negotiable.”

“Agreed,” she cried, happy that he wasn’t

giving her a hard time. “And since you’ve made

all of the sacrifices so far, I’ll come to you.”

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“I want to be with you when you tell your

parents. I don’t want you breaking the news to

your father alone, especially since he keeps

throwing you at his friend’s son”

She started. “How did you know?”

“Never mind how I know. I do. We’ve

been through enough already, I’m not letting

him talk you out of being with me,” Brandon

said.

“Daddy will be fine,” Dominique said with

more assurance than she felt. “He just has

some preconceived notions about certain

things. I think most of Daddy’s talk comes from

some of the company that he keeps. Besides, if

he doesn’t approve, that’s his business. I love

my father, but I can’t help who I fell in love

with. I just wish he would stop encouraging

Felton. There was never a future in that as far

as I was concerned.”

“About that…Tristan told me what

happened before I got there. Has Hobbs been

trying to pursue a relationship with you since

you’ve been back in Atlanta?” he asked.

“No. That’s why I was surprised when he

tried that little stunt yesterday.” She laughed

nervously. “I thought Chad was going to kill

him. He’s lucky it was Chad instead of Xavier.

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Chad has the patience of a saint. Xavier, on the

other hand, could try a saint. He has no

patience at all and can’t stand the Hobbs’.

Lately, it seems as if he can’t stand Daddy

either. I don’t know what’s going on with my

family. Xavier told me before I left that he was

going to have a talk with Felton. I hope so. I

don’t have time to deal with that jackass when I

get back to Atlanta.”

“Yes, well, I think I might need to have a

talk with him as well.”

“
No
, Brandon. No one’s knows that we’re

married, remember? Felton might be a

pompous ass but he’s not stupid. He’s known

my brothers all their lives. Trust me, he won’t

even think about crossing Xavier.”

“If it’s all the same, I think I’m going to

check him out anyway. I don’t like this sudden

interest in you,” Brandon said.

Dominique snorted and rolled her eyes.

“Whatever, Brandon. I need to get going. I have

to turn in the rental before my flight,” she said

as she pushed her chair back and got up.

Brandon followed.

“Let me grab a pair of pants and I’ll take

your luggage down to the car,” he said.

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119

“It’s just a carryall, Brandon. I’ll be fine.

Stay here and rest. What time are you leaving?”

she asked, as she dashed into the bathroom to

wash her hands and brush her teeth again.

“My flight is later this afternoon. I need to

meet up with my brothers before they leave,” he

replied.

“Okay. I’ll call you as soon as I get home,”

she said, walking over to him and wrapping her

arms around his waist. “I’m going to miss you,

Brandon.”

Brandon returned her hug. “I’m going to

miss you, too. I’ll have Betty book you a flight

into New York for Friday.”

“Okay,” she said holding him tighter in

her arms. “I have to go.”

“You said that already,” he chuckled and

felt her giggle against his chest.

“I know. It’s true though,” she said as she

dropped her arms from around his waist.

“Not so fast, beautiful.” As she went to

move out of his arms, Brandon lowered his

head and captured her lips in a heated kiss.

Dominique was the first to pull back.

“Brandon, we have to stop,” she muttered

breathlessly.

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“I know. You taste so good,” he whispered

against her lips before releasing her. Brandon

cleared his throat. “You’d better get going,

baby, before I keep you here.”

“I’ll call you,” she said, as she picked up

her carryall and purse, and walked over to the

door.

Brandon followed her to the door and

opened it for her. “See you soon, baby,” he

whispered.

“You sure will,” she replied, stepped into

the hallway and walked away. Much as she

wanted to, she didn’t let herself look back.

No sooner than Brandon closed the door

after Dominique, someone knocked. Thinking

Dominique had forgotten something, he

quickly opened the door. “Hey, babe, did you

forgot some—.” Only it wasn’t Dominique on

the other side of the door. Brandon stared up

into the face of his youngest sibling, Sinjin.

“Sorry bro. It’s just me, and you need to

go put some clothes on,” Sinjin glowered.

Brandon glared at him. “What the hell,

Sinjin? What are you doing here?”

“Yeah well, I’m happy to see you, too,

bro,” Sinjin remarked sarcastically.

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121

“Sorry, Sinjin. I just wasn’t expecting

you,” Brandon barked out his apology while

running his fingers through his already mussed

hair. “What brings you here this morning?”

“I just stopped in to say bye before I head

out. I have an assignment and I’ll probably be

gone for the next week or so. I might not be

reachable through normal channels. If you