The silence that followed was so complete, I could hear breathing coming through the ear buds. I squirmed around and shoved at the greenery. I didn’t care if I looked like an idiot now. I had to see them. I had to know if it was for real.
Dominic was staring at Penelope, but his expression was anything but friendly. Penelope sat facing opposite him and I could see most of her face, the rigid line of her shoulders and spine. She reached for her wine glass and sipped, lowered it. Sipped again. Lowered it.
Finally, she spoke and her voice was smooth, but with a ragged edge underneath. “Really, Dominic, that’s quite an interesting fantasy you’ve concocted.”
“Come off it, Penelope.” Dominic leaned forward and gave her a cold, deadly smile. It was the smile I’d seen him give a dozen people in the boardroom and it was the kind of smile that made wise people back down. “Joshua was smart. He knew that I could do a lot of damage so when I made him a deal, he realized it was better to just accept. Do you really want to fuck with me on this?”
Her laugh came through the phone bright and happy. “Are you threatening me, Dominic? What are you planning to do? Hit me?”
“Actually, yes.”
Ice grabbed me, but only for a moment. I started to get up, but again, Molly stopped me. “Wait,” she said, her voice low.
“I’ll hit you right where it hurts, Penelope.”
I heard the sound of paper shuffling and turned my head, once more staring through the small gap I’d created.
“It’s interesting, the things men will tell you when you hold a great deal of leverage over them.” Dominic smiled and flipped a piece of paper around for her to see.
I couldn’t see it, but I knew it was a picture, a large one. Penelope glanced at it. “That’s hardly anything for me to be concerned about, Dominic. You and I kissed. It’s nothing shocking.”
“This wasn’t us kissing.” Dominic leaned forward and said quietly. “This was you throwing yourself at me for the two seconds it took me to get you off.”
Even from where I sat, I could see her stiffening. She relaxed almost immediately though and plucked up another piece of paper—another picture—and gave it a disinterested look. Her smile was cool as she said, “This lasted a lot longer than two seconds.”
Dominic smirked at her. “That’s because you wouldn’t take no for an answer and you kept pushing.” He looked as though he was considering something and then he said softly, “I never had any desire to kiss you, or do anything else with you, and you should be grateful, Penelope. If I had, you would have run away screaming.” His voice darkened. “You couldn’t handle me.”
“Oh, let me guess,” she said, leaning forward and giving a mock shudder. “You are too tormented, too twisted by your tragic childhood. Am I too much a lady for your twisted needs?”
“I’d never mistake you for a lady, Penelope.” Dominic gave her a devilish smile. “What you are is not enough of a woman to satisfy me.”
Her mouth tightened.
“What would you do if I wanted to tie you to the bed and whip you until your ass was cherry red?”
She’d picked up her wineglass after his insult and it made a faintly musical sound when she dropped it, breaking into tiny little shards.
She didn’t seem to notice, just sat staring at him in dull shock.
Then she swallowed. “That’s not amusing, Dominic. Really. I can see that you’re upset, but there’s no need—”
“I’m not joking.” His eyes were hard, bright, but without warmth. “There are a dozen rumors floating around about me and my sexual proclivities. People either feed them or they ignore them. Clearly, you fall into the same camp as my mother. You ignore them.”
“That’s…”
A server appeared at their side, but Dominic waved him away. “You can deal with the glass in a moment,” he said, his voice harsh.
“But, Mr. Snow.”
“In a moment,” Dominic snapped.
Penelope was now looking everywhere but at Dominic.
“You look upset,” Dominic said, his voice silky. He leaned forward and Penelope shrank back.
Both of us saw it.
Dominic looked amused by it.
I wanted to smack her.
She finds out he likes kinky sex and that makes him dirty?
“Why are you trying to fuck with me, Penelope? Is it because I didn’t want you…or is it because I wanted someone better. Because I wanted Aleena?”
Her gaze jerked back to his and she seemed to come out of her dazed state, her spine stiffening. A second later, he had water dripping down his face.
Seething, Penelope put her water glass back on the table and rose. “Her.” Scorn dripped from her voice like the droplets of water from Dominic’s face. “You could have had me—and please note, the word is had. You could have had me. Do you know how many men would’ve killed to be in your position? And yet you chose that common whore.”
I slid from the booth. This time, Molly made no attempt to stop me.
Penelope turned and started to walk away, but stopped when she saw me. She tried to smile, but it wobbled, then fell away as I stepped toward her. It struck me then that the restaurant was empty. It was only us and the staff.
Dominic had set this up.
Him and Molly.
I glanced past Penelope to see him standing there, watching me, emotion burning hot in his eyes.
Swallowing hard, I looked back at Penelope. Her gaze flitted around, bouncing off everything but me. She couldn’t even look at me.
My anger dissipated into something else. “What kind of miserable, unhappy person must you be that you constantly go out of your way to make other people as miserable and unhappy as you are?” I asked. She started to pass me, but I moved, cutting her off. “Don’t.”
Penelope drew back her head, her nostrils flaring. “Move out of my way.”
“Answer my question,” I shot back. “Why do you do this? Are you so miserable that this is the only way you can exist? By making everybody else unhappy too?”
“Miserable?” Her laugh was shrill. She pressed a hand to her chest as she looked around, as though expecting somebody else to voice their shock as well, but there was nobody, save for Dominic and Molly. “I’m one of the richest women in the entire state. The mayor, the governor, celebrities call me out of the blue to ask me to attend their functions. I’m Penelope Rittenour and I’m—”
“Miserable.” I interrupted. “Knowing people, having money…none of that makes you happy. Do you even remember the last time you were happy? Have you ever been happy?”
Her mouth fell open.
I walked around her and went to Dominic. Halfway there, I paused and looked back at her. She was still standing there, staring.
“I feel sorry for you,” I said quietly.
Then I turned my head and looked back at Dominic. Just a few feet separated us now and it felt like miles.
I forced myself to take the first step, then the next. His gaze rested on my face and I felt like I could hardly bear it.
Finally, I was just a few inches away and the pounding of my heart was so loud, I wondered if he could hear it. I felt naked under his gaze. Desperate for respite, I looked away and my gaze fell on the mirrors on the opposite wall.
Again, it struck me how out of place I was. It wasn’t just because I wasn’t dressed for this place. It went much deeper than that and I knew it.
“I’m sorry.” My voice was barely a whisper. “I’m so sorry.”
Dominic held out his hand without a word.
Slowly, I took it and the tightness around my lungs eased. For the first time since I’d seen those pictures, I could breathe again.
Chapter Eleven
Dominic
One thing I had come to love about Aleena was that silence with her had been easy. With her, I never felt out of place in the quiet. I never felt like I had to say something when I wanted to say nothing at all.
But now, the silence was differ
ent.
I didn’t feel moved to say anything, but I had the feeling she did. She sat next to me on seats of luxurious leather as we sped through the night and I could feel the words trembling on her tongue.
Yet she held them back.
I didn’t prompt her to speak. I didn’t see the point. I knew how miserable it was to have things inside of you that you wanted to say but couldn’t manage to give voice to. I also knew how terrible it was to want silence and have people pushing you to speak. If she wanted silence, she could be silent. If she wanted to speak or felt she had to, then she would have to find her own way to figure out what she wanted to say.
Just then, I was dealing with enough turmoil of my own.
I was dealing with enough emotion on my own.
I hurt and I didn’t like it. That was actually putting it mildly. It fucking pissed me off. I was furious. Furious at her, at myself, at Penelope. She’d told Penelope she felt sorry for her and even that infuriated me. Penelope didn’t deserve her pity or her sympathy.
Where had Aleena’s sympathy or her kind thoughts been when she’d looked at those pictures and just believed. Believed the worst of me.
What would you have done? The rational part of me tried to gain control, but I didn’t want to be rational.
Fury all but consumed me, burning through every single part of me and there was nothing I could do about it. Finally, the car rumbled to a stop in front of the penthouse and I climbed out, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. For a long moment, I simply stood, and then I turned and held out a hand to Aleena.
She accepted and we started toward the building.
Need already had my muscles knotted and I could see the two of us. Could see the things I wanted to do, the things I would do...
And halfway to the door, I stopped.
Aleena looked up at me, apprehension on her face. I hated that look, but I couldn’t do anything about it.
I gave her my keys. Actually, they were her keys. She had left them behind when she left me. I’d taken them with me tonight, intending to give them back.
“Do you still want these?” It was a struggle to keep my voice level.
“Yes,” she said, her voice soft. “Dominic, I’m sorry. I—”
I shook my head. “Go on up. I’ll be back later.”
“Where you going?” she asked. Her voice broke as her head fell.
It was like she’d punched me straight in the heart. I made a move as if to touch her, but I stopped. If I touched her now, it was all done. If I touched her now, I would do things I didn’t think she was ready for and I would ruin what we had. It was tenuous at the moment as it was.
“I can’t be around you right now.” My voice was as harsh as hers was hesitant and I felt as much as saw her stiffen. “I’m going to go to the club. Or to work. Something. I don’t know. But I need to...I need some time before I can be around you. I’m sorry.”
She flinched when I mentioned the club and by the time I was done speaking, her face had crumpled and tears had filled her eyes. “I’m sorry,” she whispered again.
“I know.” I jerked my head in a nod. “We’ll…talk. Later. But for now…”
I went to turn away, but she caught my arm. “Please don’t leave.”
“I can’t stay here.” I stared at her hand, her slim fingers, warm and gold, soft and slim, on my arm. My stomach twisted, knotted. “I can’t be around you. I need…”
“I know what you need.” The words were ragged, as if torn from her. “I…Dominic, I need it too. Please don’t leave me right now. I’m sorry. Please.”
She moved closer, so close I could smell her. Smell her skin, her hair. So close, I could feel the heat of her. Impossibly, my body tensed even more. I wanted to shake off her hand, but I couldn’t move.
“You don’t know what you’re asking for.”
Her words were soft, but sincere. “Then show me.”
Control had become a brittle thing and when she touched my cheek, I knew it was about to break. I caught her wrist, squeezed lightly, felt the delicate bones beneath my fingers. “Be sure, Aleena.”
“I am.”
I took a step back and inhaled slowly. I still needed some control. When I was ready, I held out my hand and waited for her to take that final step.
Her hand slid into mine without any hesitation.
My blood started to pump hot and thick, while the savage need that had been building inside me rose to a deafening roar.
Chapter Twelve
Aleena
Be sure, he’d told me.
I couldn’t say he hadn’t warned me.
I was now as helpless as I’d ever been. Still, I was resolved to see it through. I’d hurt him, letting my own insecurity override everything else. I wasn’t going to let him go to someone else for what he needed, even if it was only to watch. Besides, I needed this too.
I held a scarf clutched in my hands, because I couldn’t speak. Dominic had gagged me, and not with a cloth or anything like that. No, he’d used a ball gag for the first time and my jaw ached.
He’d spent nearly twenty minutes restraining me, but there was nothing ornate about the restraints. I knew why. He’d used the time to calm himself, center himself, and to draw it out. Now, face down and my cheek pressed to the floor, I closed my eyes and waited.
I’d been waiting several minutes, the anticipation killing me, but still better than the emptiness I’d felt without him.
Something flicked between my thighs, not touching, but the promise of more.
I twitched and instinctively tried to draw them together, but the spreader bar made it impossible.
I couldn’t even move away or roll to my side, because my ankles weren’t the only thing restrained. He’d brought out another bar, this one attaching to my collar. It had loops on the end for my wrists, loops that could slide with the flick of a latch.
I was kneeling face down with my ass in the air and my hands near my face, locked in place, a scarf in one hand. If it got to be too much, I was to drop that scarf. That was my alternative for a safe word.
Lashes flicked between my thighs and the sound of my muffled moan rose to my ears. I was ready, needy. I didn’t just need him though, I needed his forgiveness, needed to prove myself, and this was the way to do it.
I felt something against my back.
“You didn’t trust me.” Dominic’s voice was soft, emotionless. Yet I heard the pain in it. I’d seen it in his eyes. I could have begged him to forgive me if I would, but I wouldn’t. What I would do was let him have what he needed from me. Let him give me what I needed from him.
He brought the flogger down, and I gasped when the lashes spread out over my ass and between my thighs. It wasn’t the leather and fur one, and it confirmed what I’d already known. This was going to hurt.
The flogger struck my ass again, sending heat coursing through me.
“I’m not pleased about it, Aleena. Do you understand?” Something in his tone shifted, and I could hear the man beneath the Dom. “This doesn’t work if you don’t trust me.”
I nodded the best I could, feeling the soft velvet rub against my neck.
“You’re going to be punished for it now.”
I nodded again.
“Do you want to be punished?”
Another nod. It was the truth. I wanted this, wanted the pain he could give me and the release that came with it. Release for me, and for him.
He struck me again, harder this time, and I screamed against the ball gag. It was the harshest edge of pleasure and the sweetest slice of pain. I let my head fall forward, my eyes closing as I absorbed the next few blows.
Sweat dripped from me when he stopped and came to kneel behind me. My ass burned, my breath coming in harsh pants. His hand tangled in my hair and he yanked me up.
“You won’t ever doubt me like that again, will you?”
I would have shaken my head, but I couldn’t, not with him holding my hair so tight.
T
hen it wasn’t necessary because he was freeing me from the ball-gag. “No.” It was a whimper and a plea and a promise. My voice was hoarse.
“Good.” He slid a hand down my stomach and pressed me back against him. Oh, fuck. He was naked.
He plunged two fingers into my pussy and I nearly screamed. I was wet, but not stretched and he wasn’t being gentle. His fingers pumped in and out, twisting and rubbing against my walls.
“I thought about making you go all night without a climax, but I decided that wasn’t what either of us needed.”
He pressed his thumb against my clit and I moaned.
“No words unless I ask a question, but you can make all the noises you want.”
I rolled my hips and rode his hand. He made no move to stop me. Instead, he moved with me and I felt his cock, hot against my ass.
“In fact, I want you to scream.” He pushed a third finger inside me. “Scream for me, baby.”
His fingers twisted again and that was it. I shuddered, my hips bucking against his hand as I came. His other hand pinched my nipple, rolling and pulling until the whining sound turned into a loud cry. Not quite a scream, but close.
“You see, I need to mark you, make you understand—you’re mine. I’m yours.” He spoke against my ear as he continued to pump his fingers in and out, harsh and fast, working me higher and higher. “Do you understand me, baby?”
“Yes, sir.” The words were little more than air.
“Good.”
He stopped abruptly, I moaned, trembling, so close to coming again.
“I’m taking your ass tonight, Aleena.”
I sucked in a breath.
“Not a single word unless it’s the answer to a question, or the ball-gag goes back in.”