The Dominant's Obsession

Chapter 9

D A C I A N

Dacian paced across his apartment. He'd barely gotten four hours of sleep. He should have been bone-tired from his grueling workout earlier, but his nervous energy was back with a vengeance.

Unsurprisingly, he'd had another nightmare – this time, of those moments in the gym. He'd dreamed that he'd been unable to restrain his Dominant urges and had acted on every last one of them.

When she'd run her appreciative gaze over him, dressed in nothing but a sports bra, tank top and spandex booty shorts, it had brought his Dominant side surging to the surface. The intensity of his urges had shocked him. Then angered him.

Who was she, to destabilize his perfectly adequate life and thrust him into chaos? What gave her the right to make him want her so badly?

He started in on his punching bag. This must be a road to madness. Craving a woman he did not want to. A woman he must not possess, at all costs. Should things go south between them, he could lose his job. His apartment. His life could crumble into chaos and he would have to rebuild it all, brick by brick.

The slap of his bare fists hitting his punching bag reverberated through his small apartment and echoed out the open window. The cool breeze tickled his senses, helping to ground him in the present even as his thoughts wandered.

He had to stay away from her.

She had no idea the fire she was playing with, running those cobalt eyes all over his body. She had no idea the darkness that lurked inside him. Just as she likely had no idea the chaos she had plunged him into simply by entering his life.

He only hoped that in warning her off, she would get the message and stay away from him. If she feared him, maybe she would stop haunting his steps. If she hated him, maybe she would stop ogling him with those blue eyes that set him ablaze.

Dropping his fists, he sucked in the cool night air with quick breaths. The punching bag wasn't working. It was exhausting his arms, to be sure, but tonight, his energy wasn't going anywhere. He was like a live wire, all juiced up and nothing to expend it on.

He glanced over at his shoes. Don't do it. He hadn't gotten in a fight in over six months. Stay clean. You know the risks.

He closed his eyes, hung his head and sucked in air through his nose, trying to calm his spiraling heart rate.

His father's fist collided with his face with such force, it knocked him to the ground. He tried to get up, but his reinforced boot stabbed into his stomach, expelling all the air from his lungs with a pitiful gasp. His small, helpless body curled up in pain as his vision went dark. Impotent rage was all he had left as the blows kept landing, until he felt like he was dying...

He was already dressed and lacing up his shoes when his vision came back into focus. Tonight, there would be no relief until he felt his blood singing in his veins. Until he felt the crunch of bone beneath his fists.

The cool night air was refreshing as he stepped out onto the pavement. Dacian kept his pace controlled as he jogged toward the bars. Then his sharp eyes sliced over the dark figures looming in the alleys. He didn't want a loner, that would be too easy and over too quick.

Finally he spotted a trio leering and shouting at passersby from the mouth of an alley. One held a bottle in his hands, another was smoking, and the third was holding onto his drooping crotch as he harassed a homeless man who shuffled by.

He slowed to a walk and a cold, catlike grin spread over his face. The one holding his pants took notice first.

"Oi! What you lookin' at, punk?"

"A bunch of pussies," Dacian replied in a voice that was not his own.

It had the intended effect. As he drew closer, the man with the wardrobe malfunction swung his fist toward his face. Dacian ducked the blow easily, then placed a quick blow to the man's gut. His eyes widened as he realized that Dacian was a serious opponent. His buddies shoved off the wall and circled around Dacian until he was surrounded. He swept them with a cold, calculating glance.

His grin widened as his demon purred. Oh, how he'd missed this.