Dominic's POV
I finished cleaning up the kitchen then made my way to my room to change my clothes. I couldn't help but smile the whole time. Seeing Aria with Odette and the playful side to her was so refreshing.
I had this massive urge to kiss her in the kitchen. Seeing her smile and hearing her laughter did something to me. I need to gain more control. But damn it, did I find her so gorgeous when she was genuinely happy. I needed to stop this. I will never be able to give her the life she truly deserves.
I made my way to Odette's room. Before I entered, I heard her and Aria talking which made me stop and just listen. Aria had asked her about being hurt by someone.
"I think her name is Alex," Odette said softly.
"Mmm," I heard Aria reply.
"I went looking for Zio in his office. He promised to take me to the park and then to get a dress. That is when we were going to get that dress you liked." Odette went off topic slightly.
"The lady was in there but not Zio. She got angry with me. She told me my Zio doesn't want to spend time with me and I must leave him alone. I wanted to cry so I was going to run to mommy but she stopped me. She hurt my arm with her nails. She was pressing very hard. I told her she was hurting me but she didn't care. She said if I told mommy or Zio what she said she would hurt them and I would never see them again."
My blood was boiling as I listened to Odette recount that day. I remember that day. She was so distant from me and I didn't understand why. It took a week before she hugged me again. She got better after I took her to the park and bought that dress like I had promised.
I could hear the sadness and fear in her voice and it took a lot for me not to punch the wall beside me. I balled my hands into a fist, taking in a couple of deep breaths.
"Oh baby, come here." I heard Aria say to her. I took a peek into the room and saw Aria holding her tightly on her lap as they sat on her bed.
"I will never ever hurt you and nobody else will as long as I am here. Ok?" I saw Odette nod and hug her back.
I walked away from the room as Aria was getting Odette into bed. I took out my phone and made a call to Marcel. He picked up almost instantly.
"Dom?"
"Marcel... Don't worry I am not calling for you to come home. Everything is fine here. I need you to call Luka and Dante at the club and tell them to catch Alexa as she leaves tonight and take her to one of the cells in the warehouse." I said flatly.
"Alexa? What's going on Dom?"
"I will talk to you tomorrow. Nothing to worry about right now. Just make sure it gets done, Marcel."
"On it."
"Good. I will see you later."
"Addio (goodbye)."
I ended the call and put it in my pocket. I turned to head back to Odette's room but came face to face with Aria.
Aria's POV
Odette was so exhausted she fell asleep the second her head hit the pillow. I put on her turtle night light and made my way out of her room.
I walked down the hall towards Dom's voice. He came into view then I heard his phone call with Marcel. Did he hear the conversation I had with Odette? He turned around to look at me.
"Dom, what is going on?" I could see the vein on his forehead popping and his hair disheveled. He was starting to get agitated.
"I heard what Odette said. I will be taking care of Alexa tomorrow." He said void of emotion. The playful Dom from the kitchen is long gone. Or so I thought.
I nodded at him. The silence was deafening until he spoke through it.
"You're really good with her, Aria."
"Yeah. She is really special and I have worked with a lot of kids at work." I tried to play it off before the conversation went further into the topic of kids.
He nodded and the silence was once again upon us. I was the one with break it this time.
"Anyways, she is asleep. She exhausted herself out completely. I am off to bed as well. Goodnight, Dom. Thank you for the evening."
I started walking towards him then made my way to go around him. However, he put out his arm and held it against the wall stopping me at his side. His arm was now in front of my face. I turned to him and saw he had a smirk on his face. He took his other arm and extended it to the other side of my head, caging me between him and the wall.
"If I remember correctly, you promised me a drink. I don't forget things, Aria. You know this." He said with a husky tone as he looked me right in the eyes. Oh boy, that voice of his.
"I never promised. I was coerced. There is a difference." I said matter of fact.
He raised his eyebrow and chuckled underneath his breathe. I watched as his one hand went to my waist.
"Well do I need to do more coercing?" He threatened.
I grabbed his hand with both of mine. I took his hand off and placed it on his chest, tapping it a couple of times.
"Nope. That is quite alright. We can have a drink. But only one!" I said determinedly.
He nodded and put his arms down, extending his right one towards the hallway indicating for me to go first.
As we walked towards the lounge, I kept pep talking myself that it was only one drink. See the problem with me and alcohol is it tends to make me way too brave and confident. It is usually a dangerous mix.
Well, of course, my pep talk worked wonderfully. Note the sarcasm. One drink turned into two which turned into three. I wasn't drunk, far from it actually but three drinks were good enough to make me courageous. And courageous it did.
We were both sitting on the couch. I had my body turned towards his and he was sitting forward. I had a glass of red wine while he was drinking his famous whiskey. We spoke about what he has been up to these past 10 years. How he changed the family business around just like Dani had mentioned. How he actually takes down trafficking rings around the city. He explained it was his territory and people needed permission to do anything illegal within it.
Then the topic fell onto me.
"So Ari, what have you been up to?" He asked swirling his drink in his glass.
"Well you know, ran off to Florida, finished school there. Got a scholarship to study to be a doctor, met Olivia and here we are." I said simplifying it.
"And that's all?" He coaxed trying to get more out of me.
I took a large sip of my wine and took a deep breath.
"Pretty much," I said in a cool tone.
"Then where do the panic attacks come in?" Well ok, then we are getting straight to the point.
"Dom..." I started.
"Alright, we won't talk about it. But you do know I could have my computer guy look you up and have a file by tomorrow morning?" He said emphatically.
My eyes widened and I could feel panic starting to sink in. He noticed because he took my glass from me and set his and mine on the coffee table. He grabbed my hands forcing me to look at him.
"Hey... hey, relax. I was merely stating. I won't do it if you don't want me to, which you clearly don't. You have my word, Aria. Relax..." He said, calmly rubbing his thumb over my knuckles.
I was watching his thumbs as it went back and forth trying to concentrate on them. The panic attack subsided and I nodded. I looked up at him and saw the concern in his eyes.
"That bad, huh?" He asked.
I bit my lip and nodded again. Words were failing me right now. We stayed like that for a minute or so, then I noticed him diverting his eyes to my lips. I could see him leaning in slowly, but I didn't stop him this time. I needed to feel that comfort from him even if it's once more.
The second his lips connected with mine, it felt like a jolt of electricity surged through my body. I couldn't explain it right at this moment. His kiss was gentle, soft and reassuring. His hand went up and cupped my cheek. But then I felt the cold air on my lips again as I opened my eyes to see he had pulled back quickly.
He looked like he was regretting it already.
"I'm so sorry, Aria. I shouldn't have done that." He said quickly.
He stared at me as he noticed I wasn't speaking or moving. The thing is I was conflicted. My heart was telling me, yes and my head was saying no. The problem was my head is weaker when there is alcohol involved. This is where the whole being too brave comes in.
Before I could process it properly I had crashed my lips into his. At first, it took him by surprise and he stilled for a few seconds. But he was quick to respond as he began kissing me back.
My hands reached up to his face. I could feel the stubble beneath my fingers. His hand went behind my head pulling me closer to him as he deepened the kiss. I could feel his tongue flicking my lips asking for entry which I allowed. This kiss was less gentle and more demanding. His hand grasped at my hair as his other went to my waist. He gave it a light squeeze and the kiss only intensified.
Now here is where I start getting brave again. I got up and made me way closer to him as my hands reached for his chest. I felt the fabric of his shirt as it stretched over him. I pulled on his shirt which made him pull me onto his lap. I straddled him as his hands began roaming my body.
He set my body alight as I felt them touch my skin. He moved them slowly underneath my shirt. He pressed me against him tighter and I could feel his arousal. He then went down kissing my neck as I ran my fingers through his hair. This time I didn't manage to hold in the moan. The second the moan left my lips he gripped me tighter and moved his lips back onto mine.
His hands reached further up my shirt and were about to unclasp my bra when we heard the slam of the front door and voices coming from the foyer. We both snapped back immediately and looked at each other. We shot up and began fixing our clothes as we heard the voices grow louder. I saw him trying to fix himself in his sweats which made me let out a soft giggle. He glared at me with those lustful eyes of his, sending shivers down my body.
He made his way to stand next to me. We stood there watching the entrance of the lounge. I turned to look at him and noticed the lipstick messed all over his mouth. Damn it. My eyes widened as I noticed his do the same. I made a gesture with my hands as I mouthed to him 'your mouth'. He then repeated my movement gesturing towards my hair and mouthed 'your hair'.
Before we had a chance to fix anything any further Dani and Marcel come into view. Their eyes widened and they froze and went silent mid-conversation as they stared at us. Dani looked at me, my hair than to Dom and his lips before returning to me as a slight grin formed on her face. I started feeling anxious and awkward. I needed to get out of there.
"So..." I began. All eyes were on me now. "Odette is asleep..." I continued. Dani's grin grew which was not helping. "Ok, bye," I stated flatly and walked away past them quickly.
They then turned to look at Dom who was shifting on the spot. He took one look at them and without a word he oppositely walked past them.
Dani looked at Marcel.
"I told you so." She grinned triumphantly as Marcel shook his head chuckling.
Surprise! So by me, it's night time and tomorrow there will be another chapter. ;)
Did you enjoy this chapter? Sorry, it's longer than the others, I just needed to fit all this here. Breaking it up wasn't working for me.
Once again thank you for all your votes and comments! I appreciate them all. :)
Much love
Angie
xxx