Ashley's Bend (27 page)

“Ashley, I...I don’t know how to do this...us. I’ve never had a relationship outside of sex. I’ve never wanted to, until now.”

Knox had told me several weeks ago that Dominic had a reason for not ever having been in a relationship before, but he also said it was Dominic’s story to tell. I was terrified to ask him why, but decide to go ahead and take the leap anyway.

“Why? What has you so resistant to having a relationship?”

I watched as his eyes dilated in the darkness. Where they were already normally dark like chocolate, they now looked like black ink. Dark pools of anguish stared back at me as if in a trance. Whatever happened to him had to have been awful and I felt tears sting my eyes and my throat tighten.

After a few silent moments, he sighed and rolled over onto his back. Threading his fingers together and placing them behind his head allowing his elbows to fall out to the side, he stared up at the dark ceiling. I took in the glorious sight of the hard lines of his muscles from the position he was in. I ached to reach out and touch him; to let my fingers trace every line and to soothe the hurt inside of him.

“My father never married my mother. They often had a strained relationship that involved my mom pinning away after him nearly every day. I got to see first-hand the highs she would go through when he gave her the time of day, and also the devastation she went through when he would leave. He
always
left.”

Holy shit he is talking!

I kept silent hoping that he would continue with his story. Even though I knew I would have questions, I feared his silence more than I feared not knowing the answer to my questions. And I didn’t want to risk not hearing his reasons behind his hurt.

“She would be depressed and not come out of her room for days. It was during those times, that I had to fend for myself. I had to cook my own food, and get myself ready for school. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to do those things, she just
couldn’t
. It was like a sickness that consumed her, being in love with a man who didn’t give two shits about her, or me.”

My heart ached for both he and his mother and the raw emotions that they had to endure. I ached for his mom for being so in love with someone, only to have her heart trampled on over and over again. But most of all, my heart ached for that little boy he was, who had to watch his mother sink into depression and become a shell of the mother she could have been to him.

“He came home one night and messed with my mom’s head again. She begged him not to leave. I remember sitting behind the couch and hearing them fight. Things grew heated and before I knew it, it got physical. I didn’t know if my father was drunk, high, or a combination of the two but he started hitting her. He kept pounding his fists into her. I can still hear the sound of some of her bones crushing, but the image I will never escape was her lying there, lifeless when he was done.”

Dominic paused to take in a shaky breath. I could feel the pain he was still suffering from as he tried to gain control over his emotion. I wanted to reach out to him, but I was terrified that he would pull away from me especially in his compromised emotional state. My heart pounded loudly in my chest and I prayed that Dominic was oblivious to the reaction that I had over hearing his story.

“He had a gun and for a moment he pointed it at me. I swear to God, I thought he was going to fucking shoot me, but he turned it on himself at the last minute. I promised myself
that
night that I would never need someone that much. I would never have any desire to be with anyone so completely, that it fucked me up inside.”

He continued to look at the ceiling for a few brief moments as silent tears ran down my cheeks. His father murdered his mother−in front of him. No one should have had to endure the horrid scene that he did, especially at such a young age. My heart crushed for him and I tried to hold back the painful sobs that threatened to escape from my mouth. He rolled over until he faced me again.

“That was until I met you.”

“What?” I asked not sure if I heard him correctly. Even though it was dark in the room, I could still see his eyes. They were focused on me intently, never wavering from mine. I was lost to him at that moment.

“I don’t know what kind of voodoo spell you have put on me, Ashley Carter, but I have never wanted more with a woman. You make me
want
more. You make me
need
more and it scares the shit out of me.”

Tentatively, I reached my hands up to cup his face. The stubble I found there felt like sandpaper under my fingers. I smoothed my thumbs over his lips and he pursed them and gently kissed my fingertips.

“I’m scared too, Dominic. I just left a marriage and wasn’t looking to jump into something right away. I’m scared of how close to you I have gotten in just a short time, but most of all, I am scared that you will run again and take a piece of me with you when you do.”

I had never been so forthcoming with my feelings before. I felt that it was crucial for me to be honest with him; crucial for me to be able to continue to break through the walls surrounding his heart.

“Ashley, I cannot promise you that I won’t fuck this up. I cannot promise you that I can be a hearts and flowers kind of guy, but I will promise to try. I
want
to try with you,” he said as he kissed my jaw and sent butterflies fluttering through my belly. Our moment was interrupted by the shrilling sound of Dominic’s cell phone ringing. He groaned as he rolled away from me and reached down to retrieve the cell phone from his jeans on the floor.

“Knox, you better have a good fucking reason for interrupting me right now,” he said as he looked at me and winked.

Swoon.

My heart leaped from his playful gesture, but it soon dissipated when Dominic shot ramrod straight up onto the bed.

“What?” he yelled into the phone.

I had poured my heart out to a woman. What was it about her that made me let go of everything I had ever kept under control? One look into her gorgeous green eyes and all my inhibitions, my guard and my walls crumbled a little more. What I think I was attracted to the most was her innocence. She was not accustomed to the pastimes of my lifestyle, yet she wasn’t appalled by them either. No, Ashley had a fire about her. She had a taste for something more exotic and her natural submissive yet dominate nature was the sexiest fucking thing ever.

I found myself wanting to be tender with her. I had fallen under the spell of the feelings I got when my fingers brushed against the creamy smoothness of her skin. Slowly, I started to kiss her jaw as I told her that even though I have never done relationships before, I was willing to try. I was willing to let go of some of my control if it meant I got to keep her next to me. My cock hardened and I wanted nothing more than to lose myself in the warm confines of her intoxicating body. The sound of my cell phone ringing broke me out of my temporary sex induced brain.

I reluctantly rolled away from Ashley to retrieve the phone from my pants. Glancing at the screen, I groaned as I answered the call.

“Knox you better have a good fucking reason for interrupting me right now,” I said to my friend and partner before I winked at Ashley. Her face brightened into a sexy smile and my dick strained even more.

“Nic, we have a problem,” Knox stated in a serious tone “someone damaged the front of the club this morning.”

“What?” I yelled into the receiver as I shot up straight in the bed.

“There’s more, Nic,” Knox said hesitantly.

“What the fuck, just spit it out,” I growled at Knox. My patience was wearing thin and my anger was starting to bubble in my veins.

“Although it doesn’t say so directly, I think the note we found was targeted at Ashley. Where are you? You should get to the club.”

I ran my hands over my face and slicked back my hair. Next to me Ashley started to fidget from the tension that was radiating from me. I jumped up off the bed and started throwing my clothes back on while trying to balance the phone between my shoulder and my ear.

“I’m at the club, I’ll be down in a bit.”

“I didn’t see you in your office earlier,” Knox stated as a matter of fact. I didn’t miss the smug sound of his voice. He knew I walked out of the Common Room with Ashley the night before. Hell, he was the reason for it, and even though I was glad he did what he did, I was still going to give him shit.

“Have you called the police?” I asked trying to change the subject. Knox’s annoying chuckle over the phone told me he knew I was avoiding telling him about my whereabouts. But, I wasn’t in the mood to have a girl talk situation with him.

“They are on the way. Just get your ass down here. Oh, and Dominic? Tell Ashley I said good morning.”

The sound of Knox hanging up on me was the next thing I heard.

Fucker.

I sighed as I threw the phone down on the bed and pulled my shirt on over my head.

“What’s wrong, Dominic? Ashley asked tentatively. I didn’t want to alarm her, especially since I did not know what the note Knox said was left actually said. So I told her the truth, just omitted that part about the note.

“Knox said someone vandalized the club sometime last night.”

“What, really? Why didn’t we hear anything?”

“The room is soundproof, Ashley.”

“Oh.”

She looked a little worried. Hell, I was a little worried. In the seven years that I had been opening clubs all over the U.S., I had never had vandalism happen before. Not to mention the fact that Ashley was being targeted too. My hands instantaneously clench into fists at my sides as I dug my nails into the flesh of my hand in order to get control on my anger. I looked over to see Ashley staring at me, worry written all over her face so I did the only thing I knew would help, I distracted her. I walked over to where she still sat on the bed and leaned over her.

“That means, princess, that you could scream as loud as you want, but no one would be able to hear you.”

I gave her one of my grins that had women melting in my hands. Her eyes grew wide for a moment, but then the sexy, fun and dominant side of Ashley challenged me right back.

“They wouldn’t be able to hear me because my mouth would be full of your cock.”

Holy fucking hell.

“Dammit, Ashley. If we didn’t have to be downstairs right now, I would fuck you until you wouldn’t be able to walk.”

I watched as her mouth fell open and desire was written in her eyes. I was insatiable when it came to her. I could never seem to get my fill of her. Reaching for her hands, I yanked her up from the bed in one fast motion. I swallowed her gasp of shock with my mouth as I clamped mine over hers in a very scorching, very needy kiss. She melted into me and I momentarily got lost in her naked body pressed up against me, forgetting that I needed to get downstairs to help Knox with the situation.

“Don’t we have to get downstairs?” she asked breathlessly, breaking me out of my seemingly one track mind.

“Fuck.”

I released her reluctantly and she quickly found her clothes and got dressed. It was the purest form of torture because all I wanted to do was suffuse myself inside of her.