“Not yet, princess.” His voice was filled with laughter.
“I’m going to be the first to spank your delectable ass—” He picked her up effortlessly into his arms, as if she weighed nothing. She had never felt so desired before.
“—And the last.”
Swoon!
He carried her over to the massive bed, and sat on the edge of the mattress with her still in his arms. She was boneless with want, her skin against the wool of his suit, the breadth of his chest.
He lowered her carefully, as if she were a work of art, until she lay on her belly across his lap, her ass up in the air.
Dominic stroked her back, the sides of her thighs —everywhere but her damp girly bits —with his broad palms. It was driving her crazy with desire, and she lifted her butt up even more, her legs outstretched and on tippy toes, fighting a whimper at this sweet torture.
Finally — finally! — he slid one hand between her legs, and lightly ran his fingertips over the seam of her pussy. Her breath hitched as she squirmed, her legs parting wider in invitation.
He dragged his fingers through her dampness, and her legs trembled. He clamped one arm down, holding her secure in his lap, while he used his other hand to continue teasing her.
He leaned over, and she felt his breath against her hair. “Remember, you asked for this, princess.”
Then his hand descended on the rounded globe of her right butt cheek, right where the pretty lettering read “Love Bites”, with a quick and decisive smack.
“Oh!” she exclaimed, as the stinging sensation zinged right through her girly bits. Her butt rose of its own volition, her toes leaving the ground.
Smack! His broad palm came down again, this time on her left butt cheek.
More, please!
Oh wait, she said that out loud. Because he smacked her again. And again. And again. And a few more times. It was a good thing she wasn’t keeping count. She forgot what came after three. She quivered in between each stinging slap. The cries coming out of her made him smile.
His mate. His.
He paused to knead the areas he had hit. They were rosy, just like the way she had blushed so prettily earlier.
“How are you doing, Zoey Eastgate?”
He needed to know. He wanted nothing more than to give her a lifetime of pleasure.
“Very, very good,” she huffed.
“Told you,” he smirked, and he sniffed the air for confirmation. God, she was so delicious.
He slid a finger between her legs, and she shivered violently.
“More showing and less telling, Mr. Modest.”
“Hmmph. There’s nothing modest about me.” He pretended to be offended, but the proof was in the hard ridge pressing against Zoey’s side.
She shrieked in surprise as in one fluid motion he got up, and flipped her over so she was now bent over the bed, her face pressed against the mattress. He was on his feet behind her, with his broad palms on her sides. He trailed his fingers lightly along her curvy body.
“All this woman, all mine. How did I get so lucky?”
He squeezed her butt cheeks, still warm from the spanking. She shivered with the feel of his fingers on her lit nerve endings, where the smacks had ignited her flesh. She shifted her weight, leaning into his touch, before one hand slipped between the folds of her pussy, slick with her excitement. She jolted as if she had come in contact with a live wire, his touch on her clit.
A moan escaped as his fingers did delicious things, swirly things that drove her wild. And then.... he removed his hand.
What?
“Don’t even think of stopping now, you bastard!”
His response was a low, sexy rumble of laughter. “Somebody likes being spanked.”
“Damn it, I did, and if you don’t take me right now—oh!”
She gasped as he slammed his enormous length into her from behind, filling her up.
His hand returned to do its delirium-inducing thrumming against her clit, as he rolled his hips over and over against her sensitive butt cheeks, still buzzing from being spanked.
She clutched at the bedspread, thick waves of unruly brown hair fanning about her head, muffling the moans and sighs as her entire body was rocked with each thrust.
She wanted him, all of him, and she loved the feel of him buried inside of her, the tickle of his curls against her tingling skin, the way he made her feel like the most desirable woman he had ever known.
His fingers continued their hypnotic strokes, and together their breaths grew harsher and faster, almost in unison as they both began the climb towards the apex of pleasure. The heat coiled deep in her tighter, so tight, until with a loud cry she shattered.
He felt her pulsing around him as the waves of her orgasm rushed through her, sweeping him along to his own hoarse, guttural cry. He pumped her full of his hot, sticky seed, loving the look of her beautiful, round curves receiving every bit of him.
This woman. He would never get enough.
Finally, slowly, he pulled out of her, keeping a broad hand on the silkiness of her skin. He pulled her back up from the bed, taking her into his arms. He looked at her face, flushed as it was with pleasure, the freckles, or angel kisses as her mother called them, a dusting of gold accentuating her glow.
Dominic tingled with pride and….another emotion.
I did that, he thought fiercely. I gave her the universe and stars, and I’ll devote the rest of my life making her the happiest woman alive.
He gave her the greatest gift he could think of at that moment -- the truth.
“I love you,” he said.
And she melted with joy.
* * * * *
Dominic walked to the back door of the limo, holding it open for Zoey. She couldn’t help but feel a rush of warmth. The big, scary killer was also an old-fashioned gentleman. And he treated her like a princess.
He was a complicated man, made up of many parts. Sure, some of them were sharp and spikey, but she was starting to see that those were walls he’d erected to protect himself.
“Hey!” a voice shouted out from behind a cluster of palm trees. Romano trotted up, looking expectant. “What’s up, boss?”
“Going to dinner.”
Romano’s face lit up. “Nice. I’m hungry. Where are we going? I’m in the mood for a rare steak.”
“We, as in my mate and I, are going to Sergio’s. You are going to sit outside and eat a sandwich.”
Romano made a mournful face. “Sergio’s? I love Sergio’s.”
“We’ll bring you out left-overs,” Zoey promised him, elbowing Dominic.
Romano’s face lit up. “Wait, are you guys going on an actual date? Did Dominic stop acting like an ass?” he asked Zoey. “When I come get Dominic in the morning, am I going to not-smell sex and – awwwkkk!” he struggled to breathe, which was hard to do with Dominic crushing his wind-pipe.
“Dominic, please don’t break your friend,” Zoey said, sliding into the back seat of the car. “You might regret it later.”
“Doubtful,” he grunted, but released his hold on Romano’s neck.
Romano coughed and wheezed dramatically from the front seat as their limo driver headed to Sergio’s until Dominic kicked the back of his seat and he stopped.
“You guys are like brothers who fight all the time,” Zoey laughed.
“He’s adopted,” Dominic said promptly. “His real mother was a troll.”
It was about a half hour drive, but traffic was light and Zoey sank into a warm haze of contentment. Dominic’s massive arm wrapped around her shoulders, and she leaned against him in companionable silence. This felt good. This felt right. Like she was exactly where she was supposed to be.
Suddenly a blinding sense of panic choked Zoey. “Obstacle. Turn back!” she cried out.
“You heard her!” Dominic yelled. He wrapped his arms around Zoey protectively, as the driver tried to make a quick turn in the middle of the street.
A massive explosion rattled the air
, and everything went dark.
Chapter Eighteen
Dominic’s ears rang and his mouth tasted like blood. He tried to shake Giuliana’s hand off him, and she tightened her grip on his wrist.
“Hold still so I can heal you, you ass!” Giuliana barked.
“I’m healed enough!” Dominic groaned and stumbled to his feet. “We’ve got to find her. And you need to go back home.”
He was in the middle of a scene that echoed a long ago nightmare. Did the Bianchi pack know? Was that why they’d attacked him when he was with his mate? She was gone. He’d failed to protect her.
He’d failed – again. Despite everything, despite being bitten, training as a foot soldier, working his way up through the ranks – he still couldn’t protect those he loved.
The twisted wreck of the limo was sideways in the middle of the street. The scene was crawling with cops, but they were very careful to stay out of Dominic’s way. Most of the cops were on the Blood Oath Pack payroll – and they also needed to be able to call in the pack members whenever things went magically sideways.
The explosion had sent their car spinning, and then the door had been ripped from its hinges. Their driver was dead. When Dominic lunged from the car, he’d been stunned by a hail of silver bullets. They couldn’t kill a warrior class shifter, but they’d knocked him out, and he’d sprawled on the ground, fading in and out of consciousness, until Giuliana showed up.
Romano was being healed by Dante. The stream of blood from his nose had slowed, and his eyes were back in focus.
Other pack members were on the scene too, some in wolf form, sniffing around. Unfortunately, Zoey had been pulled into a van and his scenters had no idea where the van was.
The only good news was that Dominic – right before he passed out – had called headquarters, and they’d been able to seal off the roads that bordered their territory. The van had tried to cross back over to the east side, but they’d run into a roadblock and driven off.
The van had vanished, though. It could be anywhere.
And now more bad news was storming up – in the form of Arturo, with Ottavio and Carlo on his heels.
Giuliana stepped away from Dominic, folding her arms defensively in front of her face.
“What the hell is my niece doing out here at the scene of an attack?” Arturo bellowed. The bones on his face rippled and his ears were pointy and fur-tipped.
“I came without asking him. He was semi-conscious when I got here and started healing him. The minute he gained consciousness, he tried to push me away and send me home.” Giuliana was pale her voice was weak.
“You’d say anything to cover for Dominic,” Ottavio snapped at her.
“Bite me, asshole,” she spit at him. “You’d say anything to get another Capo in trouble.”
“You are coming home,” Arturo growled at her, “and you will not leave the house without a squad of bodyguards. Ever again.”
Giuliana’s face went white with anger.
“You will regret this,” she informed her uncle. Her back was stiff with fury as she let two foot soldiers escort her to an SUV.
Arturo spun on Dominic with a snarl. “And you! Letting her come here? It’s only the fact that I owe you my life many times over that keeps you breathing. You are no longer a Capo. You are no longer in my pack.”
Dominic stared at him in shock and swallowed hard. Just like that. His pack, his family, his protection, his identity – snatched away from him.
“Yes, sir,” he said tonelessly.
That meant that he was searching for Zoey on his own.
“I respectfully request release from the pack, to go with Dominic,” Romano said.
“I don’t want you,” Dominic bit out. “You’re no good to me. You never have been, you do nothing but get in my way, and I’m sick of carrying your deadbeat ass. As soon as I claim my mate, I will be leaving the city. And I will not be taking you with me.” He saw the look of dark hurt in Romano’s eyes. But he wouldn’t do that to Romano. Life outside of the pack would be too dangerous. And the only way to get rid of the big, loyal, dumb bastard was to make him hate Dominic.
Romano’s face went blank.
Dominic turned and walked away, quickly. He made it around the block before he shifted, and then threw back his head and howled in rage.
Thoughts of Zoey floated in his head. She needed him. He couldn’t go feral, couldn’t give up now. With agonizing effort, he grabbed ahold of his wolf and wrestled it back inside him. His wolf didn’t want to go, and it fought him all the way, making the transition sheer torture – but he did it. He broke his own bones to force them back into human shape, dragged his fur back under his skin.
He couldn’t think as well when he was a wolf. He needed to be able to plan, to strategize.
He crouched on the ground, panting.
Think, you stupid bastard, think! Was Arturo going to cancel the blockade and let the van with Zoey escape? No, he probably wouldn’t do that – because the van full of Bianchi wolves had invaded Blood Oath pack territory, and he needed to capture and kill them.
But if Dominic was no longer Blood Oath, then Zoey was no longer Arturo’s concern. Zoey thought that Dominic was hard-hearted and calculating – Arturo made Dominic look like a girl scout.
A familiar voice sliced through his fog of panic.
It was Romano, yelling his name. Romano came barreling towards him, furious.
“Fuck! I’ve lost her, damn it!” Dominic howled his sorrow. “Go away, Romano! I can’t save you, I can’t save anyone!”
“I never asked you to save me, asshole!” Romano barked at him. “I asked you to let me serve by your side, and that’s where I am as long as I’m breathing.”
Dominic fixed his bleary, wretched gaze on Romano. “I don’t deserve you. And I have to go look for Zoey now.”
“Cin just called me, she’s got a line on where they are. Street kid network, they all keep in touch with each other. 37th and Harris. And no, you don’t. But you’re fucking stuck with me.”
He was talking to Dominic’s backside, because the second Romano said the street names, Dominic had gone wolf again, and was tearing down the street.
*****
“Are we there yet?” Zoey chanted, as they drove. “Are we there yet? Are we there yet?”
“Shut up!” Luigi, Primo’s nephew, bellowed in frustration. “Damn it,” he complained to Salvatore, Primo’s first in command. “Just let me kill her!”
Salvatore shook his head. “Your uncle said no. She’s more useful alive. For now.”
Luigi gave her a dirty look. “Doesn’t mean I can’t slap you around some,” he growled. “Say ‘are we there yet’ one more time. I dare you!”
Zoey grinned, her eyes glowing with malice. “Are we there yet? Are we-”
Luigi’s fist shot towards her face. Salvatore was faster, grabbing his wrist. “Your uncle said no! If you hit her too hard, she’ll die!”
“So what?” Luigi yelled. “Nobody disrespects me like that, nobody! Let the fuck go of me!”
He struggled, and Salvatore held on to his wrist. Luigi and Salvatore fell to the floor on the back of the van, wrestling with each other. Zoey took the opportunity to jump to her feet, lunged for the back door of the van, and fumbled for the lock.
Before Salvatore and Luigi could grab her, the door flew open and she fell out onto the street. The van was only moving at a crawl, because they were skulking around the west side, trying to find a way to get past Arturo’s men. They’d been complaining about it the whole time.
They were on a tiny side street. Zoey shot down the street, heart in her throat, and made it on to the main road, but then a growl behind her made her spin around. She stared at two large, angry, wolves. Salvatore and Luigi, who stood there facing her with their tails swishing.
There was no point in running – but she wouldn’t make this easy for them.
“You fleabags are going to have to drag me back,” she yelled. “I’ll ga
uge your eyes out, you mangy poodles!”
They froze. And they turned. And they ran.
Wow. Was she somehow actually a badass, and she’d never known it? “Yeah, you better run!” she yelled at their retreating backs.
Then she saw what they were running from – two more enormous wolves who were barreling down the street towards her. Dominic, and Romano.
They reached her and shifted back to human form, and Dominic grabbed her and squeezed her so tight she groaned in protest.
She looked up at him, blinking away tears of relief and love and gratitude. “What took you so long?”
Chapter Nineteen
Before they went into Dominic’s apartment above the restaurant, Romano tromped up the stairs to make sure it was safe. Then he went back downstairs and gestured at them to go inside.
“We’re here, instead of Arturo’s?” Zoey said, flopping onto Dominic’s couch. “I mean, I’m certainly happy to be closer to Sergio’s restaurant, but is it maybe safer at Arturo’s right now?”
“Romano, go wait out in the hall,” Dominic said. Romano obeyed instantly, leaving the apartment and closing the door behind him. Dominic sank down onto the pillow next to Zoey, his eyes hollow and his face grim.
“What’s wrong?” Zoey asked, stricken. She’d never seen Dominic look so…lost.
“Nothing’s safe right now, Zoey,” Dominic said bleakly. “Arturo believes that I put his niece in danger, and therefore, he has kicked me out of the pack. As a lone wolf, I can’t offer you the same kind of protection that I would have before. If you want me to relinquish my claim…”
“What did you just say to me?” Zoey spluttered. “That’s…I don’t…I’m seriously tempted to punch you right now. The only reason I don’t is because it would hurt me more than it would hurt you.”
Mated To The Capo (Mafia Shifters Book 1) Page 15