Keeping Dominic (The Golden Boy Series Book 1)

by Alyson Reynolds

  Twenty minutes later, I felt the first sting of the needle and the tension that had been building for the past month and a half disappeared. Josh was right; this was my version of therapy. At least I’d walk away with a visible piece of art across my ribs instead of trying to work things out in my head one week at a time. I didn’t have an issue with people who found value in it, but it didn’t work for me.

  The design only took about an hour, but the process left me feeling relief.

  I handed my phone over to Josh. “Take a picture so I can send it to Raquel.”

  “You’re just going to make her want to get one as soon as she turns eighteen.”

  I grinned. “I already promised her I’d take her for her first one.”

  My little sister was probably going to have an addiction like her older brother. As I looked in the mirror at the simple design, I grinned. It was what I needed to keep myself grounded. I shook Dizzy’s hand and thanked him. The guy was talented, and if I was ever came back to Padre, I’d probably visit him again. He gave the basic aftercare rundown that was required—basically keep my ass out of the ocean or I’d screw up his work and risk killing myself with an infection—and sent us on our way.

  The streets were practically empty since it was too early for the bar crawlers and late enough after dinner that everyone was either at home or headed that way. It didn’t take long for Josh to pull into one of our favorite bars we’d found a few days after arriving on the island. More beer and liquor had crossed my lips over the past three weeks than had in my entire college career. It was a wonder we weren’t all dying of alcohol poisoning.

  We ordered our food and settled in across from one of the huge televisions. There was a baseball game on, but we didn’t care for either team playing, and it was too early to even think about playoffs.

  “You want to tell me what that was about?”

  I shook my head and took a drink of my beer. “Not really.”

  “Do you at least feel better?”

  I considered his question. Did I feel better? While I was in the chair, definitely. But now? I felt calmer, more in control.

  “Yeah.”

  “You’re such a good conversationalist, Dom.” Sarcasm dripped from his words and he rolled his eyes. “I hate it when you get all bitchy like this.”

  I ran a hand over my face. “I just have shit going on in my head. It’s hard not being able to talk to Brooke like I used to, and things get pent up.”

  He frowned. “I know it’s not the same, but you can talk to me.”

  Yeah, sure, let me explain how I’ve been in love with your sister for years and kept it from you.

  “I know.”

  We sat in silence, eating and finishing our beers. I hated that I shut him out because he was perceptive about why I got the fucking tattoo. It wasn’t fair that I’d been in love with his little sister since her freshman year and never said a word.

  I ran a hand over the back of my neck. “One day I’ll tell you everything, Josh. Just not right now.”

  He nodded once. “Okay.”

  We moved on to safer topics. He told me how he planned to propose to Riley, and I gave him a few suggestions. It was the same as it always was, but I felt guilty. When we got back to the house, the girls were sitting downstairs, watching some reality show and drinking wine. Talia knew I was getting the tattoo, but I hadn’t mentioned what it was going to be. She’d obviously mentioned it because they all wanted to see it.

  I tugged off my shirt and pulled off the dressing carefully. Brooke’s eyes met mine as she glanced up from the colorful design. I expected her to be mad, but what I saw there was hurt. I watched her turn without a word and go upstairs. If I called after her, I’d have to explain why I got something we’d talked about in depth in the past. Brooke knew the meaning behind the piece and she hated me for it. Talia’s eyes bounced from me to Brooke’s retreating back. Therapy is supposed to make you feel better in the long run.

  ***

  I stared at Talia from over the table, completely dumbfounded.

  “Where is this coming from?”

  She pursed her lips. “We’re not on the same page here, Dom. Your feelings are perfectly clear, especially after last night.”

  My fingers grasped the coffee cup in my hand, and it suddenly made a lot more sense why she wanted to come here. At least she wasn’t picking a fight at the house.

  She wasn’t wrong, though.

  “But why now? Why did you all of a sudden decide we should just be friends? Is it because you don’t trust me?”

  She rolled her eyes. “In the past few months, have you ever once looked at me the way you looked at Brooke? Have you ever stopped loving her for one second and considered moving on with me?” She sighed. “Or am I just her replacement?”

  “I’ve barely spoken to Brooke in months,” I hissed.

  Her eyes narrowed into tiny slits as she glared at me. Clearly I’d pissed her off.

  Well, so what? She wasn’t exactly my favorite person right this second.

  “You have got to be kidding me,” she said under her breath. “Dominic, you’re in love with her—currently, not past tense. There’s no reason for us to keep pretending there’s a snowball’s chance in hell of you ever choosing me over her. Brooke is always going to be the one you want to be with. I can’t continue being with you and hurting myself in the process.”

  I ran a frustrated hand down my face. “Talia, I know things look bad, but Brooke and I are friends. Right now we’re not even good friends. She did something I’m having a really hard time forgiving.”

  “That you won’t talk about.”

  I shook my head and tears streamed down her beautiful cheekbones, over her full plump lips and to the floor. God, I hated making her cry.

  “That’s where you’re wrong, Dom. Do you or do you not have a sketch of Brooke in your wallet right now? Not just a photograph, but something you spent your time, talent, and effort on?”

  My mouth dropped open. How did Talia even know about that sketch? I hadn’t let anyone see it, ever. She studied me for a few seconds and when I didn’t respond, she nodded.

  “I thought so.”

  She grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder. As she started to walk away, I snapped out of it and reached for her arm. My hand rested gently on her soft skin. Her eyes were unreadable as she looked down at me.

  “I’m so sorry.”

  A sad smile covered her gorgeous face—the face of the woman I should’ve loved, but didn’t. Nothing about this was okay. I’d created a huge fucking mess, hurting someone I really cared about in the process.

  “It’s okay, Dom. But for God’s sake, don’t let her get away again.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Brooke

  Sweat dripped down my forehead as I danced to the techno remix of a popular song we didn’t know the actual words to. Caroline and Quinn were right there with me. Somehow we’d managed to convince Care to actually take a few shots and relax—something that never happened—so we were all enjoying the fun. Riley had even left Josh’s side for a while to come dance with us.

  For the first time since we’d crossed the bridge onto the island, I truly felt relaxed, and I was having fun. I wasn’t worried about my boyfriend or my best friend and his stupid tattoo. All I cared about was letting my body move to the beat. Second to that, I just wanted to keep my buzz going. Alcohol wasn’t a long-term solution, but I was sure as hell going to let it work its magic tonight.

  As one song shifted into another, Quinn grabbed my arm and motioned for me to follow her to the bar. I grabbed Caroline, so she’d follow us off the dance floor. The club was multi-levels with several outside bars, and for some reason, it seemed really familiar even though we’d never been there before tonight. Quinn pushed the door to the outside bar open, allowing the breeze coming in from the ocean to dance over my heated skin. I grinned. The night was turning out better than I imagined.

  Josh, Drew, and Dom were
sitting at a table not far from the bar in an area where it was actually quiet enough to hold a conversation. I looked around for the rest of our group, including my boyfriend. Drew caught my eye and waved us over.

  “Where’s Austin?”

  “I thought he was here.” I was confused. When we’d first walked in, he was very clear when he told me where he’d be as he kissed me before I’d gone out to the dance floor. “He told me he was going to be here with you.”

  Drew made a face. “That’s funny because he said the same thing to me. He told me he was going to find you.”

  I bit my lip as alarm bells went off in my head.

  “How long ago was this? Maybe he’s looking for us on the wrong dance floor?”

  Dom’s gaze bounced between the two of us, and Josh sat up straighter in his chair.

  “I’m sure it’s nothing…” I trailed off.

  It was something. Everything in me said it was something.

  I turned on my heel and went back inside the club. The pulsing music assaulted me as I started searching dark corners. The first floor was empty, and by the time I made it up to the second, Dom had caught up to me. He didn’t try to stop me, but he also wasn’t letting me do this alone. It was like he suspected what I was going to find. There were couples making out and groping everywhere, but so far, none of them had included my blond-haired boyfriend.

  As I climbed the stairs to the third floor, I gasped softly when I finally saw him, pressed against a little redhead right off the stairwell. Her fingers were threaded through his hair and his hands were just under her breasts. I nearly missed the next step as I lost my balance. Dom’s hands steadied me, but before I could even decide what to do about Austin, Dom pushed past me and ripped him apart from the girl.

  The girl Austin had been groping screamed as he tumbled to the side. Before I could stop him, Dom was pounding his fist into Austin’s face. Blood streamed from Austin’s nose. He tried to punch back at Dom without any luck, but he was able to block Dom’s next punch.

  I was so shocked, it took me a few seconds before I screamed at them to stop. When I screamed Dom’s name, he paused, letting Austin get in a cheap shot. Austin tried to shove Dom off, clearly sick of getting the shit beat out of him. Austin pushed him hard enough that Dom’s back hit the wall. There was finally enough room between them I was able to shove my way in and put a hand on both their chests. I only had a few seconds before security would show up.

  I pointed at Austin. “Stay the fuck away from the house tonight. I’ll pack your shit, and you can pick it up tomorrow.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “What the fuck—”

  Dom growled, and I pushed harder on his chest. “Stop it! You aren’t making this any easier.” I turned back to Austin. “You can talk about it with Josh tomorrow, but as far as I’m concerned, you’re not welcome in my bed anymore. Go stay with your new girlfriend since this”—I motioned between us— “is obviously over.”

  Seemingly out of nowhere, three huge security guards showed up. Man, those assholes are big. I followed behind them as they led Austin and Dom out of the club. A huge crowd had gathered around us to watch the spectacle. I shook my head. How was this my life? And why was I stupid enough to choose the guy who’d pull this shit?

  I should’ve known better.

  Austin would inevitably blame it on the fact I wouldn’t put out. I obviously was justified in my decision not to, but that wasn’t what I’d wanted. Earlier today, I’d finally decided how I was going to end things with Austin tomorrow, which was part of the reason I’d felt so amazing tonight.

  “This is so fucking stupid,” I muttered to myself.

  Dom glanced over his shoulder, but he didn’t say anything, nor did he try to fight the bouncer who had a hold of his arm. Austin had been stupid enough to try to shrug off the guy leading him out and had been escorted out a little faster than us. Granted, I wasn’t being kicked out, but I wasn’t about to let Dom take the blame for this one.

  It only took a few minutes for us to be deposited outside on the sidewalk in front of the loud club. Dom stared out into the darkness, obviously pissed off at the events of the evening. He was probably mad at me for dating Austin in the first place. I ignored him and pulled out my phone to get an Uber and texted Josh to let him know what happened. My head was spinning. The past thirty minutes of my life were ridiculous.

  My boyfriend cheated on me, my best friend—or the guy who was supposed to be my best friend—beat the crap out of him, and now I was standing outside of a club at one o’clock in the morning, unsure of what was up from down. Hell, the past two months of my life had been sheer insanity, mostly because of the very man standing next to me.

  Dominic Torres.

  I glared over at him.

  “What?” he asked with an infuriating smirk.

  I shoved at his chest. “You couldn’t have just let me deal with him?” I shoved him again. “Seriously! What is this stupid God-complex you have going on? I could’ve handled it.”

  He threw his hands up in the air. “I never said you couldn’t handle it. You’re so frustrating.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest. “Then why did you butt in?”

  Now he was mad. He took two steps toward me. “Because I wanted to punch him, and that’s what friends do, Brooke.”

  “We aren’t friends. We’re barely even speaking to one another. Thanks to your stupid decision a long time ago that we couldn’t be more than just friends—”

  He scoffed. “I made that decision?”

  “Yeah, you made that decision when you didn’t tell me how you felt.”

  “I hardly think that’s fair. What about—”

  “Where’s your girlfriend anyway? You know, the girl you did actually tell how you felt? Where’s Talia?” I demanded.

  “She’s gone. Apparently she didn’t like the tattoo I got, so she left early.”

  I stopped, and all the fight I had in me fled. “Oh.”

  “Yeah, oh.” He glared at me and set his jaw. “Can we just go? I’d like to get some sleep.”

  I averted my gaze. My eyes burned from trying to keep the tears from falling. He had to bring up that fucking tattoo. Thank goodness the Uber pulled up to distract me. As we climbed into the car, I slid as far away from Dom as possible. The only thing I wanted from him was distance. He studied me while we rode the ten minutes to the house. I tried to ignore his probing gaze, but it wasn’t that simple. The driver seemed to pick up on the tension running through the car and stayed quiet.

  As soon as the car stopped, I jumped out, leaving Dom to dismiss the driver. It took me a few precious seconds to get the door to the condo unlocked and get inside. He stalked in behind me, slamming the door as he entered. Our anger was tangible between us as was the never ending sexual tension.

  I wanted to scream and rail at him, tell him how much I hated him. The problem was I didn’t. As mad and hurt as I was, I didn’t hate him. And I didn’t think I ever could.

  After he closed the door behind him, he reached out for me. I dodged his hand and headed for the stairs.

  “Brooke, we need to talk.”

  I whipped around, hair flying behind me. “What’s there to talk about, Dom? Your tattoo that you got to remind you I’m a horrible person or the fact you blame me for Talia leaving?”

  “I don’t blame you for that and I didn’t get the tattoo—”

  I started toward the staircase, ignoring him as I went up the first few steps. He was hot on my heels as I started climbing.

  “We aren’t done here,” he snapped.

  “I’m pretty sure we are. That was a rhetorical question, you dick.”

  My heels were loud on the stairs as I continued to my room so I could pack Austin’s stuff. I was considering burning it, but I thought that might be a step too far. It would be quite satisfying to see his personal belongings being consumed by flames. The last thing I expected was for Dom to grab my arm and push my back against the wall. I sucked in a shar
p breath when he pinned me in place with his big body.

  His big, muscled body.

  “You’re so damned frustrating,” he growled before his mouth slammed against mine.

  The feeling of his lips on mine stunned me. His lips were fuller and softer than I’d imagined, and it took me a few seconds to fully comprehend that Dom was kissing me. My fingers dug into his biceps, and I tangled my tongue with his, deepening the kiss and moaning low in my throat. We finally pulled away, both gasping for air. He pressed his forehead to mine and closed his eyes.

  “I’ve wanted this for so long, Brooke.”

  “Me too,” I whispered before capturing his lips with mine again.

  We stumbled up the last few steps and found our way into my bedroom. Dom closed the door behind us and turned to face me. God, he was hot. I was standing in front of the bed, unsure of my next move.

  “Strip.”

  His voice sent a tremor through my body.

  I crossed my arms over my chest. “What about you?”

  “Brooke, if you want to see how hard my cock is for you, then you’ll take off your fucking clothes right now.”

  I smirked and took a few steps closer. “Who knew that the only thing I needed to do to make you cuss was turn you on.”

  He stood there unmoving except for a slight tick in his jaw, his eyes burning, almost black from lust.

  “What do I have to do to get the great Dominic to lose all his control?” I ran my hands over his chest lightly as I circled him. His hands fisted in my hair when I leaned in to whisper in his ear. “I really want to know.”

  I gasped when he picked me up and tossed me toward the bed like I weighed nothing. His hands skimmed over my breasts, landing on the button to my jeans.

  “Are you sure you’re ready for me because I don’t plan on going easy on you, baby?”