“That’s right, honey,” Mom chimes in. “We are loving, and we always have been, because first and foremost, Rick is my husband. We’re in this together as man and wife, equally important and equals period.”
“I think, Sophia,” Dad says, “that maybe you have been given the wrong impression of a submissive. Being Kayla’s Sir means that she is up on a pedestal and I do whatever it takes to keep her happy and meet her needs. That’s what she does for me, so why would she get any less from me?”
Chapter Fourteen
“Well, I think Sophia has had enough excitement for one day,” I state, saving her from any further parental advice. “Let me show you around the grounds.” I help her up from her seat and place my hand on her lower back.
“Thank you so much for dinner,” Sophia says to them both. “If you don’t mind waiting a few minutes, I’ll be glad to do all the cleaning up.”
“No, ma’am, you’re our guest. Besides, we have a housekeeper and a cook who usually handle all this for us. Rick just likes to fire up the grill himself. It’s his man-thing,” Mom laughs. “You two go enjoy yourselves and don’t worry about a thing.”
“Thanks, Mom. Thanks, Dad. No need to wait up,” I say with a smile and Dad laughs.
The backyard really is an oasis and is somewhere I could get lost for hours and thoroughly enjoy it. Mom had it professionally developed to provide some shade during the hot Texas summers. Tall palm trees and Saw Palmetto bushes flank the slate rock lined path, with thick Bermuda sod grass and hostas accentuating the lushness of the area. The pathway itself is relaxing and beautiful, but it hides the focal point of the yard until the very last second.
Rounding the bend, Sophia stops suddenly and gushes over the view that is now before us. Tall rocks surround the infinity pool with ledges at multiple heights. Water cascades down the rocks at different places, like multiple waterfalls running at once. The tiki lamps outline the lagoon shape of the pool, and with dusk fading into night, the firelight shimmers off the water. It really is breathtaking and Sophia seems to love it.
The chaise loungers are spread around the perimeter of the pool so I guide Sophia to the closest one. We sit down together on one lounger and I stroke her arm, giving her a moment to take everything in.
“This is so beautiful,” she whispers.
“Yes, it is,” I reply, not taking my eyes off of her. She feels me looking at her and turns to fully face me. “Talk to me, Sophia. How are you taking all of this?”
“It’s a lot to take in, but I’m really glad you brought me here,” she says earnestly. “Your parents are wonderful. I wish I could’ve had such loving parents.”
“That doesn’t mean that there weren’t problems along the way, you know? It just means they worked on them together and stayed together no matter what they faced,” I explain. “They’ve just always loved each other more than anything else.”
Sophia stares off into the water and her mind is a million miles away. I kiss her hand and her eyes refocus when she looks up at me. “I do trust you, Dom. I’m sorry for doubting you. I’m really working on putting that behind us,” she says as a single tear rolls down her cheek.
“Tell me.”
“There are just so many differences in your definition of a submissive and what I’ve known. I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around it,” Sophia admits the very thing I suspected.
“Is my definition so bad?”
“No, it’s not bad. It’s good—almost too good to be true. I’ve always been told ‘if it’s too good to be true, then it probably isn’t true.’”
I nod in understanding. “What does your heart tell you?”
“My heart says to hold on to you and never let go,” she replies without hesitation.
“Follow your heart, My Angel.”
Sophia’s eyes fill with unshed tears and her bottom lip quivers as she vehemently fights against crying. Simultaneously, we reach for each other and our mouths collide in a heated, passionate kiss as I lift her to straddle me. Just the feel of her hands on me is enough to set me on fire. I need to be inside her—now—and I don’t care that we’re in my parents’ backyard.
Thankful that she’s still wearing her skirt, I push it up around her waist and lift her to sit astride me as I turn to lie back in the lounger. Her upper body is pressed against mine as we continue to caress each other. She moans when she reaches between my legs and feels my cock hard and ready for her. She makes quick work of unfastening my pants and I lift my hips to help her pull them down.
Just when I think she’s about to move back to my lap, the wet, warmth of her mouth wraps around me and my head falls back in sheer pleasure. I jerk my head up when my cock hits the back of her throat and she lightly shakes her head before she swallows. As her throat muscles tighten around me, my hands grasp her hair and I tug on it as her head moves up. “Damn, baby, you’re killing me,” I growl out at her.
Her eyes lift to look at me as she takes me as deep as she can. The sight of her enjoying pleasuring me so much has me about ready to explode. “My Angel, I want you on top of me,” I instruct. As she takes her place back on top of me, I know the words are on the tip of her tongue. She wants to say them but she won’t since I haven’t said it first.
Her soft hand draws my attention as she wraps it around my cock and guides me to the ultimate destination. “Fuck, you’re already so wet,” I grind out as she slides down me. I grab her hips and help set the pace as she rocks back and forth. Lifting my hips as she comes down, I bury myself deeper and deeper inside of her over and over again with each thrust. Then she leans back and puts her hands on my legs as she rides out the waves of her orgasm. Using my thumb, I stroke small circles on her clit as she comes completely unhinged on top of me.
“That’s my girl,” I praise her, “you’re so beautiful. You take my breath away.”
She leans forward and I capture her mouth with mine. I wrap my arms around her and hold her tightly to me as I sit up, taking her with me. She readjusts her legs so that her toes are touching the ground on either side of the lounge chair. Using her legs, she moves up and down then circles her hips, repeatedly, and I feel her becoming wetter and wetter. As her inner muscles grip me once again, the sensation is so intense that I can’t resist the urge to come with her. The face-to-face experience is powerful—watching her eyes glass over, her face contort in gratification, and holding her body flush against mine.
“Now, My Angel, I want to feel you come again now. With me,” I command and she obeys as she screams out my name.
Lying back with her on my chest and with me still buried deep inside her, this feels incredible. Holding her, making love to her, knowing the feelings I’m experiencing are reciprocated, and never wanting to let her go are all both new and exciting, and familiar and typical. The thought that I’ve found the one keeps running through my mind at various times.
Is she the one? The one I can’t live without? The one I spend the rest of my life with? I can’t picture my life without her in it now. She’s the first thing on my mind when I wake up and the last on my mind before I fall asleep. Even in the time that we were only working together and not lovers, she haunted my thoughts and consumed my dreams.
These are all the things I can’t bring myself to tell her yet. We’ve only started exploring our Dom/submissive relationship, and I’m not convinced that her previous experiences will allow her to fully enjoy what I can offer her. Being honest with myself, I’m not sure I would be fulfilled without being able to fully explore with her, to push us both to our limits and beyond, just to see how much pleasure we can experience. On the other hand, I don’t think I would be fulfilled doing those things with anyone else now that we’ve crossed that line into a relationship.
She lazily lifts her head from my shoulder and places a sweet kiss on my lips. “What was that for?” I ask her.
“For always knowing exactly what I need and what I’m feeling. I’ve made a decision,” she states.
&nbs
p; I arch my eyebrow at her dubiously and wait for her epiphany. “And what’s that?”
“I’m following my heart, Dom. I’m not strong enough to ever leave you. I’m running to you and I’m never letting you go,” she softly declares. “Don’t break me. Please don’t break me.”
Capturing her face in my hands, I pull her mouth back to mine as I pour my feelings into our kiss. I can’t say it yet but I can make her feel it, I can show her, and I can do everything in my power to make sure she stays. “You’re safe with me, My Angel. I would never hurt you—you’re part of me now. You’re the one I’m falling for and I’m beginning to believe you’re the one I’ve needed all along.”
Her tears run unchecked down her cheeks as her eyes shimmer with the love that’s bubbling underneath. She snuggles back into her spot and I wrap my arms around her. Like hot magma, just under the earth’s surface ready to erupt into a great volcano, her love is waiting for its opportunity to spill over. The way Sophia looks at me, the way the depth of her brown eyes pull me into her soul, and how she tries so hard despite her past are all indications that this is the love I’ve waited and searched for over the years.
I just can’t tell her yet. My own past experiences are still lingering in the dark recesses of my mind—and in my heart. It’s like a knife stabbing me every single time she gives more of herself to me. I feel like I’m holding out on her, like I’m keeping a secret that could change everything between us. It’s that thought that plagues my mind day and night. It makes me question if I’m good enough for her, if I’m strong enough to carry the load for us both, and if I can be the kind of Dom that she deserves, that she needs, and that will bring out the best in her.
The man I want to be for her and the heartbreak of my past are warring in my mind for the preeminent position. While I know I should tell her and give her the chance to leave now before I’m in over my head, I secretly think it’s too late for that. I think I burned that bridge when I allowed her to call me ‘Dom,’ the name no other has ever been allowed to call me. My mom knew it immediately when Sophia said it, even though I wouldn’t look at Mom and verify her unspoken question.
Now, here I am, having brought Sophia home to meet my parents, introducing her to our way of life, and effectively making her a member of the family. Oh, and there’s also the fact that, as a grown man who has the utmost control over his emotions, I just made love to her in the backyard of my parents’ house. That probably counts for something in the way of commitment.
Yet, I can’t make the same declaration she just made. I can’t tell her I love her and have her say it back to me yet. I can give her anything—I will do everything in my considerable power to protect her, shelter her, and care for her…except for those three little words that would mean so much to her. I feel like such a failure and a hypocrite in that area.
I don’t know how long I’ve sat here and mused over our fate, but the skies are very dark now and most of the lights coming from the area of the house have faded to near black. “Sophia, My Angel, we need to go in and get some sleep. It’s been a long day, love,” I coax her awake.
She stands and straightens her skirt as I adjust my pants. Walking back to the house, Sophia shuffles her feet in exhaustion and leans into me for support. I quickly hook one arm under her knees and one at the small of her back to carry her the rest of the way. Wrapping her arms around my neck, she’s sound asleep in my arms within a minute. Her sweet breath is warm against my neck and her hair tickles my face, but I still nuzzle as close to her as I can get. I think she’s under my skin now—there’s no turning back. I may not say it, but it’s there.
Like any other secret, it can only stay hidden for so long before it comes out for all to see. That knowledge is the only thing that scares me. Secrets, truths, lies, and regrets—there are just so many. Hindsight provides too much clarity, points out too many things I should’ve handled differently, and reveals too many missed opportunities that I didn’t see at the time. I’m smart enough to know that hindsight doesn’t guarantee a better outcome—maybe not even a different one. The thing is, I will never know.
Carrying her to our bedroom, Sophia barely notices when I remove her clothes and get in the bed beside her. She turns on her side and I spoon her from behind, pulling her close to me and noticing the way her body molds perfectly into mine. Nuzzling my face into her hair, I kiss her head goodnight and wish I could say it, even now while she’s asleep. The last thing I remember is falling asleep to the rhythm of her breathing.
“Dominic! Dominic! Wake up!” I hear the sweet, feminine voice calling to me. I see her face in my dreams and I rush to her. She’s just out of my reach, no matter how hard I try or how fast I run to her. I can’t reach her and the foreboding feeling of impending doom is heavy, like a wet blanket covering me and suffocating me. But I can’t give up because she needs me. She’s still calling me.
“Dominic, please! Can you hear me?” my siren calls again.
Yes, baby, I can hear you and I’m trying desperately to reach you. Wait for me this time. Give me a chance to help you.
“Dom!” she screams and shakes me. My eyes fly open at the name she used, and for a few seconds, I look around the room, completely disoriented and unsure of where I am. “Oh my god, Dom! You scared me! Are you okay?” Sophia’s face comes into focus and I realize I’ve been dreaming. Only this time, I mixed some of my real life with my dream life, and the realization that I must be all kinds of fucked up hits me like a ton of lead.
“I’m okay, baby. I’m sorry I scared you. What happened?” I ask, hiding the fact that I’m cringing inside because I don’t know what I said in my sleep. I won’t lie to her to try to explain it away. If I have to, I will have to tell her now, at a time when I’m certainly not ready to tell her. It’s definitely not my first choice, but I’ve learned the hard way that sometimes there are no choices.
“You were thrashing around,” her voice still holds the panic I awoke to, “and you kept mumbling something. I couldn’t understand what you were saying, but you sounded so...sad…so distraught. Do you want to talk about your dream?”
“No, baby, I’m okay. I don’t need to talk about it. I’m not sure I could even describe it,” I state calmly. She cocks her head to the side and narrows her eyes at me in disbelief. “Don’t worry about me. Really. I’m fine. Let’s go back to sleep,” I cajole her and she snuggles against me again.
Soon, her breathing evens out and she’s fallen back into a deep slumber. I lie awake and run one scenario after another through my mind. How should I tell her? What is the best way to approach the topic? How would I even start that conversation? Once I envision the scenario I think would work best for us both, my racing mind slows to a snail’s pace. Once I commit to telling her soon, the dread and doom dissipates and I soon join her in sleep.
Chapter Fifteen
Waking early, I watch Sophia sleep for a few minutes. She’s resting peacefully, so I decide to let her sleep as I ease out of bed and slip into my pajama pants. Taking my time going down the stairs, my mind is on the dreams I had last night and how whatever I was doing in my sleep scared Sophia. As I turn the corner toward the kitchen, I know my mom is already in there. The smell of coffee wafts down the hall along with the soft clinking noises from the dishes.
“Morning, Mom. What are you doing up so early?” I ask as I walk straight to the coffee cups and pour a cup.
“Morning, son. I just couldn’t sleep,” she replies and I can see the weight of the world on her shoulders. I’ve always been close to my mom and I know when she’s stressed.
“What’s wrong, Mom? What are you stressing over?” I get straight to the point. I guess I get trait that from her.
She sips her coffee and looks over the rim of the cup at me. She’s deciding what she should and shouldn’t say. I can read her as well as she can read me. I’m man enough to say I love my mom with everything I am. We have always been very close and she knows everything about me. I trust her and value
her opinion. Taking my seat across from her at the table, I patiently wait for her to answer my question.
“You’ve taken a big step by letting her call you ‘Dom,’ son,” she finally says. No beating around the bush, no hinting or working up to whatever is weighing on her mind. Not for my mom—she goes right to the heart of the matter and puts it out on the table for all to see. “It’s only been a couple of days. I think it’s too soon.”
“Mom,” I reply, drawing out the one-syllable word into at least three syllables, just like when I was a teenager and she called me out on my bullshit. And much like back then, I have no other response in my arsenal.
“Don’t ‘Mom’ me, Dominic. That is part of your name and part of you. We’ve stressed how important it is that ‘Dom’ would be reserved for the one you would spend the rest of your life with,” Mom admonishes me. “This is a big deal, son. If it doesn’t work with Sophia, that title will still be linked with her. It can never fully belong to anyone else.”
She’s right—it is a big deal and it is very soon. I’ve never let anyone call me that name, even as a nickname in school. If anyone even tried, I shut it down immediately. Soon, no one even attempted it and my employees would definitely never be so informal with me. Sophia is different and I knew it as soon as she stepped into my office.
“It’s alright, Mom. It is very soon, I will give you that, but she’s so unlike anyone I’ve dated before. I can’t even explain it to you adequately. She’s naïve, inexperienced, and insecure—but at the same time, she’s bold, she’s smart, and she’s brave. There’s something in her that drives her to try the things that scare her the most. Her courage amazes me.” I try to articulate all the things that make me crave Sophia more and more every moment, but I’m only scratching the tip of the iceberg with a fork.
Her Dom (Dominic Powers #1) Page 13