Dominic (Made Men Book 8)

by Sarah Brianne

  The noise that escaped Maria’s mouth was somewhere between a shriek and a shrill as her whole body tensed.

  Immediately, Dominic pulled his fingers out, taking a step back from her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

  “It’s okay.” Maria’s body and voice cried out for him to come back to her. “You didn’t hurt me.”

  It was an obvious lie that Dom didn’t believe, having heard and felt her reaction.

  A strange look and feeling came over him. “Maria, have you never—”

  “I have,” Maria lied again. She closed the little distance he had put between, going up on her tiptoes to kiss him while wrapping her arms around his neck. She tried to bring them back to where they had been. She had high hopes for her “Love on the Brain” part two.

  Grabbing her arms, he pulled her hands down from the back of his neck. “You’re lying.”

  “No, I’m no—”

  “Stop it, Maria,” he demanded. Then confusion hit every part of his face. “I thought you and Kayne ….” Dom couldn’t finish that sentence.

  “No.” Maria awkwardly crossed her arms. She hadn’t wanted to be reminded of the man who had previously made them a triangle, but now she couldn’t help compare the two, seeing the differences between them, especially their kisses.

  Kayne had kissed tenderly; Dominic did not. Her own body reacted differently to the two men. Any fire Kayne Evans had put in her could be extinguished; Dominic Luciano’s fire, however, could not. But she didn’t exactly want to be reminded of her dead never-ex lover at this point in time, and certainly not like this.

  “You assumed.”

  “Maria, I don’t give a fuck what you did with him or anyone else, for that matter. That’s not what I’m trying to get at,” Dominic told her honestly. Softening, he gently unwrapped her crossed arms, taking her hands in his and rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. “I just didn’t know that you’ve never been with someone … I just don’t understand why you would lie about something like that.”

  Truthfully, Maria hadn’t known it would be that fucking obvious, or hurt in that way. She had expected it to feel uncomfortable at first, but the way Dominic had plunged in was what had her shrieking out in shock before she could bite back the pain. Unfortunately, being an ice princess made her ice over in more than one way. It wasn’t until Kayne had she started to thaw, and now Dominic set her ablaze.

  She could tell he immediately regretted it and felt responsible for causing her any pain without checking to see what she could handle, but Maria didn’t blame him. Both of them wanted the same thing urgently, and it wasn’t like she planned to place tender butterfly kisses on his dick either.

  “I only lied”—Maria sought his lips, kissing him, wanting to get back to what they had been doing, her body still very much in fucking need—“because I didn’t want you to stop.”

  Dominic kissed her precious lips hard for several moments, then made himself pull back. “Princess, you have to stop.”

  “No, I don’t.” She smiled, taking his lips again. She managed to get her tongue halfway down his throat again when he pulled away … again. “Why are you doing this?” she asked frustratingly, knowing their teasing games were well over, and if they weren’t, this was beyond cruel. “Why the hell does finding out I’m a virgin change anything?”

  Dominic stared into her jeweled eyes. “It changes everything.”

  “No, it doesn’t.” She backed away from him.

  Seeing that she was getting upset, he let her see his own frustration. “Don’t think I don’t want to. Because, trust me, princess, I do.”

  “Then what’s the problem? Because, five seconds ago, I was perfectly fine to fuck.”

  “I watched my father belittle, beat, and even murder the women who carried his unborn children. He hated women, because he mistook their kindness as weakness, and being opinionated was being a bitch.” Dominic looked at her proudly and laughed. “He would have hated you.”

  Maria stood stunned as she continued to listen.

  “He didn’t want daughters, and the only reason Kat is here today is because he would have lost the best soldier he had if he didn’t let me care for her. I did the best I could to protect her and care for her, along with all my brothers. But do you know why I never once even pretended to think I could have a relationship with Bristol, or with any other woman, for that matter?”

  Maria didn’t answer, her silence her only response allowing him the time to tell her.

  “I would have rather been alone until my last dying breath, having never loved than force someone into the life that I was forced to lead. This isn’t the life I would have chosen, Maria, but it is the path I was given, and I started walking it to right my father’s wrongs.” Dominic’s hazel eyes suddenly glowed, revealing the man who had become the Luciano boss for a reason. “But now I walk it because I’m good at it. I’ve become addicted to it. The danger, the power …” His haunting voice trailed off for a moment, showing just how addicted he was to it. “All of it.

  “And that is why I swore to myself I would never subject someone to this life, because you were right when you told me I was worse than my father. Lucifer did the things he did because he was born sick. I believed I did the things I have done because mine and my family’s lives depended on it. Now that he’s gone, I am not so sure of that anymore. I can’t walk away from this life, and I never will. But I would never forgive myself if it hurts the woman I love.”

  Maria watched his tatted hand reach out to her. Letting him take her hand, she studied his inked, rough fingers, intertwining them with her slender, manicured ones.

  “Then I met you … and I don’t think you being with me is going to change much about your life, Maria Caruso.” Dominic stared down at their interlocking fingers with her, seeing how opposite they looked, not only on the outside but the blood underneath. “But my life will.”

  “So …” Maria slowly moved her gaze from where they were tethered, up his body, until she got to his eyes. “Why exactly are you not fucking me right now?”

  Dominic smiled at her need at first, but it quickly disappeared, showing how serious he was. “Because I’m in love with you, princess—” Taking the hand he held, he brought it up to his lips, placing a light kiss on the back of her smooth flesh. “—and I want you to marry me.”

  I—

  Maria’s mind went blank, never thinking she would hear those words in her life. She even thought she had heard him wrong, that Dominic could not possibly be ser—

  “You’re being serious, aren’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  A part of Maria actually felt bad to do this … “Dominic, I can’t marry you.” Taking her hand away from his, she needed to make this clear. “That’s fine if you believe in marriage, but I don’t. I tried on those wedding dresses for a reason; because I never thought I would want to spend the rest of my life with someone, and because even if I did want it, I would never do it. For me to stand in a church and freely give myself over to a man is not something I call romantic. I thought you of all people would understand.”

  “I don’t want to marry you for the reasons my sister had to marry Drago.” Dominic was quick to understand what she meant by the last comment. “Why I want to marry you has nothing to do with our last names and everything to do with how I feel about you.”

  “Again”—Maria’s mind and body were getting even more confused—“what exactly does this have to do with us having sex?”

  “Because I might go to hell, princess, but I would never do anything to take you with me.”

  “Not only am I unsure if I believe in heaven and hell, but I certainly don’t believe that having sex before marriage makes you unworthy to go there, even if it’s real.” That made Maria angry. Virginity was a notion created by men that didn’t pertain to them, and if it did, wasn’t it ironic how a woman’s body gave a clear sign and a man’s didn’t? If heaven and hell existed, then Maria believed God was unfortuna
tely a man for that sole reason alone.

  “Come on, I don’t mean it like that.” Dominic tried to get her to see where he was coming from. “You might not believe in heaven and hell, Maria, but I do. I would have never allowed myself to touch you if I thought you were a virgin. I already don’t think I deserve you for the things I’ve done in my life, and I will not allow myself to let my crimes taint you.”

  “Taint me?” she whispered. Dominic was a confident man, but she could see that he didn’t hold parts of himself in high regard. All of it was starting to make sense. “Dominic, I’m not …” She searched for the correct word, but it was simply, “Good.” Maria forced his powerful eyes, but held demons behind, them to hers. “You know that, right?”

  He lifted his hand to let his inked knuckles lightly sweep her high cheek. “You are, Maria.”

  “I’m not,” she assured him. “There is nothing you have done that would shock me, let alone concern me. You may think my body is pure, but it’s not. I’ve not only stood idly by and watched horrible things happen, but I’ve done horrible things too.”

  “Princess, I will not give you my sins.”

  “Okay.” Maria took a sultry step forward so she could hover her lips over his. Her warm breath promised a kiss that would send them to their knees with her words. “Then let’s make one together.”

  “That’s not the only reason, you know ….” Dominic lightly slid his hand up her exposed thigh, to her waist, over a breast, until he finally reached to her neck. Placing his hand softly at the bottom of her throat, he said, “If I don’t marry you before I fuck you, then you never will.”

  Excuse m—

  When she went to move away, he ever so slightly tightened his grip on her neck, keeping her in place.

  “Right now, you want me for one reason and one reason only—I can give you something that you have never gotten before, princess, and trust me, I want it, too, but I also want forever with you.”

  “So, you’re blackmailing me into marrying you?” she asked with a raised brow, wanting to hate the man who stood before her, with all of her being screaming out in pain for him.

  “Hmm …,” he mumbled curiously. “Would you judge a woman for wanting to wait until marriage?”

  “No.” She looked at him curiously back with a smile, already knowing the answer. “But are you a virgin, Dominic Luciano?”

  Dom looked at her fiercely, letting her know he was no angel. “No.”

  “Then we’re good.” Maria tried to go back to kissing him, but he stopped her. Still sexually frustrated with the man who had put her into this position and who had been perfectly fine with it before he found out she had never been touched in that way, her voice was somewhere between desperation, plea, and anger when she said, “I don’t care about my virginity, Dominic.”

  Picking up his jacket off the floor, Dominic started to leave. “You may not, Maria, but I do.”

  Thirty-Five

  Your Choice, Maria

  “Need some help?”

  “I got i—”

  Maria was shushed when some of the bags she was holding slipped out of her hands and into tattooed ones, despite her refusal.

  “Thanks, Angel.”

  Gripping the bags as they entered the elevator, he put in the code to take them up to the penthouse level. “No problem.”

  It had been a few days since she and Dominic had last seen each other … and Maria had desperately needed to stress shop. Going to the mall was therapeutic, and she really needed the time alone to think but also not think.

  Leo had gone over to their brother’s, Nero, and Elle’s place, wanting to spend time with him and give her a break, which she appreciated.

  Shopping hadn’t solved her problems, but they definitely put them on mute for a few hours. Plus, it was a whole new experience to get to shop alone for the first time.

  Not only was the ride up the elevator silent, but the walk to her penthouse. She liked that quality about this Luciano brother the most, as Angel only spoke what was needed to be said.

  Managing to open the door with her phone, Maria and Angel entered. Setting her bags down by the bottom of the stairs, she didn’t want to inconvenience him any longer.

  “You can set them here, and I’ll take them up later.”

  Angel nodded, setting them down beside the bags she had carried up.

  “Thank you,” she told him again.

  “You’re welcome.”

  Watching him turn to leave, she stared at his back, contemplating, and when he got closer to the door, her voice made the decision for her. “Angel?”

  “Yeah?” he answered, turning back around.

  “Do you think we could talk for a few minutes …?” Maria twirled her fingers for the first time. By Angel’s expression, he had noticed the strange fiddling act from her. “It’s about Dominic.”

  He hesitated for a moment then came back to her. “All right.”

  Honestly, Maria didn’t know where to start or what she was even trying to ask. “I’m not sure if you know anything about me and—”

  “I’m aware,” Angel told her. “Cassius actually has a big mouth sometimes.”

  “I’m gathering that,” she bit out, but thankfully got to skip to the part where she didn’t know how to explain her and Dominic’s relationship to an even a more awkward part …

  “Whatever it is you want to say, Maria, say it. We don’t keep secrets between us.”

  “Dominic asked me to marry him,” she blurted out the strange words that were still hard for her to grasp. “And, while I understand his feelings for me, the reason is more than that.” Maria tried to politely navigate the topic without it being too weird, as she was talking to Dominic’s brother. “He mentioned Lucifer’s behavior toward women, but I think he wants to marry me … to save my soul? He won’t do anything with me until we are –”

  Immediately, Angel understood. “Has my brother told you anything else about our childhood?”

  She tried to remember but only came up with, “Just that he helped care for all of you.”

  Placing his hands slickly into his pockets, Angel moved his eyes from her to the floor. “Lucifer wasn’t a kind man. Not to anyone, and especially not to his children. Whatever you’ve heard about Lucifer, he did it and then some. While others have had one unfortunate meeting with the devil, we had to live with him every day with no escape. Dominic is five years older than me …” Angel’s eyes no longer met the floor. Holding her eyes with his haunting gray orbs, he showed her whatever imagination she had wasn’t enough for what they had endured.

  Maria had never once seen Angel angry, but she could see the fury just below the surface that he held in.

  “Five. Years.” He spoke the harsh words with pain. “Dominic had to live on this earth with our father alone, and I will never know how he survived it.” The pride that shone in his eyes demonstrated how much he not only loved his older brother but how much respect he held for him. “Not one of us would have survived without him, but he would have survived just fine without us … if not better.”

  Standing eerily still, she hung onto every word the Luciano brother spoke, knowing that somehow, something even worse was coming.

  “Dominic is nothing like me and Matthias when it comes to women. Mostly because he was old enough to see and recognize our father’s behavior toward women at his worst, when he was trying to father as many sons as possible.

  “Thanks to Lucifer, we all believe ourselves to not be worthy in some way. For the longest time, Dominic in particular, believed that since Lucifer was horrible to women, somewhere deep down, it would be that way for him too. He was so afraid to even touch a woman.

  “Lucifer did many things to hold power and control over us any way we could. He believed we belonged to him, that he could do whatever he pleased with us, if he thought it would serve his purpose in owning mind, body … and soul. One of the cruelest acts he committed was against Dom when he was twenty years old.”

>   Maria took a shuddering breath.

  Angel’s strong voice fell sullenly. “Some people don’t get to choose how or when they lose their virginity … and Dominic was one of those unfortunate souls.”

  She wanted to dig her long nails into her chest so she could rip out her dead heart and make a hole that could never be filled for the man she was starting to develop true feelings for, no matter how much she denied it.

  “It is Dominic’s story to tell when he is ready, but if he’s worried about your soul or anything else, for that matter, it’s because he didn’t get a choice, and Dominic would never allow himself to touch a woman if he thought he could harm or taint them in any way”—he used the word Dom himself had used—“like he had done to him.”

  Maria nodded solemnly, her mouth too dry to speak.

  “If you want to be with Dominic, then that is your choice, Maria, but you must understand that he will do anything to protect the ones he loves, no matter what that is.”

  Finally, Maria found her words. “Thank you, Angel.”

  Nodding, Angel then went for the door, but he had one last thing to say. “Dom did more than care for us. He was a brother, a father, a friend, and our savior.”

  Knocking on the door, a sleepy Matthias finally swung it open a few minutes later.

  “You do know how to pick up a phone and call, right?”

  “But what kind of fun would that be?” She smiled, coming in right past him without waiting for his permission to enter.

  Matthias became quickly annoyed. “Aren’t you tired of taking taxis?”

  “Aren’t you tired in general?” she replied, crossing her arms, before answering, “And no.” It sure as hell beats having someone watch my every move.

  “Well, if you would call Dom, he would actually come to you, but since you don’t …” Matthias gave her an all-knowing look, reading her like she had hurtfully described him last time. “I think it’s because you secretly like it here in Blue Park. So, what exactly are you running from? Is living in a castle not all it’s cracked up to be?”