by Jayne Blue
“Mama …”
“What are you still doing here?” she asked. “For heaven’s sake, Dom. Go after her. Go fast. Quinn’s not some doormat. You push her away enough, she’s going to stay gone. I blame myself a little. I tried to stay out of it. But I almost died today too and that tends to make a person see what’s most important. Bear’s my life. He’s my heart and my soul. And he’s worth every damn thing we go through for each other. If you love her like that, you need to tell her.”
“Mama …”
“Domino. That girl loves you. Like crazy, stupid love. We all see it. Is your life messy? Of course. But so is hers. And she was willing to risk all of it for you. So go. She might not stay. Hell, if she’s smart, she won’t. But you owe it to her to tell her the truth. She’s worth fighting for. So go!”
I looked at Bear. He gave me a shrug. “You think this is a good idea?” I asked.
Mama wrinkled her nose at him. “Your life, Dom. But ... yeah ... that girl loves you.”
“Dom,” Mama said, smiling. “What are you still doing here? Go after her.”
Bear came to me. He thumped my back. “Give me your piece, Dom. You can’t get through airport security with that thing. If you go fast enough, you just might make it.”
Something snapped open inside of me. I knew instantly it was my heart. I was trying to do the right thing. Letting Quinn go probably was the right thing. But it was busting me up inside. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t breathe. The only thing I could do was run.
I climbed on my Harley and hit the highway at a blistering speed. I drew every dirty stare as I pulled up to the curb. The valet yelled after me. I threw a hundred-dollar bill at his feet and ran through the revolving door. Domestic flights to New York went out of gate seventeen. From there, she would catch a connecting flight to Paris.
It took every ounce of patience I had to wait through the security checkpoint. With each passing second, my heart dropped. The last flight out left in fifteen minutes and they’d just announced a final boarding call. But with five minutes to spare, I made it to the gate.
The flight attendant at the counter gave me a smile. He was short, pudgy, and wore short sleeves under a blue vest.
“Ticket, sir? We’re just about to close the tunnel.”
“What? Uh ... no. I’m here to see my ... uh ... my girlfriend off. I don’t have a ticket.”
His face fell. “I’m sorry. All passengers have already boarded.”
I put my hands on the counter to keep them from shaking. The guy’s face turned white. I knew what he thought. I knew what he saw. People made assumptions when they saw this patch.
“You’re sure?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said. “This flight was overbooked. If you’re interested in flying standby, I can help you out with that.”
I smiled. This was crazy. Mama was crazy. No, it was more than that. This was fate. “It’s okay,” I said. But it wasn’t. It might never be again. Still, every time I closed my eyes, I saw the terror in Quinn’s as Fitzie brought her out of that trailer. That was on me. That would always be on me. This time, Mama was wrong.
“Maybe he doesn’t need to. Is there still time to transfer my ticket?” The voice beside me cut through me. I was afraid to look up. Afraid to breathe.
When I did, Quinn was standing there. She waved her ticket in the air.
“Oh,” the attendant said. “You said you were canceling it. It’s non-transferable. I’m so sorry.”
“Hmm,” Quinn said. Her eyes misted with tears. I couldn’t let go of the damn counter, afraid I’d wake up or float away if I did.
She was here. She was standing right here. And she hadn’t gotten on the damn plane.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
We walked away from the counter. I put a light hand on her arm then took her carry-on bag from her.
“I know you wanted me to, but I couldn’t just leave like that. Not without talking to you again. Not without …”
“I love you,” I said. “Dammit. I love you.”
She touched my face. Joy gripped my heart. “I know. And you should know I love you too.”
“You shouldn’t,” I said.
“I know. But I also know I’ve never had anyone willing to fight for me the way you do, Dom. Even with all the chaos around you ... around me ... I’m safer with you than I am without you. You’re the one person in my life who doesn’t want something from me.”
I shook my head. “Lady, you’re crazy. Don’t you get it? I want everything from you!”
A single tear fell from Quinn’s eye. But her smile melted my heart. She went up on her tiptoes and kissed me. I slid my arms around her waist and pulled her close.
I’d almost lost her. She’d nearly slipped away and I almost let her. Never. Never again. If she let me, I’d never let her go.
“I love you,” I whispered through kisses.
“I love you too, Dom. God help us both, I love you too.”
“You’d really do it?” I asked. “Your career, your movie? You’d stay here instead?”
She laughed. “I’m crazy for you, Domino. But I’m not crazy-crazy! But Paris can wait a few more days. And I don’t know how we’re going to work everything out. But ... I also know you’re worth trying for.”
I picked her up and spun her in my arms. She was mine. She was right. And she was worth trying for too.
There was a smattering of applause at the other end of the gate. We drew a crowd. Quinn always drew a crowd. But this time, I was at the center of it with her and I would never let her go.
Epilogue
Quinn
Eight months later …
Strong hands circled my waist. Lips brushed my cheek and I leaned back. He was huge, solid, towering over me.
“Are you sure about this?” I asked. “You know I’ve never done this before.”
The soft leather seat of the massive Harley between my legs creaked as he leaned forward. The light moved, shining directly on my face so it nearly blinded me. He leaned even closer, his mocha skin heated under the lights. He paused, tilted his head so he was looking straight ahead and not at me anymore.
“Dayum straight!”
I kept my smile frozen, trying not to laugh.
“Cut! Print that one! That was rock solid, Lamar. Doesn’t get any better than that, man.”
“You sure?” Lamar Brock lifted one leg over the Harley and held a hand out for me. The light glinted off his bald head. A mass of temporary tattoos swirled all the way to his temples. I took his hand and climbed off.
“We’re good,” the director yelled. We were lucky to get him. Edward Stephens had just come off a hit space opera franchise. With his name, Lamar’s, and now mine, The Club was expected to break box office records. Of course, it wasn’t what I wanted. Wasn’t what I planned, but this business was about compromise, after all. When the Ransoms pulled out, another studio stepped in and wanted to make it. The money was more than I could have ever dreamed if I did it their way. So, I made the Johnny Murphy movie for me, and now I was doing The Club for the fuck-you money. If the Murphy movie tanked, I could reassess, but I had a plan that would change the game, at least for me.
“Am I wrapped?” I asked Edward. He had a mass of frizzy red hair and ears that stuck out. He slid his headphones off and gave me a nod.
“You’re wrapped, Quinn. Great work.”
My leather bustier chaffed and I couldn’t wait to get it off. I waved off the wardrobe assistant as I walked across the set. My trailer was the third one down the row. I tottered a bit in the shiny pleather boots with five-inch heels. Smiling to myself, I wondered what Mama Bear would think if she saw these things, let alone the rest of the outfit. I looked more like Sandy from the last scene of Grease than anything real.
Climbing up my trailer steps, I swung the door open. Dom was waiting for me, smiling wide.
“Nice get-up.” He laughed.
I flipped him the bird and sat on the leather bench.
I unzipped one long boot, then the other. “You like it?” I asked. “Maybe they’ll let me keep it. We can start a new trend in Port Azrael.”
Dom laughed and came to me. He went to his knees in front of me and slid his hands up my waist. He kissed the top of one breast, then the other. My tits were squeezed up almost to my chin. The stays were so tight, I’d need a damn crowbar to get out of this thing.
“Baby, you look hot as fuck in that. But I don’t know how I feel about the rest of the world getting to see you in it.”
I cupped his face in my hands. “The rest of the world may get to see me in it. But you’re the only one who gets to see me out of it.”
“Mmmm.” He positively growled.
“Help me,” I said, breathless. With his guiding hand, I rose. Dom turned me and worked the laces of my corset. Once my ribs were free, I leaned over and peeled off the leather pants.
“Fuck,” Dom whispered. I turned to him, completely naked now.
“I’m glad you’re here,” I said. “But why are you?”
Dom leaned down, feathering soft kisses over each sore breast. My nipples peaked instantly and a steady heat burned low in my core. Dom picked me up. I straddled his hips with my legs. With a turn that made me dizzy, he took me to the back of the trailer where I kept a small cot.
“Later,” he said. “I want you, baby. It drove me crazy waiting for you.”
It had driven me crazy too. I was hot, wet, and oh so ready. Dom wasted no time as he unbuttoned his jeans. I reached for him, wrapping my fingers around the hard velvet of his turgid cock. Later, I’d take him in my mouth. I would kneel before him and work him slowly, languishing over his shaft, running my tongue up and down. I loved the way his eyes grew instantly hooded and he gripped the sheets, bracing for each wave of pleasure I gave him. I would swallow him whole.
For now, it was my turn. Dom spread my knees flat and worked me with his tongue. I tried to stay quiet. These trailer walls were very thin. Luckily, most everyone had gone home for the day.
“Dom!” I cried.
Mercifully, he didn’t make me wait long. He rose up, guided his thick erection into me, plunging all the way to the root. He filled me. He completed me. He belonged to me. My orgasm came quickly. I’d been away from him too long, though it had only been one day. Dom came right after me, filling me to the brim.
I loved him. I needed him. He’d promised to never let me go. I’d promised him something too. It was still so new.
As we carefully uncoupled and I found my more comfortable drawstring pants and a fresh t-shirt, I reached over for the tiny cup I kept beside the cot. Dom smiled as he watched me slip the gold band with the five-carat pear-shaped diamond over my left ring finger. He took my hand and kissed my knuckles, still marveling at the sight of his ring on me. It was late fall, and Mama was helping me plan a New Year’s Day wedding. My own mother had thrown a fit, but of course she’d come. I was dreading her meeting with the rest of the club. God knew what they’d make of her.
“I brought you something,” he said, reaching for his leather cut. He pulled an envelope out of the inside pocket and tossed it to me.
Curious, I wrinkled my nose and carefully opened it. A legal-sized paper slipped out with a stiff, blue backing. The top of the document read “Warranty Deed” in bold, stylized lettering.
“What?”
Dom smiled and took a seat beside me. “I bought that place out on Bradley Road. You know, the one we looked at last spring?”
I did know. It was an abandoned warehouse in downtown Port Azrael. I loved the feel of it and we’d talked about turning part of it into apartments.
“For your offices,” Dom said. “At least for part of it. We can figure out what to do with the rest of the space as we go along.”
I gasped. “Are you serious?”
He smiled and kissed me. “An early wedding gift.”
I couldn’t contain my joy. I jumped into Dom’s lap and kissed him. With his help, and a little of the club’s financial backing, I’d started my own production company. I couldn’t find a way to do The Club the way I wanted, but with the money I made for doing it the way the studio wanted, I had enough to branch out on my own. Fuck-you money, indeed. We’d focus on independent projects with the heart and soul that spoke to me. Based out of Port Azrael, my production company would help revitalize the area even more. Since I’d moved there, I had more privacy than I was used to as well. The paparazzi, for the most part, stayed way clear of Dark Saints territory. The club protected me. They accepted me, took me in, and made me part of a family, just like they’d done for Dom all those years ago.
“Oh, baby, it’ll be perfect! I can’t believe you got it! We were worried about the zoning and the tenants and all of it.”
“It’s taken care of it.” He smiled.
I straddled his hips and framed his face with my hands. God, I loved him so. I didn’t think I’d ever get tired of looking at him. Those hard eyes always softened for me. He was beautiful, brutal, mine.
“I can’t wait to get home,” I said, beaming. Home. I’d never really had one before. Not like what I was building with Dom. We’d built that house on the beach, quiet and secluded. It was everything Dom ever dreamed of and now it was my dream too.
“Can you leave tonight?” he asked. “Or do you have an early call?”
I kissed him again. “I’m all yours, baby. I’m wrapped.”
“Good. We’ll ride up the coast. It’s only two hours to Port Azrael from here.”
“Perfect.” My shooting schedule had been so tight, I hadn’t seen much of Dom, much less got to ride with him. Green screens and prop Harleys were one thing. Dom was the real thing. “Just let me get some decent shoes on.” Then, I turned, smiling.
“That is,” I said, dropping my voice low and sultry, “unless you’d rather me wear my costume. What do you think?”
Dom grabbed me, getting two handfuls of my ass as he pulled me close. “Don’t even think of it,” he said. “No way I’m letting the rest of the guys see you in that. They can pay for a ticket when the movie comes out, just like everyone else.”
“Mmm. And I’ll never hear the end of it.”
“That’s what brothers do,” he said. “Ball busting is their specialty.”
“I’ve noticed.”
“Come on,” he said. “I’m anxious to get you home. I plan on keeping you in bed for days, baby. Little end-of-shoot celebration.”
“Mmm. That sounds like heaven.”
And it did. Dom and I walked out of my trailer hand in hand. We drew a few sideways glances from some of the crew as we made our way to Dom’s Harley. He tossed me a helmet and I climbed on the back. My heart soared as Dom revved the engine and peeled away.
I threaded my hands beneath his jacket, reveling in the warmth of the leather and Dom’s familiar hard abs as I squeezed him tight. As the setting sun lit the sky in a golden haze, we left my life of make-believe behind. Because life with Domino was so much better than any movie. And I was the luckiest girl alive.
THE END
Up Next from Jayne Blue…
He can’t escape his destiny or the woman he left behind. Bo’s back in town. And the temperature just went up.
http://www.jayneblue.com/books/dark-saints-motorcycle-club/dark-destiny/
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Books by Jayne Blue
Dark Saints M.C.
(Biker – Dark Romantic Suspense Series)
Dark Vow
Dark Temptation
Dark Honor
Dark Fury
Dark Desire
Dark Instinct
Dark Seduction
Dark Destiny
Dark Oath
Dark Redemption
Great Wolves M.C.
(Biker Romance Series)
Dex
Sly
Colt
Kellan
Sawyer
Brax
Stone
Ryder
Nash
King
Tortured Heroes
(Men in Uniform - Romantic Suspense Series)
Vice
Heat
Marked
Strike
Ripper
Edge
Torrid Trilogy
(Erotic Romance)
Book One
Book Two
Book Three
The Owned Series
(Erotic Romance featuring call girl Nina Sharpe)
Owned by the Playboy
Owned by the Candidate
Owned by the Spy
Owned by the Prince
Owned by the G-Man
The Complete Series
Hold Series
(MMA Fighter Romance)
Uncaged Series
(MMA Fighter Romance)
Ride
Stripped
Clinch