Dominic: The Prince

by Mj Fields

  “Dominic--” She was getting frustrated and tense, not at all what I wanted.

  “After they died, I didn’t feel like I mattered in my family, until I realized that my grandmother, in the only way she could, showed me otherwise through her will.”

  “Well, Leah didn’t have millions to--”

  “Please don’t do that.”

  “Do what?” she looks up at me.

  “Don’t see my pain as less--”

  “No, Dominic, that’s not what I am saying please--”

  “Then listen, damn it. Let me help you. It pains me to see you hurt. All I want to do is help you. Tell me why you won’t let me.”

  She takes in several breaths, “You can have, and let’s face it, you have had anything or anyone you want.”

  “What does that have to do with you and me? I want you, Laney.”

  “When you realize you’re disillusioned by me. When I disappoint you, you’ll find me far less endearing, okay?”

  “No. Not okay. I’m not budging, so go ahead, and tell me every awful thing you are disillusioned with.”

  “Now, who’s not being fair? I’m not disillusioned. I lived it for years. I’m still living it.”

  “Let it out. I’m not going anywhere.”

  “How can you know? You can leave, I’m not--”

  “I suppose I could, however, you asked me to stay. You’ve never denied me when I have asked you to, so here I am. You’ll have to kick me out.”

  “Fine. When she died, I tried to help them through it. I wasn’t good enough.”

  “You couldn’t replace her, no, but you are good enough. I’m sure your parents were just hurting, Laney. Maybe you just felt--”

  “No. I wasn’t good enough. I couldn’t be enough like her to fill the void she left. I know it’s not possible. I know it because I miss her, too. My mom would cry because I would do everything like Leah would do, and she would get more upset. One time, she yelled at me, and told me I wasn’t her. She told me quit trying to be her. She said I killed Leah, too. Too, like it’s my fault Leah died.”

  “Maybe she meant that…”

  “I know okay, the rational part of me knows. The ten-year-old little girl didn’t know.”

  “Of course she didn’t. Jesus, Laney.” I pull her tight against me.

  “Then, she told him that she couldn’t look at me. She couldn’t stand to look at me…”

  “I don’t understand.”

  She looks up at me. “I told you, she was my twin.”

  “No, sweetheart, you didn’t.”

  She sits up and faces me. She opens up the little heart locket and shows me.

  They were as identical as you could get. Their long dark hair was in ponytails. Both smiling, both looked happy. One caught my eye. “This is you.”

  “Good guess.” She gives me a weak smile.

  “No guess. It’s the eyes. Very expressive, curious, and full of mischief.”

  “I was the bad one. She was the sweet, quiet one who never caused problems. Her grades were A’s and she loved to study. She played the flute. I played nothing. She was just perfect.”

  “So are you.” I say, pushing her hair away from her face and pulling her onto my lap.

  “I’m not.” She looks down. “I was wrong to try to be like her. I made it worse for them. Mom would lie on her bed all the time, when she wasn’t at work. I remember Dad being so pissed that dishes were piling up or clothes weren’t washed. Dinner went from healthy to boxed mac and cheese or TV dinners.”

  “He should have done them for her. If she was so depressed that she couldn’t even function, it was his responsibility to help her. It was his duty as a father to show you, his daughter, that she was loved, and be a role model of what a real man does for his family.”

  “He was hurting, too. God, Dominic, it was so frustrating. They both fucked up everything. I was right there trying to be more like her, making it worse. Mom took some medication and started sleeping less. She started helping me with laundry, and even taught me how to cook Dad’s favorite meal. One day she took me to get my haircut, the first time in two years. She asked me if I wanted to dye it. I mean what twelve-year-old doesn’t, so of course, I said yes. I got really heavy blonde highlights in my hair. Dad couldn’t look at me. I could tell he was angry, but he didn’t say anything, he just left. I made scalloped potatoes and ham, and he just left. Later when he came home, I was in bed, but I heard him asking her what the hell she was doing. The fight escalated, and I learned he took comfort in me looking like Leah, while she couldn’t stand the sight of me when I looked like her.

  “Later, I overheard fights about women she accused him of screwing around with. Many years later, I heard him tell her at least he could make someone happy. When I went home last Christmas, Mom was at the door, and Heather was in the driveway, waiting to move in. They were screaming at each other. He was saying Heather makes him feel again. Mom was yelling that he was sick, and I stood in the driveway listening. Heather got out of her vehicle, and I told her to go home. She told me I was just as pathetic as my mother. I slapped her, and she ran crying to my dad. A damn eighteen wheeler pulled up front, Mom kissed me, told me she needed to be loved again and got in that truck. So now you know everything, all very Jerry Springer-ish. All embarrassing. So if you want to leave--”

  “I’m not going anywhere. I will stay. Nothing you said pushed me away. It had quite the opposite effect. I’m not going anywhere until you know, damn well, how important you are to me.”

  She shakes her head and looks down. “I don’t trust.”

  “You will.”

  “How are you so sure?”

  “How are you?”

  “I don’t understand.”

  I run my hands up her back and into her hair; gently pulling it so she will look up at me. “What will it take for me to get you to Italy with me?”

  “Dominic…”

  “Not tomorrow, not next week, not until it’s safe.”

  “I don’t know.”

  I can’t help but smile. “No is different than I don’t know. I’ll take it.”

  “That’s not what I said.”

  “Dinner, chat, hmm.”

  Her eyes do that thing, that twinkle, that flash that incites things below my waistband. My mouth covers hers and I suck, pulling her sexy lips into my mouth.

  “Dominic,” she murmurs. I refuse to let go of her lips.

  I take her arms, wrap them around my neck and stand, holding her. Eyes open, her lips are trapped between mine as I carry her to bed.

  I sit her on the edge of the bed, pulling off her shirt. Her chest heaves quickly and her nipples dart out.

  I bend and take one in my mouth, licking circles as I pull my shirt off, over my head. I take the other in my mouth, as I untie my pants and push them down.

  I scoot her back and straddle her as I kneel and push her tits together around my cock.

  She wets her lips as her eyes dart up and down like she isn’t sure where to begin. I thrust up and her tongue darts out and swipes across my head. I pinch her nipples between my fingers, as I thrust up and down between her plump tits.

  I thrust up again and she catches my piercing, stopping me. Her hands cup my ass as she pulls me forward, taking more of my cock in her mouth. She goes deep and looks up. I push her hair aside and look at her mouth full of my cock. She pushes her mouth farther down and her eyes begin to water.

  “Stop,” I know my words are as weak as my want for it to end.

  I feel my head rub the back of her throat and she gags a little. Normally, this would be hot, but not with her. I don’t want to cause her discomfort. Not if it isn’t leading to an orgasm.

  I push my thumb into her mouth and hook it behind her teeth; opening her mouth just enough to pull out. I push her back gently and bend over her, taking her lips again.

  Her tongue crashes against mine as her legs wrap around me, pulling me toward her.

  “It’s been a while, Lane
y, let’s slow this down,” I whisper, as I kiss her neck and then behind her ear.

  “Please.” She squirms beneath me.

  “Fuck.” I nip at her neck. “Tell me what you want.”

  “You inside me,” she pleads.

  I sit back on my knees and pull her hips toward me. I rub my cock against her, making sure I don’t nudge her clit. She is wet and glistening. The top of my dick shimmers in the soft light with her juices. She tries to sit up and I hold her hip in my hand.

  “You want this, Laney?” I say, as I rub up and down her swollen folds.

  “Yes, Oh God, yes.”

  I push against her and hold her hips firmly in place.

  She scowls.

  “You want this, you say yes to Italy.” I lean forward and my cock glides up her wet folds as she whimpers. “Give your two weeks’ notice.” I pull back and rub against her again.

  “Oh God. I signed.” She stops and her eyelids flutter as I near her clit and pull back. “I can’t give a two week notice. Dominic, I signed a contract—oh, God,” she gasps as I nudge her clit with the ring. “Relocation—bonus. I signed for a relocation bonus for a year.”

  “I’ll pay it back.”

  “No.”

  I move back and her ankles link behind my back, “Don’t you dare.”

  “You do realize you growled at me?” I snicker.

  “I won’t be a kept woman.”

  “I am looking for people I trust,” I say, as I shove a finger inside her and curl it toward me. Her back arches, and she yells out as she thrusts her hips up. “Not many out there. Not even a handful.” I cup her sweet, wet pussy as I push another finger inside and rub my palm against her.

  “Please, Dominic,” she begs, as I let her ride my hand.

  “God, you are so hot.” I bend over and suck on her clit, as I fuck her with my fingers until I feel her slippery walls tighten.

  “Tell me yes, damn it, Laney!”

  “Yes, yes, oh yes.” I pulled my fingers out and she cries out, “Damn it! Damn you!”

  I pull her up so she was sitting, “You’ll go with me?” She nods, but damn if she doesn’t look scared. “No one will ever hurt you again, or I will rip them apart.”

  With that I pull her up and slam her down on my cock. Her teeth sink into my shoulder as she comes. I’m not gonna last long. I thrust in and out of her hard and fast until I can’t hold back.

  “Thank you, oh fuck, thank you.” I groan as I fill her full of my cum.

  I hold her tight as I fight to catch my breath.

  “That wasn’t fair.”

  “It was a legal and binding verbal agreement,” I say, as I sit back and take her face in my hands, “Quit now.”

  “I’m not quitting now!”

  “I need my partner on board, tomorrow.”

  “You’re crazy, you know.”

  “Crazy about you.”

  She tries not to smile.

  “It’s not legal and binding, if it was under duress.” She sticks her nose in the air.

  “See this is exactly why I need you,” I joke, as I push my legs out in front of me. I lie back and look at her sitting on me, my cock still inside of her. I am still hard and I still want more.

  “I wanna see what you’re made of.”

  She shakes her head in confusion.

  “I want your sexy ass to ride me. No working it in, I’m already there.”

  Her hips circle and she bites her lip.

  ***

  I wake in the morning to the sound of her voice. “I understand.”

  “I’m very sorry, sir.”

  “No, sir, I know how it looks.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Okay, I will drop the check off as soon as I have it. I promise it won’t be long.”

  “Yes, sir, I understand.”

  “I am sorry.”

  “I don’t know what--”

  I take the phone out of her hand and kiss her head. “Morning.”

  “Dominic give me--”

  “Hello, this is Dominic Segretti.”

  “No, I’m her new employer.”

  “The money will be delivered within the hour. One more thing, don’t give her shit. She’s a very smart young woman, and will be heading the HR department of Segretti Incorporated, making more money than you do.” I hang up and look at her, “That guy was an asshole.”

  “He’s understandably upset.”

  “I don’t like you sticking up for someone who gave you shit.”

  “I’m capable of--” I pick her up by her ass and carry her into the bathroom. “What are you doing?”

  “We need a shower, then we talk to Valentina about signing her shares over to me.” I set her on the counter and pull off the shirt she slept in. “Then, we hit Steel, and we take over the fucking world. Me, you, and Valentina. You ready for your new job?”

  “I suppose I am,” she smiles. It was a real smile. Not the cautious type she usually gives.

  “They sent you to me.”

  “Who?”

  “My parents. And Leah, sent me to you. No other way to explain it but divine intervention.”

  “I hope so.”

  “I know so.”

  I stand at the kitchen counter watching Dominic and Valentina discussing his plan. The way he treats and speaks to her is enchanting to me. I could sit and watch them interact forever. His smile, his even tone, his laid back manner, and the tenderness in his eyes is a beautiful sight to behold. Valentina gladly agrees to hand over her shares of DeLuca to her brother. She mentions that she didn’t want them to begin with; that anything attached to that name is poison. The questioning look in his eyes is erased when she laughs and hugs him to put him at ease.

  “I’d like the three of us to go see how Sabato is doing before going to Steel.” When we pull into the driveway of Steelettos, I felt sick to my stomach.

  “Everything alright?” He asks, as he takes my hand to walk in. I nod and he leans in and whispers, “Help me keep her out of the back?”

  I agree. She is only two years younger than I am, but it is more than obvious that Valentina has been sheltered by Dominic. I love her sweetness and her natural ability to bring calm to an uneasy heart. I know she acquired that ability from Dominic.

  When we are at the entrance the smell of paint and the sound of loud, eerie music meets us. When we walk in, Sabato is shirtless with a roller in his hand. He is painting furiously, covering the gray color with a deep red.

  Dominic drops my hand and walks behind the bar, turning off the music. Sabato doesn’t look back. He sets the roller down and slowly turns, his hand is on the gun shoved in his waistband.

  “Lacuna Coil?” Valentina smiles and walks up to him with her hand extended. Sabato looks to Dom and then back to Valentina. “Valentina Segretti.”

  “Sabato Efisto.” He nods and holds up his hand, “Paint.”

  “I’m not afraid.” She smiles and pushes her hand closer.

  Wrong guy to say that to, I think to myself.

  “Good to know,” he says, in a hushed tone.

  “Valentina?” Dominic walks quickly up to them.

  “Lacuna Coil, the song you turned off is I’m Not Afraid. I saw them live three times. They’re amazing,” she says, as she wraps her arm around Dominic’s waist, which immediately seems to put him at ease.

  “I remember the pictures on Instagram. I also remember being relieved that Franco was there.” He laughs.

  “What brings you here?” Sabato asks, as he pulls a handkerchief out of his back pocket, wipes his face off, and then ties it around his head.

  “Just came in last night, and want to see how you’re doing.”

  “Fine,” he says, as he walks past me to the bar. “Drink?”

  “It’s nine thirty in the morning,” Dominic laughs. “We’re all set.”

  There is an awkward silence and then Dominic asks, “Where is your staff?”

  Sabato’s lip curls up in a dull smirk. “I se
nt them back to Italy. Didn’t want them to get caught up in the storm.”

  “The storm?”

  “Father is being released from the hospital Tuesday.”

  “And going to jail.” Dominic adds.

  “Yes, of course.”

  “You don’t seem too sure of that.”

  “My father has ways around everything.”

  “Benito does, as well, but he’s in jail and staying there.”

  “That’s wonderful.” Sabato takes a glass and fills it with amber liquor and then drinks it down. He takes a breath in between his teeth after he swallows.

  “You’re painting? So, you plan on staying?”

  “The wall had a hole in it,” he says, in an animated tone. “And blood stains. I thought I’d fix it. Not much else to do this past week.” He pours another drink, “You sure you don’t want one?”

  ***

  I sit in the car wondering what Dominic and Sabato talked about when they went into the office. He is quiet and very tense. I reach over and take his hand. He looks over and winks.

  “You alright?”

  “I have my two favorite people with me and a bag of tricks up my sleeve. We have this.”

  “We?”

  “Partners.” He brings my hand to his lips, kissing it, and then runs his tongue slowly across my knuckles.

  “Right.”

  We sit in the conference room and wait for his cousins and Abe. I am nervous but he isn’t, neither is Valentina.

  When they walk in, all five together, I look at Dominic and then at Valentina; five against three, I think.

  “Cugini,” Valentina holds her arms out and embraces each of them, “Look what you have done to this place. Sorprendente!”

  “Valentina, it’s great to see you. It’s been too long.” Zandor Steel picks her up and twirls her around. “You are one sexy girl. I mean, of course you are, genetics and all things considered.”

  “I’m not a girl anymore, Alessandor, I am a woman.” She laughs, as he sets her down.

  “Did you come together?” Xavier asks, hugging her.

  “I came a bit earlier. We bought some property in New York City. It needed an Italian flair and a designer with an eye to make something beautiful out of something,” she holds out her hand and tilts it up and down, “Eeehhh.”