“Can we go tomorrow? Before our flight?”
“We can, if you want to?”
“I do. I want to see where you adventured as a kid.”
Dom drops a kiss on my shoulder before getting up and retrieving his boxers and jeans from the floor and slipping them on. I pout and he flashes me a cocky grin.
“I’m just going to sort dinner. Don’t move or dress, I have another surprise.” He winks before leaving the room. I sigh, turning to watch the fire. It’s a happy sigh though, a blissful sigh.
When he returns he is carrying a gift bag and I sit up, letting him settle behind me so I can lean against his chest.
“Before you open that, I want you to know that this is one half of your present. You’ll have to wait until we get home for your other gift.” Dom tells me, dropping a kiss on my cheek.
“Thank you. I like your surprises and I normally hate surprises but you know me so well, yours are always good.” I smile pulling a birthday card from the gift bag.
I slide a cream card from the envelope and there’s an image of sheet music with two roses laid across it. In gold embossed writing it reads Happy Birthday to my first love. I smile at him before opening it and reading.
To Tara,
I want to make this birthday as perfect as you are to me.
I know you don’t celebrate your special day, but to me, the day the world was blessed with you truly was a magical day. Your parents would have been so proud of the talented, beautiful young lady you have grown into.
I know them not being here to tell you that themselves must hurt and no one is capable of replacing them, but know that I love you as fiercely, and with the same pride, that they do.
I promise to try and make you remember this birthday as a happy one and every day thereafter even happier than the last, for the rest of your birthdays, for the rest of our lives together.
I gift you my heart. You’re my one and only love, forever.
Dominic xXx
I choke back a sob, a happy sob and I look at Dominic with eyes full of tears and gratitude. “Thank you, baby.” I offer him a watery smile and he wipes away the solo tear that escapes.
“No, thank you, sweetheart. Open your gift.”
I lay the card down beside me, retrieving a black jewellery box with a silver bow tied around it. I slip the bow free and open the square box.
There is a complete three piece set of silver necklace, bracelet and earrings. I’m so relieved it is silver as I rarely wear gold. Silver is just more me. I take out the necklace first and see they all have the same pendant. A padlock with a heart on it. I bite my lip. They are beautiful, just my style and I realise this is Dominic’s way of symbolising the gifting of his heart to me.
“I’ll keep your heart safely locked away with mine,” I promise him and he smiles. “Thank you so much, Dominic. This is beautiful, I love it. Can I wear it?”
“Of course.” He smiles, taking the necklace from me and laying it on my chest, the pendant laying on my heart and I put my hand over the cool silver as he fastens the clasp. “I’m so glad you like it. I knew you wouldn’t wear diamonds or gold and I thought this was more your style.”
“It’s perfect.” I kiss him, wrapping my arms around his neck and climbing into his lap. I rest my forehead against his. “You’ve made today perfect, I can’t thank you enough. Every birthday as been a reminder of everything I’ve lost but you made today about everything I’ve gained.”
“You deserve so much more than I can give you, Tara.” He runs his nose up against mine. “I’ll spend every day proving myself to you, proving my love to you.”
“I think you proved it pretty well so far, with something more beautiful than any fine jewellery or expensive gifts.” I hint at our beautiful love making and he smiles.
“Can I prove it some more?”
I giggle and nod. “You can prove it to me as much as you would like.”
I yelp as he lifts me from the floor before I’ve even finished my sentence. He swoops me into his arms and I giggle. “Where are we going?”
“I’m taking you to bed and I’m going to keep you there until I carry you off to my castle tomorrow.”
And that is exactly what he does, making love to me over and over for the rest of the day and through the night, too. We stop proving our love to one another only to eat a hearty beef stew with crusty bread and again later to bathe together. Dominic keeps the fire burning and the cottage cosy and warm so we don’t have to wear anything other than a happy smile.
I am sprawled out beneath the lace bedding, sleeping blissfully when Dominic wakes me with a gentle kiss. A bright autumn sun shines through the narrow windows and I smile, pulling Dominic to me for another kiss.
“Morning, princess. Want to see my castle?” His eyes shine in the morning light and I nod. “First you must feast. Is this banquet fit for royalty?”
I turn and see he has laid a tray out with eggs, bacon, toast and a selection of baked products with mugs of tea. My tummy growls as my eyes feast. We have managed to work up quite an appetite and I lick my lips in appreciation. It smells divine.
“It’s perfect, like you.” I grin and lay another kiss on his delectable mouth before I pull the tray between us. “Join me, fine knight, to devour this lavish spread,” I tease him and he laughs heartily before we tuck in with delight.
“How long until our flight?” I ask whilst taking the top off of a soft boiled egg.
“Just over three hours. We have time to eat, make love, take a bath and go on a nineteenth century adventure before we have to leave.”
“Perfect. If we skip the bath do you think we can make love twice?” I tease.
“Sweetheart, let’s skip breakfast and get right down to it,” Dom laughs.
I sigh, looking around the room as I bite into a piece of toast.
“I’ve really loved being here.” I admit and Dom stops chewing. His eyes flick around the room too before he nods.
“It’s been amazing. It’s a shame we have to leave already.”
“So why don’t we stay a little longer?” I ask and Dom swallows, looking very unsure and not as enthusiastic as me about extending our stay. “You know Pops won’t mind us taking an extra day off work,” I venture.
Dom puts his croissant down and picks up his drink, still looking hesitant. “Well, I suppose it’s not impossible to organise but I was looking forward to giving you your other birthday present and I know mum is bursting to tell you about her wedding plans.”
“Oh, okay.” I smile. “No worries. I suppose we can always come back for Christmas or something?”
“Of course. I’d love that.” He grins before dropping a kiss on my head and going through to turn on the shower.
I finish my breakfast and slip into the bath with him, settling between his legs. I run my hands over his thighs and he pulls me onto his lap, nibbling my shoulder. “Shall we kill two birds with one stone and make love right here?”
An hour later we are walking down a quiet country lane, in search of Riber Castle. Dominic made sure he packed me warm clothes and my sexiest underwear so I had to smile when I finally opened my overnight bag. I’m wrapped up snuggly warm and walking with my hand clamped inside Dom’s. We are chatting about everything and nothing when Dom stops and guides me to an opening in the hedgerow. I’d noticed we’d been walking uphill for the last fifteen minutes but the sight I see when we step through the gap in the bushes onto the field takes my breath.
“Wow, Dominic, it’s like being on top of the world,” I gasp as he pulls my back to his chest and rests his chin on my head. There are roving hills of green for as far as the eye can see. It’s like you can see to the end of the earth and there isn’t a sign of life anywhere on it. The landscape is seemingly untouched by man and is exactly has God made it for Adam and Eve, unspoilt.
“You make me feel on top of the world, sweetheart,” Dominic says through the wind and I look up at him, his eyes watering in the strong, cold br
eeze.
“You say the sweetest things.”
“Just saying what I feel, Tara. For the first time, I’ve met someone that makes me feel these things. It’s like I can finally understand the lyrics in the sloppy songs. I went to three different shops to try and find a birthday card that represented you and my love. I’ve never even purchased a card for a lady before.” He smirks. “You’ve sure got me, hook, line and sinker. I’m sure the whole male species are screaming at me to man up.”
“You never even sent a valentines card before?”
Dom shakes his head. “You’re the first person I sent flowers to as well. You’re all my first rolled into one, sweetheart.”
“So, I’m definitely the first person you’ve ever…” I stall, looking for words that don’t degrade our beautiful love making last night. “Not worn anything with, when we were together?” I actually blush and Dom flashes me a very satisfied smile.
“You’re definitely the first, baby girl.”
“I’m on the pill by the way, you don’t have to worry about any risk of… You know, unwanted pregnancy.”
“Unwanted? Tara, if you told me now we were having a baby I would be overjoyed,” he replies without hesitation and I blink in surprise.
“Really? Already?”
“The way I see it now, baby, there is forever in front of us and I know in that forever I want a home together, a wedding and at least one baby. I couldn’t give a damn which order we do it in, as long as there are all three happen at some point.”
My heart squeezes in my chest and I smile up at him. “Sounds perfect to me. There’s no rush though, is there?”
Dom shakes his head, pulling me to his chest again so we are both looking out over the stunning scenery before us. “We have all the time in the world, sweetness.”
We approach Riber Castle hand in hand. “This is the ruins of my once great castle, my lady,” Dom declares, standing before the run down old castle and taking a theatrical bow.
I giggle, making my way to an open stone doorway that leads into what was probably once a fine entry hall. “This was where you played? Did you slay many dragons?”
“Oh, a great many, fair maiden.” He follows me though and takes my hand leading me to a circular staircase.
“So, you and Joe always hung out here on hot summer days? Which one of you pretended to be the princess you rescued from the dragon?” I ask, following him up the steep stone steps.
“Princess? There wasn’t a princess. We just destroyed dragons, defending our castle from evil,” Dom answers as we step into a huge room, void of a roof with huge openings in the stone where windows once were. We go to stand at one of the window openings.
“Oh, so you haven’t brought me here to finally claim your rescued princess?”
“You didn’t need rescuing, sweetheart. You’re far too strong to ever fall victim to a curse. Anyway, we more like Power Rangers than princes when we played here,” Dom informs me.
“Power Rangers? Like, ninjas in leotards?” I tease and he playfully narrows his eyes at me. He takes my hand and guides me through to another room, much like the first one.
“We didn’t actually dress up like Power Rangers, just to clarify.” He grins, guiding me up more stone steps which seem to take us up a tower.
“But, mentally, you were pretending to, weren’t you? Which Power Ranger were you?” I tease and he squeezes my hand playfully as we come out onto a rooftop.
“I was the white ranger, I think his name was Tommy,” he laughs before turning me to face the view.
“I bet stood up here as Tommy you felt like the master of the whole world?” I ask, only because stood right here, you feel like everything and everyone in the world is below you. We are so high above everything.
“I felt like nothing could touch me. Just like nothing can touch us now,” Dom sighs. “I want to share my whole life with you, Tara. Every details and if I could restore this castle for us to live in then I promise I would ward off any ills that might come our way.”
I smile. To say there were no princesses in his dreams as a young kid, he seems to know exactly how to make me feel like a queen. I turn in his arms and look up into his stunning eyes, the colour of the lands stretching for miles around us.
“Darling, I don’t need a castle. I’m much happier tucked up in that cosy cottage with you,” I reassure him and I go up on tip toes to kiss him. He pulls me close before lifting me and I wrap my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist as he claims my mouth like he is trying to wake me from a deep cursed sleep with true loves first kiss.
C hapter 17
On the flight home we never stop chatting, mostly about our childhood and fondest memories from family Christmases and birthdays. Usually reminiscing is painful for me because it’s a stark reminder of how my life changed after one terrible accident, but for some reason, talking to Dominic, I only remember the good memories. When we are talking about our old Christmas tradition of watching Home Alone in our pyjamas on Christmas eve Dom decides we’ll repeat that tradition together this Christmas.
When we touch down at Luton I’m a little blue to actually be returning back to the daily grind after such a lovely, albeit too short, break. I’m wearing my new jewellery from Dominic and I smile to myself every time I see the padlock on my wrist. It’s so perfect, not too girly and glitzy, it will go with every outfit in my wardrobe and I cannot wait to show Shazza.
When we pull up outside I see Pops and Val’s car parked behind my Audi and I remember I’d agreed to have dinner at their place today.
“Oh, crap. I forgot to cancel dinner with Pops and Val.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it. Come on, let’s get inside. I can’t wait to give you your other present.”
I get a frisson of excitement and when I let myself in through the back door am surprised when everyone is in the kitchen waiting for me. My mouth falls open when they all yell surprise. They have put birthday banners and balloons up and Pops is holding a cake in the shape of a Pioneer CD deck with my name on the display.
“No cake fights today, please, Tara,” Val giggles, coming to envelope me in a hug.
“That cake is too good to waste.” I smile, stepping out of her arms and giving Pops a kiss on the cheek.
“We know you don’t like parties so just think of this as a friendly gathering, with gifts.” Shazza grins, pointing to a pile of cards and gifts on the table with a small buffet.
I hug her close and turn to face everyone. Lauren and Lucy are stood near the back of the room with big smiles on their face and Grotzy is sat with DJ D and Baz at the kitchen island already sucking down a bottle of lager. Even Dayton and Alannah are here. I don’t know who is behind this surprise but just this small, private gathering of friends is perfect.
“Thank you everyone for coming, not that I invited you.” This raises a laugh. “But it’s always nice to return home to a friendly welcome and cake. I suspect this was all down to you, Dom?” I playfully narrow my eyes.
Dominic winks with a cheeky grin. “With a little help from a partner in crime.” He flicks his eyes to Shazza who almost smiles back at him, almost.
“Well, seeing as we are all here, let’s open the bottle of champagne I spot chilling.” I point to the champers on ice.
Someone puts on music and Ellie Goulding starts to serenade us. I greet Lucy, Lauren, Dayton and Alannah and accept a gift off each of them. Lucy gives me a voucher for a session at the nail bar and is still holding me to our date to have my nails painted pink and hers black. Lauren was the one who bought the bottle of champagne and Dayton and Alannah have given me a seriously cool iDuck that connects wirelessly to my iPod so I have music in the shower. I love it!
“That gift always goes down well,” Dayton laughs. Him and Dominic start setting it up for me while I take a chair with the guys.
“Baz, Grotzy, DJ D, always a pleasure to see you, lads.” I smile while popping a sausage roll into my mouth.
“Co
uldn’t miss the birthday girls party, could we?” Dave grins. “You’ve got all the DJ royalty here, only right the sexiest DJ’s are here, too.” He points to himself with pride.
I tut and roll my eyes. “Dave, you are such a swell head,” I laugh whilst accepting a drink from Grotzy.
“So, you and Dom sorted things out?” Baz asks quietly and I look over at Dominic, chatting with Dayton and Alannah. Our eyes meet and he gives me a knowing look. I’ve been caught perving on him, and he loves it. I wink and turn back to the lads.
“Yeah, we’re good.”
“Pleased to hear it. Now the begging question everyone wants to know but nobody dare to ask…” Grotzy lowers his voice and Dave leans in. “What is the Serious Soundz queen doing here? I thought you and Dom were on a break because of Lucy?”
I shake my head and lower my voice to match Dean’s. “We were on a break because of Dominic, not Lucy. And I like her.”
Both boys blink in surprise and I make a mental note to watch what label business gets mentioned at this gathering because we have DJ’s from all three labels in attendance and it could all get messy, especially if the topic of the A vs B event gets brought up.
“Fair enough,” Dave mumbles and looks over at Lucy then back to me. I know what he’s thinking and I hate that this event could actually affect my friendships with anyone in this room because, inevitably, one of the three labels is going to lose out.
For the next hour we all eat, drink, chat and laugh. Pops went right over the top and bought me some amazing sample banks for my studio. I open more gifts and kiss Shazza super hard when she buys me the Korg Electribe for my home studio.
“I quite enjoyed our home studio session on Friday, didn’t you girls?” Shaz aims at Lucy and Lauren.
“Oh, definitely.” Lucy grins, nudging Lauren who nods. I roll my eyes with a smirk.
Dominic comes to stand beside me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and pulling close. “How much production actually got done after the tequila came out to play?” He asks with a chuckle. I notice he avoids looking at Lucy. I hope it isn’t always going to feel awkward whenever they are in each other’s company.
Disrespectful Diva (DJ Series Book 2) Page 21