"We better let you both go. I'm sure you've got a busy day planned, and your mother and I are off to the village's Christmas breakfast."
"Okay, Merry Christmas. Love you both."
"Love you too, sweetheart. Have a wonderful day."
*****
Dominic's parents greeted us at the door before we climbed the steps. I never met them, but as much as Dominic spoke about them, it seemed like I had. They must have felt the same way because they greeted me with a hug and kiss on the cheek as though I was part of the family.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Hansen."
"It's just mom and dad. All of Dommie's friends call us that," his mom said, giving Dominic's cheek a pinch. Then, as if to add insult to injury, she kissed him several times all over his face.
"Okay mom, I missed you too," Dominic said, rolling his eyes. He didn't seem at all embarrassed by his mother's behavior.
"Dommie?" I whispered and giggled.
He sent a mock glare in my direction. Dominic's father winked at me, and I got the impression his mother was trying very hard to embarrass him in front of me.
"So is she your submissive yet?" his mother whispered in his ear, but purposely spoke loud enough for me to hear.
I gaped at Dominic. His face was bright red, and his father was chuckling. Yeah, they were definitely trying to get a rise out of him.
"We're just friends," he assured them.
"Uh huh," his mom said, then his father smacked her bum playfully as she headed towards the living room.
"You both have presents under the tree when you're ready," his father said.
Dominic hoisted the bag of gifts he brought over his shoulder as though he was Santa and walked to the living room saying, "Ho, ho, ho."
The last time I'd been in Brant's living room, it looked ordinary, except with the largest TV that I ever saw and more movies than any one person could watch in a year. Now it looked like a Christmas wonderland. The tree was at least ten feet tall, but it still didn't come close to touching the tall ceiling. White and silver decorations adorned the tree as well as dominating the room.
Brant waved to us as we entered, and he came over to greet us, his girlfriend—now fiancé judging by the ring on her finger—in tow.
"Hey bro," Dominic said, giving his brother a manly hug, then he turned to the girlfriend, giving her a hug and kiss on the cheek. "And soon to be sis. This is Haleigh."
"It's nice to meet you, Haleigh," Brant said giving me a quick hug and peck on the cheek. "This is my fiancé, Rachel."
Rachel was more reserved though and held out her hand. "Good to meet you."
I shook her outstretched hand.
"Make yourself at home," Brant told me.
Dominic brought the gifts to the tree, so I followed him. After placing them under the tree, adding each one to a pile or starting a new one, he grabbed two stacked gifts and set them on a sofa next to where I stood. Then he grabbed another pile and sat on the nearest seat. "Those are yours."
I wasn't expecting gifts from his family, and I felt even worse that I couldn't get anyone anything. Dominic frowned at me, probably noticing my expression.
"Get used to it. My family loves to give, and they expect nothing in return. Every one of us have been in positions in the past where we had nothing to give, so we all know what it's like. You have nothing to feel bad about."
I was sure I would never get used to people just giving me things, especially people who never met me before, but I reasoned that I would have a job soon enough, and I could return the favor. I opened the first gift, which had a little card from Brant and Rachel attached. They bought me the Twilight Saga. It was something I've wanted to read for a while. Dominic must have told them. The second gift was from his parents, a crocheted blanket.
"My mom made it for you. It won't replace the one your grandmother made for you, but she hoped you would love it anyway."
I bit my lip to keep the tears from forming. His families' generosity was very overwhelming. I wasn't sure if I could express how much it meant that they gave me such personal and well thought out gifts, but watching them all together, it wasn't too surprising. They were a close family and obviously adored one another. It was easy to see why Dominic was so generous. I wished more than ever I had chosen him from the beginning. Once I was sure my emotions were under control I said, "I love it."
"Hey, hey," a familiar voice called from the other side of the room.
I turned to see Jason charging towards us, Bekka right behind him. He pulled me into a bear hug.
"Merry Christmas. I'm glad Dominic talked you into coming."
"It was more blackmail, actually. Merry Christmas, Jason." I waved to Bekka. "Merry Christmas, Bekka."
"Blackmail, huh? Nice," he said as he hugged Dominic.
Dominic chuckled. "Sometimes you have to go with what works."
Jason handed me a gift. I smiled while groaning inwardly.
"It's from me and Bekka," he said.
I opened it. It was a sketch pad, pencils and charcoal.
Jason grinned. "You've been saying you wanted to draw again, so we figured we would get you started."
I wrapped my arms around him and Bekka in a group hug. "Thanks, guys."
With Bekka there it wasn't all that difficult to keep up my end of the bargain by socializing and having fun. It was much easier for me to be social with someone I already knew, and she, Jason and I met for lunch every day during the semester. I even considered the possibility of having a girls' night with Bekka. We hadn't seen each other in almost a month, and I realized I missed her company.
"We should go out for New Year's Eve," Bekka suggested.
"That would be fun," I said, but then hoped Dominic wouldn't see it as a date or something. "So how have things been going?"
"Great, actually. Jason asked me to marry him, but we're gonna wait until after we graduate to say anything to anyone."
"Oh my god, Bekka. I'm so happy for you guys."
"I know. It's killing me to keeping it quiet, but I told Jason I'm telling you. I need someone to talk to about it."
"Why doesn't he want to tell his family yet?"
"Mainly because, if you haven't noticed, they make a huge deal of everything. He said it's between having to deal with them being in our faces for a couple years or a few months. I think the hype would wear off eventually, but he assured me it wouldn't. Apparently even Brant had been engaged for the last year and a half and announced it only recently."
"Wow, yeah, I'm not used to this big family thing. It was always just me and my parents."
"I'm from a big family, but we're not this close. In fact, for me family gatherings means a lot of fighting. So what about you and Dominic? You seem to be getting closer. Jason's surprised you're not a 'thing' yet."
"Yeah, I don't think that will ever happen. We're just friends."
"Why?"
I shrugged. "After what I went through with Kurt, I can't have the kind of relationship he would want."
"What do you mean?"
"You know. The whole dominance and submission thing. I could never let another man control me like that."
"From what Jason's told me, Dominic's not the type to force that kind of relationship on someone. I think he cares about you and wouldn't care if it was just a vanilla relationship."
"I care a lot about him too, but even if he didn't expect all that, I don't think it would work."
"Well, instead of deciding what will and won't work, just let things happen naturally. You never know. If you're meant to be together, it will happen."
I smiled. "You're probably right." Inside, though, my stomach was doing somersaults. No one knew that Kurt mutilated my body. No man, not even Dominic, would want me when he saw it.
Chapter 16
By the end of the day, I was glad I let Dominic talk me into going. Despite my reservations, I had a great time. But I was glad when Dominic said it was time to go. It was close to midnight, and
I was exhausted. As fun as it was, it was a long, tiring day. On the way home, his mother's words buzzed in my head.
"Why did your mother ask if I was your submissive?"
Dominic chuckled. "She was joshing me. The best way to tell if my mom likes you is the teasing. The more she teases you the more she likes you."
"I got that impression. Well, the part about her enjoying teasing people, but why… I mean, how does she know about that stuff?"
"My parents have been into the lifestyle since before my brother and I were born. It's how they met. My mother is my father's submissive."
My jaw dropped. "So they raised you that way? Is that what you meant about it being in the family?"
"No. No, it wasn't like that at all. My brother and I knew nothing about it when we were growing up. The family part of it is completely coincidental. A friend introduced me to the lifestyle in college, much the same as you."
I frowned. Alexis wasn't a friend.
"I learned Brant was into it through the grapevine, and I learned a lot from him over the years. My parents found out because they walked in on one of his parties."
"That must have been humiliating."
Dominic nodded. "It was worse when we found out they were into it as well because they nagged us to 'do it right' and 'be careful.' They were a little overbearing for a while. I suppose it's better than having them find out and think there was something wrong with us."
That would likely be my parents' reaction.
"Why do you ask?" Dominic glanced at me.
I shrugged. "Just curious. It was weird to have your mom say that, especially with other people around."
"And?"
How could he know there's more? "Bekka asked me if we were 'a thing', and it seemed so many others were making the same assumption."
"It probably has to do with the fact that we live together, and we're almost always together. It's natural for people to make that assumption." Dominic paused for a moment. "Although I do have feelings for you."
I gasped, then hoped he didn't hear my reaction. What could I say to that? I would be lying if I told him I didn't have feelings for him, but if I told him the truth, he would want a relationship, which would not end well.
"Haleigh?"
"Yes?"
Dominic sighed. "I admitted I have feelings for you, and you haven't responded. If my palms get any sweatier, I might not be able to steer. I need something."
"I have feelings for you too, but it doesn't matter."
"What do you mean it doesn't matter?"
"I can't be what you want me to be, Dominic."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not submissive."
"That doesn't matter. It's you I want."
Bekka was right, but now what should I say to him. I couldn't let this go anywhere. I turned my gaze out the window. "Look, Dominic. If you knew what Kurt did to me, you wouldn't want me anymore."
"What did he do?" His voice was low, almost like a growl.
"It's too humiliating to talk about." A tear fell from my eye. He wouldn't let this go, and I wasn't ready to lose him.
As soon as the car stopped in the driveway, I wasted no time. I pulled my key out of my handbag and jogged to the door. By the time I unlocked it, I heard Dominic's footsteps behind me, but he hadn't said anything. So I barged into the house and headed straight for the stairs. I wanted to lock myself in the room, but before I reached the first stop, Dominic had grabbed my arm.
"Wait," he said, softly. "Please, talk to me, Haleigh. Don't run away."
I groaned as I swiped furiously at the tears blurring my vision, but I let him lead me into the living room. I sat in an armchair as Dominic pulled up an ottoman and sat in front of me.
"Tell me what Kurt did to you," he said, taking both my hands in his and giving them a gentle squeeze.
I turned my gaze away from him, but without releasing my hand, he used a finger under my chin to redirect my attention onto him.
"Please, Haleigh."
"He mutilated me." It came out barely above a whisper.
Dominic's forehead wrinkled, and he leaned closer. "I don't understand. What do you mean he mutilated you?"
I couldn't bring myself to explain it, so I lifted my skirt enough to expose my thigh. He ran a finger over the brand. I closed my eyes as a shiver ran through me. I watched his face for a moment. The repulsion I expected to see there wasn't. In fact, he seemed even more confused.
"It doesn't bother you?"
"No, Haleigh, but I can see it bothers you. There are people in the lifestyle who practice both temporary and permanent branding. It's not unusual, but it's consensual. Obviously Kurt gave you no choice, and it's affecting your self-esteem. But it's something that can be fixed. You don't have to live with it. I know a tattoo artist who can cover it for you if you're interested."
I let out a deep breath. Tattoos weren't my thing, but it would be better than having a brand there. "I'd love that."
Dominic smiled. "See? That wasn't so bad, was it? Now that we have that out of the way, we can talk about us."
I looked away. That wasn't the worst of it. He may have accepted the brand, but the rest was too horrifying.
"There's something else," he said.
I nodded.
"What is it?"
My throat felt as though it closed up. The brand might be easily covered, but the rings couldn't be. I wasn't even sure it was possible to remove them or where I would go to do it. And how would I explain it to him? There was no way I would drop my panties and show him this one.
"It can't be that bad," Dominic said, pulling me into his arms.
"It is. You will despise me."
"That would never happen, Haleigh. You thought that with the brand too, but you were wrong. You're wrong about this too. At least give me a chance to prove there is nothing he could have done that will change my feelings for you. Although I can't promise you it won't make me despise him more than I do."
I chuckled and leaned back, wiping my face, but I still couldn't tell him.
"Please, Haleigh. I can't help you if you won't tell me what's wrong."
My breath caught. I hadn't considered he might want to help me, but then wasn't that what he did by telling me about the tattoo? Maybe he would know what to do about the rings. "He pierced me." I pointed towards my crotch. "Down there."
"Will you let me see it?"
I pulled my knees up, hugging them tight to my chest. Rings aside, I had always been shy about being nude in front of a man for the first time. "It would be too humiliating."
"It will be fine. I won't judge you, and it's nothing sexual. I'm just going to have a look, so I can see what can be done."
Reluctantly, I stood and inched my panties over my hips, being careful to let the skirt cover me. I let them fall to my ankles and slipped them off one foot at a time before sitting back on the chair. Dominic lifted my feet placing them on the chair then pushed my knees apart, so they rested on the arms of the chair. My skirt still covered me, but my faced heated regardless. Worse, other areas heated too, and he was bound to notice. As he lifted my skirt, I clamped my legs together again.
Dominic sighed, pressing his lips together. "It will be okay."
When he eased them apart again, I leaned my head back, covering my face with my hands. I felt him lift the skirt. The slight breeze on my nether regions made me gasp. Then I felt his light touch over the rings covering my clitoris, and I nearly jumped out of the seat. He covered me, without a word, and didn't stop me when I pressed my thighs together. The silence was killing me.
"Kurt wanted to prevent me from touching myself."
"Yes, that's the impression I got."
I uncovered my face and looked at him, suddenly realizing why he was so quiet. His face was red, and he looked like he might explode.
"The guy I told you about. The tattoo artist. He has a woman who works with him who does body piercing. She should be able to remove those."
My eyes
filled with tears, but this time it was because of the overwhelming relief. Not only would I be able to be somewhat normal again. I also felt hope, for the first time, that a relationship with Dominic might be possible.
He leaned in close, gently wiping the tears away with his thumbs, then kissed my forehead. "Is there any other objections that need to be addressed?"
I shook my head.
"Good." He kissed my cheek. "Would I be mistaken if I said it's now okay for us to explore our feelings for one another?"
I shook my head again, and he kissed my other cheek.
"Do you object to exploring those feelings physically?"
"No," I whispered, my whole body on fire.
"Good."
Dominic covered my mouth with his, reaching a hand behind my head and gripping a fist full of my hair while deepening the kiss. As he explored my mouth with his tongue, his free hand slithered its way under my shirt. He caressed my belly as he ran his fingers over my torso. Then he slipped a finger under my bra freeing one of my breasts. I gasped as he teased my nipple, allowing him to deepen the kiss even further.
I pressed my chest towards him. He chuckled and gave my nipple a squeeze, drawing a moan. There was too much space and too many layers of clothing between us. Dominic didn't seem to notice the predicament though. He repeated his ministrations with my other breast. I shivered as his fingers drifted lower into my nether regions. He pushed my knees apart with his and worked a finger inside of me. I gasped and tried to come up for air, but his grip on my hair held me in place.
His fingers slid in and out of me. When he added another, I whimpered. I needed more, and I needed it now. This pace was killing me, but my body tensed. I was so close. Then as I was about to find my release, he pulled his fingers out and leaned back. I opened my eyes and groaned. He watched me with a smile.
"You are so beautiful. Do you want more?"
I nodded, unable to speak. Instead of starting again, he lifted me into his arms and carried me upstairs to his bedroom. He set me down on his bed and pulled my shirt off. After releasing the clasp on my bra and tossing it to the ground he took my nipple into his mouth, sucking hard. Then he grazed it with his teeth and lightly blew on it. I shivered as he moved onto the next one and repeated the process.
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