by C. M. Albert
“No,” she whispered. “We never did. We thought we had all the time in the world. Turns out we didn’t.” Avaline frowned, closing her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, her gaze settled on the fire that crackled before them, a welcome distraction. “He has kids from his first marriage though.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, Avaline. It must have been a terrible year for you. I’m sorry I ever mentioned you not reaching out to me or accepting my invitations back to this room. That was selfish of me.”
She shook her head. “You didn’t know. You couldn’t have. My husband wanted me happy, though. His body and mind began deteriorating quickly after we found out about his condition. When we first married, I knew he was the CEO of the White Room, but I never used it. I never needed to. But after he was diagnosed, and his health started to decline, my life revolved completely around his care and learning how to run the business; he insisted I give myself this time. To be a woman. To forget about the ugly business of going from wife to caregiver. To experience a different reality, I suppose, than the one I was living.”
Avaline toyed with the soft fur beneath her fingers. “I never wanted to, at first. But then I realized how badly I needed the touch, the connections. We stopped going to church. We could no longer host parties. Our life together became about making our last memories together. Because soon, he lost those too.”
Avaline cried silent tears, using the lapel of her robe to wipe them. Dom wrapped his arms around her and lifted her chin. “We don’t have to talk about this if you’re not ready,” he said.
“I’m ready. I need you to know so we can start with a clean slate. I don’t want any secrets between us.”
Dom felt hopeful for the first time in years. So we can start with a clean slate. That implied they would see each other again.
“So, you own and run this entire company now?” Dom asked, intimidated but not wanting to show his cards.
“Well, not the entire company. The Wells family cofounded the White Room with my husband and still owns forty percent. I have a managing board for major decisions. And over the last year, I’ve been slowly delegating the day-to-day responsibilities by hiring new directors for all the major divisions we have. More goes into the White Room than you’d imagine.”
“And you changed the rules?”
Avaline blushed. “I did.”
“Why, Avaline?” He ran his hand up her neck and behind her head. “I need to hear why you did.”
He scorched her with the heated look in his eyes, and she suspected he’d already connected the dots.
“I changed the rules because of you,” she said, low and heated. “I’d never met anyone like you before—in or out of the White Room. There was just something there I couldn’t forget. When I was sad or lonely, I thought of you. When something happened and I wanted to celebrate, I wished I could call you.”
“You could have though,” he said, studying her. “If you own the company, you have access to my files, right?”
“Yes and no,” she said. “I can pull parts of them up, but we keep a lot of the data encoded for safety. But I read your basic profile, yes,” she admitted.
“So you know I haven’t been back, right?” he said huskily.
Avaline nodded, biting her lip.
“You are all I fucking thought about, Avaline. From the moment we touched, there was something undeniable about our connection. Something I couldn’t ignore. Tell me you felt it too,” he said, searching her eyes.
“It’s why I changed the rules, Dom. I needed to see you again. I had your file, but it’s encrypted. The contact information is only accessible by computer, but isn’t visible in any records. First names only, last names encrypted.”
“Burrows,” he said. “It’s Dominick Michael Burrows.”
“Burrows,” she whispered, a flash of recognition lighting her eyes. “Oh my God. My husband used to watch you on TV. You’re an MMA fighter, right?”
“A champion,” he said. “Until I quit.”
“What?” Avaline looked up, searching his eyes. “Why did you quit fighting if you were so successful?”
“It’s a dangerous job, Avaline. One wrong punch to the head and I’m out of a job . . . or worse.”
“But that’s a risk you took every time you got into a ring, right?”
“It was,” he said, nodding.
“So what made you give it up? It must have been an exciting career,” she said.
“You.”
“Me?” Avaline furrowed her brow, running her hand along the top part of his furry leg that was peeking out of the bathrobe.
“I’m not a rule follower, Avaline. I knew sooner or later I’d get in touch with you. I knew you were married, so I didn’t exactly have a plan. But I needed to see you again. When I found out they changed the rules—you changed the rules—I wanted out. I didn’t want to get hurt in the ring. I didn’t want to get so badly fucked up I could never see you again. So I cashed in my career, opened a business, and now I train new up-and-coming fighters.”
Avaline didn’t know what to say. He’d given up a career he loved after one night together. She didn’t know whether to be concerned or turned on. It was definitely the later. “You did that, for me?”
Dom shrugged. “Mostly,” he said. “I—I also found out I was a father.”
“After we were together?” Avaline asked. She had no right. She’d been with several other lovers since Dom. She never even knew if she would see him again. He could’ve been with anyone he wanted.
“No. Needless to say, the earlier years in my career were a little more reckless. I came up in the circuit quickly, gaining a lot of notoriety the more fights I won.”
“Yeah, Henri made a pretty penny off you a few times,” Avaline admitted, laughing.
Dom grinned. “That’s all right,” he said admirably. “Well, about a month after our first time together here, I got a phone call. It was from a woman I’d met through my trainer at the start of my career—his cousin or something like that. I can’t remember the connection. She sort of tagged along off and on for a few months with us. Real free spirit. I didn’t take her too seriously, but I didn’t have my shit together back then either. Partied a little too hard after my wins. All that adrenaline doesn’t go away on its own. It’ll downright eat you alive if you don’t get rid of it somehow. Others turned to drugs. Women were my outlet.”
He looked up at Avaline, remorse filling his eyes. “I wish I could change things, Avaline, but I can’t. Not about my daughter, but about my past. My daughter is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
A light filled Dom’s eyes that brightened the more he talked about his daughter.
“What’s her name?” Avaline asked.
“Dusty Rose. Kind of a hippy name if you ask me, but I didn’t exactly get a say in the matter.”
“So the mother never told you about her? How old is she?” Avaline asked.
“Five,” he said, low. “Her mom suspected I was the father, but never came to me after she was pregnant. I remembered her, of course, but we weren’t exactly a couple. She helped me forget about some stuff I’d rather not remember.”
Avaline nodded, but didn’t push. “So you’re a daddy,” she said, her eyes softening as she looked at Dom.
“Does that worry you?” The thought hadn’t crossed his mind until Avaline told him that she and her husband hadn’t had children together. Maybe she had no interest in them, especially at this stage in her life.
“Not at all. I’ve always wanted kids of my own.”
She moved toward him, straddling his lap. She could feel him hard and firm beneath her. She lifted the lapels of his robe and pulled him closer. “It’s kind of sexy,” she admitted. She bent her head, taking his lips in hers. Caressing them softly with her tongue. “As long as the mom’s not in the picture,” she growled into his ear.
Dom laughed. “She’s nowhere in sight, other than to hand off Dusty Rose from time to time.” He ran
his hands up under her robe, along her outer thighs. “So, what now?” he asked, burying his face in her hair and kissing her neck.
“Right now, you slide inside me,” she whispered.
He didn’t have to be asked twice. He lifted Avaline and slid her down on top of his cock, always ready and hard for her. Dom sprinkled kisses over her shoulders as he ran his hands down her arms, removing the robe. She was more than he ever dreamed for himself. He didn’t know what happened after right now, but right now, he was exactly where he wanted to be.
Avaline was straddling him, her knees landing on both sides of his body. Her hands went to his chest, pressing her bottom down so she could ride him. Their bodies moved in rhythm as if they were made to love each other this way.
When they came, they came together, unspoken but connected.
“Dom,” she cried out, her body shaking as they collapsed, completely spent. Avaline snuggled into him, spooning into his side and placing her head in the crook of his arm. He rubbed her arm with his other hand, languishing there, taking his time.
“Avaline,” he said, his voice raspy. “I know I have no right to ask this, especially after all you’ve been through. But please tell me there’s an ‘after this.’ It doesn’t have to be today; it doesn’t have to be tomorrow—though I’m okay if it is,” he said, laughing. “But I was so scared I’d never see you again. I can’t walk away from you a second time.”
Avaline studied the lines of his face. The scruff lining his jaw, his neck. Hooded brown eyes the color of the whiskey they’d shared bored into her, searching for answers she had spent the last six months trying to find for herself. She sat up on her elbow, her eyes never leaving his. The emotions that flooded through her were real. There was no confusion. No transference. These feelings were genuine and they were for Dom.
“This year has dragged me through hell and back, Dom. The life I knew before completely died. I’m still grieving, because I did love Henri. But I knew for a while that I was losing him, so I prepared my heart for the inevitable. Well, you can never really prepare for something like that, but I did the best I could.
“And then I met you. You weren’t supposed to happen to me. I wasn’t supposed to find love again. I thought I’d grow old and just have a string of lovers from the White Room,” she said and smiled when Dom growled. “Now I know how empty and shallow that existence would have been. How unhappy it would have made me.”
Dom pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear, ran his fingers along her face. “Did you just use the L word?” he asked, grinning.
Avaline swatted his chest playfully. “I think a small part of me started falling for you the moment I walked through those doors, Dom. I’ve never met a man who owns the space as much as you do. You were so confident, arrogant almost, in the way you made love to me that first day. Sure, it was hot. But it also spoke volumes about the type of man you are.” Avaline blushed, lowering her head so her hair fell over his chest, covering her face.
He lifted her chin. “Look at me, Avaline,” he commanded.
She peered up at him, with fresh eyes. Seeing the man who had fought so hard to get to her again. The man who wouldn’t give up on her.
Dominick.
Henri had been the most beautiful part of her past. Her heart still had cracks she wasn’t sure would ever fully heal. But when she looked at Dom, she saw something different. She saw her future.
“I have loved you since the moment I first saw you. I never believed in love at first sight—thought it was just an asshole line guys used to get in a girl’s pants. But when you walked through those doors . . . talk about owning a space. You completely stripped the fucking air from my lungs, Avaline. I couldn’t breathe.
“I’ve never been knocked on my ass so hard in my life. Nothing in the cage ever came as close at catching me off guard,” Dom said, tugging a strand of her hair. “We have a long way to go and a lot more to learn about each other. I get that. But I need you, Avaline. Outside this room.”
He cupped her chin and pinned her with his stormy eyes. “I won’t share you though.”
Avaline had no intention of sharing Dom either. But she had to go slow, especially around Henri’s children. They would never believe her if she jumped into another relationship so soon. “I crave you like a drug, Dom. You’ve been under my skin for a long time now, and no matter how hard I tried to shelf it while I was dealing with life, and death, and restructuring my business—you were always there. And I always craved more.
“At the same time, I have to be sensible, especially out of respect for Henri and his children. I know it’s unfair to ask, but can you wait for me again? I need time to sort all of this out fully. So I can start fresh with a clean conscience.”
Dom sat up and pulled Avaline into his arms. “I’ve waited this long for you, Avaline. I’m not giving up on us—on you. Just promise me . . . no more White Room for personal use. It would kill me to think of you being with someone else after I’ve known your body this way.”
He kissed her with the passion of a man in love. Claiming with his mouth what his heart could no longer deny. Dom was patient. He’d spent his life training with precision and patience to get the results he wanted. Waiting for Avaline was a no-brainer.
Avaline wrapped her arms around Dom’s neck, running her fingers along the back of his scalp. “Have I ever told you how much I love your head?” she asked, grinning.
“Which one?” he teased back.
“Both,” she admitted. “But I love your heart even more. I promise—I’m retiring the White Room for myself and am leaving it running in capable hands. I need to find myself again, Dom. Figure out who Avaline is without Henri and his legacy.”
She brought her mouth to his, drawing his bottom lip in as she kissed him. Tingles shot through her body all the way to her toes and heated her tummy. It was different this time. This time, when their tongues curled and met in a moment of shared intimacy, it was no longer on borrowed time.
Avaline moaned as their kiss deepened, letting herself free-fall all the way into her future. This time, they had all the time in the world. This time, she had no intention of ever walking away from Dom again.
“Want me to call the owner?” Avaline whispered in Dom’s ear. “I might be able to pull some strings so we can stay the night.”
A heated look filled Dom’s eyes. She knew that storm, and was ready to be consumed by it. “I might even try my hand at spanking,” she teased.
It was all the encouragement he needed. Dom picked Avaline up and tossed her over his shoulder, heading toward the bedroom. He surprised Avaline when he opened a different set of doors off to the side. “It’s about time we go back and revisit how we met, wouldn’t you say?”
He set Avaline down on the shiny white boardroom table and placed his hands on either side of her. Dom leaned in for a kiss, taking her mouth in his and possessing every ounce of her being. This time, she wasn’t running away from her life; she was creating a new one. And it never felt so good.
“But I’m the one who does the spanking,” Dom said.
And so he did.
The End
Afterword
If you loved the White Room . . .
Thank you for reading the White Room. I hope you fell in love with the characters as much as I did. I loved them so much, in fact, that I am currently working on two spin-off series! The first will follow each character before, during, and after the White Room. There was just so much more to explore and discover with each character’s personal journey to love, redemption, and inner growth. I hope to have the first book of the White Heat series out this summer. I will also explore the sexy side of Professor Browning and his various conquests before the White Room in his own steamy spin-off series. Stay tuned for more!
In the meantime, you can find my other three Kindle e-Books on Amazon:
Faith in Love | Proof of Love | Last Night in Laguna
A note on reviews . . .
If you have a mome
nt, I’d greatly appreciate a short review for the White Room on Amazon. Reviews not only help authors get additional exposure, but they also help readers decide whether or not to take a chance on a book. As an Indie author, I can’t thank you enough for all of your support, reads, and feedback on all of my books! I read and appreciate each and every review. {xoxo}
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Official bio . . . Yada yada yada .
USA Today Best Selling Author C.M. Albert writes heartwarming romances that are both “sexy and flirty, sweet and dirty!” Her writing infuses a healthy blend of humor, inspiration, and romance. She’s a sucker for a good villain, and a die-hard believer in everlasting love. In her spare time, she and her husband wrangle their two kids and enjoy spending time outdoors. When not writing or kid wrangling, C.M. Albert is also a Certified Medical Reiki Master, chocolate chip cookie aficionado, kindness ambassador, and seeker of naps.
Let’s talk poetry . . .
Poetry has shaped the woman and writer I am today, so you will often see them referenced in my writing. One of my favorite poems of all times is “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” which, admittedly, I first read as a teenager in The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton. It stuck with me in a way few other poems have. This poem and the two others mentioned below are referenced briefly in the White Room because of my love for them. To learn more about poetry in general or to expand your horizons, visit the Poetry Foundation. I hope the poems I mentioned touched you in some way. Poetry has a delicious way of sticking with you long after the poem has been read.