He let out another deep sigh and removed me from his lap. Then he walked over to the window and gazed out at the waves. Well, at least I got him to think. He stood there for what seemed like hours before he turned to me and said,“I love you, Angel. I regret all of this craziness. I know that I can’t act like that anymore. I do have to admit that it’s hard when it comes to you. I act like a madman. I’m trying to maintain control of the situation, but my actions are actually out of control. Rain, I’m sorry. I truly regret every time I’ve hurt you or made you cry. I promise that I will never............”
“Stop right there.”I interrupted.
“What? What did I do?”Dominick asked with surprised confusion.
“It’s not what you did. It’s what you just said. You can’t have regrets when it comes to us. Sure there were things that shouldn’t have occurred on both our parts, but we can’t regret the past and carry that with us. It will only affect our future. It’s a new year and a fresh start for us. We know our past actions. Let’s promise right here, right now, that they were mistakes. Things we learned from and that we will do our best to correct them moving forward, not regretting they happened. If we regret them, then we regret us and I don’t regret being with you and loving you. Do you regret being with me? Do you wish it wasn’t me you took?”I needed him to answer.
He stood in the window and tilted his chin down, regarding me in the most tender way I had ever seen from Dominick Kane to date. He walked to over to me with determined strides, like a man on a mission. My heart started to beat hard. Once he reached me, I looked up at him and he placed his hand under my chin, holding it still as he ran his thumb across my jawline.
“I love you, Rain. And no. If you must no the truth I don’t regret taking you or making you part of my world.”He said, as a brightness overtook his entire face.
Dominick knelt down. He wasn’t finished with me yet. We were eye to now. His jaw clenched. I knew he was going to ask me something or in Dominick’s case demand something of me that he thought may not go his way.
“No man takes what’s mine and that being said, no man lives with you, but me. You’re carrying my baby inside your body that belongs to me. I want you out of Conte’s house and in my home immediately.”Dominick’s voice was a sharp whisper.
He meant what he said. There was no arguing with him. Actually, I didn’t feel the need to argue. Moving in with him seemed like the natural choice, but life wouldn’t be fun unless I stated my conditions. Let’s see how Mr. Kane handles this.
“Okay, Mr.Kane. I’ll move in with you, being that you are basically giving me no choice, but I do have some demands of my own.”I grinned.
He grinned back. Good, he’s playing along.“And your demands are, Miss Medici?”
“I will happily agree to move in with you immediately, as you stated, but you will not tell me what to eat or when to eat, what to wear or not to wear, what to climb on or not climb on. You will not tell me when to work or not to work. How to exercise, when to sleep or when not to sleep. Where to go or where not to go or with whom. You will not control my every move or this will not work. Have I made myself clear, Kane?”I crossed my arms, being teasingly defiant,which was quite difficult when your naked.
Dominick took a deep breath and grimaced, but I continued maintained my naked, determined position as I waited for his response. I tried not to giggle, but it was hard. I needed to show a seriousness to my demeanor; because as much as this had become a little game between us, I still wanted him to realize he was not going to control me. I wanted him to understand that I was moving in with him because I loved him very much and that I wanted us to raise our baby together. I wanted us to be a family.
He sighed long and hard. I win. Not because I got my way. I knew full well Dominick was still going to try to control my every move regardless of my demands. That would never change. Dominick was Dominick. There was no changing him and why would I want to. I loved him. I win, because I got my family.
“You’re pushing it, baby; but you win. I promise that I’ll try to meet your demands. You know it’s not going to be easy for me, but I’ll do my best for you.”With that he leaned in and kissed me softly, yet he really owned that kiss. He made me his all over again.
Once our kiss was broken, Dominick climbed in bed next to me, stretched out and we faced each other so we could discuss our plans on moving me from my place to his. It shouldn’t really be all that difficult. I just needed to take some personal possessions. My furniture could stay right where it was. We wouldn’t need it. Dominick had two beautifully decorated homes, so there was no reason for any more clutter.
“So Rain, how do you want to do this? Should we grab your clothes today and have the movers come sometime next week for any furniture you want to bring with you?”Dominick asked.
“Dominick, your homes are already furnished and besides I can’t take any furniture other than my bedroom set. I need to leave the rest for Tommy. It’s his house too.”I reminded him.
“ I know Conte lives there and you’ve accumulated stuff together over the years, but I want you to feel at home. I don’t want you to think of this house as mine. I want you to think of it as ours. I want you to have all the things you love there. Painting, vases, things you have acquired that will make you feel comfortable and make it seem more familiar.”He was being sweet and accommodating.
“I do have some things that I would like to take. My clothes, my books, my cameras and some paintings. Oh,an my favorite bedroom chair. It’s the large one with the matching ottoman. Otherwise, everything else can stay with Tommy.”
“What about your bed?”
“I don’t think I need my bed. Unless we aren’t sleeping together, that is.”I giggled.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course were sleeping together. I just thought it had a sentimental value. It is an antique, isn’t it?”
“It is, but it’s not from my family. I purchased it at an estate sale in Tuscany and had it flown here. It was handcrafted iron and I painted over it. The old finish is from using the wrong type of paint. I loved the way it turned out, so I’ve kept it like that for all these years.”I smiled as I remember how frustrated that bed made me, but ultimately turned out beautiful in the end.
“See, it has a memory. I have an idea. What if we bring it down here and use it in this room?
“Dominick, if you haven’t noticed we are already laying in a bed.”
“I know that, but I think we should make this place special. Let’s bring the bed here and redecorate the house. We can make your old room the nursery. We need to make changes, Rain. We need a fresh start.”He seemed to be adamant on erasing the past.
“You know changing the decor is not going to erase those memories.”I said, placing my hand over his heart.
“I wish it could.”He whispered and lowered his head.
“I don’t.”I stated.
Dominick’s head snapped up and he frowned.“What do you mean you don’t? I kidnapped you. Is that the memory you want when hold our child here?”
“Dominick, you can’t take away what happened and besides you said yourself that your only regret was not kidnapping me sooner. The way we came together wasn’t normal, I’m not saying it was, but what came out of it and where we go from here is what really matters. I don’t want to forget about how we met. We’re the only ones that can keep it from being ugly. Don’t make it ugly, Dominick. Make it something that was destined to happen to us. Two lost people who finally found one another. That’s what counts.”
He came closer and we wrapped our arms around each other. He kissed the top of my head and said,“I got lucky when I took you. My whole world changed, Rain. You own me, baby. Heart and soul.”
“I love you, Dominick. Now feed me.”I giggled.
He let out a huge laugh that vibrated against my entire body. It was contagious. I continued to laugh right along with him. Then he pulled back and said“How about we get some of your clothes today and the rest the of th
e things you want to bring we can get over the weekend. I don’t think I can get the movers to pick up the chair to bring to the house in New York until next week. With it being New Year’s Day, it’s virtually impossible.”He seemed determined to make me happy and dispel any fears he may have of me not moving in.
“That’s fine. We should also leave the bed until we can determine where to put the furniture you already have here.”
“If it’s okay with you, why don’t we just make a switch? Your bedroom can come down here and this furniture can go into your old room. This way the space won’t be empty. Conte may want it for guests.”He had it all planned out.
“Tommy doesn’t invite guests over that would require a spare room. His overnight guests usually end up in his bed.”I said with a smirked on my face.
“I wasn’t talking about the women he sleeps with. I was talking about house guests. You know like his parents or Mema and Antonio.”
“Hmmm, that’s great idea. His parents rarely stayed overbefore, but when they did, Tommy had to sleep on our sofa, so they could stay in his room. Mema and Antonio usually spent their time at my dad’s, when they would come to visit.”I stated.
“Well, now they will have four places they can stay.”He revealed.
“Four?”
“Yeah, Tommy’s place, your dad’s duplex, our place in the city and here down the shore.”He said it so naturally.
I smiled at him with such a full heart.“Thank you, Dominick.”
“Anything for you, Rain. I love you, baby.”He took my mouth and kissed me long and hard. Eventually after an afternoon in Dominick’s.... our bed; we got dressed and headed back up to the city to move me out of my house and move me into my new home.
As Dominick drove up the Garden State Parkway and headed towards Manhattan, I gazed out the window wondering what Tommy was going to say. I knew Tommy. He wouldn’t cause a scene. He wasn’t like that. He would take me aside and tell me that I’m crazy in private. It really didn’t matter. It’s not that I didn’t appreciate that Tommy cared about me, I did appreciate him and his advice, but I’m just not going to follow it. I was going to follow my heart where Dominick was concerned. Life is about taking chances and that’s exactly what I was going to do.
“Rain, what are you thinking about?”Dominick said, pulling me from my daydream.
“Tommy.”I said, as I turned to face him.
“What about Conte?”Dominick’s was tense.
“I’m just worried about telling him that I’m moving out. I mean we’ve lived together most of our lives.”
“Baby, Conte’s a big boy. He had to know that someday you would meet someone and possibly move out.”Dominick’s statement made sense.
“I guess you’re right. It’s just not going to be as easy as I thought.”
“Well easy or not, I’ll be right there with you.”
“I know you will. Thank you for that.”I smiled at him warmly.
Traffic was not as heavy as I had expected it to be for New Years Day. It was about 6:30pm and many people were probably having an early dinner or haven’t even gone out yet. I’m was happy to just get to the house and get the announcement over with. That way I could grab some stuff now and the rest over the weekend. That way I would feel less anxious and more settled.
Dominick parked the car in a vacant spot in front of my place. How lucky, now we don’t have carry my clothes all the way down the street. We walked up the stairs to the front door arm in arm. I just was about to put the key in the door when Marcelo opened it.
“Bella! You’re back!”He was just a little too excited to see me.
“Marcelo, I see it didn’t take you very long to settle in.”I stated smugly as I walked past him, effectively avoiding his open arms.
Dominick sized him up, but said nothing. Whew! Obstacle number one had been avoided.
Tumbling down the stairs in torn jeans and no shirt, tattoos gleaming from his very recent shower was Tommy. His hair was soaked and tousled. He had a huge smile on his face. I gladly walked intohis open arms. Tommy wrapped around me as if he hadn’t seen me in months, let alone a couple of days. No, this wasn’t going to be easy.
“Hey, baby. How are you? How are you feeling?”His voice was soft and provided a comforting relief.
“Hi, Tommy. I’m good. I feel really good.”He leaned back without letting go so he could give me the once over and know I wasn’t bullshitting him.
He then turned his attention to Dominick without letting go of me. Dominick’s jaw tightened. Obstacle number two not avoided, not yet anyway. Marcelo moved forward and shut the door. He may have also felt the tension thicken.
“Well, Kane, Happy New Year. Thanks for bringing Rain home safe and sound.”Tommy’s voice was laced with sarcasm.
“Happy New Year, Conte. Rain isn’t quite home,yet. Are you, baby?”Additional sarcasmcame from Dominick’s statement.
UH-OH.
“Rain, what’s he talking about?”Tommy held me out at arms length and had a look of disapproval on his face.
“I’m moving in with Dominick. I thought I would pick up a couple of things now and then come by during the week to get the rest.”I tried to seem like it was the natural choice. Which it was, but Tommy wasn’t buying it.
“Would you excuse us for a minute.”Tommy whipped around and pulled me into the kitchen.
“ARE YOU FUCKING OUT OF YOUR MIND!”He bellowed.
“Shhh....He’ll hear you.”I said putting my index finger to my lips and scrunched my face in disbelief.
“I don’t give a shit what he hears. This is between me and you, not him.”He was acting like a child.
My jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe the way he was acting. I knew he would be sad, maybe even upset; but childish. That’s usually Dominick’s m.o., not Tommy’s.
“Okay,‘Mr. Acting Like a Two Year Old’, you’ll give two shits if I don’t speak to you again. Is that what you want? Is that how you want our friendship of a lifetime to end? You’re being ridiculous. I’m having a child with Dominick. I love him. I want this, Tommy. Please don’t be the one to cause friction. I would understand if it were my dad or even Raven, but you. You know what being under Cella’s control was like. Please let me have this. Don’t do this to me. Don’t make me choose. Please, Tommy.” I begged and then turned to leaned against the frig. I slid my exhausted body to the floor. I brought my knees to my torso and buried my weary head, shaking it slowly.
After a moment I heard a resolved sigh leave Tommy’s lips.
“Shit, Rain. I’m sorry,baby.”I looked up just as Tommy slid his body down next to me. We sat on the kitchen floor side by side, facing forward. We didn’t look at each other, but Tommy reached out and grabbed my pinky finger with his. I knew we were good.
I grinned.
“What’s with that grin, Rain.”He was amusingly frustrated.
I jiggled our connected fingers, looked at him and smiled.“I knew you would give in.”
Tommy let out a deep breath and his expression took a serious turn.
“You piss me off. You make me laugh. You make me want to choke you at times, but I love you and I want what’s best for you. If you think Kane is it, then I’ll support your decision. But…. and this is a big but, if he so much as looks at you the wrong way, all bets are off. You know how I feel about him, but I’m going to give him a chance for your sake only. Deal?”
I smiled, kissed his cheek and lean closer and Tommy’s arm came around my shoulders.
“Deal. Thank you, Tommy. You know I love you, too. With all of my heart, I love you. I have to take this chance on life. I have to do it for all three of us; Dominick, our baby and me. I can’t have a what if or a regret. I just can’t, but I promise that if things look like they could get bad and I can’t work them out in a reasonable way with him, then I’ll tell you. I’ve never lied to you before and I won’t start now.”
“Okay, Rain. I’m going to hold you to it.”Tommy calmed.
Just t
hen the kitchen door swung open. Dominick looked at both of us, realizing that the situation between Tommy and me ended well.
“Are you okay?”He said compassionately.
“Yeah, I think we’re good now.”I gave Tommy a smile and a small nudge.
Dominick gave me a small smile and held out his hand. I took it, looked at Tommy, kissed his cheek and let Dominick pull me up into his arms. Tommy followed and stood next to me. Then he spoke to Dominick, as if I was his little sister going on her first real date.
“You’re right, Kane. We are good. Nothing, not even you, can hurt me or Rain. I’m not saying this to cause an argument. I’m saying it because my connection with Rain runs deeper than most people have with the family or friends in their lives. I’ve seen what her mother’s obsessive control has done to her in the past and I’ll be damned if you or anyone else tries to control her in anyway now or in the future.”
Identity: …………..People aren’t always who you believe them to be (Miss Taken Identity Series Book 2) Page 11