Dark Dominion: Dangerous Desire Book 1

by Samantha Wolfe

  "You're blushing again aren't you?" she asked giddily.

  "Oh yeah, she is," Dean chimed in with clear amusement. I was on a conference call with both my best friends. "It's probably the same color he turned her ass."

  "I hate you, Dean Shepherd," I retorted as my face heated even more.

  "Uh, uh," he answered. "You love me. That's why you tell me all your dirty kinky secrets."

  "And I'm quickly regretting it now," I grumbled out irritably. The two of them had been razzing me off and on since our lunch on Wednesday. After my incredible night with Gareth, I had to tell somebody about it.

  "You had to tell us," Willa added, echoing my thoughts. "It's in the Best Friends Manual. It clearly states that any dirty kinky sex details must be immediately divulged to your BFFs within forty-eight hours of its completion."

  "I think this manual needs revised to include a non-harassment clause after the kinky sex details are shared," I added in a petulant tone. "You guys are jerks."

  "Honey," Dean added conspiratorially. "You're not the first person in this little group to be on the right side of a kinky man with a penchant for corporal punishment."

  Willa gasped. "And why is this the first we're hearing this juicy bit of info?" she asked in an offended tone. "When and where did this happen?"

  "Several years ago," he replied. His voice dropped conspiratorially. "In a kinky sex club."

  "Sex club?" I asked incredulously. "There's a sex club in town?"

  "Oh yeah," he answered suggestively. "You wouldn't believe the shit I saw in there."

  "Oooo," Willa said excitedly. "I need details, and I need them now."

  "On that note, I'm out," I chimed in before Dean could embarrass me anymore. "I'm at Lydia's house, and I have to go now."

  "Your loss, honey," Dean said in a lascivious tone.

  "I think I'll live just fine without knowing," I answered with finality. "Love you guys. Talk to you later." I ended the call as I shook my head and grinned. Those two were certifiable, but I loved them to death.

  I got out of my little silver Mazda3 hatchback and made my way up the shoveled sidewalk toward Andy and Lydia's little gray Craftsman-style bungalow. I climbed up the brick steps and approached the beautiful hardwood front door. I loved my sister's home. It had warmth and life. I hoped someday to have my own place with so much character. The front door popped open before I even had a chance to ring the doorbell.

  Andy stood there with a harried and terrified look on his face with little Alice tucked in close to his chest. His newborn baby was swaddled up in a blanket, red-faced, and screaming at the top of her lungs.

  "Thank God, you're here," Andy blurted out as relief flowed across his features. "I can't get her to stop crying," he said waveringly. His eyes turned watery, and I was actually afraid that he was going to start crying too.

  "Where's Lydia?" I asked as I walked in and closed the door, not sure what he thought I was going to do for him. I didn't have a clue about babies.

  "She had to go back to the store for something I missed on her shopping list when she sent me there this morning." He looked down at his daughter with scared and worried eyes. "Alice nursed right before Lydia left so I don't think she's hungry. I changed her diaper, and I've been rocking her and singing to her. She's been crying for almost a half hour now, and I don't know what else to do."

  Tears started dripping from his eyes as he looked down at his daughter. "Don't cry baby, your daddy is here," he said pathetically as he started rocking her again. Alice wailed even louder. Andy looked up at me helplessly. "I thought I could do this. I told Lydia I got this, but now she'll never leave me alone with her again," he said dejectedly.

  I stared at Andy in shock. I'd never seen him like this. He was always so confident and could handle just about anything. Right now, he just looked lost. It was up to me to do something.

  "Come on." I grabbed his arm and led him to my sister's gourmet kitchen, she was a head chef after all, and went straight to Lydia's laptop on the island. Lydia kept all her recipes on it, so it was always in the kitchen.

  I turned it on and waited for it to boot up while Andy continued rocking a screaming Alice. Finally, I opened the search engine and found what I needed on the first search. I scanned down the page of reasons a baby would cry. One caught my attention.

  I turned to look at my niece who was swaddled in a blanket. I stepped closer to my brother-in-law and began peeling back the blanket. Underneath, was yet another blanket, and poor little Alice was dressed in several more layers of clothing. I pulled enough of her clothes aside to rest my fingers on her neck. She felt hot and sweaty.

  "Andy," I said scoldingly. "She's roasting in all these layers. No wonder she's pissed."

  "I didn't want her to get cold," he said with a pained expression. "It's February for fuck's sake. What if she got sick?"

  "Well, making her sweat like she's in a sauna isn't good for her either. What if she overheats?"

  "Oh," he said sheepishly. He gave me a pained apologetic expression.

  "It says she should wear one more layer than we would wear, not three layers and two blankets," I told him after looking at the laptop screen again.

  "I'll go take some of them off." He turned and walked out with his daughter, who was already settling down now that the two blankets weren't sweltering her anymore.

  I shook my head at him. He was trying so hard, and it was so sweet. My sister was a lucky woman. I'd had friends where the father of their kids didn't show much interest in their own babies at all. Andy was going to be a phenomenal father.

  The sound of the nearby door to the garage opening caught my attention. I turned to see Lydia walking in with a shopping bag.

  "Hey," Lydia said with a wide smile. "You're here early."

  "I wanted more time with Alice," I replied with an answering grin.

  Lydia set the bag on the counter and hugged me.

  "How are you feeling?" I asked as we stepped apart.

  "I'm tired," she answered with a sigh. "Physically and emotionally. Everything is so different now. I feel like I'm flailing around in the dark trying to find my way. It's terrifying, but so amazing too." She glanced around the room. "Where's Andy and Alice?"

  "I think he went to change her diaper," I replied, covering for Andy's freak out.

  "He's probably gagging through it again," she said with a laugh. "It's hilarious. I've never seen or smelled anything quite as gross as baby poop. It was all I could not to gag myself, but don't tell him that."

  "I won't," I promised happily.

  Lydia began pulling food out for the dinner she was making tonight for Dad and me, and handing them to me to set on the counter. A few minutes of comfortable silence passed. Helping my sister in the kitchen was comforting and familiar, even if it made me feel sad that Mom wasn't here to help too. Mom had been one hell of a cook, and Lydia's inspiration for going into the culinary arts.

  "You should come over tomorrow night too," Lydia suggested out of nowhere. "Andy's family is coming over for dinner. There'll be plenty of food."

  Ordinarily, I'd have accepted her invitation. I loved Andy's parents and his sister Jenny, and though I didn't know her fiancé Ford well, I liked him too. Besides, it's not like I had an active social life beyond Dean and Willa most of the time, but not tomorrow.

  "I'd love to, but I have a date," I announced a little smugly. I couldn't remember the last time I turned down a dinner invite from my big sister. Lydia smiled broadly and opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted.

  "A date?" Andy asked sternly as he walked into the kitchen, his eyes narrowing suspiciously at me as he carried a now quiet and sleeping Alice over to her portable bassinet contraption nearby. He laid her down gently and straightened. "With who?" he asked demandingly.

  I sighed. Andy was very protective of the women in his life, and particularly me. Clay, the last guy I dated two years ago, had been charismatic and a very good actor, and he'd sucked me into his lies for seve
ral months. I'd been devastated to find out he was cheating on me, and so I dumped him. The arrogant bastard then ended up dating Andy's best friend's wife a few months later before Sydney even met Jensen. Clay cheated on her too, and came unhinged after she broke up with him. He started stalking her, and ended up assaulting her.

  When Jensen went to confront the lunatic at his house, Andy followed him there to stop him from doing something stupid. Clay pulled a gun on them both in his front yard, and grazed Andy's arm with a bullet before being gunned down by the police who showed up to arrest him for assaulting another of Andy's friends. Understandably, the entire situation made Andy protective of me. That psycho could have easily gone off the rails and gone after me instead. It was part of the reason I'd sworn off men ever since, until now.

  "I met him at Natalie and David's wedding last weekend," I said, hoping he'd let it go at that. Yeah right, like that would happen.

  "Do I know this asshole?" Andy asked sharply as he stepped closer.

  "He's not an asshole," I replied defensively. Andy was acting like he was my father. I was almost thirty-years-old for heaven's sake.

  "You don't know that yet," he shot back as he stiffened, his blue eyes flashing with anger. "Tell me who it is, and I'll make sure he's not a fucking douchebag."

  "Andy," Lydia scolded him with a hard glare. "Stop it. Mal can date whoever she wants." She stared at him until he relaxed a little, then she looked at me. "I am curious who it is though. What's his name?"

  "His name is Gareth," I answered, glad that Lydia had gotten her husband to back off a little.

  "Caxton?" Andy asked in surprise as his eyes widened.

  "Yeah, you know him?" I asked incredulously. I never thought in a millions years that Andy, who was as blue collar as they come, would know a wealthy man like Gareth.

  "He's Ford and Natalie's stepbrother, and he was Ford's defense lawyer last fall when he was charged with those bullshit rape allegations," Andy replied with a slight frown that worried me. "I don't know him that well. He seems like a decent dude, but from what I've seen he's seriously intense and moody, Mal."

  I'd gotten a taste of his moodiness, and it didn't bother me. In fact, the broodiness was kind of a turn on. And as for being intense, I was more than okay with it, especially in the bedroom. He could turn that intensity on me again anytime he liked. Obviously, I wasn't going to tell Andy any of that. I'd also seen a softer side peek out of Gareth a few times too. I had a feeling that very few people got to see that side of him, and I felt privileged that he'd shown it to me. However, I was wrong about Clay two years ago, and I could be wrong again.

  "So is he an asshole or not?" I asked worriedly.

  "I don't think so," Andy answered quietly as he frowned slightly. "But I don't want to see you get hurt, so just...be careful."

  What I really wanted to say was that being careful my whole hadn't gotten me anything but loneliness and an empty bed. I wanted to be wild and reckless. I wanted more of the dangerous desire that Gareth had shown me I was capable of and now found myself craving. I wanted to take the risk of being hurt no matter the cost to my heart, because I just knew there could be true happiness if I took that risk with the right man. I was done being careful. I really wanted to live. I wanted to find love.

  "I will," I assured Andy in a firm tone, but what I was really doing was assuring myself that I would eventually find what I was looking for.

  **********

  "This is my favorite restaurant in town," Gareth announced with a smile as he pulled his Range Rover to a stop in front of a very familiar building. "Have you been here before?" he asked curiously.

  "Many times," I replied with a wry smile, suppressing a sigh as I stared out at the entrance to The Glass House, where my sister worked. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. It was one of the best and most popular restaurants in town. I was just thankful that Lydia was on maternity leave. I knew she'd have used our waitress as her own personal spy to keep tabs on my date.

  Before I could say anything else, the valet opened my door. This was new. I'd never used the valet parking before, here or anywhere else for that matter.

  "Good evening, ma'am," the young man who opened my door said politely. "Welcome to The Glass House." He reached out to give me a hand out of the SUV.

  "Thanks," I mumbled as I stepped onto the sidewalk, feeling a little uncomfortable with this kind of VIP treatment. It was short-lived though since Gareth had already gotten out of the vehicle and was beside me. He gave the valet his keys with a nod, placed a possessive hand on the small of my back, and escorted me into the building and out of the cold. His proprietary treatment made me feel a little warm and gooey inside.

  Once inside, a young woman approached and offered to take our coats. Gareth slipped his off immediately, giving it to her. He turned and helped me slip mine off, the heat of his body close to mine. He absently handed my coat off to the woman as I turned to face him.

  "Mmm," Gareth hummed as his eyes seared down my body, his eyes bright with arousal. "You look stunning, Malory," he added with a low growl.

  I was wearing the same short burgundy dress with the open back I wore to the wedding last weekend, per Gareth's request, as well as the same tall black suede boots. It was the second time he'd politely told me what to wear for our date. His control over this night had begun the second I slipped into the dress, and I'd been in a constant state of arousal ever since. I know that was what he intended. I suspected that Gareth planned nothing on a whim, tonight or ever. Every carefully orchestrated exertion of his control over me was foreplay for what came later, and oh boy, I bet I'd be coming a lot.

  His eyes came back up to mine. "Just beautiful," he whispered. His smile was wicked and held dark promises of what he planned to do to me later.

  I shuddered in reaction, and his eyes turned black and glittered with desire. He looked sexy and dangerous with his messily styled dark hair and stubbly beard. He was drop-dead gorgeous in the same all black Brioni suit he'd worn when we met, but this time he wore a burgundy tie which I was sure he'd chosen purposely to match my dress. I'd never seen a man wear black like Gareth Caxton. It was absolutely swoon-worthy.

  Gareth leaned in until his lips brushed my ear and spoke quietly. "Tonight, I finally get to watch you peel this dress off your gorgeous body for me like I wanted to the first time I saw you." His low sexual voice sent a shiver down my spine. "I'd have you do it right now if it wouldn't get us kicked out of here and arrested," he added in a husky whisper.

  His fingers slid softly down the bare skin of my spine in a warm tingling caress that made gooseflesh ripple across my skin. Part of me wanted him to do it. I felt my face and body heat with equal parts embarrassment and passion.

  "Mr. Caxton?" a female voice announced. The hostess had approached us without me realizing it. I guess he wasn't kidding about this being his favorite restaurant since they knew him by name. Gareth had dominated my whole world there for a few moments. "Your table is ready, sir," she said with a gracious smile, but I didn't miss her eyes skate down Gareth's body appreciatively. I couldn't even be mad at her. The man looked incredible tonight with his broad shoulders and toned body filling out his suit to perfection.

  "Very well," he said before motioning me ahead of him to follow the hostess. "After you, beautiful." He pressed a warm hand to my lower back as we followed the hostess. I shivered yet again, and I clearly heard Gareth growl low in his throat in response, his fingertips digging into my skin slightly.

  The hostess led us across the room past all the tables, and I admired the gorgeous dining room with its hand-blown glass pendant lights hanging over each elegantly set table. Dark wood and burnished steel accents gleamed in the low romantic lighting that filled the busy room. The massive glass windows that stretched across one side of the room, and gave the restaurant its name, were now black since it was dark outside, but I knew that during the day they looked out over a picturesque pond and garden. It truly was a beautiful restaurant.
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  We followed the hostess until we came to a door I'd never noticed before. She opened it and ushered us inside into a large room that must be for private parties. Tonight though, it wasn't going to be used for a group at all. Just one small table sat in the center of the room. It was set for only two, with a crisp white table cloth. The lights had been turned down low, and a single burgundy candle glowed from the center of the table, gleaming off the silverware. A precisely folded burgundy napkin sat at each place setting. It was simple, yet elegant, and I loved it. I turned a wide smile at Gareth, who simply nodded in acknowledgment with a small smile of his own.

  "Have a seat," the hostess said as she motioned toward the table. "Your server, Veronica, will me in shortly."

  Gareth thanked her as she left us alone in the room. He immediately ushered me over to the table and pulled out a chair for me. "Have a seat, beautiful, we have a lot to discuss before we go to my penthouse tonight."

  I gave him a curious expression as I took a seat, wondering what he was talking about. He took the chair across from me, grabbed the already open bottle of wine, and poured some of the ruby-red liquid into my wine glass. He filled his own glass as well, before leaning back from the table to take a sip of his wine.

  "Remember when I mentioned hard limits on Tuesday?" he asked with a more stern expression as his demeanor began to shift into something dark, powerful, and utterly mesmerizing.

  I nodded dumbly in reply as I watched him raptly, ensnared and dazed by his sudden shift of mood. Gareth's eyes hardened, and one dark expressive brow rose expectantly. A long pregnant silence stretched out uncomfortably between us.

  "Um...uh...yes, sir," I blurted out softly as I suddenly realized what just happened. He was now my Dom, my master, and I was expected to reply appropriately.

  "Have you ever used sex toys before, Malory?" he asked in an even tone, like it was an everyday conversation we were having. I, on the other hand, began blushing furiously.