by Marian Tee
She acted like she didn’t hear him. “I’ve thought this through. You’re worried about what others would say, right? You can tell them that I begged to come back. I won’t argue. I just want things to be over in any way---”
“No!”
He had shouted.
Misty was stunned. Domenico never shouted. He wasn’t the type.
Domenico tried to keep his fury under control, but God, hearing Misty personally demand a separation made him want to kill someone. “It’s not over between us,” he gritted out.
Saddened eyes met his. “Of course it is.”
His usual impatience got to him, and Domenico strode toward her. Misty tried to back away, but she was too slow and he was too fast. In a second, he was gripping her hands, forcing her to look at him. “Misty, I want another chance.”
“There’s no need,” she said tonelessly. “I gave you what you wanted---”
“I don’t care about anything but you!” he shouted.
“And you expect me to believe that?”
This time, she had shocked him.
Because she wasn’t the type to shout either and here she was, doing just that.
Taking advantage of his apparent shock, Misty wrenched herself away from Domenico. “I want the cutting of ties,” she told him tightly. “This time, if you’re not going to present it to the Council, then I will.”
~~~
Misty was still trembling as she entered the private hospital suite where Estrella Moretti had been confined for two nights already. Memories of her earlier confrontation with Domenico was messing her up internally, making her feel things she no longer wanted to feel. Domenico had stalked off after their argument and she couldn’t believe how painful it was to see him go. It just proved one horrible truth. She was still so, so stupidly in love with him. It was embarrassing.
But…she had to be strong. She had to.
“Misty!” Her sister-in-law’s face brightened upon seeing her.
Pushing her dark thoughts away, Misty summoned a smile as she rushed to Estrella’s bed and hugged the younger woman. “I’m so glad to see you’re okay.”
“More or less,” Estrella said.
When Misty pulled away, she was sad to see that although the girl was smiling, it didn’t reach her eyes. Misty stroked Estrella’s dark hair. “I swear, if I ever come face to face with the monster who hurt you, I’m going to cut him to pieces.”
The whole room became silent.
She colored.
“War freak?” Alessandro, one of Domenico’s younger brothers, finally asked. “The Faeries, the gentlest race of all, turned you into a war freak?”
Everyone burst into laughter.
Misty made a face. “Hahaha.”
“Seriously, what happened?” Alejandro, twin to Alessandro, asked.
She beamed proudly. “I’m now a Level 2 swordswoman!”
The twins whistled in appreciation.
“Really?” Emilia, the baby of the Moretti family, gasped.
Esmeralda interrupted, “But don’t you have to be, like, graceful to do that?”
Misty’s eyes narrowed. “Are you implying something?”
Everyone became silent again.
“Well…” Esmeralda hedged, and the whole room erupted into laughter once more.
The door opened and Domenico came walking in, and the room fell silent for the third time. Try as she might, Misty couldn’t stop staring at him. He had changed into a white cotton sweater, sleeves pushed up to his elbows to reveal his muscular arms. His tan-colored corduroy slacks had a semi-loose fit, like his sweater, but even so they failed to detract from Domenico’s sheer sexiness.
Something inside her responded, making Misty squeeze her thighs together uncomfortably.
Domenico didn’t appear to notice the tense silence in the room, his stride relaxed as he nodded at Misty before bending down to kiss Estrella on the cheek. “Hello, little sister. Feeling better?”
“Now that Misty’s here, I’m doing a lot better,” his sister replied innocently.
Misty choked.
Domenico grinned. “I swear I didn’t teach her that.”
Everyone relaxed at the teasing tone of Domenico. She wanted to relax, too, but she was too busy trying not to show how dazzled she was by Domenico’s grin. The old Domenico Moretti she knew never grinned that easily. Back then, she had to crack a hundred jokes just to have Domenico Moretti flash teeth and not fangs.
Misty knew she had changed, but it was beginning to be clear to her that she wasn’t the only one who had changed.
Domenico remained carefree throughout their visit, which made Misty feel confused and wary. Hurt, too, because it made her wonder if Domenico had been faking all along. Perhaps he really hadn’t wanted her back?
Either way, it didn’t matter, she told herself furiously. Things were over between them.
When Estrella’s nurse bid them to leave, the twins begged her to join them for dinner.
Her smile tight because it pained her to think about all the dinners she had with the Morettis and the dinners she would no longer have a right to join, Misty shook her head, mumbling, “I’m sorry. I can’t right now. I have lots of stuff to do.”
“Then next time,” Alessandro pressed. “We haven’t seen you for almost two years, Misty. Don’t blow us off like this.”
She glanced at Domenico helplessly.
“Of course,” he said gently. “Whatever happens, we’re still family.”
After the meal, which was even more bittersweet than she anticipated, Domenico insisted on taking her back to her hotel, where Daryl was waiting. She acquiesced, seeing no reason why she shouldn’t, when he was being oh-so-agreeable. Inside his also painfully familiar limousine, Domenico made no move to engage her in small talk and even took the seat across her.
Misty told herself that it only meant he was seeing things the way she did, that he finally understood what he had done to her was unforgivable.
Miserably, she wondered why she was bothering to convince herself of something so pathetically untrue.
“Misty.” Domenico suddenly broke the silence, making Misty look at him, startled.
But he was still gazing outside the window, and his next words made Misty thankful that he wasn’t looking at her.
“I’ve presented our papers to the Council.”
Misty’s heart stopped beating for a second when the words sank into her mind.
They really were going to separate.
She had asked for this, demanded for it even, but now that it was truly happening, Misty suddenly felt lost and helpless. What was she going to do now?
Domenico finally glanced at her, his green eyes quietly probing. “This is what you wanted, yes?”
She nodded, mutely.
“You’re not going to change your mind?”
Misty’s brows furrowed as she sought to read behind the blandness of Domenico’s voice. Was he teasing her? Right now, she couldn’t tell at all. “What happened?” she asked finally. “You suddenly…changed.”
He shrugged.
His refusal to answer deflated her, and the heaviness in her heart grew as she saw her hotel in the distance. Just a few minutes more, and he would be gone from her life. Again. For good.
An unexpected sob escaped her.
It was the cue Domenico was waiting for, and he seized it.
Misty blinked in confusion when Domenico suddenly sprang forward, and she gasped when his hands spanned her waist before carrying her to him. Her legs automatically spread open when she landed on his lap.
“Domeni---” The rest of his name was lost in his kiss.
Domenico splayed one hand on Misty’s buttocks to push her forward. His other hand took a fistful of her hair, using it to angle her head so he could kiss her as deeply as his tongue could reach inside her mouth.
This kiss was the greatest gamble of his life. And it scared him, so much that Domenico gave it everything he had, using all the skills a
nd techniques he had acquired over the years. She didn’t have to be still in love with him, but dammit, she had to be in lust with him! That was a good enough place to start from.
Domenico sucked on her tongue, his lips coaxing, caressing Misty’s back with light touches, and finally he felt it.
Misty sobbed without knowing why even as she twirled her arms around Domenico’s neck. Suddenly, she couldn’t get close enough, couldn’t feel enough of his skin. Frantically, she tugged his sweater up even though she couldn’t make herself let go of Domenico’s lips.
He solved the problem quickly by ripping it away.
Misty gasped, but her hands were already busily reacquainting itself with the silky hardness of Domenico’s naked chest, loving how his muscles rippled at her slightest touch. Maybe it was just her imagination, but Domenico felt so much…harder. Stronger. Larger than life. The thought made her shiver with desire, and she felt even more frantic to feel the rest of his body naked. She tugged at his belt, frustrated at how slow and clumsy she was. As Domenico lifted his hips so she could pull his slacks down, his hands also went to the back of her dress.
A loud ripping sound momentarily drowned the sound of Domenico’s rough pants and her whimpers. The tattered remains of her dress fell to the floor silently.
Her breasts bounced into his waiting hands and Misty moaned when Domenico squeezed them as if in welcome. Oh, God, how she had missed his touch.
Domenico held her by the hair, pulling her close so he could nip her ear before whispering, “I’ve burned for you every night you were gone, Misty.” At the end of his words, he took a hold of her lace panties – the only piece of clothing left on her body – and tore it away.
Misty’s legs fell open in surrender as his hand went to her sex. Her back against his chest, she couldn’t keep another cry of desire from escaping as he dipped his fingers in her wetness, the tips grazing her entrance without actually going in.
“Domenico,” she sobbed.
“Do you know how much I’ve dreamt of this, Misty?” His hold on her tightened almost painfully, but it only served to whet her desire and she lifted her hips shamelessly, wanting his fingers to penetrate her.
But Domenico’s fingers only moved away, trailing back up to play with her nipple before tugging it repeatedly until the tip was at its longest, as painfully aroused as the rest of her body.
“I touch myself when I can’t bear another moment of knowing that you were gone, and I imagine that you were touching me.” He tugged at her nipple again.
“Domenico.”
But he wasn’t finished. “I will fuck you until the sun rises, and you will let me.”
The words – the images that it evoked – the clipped edge of his voice, all of it almost sent her to the edge.
“Say you’ll let me fuck you till tomorrow,” Domenico commanded harshly.
“I’ll let you fuck me till tomorrow,” she sobbed.
Without warning, he rearranged their position on the leather seat, placing Misty on all fours while he half knelt behind her.
“Aaaah.” Domenico’s cock rammed into her body from behind, and the force of his thrust caused her to flatten her palms on the limousine door in front her.
Domenico almost lost control as Misty’s moist heat surrounded his cock. The feeling of being inside Misty’s body was a hundred – a million – times better than anything he had desperately tried to recreate all those nights with just his hand.
Almost savagely, he pumped his cock in and out of her, one hand gripping her buttocks to hold her steady while his other arm was curled around her waist, keeping her suspended. Misty’s arms were stretched forward, palms still braced against the door, her breasts jiggling at each thrust he made.
“Look at me,” he growled.
Misty twisted her head to face him, long dark hair falling to the other side, revealing the naked desire on her face. But something else was there – something he had desperately wanted to see, something that made him shove his cock as hard and as deep as he could into her hot moist depths.
“Misty.” He grabbed her hair so she wouldn’t stop looking at him, wouldn’t stop knowing who owned her body, if not her heart.
Misty cried out as Domenico’s cock pounded into her body nonstop. She couldn’t tear her gaze off his face this time, couldn’t help but be mesmerized at the almost hopeless yearning in his green eyes.
Suddenly, he bent forward, causing the entire length of his cock to fill her.
She screamed, and she screamed again when he touched her clit even as his cock didn’t stop thrusting in and out of her.
“Come for me, Misty,” he rasped against her throat.
She sobbed, her body instantly reacting to his command.
“I want to feel you come now.”
And she came, her body bucking as Domenico played with her clit like a guitar even as his cock shoved into her body one last time, pouring out his seed.
As Misty gradually regained her senses, shame filled her as she realized how easily she had succumbed to Domenico’s touch.
Sixteen months.
For sixteen months she had worked hard to kill her feelings for Domenico and with just one touch, all her hard work had been for naught.
She tried to get away, but Domenico’s arm around her waist immediately turned into a band of steel, keeping her imprisoned in his arms.
“Let me go!”
“Not until you hear what I have to say.”
“There’s nothing for us to say anymore!”
In response, Domenico only pulled his still-erect cock out of her body a few inches before pushing it back in with one solid possessive thrust.
Misty moaned.
“You’re mine, Misty.”
Behind her, Misty felt Domenico gently lift her hair off her back, letting it spill over her shoulders so he could press a small kiss to her back.
She started to cry.
“I love you, Misty.”
She cried harder at that.
Her sobs tore at him, but Domenico didn’t let it sway him. He was doing this for both of them. Soon, she would know this, too. Hardening his voice, he said, “This time, I will make sure you have no doubts about how much you fucking mean to me.”
“It’s too late,” she wept. “It’s just too---” she gasped when Domenico’s fingers found her clit, pressing against it ever so gently.
“It’s never too late for the two of us. I will make you fall in love with me again, Misty. No one – not even your goddamn Faeries – can take you away from me.”
He slowly withdrew from her. Tired both physically and emotionally, Misty allowed Domenico to clean her and dress her. She wasn’t even surprised that he had a spare set of clothing for her. He was always like that, prepared for every eventuality.
When she was properly covered in a dress that she remembered buying a year ago, Domenico placed her on his lap. Her eyes started to tear again when she saw him take out a hair brush.
“No---”
Ignoring her protest, Domenico started brushing her hair. At the same time, he pressed the intercom button, instructing the driver to take them back to her hotel. When he was done, Domenico looked at her, his eyes steely, his voice uncompromising as he spoke. “We’ll go to Daryl together. You will tell him that you are spending the night with me.”
In spite of herself, her toes curled at the sexual hunger in his gaze. He really was going to fuck her till the sun rose.
“Just for tonight,” she heard herself saying. “But tomorrow – we’re over, Domenico.”
“You can tell yourself whatever you want to, but when you let me fuck you tonight, I had my answer. You want me, Misty, and that’s enough for me for now. But mark my words. I will make you fall in love with me again – more than you have ever been, so much that you won’t ever think of leaving me again.”
Chapter Two
Misty was still in a daze when she walked past Domenico as he locked the door behind her with a resounding cl
ick. She couldn’t believe how so many things had happened so fast, couldn’t believe how after more than a year of torturing herself with memories from the past, she had given herself up so easily. Was she never to be free of Domenico Moretti?
And Daryl---her so-called friend, the one who was supposed to keep her away from trouble---had simply given her a sheepish wave when Domenico told him with a very charming smile that he and Misty would be enjoying a nightcap in his room.