Her Dom's Lesson (Dominic Powers Book 2) (19 page)

“Of course.  Ask away.”

“Are you one of those Doms, too?”

Withholding my mirth at how he phrased it, I answer the real, underlying question that he didn’t ask.  “I am a Dom, yes, and Sophia is my submissive.  But, you probably got the wrong impression from Harrison. 

“We have a loving, committed and
monogamous
relationship.  There is no physical abuse involved and whatever happens is only with her consent.  She holds all the power to stop anything she’s uncomfortable with doing. It’s my job to protect her, love her, and continually earn her trust.”

“Are you planning on marrying her?”

“I am.  I’m never letting her go,” I promise.  “I hope I have your approval to ask her to marry me in the near future.  But, I have to be honest with you.  It will happen with or without your blessing.  That’s not a Dom thing.  That’s a man in love thing.”

Manuel holds out his hand to me to shake, “You’re a good man, Dominic.  I’d be honored to have you in the family.”  We shake and he claps me on the back as we walk back in the kitchen.

Shadow and Tucker have both made themselves at home in the short time we’ve been here.  Shadow is towering over Sarah at the stove while he helps her cook.  “No, no, don’t use regular salt and pepper to season that.  Has no one taught you how to cook, woman?” he playfully scolds her as she laughs energetically. 

“Shadow, if you don’t get away from my stove!” She issues a mock threat but the smile on her face gives her away.

Tucker elbows Shadow out of the way, “Get away from her, man.  She’s busy cooking and you’re interrupting her!”  Turning to Sarah, Tucker says, “You’ll have to excuse him.  We don’t let him out much but every once in a while he escapes.”

Sophia is sitting at the bar, watching the interactions with a small smile on her face, but a little sadness still lingers.  Walking up behind her, I wrap my arms around her and pull her close to me.   “Penny for your thoughts?” I ask, my lips against her ear.  I try to hold back my chuckle as I watch the cold chills crawl down her arm.

“I’ve missed this–the whole family get-together.  Shawn and I used to joke around with Mom when she was cooking.  I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed it until now.  We’ll probably never have it again.”

“Maybe not with him, but we will have our own family and our own memories,” I assure her.  “You’ve reconciled with your parents and we’ll have my parents around.”

She nods, “I know you’re right.  It’s just a mixture of nostalgia and pregnancy hormones.  Besides, I wouldn’t let him near our baby after he just handed me over to Harrison last night.”

I know she loved her brother and had hoped for a happy reunion.  She must’ve been more heartbroken over it than she showed.  Turning her chair around to face me, I hold her face in my hands and keep my voice low.  “Love, I won’t ever let him near
you
or our baby after he did that.  You can put all the blame on me for why he’s not invited to be a part of our lives.” 

She wraps her arms around my waist and hugs me tightly.  “Thank you for taking such good care of me, Dom.”

I kiss the top of her head, “That’s something you never have to thank me for, Sophia.  You’re mine and I love taking care of what’s mine.”

Sarah, Tucker, and Shadow finish setting the table and Shadow pushes Tucker out of the way to claim his seat in front of the main course.  “Move it, Tucker, or lose a limb.  Your choice, man.”

“Rude.  That’s just
rude
,” Tucker shakes his head and takes the seat beside Shadow.

Sophia and I sit next to each other as Sarah and Manuel sit at either end of the table.  Sarah went all out on the spread, but I have a feeling there won’t be much left with the way Shadow and Tucker are eying everything.  Manuel clears his throat and all eyes turn to him.

“I’d like to give special thanks for our daughter coming back to us.  We’ve missed you so much, Sophia.”  Manuel says grace before we all dive into the food like we haven’t eaten in months.

During dinner, Sophia relaxes and becomes more like her usual self again.  She laughs and talks animatedly with her parents about our life in Dallas.  An hour later, we’ve eaten all we can, except maybe Shadow and Tucker, and a quiet tension hangs in the air.  The knowledge that Sophia is about to leave again is weighing heavily on Manuel and Sarah. 

“We all appreciate your hospitality, Sarah and Manuel.  The dinner was absolutely delicious.  We should be going now but we’ll stay in touch.  It’s less than an hour flight to Dallas–we can fly you up to visit with us soon,” I offer.

Sarah stammers at my suggestion, unsure of how to answer.  “That’s much too generous, Dominic.  We can drive to Dallas.”

“It’s okay, Mom.  Really.  Dominic is the best at taking care of me,” Sophia says as her eyes float to me.  “He knows this is important to me, so he wants to make it happen.”

After the hugs, tears, declarations of love, and promises to see each other again soon, we leave for the airport.  Tucker calls Mike, our pilot, and has the jet readied for our departure.  Shadow has been on the phone with his security detail that has been following Harrison since he left the restaurant.  He hangs up his phone and turns to look at me.

“Harrison is back at his house in Dallas.  He called his friend Cortez and they’re discussing how to handle the situation now.  They aren’t onto us, though.”

“How does the security team know what Harrison and Ramon are discussing?” Sophia asks.

One side of Shadow’s lip quirks upward, “Tucker may have dropped a bug or two in Harrison’s house.”  Turning his gaze to me, he says, “They’re planning their next move on you if you don’t pay ‘
Sebastian Montoya’
soon.”

“Let them plan.  We’ll be ready for them this time.”  My hands are clenched into tight fists, ready to pummel Harrison for everything he’s done to Sophia and me.

“I have an idea,” Tucker says.  “It’s not without risks, but it’ll put an end to Harrison and Ramon’s harassment.  I can’t guarantee Shawn won’t be sent to prison afterward, though.”

I turn to Sophia to gauge her reaction, silently questioning her with my eyes.  She gives me an impassive look about her brother.  After his betrayal knowing she is pregnant, I think she has accepted that the brother she once knew is long gone.  Sophia cuddles up to me and lays her head on my shoulder.  Her whisper is murmured so low, I know isn’t meant for me to hear actually it.

“I can live without any other man but you.”

Sophia

It’s been two weeks since our visit to Austin and we have had Face Time chats with my parents nearly every day.  It was awkward at first, but soon the conversations flowed naturally and it felt like old times again.  I can tell that they already love Dom almost as much as I do. 
Almost.

“Dom, I’m almost four months pregnant now,” I begin my argument.

Knowing me as well as he does, he quirks one eyebrow up and dares me, with the playful gleam in his eyes, to continue.  “Yes, I’m well aware of your pregnancy status.  Your protruding belly is one clue.”

“I’m out of the danger zone now.  The doctor gave me a clean bill of health,” I continue making my case.

“That’s not exactly what she said.  She said to still be cautious about any changes.  You were having cramps when we were at your parents and you didn’t tell me about it until much later.  Remember?”

Oh, yes, I do remember that. 
I was punished for my withholding of important information and it wasn’t a good punishment.  Until the doctor cleared me, Dom wouldn’t take a chance on giving me a punishment fuck or even a spanking.  What he did punish me with was actually worse.  I wasn’t allowed to touch him in any way for a full week-day or night.  I couldn’t even snuggle with him in the bed and he made sure I didn’t by putting pillows between us.

“Dominic, I tried to explain that to you.  I wasn’t hiding it from you.  It just felt like an upset stomach and it’s embarrassing to discuss my gastrointestinal problems with you,” I respectfully retort.  “But, I’m okay now.”

He crosses the room with his eyes fixed on mine.  The flames in them have me rooted to the floor.  His commanding presence has me in awe.  He’s only wearing his lounging pants and they hang low on his hips, showing off his perfectly sculpted abs and that damn sexy V that I licked repeatedly last night.  He’s already had his workout this morning before I ever woke, so he’s fully awake and alert.

Bending so that his eyes are level with mine, he grabs my cheeks in his hand and holds my face as he speaks.  “Sophia, we’ve discussed this.  You are to tell me when you have any health problem, regardless of how small it is.  It may start small but it can quickly escalate and I’m not taking any chances with your health.  After everything we’ve done to each other, you shouldn’t be embarrassed about anything with me.”

Releasing my face, he kisses my lips and walks back to the closet.  “Now, what is it you want to ask me?” he calls out.

“It’s time for me to go back into the office and work.  I’ve worked from home and kept my hours minimal.  I’m able to go back to full time now until the baby is born.”

He steps out of the closet slowly and pins me with his gaze.  “Surely you’re joking,” he deadpans, but there’s an icy undertone.  “Two break-ins at my office and they haven’t found out who is behind it yet.  Harrison and Cortez are actively plotting against us and he has already hurt you once.  There have been two attempts on my life.  But you want to go into the office to work while you’re pregnant.”

“Dominic, I can’t stay locked away inside the house forever.  I love you and I love working.  I’d be there with you, Shadow, Tucker, and the building security.  The break-ins were at night after everyone had left.  There are several other employees there, too.  Plus, the office is an hour away from home, so if anything happened here, you wouldn’t be able to get to me in time anyway.”

Drawing his hand across his face, along his jawline until his fingers meet in the middle of his chin, he considers my argument.  At least he listens to me and weighs all sides of the equation before making a decision.  I can’t very well go against his wishes about work because he will just fire me since Texas is an employment at-will state.  My Dom will get his way with me regardless.

“Fine.  You can come back to the office–with conditions.  You’ll ride with me to work and back home,
no exceptions
.  If I have to go out of town and you can’t go with me, you
will
work from home while I’m gone.  You will not go
anywhere
alone except to the bathroom, and I am even considering having Dana escort you in there,” he replies sternly.

Rushing to him, I wrap my arms around his neck and lift up on my tiptoes to kiss him.  “Thank you!  I’ll hurry and get dressed so I can ride in with you today.”

Dominic holds me tightly to him when I try to move away.  His slow smile covers his face and his hand goes under my shirt.  I roll my eyes, but I am sporting the biggest smile myself.  It’s become a daily practice for him to gently rub my stomach and feel our growing baby bump.

“I can’t wait to feel the baby move,” he murmurs to me. “You are so beautiful pregnant, I may have to keep you knocked up all the time.  Maybe then you’d quit working.”

I playfully swat his arm as I say, “Oh, stop it!  I’m in the office with you!  It’s not like I’m looking for another job somewhere else!”

“Don’t even joke about that,” he replies with a serious tone.

I can’t stop the laughter that bubbles up out of my chest.  “Dominic, where would I go?  And why would I go?  I have all the perks I could ever ask for with you!”

“Speaking of perks,” he wiggles his eyebrows suggestively, “I think it’s time for our shower.”

“We’re going to be late for work,” I try to object, backing away from him one step at a time.  He begins moving slowly and deliberately toward me, stalking me like I’m his prey, and watching me through his brows.  The feral look in his eyes is such a turn-on because I know it means he has wild things in mind for me. 

“I’m sure your boss will understand,” he quips.

In a split second, he takes off in a sprint toward me and I squeal in laughter as I turn to run from him.  He’s already caught me, though, and I’m swept off my feet into his arms.  I love our playful times, especially in the midst of all the stress we’ve been under.  The times when it’s just Dominic and I are the best because he doesn’t show this playful side to many people.

“You won’t be able to carry me for too much longer.”

“I’ll just work out harder if I have to, babe.”

“I love how you love me, Dominic,” I lean up and kiss him.  “But, I was talking about how my stomach will be too big!”

Setting me down, he starts the water before he undresses me, taking his time as he removes each article of clothing.  “The house will be ready in a few weeks.  Our playroom will be a separate room off our bedroom.  It even has a secret door that only we will know about,” he says looking up at me.  “I can’t wait to get you inside it.”

“I’ll melt into a puddle in the floor if you keep talking to me like that,” I pant.

“Mmm, just the thought of having you strapped to the new play-furniture I bought makes me crazy,” he continues and I moan softly.  “All the things I can do to your beautiful body…”

“Whatever you want, Dominic.  I’m yours.”

Picking me up, he walks us into the hot water spray and to the tiled shower wall.  I wrap my legs around his waist and he positions himself at my sex, ready to push into me.  Instead of the fast, sudden thrust, he slowly lowers me onto him, letting me feel every glorious inch of him, pulling me down until we’re eye to eye.  Moving his hips, he rocks into me and I match his rhythm as I move up and down on him. 

“That’s my girl,” he grunts when he feels me tightening around him.  “Take it all, Sophia,” and my body milks every last bit of him.

We’re both breathing hard as we ride out the waves of our climax.  While he’s still inside me, Dominic leans in and covers my mouth with his.  The slow, sensual kiss is just as erotic and mind-blowing as the heated, furious kisses.  This is so much more personal and intimate.  I feel the love and passion from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.

He slowly lowers my feet to the ground to allow me to get my bearings before he lets go.  My hands rest on his chest and I watch him with rapt adoration.  Everything that means anything to me is right here and I feel like the most fortunate woman alive. 

What scares me the most is every other time I’ve felt this way, the carpet was yanked out from under my feet.  The unknown dangers involving Harrison Dictman and Ramon Cortez still lurk around every corner and I’m waiting for them to make their move.  I just hope that Shadow and Tucker are ready for them when they do.

By midweek, Dominic and I have settled into a normal routine of work and home life.  With my office back on the top floor, I’m closer to him and he frequently checks on me.  Between him and Dana, I can barely even go to the bathroom alone.  I have to admit that having people around that really care about me feels great.  Even if I do lose my privacy in the interim.

I’m back in Dom’s office for another contract negotiation meeting when Darren enters.  He smiles warmly at me and takes his seat.  As the Chief Financial Officer of DPS, his input is needed for the solvency of this agreement.  Dominic is finishing up another call as Darren leans over toward me.

“I’m glad to see you two worked things out, Sophia,” Darren says with a wink.

“Yeah, I know you just wanted to get rid of me,” I kid with him.

“Oh, you know better than that!” he laughs.  “I’m just an old man who’s ready to retire.  You’re better off learning the ropes from Dominic.”

“He is a great teacher, but you are great, too!” I assure him and he pats my arm in a grandfatherly way.

Dominic hangs up and joins our conversations.  “Hey, Darren.  We need your help on this one.  The numbers look good on paper but something just isn’t adding up right.  I think they’re hiding losses from us and I don’t want to enter into this contract, do the work, and then have them file bankruptcy later.”

“Let’s have a look,” Darren says, taking the file from Dominic.

Over the next hour, we dissect every part of their financials and the contract language before coming to a decision.  At the end of our meeting, Darren gets up to leave just as I also stand.  His eyes settle on my stomach and I know he wants to say something but is unsure of how to say it.

“You’ll have to forgive an old man for asking, Sophia.  But, are you pregnant?”

My hand instinctively covers my baby bump, not from embarrassment, but from pride.  “Yes, I’m about four months now.  We’ll get to hear the baby’s heartbeat at our doctor visit this Friday,” I beam.

Darren’s eyes cut to Dominic, flashing him a big smile, before turning back to me.  “Congratulations, young lady.  You look absolutely radiant and beautiful.”

“Thank you, Darren,” I reply sincerely.  He kisses my cheek on the way out and we say our goodbyes.

“He thinks of you as one of his granddaughters,” Dominic smiles as he leans back in his chair.  “Speaking of grandparents, Mom called earlier and said she and Dad are coming up this weekend.”

“Really?  I can’t wait to see them!” I reply enthusiastically. 

Dominic’s mother, Kayla, has called me weekly since Dominic and I got back together.  She had already figured out I was pregnant and Dominic confirmed it during one of their conversations.  Kayla has also been very supportive of me reestablishing the relationship with my parents and talking with her has helped me work through some of the issues they had with me being a sub.

Dana knocks on the door, drawing me from my thoughts, and walks in with Cheryl behind her.  “Mr. Powers, Cheryl needs to speak with you.  She said it’s urgent.”

“That’s fine.  Thank you, Dana,” Dominic says.  “Come on in, Cheryl.”

Cheryl gives me a weary look, even after all this time and after she knows I’m not behind these allegations.  When I greet her hard gaze with one of my own, she looks away and addresses Dominic.  Something else I learned from Kayla–I submit to no one but Dominic.  That includes our corporate lawyer.

“I spoke with Shadow’s contact as he suggested.  He backtracked the standard paper trail through the EEOC and we have verified that this is not a real case. Shadow’s friend that helped me is very…unique.  I gave him the limited information I had and he sent back most everything we need–the make and model of the printer, when it was available, and which stores carried it.  I’m going to call the police and let them take it from here.”

“No, don’t call the police,” Dominic replies emphatically.  “There are Federal agents working on this case since it’s bigger than just this piece.  We can’t involve our local law enforcement.  You still owe the
‘lawyer’
a return call, right?”