Page 39 of Dominic Powers Duet Box Set
“Sophia,” I deepen my voice and steel my expression, “you aremine. I shouldn’t have to remind you of that again. Being mine means you don’t withhold from me when something is on your mind. If it’s important to you, then it’s important to me and I need to know what it is.”
She swallows hard and nods her head in agreement. “It really isn’t anything—just the old insecurities I’m fighting. My mother always told me I was worthless and would never amount to anything. She said I didn’t fit in with anyone and I never would. I love my younger brother, but she’s tried to turn him against me, too. I don’t even know if he will speak to me now.
“And then, there’syourfamily. Your parents just took me in and made me feel welcome, like I belonged there, and not like some outcast. Your mom let me set the table for breakfast and made me feel like I had a family. Your dad is just great—he’s so funny and thoughtful. I was also thinking about you, Dom. You’ve done more for me in the short time I’ve known you than everyone else in my life combined. I don’t deserve you,” she finishes on a whisper.
“No one talks aboutMy Angellike that,” I gently scold her. “I won’t let anyone disparage you. Not evenyou.”
Tears escape her eyes and roll down her beautiful cheeks. I gently wipe the tears away and replace them with tender kisses. “You will have so much more love,My Angel,” I whisper, “than you’ve ever known. You’ll never question how much you mean to me. You’ll never doubt your worth again—I will remind you every day. I promise you this, you willneverbe sorry that you’re mine.”
The sobs wrack her body as she climbs into my lap. I hold her in my arms, her body glued to mine with her fists holding on to my button-down shirt as she finally lets go of everything that’s been holding her back from giving herself to me. Every fear that’s reared its ugly head in her mind, telling her she’s not good enough for me, and reminding her of past failures, is fading away. Her sobs gradually diminish until she’s lying limp in my arms, cried out and ready to surrender all to me.
“I want that so much, Dom. So much,” she whispers into my neck. “I want that with you.”
“It’s yours,My Angel. It’s all yours,” I pledge. “No more hiding from me.”
“No more, Dom. I’m yours and I want you to have all of me.”
Tucker stops at the steps leading up to the plane. “Give us a minute, Tucker,” I instruct and he gives a single nod in response.
I help Sophia collect herself as much as she can. Before we exit the car, I have an idea. “Sophia, once we take off, you and I are going to spend the rest of the flight in the bedroom. You need some time to regroup and we just need to spend some time alone.”
“That sounds perfect, Dom,” she sighs in relief.
Tucker has already loaded our luggage and taken his place on the plane when Sophia and I board. I lead her to a plush loveseat near the back of the plane, closest to the bedroom. Once we’re able to move around the cabin, we retreat behind closed doors. After helping her disrobe, we climb into bed and I take her in my arms as she lays her head on my chest. I love how it feels to be skin to skin with her.
“I’ve waited so long for someone like you, Dom,” she says in her small, watery voice. “Why couldn’t I have met youfirst? Before anyone else put these wrong ideas in my head?”
“Don’t worry,My Angel. No one else matters now. You’re connected tomenow. Feelme. Hearmyvoice. I get all of you, all the time, in every way.”
“My Dom,” she sighs with contentment as she snuggles in closer to me. Inhaling deeply, she says, “You always smell so good. I would say I should bottle your scent and sell it, but I don’t want anyone else to have you.”
“I’m a one-woman man, love,” I kiss the top of her head. “You can rest now. You’ve had a busy week.”
After another hour of flying, we’re in the backseat of the car with Tucker taking us back to Sophia’s apartment. She looks concerned but she hasn’t voiced anything. I watch her every move and wait patiently for her to confide in me. She feels me staring, knows she’s being watched, and like my good girl should, she turns her body toward me and prepares to speak.
“Dom,” she says tentatively, “a lot has happened over just a couple of days. It wasn’t just...what I mean is…it was more than just a…one-night stand. Wasn’t it?”
I give her a reassuring smile and take her hand in mine. Some asshole has really done a number on her. “Sophia, I don’t take one-night stands home to meet my parents. I don’t take them as subs. And I sure as hell don’t let them call me ‘Dom.’ So, no,My Angel, this is far from a one-night stand. You are mine regardless of where we are or what we’re doing. Coming home doesn’t change that—it confirms it.”
When we reach her condo, Tucker gets her luggage out of the trunk and I open her car door to help her out. She looks at her suitcase and then up at me. Her surprise is evident when she asks, “You’re not staying?”
“No, love, not tonight. I have some things at home I need to see to before work tomorrow,” I explain as I take her suitcase from Tucker and guide her to the elevators.
She nods slowly. She’s not happy, but not upset, either, “Alright. I understand.”
“Hey,” I say as I gently take her chin in my hand. “We will spend nights together, days together, weekends altogether—all kinds of time together. Being apart sometimes doesn’t change how important you are to me.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry, I’m not usually this clingy,” she laughs. Shaking her head, she asks rhetorically, “What is wrong with me?”
“Not a thing,” I reply genially as we exit the elevator. Opening her door, I enter first and check her apartment before leaving her alone.
“I’ll see you in the morning,My Angel,” I murmur against her lips before kissing her good night. “Dream of me.”
“I definitely will, Dom.”
“Don’t forget tomorrow is Thursday.”
She smiles seductively, “How could I forget that?”
