Page 95 of Dominic Powers Duet Box Set
“Sophia, sit down,” I say sternly and she obeys. “Tell me what’s wrong.” My tone leaves no room for argument.
Her eyes dart to the door and I know she’s contemplating making a run for it. Sighing heavily, I remind her, “You know I will pick you up and bring you back if you even try it.”
Her watery reply cuts me to the core, “Dom, please just let me go.” She’s trying so hard to maintain her composure.
“You’ve changed,” I muse. “At first, you were a feisty businesswoman who was hell bent on making a name for herself. Then, you became fairly dependent on me and cried frequently. Now, you’re more of the feisty lady again, but with sad eyes.”
“I’ve always been the feisty businesswoman, Dominic,” she answers, her voice stronger this time. “I cried frequently because every time you did something wonderful for me, I felt guilty over the way we got together. I knew I didn’t deserve you, but I couldn’t let you go, either.”
“You kept saying you didn’t deserve me,” I recall.
“It was true.”
I hear Dana’s three-tap knock just before she opens the door and walks to Sophia. She has Sprite and saltine crackers in her hands and I know I must be looking at her like she’s crazy. Dana simply says, “Trust me, Dominic.”
Dana sets them on my desk directly in front of Sophia. She reaches to grab a cracker and lightly nibbles on it and takes small sips of the Sprite. “Thank you, Dana. This helps a lot,” Sophia says.
Dana pats her on the shoulder and gives me a stern look. “She’s not feeling well, Dominic. If you can’t tell, she has lost weight and she needs to avoid so much stress.”
Dana leaves and I take a moment to really take Sophia in. I noticed the hollowed cheeks and sunken eyes, but Dana is right. She has lost too much weight in the last several weeks. She continues to take small bites and small sips as she avoids eye contact with me.
“Sophia, if you’re still not recovered, you can take more time off to recuperate. Your job is safe,” I promise. “I’d rather you be off to rest and fully heal than push yourself to come back to work too soon.”
She stops nibbling and drops her head forward. The pained expression on her face concerns me. “Tell me, Sophia. What’s wrong?”
“Don’t worry about me, Dominic.Pleasedon’t. When you talk to me like that, like you care, it just…it just hurts me even more. I’mtryingto let you go and this doesn’t help. I’ll be okay.” Her voice betrays her words. She doesn’t believe them any more than I do.
“Why do I feel like you’re still withholding something from me?”
The panic that flies across her face is unmistakable and I know I’ve hit the target dead center. Now to find out what it is.
“You know I can read you like a book, Sophia. No doubt that I was blindsided by the wholeHarry Dick-manshit, but that’s because he was never a Sir and the whole thing was all too fucked up. Make no fucking mistake about it, though -you belong to me, Sophia. I told you there was no going back on us and I fucking meant it. Just because I’m mad doesn’t give you the right to withhold anything from me. Not your body, not your heart, and not your mind.”
She immediately reverts to a submissive posture–to the one I’ve instructed her in. Her eyes rise to meet mine, just as she knows I like it. “That’s my girl. You know you can’t hide from me, don’t you? Your eyes tell me what I need to know about your feelings.”
“There’s no going back? Even now?”
“Even now,” I confirm.
Intently studying her expressive brown eyes, my chest tightens at the emotions I see in them. She loves me and her love shines brightly in them. There is so much sadness in them, too, and she’s afraid. She’s scared of me?
What the fuck?
“Why are you scared of me, Sophia? What have I ever done to make you fear me?”
“It’s not that I’m scared of you like that–that you’ll hit me or anything,” she says tentatively.
“Then what?”
“More than anything, I’m afraid you’ll send me away and I’ll never be around you again,” she whispers, as if she’s afraid voicing the fear will make it come true.
“Do you trust me?” I ask, drawing up to my full height and towering over her.
“Yes, of course I do, Dom. But I know you don’t trust me.”
“That’s partly because Iknowyou’re intentionally keeping something from me. That’s deceit–even if it’s by omission.”
She sits quietly for a few moments, internally debating whether or not to release this vital piece of information that’s tormenting her. What she doesn’t realize is I’m not giving her a choice. Being apart isn’t what either of us really wants. This is a monumental hurdle for us to get over but we have to do it regardless.
