“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 andmonogamousrelationship. 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 nearyouor 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 justrude,” 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.”
