Control

Title: Control
Chapter Twelve
Author: Angelsdee
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Dom waits patiently for Mikaela to return to him but in the meantime takes a tour of her house.

(These events begin to take place about an hour after Dom realizes Mikaela is missing.)

“Thanks. I appreciate you coming out on such short notice.” Dom was paying Mr. Valenzuela, a local carpenter, for the repairs to the doors.

“It’s no problem, Senor Toretto. I am quite use to sudden emergencies where the young miss is concerned.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Senorita Tomasini is an active young woman and quite…strong. She studies different kinds of fighting. Did you know that?”

“No. I didn’t.”

“I didn’t know there was more than one way to fight. But, always fighting that one is. Practicing. Accidents happen. I get called a lot to fix things. I am happy to see the young miss has someone to occupy her time. I do not believe anyone has been in this house except for me. Anyhow, tell the young miss hello for this old man, yes?”

“I will and thank you.” He held out his hand in farewell and Mr. Valenzuela accepted it.

“You are most welcome, senor. Adios.”

“Buenos Tardes.”

Dom turned and wandered through the house. Taking notice of all the little things that Mikaela took enough interest in to buy.

‘She’ll be back.’

He made his way down the hall to the guest rooms. Opening the first door, he came across quite an extensive library. Bookcases lined every wall. Each wall unit kept to a particular theme. Half of the room had books on various disciplines of martial arts. The rest of the cases were dedicated to phenomenon, science fiction, and witchcraft.

‘She wasn’t joking about the spells.’

He left the room, closed the door behind him, and went on to the next one. When he opened the door, three of the largest pit bulls he had ever seen got to their feet and walked towards him. ‘Oh shit!’ He remained perfectly still with his palms facing towards them. Two black brindles and a red came up to him and gave him a once over sniff then turned and went back to their spots on the floor. Satisfied he wasn’t going to be dog food, he looked at the room.

It was a gym. Sort of. She knocked out the wall separating this room from the next one making a large workout room. There were wrestling mats, a heavy punching bag, a speed bag, a double-end bag, a fighting dummy made of hardwood, and a variety of regular exercise equipment. There was also some equipment he didn’t recognize. Along the walls were various weapons.

There was a collection of different types of swords along one of the long walls. She had several samurais, a few ninjas, and quite a few swords with origins unfamiliar to him. Each blade had a deadly edge to it. Every one of them could cleave a man in two except the 2 wooden practice swords.

Down the adjoining wall there were smaller weapons consisting of fantasy-style blades; the majority of which had Egyptian symbols etched into the steel as well as the handles. There were also several sais and throwing stars. Each of these was sharpened as well.

It was a dojo. At the other end of the room there was an oriental-style chest of drawers. He walked over to get a closer look. He didn’t want to invade her privacy so he opted not to open the drawers but there was an 8x10 picture on top surrounded by candles and incense burners. He looked closer at the photo. It was her and some guy.

They looked to be in a park judging by the surrounding trees, some deer in the background, and the picnic table they were on. He was sitting on top and she was stretched across it with her head in his lap. Her long black hair flowed over his thighs and cascaded down his calves.

He had a flower in his left hand that was placed on her bare midriff. His other hand was buried in her hair that covered his legs. She was lying on her back with her knees slightly bent. Her left hand was on his forearm that was “tickling” her stomach. Her right arm was bent at the elbow, pressing against his chest, and her fingers laced through her hair near her right temple.

They were looking into each other’s eyes and had the most genuine smiles he had ever seen. ‘They loved each other.’ It was his entire purpose for scrutinizing the photo. He wanted to see what love looked like on her face. ‘I’ve never seen a smile that pure before.’ As he turned to leave the room he made a silent promise to himself to do everything he could to see her smile like that again. He closed the door behind him.

He moved back into the living room and took in the décor. There was a long, black sectional couch running along 2 adjoining walls. End tables were placed at both sides with matching brass lamps. A huge black entertainment center was positioned against the opposite wall for optimum viewing no matter where you sat on the couch. She had a 37” television in the center but her satellite receiver, DVD player, and VCR were stacked on top.

There were 3 shelves built into the center for the other electronics that she kept on top. He could see a stereo system on the middle shelf but he had to walk closer to see what occupied the other two. As he approached he saw the bottom shelf had a gray and white marble chess set on it. The top shelf had various sizes of Indian arrowheads and spear points.

There were more Egyptian daggers on either side of the stacked components on the top as well as a box. It was a wooden box that had oriental fabric attached to the exterior and a small brass clasp that held the hinged top closed. He opened it and found 2 metal balls inside. ‘I’ve seen these before. You roll them around in your palm and they make this sound that’s supposed to relax you. Come to think of it…’ He turned around and saw similar boxes on both end tables.

He returned the box to its resting place and saw a black bookcase to the right of the center. ‘DVD’s, CD’s, and VHS tapes. She has a shitload.’ There were 9 surround sound speakers placed around the room for perfect sound distribution. She actually had 4 more than was needed.

The last piece of furniture in the room was a papasan chair and matching stool with black cushions. It was to the right of the bookcase in the corner of the room. This was the only seat in the room that couldn’t see the TV but its placement had significance. Looking around the room, he noticed every single place that you could sit in was positioned so that a wall was at your back. ‘No-one can sneak up on her.’

He also noticed there wasn’t a coffee table in front of the sofa. Then it dawned in him. ‘From the front door to the back, she has made a path clear of obstacles to either maneuver around in or run.’ He turned and walked out on the back patio.

Run. ‘She ran from me today.’ He heard a sound and looked around. ‘Wind chimes…everywhere.’ Different sizes. Different sounds. Several of them were hanging by the outdoor shower off to the side of the deck. The only place to sit on the patio was a large hammock that was supported by its own metal frame and stand. He wandered over and laid down on it. He closed his eyes and thoughts of her, her home, its contents, and arrangement ran through his mind.

‘She’s a fighter. Always has been and always will be. Someone broke her down once but she survived it. Not entirely intact, though.’ He thought about all of the rooms in her house. ‘She obviously spends more time in the lower level of the house. Particularly in the dojo and the living room. No chairs in the library.’ Her bedroom was really bare. A bed and a nightstand were centered against one wall. A black metal “footlocker” size chest was situated near a black leather recliner and a brass floor lamp in front of the window. ‘Probably doesn’t sleep much because of the nightmares so, she sits in that chair by the window and reads or looks at the ocean.’

‘She made a defendable fortress in there. Weapons everywhere but also…the wind chimes and musical balls. Things to relax her. She’s waiting for a fight and the main player hasn’t taken the field yet. So, she surrounds herself with things to try to calm her down while she waits. My girl is a contradiction.’

His eyes opened after the “my girl” thought. He felt like half of his heart was missing after he woke up and found her gone. He didn’t fully understand how he managed to forget his own problems and wrap himself up in her and her pain. Then he closed his eyes and reflected back on her and Mia on the beach and then their own confrontation in his house last night. It finally started to make some sense.

She was practically a shut-in. He could tell by her mannerisms that human interaction wasn’t something she was use to anymore. But…the way she laughed with Mia and then held her as she cried was one sign. Then she came into his house to tell him that everyone had left. She said she didn’t want him to wake up and find out he was alone. ‘She put her own pain away to help us. Is that what I did?’

He never was the type to believe in the whole “love at first sight” crap but something definitely happened at his first sight of her. She never left his thoughts once after they locked eyes. He made her submit her body to him. She gave it and he greedily took it. He even remembered telling her that he loved her as he entered her body. ‘Do I?’

All of a sudden he remembered what she said to him before his lust shut down his brain. She used certain words that he kept hearing that “voice” in his head say. ‘I’ll have to think on that one after she comes back.’ He opened his eyes and saw the setting sun disappearing behind the ocean. ‘Fuck, it’s getting late. Where in the hell is she?’

He got up and went into the kitchen. He had to occupy himself by doing something or his anxiety was going to make him crazy. He decided on making dinner for them. Keeping up the hope that she would walk in that door soon. He started going through the pantry and found all the ingredients to make some spaghetti. He put on a large pot of water to boil and started to work on the sauce.

After a little time went by, he had the sauce seasoned and simmering on low heat. The noodles were done, drained, tossed in olive oil to prevent them from sticking, and set aside. The garlic bread in the oven had a few minutes left so he set the table. His anxiety reared its ugly head again and the thought of eating this meal alone flashed through his mind. He went to turn off the oven when the timer went off but left the bread in to stay warm.

Then he started to pace. He made about 10 laps from the front door to the back when he suddenly felt something. He stopped in his tracks and closed his eyes. A few seconds later, he found himself on the patio looking down the beach. He couldn’t see a thing. ‘Fuck. I’m imagining things.’ He leaned against one of the support columns for the patio roof and just watched the darkness. A couple of minutes went by and he started to resign himself to the knowledge that he drove her away from him and her home.

Just as all hope started to fade, she appeared from the darkness. He held his breath for a moment, thinking she was a product of his imagination that would fade if he blinked his eyes. She didn’t. She slowly made her way towards him and he released the breath he had been holding.

She stood there in front of him for a moment not saying a word. She could barely meet his eyes. She looked as if she was trying to find the right words to say but they wouldn’t come to her. She finally just sighed, looked up into his eyes, and a quiet voice met his ears.

“Hi.”

“Hi back.”

“I, um, went for a run. It’s kind of a ritual with me. But then it, um, turned into a walk because I’m a little…sore. Then it was just a sit because my legs refused to take another step.”

A smile crept onto his face. ‘She’s rambling. Damn, she is fucking nervous about having to talk to me after what we did. It’s fucking adorable!’

“I’m sorry”, she whispered and looked down from his eyes.

“For what?”

“For leaving without saying anything to you. For being gone for so long. I didn’t mean to make you worry.”

“It’s ok, baby. I was worried that I ran you off.”

She looked back up to his eyes. “I won’t lie to you. I was scared to death when I woke up after we…” She was blushing from head to toe.

“Made love.” He finished her sentence for her but judging by her widened eyes not quite the way she expected.

“Um, yeah. Look…Dominic please be patient with me.”

“Patient about what?”

“I’m not good at a lot of things anymore. I’m not use to…people. I try to stay away from them as much as possible, in fact, and I’ve succeeded for a very long time. I’m not good at talking or sharing my space, or touching or being touched.” Her eyes misted over and tears threatened to fall. “I haven’t been with anyone in a long time. Sexually. I don’t know how to act or what to do. And…I just don’t want to…disappoint you.”

He cupped her tear-stained cheek in his palm and smiled. “Baby. You can never disappoint me.” He knew this was too much for her right now so decided to give her an “out”…for the time being. “Mick, are you still good at eating?”

“What?” She gave a half laugh.

He gave her a smirk. “Are you still good at eating? I made us dinner.”

She smiled back at him and said, “You cooked for me?”

“Yeah. I figured we could sit, listen to some music, and have a nice meal. Is that alright with you?”

Her smile got a little bigger and she nodded. “That sounds perfect but…can you do me a favor?”

“Name it.”

“I want to get this sand off before I go in the house but…”

“Say no more. You hop in the stall and wash off. I’ll go get you a towel and something to put on.”

When he turned and went in to get her things, she noticed that he got the doors fixed.

She opened the wooden door to the outdoor shower, turned on the water, aimed the showerhead away from her, got in and shut the door behind her. She quickly disrobed and turned the spray of water towards her. When she just finished washing the sand from her body and turned off the water, she heard Dom knock on the door.

“Here’s a towel for your hair, a robe, and a pair of flaps to get your feet sand-free to the door. We’ll eat and I’ll run you a proper bath for you to soak those “aches” out of your body.”

“Oh. Ok. Thanks.” Just hearing the word “body” come from his mouth, in that voice, made her feel light-headed. She dried off with the towel, wrapped her hair in it, and put on her robe.

“Sure. I’ll see you inside at the table. I took the liberty of turning on your CD player. Since its loaded with 100 of your CD’s I think it’s a safe bet that you’ll like the music and we won’t have to stop whatever we’re doing to put on more music.”

He went inside the house. His words made her breath quicken and her hands tremble. ‘Oh – my – goddess! He is going to kill me.’ Then she followed him in.