Control

Title: Control
Chapter Thirteen
Author: Angelsdee
Rating: NC-17
Summary: The couple has dinner, music, and a bubble bath.

When she walked into the kitchen, she found the dinner table already set. He had their places set at opposite ends of the table with a basket of garlic bread, 2 glasses of red wine, and candles burning between them.

She wandered around the table looking at this “thing” he had done for her when he suddenly appeared behind her. She jumped when he put his hands on her shoulders. “Oh! Sorry. You surprised me. This is lovely Dominic.”

“Well, let me help you to your seat, milady.” He guided her to her chair and pulled it out for her. She sat down and he pushed her chair back in. He leaned in close to her ear and whispered, “Do me a favor while I’m serving us?”

The feel of his breath on her skin and the sound of his deep voice in her ear made her melt. She couldn’t trust her voice ‘let alone my traitorous body’ so she gave a “mm hmm?”

“Take off your towel.”

“What?” His voice was getting to her so badly that she didn’t even realize that she had leaned her head to the side bearing her neck to him.

He noticed her unconscious act of submission, smiled, and touched his lips to her pulse point. “Take off your towel. I love your hair. I want to see it wet and curling around your face while we eat.”

‘I’m dead.’ She reached up and removed the towel. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders and back. She felt his fingers running through the wet strands, arranging it to his satisfaction, and then he moved off to serve their dinner. ‘I’m so fucking dead.’

When he returned with their plates, he saw her sitting there, her eyes half closed, and her lips slightly parted. She looked entranced. ‘Beautiful.’

She heard his approach and blushed slightly at the effect even the smallest thing he did had on her.

“Here ya go.” He placed her plate on the table, grabbed a couple of pieces of bread for her, and then took his own seat. “We have something in common.”

She looked across the table at him and asked, “And what would that be?”
“We’re both at least partially Italian, Ms. Tomasini. Never could tell by your first name and you have characteristics of a few different nationalities.”

“Are you curious, Mr. Toretto? Have you been racking that head of yours trying to figure out my blood?”

He was smiling over his glass of wine at the fire he just lit in her. She was like riding a roller coaster. The thought of the “ride” made his smile even bigger. “Easy darlin. It’s just…you have a unique look about you. Exotic. I was just curious what made you look like that. Your hair, your skin tone, and let’s not forget those bottomless, black eyes.”

‘Damn it! He did it again. I’m sitting here giving him mooneyes and my mouth is hanging open. I look like a kid with a crush.’ She took a moment to compose herself before she answered. “My guess would be that my parents made me look like this. But, to satisfy your curiosity, I’m predominately Italian, Egyptian, Romanian, and Apache Indian.” She saw the look of “I knew it” cross his face as she sipped her wine then decided it was time to knock him off his guard a little. “But I’m sure you probably figured out most of that by nosing around my house.” She smiled at his look of guilt. ‘Busted.’

“I didn’t go through anything that wasn’t in plain sight.” He tried to defend his actions.

“Did you go behind closed doors? Because I’m pretty sure that kind of blows the ‘plain sight’ defense out of the water.” It took every ounce of self-control to keep a straight face. ‘Let him sweat for a change.’

“Shit, Mick, you left! I didn’t know if it was for good or just to think through some shit. I didn’t know what to do. I had to occupy my time or I would’ve either been going crazy sitting here or chasing off after you. I’m sorry.”

She finally couldn’t hold it in anymore and busted out laughing. He was stunned. She was actually laughing.

“Dom, I’m just giving you a hard time. Damn, that felt good. Whew!”

“You were just jerking my chain?” He smiled.

“Mm Hmm.”

“I’ll be damned.”

“What? It could happen. I have a sense of humor! It’s just a bit dry and no-one is ever around to hear it but it’s there.” Now she was on the defensive. Again.

“Ok. I believe you.” He took a bite of his food to let the moment pass and give her a chance to calm down. “So.”

“So what?”

“Are you going to introduce me properly to your ‘bodyguards’?”

“You wanna meet my babies?”

“Yeah. I figure it would be wise for them to know me if I’m going to be around.”

“Ok. Boys.” She said the word simply. All of a sudden, the sound of feet hitting hardwood could be heard and the 3 pits came running up to the table. The brindles sat on Mikaela’s left and the red dog on her right. “Boys, this is Dominic. Dom, this is Ares and Apollo”, she pointed to the 2 brindles on her left. Then turned to her right, “And this is Zeus.” The 3 dogs turned and looked at him as if they understood the meaning of the introduction.

“How did they get out of the room? I shut the door.”

“That would be Zeus. He can open doors easy. Hell, he can open the fridge, cabinets, and the oven. It took a long time to teach him what he could and could not get into.”

“Are they your guard dogs?”

“Yes and no. They’re my companions. Friends. They know me. If I’m sick or sad, they love me, give me kisses, and crawl all over me until I cheer up.”

‘Lucky dogs.’ He thought about the earlier meeting between himself and the dogs. “How come they didn’t tear me a new one when I walked into their room? If they are your guard dogs they let a stranger waltz right into your home and didn’t do shit about it.”

“First of all, that isn’t their room. The whole house is theirs. They were in there because that is usually the time I workout. They know my schedule and they were waiting for me. Second, they probably didn’t kill you because you had my scent on you and they didn’t consider you a threat. Bad dogs!”

He took in her little joke and countered. “How about when I had you screaming this morning?” He asked with a look of total masculine pride.

‘Shit. Here I go again. And look at him! The only thing missing from this picture is him thumping his chest with his fists!’

“I don’t know. My boys know when I’m in trouble and they spare nothing and no one when protecting me. I’m just going to have to guess that they knew I wasn’t in danger.”

He processed that admission of hers then gave the dogs a whistle. They turned their heads in unison to look at him. “Thanks guys.”

They had finished eating and Dom was clearing the table while Mikaela rolled around on the floor with the “greek gods”. He smiled at the almost child-like quality she displayed when playing with the dogs. He leaned against the counter and watched the show.

“Ow! Ares, off my hair!” The most rambunctious of the 3 was pinning her head to the floor by lying on her hair and nipping at the loose strands. Dom saw the red dog, Zeus, who had been standing guard, go over to Ares and give him a stern growl.

‘Well, we know who the leader is now, don’t we? The king of the gods!’

Ares backed off of Mikaela’s hair then gave her a lick when she sat up. “It’s ok, Ares. We know Zeus is just overprotective. Good boy, Zeus!”

Apollo was occupying his time by pulling on the belt to her robe. Dom watched the mischievous one effectively untie her robe. When he started to shake his toy back and forth, one side of it pulled away and exposed the left side of her body to his eyes. ‘Good dog! I gotta slip you a treat for that one!’

She tried to cover her body but Apollo was downright playing tug of war with the belt. “Apollo! Nyet!” He stopped immediately, sat at attention, and wagged his tail. And much to Dom’s disappointment, she closed her robe.

He reached a hand out to help her up off the floor, pulled her to her feet, and asked, “Russian?”

“Yes. I taught them their basic commands in Russian. I lived in a small German town in Texas. Everyone taught their dogs in German. I figured Russian was a safe choice so no-one could try to tell them what to do.”

“Smart.”

“Thanks.”

“Go sit on couch. I believe I owe you a bath.” He stood behind her, his hands on her shoulders, and slowly maneuvered her into the living room. He directed her onto the couch and turned to go upstairs. “Relax. I’ll get it ready and come back for you.”

“Oh, ah, ok.”

‘Mush. I’m fucking mush. “Oh, ah ok.” What the fuck was that? I’m mush. Putty! Yep, putty in his hands. Fucking clay to be molded into whatever he wants. If I wasn’t a chick I’d ask what happened to my balls!’

As she slumped back into the sofa wondering where her spine went, a CD clicked into play and her head perked up. ‘Tesla! God, I love this one.’ She closed her eyes and listened to the first track. Memories of where she was and who she was with when she heard it for the first time crossed through her mind.

She was swaying to the music when she felt a pair of strong arms lift her off the couch. Thrown off guard, she threw her arms around his neck and held on. “You scared the hell out of me! Stop sneaking up on me!”

He smiled. “I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to slip under your radar.” He loved it.

Upset that he could get past her senses, she snapped, “What are you doing? I can walk.”

Using his sexiest smile and voice, he said, “I know you can walk but I miss having you in my arms. So indulge me.” He started up the stairs cradling her against his chest. As he walked them to his intended destination, he whispered in her ear, “Now, I’m going to take care of those aches for you. Make you feel all better.”

His voice calmed her enough that she rested her head in the crook of his neck and put herself “literally” in his hands.

When he walked into the darkened bathroom, she noticed the flicker of lights on the walls and lifted her head to look around the bathroom. He lit about 30 candles around the room and had a steamy bubble bath waiting for her in the sunk-in garden tub.

He set her gently on her feet and stood in front of her. He reached up to take her hands from his shoulders and lowered her arms to her sides all the while holding her eyes with his. He untied the belt of her robe and eased it over her shoulders until it slid to the floor. Her breathing got a little deeper when she saw his eyes roam over her body. She could feel his gaze burn her skin and it was intoxicating.

When his dark eyes returned to hers, he took her hands in his and placed them on the hem of the t-shirt he had on. Obeying the unspoken command, she pulled his shirt up over his head and dropped it to the floor to join her discarded robe. She ran her eyes and small hands down his chest to the waistband of his jeans.

She looked back up into his eyes and unhooked each button. She knelt in front of him and pulled his jeans down his legs until he stepped out of them. She sat on her legs, still kneeling at his feet, and looked into his eyes.

He could see desire in her eyes but her words from earlier entered his mind. ‘I don’t know how to act or what to do. I’m not good at a lot of things anymore. I don’t want to disappoint you.’

He crouched down in front of her, grabbed her waist with both hands, rose up to his full height, and looked into her eyes. Her hands clasped around his neck to steady herself in his grasp. He was dangling her in the air like a doll.

She got lost in his eyes. She could feel them burn into her. She wrapped her arms completely around his neck and put her head back against his neck.

He drew her body flush to his, moved one arm up her back, and used the other to scoop up her knees. Cradling her once again in his arms, he walked down the stairs into the tub. He sank them down into the warm water, situated her between his legs, and pulled on her shoulders until her back rested against his chest.

They both let the warmth of the water soak into their bodies for a while. Once he felt she was completely relaxed, he reached for a soft body sponge and started to run it over her neck, across her shoulders, down over her breasts, and then her stomach. She was practically purring from the slow, sensual caress.

They were so quiet that the music could be heard from downstairs and she turned her head to focus on a song that just started. She reached out a hand to a panel of switches on the wall just above the tub. She pressed a button and the music downstairs rose in volume.

“Nice trick.”

“You like? I did it myself. This is my favorite song by this band.” She relaxed back against him and he started to wash her hair as the lyrics began to flow into them.

Who’s the one that makes you happy?
Or maybe
Who’s the one always on your mind?
And who is the reason you’re living for?
Who’s the reason for your smile?

I feel so lonely and I know I’m not the only one
To ever feel this way
I love you so much that I think I’m going insane

Gone crazy
Out of my head
Gone crazy
Out of my head
Can’t think about nothing but
The good good love
What you give

Everyone needs somebody
And you know
Everybody needs someone
Well yes, it’s true
Everybody needs a special kind of love
And you’re the only one I’m thinking of
You mean the world to me
You are my only

Dom had just rinsed the shampoo out of her hair when he heard that verse. He knotted her long tresses on top of her head then moved his hands down to rest on her stomach.

I feel so lonely and I know I’m not the only one
To carry on this way
I love you so much I lose track of time
Lose track of the days

I’m going out of head
Going crazy
Out of my head
Can’t think about nothing but
The good good love
What you give

He heard her singing when the 2nd chorus started. She altered her voice to match the singer’s exactly. Her voice, the feeling she put into the words was amazing.

It’s not what you got
It’s what you give
It ain’t the love you choose
It’s the life you live
It’s only what you give
Only what you give
Only what you give
It’s not what you got
But the life you live
It’s the life you live

You’re the one that makes me happy
Oh yeah baby
And you’re the one always on my mind
Well yes, it’s true
You are my reason
My one and only
That I’ve been living for
Why can’t forever be
Forever and nothing more

By the time she finished the verse, he believed the words were hers, directed to him, and he moved his hands up her stomach to cup her breasts then crossed his arms over her chest hugging her to him tightly.

I feel so lonely and I know I’m not the only one
To ever feel this way
I love you so much I lose track of time
Lose track of the days

I’m going out of head
Going crazy
Out of my head
Can’t think about nothing but
The good sweet love
What you give

Her voice choked up with the emotions he and the song were making her feel. She let the singer finish for her, brought her hands up to lightly grasp his forearms, and turned her head so that her cheek rested against his chest.

It’s not what you got
It’s what you give
It ain’t the love you choose
It’s the love you live
It’s only what you give
And it ain’t what it’s not
But it’s what it is
Only what you give
Only what you give
Only what you give

They listened to the words of the song that held meaning to their situation in the security of each other’s arms.

~~Song “What You Give” by Tesla~~