Control

Chapter 37

She ran for a couple of miles before her sorrow and pain slowed her down. ‘Soul mates separated. Two hearts devastated.’ She made her way to an old bungalow that she had come across during her morning jogs.

She walked up the stairs and entered the little hideaway. She moved across the room and knew he was coming. ‘Can’t leave well enough alone, can you, Leon?’ She sat on the bed and called the dogs up to join her. “I know you’re out there. You might as well come in, say what you need to, and go.”

Leon walked in the door and shut it behind him. He looked very unsettled and miserable. “I wish I could say that my motive for being here was unselfish but I can’t. I don’t want you to do this. It’s killing all of us. You found us all in pain and you’ll leave us in pain.”

“That was not my intention but, never the less, I guess that is the way it has to be. I love you. All of you.”

“Then why are you doing this?”

“I hurt Dominic.” She whispered and lowered her head. “He’s angry with me.”

“Leaving him will kill him! He won’t let you go and you will both suffer from your own stubbornness!”

“Suffering is something I’m use to.”

“So is he and this is the first time since I’ve known him that he’s been happy! How could you take away his love and his child like this? It’s cruel, Micki!”

“I don’t mean to be cruel.” She was crying and the words came out broken.
He started towards her but the dogs wouldn’t allow it.

“You know where I am. Don’t tell anyone. I’ll be here for a few days. Come back later. I want to be alone so please leave.”

“No.”

“Leon, get out!” Her anger fed the boys and they growled a warning.

“Okay but I’ll be back!” He turned to leave and he heard her whisper.

“Be careful. He’ll know if you’re lying.”

He left the house and slowly walked up the beach towards their once happy home. He wanted to beg. He wanted to plead. He did not want to see her walk out of their lives.

“Where is she?”

He looked up into the eyes of a desperate man. He was the one with everything to lose. “Half a mile that way in an old bungalow.” Dom started to pass him and Leon grabbed his arm. “Get her back!”

“I intend to.”

When he walked into the house he saw her curled up on the bed surrounded by the dogs. She had cried herself to sleep. He sat on the edge of the bed and smoothed her hair from her face. “Mick.”

“Dominic.” She was dreaming of him. “I love you baby.”

“Then don’t leave me!”

Her eyes opened and she saw his tormented eyes. She tried to scamper away but he grabbed her legs and pulled her back.

“Dominic, let me go.”

“Never! I will never let you leave me! You belong to me.” He wrestled her arms down to the bed and held them above her head in one hand. He stroked the side of her panicked tear-stained face with his free hand. “God, you’re so beautiful.”

He tried to kiss her and she turned her head avoiding his lips. “Dominic, no. Please don’t do this.” She cried and tried to get away.

He cupped her face and turned it to face his own. He kissed her gently on her lips. “You love me. Every part of you misses me. Why would you run from me?”

“You are angry with me. You don’t accept me the way I am.”

“Baby, I was worried. I need to protect my wife and child. I don’t want to lose you. Ever! I would be devastated if we lost the baby but I would die if I lost you. Can’t you just let me take care of you?” His tears fell from his face and onto hers, mixing as they ran down her neck. “Baby I love you and I will never release you or let you leave me.” He nuzzled her neck and her breathing quickened.

“Stop. You know how you affect me and you’re not being fair.”

He pulled back and his eyes were angry. “How fair are you being when you run from me depriving me of my love and my son? Mick, you are stuck with me! I will never let you out of my sight again if you keep running away from me!”

“Dominic…”

He cut her off with a kiss and his free hand untied her top. He moved his touch over her breasts and she arched her back to meet his touch.

“You see baby, you can’t live without my touch. I branded your heart, body, and soul.” He leaned forward and ran his tongue over his marks. Her head was rolling back and forth on the bed. She had no defense against him. This man could look at her or talk to her and she was drawn to him, but one touch from him and she would come undone. He was sucking her nipples and she was overrun with need but her mind was rebelling against her body.

“Dominic…stop.”

“No, I’m taking what’s mine.” He released his grip on her wrists and ran his hands along the sides of her ribcage. His face ran kisses down between her breasts to her stomach. “You are mine and so is your mama. She’s just stubborn like your daddy, but she knows whom she belongs to.” He kissed his son’s home and laid his head over the same spot.

She tried to push him off of her but he grabbed a wrist in each hand and held them at her sides. “I’m sleeping with my wife and son. Do not run from me, Mick. By the way, you left this behind.” He raised her left hand and she noticed he had slipped her ring back on her finger. “Don’t ever take it off again.”

He drifted off with exhaustion nuzzled against her abdomen and kept his hold on her wrists while he slept. She felt vulnerable and raw. His claim on her was firmly in place and a part of her was afraid of it, but she loved him with every fiber of her being.

“I love you, Dominic.” She whispered with tears rolling down her face. “You win baby, I can’t live without you.”

“I know. I love you too.” He mumbled sleepily. He released her arms and she cradled his head.

“I’ll try to be a good wife and mother. I don’t want to disappoint you. It’s hard for me to change but I’ll do as you say.”

He looked up at her and saw her tears. He crawled up her body and wiped them from her face. “You’re scared that you’ll disappoint me. Is that why you ran away?” She nodded her head. “Mick, baby, I love you. You could never disappoint me. You’ll make a wonderful wife and a great mother.”

“Dominic, I’ve been a recluse for two and a half years now. I can’t even treat you right. My moods fluctuate too often. I can’t understand why you even want me.”

He held her face between his hands and kissed her gently. “I want you because you’re beautiful, loving, caring, sensual, and mine. We belong to each other. I am overbearing, possessive, and constantly jumping you. I have my faults but you still want me.” His eyes teared up. “Baby, I love you. Will you be my wife?”

“Yes!” She cried with heavy sobs. “I want to spend the rest of life with you.”
She pulled his head down and kissed him with every ounce of love she possessed.

After a few minutes Dom pulled back and looked into her eyes. He inched down her body and pulled off her shorts. He stood at the end of the bed and quickly removed his clothes. He crawled back on top of her and placed kisses all over her face.

“I proposed right this time. I’m sorry for the way I did it before. As you know, I’m not very subtle. When I want something I just take it. Just like I took you.”

She wrapped her legs around his waist and he entered her slowly. “Ahhh! I could never give this up. I don’t think anyone alive could satisfy me like you.”

He pulled out and drove back into her harder. “What do you mean think? You know damn well I’ve ruined you for other men just like you ruined me.”

“Just giving you a hard time, love. You are all I want or need.” Her eyes closed and she reveled in the slow but hard rhythm of his lovemaking.

“Mick.” She opened her eyes and held his gaze. “Soul mates separated. Two hearts devastated.” He increased the speed of his thrusts and initiated the connection. “I love you.”

She felt him around her and in her. “I love you too.” After about twenty minutes of sharing their feelings, they both shuddered with their release. He collapsed on top of her but held his weight on his forearms. Her arms held him to her. “I become your wife in a matter of hours.”

“In the eyes of the law, yes, but you’re already my wife in my eyes.” He kissed her forehead gently. “Baby?”

“Yes.”

“What are you going to do about the Italians?”

“What do you mean?”

“Will this happen again? Are you going to keep running the family?”

“No and yes. My pilot, Anton, is a cousin. He runs things for me. Why?”

“I just need to know what to expect that’s all. I don’t need any surprises and I want to be prepared if there are any.”

“We’ll be fine, my love.” She pulled him into a kiss. “Should we go home?”

“No baby. Let’s stay hidden for a little while. We both could use the rest without the interruptions.” He moved to her side and pulled her into his chest. “Sleep for a few hours, love, and then we’ll go home.”

She snuggled into his chest and he held her tight. One hand ran over her hair and the other rubbed her lower back. His tender touch lulled her to sleep and he kissed her head. “Mine.” He whispered and followed her into sleep.

Unknown to the sleeping couple, Leon had doubled back to the house. He was bound and determined to drag Mikaela back. He walked into the house and saw her curled up in Dom’s arms. Relief and jealousy shot through him. It was obvious that Dom got her back but Vince’s words rang through his mind. ‘She don’t belong to you and she never will.’

He was surprised at the anger he had towards Dom. He wanted Mikaela. He watched her bare body stir restlessly in her sleep and fought the urge to pick her up and run.

‘Dominic!’

‘Yeah baby?’

‘Do you feel that?’

‘Yeah, I do. It’s a combination of love, lust, and anger. It’s Leon, Mick. He’s in the room watching you!’

‘Lover, stop, calm down. We need to figure out what we’re going to do about him.’

‘I’m gonna kick his ass!’

‘Baby…I can sense what he wants to do to me! He wants to take me away from you… from here! Wake up now!’

When Dom’s eyes snapped open, he saw one of his best friends hands on his wife. He bolted across her body and pushed Leon away from Mikaela’s naked form.

“What are you doing here, Leon?” Dom hovered over Mikaela’s body trying to protect her from the potential threat. “You don’t even need to answer. You came here to take her from me. It’s written all over your face. And it’s not gonna happen, man.”

“What makes you think you deserve her? She is pure and you will eventually whore around on her!” He looked at her and back to Dom. “Why is she still asleep? What’s wrong with her?”

Dom looked down at his wife and read her. She was probing Leon to determine the reason for the way he was acting.

‘Mick?’

‘It isn’t Rob. He’s gone. Leon wants to take me away from you.’ She woke up and hid behind Dom’s body. Leon was actually frightening her and Dom felt her fear.

He turned towards his friend and his anger showed on his face. “You’re scaring her! Leon, she’s hiding from you like she did with that psycho. Is that what you want?”

“No”

“Then what do you want from me, Leon?” She peered out from behind Dom’s back and kept her body hidden.

“You”

She felt Dom tense and grabbed his arm. “I belong to him. What do you want from me?”

“I want you.”

“How? How do you want me? I cannot be yours. Ever. I am marrying Dominic tomorrow. So, I ask you again. What do you want from me?”

“You’re in my head. You’re in my heart. I know you can’t be mine but I want you.” He was having a hard time answering her question knowing that he was scaring her.

She was getting angry at his evasiveness. She came out from behind Dom and stood in front of Leon. “How?”

He grabbed her face in both hands and kissed her hard. She went rigid in his grasp. He pulled back and whispered. “I. Want. You.”

“If I let you have me will that satisfy you? I won’t let this behavior continue between the two of you.” She was crying and shaking in his hands. “Why do you feel this way?”

“I can’t explain it. I love you. I know you’ll never be mine. I know you’re marrying Dom tomorrow. I want to be your friend but I have to have you. I’m sorry. I know you’ll be upset and I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t answer my question. If I let you have me, will that satisfy you? Will you be happy with that and just be my friend?”

He looked at her tear-stained face and brushed his thumbs over her cheeks. “Yes. I can’t guarantee that you’ll ever be out of my system though.” He looked up at Dom and saw the end of a friendship. He pleaded with his eyes for forgiveness. By the look he received, it wasn’t forthcoming.

Dom pulled Mikaela from his grasp and glared at Leon. “She’s addictive, Leon. I made a mistake sharing her with you the first time. This won’t get her out of your system. You will only want more and I won’t allow it.”

“How do you know that I won’t be satisfied?”

“Because I wasn’t! Think about it. Everyone she has ever been with couldn’t live without her. The 1st guy she had sex with died and the 2nd went psycho with jealousy! She’s mine and I won’t let you hurt her.”

“Dom, I’d never hurt her!”

Mikaela moved further into Dom’s chest when Leon raised his voice. He wrapped an arm around her waist. “You’re hurting her now! She told you she didn’t want to do anything with you while she was pregnant! We’re getting married tomorrow! You’re scaring her!”

Leon looked down into Mikaela’s frightened eyes. He was torn between salvaging his friendship with the both of them and wanting her. His need won. He gently grabbed her arm and tried to pull her from Dom.

“You’re not taking my wife, Leon!” Dom held her around her midsection and wouldn’t let go. A tug of war ensued with Mikaela feeling like her arm was being wrenched out of the socket.

“Stop it! You’re fucking hurting me!”

The dogs heard their mother cry out in pain and jumped into action. Dom pulled her away from Leon and she fell to the floor hard. The dogs surrounded her and Zeus moved to lick her face. Leon and Dom launched into a fight that destroyed a good portion of the room.

Mikaela opened her eyes and blearily looked around the room. She heard a loud crash and couldn’t focus her eyes in that direction. A pair of arms lifted her up and cradled her to his chest. Leon’s face came into focus. He placed her on the bed and began to remove his clothes as darkness overtook her.