The day went buy in a blur.
Ariella wonderd around the house seemlesly. Since Dominic left in the morning she had no one to talk to but wonder around.
A storm came in the middle of the night.No thunder. No rain. Just heavy wind.
Dominic.
Ariella sat upright the second the bedroom door flew open, her heart was thudding heavily in her chest out of shock. He was soaked in sweat and rage, his black shirt was torn at the collar, blood splattered across his sleeves.
"Get up," he said.
Her breath caught. "What... What happened?"
"Up. Now." He Ordered.
She didn't ask any more questions. Not when his voice was sharp with something between fury and fear. She followed him barefoot through the hall and into the elevator, the silence between them brittle and burning.
The elevator descended into a part of the house she hadn't seen before. Stone floors, steel doors, no windows.
A dungeon. No other word fit.
Dominic led her into a cold, silent room where a man sat tied to a chair, blood leaking from his nose and lip. His eyes flicked up when Ariella entered, widening slightly.
"She's the one?" the man rasped. "The virgin whore?"
Dominic moved before she could blink.
One brutal punch landed on his face, precise, cracked across the man's jaw. Blood sprayed the floor. The man slumped in the chair, groaning.
Ariella flinched.
Dominic turned to her. His hands were shaking.
"I told you you were a target," he said. "And I told you I would protect what's mine."
"I... Dom... What's happening?"
He looked at her, then turned away. Pacing the room like a lion trying to stay inside its cage.
"His name is Carlotti. He's Calvetti's runner. He followed Rae the night she left. Was also planning to snatch you from the bakery on your next visit."
Ariella's blood ran cold. Dominic next words hit her like a bolt
"He wanted to sell you," Dominic snarled. "To traffickers who trade in women untouched by sin."
Her stomach turned. Vision blurred.
"I can't let you leave anymore," he said.
Ariella stepped backward. "Dominic..."
"You don't get it!" he snapped, spinning toward her. "You're not in the real world anymore, Ariella. You've stepped into mine. And in my world, you either kill, or you get killed."
The man in the chair groaned again.
Ariella swallowed hard. Pointing towards the man "What are you going to do to him?"
Dominic walked to her slowly.
"I'm going to make an example out of him," he said. "And you?… you're going back to my bed."
Her heart hammered. "You're angry."
"Not at you."
"You look like you're barely holding it together."
"I'm not."
He was now close. Inches away. So close she could smell the blood, the sweat, the fury still trembling beneath his skin.
"I taught you were in danger today," he whispered. "Really!. And it did something to me."
She could feel it too. The shift. The snap of control unraveling.
"I want to protect you," he said, his voice low and gravelly. "But I also want to claim you. To leave a mark no one could touch. Do you know what that makes me?"
She shivered. "A monster?"
He shook his head. "Yours." And then he kissed her.
Not soft, Nor careful. But raw and desperate.
Ariella gasped against his mouth, and he took advantage. Sliping his tounge into her mouth. licking inside her like he needed to taste her soul. His hands gripped her hips, lifting her against the cold wall. She wrapped her legs around his waist without thinking, a whimper escaping her throat.
"You don't know what you're doing to me," he growled, teeth grazing her lip. "You walk around my house, barefooted, looking innocent, and all i think about is ruining you with every step."
"Then ruin me," she whispered, breathless.
He froze. Not expecting such response, He pressed his forehead to hers. "Say it again."
"Ruin me." She moaned out breathlessly
He growled like actually growled and carried her down the hallway, past the steel doors and flickering lights, into the elevator, and up to the penthouse.
The bedroom door slammed open.
Walking inside toward the bed he laid her down like something precious, but touched her like something he had already claimed.
Her tank top was gone in seconds. His lip trailed over to her collarbone, the swell of her breasts we're a mesmerizing sight to behold. He kissed her like he was starving and couldn't get enough.
"Still want this?" he asked, voice thick.
"Yes," she breathed out. "Only you."
He reached between her thighs, parting her slowly. "You're shaking."
She covered her face looking shy. " I'm ready"
"God help us both if you're lying."
And then he pinned both her hands above her head his mouth on her nipples. His tongue rolled on it as if it's the most pleasure able thing to do.
She cried out. Every vain in her body tingle form the sensation of his tounge.
He left her nipples and trailed wet kisses down her Tommy towards her hips. Gripping her hips with both hands he raised his hand to smirk at her sending shivers done her spine. Lowing his head lips attached her folds. A Sharp breath escaped her lips. "Gawd Dom." He smiled his tounge circling her p-lips. He sucked her slowly, endlessly, dragging pleasure from her with skill that made her see stars. She clenched the sheets, tears pricking her eyes. She had no frame or reference for this kind of feeling. No map for the way her body burned. Just as she was reaching her peaks his mouth left her folds.
He climbed up her body, kissing her with her taste still on his tongue. He stroked his already hard d**k.
"Are you sure?" he asked one last time.
She reached for him. "I've never been more sure."
He didn't rush.He didn't tease.
He slid inside her with one slow and long push. She winched. He kissed her lips muffling her cries trying to distract her. With one swift push her filled her insides.
The stretch. The pressure. The fire.
She gasped, tears falling for her eye's, her body bowing into his, nails digging into his arms.
He kissed her through it. Whispering words she couldn't understand. Gave her time. And when her body relaxed, when she whispered his name like a prayer, he moved.
And she shattered. She let out a blissful moan. Making Dominic groan. He slammed in her making her cry out again and again.
"F**k Ari I'm coming" he growled moveing faster. Her grip on him tightened "gawd Dom please."
With one swift move he realized all his seed in her. Claiming her as his alone. He fell down beside her. They lay in silence, tangled inside the sheets, his chest rising and falling beneath her cheek.
He stroked her back gently, his other arm curled around her protectively.
She should have felt lost. Ruined at least. But instead… she felt whole.
His voice broke the silence. Low. Rough. Barely a whisper.
"No one touches you but me now. Understood"
She smiled faintly. "Yes I know."