Out of Oblivion (11 page)

"You know. The whole dominance and submission thing. I could never let another man control me like that."

"From what Jason's told me, Dominic's not the type to force that kind of relationship on someone. I think he cares about you and wouldn't care if it was just a vanilla relationship."

"I care a lot about him too, but even if he didn't expect all that, I don't think it would work."

"Well, instead of deciding what will and won't work, just let things happen naturally. You never know. If you're meant to be together, it will happen."

I smiled. "You're probably right." Inside, though, my stomach was doing somersaults. No one knew that Kurt mutilated my body. No man, not even Dominic, would want me when he saw it.

Chapter
16

By the end of the day, I was glad I let Dominic talk me into going. Despite my reservations, I had a great time. But I was glad when Dominic said it was time to go. It was close to midnight, and I was exhausted. As fun as it was, it was a long, tiring day. On the way home, his mother's words buzzed in my head.

"Why did your mother ask if I was your submissive?"

Dominic chuckled. "She was joshing me. The best way to tell if my mom likes you is the teasing. The more she teases you the more she likes you."

"I got that impression. Well, the part about her enjoying teasing people, but why… I mean, how does she know about that stuff?"

"My parents have been into the lifestyle since before my brother and I were born. It's how they met. My mother is my father's submissive."

My jaw dropped. "So they raised you that way? Is that what you meant about it being in the family?"

"No. No, it wasn't like that at all. My brother and I knew nothing about it when we were growing up. The family part of it is completely coincidental. A friend introduced me to the lifestyle in college, much the same as you."

I frowned. Alexis wasn't a friend.

"I learned Brant was into it through the grapevine, and I learned a lot from him over the years. My parents found out because they walked in on one of his parties."

"That must have been humiliating."

Dominic nodded. "It was worse when we found out they were into it as well because they nagged us to 'do it right' and 'be careful.' They were a little overbearing for a while. I suppose it's better than having them find out and think there was something wrong with us."

That would likely be my parents' reaction.

"Why do you ask?" Dominic glanced at me.

I shrugged. "Just curious. It was weird to have your mom say that, especially with other people around."

"And?"

How could he know there's more? "Bekka asked me if we were 'a thing', and it seemed so many others were making the same assumption."

"It probably has to do with the fact that we live together, and we're almost always together. It's natural for people to make that assumption." Dominic paused for a moment. "Although I do have feelings for you."

I gasped, then hoped he didn't hear my reaction. What could I say to that? I would be lying if I told him I didn't have feelings for him, but if I told him the truth, he would want a relationship, which would not end well.

"Haleigh?"

"Yes?"

Dominic sighed. "I admitted I have feelings for you, and you haven't responded. If my palms get any sweatier, I might not be able to steer. I need something."

"I have feelings for you too, but it doesn't matter."

"What do you mean it doesn't matter?"

"I can't be what you want me to be, Dominic."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not submissive."

"That doesn't matter. It's you I want."

Bekka was right, but now what should I say to him. I couldn't let this go anywhere. I turned my gaze out the window. "Look, Dominic. If you knew what Kurt did to me, you wouldn't want me anymore."

"What did he do?" His voice was low, almost like a growl.

"It's too humiliating to talk about." A tear fell from my eye. He wouldn't let this go, and I wasn't ready to lose him.

As soon as the car stopped in the driveway, I wasted no time. I pulled my key out of my handbag and jogged to the door. By the time I unlocked it, I heard Dominic's footsteps behind me, but he hadn't said anything. So I barged into the house and headed straight for the stairs. I wanted to lock myself in the room, but before I reached the first stop, Dominic had grabbed my arm.

"Wait," he said, softly. "Please, talk to me, Haleigh. Don't run away."

I groaned as I swiped furiously at the tears blurring my vision, but I let him lead me into the living room. I sat in an armchair as Dominic pulled up an ottoman and sat in front of me.

"Tell me what Kurt did to you," he said, taking both my hands in his and giving them a gentle squeeze.

I turned my gaze away from him, but without releasing my hand, he used a finger under my chin to redirect my attention onto him.

"Please, Haleigh."

"He mutilated me." It came out barely above a whisper.

Dominic's forehead wrinkled, and he leaned closer. "I don't understand. What do you mean he mutilated you?"

I couldn't bring myself to explain it, so I lifted my skirt enough to expose my thigh. He ran a finger over the brand. I closed my eyes as a shiver ran through me. I watched his face for a moment. The repulsion I expected to see there wasn't. In fact, he seemed even more confused.

"It doesn't bother you?"

"No, Haleigh, but I can see it bothers you. There are people in the lifestyle who practice both temporary and permanent branding. It's not unusual, but it's consensual. Obviously Kurt gave you no choice, and it's affecting your self-esteem. But it's something that can be fixed. You don't have to live with it. I know a tattoo artist who can cover it for you if you're interested."

I let out a deep breath. Tattoos weren't my thing, but it would be better than having a brand there. "I'd love that."

Dominic smiled. "See? That wasn't so bad, was it? Now that we have that out of the way, we can talk about us."

I looked away. That wasn't the worst of it. He may have accepted the brand, but the rest was too horrifying.

"There's something else," he said.

I nodded.

"What is it?"

My throat felt as though it closed up. The brand might be easily covered, but the rings couldn't be. I wasn't even sure it was possible to remove them or where I would go to do it. And how would I explain it to him? There was no way I would drop my panties and show him this one.

"It can't be that bad," Dominic said, pulling me into his arms.

"It is. You will despise me."

"That would never happen, Haleigh. You thought that with the brand too, but you were wrong. You're wrong about this too. At least give me a chance to prove there is nothing he could have done that will change my feelings for you. Although I can't promise you it won't make me despise him more than I do."

I chuckled and leaned back, wiping my face, but I still couldn't tell him.

"Please, Haleigh. I can't help you if you won't tell me what's wrong."

My breath caught. I hadn't considered he might want to help me, but then wasn't that what he did by telling me about the tattoo? Maybe he would know what to do about the rings. "He pierced me." I pointed towards my crotch. "Down there."

"Will you let me see it?"

I pulled my knees up, hugging them tight to my chest. Rings aside, I had always been shy about being nude in front of a man for the first time. "It would be too humiliating."

"It will be fine. I won't judge you, and it's nothing sexual. I'm just going to have a look, so I can see what can be done."

Reluctantly, I stood and inched my panties over my hips, being careful to let the skirt cover me. I let them fall to my ankles and slipped them off one foot at a time before sitting back on the chair. Dominic lifted my feet placing them on the chair then pushed my knees apart, so they rested on the arms of the chair. My skirt still covered me, but my faced heated regardless. Worse, other areas heated too, and he was bound to notice. As he lifted my skirt, I clamped my legs together again.

Dominic sighed, pressing his lips together. "It will be okay."

When he eased them apart again, I leaned my head back, covering my face with my hands. I felt him lift the skirt. The slight breeze on my nether regions made me gasp. Then I felt his light touch over the rings covering my clitoris, and I nearly jumped out of the seat. He covered me, without a word, and didn't stop me when I pressed my thighs together. The silence was killing me.

"Kurt wanted to prevent me from touching myself."

"Yes, that's the impression I got."

I uncovered my face and looked at him, suddenly realizing why he was so quiet. His face was red, and he looked like he might explode.

"The guy I told you about. The tattoo artist. He has a woman who works with him who does body piercing. She should be able to remove those."

My eyes filled with tears, but this time it was because of the overwhelming relief. Not only would I be able to be somewhat normal again. I also felt hope, for the first time, that a relationship with Dominic might be possible.

He leaned in close, gently wiping the tears away with his thumbs, then kissed my forehead. "Is there any other objections that need to be addressed?"

I shook my head.

"Good." He kissed my cheek. "Would I be mistaken if I said it's now okay for us to explore our feelings for one another?"

I shook my head again, and he kissed my other cheek.

"Do you object to exploring those feelings physically?"

"No," I whispered, my whole body on fire.

"Good."

Dominic covered my mouth with his, reaching a hand behind my head and gripping a fist full of my hair while deepening the kiss. As he explored my mouth with his tongue, his free hand slithered its way under my shirt. He caressed my belly as he ran his fingers over my torso. Then he slipped a finger under my bra freeing one of my breasts. I gasped as he teased my nipple, allowing him to deepen the kiss even further.

I pressed my chest towards him. He chuckled and gave my nipple a squeeze, drawing a moan. There was too much space and too many layers of clothing between us. Dominic didn't seem to notice the predicament though. He repeated his ministrations with my other breast. I shivered as his fingers drifted lower into my nether regions. He pushed my knees apart with his and worked a finger inside of me. I gasped and tried to come up for air, but his grip on my hair held me in place.

His fingers slid in and out of me. When he added another, I whimpered. I needed more, and I needed it now. This pace was killing me, but my body tensed. I was so close. Then as I was about to find my release, he pulled his fingers out and leaned back. I opened my eyes and groaned. He watched me with a smile.

"You are so beautiful. Do you want more?"

I nodded, unable to speak. Instead of starting again, he lifted me into his arms and carried me upstairs to his bedroom. He set me down on his bed and pulled my shirt off. After releasing the clasp on my bra and tossing it to the ground he took my nipple into his mouth, sucking hard. Then he grazed it with his teeth and lightly blew on it. I shivered as he moved onto the next one and repeated the process.

Dominic climbed off the bed and undressed as I watched. First, he lifted his shirt over his head. I'd seen him bare chested before, but I was trying not to notice at the time. Now I was free to ogle him all I wanted. I reached over and ran my fingers over his perfectly sculpted abs. He gasped and let me unbutton his pants. He slipped them off and climbed over me lowering his mouth to mine again.

"What do you want?" he asked, breaking the kiss.

"I need you inside me."

"Are you sure?"

I groaned, and he chuckled as he slid himself between my legs teasing my opening. Then he stopped and reached into his bedside table pulling out a condom.

"Where were we?" he said as he pressed himself into my nether regions, teasing me again.

"You were about to stop tormenting me."

"Oh? But that's the best part."

I wrapped my arms around his neck, and my legs around his hips, pulling his full weight on top of me.

"Is this what you want?" he said as he gradually slid himself inside of me.

"Yes." I whimpered.

Only the tip of him had made it in before he slid back out.

"Dominic, please."

He answered me with another kiss. When he edged his way back in, I lifted my hips, trying to push him deeper, but he pulled back.

"Slowly, baby. I want to savor our first time."

I groaned. Savoring wasn't what I wanted. I didn't realize how much I needed this, but I knew he would get his way regardless. He always did, so I let him take control. He slid into me again and again, agonizingly slow, while pushing a little deeper each time until he filled me. Still he didn't quicken the pace.

"Faster, please," I begged.

Dominic shook his head continued to leisurely slide his entire length in and out of me, bringing me to the brink of orgasm and holding me there. I whimpered, and then he slammed into me hard and fast, sending me over the edge. My body stiffened. He quickened the pace, making my body quiver. Electricity coursed through me when he rammed himself into me one finale time with his release. Even then, the aftershocks continued, and I floated. When I came down, I was surprised to find I was on my belly, lying partially on top of him. He had his arms around me, his thumb stroking my shoulder.

"I hope you realize, there is nothing in this world that can ever change the way I feel about you," Dominic told me, kissing the top of my head.