Unconditional (19 page)

Chapter Fourteen

A
s soon as
they arrived home, Rinah went in search of their children. Dominic was not far behind. After the ordeal of the day, she felt the need to reestablish contact with her kids. He obviously felt the same. They spent some time getting them fed and settled for bed. As usual, interaction with such innocence and the overwhelming responsibility put life in perspective.

Much later, Dominic followed her out of the kids’ room. “I know today was bad. I learned things about myself, did and said things to you that I’m not proud of. I hope you’d give me a chance to rectify that.”

Outside the door, she turned to him. “I’m going to take a shower.” She was exhausted from the events of the day, but knew they had to talk about what had transpired. She just preferred doing it after removing the stickiness from her skin. “We do need to talk, I agree.”

“Okay, go ahead. I will shower as well. Meet me in our room when you’re done.”

“So much has happened, and we have a lot to resolve. I prefer we talk on neutral ground, perhaps in the study.” She turned away and went to her room.

After a shower and change into a simple sun dress, she entered his study unsure of what to expect. Rinah was shocked see that Dominic had arranged a picnic meal on the floor. An abundance of lit candles was dispersed throughout the room, while soft music played in the background. She raised an eyebrow in inquiry. “We’re you really attempting a romantic setting in an office?”

“At least I tried,” he said, self-mockingly

“It’s going to take more than a few candles and music to make our situation right.”

He sighed. “Yeah, I know.”

She walked farther in to the room, closing the door behind her. Perched gingerly on the edge of the armchair, she regarded him calmly. Now that Flavia was out of their lives, she didn’t feel so pessimistic about their chances of resolving the issues in their marriage.

“Neo tells me that he informed you of why you and Matt were being so heavily guarded.”

Rinah took her time in answering, because she was almost certain Neo had been lying about the details. She believed him about the danger. After all, Matt had almost been kidnapped. But she didn’t believe for a minute that it had anything to do with Dominic’s shipping business. “Neo told me many things. But I prefer to hear the details from you.”

He smiled at her give-no-quarter response. “Fair enough. You already know I sometimes assisted in intelligence gathering for the U.S. government,” he began soberly.

Nodding in the affirmative, she sat back and relaxed in the chair. “Go on.”

“Eight months ago, a mission became very personal. You’ll remember we lost one of our teammates and the danger got close to you and Matt. Neo made you aware of the heightened security because by then I was out of the house.” He calmly outlined his activities during the first five months of their separation.

“How could you keep something like that from me?”

“It’s over, Rin. Nothing to worry about.”

“You’re just not right. That shit’s not right!” It was devastating to find out that someone you loved so much had suffered so greatly. She was appalled that he, Sean, and Rico had been hospitalized and she’d known nothing about it. With a start, she realized she had given birth to Nikki the very same day he had been so viciously injured.

“You see, right there is our problem. How can our marriage work if you think keeping stuff like that from me is okay? Is this the dark ages or something? Did I miss a few centuries? Because the last time I checked, marriage is a partnership. Women no longer stay at home while our men fight our battles for us, at least not without them being fully on board with it. What if you had died out there? How could you do this to me, to Matt?” She couldn’t stop the tears rolling down her cheeks.

How can I reach him?
She started to feel hopeless again.

“I’m sorry, Rin. It’s hard for me to willingly tell you of the horrors out there. Today almost killed me. That asshole had his gun pointed at your head! At your head, Rin!” He swallowed as if finding it difficult to speak. “I promised your father that I’d protect you with my life. And even without the promise, that desire is innate in me. You’re my wife.”

“Did you learn nothing today?”

“Yes, I think I did. I accused you of being with another man because I didn’t give you the same trust that I’ve been asking of you. I’ll never forgive myself for not removing Flavia from our lives years ago. Because I was trying to protect you from one evil, I allowed another serpent in our garden. What I said to you, how I treated you, was unforgiveable. I don’t know how I can make it up to you, but I will spend the rest of my life trying.”

“You can start by promising to never keep secrets from me again.”

Dominic looked at her silently. She didn’t back down from her request and continued to unflinchingly meet his gaze.

“I don’t make promises I don’t intend to keep.”

“Then I suggest you don’t start now. I expect you to honor all of your vows to me.”

He dropped his eyelids over his silver gaze for a few tense moments before he again looked her steadily. “No more secrets.”

“Thank you,” she said solemnly.

“No need to thank me. If I hadn’t insisted that you not know what was going on, the situation with Flavia would never have materialized.”

“She was very good on picking up on my most vulnerable fears. It was easy for me to believe her because I never thought you loved me anyway. Yes, you wanted me, lusted after me, but I knew you didn’t love me as I loved you. It was when you missed Nikki’s birth that I finally accepted you would never love me as I needed you to.”

“How could you not know how much I love you? You had me at the first glance of those beautiful eyes.” He came toward her and dropped to his knees before her.

“You’ve never told me that.” She gazed at him, wanting desperately to believe.

“How could you not know that?” He looked at her in total bewilderment. “I’ve told you I love you every time I kissed you, every time I held you, and every time I’ve made love to you. How can you not know, every time I touch you, look at you? I come home to you every day, knowing you’re the one who loves me. Not for my money, my power, or what I can give you, but you love
me
.” His molten gaze captured hers, letting her see his vulnerability. “Baby, I could never give that up.”

“When I was in that jungle all those months ago, our love and our family kept me going. Despite how we parted, I knew our love would last always. I fought to come back to you and our children. I love the life we’ve created together. I love our family. Nothing was going to prevent me from getting out of there alive. You are my life, and truly the other half of me!” His voice had grown hoarse and his eyes were murky with emotion.

“I should have told you how much I love you. I do, love.”

“Why did you let me go on thinking what I did, when you could have easily assured me?”

“I let stubbornness get in the way. Distrust and violence tore my parents’ marriage apart. I needed your trust me, love me unconditionally. Since you’d never have to worry about me hurting you, I wanted you to trust me.”

“Trust comes from action, not mere words. If we have no secrets between us, trust is automatic. I may not be able to protect you like Neo, Sean, or Rico, but I’ll always have your back. I’ll always give you my love.”

Tightening his grip on the armchair, he leaned into her and kissed her tenderly. “I am so sorry, sweetheart.”

Gently nibbling on his lower lip, Rinah knew he deserved more than her forgiveness. “As much as I’ve blamed you for everything that happened, I have to take responsibility, too. I’m sorry, too. I should have dealt with Flavia differently.”

“Baby, that bitch was demented. There was nothing
you
could have said or done that was going to deter her. You were right in dealing with me and asking
me
to deal with it her. I shouldn’t have dismissed your concerns. Didn’t you wonder why Flavia reacted so violently this time?”

“With that one, nothing is logical.”

He laughed. “Yeah, but I finally confronted her the day she came uninvited into our apartment. She had a locksmith friend help her create keys for the front door of the apartment and our house. She has lost her goddamn mind!” he muttered. “But I made it clear that I wanted no one but you. I fired her and told her to stay away from us. That probably just drove her over the edge. Your reactions to her only fueled her to continue. She wasn’t going to stop until
I
dealt with her permanently. So no, you have nothing to feel guilty about. This is all on me.”

“What about those pictures?”

“Yeah, I was being an ass, like you said. I should have realized what was going on. The whole setup was too damn convenient.”

“Don’t beat yourself up. I would’ve reacted in the same way. Probably worse!”

He grimaced, not really agreeing with her.

“I’m going to burn those damn divorce papers,” he promised grimly, daring her to disagree with him.

“I don’t know, baby, negotiations are still ongoing.” Grinning at his disgruntled expression, she slipped off the chair to fall into his lap. He tumbled to the floor and she followed him down. “So are you going to kiss me properly, or what?”

He grinned devilishly. “I can be persuaded into that activity. Are you sure you don’t want your dinner? You may need your strength. Maria has dinner waiting for us in the oven.”

She raised an eyebrow at his challenge. “If it hasn’t been spoiled by now, it can wait. But I don’t know, sweetheart…are you sure you don’t need to fuel up?” She stood to her feet and sensually shimmied out of her dress until it pooled at her feet. She knew the contrast of the stark white lace of her bra and matching thong against her mocha skin would only enhance her assets. After applying her favorite cream and oil following her bath, she looked smooth and had a healthy glow. She deliberately peeled the remaining garments off. Now completely naked, she was bold before him, unashamed of her less-than-perfect figure. While her daily exercise regimen with her friends had helped to tone her figure after giving birth, she had a real woman’s curves. And she loved them: C-cup breasts, a slight roundness in her otherwise flat stomach, wide gun-case hips and an apple-bottom-shaped ass. Holding her thong between her fingers, swaying her hips provocatively, she approached him and dropped the scrap of material in his lap.

Her husband’s eyes smoldered with heat and appreciation. He lifted up the silk and deeply inhaled her scent. He groaned, and if the growing bulge in his trousers and the bliss on his face were anything to go by, she’d say he loved her essence and her brazen display.

“I love you, Rinah.” He growled the words from deep in his throat.

“I love you right back, my Dominic.”

Acknowledgements

I have to
take this opportunity to thank a few people who undoubtedly make my books possible. First my family, who I neglect horribly when I get carried away in my stories, I simply want to thank you so much for your unwavering support. My poor husband has his sleep interrupted constantly as I spring from our bed in the middle of the night with a burning idea: thank you babe! My daughters have to listen to my ideas and pretend to be interested: y’all will get over the psychological trauma! Love you! My sister, who lovingly gets the word out: thanks baby girl! To my amazing editor Rie, thank you for challenging me and making this journey possible. I couldn’t have done this without you! To Alisha from Damonza, you put up my crazy demands and respond with beautiful kickass covers. Thank you so much for the work you do!

To the readers who reach out with feedback in reviews and to my email address, I read every one of your comments and am exceedingly grateful for them. Thank you for the encouragement and positivity. You have no idea how much you motivate me. Thank you for making my dream of writing a reality! And finally to the Goodreads community: thank you, thank you, thank you!

About the Author

Thank you so
much for taking time out of your precious relaxation time to read Dominic and Rinah’s story. I trust you have enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. With every story I tell, my Caribbean sisters are highlighted. The culture is a melting pot of all ethnicities, where love has no color. We love who we love and make no apology for it.

You may contact me at
[email protected]
. I love hearing from you. Your feedback, good or bad is very important to me.

Please visit my webpage:
dmmortier.com

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