Unconditional (9 page)

“Oh my God!” She closed her eyes, trying desperately to ignore her body’s demands.

She couldn’t fight him and fight herself as well. It was too much. Eight months without this, without his touch, was intolerable. Night after night, she had twisted and turned in her lonely bed, wishing he was there, wanting him and missing their closeness. Having him again in her arms was too intoxicating to resist.

In the first few months after their separation, she had woken constantly, reaching for him, only to find the cold, empty spot on their mattress. Her body had craved his like a drug; and like a drug addict, she suffered tremendous pain from the withdrawal. For those endless months, she cried her pain, silently and privately, not willing to let anyone know how devastating it was and how much she was suffering inside. She yearned for his scent, his drugging kisses, his touch…God, his gentle touch that never failed to make her feel so ultra-feminine.

He cupped her breast and tormented the rigid tip.

“Dom!” She moaned in distress. Tonight had been an overload of emotions, sensations, and tastes. She simply wanted to gorge herself with him. She clasped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to meld their lips in a kiss filled with hunger, regret, and hope. Their kiss morphed into a feasting of one kiss following another, tongues exploring, teeth nipping and teasing, tasting and absorbing each other.

He sank his hands in her hair and buried his face in her neck. He’d always loved to sniff her, insisting that the familiar scent of her skin and hair drove him crazy. His massive body violently shook in reaction.

“Oh hell, baby, I need to be inside you,” he groaned huskily.

Dom suddenly lifted her high in his arms and she wrapped her legs around his waist. The muscles in his arms bunched and held her firmly as he turned and set her on the hard surface of his desk.

Holding her ass in one palm, he ground his hardness against her scalding heat while his other hand explored her quivering body. Kissing his way down her cheek to her ear and finally, the tops of her breasts, he gazed deeply into her eyes before taking a nipple in his mouth through the thin fabric of her dress and lacy bra. He diligently sucked and nipped the beaded tips with his teeth, until she was mindless in his arms.

She was frantic with need. She gripped his raven hair and held him firmly to her aching breasts. She cried out helplessly at his skillful attention and was soon impatient to feel his lips on her naked breasts. Discarding any semblance of pride, she whimpered and begged him to end her torment.

“Dom?”

“I know, baby.”

His feverish gaze locked with hers as he tore the flimsy fabric and his hot mouth latched on to the straining nipple. He groaned huskily as his fingers pushed her silk panties aside and encountered her wet heat. He mercilessly rubbed and tortured her engorged flesh.

She shuddered against him, drenching his fingers in helpless response to his assault. Unzipping his trousers, she reached inside and gripped his pulsing cock with eager fingers. His guttural growl in appreciation of her touch was gratifying. She sighed in satisfaction, not wanting to be the only one drowning in lust. Gripping his sac in a gentle caress, she rubbed her clit along the velvet, angry ridges of his broad cock, from tip to base and back again.

“Ah fuck, baby!” He plundered her mouth with his tongue as his cock strained at the entrance of her core.

“Mommy, where are you? Mommy, Nikki is crying,” Matt yelled from just outside the study door.

Dom went completely still, then cursed so colorfully, she giggled in commiserating sentiment.

“Mommy?” Matt yelled, his voice was filled with obvious distress. Now that her senses were no longer solely focused on Dom, she could hear Nikki’s muted pitiful cries in the background.

“I’m coming, darling,” she shouted loud enough for her son to hear her.

“That would’ve been my line if he had interrupted us two minutes later,” Dom said huskily, his voice filled with disappointment.

She grinned at the familiar, boyish scowl on his face. She’d seen that look on Matt’s little face on numerous occasions. But she immediately sobered at the enormity of what they had almost done.

“Okay, Mommy!” They could hear Matt trying to soothe his sister, but the little hothead seemed to be ignoring him.

“I have to go.” She moved gingerly away from Dominic, savoring the last moments of being in his arms.

“Yeah. I’ll take care of Matt and you get Nikki.”

Grateful for his help this time, she went to retrieve her fussy baby.

Much later, once the children were taken care of, she walked with Dominic to the front door. “I’ll have a word with Neo about the change in arrangements. I’ll be back tomorrow with my things. We’ll finish what we started earlier in our bed.” Dominic left no doubt of his determination to force her to accede to his demand.

But who was she kidding? There was no force required. She craved him every bit as much as he did her. Rinah wanted to let him have his way, but she could not meekly accept Flavia in his life. Flavia was poison, and if Dom insisted on resuming their marriage, then he had to do it without Flavia around to come between them.

“Listen, Dominic, I understand what you are trying to do. As much as I want you, and it must be obvious that I do, I can’t simply resume a sexual relationship with you, believing what I do. I’m not built that way.” She held his gaze, willing him to understand. “Yes, you can probably seduce me into making love with you, but I would hate it. I would hate you for forcing me, and I would hate myself for being so weak. I agree that our children need both of us. And I would love nothing better than giving them that.” She took a deep breath, overwhelmed by the enormity of her decision. Only a few hours ago she wouldn’t have even contemplated that they would have come so far in such a short time.

“I won’t object to you moving back in the house for them. But you’re not welcome in my bed. I can’t handle a sexual relationship with you right now.” She paused, hoping that he’d agree and they’d come to some compromise. “This isn’t about us, but about our children.”

Dom clenched his teeth in obvious impatience. “Look, Rin, I don’t understand why you feel the way you do, but I’m telling you that your suspicions are groundless. But if that’s what you want, then I’ll accommodate you for a while longer. Make no mistake, I intend to win and won’t make it easy for you to maintain this unnecessary distance between us.” His gaze smoldered with intent. “You want me just as much as I want you. I won’t let you continue punishing us by denying the attraction between us, and by ignoring how good we are together. You’re my wife, dammit!” His voice softened to a whisper. “I deserve better. You deserve better.”

”I’m tired and need to get some sleep if I want to be functional for work tomorrow. You need to leave.”

“Yes, but know that there will be no going back for either of us. Do I make myself clear, Rin?” he asked empathically.

“Just remember I don’t respond well to being dictated to!” she whispered fiercely, before briskly closing the door behind him.

Chapter Seven

T
he next morning,
Rinah tried to concentrate on the case in front of her, but nothing could hold her interest. The words swam in front of her eyes but refused to make any sense. Despite the pending meeting with a new client, she couldn’t stop thinking about Dominic and about their interrupted lovemaking of the night before. She could still feel his hardness at her entrance, keeping her embarrassingly primed for his possession. The imprint of his body against hers was still so vivid, she felt as though he had branded her.

He had, as promised, put Matt to bed and had left soon after, kissing both children lightly on their foreheads and pressing a brief, hard kiss on her lips. He made his escape before she could admonish him for his impertinence.

Rinah ached. Every cell in her body was highly sensitized and filled with anticipation of the night to come. Giving their marriage a second chance and having Dominic back in her life awakened a fierce desire to live in the moment and explore the exquisite feelings being with him brought. If she didn’t have meetings scheduled back-to-back today, she would have stayed at home, in an effort to regain some semblance of equilibrium.

By mid-morning, after enduring a tedious meeting with an impossible client, taking endless phone calls, and responding to numerous emails, she managed to regain her concentration. Now she was at least able to perform her job with a respectable level of competence.

She answered her ringing phone again and smiled upon hearing Bianca’s voice. “Hey, girl, Zara and I had to call. Are you okay?”

“Hey, Bee, Zara!”

Rinah and Bianca had remained close friends over the years. And Zara Hamilton had joined their close-knit friendship when Dominic formed a partnership with her husband, Jaden, a few years before. Bianca and Zara had faithfully supported her through the difficult separation from Dominic, as they’d supported Bianca, two years before in the aftermath of her particularly nasty divorce.

“Wait, don’t tell me. The gossip column, right?” Rinah asked cheerfully. She could laugh at it now, but yesterday when Dominic was being his obnoxiously arrogant self, she hadn’t been amused. She quickly gave her friends an abbreviated version of what had occurred in the restaurant the day before.

“No, actually, that’s not what we were referring to, although the morning newspaper referred to that as well. There’s an ugly front-page story in the daily rag you need to see,” Zara said.

“What is it? Is it something about the firm?” Rinah was a bit confused. Zara was a financial consultant and Bianca a lawyer. Neither professional woman was prone to reading the gossip paper first thing in the morning.

“No. There’s a picture of Flavia on a beach in Mexico, and the caption states that reliable sources have confirmed that she had spent two months there with Dominic,” Zara said softly.

“I told you long ago we should have kicked that bitch’s ass!” Bianca was always ready to give someone a beat-down.

Normally, Rinah would have been amused by her friend’s bloodthirsty attitude, but she couldn’t breathe. Pain engulfed her.

She couldn’t speak. Dead silence followed.

“Hello? Rin? Are you still there?” The concern in Zara’s voice made her want to brawl like a baby.

“Hey, Rin, do you want us to come get you?” Bianca asked in bewilderment.

“No,” she managed to whisper. Emotion clogged her vocal cords, preventing further speech. Her worst fears were being realized. It was one thing to suspect Dominic of infidelity privately and with her closest friends, but it was another when his cheating was all laid bare for the rest of the world to speculate on.

“Do you want me to have Jaden investigate the validity of the story? Although Dominic is his friend, I’m sure he’d do this for you. He doesn’t think it’s true, by the way.” Zara was always the more levelheaded one of their trio.

Rinah had no idea what she would have done without her friends’ steadfast counsel.

Rinah cleared her throat and determinedly pulled herself together. “No, I can’t put him in that position, just as I won’t ask Neo to break Dominic’s confidence, either. Dominic and I only last night decided to work on our marriage. Flavia seems to have amazing timing.”

“Girl, I would tread very carefully around that one,” Zara cautioned. “Ordinarily I would agree with your stance to deal with Dom only, regarding such matters. After all, you’re married to him, not Flavia. But now I agree with Bianca. This bitch needs a ‘cut ass’, as the Bahamians like to say.”

“Damn straight!” Bianca intoned.

“I know. I’m just afraid that when I start wailing on her ass, I won’t be able to stop, and end up killing the bitch. My babies need their mom to stay out of prison. Last I heard, Fox Hill Prison’s no joke!”

“Girl, you don’t have to worry about any prison! If they can’t find the body, you won’t be prosecuted.”

Rinah grinned at Bianca’s eagerness to off the skank. “As much as I would enjoy breaking a few of her limbs, don’t you think it’s bit convenient that just as Dominic and I have decided to give our marriage a second chance, Flavia has suddenly remembered the supposed vacation? And why would an insignificant liaison between two private residents make such a news flash? She has to know that when Dominic finds out about the story he will destroy that publication, even if that story is true.” Rinah spoke quietly, desperately hoping her friends would agree with her and they could have a good laugh.

“But Rin, Dom had gone missing a few months ago, without giving word of his whereabouts. Get him to explain where he was and what he was doing for five months?”

“I will try. But Dominic is so goddamn secretive. I hate his covert attitude about his business. I know the cold look an inquiry like that will garner.”

“And what do you mean about you and Dominic agreed to give your marriage a second chance? When were you going to tell us about your change in circumstance?” Rinah could hear the excitement and caution in Zara’s voice.

“It’s a long story. We need to have a girls’ night out so I can tell you properly. I have to attend another meeting now, though.” Her next meeting wasn’t for another half hour, but Rinah was holding on to her composure by a thread. She needed to get off the phone. As well-meaning as her friends were, neither of them would understand how devastating this news was. Jaden loved Zara to distraction and didn’t care who knew it. Her friend couldn’t understand what it was like to have a husband who didn’t display emotion like that. And on the other hand, Bianca was so bitter sometimes that her advice was often infused with her own cynical views. Neither woman was what she needed. Only Dominic could fix the hurt she was feeling.

As soon as she hung up, however, the phone started ringing again. She was tied up in calls and meetings for the rest of the morning, and by the time a call came through from Dominic, she had still to decide on what to do, or what to believe.

“Morning, sweetheart. Did you sleep as well as I did?” His gravelly voice slithered down her spine, instantly making her shiver in awareness. “Which is not at all.”

“I’m not sure why you didn’t sleep, but I didn’t sleep because I had a sick daughter on my hands.” The stupid man chuckled at her obvious lie.

“Very soon you’re going to tell me what I want to hear. And you’re going to scream for me like you always do.”

“Is that right? I’ll probably scream all right, scream at you to leave me the hell alone. Now, I would like to sit here and trade insults with you all day, but I have work to do. What do you want?”

“Damn, baby, that’s cold. I’m keeping note of all of these infractions.”

“Dominic, state your business and get the hell off the phone!”

His husky laugh sizzled through every pore in her body.

“The morning has been pretty hectic but I wanted to tell you I won’t be moving in tonight. We have an important meeting scheduled and I would be late getting out of it. I don’t want to disrupt the kids’ bedtime by coming in so late.” Dominic tiredly ran his hand through his dark hair. He wanted to tell everyone to go to hell and just go home to his family. But he’d obviously made a commitment to meet these people, as Flavia had just pointed out. He had no choice and there was no getting out of it.

“If you’re worried about convenience, why move in at all? Then you won’t have to disrupt us at any time.” The anger and distrust in her voice came through loud and clear. “I’m sure Flavia threw a tantrum on hearing about your move back home, and insisted on a big send-off so you won’t forget about her. Didn’t you tell her you’re coming home but we’re not back together?”

“Look, Rin, we have gone over this ground before. Flavia has nothing to do with my not moving in tonight, at least not in the way you mean. I could still send my things ahead. Marva and Gill can take care of unpacking, and then you would be the only one I disrupt tonight,” Dominic drawled.

“I think you had better discuss that with Flavia first, before you make any more promises you can’t deliver on. By the way, did you enjoy two months’ holiday in Mexico with her?” she asked silkily and then promptly disconnected the call.

Dominic looked at his phone in bewilderment. What the hell was that all about? He knew that she would have put her own spin on his whereabouts, but to come up with Mexico and Flavia? That seemed bizarre, even for Rinah.

He promised himself that they would clear up that misconception during the coming weekend. No phone calls, no interruptions from anyone, just the two of them, even if he had to lock her in their bedroom for the duration in order to ensure she listened.

Two hours later, his confusion was gone, as he read the offensive article in the gossip rag. He had no idea where they’d gotten such an outlandish story, but he would make them very sorry for printing such garbage. If Flavia hadn’t brought the article to his attention, he never would have known what Rinah was on about.

At least now he knew where she’d gotten her suspicions from. If she had only just told him about the article instead of hanging up on him, he could have squashed the lies right then. But no, his wife seemed to always want to believe the worst of him. Flavia told him that over the years, the paper had been speculating on their close relationship. She assured him that she had called Rinah from time to time, to dispel the rumors but his wife wouldn’t listen and would hang up on her.

He had been the recipient of that anger, too, so it was not hard to picture Rinah’s reaction to Flavia’s trying to talk to her. Crushing the paper’s editors was now the top of his agenda. Finding out where the stories came from and squashing them wouldn’t have been difficult to do, if he’d known about it. But he’d never wasted his time with trashy gossip, and didn’t think his wife did either. He was grateful for his employee’s enlightening disclosure. The editor apologized profusely, and promised a retraction in the next publication. He wouldn’t disclose his source, but Dominic wasn’t worried. He had his own guaranteed methods of uncovering that bit of information.

Rinah was having less-than-magnanimous thoughts about the cunning Flavia Kouris. She wanted to reach through the phone and slap the smug grin that she was sure on the other woman’s face.

“So you see, Dominic can’t be with you tonight, because he’s having dinner with me,” Flavia said gleefully.

“Really? I’m not sure why you’re so happy. After eight months, you still can’t persuade him to leave me permanently? You must not be as irresistible as you think,” Rinah drawled with calm disinterest.

“You little bitch. It is you who can’t hold onto him.”

Flavia’s anger was a small triumph. Rinah laughed out loud at the other woman’s loss of cool. Too many times it was she who had erupted in anger during one of these calls. Now that there was nothing left to lose, she found it easy to ignore the other woman’s maliciousness.

“Actually, Flavia, I’m not even trying to hold on to him. He insisted on coming back to me!”

“You’re so delusional!”

Rinah laughed again. “Girl, I’m truly enjoying this conversation.”

“Not as much as I enjoyed Dominic in Mexico!” Flavia slyly taunted.

“Really, Flavia? I know for a fact you have never traveled to Mexico. Do you have any idea how easy that information was to obtain?” Rinah had no idea if what she was saying was correct or not, but the other woman didn’t know that.

“You bitch!” Flavia muttered.

“You’re getting repetitive, sweetie. Now you have a wonderful evening and I’ll ensure Dominic has a satisfying night.” Rinah gently placed the phone in the cradle, in total triumph of getting the better of Flavia. Now she knew Flavia had lied about that, what else did the bitch lie about?

A few fist pumps later, she contemplated her next plan of action. Flavia had said that tonight’s dinner was a date, and Dominic had said that it was a business dinner. Given Flavia’s track record, she would be a fool to accept the woman’s word. However, her husband wasn’t very forthcoming with facts, either.

Rinah cancelled the rest of her meetings for the day, went to her favorite hairstylist to blow out her curls, and then went home to prepare for the night ahead. Before entering the house, however, she approached the man who had been following her for the past eight months and, enlisted his cooperation with her plans.

***

Walking into Morano’s Italian Restaurant, shortly after eight o’clock that night, accompanied by Neo, Rinah concentrated on placing one foot in front of the other. Her children had been fed and put to bed. Thank God Nikki’s medication had kicked in from the night before and no repeat escalation in temperature had materialized. Their nanny had agreed to sleep over, as Rinah had no idea what time she would get home.

She didn’t know what she would do if Dominic came here alone with Flavia on a date. Her father was the diplomat in the family, and being the cool lady in public had been drummed into her by her mother. However, she didn’t think the lessons taught by her parents would help her tonight. Proper etiquette be damned; manners shouldn’t be expected when dealing with a publically cheating spouse! Coming here tonight was her last-ditch effort to believe in him and possibly hold on to her marriage. If he was here with Flavia, she wasn’t sure she could handle it. At least she had Neo with her. His presence would help her maintain some semblance of control. And if tonight was a business meeting, she would have to at least give Dominic another chance to explain.