Chapter Fourteen

 

Dominic

 

The past three days in Aruba flew by. As soon as Faith got the restraining order against Philip, we hopped on my private jet to spend four days at a five-bedroom villa on the southern tip of the island. We had a small stretch of beach to ourselves and a swimming pool tucked away in back where none of the neighbors could see. When I’d made the comment to Faith about being able to run around naked, she fully took me up on it. The time for celebration had come. Faith had won the battle against Philip and half his money was hers, including the firm in which she had plans to sell her part.

Ever since we arrived in Aruba, she was different, more carefree. I loved seeing her like that. A part of me wondered if it was only because we were on vacation and as soon as we got back to the city, things would change. With Cadoc sniffing around her, I knew it had to scare her, even if she tried to convince me otherwise. Eventually, he’d make his move on her, and I had to be ready. A smart man would send her away to keep her safe, but I had a feeling Faith wouldn’t leave if I asked her to. I’d have to make her.

I grabbed two bottles of water from the refrigerator and walked over to the kitchen sink window. Faith was out there on the lounge chair wearing only her bikini bottom and her floppy straw hat, talking on the phone with Reed. The sun agreed with her. The bruises on her arms started to fade, but every time I looked at them, it pissed me off. I’d tried thinking of ways I could kill Philip without getting caught, but with the video of me throwing him out of the hotel circulating all over the internet it’d surely put me as the number one suspect. I’d never had to play by the rules, but I did now. I wanted to be a better man, but there were so many things stacked against me. I was a Corsino.

My phone rang in the living room, so I walked in there and picked it up off the coffee table. It was Marco.

“Hey,” I answered.

“How’s your vacation?” Marco asked.

“Good,” I replied cautiously. “How’s everything out there?”

He sighed. “Well … let’s just say there are some things going down I don’t like.”

I sat down on the couch. “Tell me.”

Everything had been quiet the past three days, but with more fights coming up soon, things were tense. There were three scheduled. The Cartwrights had challenged the Salvatores, the O’Briens were against the Kazakovs, and we had been challenged by the Rossis. I kept waiting for the Cartwrights to confront us, but they had yet to do so. With them waiting so long, I didn’t have a good feeling about it.

“I’ve been following Cadoc and I’ve noticed he’s been meeting up with a woman I’ve never seen before,” Marco explained. “You can tell she’s trying to keep her identity a secret. He’s openly cheated on his wife before, but never like this. It’s out of his character.”

That it was. Cadoc wasn’t the type to hide his infidelities. He got off on people knowing he was a douchebag. His wife didn’t care about his affairs. She had the money and that was all that mattered.

“Maybe she’s married,” I stated. “That could be why she’s hiding. It’d be good to find out who she is.”

“On it,” Marco agreed.

I stood and started toward the patio door. “Anything else?”

“There is,” he replied, his voice concerned. “Cadoc wants a meeting with you next week. He says it’s important. He wouldn’t tell me what it’s about though.”

A dark, sinister feeling swirled around in my gut. I’d been waiting for the shoe to drop and that was my sign. Cadoc’s meetings were never good. When he wanted something, he let it be known. It was how he worked. My father was known for his surprise attacks. That was how he operated, but not the Cartwrights. They came at you when you knew they were coming. The worst part was that they targeted those you cared about most. My sister was the main target for years, but that was because there was never anyone in mine or my father’s life that we loved. Now I had Faith. With a sick bastard like Cadoc Cartwright, Faith would be his target. I had no doubt.

I stopped at the glass door and looked out at her. The time had come for me to make the one decision I’d hoped to avoid. “You know what this means, right?” I said.

Marco huffed. “Yeah, nothing good. We knew he was going to make his move soon. We just have to be prepared for anything.”

“And we will be,” I promised. “I’m pretty sure I know who he’ll go after.”

We hung up and I stared out at Faith who couldn’t stop laughing as she talked on the phone with Reed. He was her friend and I had to accept that. He wasn’t going anywhere. The man was practically my family ever since his brother married my sister. With what I had in mind for Faith, I knew I was going to need his help.

I wasn’t ready to send her away, but I had no choice, especially if Cadoc kept showing interest in her. I’d keep her in the dark for a few more days so we could enjoy the rest of our vacation, but before my meeting with Cadoc, I needed her gone. I wasn’t about to take any chances after the meeting. And once I knew it was safe, I’d bring her back.

Unfortunately, in my world no one was ever safe. The only way Faith would be was if I got rid of Cadoc. It was the only option.

When I walked outside, Faith had just hung up with Reed. I sat down beside her in the other lounge chair and handed her a bottle of water. “I take it everything’s good with Reed?” I asked. Maybe I was jealous of the relationship she had with him. She was comfortable with him and I could see that in the way they talked.

Her smile grew so big with excitement. “He helped deliver a foal this morning. I wish I could’ve seen it. Listening to him talk about it was amazing.”

That was who Reed was. We were polar opposites. It made me wonder what all Faith saw in me. I couldn’t offer her those kinds of things. I could give her all the money she could ever want, and I could give her my heart, but that didn’t come without a price. Right now, all that waited for her was danger and fear.

“Hey,” she murmured, placing a hand on my knee. “You okay?”

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. “I’m fine. I’m glad you and Reed had a good talk.”

Her lips pursed. “I’ve seen that look on your face before. Reed knows we’re together now. He respects that. Surely, you’re not worried about him sabotaging our relationship, are you? He’s not like that.”

I shrugged. “I can’t help but wonder what it is you see in me. I’m not a good guy, Faith.” I’d put her life in danger because of my selfishness. I didn’t want her to be anywhere but with me.

Faith frowned. “Nobody’s perfect,” she murmured, moving closer. “I know you have a past, and I’m sure I don’t know all of it, but that’s fine with me. I don’t have to know it all. But what I do know is that I love you. Behind that hardcore mafia boss exterior, you’re kind, respectful, and gentle with me. It’s hard to find that these days.” Her lips pulled back into a smile. “Although I do have to say that I’ve seen a side of you the past couple of days that I’ve never seen before.”

“Oh yeah? How’s that?” I asked, reaching for her hands.

She grinned wider and squeezed my hands. “You’re not as serious here. I think you’ve laughed more times in the past three days than I’ve ever seen.”

It was different being away from the city. We’d driven to some of Aruba’s best beaches and snorkeled every single day. We even rented a Jeep so we could explore the island. It’d been a long time since I enjoyed life like that.

“I have,” I agreed. “It’s been nice moving at a slower pace.” I looked out at the ocean. “I can see why you love the beach so much. Must’ve been fun growing up on the coast.”

Her eyes twinkled. “You have no idea. I’ll have to take you with me one day when I visit. I haven’t been home in over a year. With the divorce, I didn’t want my parents seeing me the way I was.”

“Have you told them about us yet?”

I already knew she hadn’t, but I was curious to hear her reasoning. Little did she know, I’d already talked to her parents and explained everything. Late tomorrow morning we’d be arriving in Virginia to see them. It took an extra twenty minutes to get off the phone with her mother. I’d met her parents a couple years ago when they came to New York for a visit. They loved my sister so I had to use that to my advantage. They were happy when I told them what we’d done to Philip.

Sheepishly, Faith bit her lip. “I have not. With everything being so new, I didn’t want to jinx anything. I’ll call them as soon as we get back to New York.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “No worries. They liked me before. I’m sure they’ll like me now.”

Her gaze narrowed. “Why do I get the feeling you’re hiding something from me?”

I grabbed her around the waist, and pulled her over to my lounge chair. “Maybe that’s because I am,” I said, kissing her neck. Her skin was hot from the sun. She settled between my legs and rested her back against my chest. I traced my fingers up and down her arms and breathed in the sweet scent of her hair. “Are you ready for your big surprise tomorrow?”

She giggled and waved her hand out toward the clear blue ocean. “Don’t know how anything’s going top this.”

“You’ll see,” I said, holding her tight. We sat there in silence for a few moments longer, and I enjoyed every single second of it. I wanted to be honest with her and tell her about the Cartwright meeting but I couldn’t. I wasn’t positive that Cadoc was going to try to go after Faith somehow, but I had a pretty strong suspicion. I didn’t want to take any chances. “What are you going to do now that you have all your money?” I asked.

She blew out a relieved sigh. “For starters, I’m going to give you back the fifty grand you snuck into my account.”

She smacked my leg and I chuckled. “Fine.”

“And then,” she began, “I’m going to look into opening that restaurant I’ve always wanted.”

“I could help you find a location,” I offered. If she was going to be successful in a place like New York City, she had to be in the perfect spot.

She sat up and straddled my waist, taking my hands and putting them on her waist. My dick jumped in response. It didn’t help that her bare breasts were right near my face. “I appreciate that more than you could know, but this is something I want to do on my own. I need to know I can.”

I slid my hands up her sides and around her back, making her shiver. “I know you can, Faith. I just want you to know that I’m here.”

She leaned forward, her hips rubbing against my dick and making it harder. “And that’s another reason why I love you. You’ve done so much for me and never asked for anything in return. It’s hard because I don’t know how to show my appreciation. You already have everything.”

I pushed my hips against hers. “I’m sure we can think of something.”

A mischievous grin spread across her face. “Actually, I have an idea.” She sat back and stretched her arms in the air, her breasts inviting me to taste them. “Meet me in the bedroom in ten minutes. I’ll be ready for you.”

She rubbed a hand over my cock and winked before disappearing inside the house. If I’d had my way, I would’ve just ripped off her bikini bottoms and fucked her on the patio. Over the years, I’d been with countless women, but never more than once. Faith was the only one. Every time I was with her, it made me want her even more.

I glanced down at my phone and it’d only been two minutes since she left. Time was going to fucking kill me. There was no way in hell I could wait any longer. I went straight inside to the bedroom. The bathroom door was closed and the shower was running. Maybe that was her plan … to torture me.

“Faith if you don’t hurry, I’m going to come in there and fuck you in the shower. You have one minute,” I called out. She giggled and that was all it took. “All right, you asked for it.” I rushed straight into the bathroom. The shower doors were fogged up, but I could still see the outline of Faith giving me a show by rubbing her breasts.

“It’s about time you got in here,” she said, opening the doors. “You lasted all of three minutes.” With hooded eyes, she took her soap and started rubbing it over her breasts and then down to in between her legs.

“Trust me. It was agony,” I groaned, not being able to take my eyes away. I think I might need to stay out here and stare at you a little longer. I could sit here and watch you touch yourself all day.” It was so fucking sexy. I took off my shorts and she stepped back so I could join her in the shower.

Giggling, she took the soapy washcloth and rubbed it on my arms and my stomach before moving around me to get my back. It felt so damn good, especially when she reached around and cupped my balls with one hand and wrapped her fingers around my cock with the other.

“Well, I’ll definitely have to remember you like that. At least it got you to come into the shower quicker.” She pressed her tits to my back and worked her hands up and down my cock, over and over. She was relentless and she wasn’t stopping.

Placing my hands on the shower wall, I leaned forward and groaned. “Baby, I’m going to come if you don’t stop.”

“I don’t want to stop,” she muttered, moving faster. “I want you to come.”

I could feel it coming, and it was intense. Her hands were like magic, squeezing so tight it could almost pass for the tightness between her legs. “Ah, fuck!” I shouted. Closing my eyes, my body jerked and I exploded.

She slowed her rhythm and giggled. “How did that feel?” she asked, bending underneath my arm so she could face me. I had her caged in my arms with water dripping all over her body, down her breasts to the sweet spot between her legs.

Pushing her against the wall, I opened her mouth with my lips and licked the water off with my tongue. She wrapped her arms around my neck and held on tight as I grabbed her thighs and lifted her above my waist, spreading her wide.

She gasped as I pushed her against the wall again, gazing down at me with heat-filled eyes. “I told you I was going to fuck you in here. Are you ready?” I growled huskily.

She moaned breathlessly, “Oh yes, Dominic, please.”

I sucked on her nipple and bit down at the same time I pushed into her hard. She screamed out and dug her nails in my back, holding on tight as I thrust inside of her hard and fast. The harder I licked and sucked her nipples, the tighter she clenched around my cock.

Wrapping her legs tighter around my waist, I took my hands off her ass and leaned against the wall so I could push harder. “Is … this … what you like?” I asked in between kisses to her lips on down to her neck.

Moaning, she nodded her head quickly. “Yes. It feels so good.”

Rocking my hips more vigorously, she countered my motions, moving her body along with mine. Her flesh clenched and tightened around my cock, and I knew she was close … so was I. “I’m going to come so hard in you, Faith.” I’d never been with a woman without protection, but as soon as Faith told me she was on birth control, I couldn’t wait to feel what it was truly like. It was fucking heaven.

Faith lowered her lips to my neck and bit down, screaming out her orgasm, as I pounded harder, coming inside of her. I held her against the shower wall, breathing hard, letting the aftershocks of our orgasms ebb off before lowering her feet to the floor.

She swayed when I set her down and she gazed dreamily into my eyes. “I needed that,” she uttered, smiling lazily up at me.

“So did I,” I admitted honestly. Gazing down at her and that beautiful smile on her face, I realized there was nothing in the world I wouldn’t do for her. She was smart, funny, adventurous, and extremely tough for a female. The only thing about loving hard was falling hard when you lost it.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked quietly.

I cupped her cheeks. “Because you’re everything I’ve always wanted, and now that I have you, I’m so afraid of losing you.”

She placed her hands over mine. “You won’t. I’m not afraid of your world, Dominic.” Lifting up on her toes, she kissed me. “We’re in this together.”

I believed her which only made things more complicated.