Page 65 of Dominance

Good weeks, surprisingly.

Days of time spent together on the couch, talking. Making dinner.

Like normal people.

It starts to finally make sense the way Alessandro fell for Isabella, how he fell for a life with her. Not that I would ever let myself be fooled into thinking I would be allowed to have that.

I can dream, though.

Dom’s been out of town a few times, flying to other cities, making deals. He left me in charge, like it’s supposed to be. Not that I’ve been ready for the shitstorm that hits me, but…

Again, normal. The old normal.

Almost.

Trends emerge in the chaos.

Key players that he made promises to. So I pay them. Set them up with jobs.

All of it checks out, pans out more or less alright.

But it sits wrong. The people. The expectation.

And the feeling that predators are circling, waiting to attack.

Like I’m a wounded animal, bleeding slowly, unable to see the hunter just outside the firelight, eager for me to let my guard down. To strike.

So I stay out late. Mostly because of the workload. Come home when Gloria is asleep a lot of the time.

Still, she curls into my arms when I crawl into bed. Everything is great after that, for the few hours of sleep I get.

A couple of nights I think I’m being followed, so I double back, lose my tail, and sleep in the bunker at the old estate. Can’t go there too often, though.

“So…are you ever going to share where you stay when you don’t come home?” Gloria says nonchalantly on the way to Dom’s homecoming.

“Yes. Absolutely.”

“Just not right now.”

“Exactly.”

“For my safety?”

“For all of our safety.”

“Gee. Makes a girl feel so protected.” She sniffs, giving me a side-eye.

We’ve been great, overall. Working together, flirting, fooling around randomly when we find the time. But there’s this wall. A barrier I’d like to think we’ve both maintained.

Or maybe I’m fooling myself.

Like thinking going tonight is in any way a good idea.

On the surface it’s just another party. Another opulent event. Dom has taken to throwing these every time he has a good day, returns home. Any excuse.

Sometimes several in a row. Benders that migrate from one venue to the next.

Normally I’d be all for it.

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