Page 17 of Blind Spot
“Because you gave your virginity to the wrong man, and you knew it.”
I nodded. “And he knew that I felt that way. He could see it in my eyes, no matter how hard I tried to hide it. I promised him that I had strong feelings for him, too, and then I allowed myself to let my guilt trap me in a relationship that I didn’t want. All to prove that I wasn’t using him to get over Dom.”
“Damn. When did he start hitting you?”
“Three months before Dom got out. It’s like he knew things wouldn’t be the same between us anymore. He changed on me completely.”
“You ain’t gotta worry ’bout that shit no more.”
I swiveled so fast in the chair at the sound of Dominic’s voice that I almost fell out of the papasan chair. My heart stopped in my chest when I saw his face.
“Dominic,” I whispered. It took mere seconds for me to hop out of the chair and rush to him in the doorway.
I threw my arms around him and squeezed him tight. He stood still for several seconds before he finally lifted his arms and held me to him.
“How long have you been here?” Tunisia asked, getting up and walking to where we stood.
“About ten minutes. I was in there talking to your husband before I came to check on Charly,” he stated in a thick voice filled with emotion.
“I’ll let you two chat while I go check on Karter and KJ.”
“Little K, not the big one, is knocked out. Big K is watching TV.”
Tunisia bobbed her head and walked by us. I grabbed Dominic’s hand and tugged him toward the papasan chair. I pushed him down in it before I climbed inside with him to sit on his lap. He wrapped his arms around me in a hug that spoke of warmth, protection, stability, and memories long past.
The amber and cedarwood notes in his cologne awakened my senses and caused me to melt against him. Every time I smelled Dominic, I wanted him, yearned for him, and he made my arousal grow, even throughout the time that I had been with Ramon.
I had fought hard to keep my attraction for him at bay. But one whiff of his natural masculine scent and his bold cologne caused my nipples to harden and my core to tighten. I was sure that Ramon had noticed more than once, but whenever he made mention of it, I would blame it on the air or that time of the month being close, and that my nipples were just sensitive. And although I knew he wasn’t a fool, I couldn’t help that my body reacted to something beyond my control.
“What happened?” I asked softly, rubbing my thumb underneath his eye.
“We fought. You know what happened.” His tone was solemn.
“Did you at least peace it out after you two got that out of your system?”
“There can be no peace, Charly. There hasn’t been peace in a long time.”
“I don’t want this to be all about me though. I remember how your father drilled into y’all growing up the importance of your brotherhood and how you should never let a woman come between y’all. When he finds out, he’s going to kick both of your asses.”
Dominic shook his head and shrugged as he pulled his finger through his beard with one hand while he rubbed slow circles on my back with his other. “No, he won’t. It wasn’t just about a girl. It was about promises broken and lies told. It was about upholding his word.”
“About me?”
He shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about it, Charly.”
I grabbed his face and held it in my hands. “You do realize that you can talk to me about anything, don’t you?”
His gaze narrowed, and he replied softly, “Yeah.”
“Good. I’ll be here whenever you’re ready.”
Dominic reached up and placed his hands over mine. He removed my hands from his face and sighed. “I’m glad you know that, because if I can talk to you about anything, then the same goes for you. I don’t ever wanna hear about you being in a relationship and some nigga has put his hands on you and you don’t tell me.”
“I didn’t want you to get in trouble, Dom. Just like you feel the need to protect me, I feel the same way.”
Disappointment filled me with his words though. The thought of being with any other man other than him caused me anguish. Hadn’t he realized after all this that I was the one for him? I was hoping he would break down and acknowledge the feelings he had for me. I felt them whenever he looked into my eyes, held me, or told me that he loved me. Then there were all the things Ramon had shared with me about how Dom felt about me. Was Ramon lying? Or was Dominic determined to uphold appearances?
Yes, he tried to keep a distance from me emotionally and physically since he learned that I was involved with Ramon, but that could only go so far.
