Dominic (Made Men Book 8)

by Sarah Brianne

  Last time she was here Angel’s other half opened the door, but this time, his twin didn’t look the same. The hallows under his eyes were filled with darkness that matched his grave, gray eyes. She had seen a brief moment of hope when he first opened the door, clearly wanting to see someone else, but then it disappeared at the sight of her. The playboy mask he usually wore had slipped, revealing the real Matthias underneath.

  The door being shut in her face had Maria’s jaw dropping to the porch.

  Excuse m—

  She was ready to beat the door down when the door flung open once again. This time by a different brother.

  Watching Matthias walk slowly down a hall behind the other brother, she was about to give him a piece of her mind when Cassius drew her attention.

  “Sorry, he’s not feeling well lately.”

  Maria’s eyes went to Dominic’s mini-me before they shifted back to Matthias, noticing for the first time how sullenly he walked into a room before he slammed the door.

  “Is he all right?” she found herself asking sympathetically to the most disliked Luciano.

  Katarina, she loved. Angel, she respected. Matthias, annoyed her. Dominic … was complicated. The one in front of her, she knew nothing about, other than he was a little Lucifer in the making.

  “I don’t know,” Cassius told her truthfully without an ounce of emotion. “You can come in,” the young kid told her, stepping to the side. “Dom will be mad at me for letting you in, but I know he’ll kill me if I don’t.”

  Letting her heels hit the old wooden floor, she stepped inside the Luciano home. Last time she was there, she hadn’t paid too much attention to the home, enamored instead by the oldest Luciano brother and too busy looking at him.

  At first glance it was old and rundown, a house people wouldn’t want to step in, but looking at it now, she noticed how clean it was. Usually, old homes with ancient appliances and furniture had layers of dirt in places impossible to get rid of, but she didn’t see anything wrong with it, other than it needed updating.

  “Dom should be home soon,” Cassius told her, closing the front door. “Want to watch my show with me?”

  “Sure.” Maria nodded, already watching the youngest Luciano walk to the couch before she even answered.

  Sitting down on the brown, leather couch next to him, she raised a brow when her gaze shifted to the little TV screen from the sound of bullets being fired. “And this is …?” she asked, watching a swarm of zombies get nailed in the head.

  “The Walking Dead.” Cassius, who had his hazel eyes glued to the screen, gave her a quick glance. “You’ve never seen it, have you?”

  Maria motioned to her baby blue dress and nude heels. “What? I don’t dress the part, so how could I possibly watch it?”

  “No,” Cassius told her, nodding toward the screen that had a greasy but badass-looking man shooting a crossbow into a zombie’s eye. “If you don’t know who Darryl is, then you’ve never seen it.”

  “Oh,” Maria muttered, glad she didn’t have to hate this Luciano yet. “I was about to tell you I left my apocalypse clothes at the dry cleaners.” Telling her lame joke, Maria studied Dom’s mini-me, hoping he’d laugh. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, her curiosity was killing her over finding out whether the dirty dream about Dominic was true. If the kid smiled and showed a dimple, then she was pretty sure she’d have her answer.

  But Cassius didn’t even break a smile, much less a laugh. Hell, Leo at least gave her a pitying chuckle, even when her jokes missed the mark.

  “If you had them, you shouldn’t wear them anyway. My brother likes the way you dress, you know.”

  “Matthias …” Maria rolled her eyes. The wannabe playboy had made it very obvious he had when he asked to take her coat when she came here the first time. “I know he’s—”

  “No,” the young Luciano stopped her, shrugging. “Dom.”

  He does …? A slow smile tilted her lips that she was unable to hide.

  Making a mental note of that information, her smile disappeared when she watched the Darryl character pull the arrow out of the zombie’s eye, taking it with it.

  Normally, that stuff didn’t bother her, but with what had happened to Leo, that particular action was a little too real.

  “I see where Kat gets her taste in TV shows.”

  “What did she have you watch?” he asked curiously.

  ”Deadly Women.”

  Cassius gave her another glance and nodded. “I thought you’d like that show.”

  “Oh, I did,” Maria assured him. Unlike this show, it was a documentary about women killing men, even though they didn’t deserve it. That wasn’t the point, though. It, at least, portrayed women who didn’t run scared.

  “Well, you’ll like this part coming up.” Cassius nodded back toward the TV so she wouldn’t miss it.

  Staring at the television screen, she watched a woman with glistening, ebony skin pull a katana out of the sleeve she carried on her back. Walking right up to the pack of deadly, gruesome zombies, she swiftly began decapitating them, one by one, as her dreads swung around her with each kill.

  “Who is that?” Maria asked, unable to pull her eyes from the TV.

  “Kat and Dom’s favorite character.” If Maria had turned her head, she would have seen Cassius’ little smile before it quickly vanished. “Michonne.”

  Looking at him a second too late, she raised a brow. “Got any popcorn?”

  “I think Kat still has a stash here,” he said, getting up to throw a bag of popcorn into the microwave.

  Maria’s eyes were glued to the TV as The Walking Dead marathon continued.

  The bowl of popcorn was long gone by the time Maria glanced down at her phone to see what time it was. What had her squinting her eyes was the fact that she didn’t have any missed calls or texts. Usually, Lucca would have blown up her phone by now, knowing she didn’t have a suit with her. After telling him she no longer wanted or needed protection, he hadn’t bothered her. Hell, she hadn’t even talked to him since the night she slapped him, and she wasn’t planning to. Not to mention she hadn’t talked to her father after telling him she danced with the Luciano boss. She was sure he now knew that Kayne was a cop, so the chances of her father ever speaking to her again were slim to none. But she was okay with it. Her brother, on the other hand, she tried to deny it bothered her as she blackened her cell phone screen.

  Looking back at the TV, Maria watched the group of the living rub zombie guts over themselves so they could trick the dead into thinking they were one of them.

  “Something bad is going to happen, huh?” she asked.

  “Just watc—”

  The front door opening had a heartless Maria’s heart pumping.

  Not having seen a car outside, Dominic couldn’t hide his shock seeing Maria sitting on the couch. However, the surprise quickly wore off and in its place was a cold chill that even Cassius didn’t miss.

  “What are you doing here, Maria?”

  She didn’t like the way the words left his lips, like seeing her was an inconvenience. It hurt a part of her pride, even if she was the one who had come here to extend an olive branch. And only if that was what she was doing …

  Frankly, she didn’t know what she was doing, other than …

  “We’re watching The Walking Dead.” She matched his cool tone, turning back to the TV and looking away from the man who she’d promised to kill the next time she saw him.

  “I see that,” he grumbled, glancing at the TV. He had no more than put his eyes back on her when he shot a glance to the TV. “Cass, change the channel.”

  “But the best part’s coming u—”

  “Now, Cassius,” Dominic ordered firmly, storming into the living room.

  “Gore doesn’t bother her.” The little Luciano shrugged, not looking away from the screen.

  Maria, on the other hand, looked between the TV and Dom, trying to figure out what his deal was and what was so bad that was about to
happen.

  “I said, change it.” Dominic snatched the remote from Cassius before quickly changing the channel right after a gun went off. He then took a deep, calming breath and held out the remote for his brother to take in truce. “Listen, you can watch anything else right now, but not that, okay?”

  Cassius stared up at him for a moment, then nodded as he took the remote.

  Scrutinizing Dom, she watched him carefully walk back to the door. Maria wasn’t sure what was wrong with him, but then she supposed it probably had a lot to do with her strolling in unannounced.

  Getting up from the couch, she quickly followed behind him, afraid he was about to walk out the door. When he started taking off his jacket, she was relieved. Maria couldn’t help but notice the thin, black T-shirt he wore underneath that stretched over his broad shoulders as he slipped it off. It was his tanned arms, however, that had her staring. She had never noticed just how fit he was, since she always saw him with that infamous jacket on. She couldn’t quite remember if she had ever seen him without it, other than when he had given his suit jacket to her in the freezer, and he’d been wearing a long-sleeved dress shirt underneath.

  Her palm itched to touch his bicep, to feel the muscles underneath. It was the first time she felt something other than … numb.

  “What do you want, Maria?” he asked, hanging his leather jacket up on the coat rack.

  Rubbing her hand down her dress, she smoothed the odd feeling away. “I wanted to talk.”

  He didn’t even look at her when he turned to go into the kitchen. “Talk, or murder me with your heel?”

  “Uh …” Maria glanced back at Cassius, who was watching a different murder program, back at the couch.

  Following Dom to the connecting kitchen, she kept her voice low in the small house. “Maybe we should talk somewhere alone.”

  “It’s all right,” he told her, opening the fridge. “There isn’t anything Cass hasn’t heard, and he’s not paying us any attention, anyway.”

  “Okay.” She cleared her throat, not knowing where to start. When she watched him take out the milk and drink straight from the carton, she couldn’t keep her disgust hidden. “Ew.”

  “Ew, what?” he asked, placing the milk back in the fridge like he hadn’t just tainted it.

  “You can’t do th—”

  “I just did,” Dom said before she could finish.

  “That’s disgusting. Everyone drinks from that container.” Maria went to the fridge, wanting to throw it out.

  “There’s more disgusting things that go on in a house with three brothers; trust me.” He snapped the fridge door closed before she could grab the milk. “Plus, this is my home and, clearly, not yours, princess. So, why don’t you go back to your castle and guard your own damn milk?”

  The way he said princess reminded her how everyone else called her that. It sounded derogatory, and not the way he used to say it, making her insides heat up.

  Dominic went to the kitchen table, pulling out the hidden Glock under his T-shirt before sitting down.

  Frustrated, she contemplated just walking out the door—this definitely wasn’t easy for her. Instead, she took a seat in front him. “I’m trying to talk to you ….”

  Dom continued to give her the cold shoulder as he started to break down his gun. Watching him ignore her hurt Maria more than she’d like to admit, but thinking back to how horribly she had talked to him the last time, she wouldn’t get any sleep tonight if she didn’t try.

  “Why didn’t you tell me that you weren’t the one who killed Kayne?” Her voice came out as a whisper.

  Picking up a rag off the table, he wiped down the parts of his gun he had separated. It took him several long moments when he finally spoke. “Would you have believed me?”

  “I … don’t know,” she answered truthfully. Carefully, she watched him, entranced with the way he was caring for his weapon. “But you should have at least given me the chance to believe you.”

  “I didn’t tell you because”—Dominic finally looked up from what he was doing to meet her eyes—“I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t have done it myself.”

  Maria swallowed, listening to him recount Kayne’s final moments.

  “I had the gun in my hand, Maria. I might not have been the one to take his life, but I can’t promise you I wouldn’t have done the same as Lucca did five seconds later.”

  Nodding, she took his answer for what it was—the truth. It might not have been what she wanted to hear, but she wanted the truth. It was something her father had never given her when it came to this profession.

  “Why didn’t you tell me he was a cop? I deserved to know, and you had no right to keep that from me, Dominic.” That was what upset her the most—the secrets the men kept from her. It was exhausting and demeaning, especially when it concerned her. Maria didn’t know what the men were trying to “save” her from, but it certainly hadn’t helped the little bit of heart she had when it shattered into even tinier pieces. The irony was, the more they tried to protect Maria, the more hurt she got.

  She might have been backstabbed by Kayne, but Dominic and Lucca had betrayed her just as badly.

  When she watched his hazel eyes drifted back to his task, Maria became furious that he hadn’t answered her, going back to giving her the cold shoulder.

  “Fine,” she snapped, jumping up from the table.

  Maria couldn’t believe it when she made it to the front door and he had yet to stop her. Normally, she would have flung the door open and stormed out, but putting her hand on the doorknob, slowly turning it, she realized she shouldn’t have called his bluff

  Come on ….

  “Don’t.” Dominic’s commanding voice had her freezing in place.

  Maria hid her smile, but it was wiped clean off when she turned at the sound of a chair screeching to see Dom’s serious expression and imposing stance. His hazel depths scorched her. He didn’t take them off her for a second.

  “Leave, Cassius.”

  Cass did as followed, quietly turning off the TV, then getting up.

  Maria pressed her back up against the door as Dom’s fierce gaze kept her from leaving. Her breath caught in her throat, knowing that, as soon as Cassius left the room, she would be in deep shit with the way Dominic was looking at her.

  A bedroom door closing down the hall told her that they were alone, making every hair on her body stand up.

  “By the time I found out you and Kayne had a thing, it was already too fucking late.” Dominic’s heated words were almost as hot as his stare. Slowly, he stalked toward her, closing the distance between them as he continued. “I wanted you to fucking choose me over Kayne. Not because you found out he was a cop and I was your second option, but because I was the only option.”

  It was unbearable to keep her eyes on his, seeing how badly she hurt Dom by choosing Kayne over him. He didn’t even try to hide his pain.

  Lucca was right … Dominic was madly in love with her, and she completely missed it. Maybe it was because the idea of her and him ever being together was absolutely insane, considering who their fathers were. But the last thing she truly expected was for Dominic to wholeheartedly love her. She wrongly assumed that, because his last name was Luciano, his intentions would be to use her. Instead, she ended up in the arms of a man who had done exactly that.

  I’d rather love a dead man and be alone for the rest of my life than ever love you.

  Maria’s words struck her like a high-speed Mack truck.

  She finally drifted her jeweled eyes to his chest, no longer able to look at the pain in his. Maria had known she would hurt him before she’d said those words. She had wanted him to hurt, just as badly as he had hurt her by killing Kayne … or so she thought.

  “I—”

  Dominic lifted her chin, forcing her gaze back to his. “Don’t you dare apologize for something you don’t mean, princess.”

  The pain in his eyes suddenly subsided as she watched his lips barely tilt to one side. She
looked at his cheek to see if a dimple would appear, waiting on pins and needles, holding her breath ….

  “You’re a shit liar,” he teased as he bent his head down closer to hers. Moving her chin with his forefinger and thumb, he lifted her face up slightly, stretching out her long, delicate neck so he could take her lips more easily.

  Maria’s brain told her this wasn’t right, as it was too soon after Kayne’s death, but holy fuck, her body told her it was so … right. Her lips begged her to close the little distance between them.

  So, she did the sane thing, choosing somewhere in between her mind and body by holding perfectly still. She might not have been shoving her tongue down his throat like a part of her wanted to, but she wasn’t stopping him either.

  Her eyelids started to drift closed in anticipation when he tilted his head to the side … right before his lips came a millimeter closer to hers. His hot breath hit her waiting pout when he murmured the words, “I’m taking you home.”

  Maria’s eyelids shot back open as he smugly backed away from her, but somehow she expertly managed to make sure he knew it hadn’t bothered her.

  You better pray for your soul … asshole.

  Twenty-Seven

  Princess, Don’t Make Promises You Can’t Keep

  The lights on his blacked-out Mustang flashed as he unlocked the car doors with his key fob as they exited his house.

  “Thanks.” She gave him a sweet smile that Dominic saw right through when he opened the car door for her.

  “Uh-huh,” he mumbled under his breath, watching her get in.

  Maria waited until after he swung the door shut to dart him an evil glare, closing her inside the tinted cover of the blacked out windows while she buckled her seat belt and watched him walk to the other side of the car. She made sure to wipe her promise of retribution clean off her face when he opened the driver’s side door.