Dominic (Made Men Book 8)

by Sarah Brianne

  If Dom had had any water in his mouth, he would have spit it out. It was no wonder Sadie and Maria got along.

  Cherry’s eyes immediately went to Maria’s. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

  Leaning over, Maria turned Dominic’s face, grabbing his chin with her fingers so she could place a hard kiss on his lips. It took his breath away, and if he hadn’t already, he would have fallen in love with her at the next words out of her mouth….

  “Now you do.” Maria gave the waitress a warning look.

  Maria’s man. He fucking liked the sound of that. He gave her thigh another squeeze under the table.

  “Yes. Sorry.” Cherry nodded before walking off, making it known she wouldn’t make that mistake again. No woman who worked down there would make that mistake again.

  Dominic finally relaxe—

  Maria shot back her tequila in a second, then sucked the lime into her mouth in another.

  Dear God … Watching her suck that lime until there was nothing left made him adjust in his seat. She was making him pay for not letting her wrap her pretty mouth around his dick, and Dominic silently asked God why he had morals in the first place. He wasn’t a fucking saint!

  Taking a few giant gulps of his water, he waved to stand on his twenty.

  “So, why aren’t you marrying him?” Sadie asked, getting back to their conversation about him that didn’t particularly include him talking.

  “You know how I feel about marriage,” Maria told her with a flip of her hair. “I just want him to fuck m—”

  Dom slipped his hand over her loud mouth, whispering to her quietly, “Let’s not do this here, princess.”

  She already had an audience of men at the other tables trying to listen in, as well as the women working, who were still shocked Maria Caruso had come here with a man.

  He didn’t let her mouth go until she silently nodded.

  A smiling Sadie flipped the card under her three to reveal a ten, right before she dealt herself an eight.

  Watching her father’s money that Maria made them gamble get taken with the house’s perfect twenty-one, he gave Maria a death glare. “I thought you said you didn’t lose,” Dom ground out. There was no way in hell he was going to touch these chip—

  “She just got lucky,” Maria assured him, sliding the chips she gave him in the circle and making him bet again. “Are you going to drink this?”

  Watching her point to the second tequila shot, he wanted to tell her, “hell no,” but he went with a simple, “No.” There was no way he’d feel comfortable drinking down here. Alcohol would make his eyelids heavy, and Maria wasn’t going to catch his eyes slipping below the neck unless they were on her, which he never hid anyway.

  Not fucking her—because God knew he wanted to—was the only way he was ever getting Maria to marry him, and he was getting her to marry him. Maria was his future wife, and she had to get the fuck over it.

  Plus, he wasn’t going to give her his sin—

  Maria sucked the lime as if for dear life after downing the second shot.

  Fuck me, he groaned inwardly, the tightness in his jeans becoming unbearable. Could this night get any worse?

  Sadie dealt them new cards, but the hand was short-lived as she flipped over an ace with her ten down.

  Dominic was in for a long fucking night.

  Forty-One

  Maria The Drunk Virgin

  “I’m sorry, honey, but it’s time for me to cut you off,” Sadie said when Maria asked to take out another thousand from her father’s account.

  Giving the pit boss a silent thank you, Dom took the shot of tequila from Maria’s hand before she could throw it back. “Yes, I think we’ve had enough fun for one night.”

  A very intoxicated Maria pouted. “But we haven’t gotten enough to pay for my ring yet.”

  “Oh, that’s all right, princess,” he assured her. “I have a feeling there won’t be much of a wedding if we don’t stop gambling with money that isn’t ours.”

  “We can always”—she hiccupped—“gamble with Lucca’s money instead.”

  “As fun as that sounds”—Dominic helped her ass out of the chair—“it’s time to go.”

  “Oh my God!” Maria gasped, looking at a worker pass by before she ran after her. “I love your shoes.”

  Shaking his head, he kept his eyes on her while he picked up her unattended clutch off the table. Opening it, he retrieved his money clip full of cash. Counting out hundreds, he placed the thousand Maria took from her father down on the table.

  Sadie took the cash with a smile.

  Placing a few more bills on the table, he slid them over to her.

  “Drinks are on the house.” Sadie slid the money back to him. “And if you tip Cherry or any other woman down here ever, they could get the wrong idea.”

  Understanding that she was probably right, he slid the money back to her. “For you. Thank you for giving Maria a good time.”

  The pit boss hadn’t made him feel uncomfortable when she stared at him or commented on his looks. It hadn’t been to impress him; it was to compliment Maria. And if it somehow made the woman he wanted to marry actually contemplate marrying him, then Sadie was worth every dime he had.

  Sadie placed her hand on the cash, sliding it back over more seriously this time. “Thank you, but the only money I take is from Mr. Caruso.”

  After a moment, Dominic nodded. Then, picking up the cash, he put it back in his clip and slid it back into his jean pocket.

  “Did you see how pretty her shoes were?” Maria asked him, coming back after getting the info on the shoes. “She was so pretty, too, wasn’t she?”

  Taking the shot he hadn’t let Maria drink, he welcomed the burn down his throat. “Not as pretty as you, princess.”

  Honestly, Maria would have been offended on the woman’s behalf if he had said she wasn’t attractive, so he went with the truth.

  Sadie gave him a sympathetic look. “Have a good night … Mr. Luciano.”

  Dom was surprised to find she knew who he was. “You, too.”

  “And Maria, honey.” Sadie waited until Maria focused on her to give her a piece of advice. “Marry him.”

  Smiling to himself, Dominic took a speechless Maria by the waist as he navigated them out of the underground space. Somehow, even a drunk Maria was still able to walk on skinny heels. He just had to make sure it was in a straight line.

  Pressing the elevator button, he dragged her in, then hit the combination of buttons Maria had once revealed to him before the door closed to take them to the top.

  “I had so much fun.” Maria slipped her arms under his jacket to wrap around his waist. “Now we can have even more fun.”

  “No.” He laughed, showing his dimples and giving her the deep kiss a drunk Maria wanted. “But I’m glad you had fun, princess. I’m shocked you managed to get me in.”

  “Oh, I didn’t.” Maria turned in his arms to put her back to his chest. Waving at the camera, she was giving the man watching a show. “Ass kisser did.”

  Dom stared at where Maria waved. “I see.”

  The door sliding open brought his thoughts back to getting Maria in her bed safely.

  Waving Maria’s clutch at the man who guarded the top floor last time, the Caruso soldier looked even more shocked than he was before at the state she was in.

  Quickly getting her to her door, he pulled her phone out to unlock it, feeling the stares of the concerned soldier. Managing to open the door with a now limp Maria, he waited until they were inside before he swept her off her feet.

  “Woo!” Maria giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck.

  Cradling her in his arms, he took Maria through the living room and up the steps, as it was much safer for the both of them that way. And even though she had absolutely tried to drive him nuts tonight, he still had a smile on his face at seeing how happy she was.

  A laughing and smiling Maria slowly disappeared. Touching a dimple with her finger, her tone went ser
ious. “Have I told you how handsome you are?”

  “No.” Dom laughed, kicking open her bedroom door. “That must mean you’re drunker than I thought.”

  Maria tightened her arms around his neck, pressing her breasts into him. She kissed his dimple sweetly at first until the tip of her tongue filled the hole. “Or just the right amount of drunk.”

  Oh God, he loved the way that felt, but still, he let his morals win out.

  “You do know I’m the one who has to be drunk in order for you to take advantage of me, right?”

  Being plopped down onto her champagne silk sheets, Maria laughed even harder. “Oh.”

  Shaking his head, Dominic took a seat on the edge of the bed and began taking off her tall heels. Doing so, he noticed how much brighter the white polish was. “You must’ve gotten your feet done after you left this morning, huh?”

  “Now they’re as soft as a baby’s bottom,” she assured him.

  “I see,” he said after getting the second one off. “Did you do that for me?”

  Maria proudly raised up on her elbows. “Yep.”

  “That was very sweet of you.”

  “I’m a very giving person,” she hiccupped the words out.

  Uh-huh. Dom tried not to laugh at how cute she was being. Drunk Maria might just be his favorite Maria.

  Seeing the lotion on the bedside table, he picked it up to squeeze out a good size amount. “Well, we can’t let it be all for nothing.”

  “Oh my God,” Maria groaned, letting her head fall back once his strong hands began rubbing the thick, white lotion into her foot. “You know you’re making it very hard to keep turning you down.”

  “Then don’t,” he said simply, working it into the sole of her foot.

  “But I told you I don’t believe in marriage.”

  Dom at least liked her stubbornness. “Well, if you don’t believe in marriage, then I’m sure you believe in divorce, which you can do at any time, princess.”

  “Hmm …” Her brows furrowed, clearly not thinking about that option, but she quickly shook it out of her head. “I’d still rather skip to the fun part.”

  Laughing, he squeezed more lotion out. “Oh, I know, princess.”

  When his hands went to her neglected foot, Maria fell back off her elbows, falling onto the soft bed. “I think you might just be the perfect man, Dominic Luciano.”

  “Obviously, not perfect enough,” he whispered under his breath, rubbing her precious feet that he adored between his hands.

  Maria raised back on her elbows. She was still very much intoxicated, but it appeared, for a moment, that she wasn’t when she turned serious. “Did you really mean it when you told me I could do and be anything I wanted if I married you?”

  Dominic held her hazy emerald eyes in his, making her an oath. “I would never lie to you, princess.”

  He could see on her face; she wanted to believe it, but a part of her just couldn’t.

  Falling back on the bed again, she huffed, trying to hide the sadness in her voice. “You may say that now, but all men treat me the same in the end.”

  Rubbing the last bit of lotion into her heel, Dominic stood slowly, and removed his jacket. “Do you know why I wear this coat every day?”

  Maria shook her head, seeming to have been curious of it herself.

  “I learned a hard lesson many years ago.” He gripped the leather in his hands. “I took it off a dead man who betrayed me, and I’ve worn it every day since to remind me to never trust a soul again. And I haven’t …” Dominic held his most prized possession out to her. “Until now.”

  Maria’s eyes wildly stared up at him and to his outstretched jacket.

  “Take it,” he encouraged her.

  “Dominic, I don—”

  “I want you to keep it, and when you decide to marry me, for however long that might take, then and only then can you give it back.”

  Reaching out for the jacket, she tenderly took the soft leather in her hands, as it was a clear sign of his trust. Dominic wanted her to trust him as much as he trusted her, and when he got his jacket back, he expected her trust with it.

  Holding it to her, Maria inhaled the fiery scent it carried. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” He gave her a quick sight of his dimples, but it was regretfully time to go.

  Pulling back the covers for her, Maria’s happiness faded. “You’re leaving me?”

  “That’s usually what happens at the end of a date, princess.”

  “Not at the end of good ones,” said Maria the drunk virgin, who obviously had no fucking experience at all, but yet appeared to still know exactly what to do as she went to her knees to rub a hand over his thin-shirted chest. “You told me you would stay.”

  “No,” Dominic corrected her, placing his hands on her hips, “I told you I would stay if you told me how you knew about John Wayne and Clint Eastwood in old westerns, and you haven’t.”

  “Well, I can’t give up my sources.” She pouted.

  “Okay.” Dom captured her bottom lip between his teeth for a tender bite. “I wasn’t staying, anyway, because I don’t trust you to not con me into fucking you when you’re drunk.”

  “Smart man.” Maria darted her tongue out to give a playful lick to his lips. “Anyway, I can just convince you to fuck my brains out instead?”

  Jesus Christ, his dick somehow went harder every time she talked dirty. Even though his mind said yes, he regretfully said the word, “No.”

  “Okay,” Maria grumbled when he tried to shove her under the covers. “Can I at least take this dress off first?”

  Taking a cooling breath, he nodded as he went to turn around.

  “I need you to help me,” Maria said pitifully, pathetically trying to reach the zipper in the back. Giving him her back, she looked back over her shoulder through full lashes. “Please?”

  God, the woman knew exactly what she was doing, but Dominic would help, although it’d probably be another fucking thing he would regret.

  Sweeping her soft, golden hair off her back and over her shoulder, Dominic slowly pulled the tiny zipper down. His breath caught in his throat when he made it to the middle of her back to find she wasn’t wearing a bra, and his breathing only got worse when the zipper reached the bottom of her waist.

  The line that went down the small of her back, he wanted to desperately run his tongue down, but when he watched her shimmy down the dress to reveal her thong, Dominic had a whole new dream come to his mind.

  The thoughts he had about Maria were dirtier than hers, and that said a lot. It was everything he could do to keep his hands to his sides, when all he wanted was to ram her head in the pillow as he fucked her from behind.

  He was jealous of the nude thong, wanting to delve his tongue between her perfect ass cheeks as he licked the length of the string from her ass to her pussy.

  Still on her knees, she unwound the dress from the bottom of her legs before she picked up Dom’s jacket, holding the warm side to her as she slowly turned back around.

  Knowing her nearly naked body was under his coat was a dream that sent his heart racing. Dom was strong … but he wasn’t that strong.

  Maria crawled up to him, not stopping until her body was plastered to his. She let go of the coat that held up between them, so she could wrap her arms back around his neck. One wrong move, and the jacket would slip, then there would be nothing separating her body from his.

  Taking her lips in a hot kiss, he dueled her tongue with his as he felt his resolve begin to slip along with the jacket ….

  “Please, Maria,” Dominic groaned as he pulled his lips from hers and held her body tightly to him so the jacket wouldn’t fall. “I don’t have the strength to turn you down anymore.”

  With his forehead resting on hers, mixed with their heavy breaths, Maria understood what he was asking, and even though it was clear she didn’t want to do it, she let go of his neck and grabbed the jacket, then pulled back.

  Regretting it alre
ady, Maria lay down on the bed in a sexually frustrated huff. “You owe me for this. Big time.”

  Staring down at her on the silky sheets with nothing but his jacket covering her, Dominic definitely regretted it more when he covered her with the comforter to tuck her into bed.

  Getting his thoughts under control, along with his self-control, he sat back down on the edge of her bed. “I do,” he said, seeing how pissed she was. Dom smiled as he leaned down to steal a sweet kiss from her lips, “How about dinner tomorrow at Kat’s? She invited me to come over to spend time with her and—” Dom hated to say the word.

  “Drago.” Maria helped him out with a smile, taking mercy on him from saying husband.

  “So, will you come with me?” he asked again when she didn’t answer.

  “Are you sure I should come? It’s not a family thing?”

  “Don’t worry.” Dom stole another kiss. “You will be soon.”

  If there was one thing Maria liked, it was obviously confidence.

  Stealing some of her own kisses, Maria finally agreed, seeing how important it was to him. “I will, but that doesn’t exactly make up for you not fucking me.”

  “I’ll see if I can make it up to you somehow,” he promised.

  “I have an idea how you can make it up right now.” Maria grabbed his hair, pulling him into another deep kiss that Dom had to stop.

  Exasperated and drunk, Maria threw her head back on the bed. “What’s wrong with me? What have you done to me?”

  Dominic couldn’t help but laugh, pushing the strands of golden hair out of her face. He felt a little bad for her. “Princess, you’re horny. I know you might be foreign to the feeling, but you just need a good fuck.”

  Maria went to open her mouth—

  “After we’re married,” he concluded.

  “Fine,” Maria hiccupped, only giving in because the alcohol was now starting to cause her lids to fall.

  “Goodnight, Maria.” Dom gave one last tender kiss on her lips. “I love you.”

  Maria’s eyelids fell completely, barely able to manage the words, “Goodnight, Domin …”

  Smiling at a sleeping Maria, he let the back of his fingers rub her cheeks for a moment, not wanting to leave her. He knew he had it bad for her, but he didn’t think it was this possible to fall so hard for someone. However, Dom should have known he would. He was a man who, when he loved, he loved hard.