by Marian Tee
“Not…really?”
“Or a joke about stupidity,” he added.
“Umm…”
He rolled his eyes. “Go on.”
“I can’t,” she practically wailed. “You’re scaring me!”
That made him blink. Then Domenico started to laugh. “I have, haven’t I?” His laughter faded. “I’m sorry for that.” He looked at her, glued to the other end of the seat. “Come here, Misty.” He patted the space next to him.
She went to him tentatively.
“Closer.”
She moved an inch.
“Misty,” he growled.
She moved two inches closer.
He sighed and without further ado, he pulled her close to him until they were skin to skin, her back against his chest. He sighed again, relaxing. Misty had that effect on him, and it was extremely nice, especially after another bitter exchange of words with his father.
“Relax, Misty. Get used to this. We’re getting married, remember?” His arm tightened around her waist as he spoke the words. More and more, Domenico was realizing how much her presence meant to him, and it was unnerving. This hadn’t been part of the plan at all.
Domenico leaned his head back and closed his eyes. When he did, he felt Misty gradually relaxing against him as well, her back curving naturally to his chest.
“Tell me the joke,” he murmured.
Reluctance lined her voice when she said, “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
She cleared her throat. “So, there were three guys stranded in the island. Jack, Jim, and John.”
He smirked without opening his eyes.
The women he knew would never make a joke like this. It would be something else, something witty, satirical even, and sophisticated. Or naughty – anything to impress him.
“Now, these three guys were stranded in an island. Bandits had caught them and brought the three to their leader. The leader then orders them to bring him 10 pieces of any fruit.”
He heard her pushing buttons of her phone and knew she was scrolling down to read of the rest of her joke. Domenico wanted to smile but managed to stop himself in time. Too much smiling would make him weak, and he didn’t want that.
Misty continued, “Jack was the first one to come back. He brought with him 10 apples. The leader then tells him that each and every one of them would have to be shoved in his butt.”
Domenico choked.
Misty was already into the joke and didn’t notice Domenico’s reaction. The chauffeur and bodyguard in front snickered. Then they caught sight of Domenico’s frown through the rearview mirror and coughed.
“The leader also adds that if ever Jack grimaces or laugh, even just once, they’d cut his head off. Jack got as far as two before he grimaced. And then it was off with his head!” Misty was narrating the joke now like a standup comedian, hands flying in expansive gestures, now completely carried away.
This time, it was impossible for Meralco to stop himself from smiling. She looked simply adorable.
“Jim comes back with ten grapes. He’s given the same ultimatum. By the ninth grape, however, he laughs. And it’s off with his head, too!” Misty made a chopping motion.
“Now, Jack and Jim met each other in Heaven. Jack asks Jim, why did you laugh? You were on your 9th grape already. One more and you could have been saved.” Misty couldn’t help it and she fell to the seat, laughing. She knew the punch line of course, but it still made her double over literally.
Domenico nudged her, even as his smile widened at the picture she created. “Finish the joke.”
She strived to control her laughter. “So Jim replies, I saw John coming back.” She bit her lip to stop her laughter from bubbling over. “And he was carrying 10 pieces of pineapple.”
Laughter from Misty, Domenico, and the two uniformed men rocked the limousine.
“Ah, Misty.” She was still doubled over, laughing. She had probably heard the joke at least once before this but it still made her laugh. She was cute…and priceless.
Domenico pulled her to his lap and hugged her. Tightly.
That stopped her laughter. She gazed at him, wide-eyed, surprised at his sudden burst of affection. “Wow?”
He laughed and kissed her on the mouth. “Whoever hired you to work for my company deserves a cash bonus. I was lucky to find you, Misty.”
She blushed at his words. “I’m lucky to have you, too.”
He pulled her back and this time, she was able to relax and snuggle close in his lap.
“Come home with me?” he murmured.
She closed her eyes. “Yes.”
Chapter Three
Dear Diary,
Domenico is mad at me.
When I see him furious, sometimes I have this ridiculous fantasy of Domenico tying me up and forcing himself on me. I imagine him binding my wrists and holding my arms over my head, thrusting into me from behind. I’d cry for him to stop, but all it does is just make him ram his cock into me more and more. Is it so bad that I get all wet just thinking about it?
“Misty?”
“You know how Lyccan hearing is really good, right?”
“Uh huh.” She wondered absently what he was getting at. She was so nervous. Had she truly agreed to go home with him? They were walking out of the airport now, and she felt like dragging her feet to delay the…inevitable? The unexpected? The anticipated?
“Well, I can hear your heartbeat right now.”
Her jaw dropped open.
He regarded her solemnly. “And it’s beating hard and fast.”
Her face flushed with color. Hard. Fast. Those were very, very bad adjectives to choose. She couldn’t stop herself from thinking about the two of them in bed.
Oh, dear.
How had Domenico turned her into a nympho in less than two days?
Domenico almost, almost laughed. Misty was absolutely priceless! He could read her every thought on her face. He knew exactly what she’d think when he used those words and she had not disappointed.
“Where are we going now?”
He was about to say something to make her blush again when his phone rang. It was a Council official, relating to him the massacre of a small group of individuals, all of whom came from prominent families. One of them was from his pack.
“Is something wrong?” Misty asked immediately when he ended the call, seeing his frown.
“An unfortunate matter that I can’t postpone,” he said absently. He glanced at her thoughtfully. “I’ll have you deposited at my home first---”
Misty was shaking her head even before he was done speaking. “Oh, no. I’m not going to put a foot inside your house unless you’re with me.”
Domenico raised a brow, unused to being contradicted.
She raised one brow back even though her heartbeat went a notch up in speed. She was trying very hard to remember that he no longer her boss but her fiancé. That gave her certain rights. Right?
“You’re going to be stubborn about this, aren’t you?”
“Umm…”
He shook his head. “Never mind. If that’s what you want then fine.”
She blinked at his cool tone. “Are you angry?”
Domenico paused to consider her question and didn’t need more than a moment to realize that he was. Surprisingly, he was indeed angry although words like frustrated and irritated were probably more apt.
He had been looking forward to spending the night with her. Although he knew he would not take her virginity - a rare prize among Lyccans since their kind typically had sexual intercourse far earlier than humans did – before marriage, Domenico had nevertheless anticipated spending the night with Misty in his arms.
And yet here she was, apparently unaffected and uncaring. He understood her predicament – it would be her first time to be in his home and to do so alone would be awkward for her. He also knew he was acting spoiled, but he was unable to help it. Domenico was so used to women falling all over their feet to do his biddin
g that Misty doing otherwise was a huge, unwelcome shock.
Misty was still staring at him.
“No,” he said finally. “I’m not.” But his tone implied otherwise.
Misty fell silent, not knowing how to respond.
Half an hour later, his car stopped in front her home. “T-thanks,” she said awkwardly as she stepped out of the car.
Domenico did not follow her out. Giving her a brief nod, he murmured, “I’ll see you tomorrow.” And then the car was driving away.
Misty had a very, very strong urge to cry.
~~~
Domenico stared at the victims’ bodies, taking note of the bullet holes in their foreheads. Accurate and neat – mid-range distance, maybe, and not even a sniper was used. The killer obviously meant business.
“What do the forensic reports say?” he asked.
Another Lyccan, the pathologist spoke bleakly. “Silver bullets. Whoever the murderer is, he knows he’s dealing with our kind. No signs of struggle either.”
Or she, Domenico thought, too distrustful to rule out the possibility that a female could be behind the massacre. Staring at the lifeless bodies that crowded the morgue, Domenico exhaled a furious breath. That there had been no struggle meant the entire group had known who the killer was and probably trusted that person, too.
It confirmed what he long suspected: they had a traitor in their midst, and one whose face was familiar to most Lyccans. Someone famous then, but that could be any of a hundred or so individuals.
Beside him, Ricardo Hernandez cursed. He had lost even more than Domenico did to the massacre, with three of his younger pack mates dead. “This is the fourth incident of this kind,” he muttered.
“They’re getting bolder,” Domenico murmured.
“Do you think it’s the Caros, double-crossing us?”
He shook his head. “There’s no way to be sure. All I know is that we have to tighten security even more.”
There was a slight pause before the older man looked at him questioningly. “Have you given thought about my proposal?”
A double meaning. Ricardo had long been friends with Domenico’s father and a month ago, Ricardo had proposed that their packs be united with marriage, specifically desiring a union between Dio’s eldest Domenico and his eldest Rafaella.
Under any other circumstance, Domenico would not have hesitated to agree, would not have even considered marrying Misty if Dio had also happened to be dead set against the union. Ricardo’s pack was just as powerful as the Morettis, and if they had allied themselves with a marriage, no other Lyccan pack would have dared stood in their way.
But Dio was in favor of it, and for that alone Domenico knew he would only agree to the alliance if it was the very last resort for saving the future of his kind.
He chose his words carefully, not wanting to offend Ricardo because he liked and respected the other man. “While I am truly honored---”
Ricardo sighed. “It’s all right, son. I knew it was wishful thinking on our parts.”
“If things were different,” Domenico said truthfully, “I would not have even a moment’s hesitation.”
~~~
The next day, Misty got off the cab and was immediately drenched by hard torrents of rain. In the corner of her eye, she saw Janice being assisted out of a Mercedes Benz by one of the guys from 7/F. Clearly, William Grant was out of the picture.
As she ran for cover, hands over her bent head in a futile effort to keep herself from getting wet, Misty heard Janice tittering behind her. Tears burned her eyes. She had not been able to sleep the entire night, troubled by Domenico’s cold demeanor. She wondered if it would always be like this whenever she did not do something he wanted.
She went inside, flushing at the gaping looks of the doormen whose gazes searched for a sign of Domenico behind her. When they didn’t, they looked at her with pity, but she did her best to ignore that.
Her usual luck caused her to take the elevator with Janice, whose cruel laughter made it uncomfortably clear for everyone what she was thinking about.
“Poor Misty,” Janice drawled in the pseudo-whispery tone that she had long perfected. “Have you disappointed Domenico Moretti already?” She smoothed her hand over the side of her dress, yet another skintight creation made of silk, as if emphasizing the slimness of her figure.
Misty didn’t answer, preferring to stare straight ahead even though she felt like a fat cow next to the glamazon.
The rest of the day proceeded too slowly for her. Misty wished she could bury herself in her work, but she was already a week advanced. Lunch time, she stayed at her desk, taking out her lunch box.
For today, she had prepared for herself a huge helping of mac and cheese and grilled corn on the side. It was one of her favorite combinations for comfort food, something she tended to indulge in when she was feeling in the dumps. Right now, that was an understatement for how Misty was feeling, especially with the ill-concealed pity in people’s gazes.
“I told you it wouldn’t work,” Janice was smugly telling Hannah, her voice loud enough for more than half of the office to hear.
Why didn’t she just get a megaphone and be done with it, Misty wondered. Or just post it on the public Facebook page of Moretti Inc.? It would be less hard on her vocal chords at least.
“She’s so out of league it’s not even funny. He probably dated her out of pity, maybe she even blackmailed him?” Janice’s blue eyes shone with malice. “Or, you know what? Maybe he did it because of a dare.”
Hannah nodded thoughtfully. “You’re probably right.”
Domenico watched the scene from the CCTV, controlling himself with an effort. He had been observing her from the moment she had stepped out of the cab and when he saw Misty caught in a downpour, his first instinct was to help her. But then he reminded himself that she had to learn her lesson. He was the future pack leader, for chrissake. He could not afford to be weak and be controlled by a woman in any way. Misty had to learn early for herself that his word was law.
Yet was it a lesson worth teaching when Misty looked this forlorn?
Returning his attention to the CCTV, Domenico gritted his teeth at how she quietly took in the barbed insults coming her way. He zoomed in to where Janice and Hannah were huddled together, speaking in shrill loud voices that grated on his nerves. They knew Misty was hurt and delighted in it. How could they not when Misty’s face was like an open book?
She should have looked pathetic in his eyes. This should have made him hesitate to proceed with marrying her for how could she rule as his future queen when she so easily let others step on her?
A tear dropped from Misty’s eyes.
Dammit.
With just a few minutes left before her lunch break ended, Misty was only a third way through with her meal when a large shadow suddenly blocked her line of sight. She glanced up and spit out a forkful of mac and cheese when she realized who it was.
And just like that, Domenico’s irritation at her vanished. It was impossible to stay angry with her when she was just so – her.
He slowly dusted away the bits of mac and cheese that managed to reach his shirt. The people around them were unsuccessfully trying to smother their laughter.
Misty wanted to die of embarrassment. Had she just spit out food on Domenico’s expensive clothing? “I’m sorry---”
“It’s my fault,” he said graciously as he dragged the executive seat from another desk and placed it next to hers. He could have sat on any of the plain armchairs across her desk, but Domenico being Domenico, he’d rather not settle for anything less than the best unless it was entirely necessary.
The fact that she was starting to understand how his mind worked made Misty smile. It also made her hope that things were going to be better now.
“Are you still angry?” she blurted out.
He stared at her for a moment, just to make her squirm. And squirm she did. Then he leaned close and kissed her on the forehead. “What do you think?” he a
sked when he pulled away.
All Misty could do was smile at him, utterly besotted.
Unbelievably cute, he thought again.
“I’d like to share lunch with you here if you don’t mind,” he told her.
She blushed. “Of course I don’t mind.”
When she offered him her fork, he shook his head and said with a gleam in his eyes, “Feed me.”
She choked again, but it was water thankfully this time.
He slowly brushed away droplets of water that landed on his sleeve.
Misty’s face was fiery. Dear heavens, would her embarrassment never seize? She was willing to bet she was the most socially inept woman Domenico had ever dated. “You can break up with me now. Really. And I won’t blame you. At all.”
That was too much. He let out a short bark of laughter, amusement overcoming him. Looking at her, Domenico knew she meant every word. No other woman he had dated would react the same way. Well, actually, none of them would even dare choke or spit on him in the first place. But that was what made her unique.
A powerful surge of possessiveness filled his entire being. More and more, Domenico was convinced that letting go of a treasure like Misty would be the most foolish mistake he could do in his life. So she was not the most obedient woman in the world. He supposed he could live with that.
“Misty?”
She held her breath. “Domenico?”
“Can you finally come home with me tonight?”
Her jaw dropped and then her eyes brightened. A shy smile formed on her lips. “I thought you’d never ask that again.”
His eyes dipped…and dipped some more until it settled on her breasts, lingering there until her nipples protruded against her blouse. He said softly, loving how her breasts seemed to strain out, “Impossible. I want you too much.”
“Domenico,” she protested under her breath.
He settled a hand on her knee and cherished the gasp that she made when he squeezed her knee before moving his hand slowly up.
Although the desk completely hid the lower halves of their bodies from view, nobody really had to see to know what exactly Domenico was up to. The look on Misty’s face said it all.
