by Evie Harper
Another favorite day of mine was when Archer, the pony, arrived. He’s a deep chestnut color and has a friendly personality. If he were human, I’d say he was a people person. He’s fast, obedient and will be perfect for a little girl. He’s also a pig who never says no to any food.
I’d also cooked Kelso’s famous spicy beef stir-fry for everyone, even Benny. This must be my family's secret recipe since Kelso refuses to share the recipe outside our family. He thinks it’s going to make him rich one day: America’s best stir-fry. I laugh about it, but even so, I made Dom swear he wouldn’t tell Kelso I showed Abi how to make it. Kelso has a knack for payback and the last person to feel that was Pacer, and he didn’t move off the toilet for a solid six hours.
Jared and Dom have plowed the massive cornfield. They’ve also been working on ways to incorporate soybeans because Dom did some research on the internet and found soybeans would give a better return than corn, and they’re easily grown together. Jared was resistant at first. He’d only ever grown corn, and that’s all he wanted to grow until he couldn’t farm any longer, but with Abi’s help, we talked him into trying it for one season.
Slowing the swing and placing my feet flat on the ground, I sigh. A week and a half of nothing but peace, no violence, no fearing for our lives. So when Benny told us an hour ago that the Dodge is running perfectly, it was bittersweet. I miss my family, but I don’t miss the rest that comes with our world.
We’re set to leave in two sleeps. Abi asked us to stay one more day so she could cook us some good-bye meals. Jared muttered his agreement, seeming nonchalant about it, but I saw his face fall when Benny said the car was ready. He’s going to miss us, and I’m going to miss them both so much. I hope that Pacer wants to meet his parents because I can’t leave here and never return.
We’ll be heading back to Portland. My real brothers who live in Mexico and who apparently run their own cartel business have struck a deal with Lucini. They’re handing over what Lucini wants desperately: the Guerrero Coast Route that brings drugs in from South America. They will pull their men who protect the road from other cartels trying to take over and let Lucini take control. From what Dom tells me, they are making a huge sacrifice for me because by giving up the road, they are also giving up their business. No road means no drugs to sell. If they want to continue to sell to their clients around the world, Lucini will set the price too high for them to make a profit. Or choose not to sell to them at all and knock them down so they can’t get back up.
Dom took some convincing to stay another day on the farm. He wanted to leave tonight. He’s worried about Abi and Jared getting caught up in our dangerous mess, and I agree, but with the O’Connors striking a deal with Lucini, I thought we'd be in the clear, meaning Abi and Jared are safe. However, Dom told me about Paulie’s threat to keep coming no matter what. That this was a game to him, and he didn’t care about the rules or the orders he received. We’d gotten away, and that pissed Paulie off. He wanted to end my life and Dom's simply because we escaped him.
Dom also told me William O’Connor has been staying in Hastings since Nick's funeral, and he’s on his way to Portland now. He went to Hastings hoping to meet me. William and his two brothers have told Dom they will meet me and find out for themselves if I’m happy and how I am. Dom said they will offer me a home with them, that they want me with them. I hope they’re prepared for disappointment because I’ll never leave my brothers. It’s not in us to be apart; we’ve spent too long looking after one another.
Since finding out Phillip was never our foster father but a kidnapper, I’ve been curious to find out about my family. I wanted to know if I had any brothers and sisters, if they looked like me. I wanted to know what features my parents gave me. First I just wanted to see them. Finding out my father was as evil as Phillip was a blow, but not a lot shocked me anymore so I came to grips with it easier than everyone thought I would. So I am curious about my brothers. I do want to meet them. I just don’t want them to think they have some kind of claim over me or the decisions I make in my life. If William is anything like our father, then the one meeting will be our last. Dom swears they aren’t, but I am a product of my past, my upbringing. No matter how hard you try to run from it or how far you try to push it down, in the end, your past shapes who you become.
A warm hand on my shoulder pulls me from my thoughts, and I look to see Dom staring down at me.
“It’s getting cold.”
Pressing my lips together, I nod and stand. Dom takes my hand, and we walk toward the house. Usually, Jared would watch his nightly news while Abi and I cleaned up after dinner and talk. Then all three of us would sit down at the table and play card games while Dom helped Benny in the garage. But tonight I left after cleaning up, needing some time alone to clear my head.
“Do you want to see if Abi and Jared are up for a card game?” Dom asks.
“Yep.” I nod. Feeling refreshed, I don't want to waste the night away stewing over what can’t be changed.
As we near the back door, music filters out and Dom stops us suddenly. I peer through the screen to see what he’s looking at and find Abi and Jared in each other's arms.
Dom and I shuffle sideways and peek through the kitchen window, eager to give them their privacy but also to make sure everything is okay. It takes only a moment of watching them to realize they’re dancing. Abigail and Jared sway magically in each other's arms to the sounds of "Piano Man." As we continue to spy on them, a smile tugs at my lips from witnessing such beauty and love. Forty years of marriage and Jared still holds his wife with a tight grip as if he’ll never let her go. And Abigail rests her head on her husband's shoulder like it’s the softest place to fall in the world. Their steps don’t falter. It's as if they’ve danced to this old beat many times. Without needing to wonder, I already know that if the music wasn’t playing, they’d continue to a beat of their own, a love melody.
All of a sudden, Dom pulls me to him. He places his left arm around my waist, lifts my left hand to his right and presses it against his chest. He begins to sway us and a small giggle escapes my lips.
Dom chuckles warmly. “You laughing at my romantic gesture?”
“Just surprised you have any romantic moves at all.” Smiling softly, I turn my head and rest it on his shoulder.
“I’ll just have to prove you wrong then, won’t I?” Dom whispers and kisses my cheek.
We continue swaying through the song, and I’m not sure how many more songs. It isn’t until the music ceases that we pull back from each other, and our eyes lock. From this moment, we both know what will follow.
Dom spins on his heels and walks us quickly to the barn, pulling me behind him by our clasped hands. He closes the large barn doors while I climb the ladder. When I reach the top and wait for Dom, the anticipation grows to an unbearable amount. I step from one foot to the other and fidget with my hands. To distract myself, I look over at our pushed-together blow-up mattresses and hope they will be able to survive what we’ll be doing on them tonight.
Turning around to see where Dom is, I’m caught off guard by his body slamming into mine. His palms rest against my jaw as his mouth falls on mine. A fiery passion flares through my veins and blazes across my chest as I desperately claw at his clothes, wanting to rip them to shreds from being a barrier between us. The hunger for our skins to touch is all consuming.
Our clothes discarded, Dom cups my ass and lifts me. Automatically, my legs wrap around his hips and my arms fold over his shoulders. Dom walks and then all of a sudden we’re falling. We land softly on the sofa, me in his lap, my sensitive bare breasts rubbing against his chest with his cock standing erect between us, the tip rubbing my stomach.
I move in to kiss him, but Dom pulls back, his eyes penetrating and full of wonder. He drags a thumb across my lips. “Fucking beautiful.”
The pulse in my neck thunders as my heart quickens. I’m done with the foreplay. I need him inside me. Straightening, I kneel and grasp the base of his co
ck and slide down, slowly. My neck falls backward, and I arch my body as the sensation of being stretched and full overwhelms me. Dom groans loudly and then suddenly, a gasp escapes me as his warm mouth sucks on my left breast. His tongue swirls around the tip of my nipple and then he sucks hard, so much that it comes with a bite of pain. Even so, it only enhances the pleasure as I begin to move my body up and down.
Dom takes a strong hold of my hips and helps me rise and slam back down as he continues to lick, suck, and bite my breasts. My gasps, his moans, and the smacking of our skin fill the room like beats to a song all coming together and speeding up as the climax of the ending nears.
Shocks of electricity spark all over my skin and each time Dom moves his hands from my hips to my breasts and to my face, I gasp from my skin's sensitivity. I twist my hips, left and then right. Dom's hands fall from my face and rest back on the sofa. He groans loudly. Euphoria evident on his face, I repeat it another two times and then pull up to his tip and slam back down. Dom urges me to go faster by taking a tight hold of my hips and pushing me up and pulling back down. The muscles in his biceps, chest and abs flex with the movement and with everything combined, my knees weaken as ecstasy swirls low in my stomach and my mind finds that beautiful place where nothing else matters but the sweet bliss about to flow through me.
“Fuck. I’m close,” Dom grits out.
I’m already there, screaming out his name. “Dom!” Wondrous sensations surge through me. Unexplainable joy explodes from every inch of my body.
“Fuuuuuuck!” Dom roars as his release hits. His hands no longer on my hips, but wrapped around my back, he holds me tightly to him as if I’m trying to escape, as if he’ll never let me go.
Our heavy breaths mingle together as the world comes rushing back to us too quickly. I’m lying against Dom's chest, listening to his heart hammering against his chest. When it starts to slow, so does mine.
I can’t help but think back to our first time and giggle. “How weird is it that this is the second time we’ve had sex, and I’ve called out two different names.” My face bounces on Dom's chest as laughter explodes from him.
Pushing back on his chest, we come face-to-face, our lips only inches apart and our eyes locked. “I don’t care what name you call me, as long as it’s only ever my cock inside you.” Dom smacks my ass and grins.
I wriggle and he groans. “I don’t feel anything at the moment. Are you sure it’s in?” I joke with a sassy smile.
Abruptly, a squeal escapes me as I’m thrown into the air, landing backward onto one of the mattresses. Dom is above me immediately, never allowing the cold night air to cool my heated body.
“You’re about to feel the earth shudder, baby, so hold on.” Dom smirks, but his eyes glint as if it’s a real promise.
A bubble of laughter bursts from my mouth, but it doesn’t last long because as Dom moves and grows in size, the only sounds that come out from between my lips are moans, pleas, and screams.
Chapter Sixteen
Della
Lying on my right side in the nook of Dom's arm, I stare at his face as the morning light spills into the barn, signaling a new day, a new beginning. I shouldn’t be awake this early since we only fell asleep a few hours ago. For some reason I’ve woken anxious. I’m not sure if it’s because we are one day closer to going home or because last night I followed my heart and there will be no taking it back. I took a giant leap and told Dom I loved him right before I succumbed to sleep. The last thing I saw was his wide smile.
I know Dom loves me. I didn’t need to hear him say it back. And I meant what I said last night, so this anxiety riding me hard this morning must be the cause of tomorrow's impending departure. Also, in just a few days, I’ll be meeting William. I have so many questions for him.
Dom licks his lips and then his eyes open slowly. He turns his head to me, and I smile brightly. “Good morning.”
Dom grins, closes his eyes and extends his free arm and does a whole body stretch. “Morning.”
“It’s still early. You should probably try and get some more sleep,” I offer, but secretly hope he wants to stay awake with me.
He shifts to his side to face me, his arm resting under my head. “And miss waking up with you on our first morning together? Never.” Dom cups the side of my face and kisses my lips.
Feeling my cheeks heat up and flush, I hide my face back in the nook of his shoulder and stretch my arm across his chest, hugging him to me firmly.
“What’s wrong?” he whispers in my ear.
“Nothing,” I reply swiftly.
Dom nudges me with his shoulder, and I’m forced to move back and meet his eyes. “Tell me.”
“Honestly, it’s nothing. I’m just nervous about leaving tomorrow. It’s been so nice staying here. Stress and drama free, I wish this was our real world.”
“You’re not looking forward to seeing your brothers? Piper and Lana?”
“Yes, of course, I miss my family very much. Their antics, laughter, and advice, but for once in my life, I’m not looking forward to going home. Portland holds so much pain for me that I’m afraid we’ll get back there and fall apart. What if we aren’t strong enough to tough out the hard times? You only came into my world for a set timeframe. You always thought you’d leave and return to your friends and the town you grew up in, to your easy and good life. What if it all falls apart? I’m not sure I could handle you leaving again.”
Dom
I want to explain to Della how much my happiness depends on her, but I can’t put my feelings for her into thoughts, least of all sentences. I’ve known love with friends and family. I’ve known passion with past relationships. I’ve known loyalty when I served my country, and I’ve known obsession with only her. But all at once, for this woman, love isn’t a strong enough word for what she means to me. The words haven’t been invented yet, or maybe they never will be.
“Della, I can’t change our past but by god, I’m going to create our future. You have me, forever, through good and bad. I swear to you, if the ground shakes, I’ll hold you steady, if it rains, I’ll be your shelter. There is no I when it comes to you and me anymore. There is only an us. You will never have to build another wall to protect yourself because I’ll be standing guard. Nothing will get through and if anyone or anything tries, I’ll be the one who gets cut.”
Dom sits us up straight as if he’s trying to wake me up, to get his point across as clearly as possible. “When I think about our future, all I see is possibility. I want it all with you, Della. Marriage, a family, old age. I want to dance with you to 'Piano Man' when I’m ninety. And yes, between now and then, I expect there will be tough times, but with open eyes and trust, this time, they will only make us stronger.” His expression is a mixture of conviction and joy. “I am a selfish man when it comes to you, but I’ll never be that way with your brothers, not when I know they take your happiness and safety as seriously as I do. And I wish I could show you through my eyes that even though my life was easy before, it's better now with you in it. I don’t want easy if you aren’t with me to enjoy it.”
Tears fall from Della’s radiant eyes and her lips tremble as she sits up a little taller. “I want 'Piano Man,' marriage, and a family with you, too.” Della wipes at her tears and continues, “I’ve never loved anyone outside of my family as much as I love you, Dom. I’m scared, but the future looks so much brighter with you beside me.” Della takes a big breath in. “Thank you. You have no idea how much everything you said means to me.”
I pull her hands to me, push our palms together and clench my fingers through hers. “I wish I could open up my chest, so you could really see how much you mean to me.” I unthread one hand from hers and touch her left cheek, “Instead, I’ll show you with the only way I know how to express the depths of my feelings for you.”
And that’s what I do. I cherish Della as I did the night before. Showing her with every touch, kiss, and thrust, she is my world. The beginning and my end.
&n
bsp; ***
While removing the screw from the top of the pallet jack, I notice Della standing by the barn staring at me. I look up and notice the carrots she walked into the barn with are now gone. I bet Archer loved the treats and Della’s attention. The sun shines down as if it’s only purpose is to bath Della in light. She’s beautiful, even in only a simple teal T-shirt and denim shorts. I wink at her, and Della gifts me with a smile. Warmth spreads throughout my chest and flashes of last night and this morning race through my mind causing me to smile as I get back to trying to fix this old and frustrating pallet machine.
Abruptly, I freeze as a gun shot sounds. It’s quickly followed by a scream from Abi.
Enforcers. They found us.
Immediately I drop the tool in my hand and start running for Della. I know she’ll race right into the chaos and I can’t allow her to do that. I won’t let her get hurt. Della is my first priority; she always will be.
“Fuck,” I curse as Della turns to look at me and guesses my motive right away. She’s off and running toward the house.
I pump my legs harder and swing my arms with as much strength as I have. In my mind, I’m back at the train tracks. Hopelessness infiltrating my mind and heart as I race to Della, except this time, I won’t let it get to the point where I have to wonder if she’s alive or dead. My chest tightens and becomes sore from my harsh breaths. I’m close to her. “Della,” I ground out as quietly as I can, hoping my voice will stop her or cause her to misstep and slow. She doesn’t stop but hearing me so close, it does surprise her, and her run falters. Extending my arm, I reach out to grab her, but I miss, only the very tops of my fingertips feeling the material of her shirt.
I’m so close.
Pushing my body harder, to the point I haven’t had to since the train tracks, I finally reach Della. Just as she’s about to change direction to lose me, I’m able to get my arm around her waist and cease her escape and plan to save Abi and Jared. My other hand comes up and over her mouth, not wanting her to make a sound and draw out the threat.
