12. Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Gianna

Our maid is maneuvering herself around me as I'm slumped over the kitchen counter, regretting my decisions from last night.

My head is pounding with fatigue, I've thrown up three more times since the unfortunate incident with Dom's shoes, and I can't even get my coffee down.

Is my whole pregnancy going to be like this?

"Gianna, you look terrible." My mother comes in, grabbing some herbal tea and looking much fresher than me.

"Thanks, Mom." I smile at her.

"What are you doing today?" she asks me.

"I have a meeting at the teen center a little later, and then I'm going to go get a few Chicago-worthy clothes."

"Oh, fantastic. Why don't you get your hair and nails done too, Darling? My treat."

"Uh, okay. Yeah, sure." I look down at my hands.

My nails haven't been done in a few months, although I painted them for my birthday. Today is a good day for some pampering. And it'll help me not bug Dom.

I think about asking my mom to join me, but she's already on her phone talking to a friend. It makes my heart hurt a little that we've grown so far apart.

Since I got home, Dom is the only person who has made me feel like my presence matters. What does that say about my family?

I think about the fact that I don't have a job and ponder for the millionth time how I'm going to get enough money together to move out.

"Gianna, tonight we're having a family dinner, please. I've let your brother know as well. Seven-o-clock?" My mother stops at the kitchen door and looks at me with pleading eyes. I smile at her.

"Sure, Mom. I'll be home anyway."

***

"You're dressed up for dinner." William looks up with a green bean poised right in front of his lips.

I'm not used to sitting down for dinner as a family, so being ten minutes late, even though I've been in the house all afternoon, hasn't annoyed any of them.

"Just wearing normal clothes," I reply, looking down at the maxi dress I've been wearing all day. I like the way it shows off my cleavage, but it's not exactly anything special.

I honestly chose it because I've already started to gain a little weight and some of my clothing is feeling a little tight already. I'm worried about how long I'm going to be able to hide this pregnancy from my family.

I do have sparkling new nails, though, and I made myself look a bit girly when I left the house in an effort to feel more positive about my situation.

"With makeup?" Will raises an eyebrow and chews down on the green bean. My brother has never taken such an interest in what I'm wearing before.

"Should I go shower before I eat?" I ask sarcastically, sitting down and starting to dish up. There's no way in hell that I'm actually going to go shower. I'm starving.

"No, I was just wondering if you were going somewhere after — to see Dominic maybe?" I look up at my brother and realize what he's doing.

This twenty-five-year-old man feels the need to stir up chaos simply because he's feeling upset about the situation. I sigh, knowing that questions will be shooting from my parents' mouths at any moment.

"Why would she go to see Dominic?" My mother is suddenly very invested in our conversation. I look at my mother, then back at Will, unsure of exactly how to handle this.

I could lie. Or I could just tell them the truth and get it over with.

"Dominic Santoro?" My father joins in.

"Gianna and Dom seem to have been chatting quite a bit lately," Will explains.

"How do you know that?" I ask him, smiling through my anger with him. If I can just stay composed, things might not get too out of hand.

"What do you mean you've been talking to Dominic?" My father's voice is raised an octave higher than usual. I look at my parents and their panicked faces.

"Okay, calm down, guys. It's not like I'm about to marry the man." I laugh, but no one looks like they've enjoyed the joke.

"No, you're fucking not." My brother pipes up.

"Gianna, we spoke about Dominic at your birthday." My mother is frantically rearranging her cutlery and refusing to look at any of us now.

"Yes, Mom, I know. We just found that we had quite a bit in common and William must have seen us talking at the gala." I shoot my brother a look, daring him to challenge me.

"He was at the gala?" My father looks thoughtful.

"Yeah, probably staking out his next kill." I wince at Will's words. I know about Dom's "Reaper" side, but thinking about him actually killing someone — and a mutual acquaintance nonetheless — has my mind in a frazzle.

Will's comment seems to be the last straw for my mother who starts lecturing me about hanging around "people who aren't from our world" and my father starts yelling about how he'll have Dom's head if he thinks he's going to be speaking to his daughter.

"Okay, you two can stop now! I understand that I am back in your home, and I respect that, but while I was living in London, I made all of my own decisions, and I did it just fine. Besides, you have all basically ignored me since I got home. What do you care who I see?" I stand up and push my chair away. There's no way I can be in the house with them while they're emotional like this.

"Gianna!" my father yells out as I leave the room.

Storming out of the house, I dial Dom's number.

"Hello?" he answers.

"Are you busy?" I ask, trying to keep my voice steady.

"Yeah, I was actually just grabbing a coffee…"

"Oh, I'm sorry to bug you."

"No, it's all right. You're not bugging me. Is everything okay?"

I sigh. "It's going to sound stupid, but my family has just pissed me off, and I need to get out of here. I was wondering if you'd maybe be willing to come and get me?"

I hear his breath on the other end and then add in quickly, "I'm sober, so no puking, I promise."

He laughs. "I'd love to come and fetch you. Give me ten minutes to get my car, and I'll head right over."

***

Dom's loft is almost exactly how I'd imagined it.

It's dark, with just two windows, but both are covered by black-out shades. But it's clean; meticulously clean. And there are pops of color in each corner, bringing a feel of artsy bat-cave to the loft.

It's warm in here, though, and once he closes the door behind us, it feels like the rest of the world can't get to us.

He offers me something to drink, with a choice between tea and whiskey. I go for the tea. He pours it into a mug because I guess bachelors don't need to have multiple types of glasses for different drinks.

I cheers to him and walk over to his couch, sitting down.

"Are you on a drinking ban?" he asks me.

I blink at him, then remember that he doesn't know why I'm abstaining. I cough and smooth the dress over my thighs. "I just want to be clear-headed about the decisions that I'm making right now, you know?"

He grins at me, and my heart flips over. "Like hanging out with me?"

I cough again, but then I smile. "Yes, like those decisions."

"So, what happened at home?" he asks, joining me on the couch.

"Uh, well, William started the whole thing, mentioning you and how we saw each other at the gala."

"Does he know how much we saw of each other at the gala?" Dom's smirk sends a chill down my arms, and I remember every moment of being in the bathroom with him.

"Definitely not." I slap his arm lightly and laugh. Taking a sip of my tea, I look at him over the rim of the mug.

He's in a simple black shirt and jeans, which is not unusual for his everyday style, from what I've seen. Somehow, with his muscular biceps pushing against his sleeves and his now bare feet poking out of the jeans, he makes it look like the hottest outfit a man can wear.

My phone lets me know that I have a message. I immediately know that it's my mother. She's asking where I am, so I tell her I'm spending the weekend at a friend's place. Her replies tell me she's happy with my response.

I can sense Dom sitting next to me on the couch, looking at me. "What?" I ask him.

He shakes his head slowly. "Nothing. Just looking."

"Well, why don't you do more than look?" I gaze at him under my eyelashes and get up onto my knees, shifting to position myself over him. He grabs my hips and pulls me down onto his lap, kissing me softly as he does.

He's hard. I can feel it through his jeans, which is impressive.

Not that I can speak, because being in his loft, even with no whiskey buzzing me up, I'm so wet I wouldn't be surprised if I've left a damp spot on his lap.

I grind into him, moaning as I do. There's a heat in between my legs that seems to be coming from both of us, and it's driving me crazy.

"Ah, did you just call me so I could satisfy your craving?" He growls as his lips make their way down my neck and to my chest. I lift myself so that his mouth is level with my breasts.

"No," I breathe out. "That's just a bonus."

Dom starts to pull my maxi dress down over my shoulders, so I shift off his lap to help him. It's so long that I need to stand up to take it off properly.

It slides down, leaving me naked except for a pink thong. I'm standing in front of Dom as he licks his lips. I can see him studying each and every one of my curves.

Then he brings his tongue to my stomach, licking down until he reaches my thong. Taking the material in his teeth, he pulls the underwear down my leg, pulling it with his hand the last few inches.

I move to sit back down on him, but he stands instead and picks me up, carrying me over to the bed.

I can feel how wet I am on my bare legs now. I pull him down onto the bed with me and kiss him, moving my hands to pull his pants down. He stands up and does it for me, removing his shirt as well.

He hovers over me again, kissing my chest, my shoulders, and nibbling on my earlobe. As great as it feels, my pussy is crying out for him.

I wrap my legs around him, pulling my body down closer to his, and guide his cock with my hand. He lets me move him until he's entering me, and then he takes control again, pushing until he's all the way inside.

My body has gotten used to his huge size, and the stretching is always delicious now, rather than painful.

Something about my pregnancy hormones is heightening the pleasure of his cock inside of me, and I can hear how loud I'm being as he thrusts slowly in and out of me.

"Is that good, baby?" he asks me, his voice rough.

"Oh, fuck, Dom," I murmur, writhing beneath him. "It's amazing."

"More?" he asks me.

"More," I echo, lifting my hips to meet his.

He grips my hips and starts to move faster inside of me. The pleasure radiating from the heart of me is so overwhelming that I can barely think. Each thrust sends a jolt of ecstasy racing along my nerve endings, and I twist my fingers into the comforter on his bed, trying to anchor myself to reality.

Dom thrusts into me harder and harder as I scream out with pleasure. I look up into his eyes and smile at him. He smiles back. Then I close my eyes and let him rock me until the pleasure completely takes over.

I feel warm wetness coming out of me and spilling onto Dom, and I call out his name as the heady orgasm washes over me.

He pauses for a second, allowing me to catch my breath, and then his rhythm speeds up and becomes more desperate. I grip his back and moan into each of his thrusts, feeling him getting even harder inside me until he stiffens with one final deep thrust.

I hold onto him until he rolls over on the bed, breathing hard.

We shift to lay on the pillows, I face the window, and Dom wraps his arm around me from behind. We're a bundle of sticky wetness, and I know I should go pee, but right now, I don't want to ruin the moment to go and clean up.

"So, do I need to take you home?" Dom breathes into my ear.

"I'd prefer if you didn't." I nuzzle further down into his hold.

"Stay the weekend?"

I turn my head to look at him. "If you'll have me?"

"One condition."

"Okay?"

"No clothes allowed."

I laugh, and Dom joins. Then, he kisses my lips before I turn over and close my eyes, breathing in his fresh rain and sandalwood smell as I feel myself slipping into a deep sleep.

***

Dom's breathing is steady next to me, telling me he's still asleep. I roll onto my back and lay my hand on my belly. I send a silent good morning to the little life nestled within me, then look at the man who helped me create it.

My heart is breaking at the thought of having to surprise him with the news about this baby. What if he doesn't want to help me raise it? What if he gets angry?

He looks younger as he sleeps, his long, dark eyelashes creating little shadows on his cheeks.

I know he's a very bad man, but he has always been so kind to me, and we have a strange connection that I cannot explain.

I ponder my pregnancy, and realize that I was sloppy about taking my birth control all the time when I was with Guy as well, but never got pregnant.

Maybe the universe was looking out for me. It would have been terrible to have a baby with Guy.

I feel the familiar morning nausea taking a hold of me, and I get out of bed carefully and head to the bathroom. I try and throw up quietly. I don't want to have to explain my continuing illness to Dom. He's not stupid. I'm sure he would have questions.

I lay on the floor in the bathroom, waiting to feel a little more alive. As I rest, I think about what I'm going to do.

I need a job. Not a volunteer job like a rich woman. I need a real job.

I cannot rely on my family's money to save me now. I don't have any idea how to get a job, though.

My thoughts turn to Dom. He owns a business. Maybe he can help me figure out some kind of job so that I can be independent from my family. I want to be able to separate myself from them in case they don't approve of my pregnancy. Plus, I'm far too old to be living at home.

I start to feel more human, and I get up off the bathroom floor. I shiver a little and wrap my arms around myself. I spot a bathrobe hanging on the back of the bathroom door and put it on. It's Dom's, so it's comically large for me, but it's warm. I decide I might be able to stomach some herbal tea, and I head to the kitchen.

"Hey!" Dom says from the bed as I emerge from the bathroom. "I thought we said no clothes."

He gets out of bed and comes into the kitchen naked and magnificent, sporting impressive morning wood.

His hands slip under the robe, cupping my breasts. They are so tender now that I'm pregnant that I gasp as sensation rockets through me.

"Let me brush my teeth," I say to him, conscious of the fact that I was just throwing up a few minutes ago.

"We don't have to kiss," he says to me, whirling me around and lifting his robe. He thrusts into me in one firm movement, and I'm lost to the swirling tide of pleasure, gripping the edges of the kitchen counter for balance as he makes me come again.

***

"What time is it?" I ask Dom as he walks past the bed later on.

"About nine."

"In the morning."

"Yes, Sleeping Beauty, in the morning."

This loft is like a casino in that I can barely tell what time of day it is outside. But we've also just spent the last twenty-five hours naked and fucking every chance we got. I'm dehydrated, a bit sticky, and looking at my breasts and arms, bruised.

I lay back in the bed and smile. I can't remember when, if ever, I was fucked this hard, or for this long, with as many orgasms as I managed to fit into one weekend.

For the whole day yesterday, I didn't even have time to think about anything else. It was just Dom… Those blue eyes. His smell. The way his hands felt on my skin.

"Dom," I say to him drowsily. "I need a job."

I hear him snort from the kitchen where he's making himself some food. "You don't need a job. You're rich."

I roll my eyes. "I want to move out of my parent's house and have my own place. Honestly, I don't even want to go back there again."

He's silent for a moment as he focuses on cooking. "You want me to help you get a job?" he asks.

"Yes," I say back.

He sighs. "Well, I do need office help at the club. But I hate having you there. It's not safe for you to be surrounded by so many strangers."

I sit up in bed eagerly. "But I'd be with you every day, right? How much safer could I be?"

He shakes his head, but he's smiling. "Why can't I say no to you?" he says. "Fine. Come with me tonight when I go to work and see if the work suits you."

I cheer and flop back onto the bed.

"What are you going to do about clothes?" he asks me.

I frown, then I remember that I have my credit card with me. "I'll get some clothes today if you can take me to a store. I have my credit card. My dad can look at it like a parting gift to me now that I'm on my own."

Dom shakes his head again, but I can tell he isn't saying no to my plan. "Fine, but don't be surprised when your parents aren't happy about you staying with me and also working for me."

"Screw them," I say, and for once, I mean it.

I'm going to stand on my own two feet, even if it's hard and scary. I owe my baby that much, at least.