26. Dom

I watch Thea walk away and barely resist the urge to pull her back to my side. My gaze drops down to watch her ass move in that sweet little dress she has on. It doesn't cling to her body much at all, and shows very little cleavage. Basically, the exact opposite of anything Gabby used to wear and yet, it turns me on like nothing else. It could be because it is Thea wearing it, but it feels like more than that.

"How long has this been going on?" Dad asks, and I'm forced to turn my attention to him.

"Don't know what you're talking about," I mumble, watching as Dad walks from the room.

I let out a sigh, knowing I might as well follow. Pissing my father off will only cause more issues, and I'm reluctant to rock the boat. I don't want Thea to have any reason to kick me to the curb. Dad leads us to the back of the house. It's the largest room in the house. We've always called it a game room, and it does have a pool table in it. There are also some arcade games, a bar with loads of stocked alcohol—something that T and I used to our advantage growing up. Dad built it to have the club members over for parties. Mom and Dad went through a rough spell when I was around seven. There was some drama with club twinkies talking shit to Mom. Mom could hold her own, but she said she was tired of having to, considering she was a wife and a mother. She gave Dad an ultimatum, and to give him credit, he didn't even blink. He changed a lot of things, including spending more time at home and when he wanted to get together with the members, it mostly happened here. My parents still had parties at the club, but not as often, and never without both of them present.

Dad walks behind the bar and bends down to the fridge underneath. When he rises back up, he has two beers and hands me one. I take it, then sit down on one of the couches that is scattered throughout the room and stare at my old man. There's shit I need to talk to him about. Shit that I'm being an ass not bringing up. It's also shit that I don't want to explode. I'm not ready to talk about it tonight, though. For the first time that I can remember, I'm happy in my personal life. I want to enjoy that before I set off another bomb to explode. I rub the back of my neck as Dad pops the top on his beer. It's a habit that I'm pretty sure I picked up from my old man. Whenever I'm tense, I tend to rub my neck as if that can make it disappear. It can't. I know it can't, but I still do it.

"Cut the shit, son. How long you been toying with Thea?"

I try to bite down on my anger. Going toe to toe with my old man isn't going to end well for either of us. The problem is, I've never been someone that can control my anger when something sends me over the edge. Unfortunately, my father knows exactly what buttons to push to get me there. I love him, but he can be a bastard.

"I'm not toying with Thea. She's not that type of girl and she'd cut off a man's dick if he tried," I snap.

"Are you going to try to convince me you're serious about her overnight, and you're over Gabby just like that?"

"I am serious about her and what we're doing may be moving quick, but it is not overnight. It's also none of your damn business," I warn.

"Normally, I don't give a fuck what you're doing with your dick. I didn't bother stepping in when you were sniffing around pussy that was dime store shit wrapped up with a high-class price tag. I stupidly thought you'd get your head out of your ass in time. I wanted T to be happy, and I thought he'd eventually get there, and I was right. But you…"

"What about me?"

"Hell, you're always thinking with your dick."

"Like father like son, I guess."

"I may have copped to that early on, but I knew the minute I saw your mother what I wanted. I didn't look back."

"You ever pause for a minute and give me the benefit of a doubt and understand that's what is going on between Thea and me?"

"C'mon, Dom. Gabby has hooks in you that go so fucking deep you hurt your own blood because of them. There's no way you just got up one day, looked at a woman who has been around your whole life and decided she's the one. Your mom might buy into that shit, but not me."

"Flattering picture that you have of me, Dad. I really must be quite the fuck-up in your eyes. Is that why you've been pushing to promote Breaker and pretty much ignoring my position inside the club?"

"Breaker has paid his dues."

Dad puts his beer down on the bar and crosses his arms at his chest. He looks unmovable and his face is daring me to say shit.

"He has," I answer because Breaker is damn good. The club is better because he's in it. I wouldn't argue against him moving up in the club. "Do you think I haven't?"

"Dom—"

"Because if I haven't, that lies on you. I know—for a fact—that there have been things I could have been put in charge of and have been passed by. That's beginning not to sit well at all with me."

"You head hasn't been in the game."

"Bullshit. I have always put the club first."

"Too bad the same couldn't be said about your brother."

His words are like a fucking gut punch. "I?—"

"And apparently you don't give a fuck that Raze was involved with Thea. You just moved right on in. Do you really expect me to trust you with the big shit at the club when you spend most of your time worrying about who is going to get your dick wet and not even care that your brothers—the men you took an oath to put first—are involved with those women? You need to grow up, Dom," Dad growls, anger lacing every word, but his anger pales to mine at the moment. He's already passed judgment on me. He hasn't even tried to hear my side, and it's clear that it's not something that interests him, either.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Thea snarls, and if I thought I was angry, my girl is worse. I'm surprised there's no steam coming out of her ears.

Dad and I both look at the door at the same time. Mom and Thea are both standing there. Mom looks shocked. Thea looks pissed as hell.

"I'd like to know that same thing," Mom adds, her eyes shooting lasers at my father.

"It's nothing, Gorgeous," I tell Thea, because in the grand scheme of things, I know it's not.

"I think it is," Mom argues.

I shake my head. "Mom, let it drop."

"It's club business," Dad says, and I hate the way that hurts. Honestly, it might be club business, but I'm his fucking son. He could have talked to me about shit before he passed assignments to others. If the club voted against me moving up, then he could have told me that, too. He didn't and now we're here. I can't say shit about it. I did cause a mess with T. Sure, I didn't know everything Grabby was fucking doing, but I should have talked with T. I should have told him what Gabby and I had planned and what was holding us back. I should have treated him like a man—not the younger brother I had always tried to protect.

"The fuck it is," Thea says, and Dad's body tenses to the point that you can feel the vibe in the entire room. I walk over to her to get between them.

"Sweetheart, let it go. It's not important?—"

"It is, Dom! I heard what he said." She turns away from me then and looks at my father. "If that is truly how you see your son, then you don't know him at all. Dom didn't steal me away from Raze. He sure as hell didn't stab him in the back."

"Princess—"

"No," she says, cutting him off. "You don't get to call me by a family nickname. You apparently don't know me well enough to know that I would never cheat on a man I was involved with. Unlike Raze—a member of your club that you chose to head the scouting expedition for your club's new shop over your own son," she snaps.

"You talked to her about?—"

"Dom didn't tell me anything. I was at the garage going through the books with Dad when he and Uncle Dancer were talking about it."

"Are you saying Raze cheated on you?"

"He did, not that it is anyone's business. Dom was there for me when I found out and he's been there since. Whatever we are now, didn't enter into it then. He was a shoulder when I needed one. It also shouldn't fucking matter where he puts his dick, as long as he does a good job for the club."

"It has to matter when it affects members of the club. None of this has anything to do with you," Dad counters.

"If you're using Dom's relationship with me to continue to punish him inside the club, it does. Sure, he was fucked in the head when it came to Gabby. He was an idiot and blind as a damn bat?—"

"I don't think you're helping me, sweetheart," I respond, unable to keep the hint of laughter out of my words. How she can sum up my past and turn it into something that twists me up inside, yet, makes me want to laugh, I don't know. Hell, I'm starting to think that with Thea in my life, I don't give a fuck about much else. She's perfect for me.

"I can't lie about it, Dom. You were an idiot."

"I was," I admit with a smirk.

"But part of the mess was because you were trying to shield your brother. It was stupid as hell, but it's still true."

"Thanks, I think."

"You're a damn good man, Dom. It"s surprising that your own father can"t see that."

With that, I give up the fight. I wrap my hands around her waist and pull her into me. She braces herself with firm holds on each of my shoulders, but I don't let her pull away. "You think I'm a good man?"

"Dom, stop. Your dad needs to know that you?—"

"He's going to believe what he wants, sweetheart. The fact you think I'm a good man is all I need."

"It's not. He's being unfair."

"You're being unfair. You didn't answer the question. Do you think I'm a good man?"

"I think you're an asshole," she mutters, making me laugh. I can hear my mother giggle, too.

"Hmm…" I hum.

"I also think you're a good man who deserves better from people who are supposed to love you. If they bothered to check in with you, they'd see what I see."

"What's that, Thea?" I murmur.

"Dom…"

"What do you see when you look at me, sweetheart?" She lets out a sigh. She falls into me. I hold her close, gathering her body into mine while resting my forehead against hers. When she doesn't answer, I prod her again. "What do you see?"

"A good man. A man I…"

"You?"

"A man I could see myself with."

They aren't exactly the words I was hoping for, but I'll take it. I grin down at her, pulling back just enough so she can see me clearly. "That's really good, Thea, because I'm not letting you go. I'm going to keep you, and do you know what else?"

"What?" she breathes, puffing out that single word so gently that I have to strain to hear her.

"I'm going to make you fall in love with me."

"I don't know if that is possible." The old me would have gotten pissed by her denial. Oddly enough, I'm not at all.

"It is. You already love me. I just need you to admit it."

She looks shocked at my words. I can't hold it back any longer. I bring my mouth to hers and we kiss. She deepens the way our tongues duel with one another, and I swallow down her groan. The kiss might have lasted for hours if my dad hadn't cleared his throat. Immediately, Thea tenses and pulls away.

"Dinner's ready. Maybe we should all go eat," Mom suggests.

Thea is staring at Dad. I force myself to tear my gaze away from her to look at him. Something on his face shifts. I can't say what it is, but I can see surprise across his features. I grimace, wanting to just carry my woman out of here and leave. I've had about all the family bonding that I can handle tonight.

"I think I've lost my appetite," I mutter. "Do you want to leave?" I ask Thea.

"I—"

"Stay," Dad says. "I think I have some shit to make up for."

"You can say that again—more than you know," my mom huffs, giving him a pointed look.

Thea looks at me. She seems torn. I want to just leave, but I will let her decide. "It's up to you, Gorgeous."

She purses her lips and huffs out an annoyed breath. "We'll stay."

Damn. "If you're sure."

"I am, but if one more person says something against Dom, we leave."

"Understood," Dad says.

I move so I can kiss Thea's forehead. She smiles at me and asks, "Are you okay?" That's when I see the worry on her face. Something about the fact that she is concerned about me hits me in the heart more than anything else ever has.

"I'm good, sweetheart, as long as you're with me." Her gaze stays on me as if she's reassuring herself. I make myself smile and she nods.

She puts her hand in mine and turns with a smile to Mom. "Let's eat." Then, she practically pulls me into the dining room. I really would rather go home, but I can handle one dinner with my parents if Thea is by my side. I'm pretty sure I could do anything if she's with me.

Absolutely anything.