7. Dominic

7

DOMINIC

Her silence unnerved me. She didn’t say a damn thing to me as we made our way back to the compound. I kept my senses sharpened, just in case there were straggling vampires looking for their comrade. But as I followed Bexley back to the compound, only one thought crossed my mind.

She’s a good fucking woman.

Not just good for us. Or good to us. Or, even good, in general. But morally sound. She was smack dab in the middle of a situation that called for none of her shit. Heavy handedness was the only thing that worked with vampires because it was the only thing they dished out. They were snakes in the grass, exploiting and lying their way through the world just to get what they wanted. I didn’t expect someone like her to know that, though. Not with all of the intricate history between shifters and vampires. I felt for her. Really. But at the end of the day, I sided with my Alpha, and not just because I had to.

“Bexley, come on,” I said as she raced toward my house, “at least talk to me.”

She held her finger up at me, as if she were silencing a child.

“Bexley,” I said curtly.

She shot me a look over her shoulder before she bounded up the porch steps and slammed through my front door.

I barely got it closed and locked behind me before her hardened tone met my ears.

“How the fuck can you be okay with this, Dom?” she snarled.

I swore, if I didn’t know any better at that point, I’d swear she was a wolf. “There’s a lot you don’t unders?—.”

She charged me, and it took all I had not to dart my hand out and wrap it around her fucking neck.

“There is no excuse for beating and battering someone for information. Ever,” she said as she gnashed her teeth together.

I shrugged, my tone of voice calm and collected. “Good thing vampires aren’t someones, then.”

She scoffed. “You’re seriously okay with this.”

“Yes.”

She threw her arms out. “Are you okay with beating and torturing everyone that you need something from?”

I don’t hesitate. “No.”

Her face twisted into disgust. “Just the ones who deserve it, right?”

I nodded as I clasped my angry hands behind my back. “Yes.”

She shook her head and clicked her tongue. “Guess you guys and Delilah have something in common, after all.”

I took a step toward her as I white-knuckled my grasp on my hands. “Take that back.”

She held her head high with pride. “No, I won’t. There is never a situation that calls for torture. There is never a situation that calls for unnecessary bloodshed. I’ve staked my entire career on it, and I’m not about to let some mangy, good for nothing?—”

I lost it. Before I caught myself, I lunged at her, slamming her into the wall. Her hand wrapped around my neck as she kicked off the wall with her foot, sending me flying across the kitchen table. She charged me, roaring out as she pounced. But, I was quicker than that. I slipped out from beneath her and watched her tumble to the floor before I reached my hand town, twisted it into her hair, and yanked her up.

“Get off me, Dom!” she exclaimed as she swung herself around.

I let her twist her hair up into a knot before I cupped the back of her head. I stared her down as my free arm wrapped around her waist, pinning her against me. I backed her toward the wall. She kicked and struggled. She balled up her fists and slammed them against my chest.

It tickled, honestly.

“Bexley,” I snarled, “take a breath.”

I get that she had emotions she needed to get out, but I just remodeled my fucking place. The last thing I wanted to do was slap more paint and plaster onto these walls because she had to process her feelings on shit she didn’t understand.

That was, until she slammed her knee into my groin.

“Oooooooh,” I groaned as I released her.

She slipped away and grabbed the back of my neck. “Let’s see how you like being pinned.”

She slammed my head into the wall before she took off. I was quick, though. Even as I hobbled, cradling my fucking junk, I leapt over the table and slammed down in front of her. My eyes sharpened. My talons elongated from my fingernails. If a fight was what she wanted, then a fight was what she’d get.

“Come here,” I growled.

Every punch she threw, I blocked. Until I grabbed her fist out of thin air, wrapped it around her body, and wrenched it up her arm. If a fight was what she wanted, then she’d realize exactly how well Ronyn had all of us trained. Every single shifter in our pack was required to take a certain amount of training lessons with him. It was one of the first things Ronyn instilled when he became commander general of our armies a while back.

I met her, punch for punch. Kick for kick. Slowly backing her away from the door. She cartwheeled into the kitchen, and I moved quickly, tossing dishes out of the way that I didn’t want her busting. She threw silverware at me before she made a break for the front door. She scrambled to get to it. But as I pounced, wrapping my arms around her from behind, I picked her up off her feet and turned toward the stairs.

“Let me go! Dominic!” she shrieked.

“Not until you calm the fuck down, you’ll freak the entire goddamn pack out,” I snarled.

She brought her elbow back, trying her best to break my nose. But, I dodged it. I fought her all the way up the steps until I came to my bedroom. Around and around we went, dodging punches and throwing kicks until I backed her all the way up to my bed. And as sweat permeated her forehead, I slammed my shoulder into her chest, causing her to gasp for air as she collapsed back onto the mattress.

“Jesus… Christ…,” she gasped as her lungs cried out for mercy.

I rushed around the bed, moving as quickly as I could. I had to get this woman tied down. She was on a fucking rampage, and if the pack knew why she kicked up, I wasn’t sure they’d let her stay. Or even worse, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to convince her to stay.

Not when she finds out that every single shifter she’s surrounded with would’ve done the same thing we had.

“There,” I said as I bound her wrists and ankles to the leather bindings of my four-poster bed.

I panted for air softly as I flopped down into a chair at the head of the bed. I swear to hell on high, I never met a woman capable of putting up a fight like Bexley. She really was one of a kind, and I had to admit, I got a bit of joy in watching her struggle with herself.

“Let… me go. God… damn it!” she exclaimed as she struggled to catch her breath.

She tugged at the restraints, and I watched the leather tighten against her softly tanned skin. I licked my lips as her face reddened with her efforts, and I waited her out. I waited for her to absolutely destroy herself against those fucking things, and eventually, she collapsed. She panted for air until her lungs were back on a normal rhythm of breathing. And as sweat poured down the sides of her face, she finally stopped fighting.

“Thirty-seven minutes,” I said as I took my eyes off my watch and looked back over at her. “Have to admit, it’s impressive.”

The anger of her clouded stare gave way to more focus as she looked over at both of her wrists. Then, she looked down at both of her ankles.

“Are you fucking serious right now, Dom?” she seethed. “You think you can just tie me down and that’ll make things better?”

I spread my legs wide and folded my hands into my lap. “Well, you do seem a bit less murdery.”

She snickered before she shook her head. I knew she didn’t like it. I knew she didn’t enjoy being surrounded by people that knew more than she did. That knew more about her than she did. But the restraint did, in fact, calm her down. Her anger finally subsided. Her face cleared of its angry red tint. She stopped tugging against the restraints and, instead, laid there with her gaze pointed toward my bedroom ceiling.

Then, when I knew I had her attention, I cleared my throat. “You know those safe words we talked about?

She nodded, but she didn’t speak.

“Now would be a good time to throw one of those if you’re uncomfortable. All right?” I asked.

I watched her nod again, but she didn’t say anything. I gave her a few beats of silence, just in case she was trying to choose a color. But the sound of her voice never once hit my ears. So, I scooted to the edge of my chair, planting my elbows onto my knees, and leaned toward her.

“I need to hear you say it, sweet girl,” I said as I lowered my voice.

She drew in a shaky breath. “I understand, Dom. I hear you.”

I tilted my head and waited for something else. Anything else. But, nothing else came. No safe word. No color. No comment. Nothing.

She was such a good girl for me.

“How are you feeling?” I asked as I stood from the chair.

I perched on the edge of the bed next to her arm while she spoke. “Coming down out of my anger, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

I shook my head softly. “No, I just meant, how are you feeling?”

The breath she took was infinitely stronger than her other ones. “Better.”

“Good girl,” I praised, cupping her cheek. I scooted a bit closer to her, hovering above her as I studied her face. I enjoyed the way my praise made her shudder softly. “Can I get you anything?”

“A new life,” she muttered.

I tried my best not to let her words absolutely obliterate me. “Anything else?”

That’s when she finally graced me with the presence of her beautiful golden stare. “It’s not right, you know.”

I searched her gaze. “I know you think that.”

“I know I know that.”

I stroked some hair away from her forehead. “Seriously, what can I get you right now? Water? A snack?”

But when her stare dropped to my lips, I watched those cheeks of her tint again. I watched as desire blew her black pupils wide open, damn near swallowing her shimmering amber stare. A grin crept across my face as she quickly looked away. She cleared her throat, as if that would somehow stop me from dropping the pieces into place. I reached out and gripped her chin, bringing her gaze back to my own. And without another word spoken in between us, I dipped my lips down and captured hers.

A groan fell from her lips and down the back of my fucking throat.