Page 41 of Dominic

Chapter Twenty-One

“I wantyou to explain it to me one more time, Titus. I want to make sure that I’m understanding what you’re telling me.” Dominic’s brain fought through the fog. He did not want to believe what Titus was saying.

Cassandra had fucking betrayed him again.

“Boss, listen, it’s hard to know exactly what happened.”

“Did she or did she not put the spyware on my computer?”

Titus sighed. “She did.”

“And would that spyware be used for anything but nefarious purposes?”

“Not that I know of, no. But—”

“Don’t you dare make an excuse for her. Don’t you do it, Titus.” Fury burned in the back of his throat.

She’d betrayed him again.

“All I’m saying, boss, is that I wouldn’t of found it for a long time – might never have found it – if she hadn’t taken it off this morning. She took it off.”

The older man said that like it excused her from putting it on his computer in the first place. He left her here last night with access to everything. It never even crossed his mind at this point that she should still be watched. God damn it. How could he have been so stupid to have fallen for her again.

“I don’t know how many times I have to fall for her lies before I realize that it’s just in her nature. She’s toxic.”

“But she’s not, Dominic.” Titus had worked for Dominic for years and he could count on one hand the number of times the man had called him by his first name. “She did something stupid. We’ve all done something stupid. I’m just saying give her a chance to explain.”

“I’m not going to off her, Titus.” Even with the rage running through him he couldn’t imagine ending her life. “But she’s obviously a liar, and I’m obviously a fool. I’ve got to protect the family.”

“Just hear her out.”

Dominic nodded, but how did you hear someone out when you knew every word out of her mouth would be a lie? He couldn’t trust her and he couldn’t trust himself.

And God, he was so fucking pissed. Had really started to think about a future with her. Again. And now they were back to square one.

Nothing she felt for him was real. She played him – like the expert she was - again.

He walked up to their bedroom – his fucking bedroom, dammit – trying to get control of his temper. He wasn’t going to kill her, but for the first time he wasn’t one hundred percent sure he wouldn’t use his fists on her.

Dominic stopped, taking a breath and clearing his head before he entered the room. No, he would not use his fists on her. He would not change the man he was just because she was a lying, conniving bitch.

He walked through the door of the bedroom, closing it silently behind him. He could hear her moving in the bathroom getting ready for the wedding.

As if he was going to let her attend that. Let her near his family again.

Dominic saw the bamboo cane he’d used to flog her before the last gala leaning up against the closet door. It had been sitting there since that night. A silent reminder that he would provide her what she needed.

Now it was just a mockery. Had she been playing him even with that? He picked up the thin rod and walked into the bathroom.

Her eyes were guilty. He could see at the moment he looked at her. She was keeping secrets from him. Of course, he already knew what they were. He flexed the bamboo and slapped it against his hand, causing her eyes to go wide.

She was standing there in virginal white bra and panties, her long golden hair already in a fancy up-do, with ringlets hanging around her neck and ears. He walked closer. She shied away.

Her instincts were nothing if not spot on.

She gave him a small smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Um, I don’t think I need that, since it’s mostly just family. I’m not very nervous.”

He bent the rod again, testing its flexibility. “You look a little nervous.”

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