Page 23 of Untouchable

But despite the fact he might not believe her, Chloe had to try because she still loved him … so much.

17

Chloe got off the couch and moved toward him, dropping to her knees in front of him. Dominic lifted his head and looked at her. She clasped her hands around his, and then just stared at their entwined fingers, marveling at how much bigger his were. Several scars littered the tanned flesh. How she wished she could wipe them away.

“Chloe.”

She shook her head and dragged her gaze up, looking into his face. He had a defeated expression on his face, like he was scarred not just on the outside but on the inside as well.

“What happened eight years ago is not something I regret,” she said softly. “I've thought about it every day, wishing things had gone differently afterwards, wishing I could have told you that everything would be okay because I wanted it to be.” Her heart was racing. “I know why you reenlisted, and I know it was because you couldn’t stand yourself or the guilt you felt.” He opened his mouth to speak, but she slowly shook her head. “Please, let me get this off my chest.” He stayed silent, his eyes so full of pain and anguish. “I know you, Dominic. I know you'rean honorable man who thinks only of others. You have no guilt to feel over what we shared that night. I know I don’t.”

Rising so that she was face-to-face with him, Chloe knew she had to be honest if she was going to have them get through this. This scene had played out in her head over and over throughout the years.

“I love you.” Her throat felt so tight. “I’m in love with you, and I don’t expect anything in return, don’t expect you to feel the same way, but I want—need—you to know.” She let that sink in, let those words move between them. “When I gave myself to you that night it was because I wanted to, because I wanted to share that part of myself with only you.” She took a calm, steadying breath and gauged his reaction before she continued. “It wasn’t just a coincidence that you saved me from Jake that night. I don’t believe that for one minute.” Chloe cupped his cheek. She could feel the stubble of a day’s worth of growth scrape across her palm. “I’ve loved you from the moment I knew what the concept was. I may have been young, but my heart and body knew that you were what I wanted as my forever.”

The fact she was finally telling him this, spilling those words she’d kept inside of her for all these years, felt liberating. It felt right.

Chloe shook her head. Everything she’d ever done in her life slammed into her mind, and all of it didn’t seem as important as this one moment.

“Chloe,” he said in a gruff, pained voice.

“I just had to tell you so you knew the truth. I knew what I wanted then, and I know what I want now. You may think this is wrong because you married my aunt, because for all these years you were known as ‘Uncle Dominic,’ but what we shared was not taboo or wrong. It wasn’t forbidden. We were two people who were alone and needing that connection. And we found it with each other.”

And then there was silence.

Just as she went to stand, he gripped her wrist in a gentle hold. Chloe’s breath stalled in her lungs. She could hear him swallow, saw the way his throat worked from the act.

“I went back into the service because of what you said. I couldn’t stand to even look at myself in the mirror. I saw a man who had done something forbidden and wrong. I took something from you that I shouldn’t have.”

His words stung, not because she thought they were remotely true, but because he had felt that way, because she heard the pain in his voice.

His grip on her wrists slowly loosened when he clearly realized she wouldn’t leave.

“These feelings I have for you have been my downfall, Chloe. I've watched you grow into a beautiful, intelligent woman. But despite trying so fucking hard, I haven’t been able to steer my thoughts away from feeling you, touching you, holding you.” Dominic pulled her closer to him. “I tried to punish myself for what we shared, tried to erase the guilt and disgust that swallowed me whole. I tried to drown myself in violence and anger, but nothing I did could erase how I felt for you.”

When the lone tear slipped down his cheek, Chloe’s breath halted in her lungs. She had never seen Dominic cry. He’d always been this strong, invincible man in her eyes, but watching him shed tears showed her how utterly human he really was.

“I love you, Chloe. God help me, but I love you. Maybe I’ll always think it's wrong. Maybe I’ll never be able to get rid of the guilt, but I can’t let you go. I’ve tried, and I’ve failed. I’m too selfish where you’re concerned.”

Not wanting to lose another minute, Chloe leaned in the rest of the way and pressed her mouth against his. “I’m here, and I am not going anywhere.” Tilting her head, she opened her mouth over his and slid her tongue along his lips. Fortunately,he didn’t push her away, but instead caressed her tongue with his.

Chloe wrapped her arms around his neck, and the deep groan that came from him had every part of her heating. She’d been waiting so long for this moment.

Her heart skipped a beat when his hands speared into her hair and pulled her closer. She climbed onto his lap, never breaking the kiss. Breath mingling together, Chloe kissed Dominic like it was the last thing she’d ever do.

He broke the kiss only momentarily. “All these years I thought about this. All these years I’ve imagined how your mouth would feel on mine, remembered how it felt against mine,” he murmured against her lips.

“Just love me, Dominic. Make the past eight years of loneliness disappear.” The hands in her hair suddenly tightened, and she gasped as he pulled her head back. He made a slow path down her throat with his lips and tongue. The sting from his hands in her hair didn’t deter her from feeling the intense pleasure of his mouth on her neck.

“I’ve ached for you, Chloe.” He stood abruptly with her in his arms. Chloe wrapped her legs around his waist and tightened her hold around his neck. The feel of his big dick between them, digging against her legs, had her wetter than she’d been in the last eight years … when they’d been together.

He brought his lips back to hers, and she sucked on his tongue as he walked them out of the living room and up the stairs. His arms were wrapped around her tightly, his strength insurmountable. His thighs, like twin tree trunks, carried them up the flight of stairs with ease. The feelings that washed through her at being so close to him again, after all these years, had her remembering this feeling of security and protectiveness she found with him.

When she opened her eyes and broke the kiss, she saw he was standing in front of his bedroom door. Her heart sped up.

“Dominic?” she whispered, not knowing what she was asking him.

Was she saying his name to drag him out of his hazy look, or was she saying his name because taking this into the bedroom meant they were actually going to do this?

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