Page 27 of Murder & Mayhem
Safe? I laughed harshly, even though I knew Dominic didn’t mean to be cruel.
“I don’t know what that is,” I admitted, my teeth sinking into my bottom lip to keep me from screaming in frustration.
Dominic took a step toward me carefully, like he was afraid he was going to spook me, and didn’t you know, that just pissed me off more.
“I’m not a fucking child!” Fuck, why was I being such an asshole? Dominic had been nothing but caring and sweet and . . . I was fucking crying again.
He met my eyes steadily. If he was bothered by my outburst, he wasn’t showing it.
“Trust me when I tell you I know you’re not, Jamie.”
“Then why are you treating me like one? If you want to touch me, fucking touch me! You think I didn’t notice you were hard before?” I throw my hands out to my sides, challenging him, because I’d lost my mind apparently. “Anything you could think of in your most depraved, filthy fantasies wouldn’t come fucking close to what I’ve gone through. I won’t fucking break. You don’t need to throw me into another room and act like I don’t exist because you don’t wanna scare the poor, traumatized boy. You say you know I’m not a kid? Then fucking prove it! Take what you want!”
Dominic’s eyes flashed, and before I could take a step back or apologize or fucking run, his hand was around my neck and I was pushed against the massive dresser he had that took up most of one wall.
I let out a harsh breath, my body tensing for one terrifying second as I wondered how badly I’d fucked up, not only worried about my life but about any chance of finding Bailey.
Dominic didn’t squeeze though. His grip wasn’t painful or threatening. It was possessive. Claiming. I’d told him to take what he wanted and he was. I swallowed under his hand, my own pressed against the solid wood of the dresser to get some purchase.
Dominic was right there, his face lowered so he was eye level with me, less than an inch separating us. His teeth grazed along my jawline, causing me to whimper. His nose pressed against my face, breathing in deeply. I couldn’t do anything but accept and hold on for dear life.
“You have no idea the kinds of depraved thoughts I have, baby boy.” Dominic licked across the seam of my lips, and then, when they parted for him, he took the lower one in between his teeth, biting just hard enough for me to feel it before pulling back.
“But I don’t take what’s not willingly given to me. And that won’t happen until you can look me in the eye and calmly tell me exactly what you want and what you consent to, without the fucking temper tantrum. Until I can be sure you’ll stop me when you need to, that you even know what your fucking limits are, I won’t do a damn thing.”
Dominic backed up a tiny bit, but his hand was still around my throat. His fingers flexed, only slightly, but it was enough for me to flinch. Immediately, he let go and fixed me with a sad smile. “When I can touch you without you flinching and expecting the worst, then I’ll be there. But you need to come to me.” Dominic took a deep breath, some of that fire finally dying down. “That first time, beautiful, you need to be the one to initiate, and then after that, all bets are off.”
Dominic turned from me then, leaving me speechless and flustered, still pressed against his dresser. He grabbed his pillow and his phone, one of his knives.
“I’ll sleep in the guest room tonight. You can have my bed.” He stormed toward the door, throwing it open with more force than necessary.
I couldn’t let him leave without saying something, but I had no idea what. I wanted more of what he’d given me, but I was still fucking terrified. I didn’t want him to leave but couldadmit that we both needed space. I was fucking pissed, and turned on, and somehow felt more seen than I ever had in my whole damn life.
“Dominic.” My voice was barely above a whisper, throat dry and clogged with emotion. I cleared it, wanting to try again, but never got the chance.
“I’ll leave the door partially open if you need me.” Then he was gone. He might’ve only been in the next room, but it somehow felt like miles.
It was dark. So dark I couldn’t see my hand in front of me. And cold. The kind of chill that seeped right into your bones, and no matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t stop shivering. Where was I? The ground below my bare feet was hard and damp, uneven, like I was outside. But it was too dark to be sure. There was no noise except adrip, drip, dripfrom somewhere in the distance. I spun in a circle, eyes squinting, trying to adjust to the darkness, but it made no difference.
“Hello?” I called out, but was met with silence.
I wrapped my arms around myself and felt only skin. I looked down, but the darkness was so all-encompassing, I couldn’t even see my own body. My hands ran down my torso and onto my legs. I was naked? But I’d been dressed earlier. I was sure of that. Baggy sweatpants that I’d had to roll up twice and a long-sleeved shirt. Clothes Dominic had given to me. I’d still been wearing them when I’d finally managed to fall asleep from pure exhaustion after tossing and turning on that huge, lonely bed for who knew how long. But they were gone now. I didn’t remember taking them off. Where did they go? At least that would explain why I was so cold. I hugged myself tighter, but it did little to fight the chill.
I took a step forward into the never-ending blackness . ..
The scene changed. I was standing in a nearly empty room, but I recognized it instantly. The mattress on the floor, the radiator that didn’t work, except as a good spot to handcuff victims to. Usually, I was the one on that mattress while I waited for Joey’s clients.
“Jamie?” Bailey was there instead, wearing only underwear, lying on his back, his hands cuffed above his head. “Jamie, help me!”
“Bailey! Hang on, I’ll get you out of there!”
“Jamie, I’m so scared.”
I choked on a sob, my heart breaking for my brother. For me.
“I know, Bails. I’ll get you out of there.” I ran toward the mattress to find a way to free him, but no matter how hard and how fast I went, I never got closer. He was only a few feet away, but the distance dragged on.
“Jamie! Why won’t you help me, Jamie? Why did you leave me?”
