“O-okay,” she repeats. I’m not even sure she can hear me. She’s a shell of the person I once knew, and it all started changing after she got engaged to that animal.
I turn the faucets off once the water is warm enough and the bath is filled. “Eliza, you have to take your clothes off so you can get in the bath.”
“O-okay.” Robotically she undresses with absolute no modesty at all. I’m her sister so it doesn’t bother me, but what I see are all the scars on her body. But, now’s not the time to ask about them, she’s already traumatized by what happened at the motel.
“Here you go.” I hold my hand out to her, which she takes and I help her into the bath. I grab a wash cloth from on top of the vanity unit. “Eliza?” She’s staring blankly at nothing.
“O-okay.”
My heart breaks for her. Eliza’s gone through so much more than I could ever imagine. “I’m going to wash you, is that alright?”
“O-okay.”
I kneel beside the tub and she sits forward, hugging her legs to her chest. I dunk the wash cloth into the tub and bring it up to gently rub on her back. Eliza winces when I touch her. “It’s me,” I say in an attempt to ease her.
“Rosa,” I hear Dominic call. A small yelp of pain escapes from Eliza. I jump to my feet and head out of the bathroom so Eliza remains comfortable and safe in the bath. I close the door behind me and lean against it. Dominic sweeps me into his arms and kisses my mouth with a gentle softness. “How’s Eliza?”
I look at the bathroom door and intake a sharp breath. I push my fingers through his, linking our hands and tug him outside of the bedroom. “She’s a mess. Did you know what your brother was doing to Eliza?”
Dominic’s features harden. It’s clear he didn’t. “What was he doing to her?”
“She has scars all over her body.”
He runs his free hand through his hair as he shakes his head. “Scars?”
“All over her body. I told you he was beating her, but this.” I lower my chin and stare at the floor. “No one could’ve known.”
He leads me over to the banister and leans against it, taking me in his arms. “I didn’t know.”
I step backward putting distance between us. “Dominic, what’s happening with Adrian? Why would he do that?”
“I need to speak with Ruben.”
“No!” I point my finger at him. “This involves me and my sister. You tell me what’s going on.”
“I can’t, not yet,” he says. He crosses his arms in front of his chest as he stares at me. “It’s not something I’ll tell you.”
I point to him, then myself. “We’ll never work if you keep me in the dark, Dominic.”
“You have to understand. This is something I need to talk to Ruben about.”
“Why?” I pace back and forth, becoming frustrated with his lack of response. “This has got to do with my sister. That fucking maniac beat the fucking door down to get to my sister. Not to mention what he would’ve done to me.” I’m trying my hardest not to become hysterical and overwhelmed with everything that’s happened. “The moment your brother put a ring on my sister’s finger, our lives started imploding,” my voice wavers with frustration.
“This has to be…”
“No!” I cut him off and stop pacing in front of him. “I can deal with whatever you do. When you come home covered in blood, I don’t question that. I...” I’m going to have to admit something I wasn’t prepared for. “This is going to sound fucking insane and there has to be something wrong with me for feeling this way, but when I see your shirt covered in blood, and your hands are bruised from beating someone up, I find myself wildly attracted to that. But when it comes to Eliza and me, I...” I step closer and place my hand to his chest. “I don’t want to be kept in the dark about us.”
Dominic runs his gaze down to my mouth then slowly back up to my eyes. “I’m going to see Ruben now.”
“Tsk,” I huff and step back from him. “Please, just tell me what’s going on.”
Dominic straightens and holds his chin up to me. “You’ll stay here, and you won’t move until I get home.” He grips my chin and smashes his mouth to mine. Something is wrong with me, because in these hours of complete chaos, my body still reacts to his possessiveness. My inner darkness is completely dependent on his tight rein on me. My mind struggles with this. He pulls back from the kiss and tilts my head up so I can look straight into his hungry auburn eyes. “Know this, Rosa.” My heart pounds inside my chest as I hang on every word he says. “There’s nowhere you can go where I won’t find you. You think you were hiding in that motel? I knew exactly where you were every moment of every day.” In my gut I knew he was having me watched. “You belong to me.” He grips my chin harder causing me to take a sharp breath. My brain wants to argue that I don’t belong to any man, but my inner darkness and body both respond with a deep thrill.
My mouth says the words my brain is thinking, but my body isn’t feeling them, “You don’t own me.”
His mouth claims mine hungrily. “Yes, I do, my lioness. Yes, I fucking do.” He kisses me once again before releasing his possessive grip on my chin. The delicious pain from his fingers is instantly missed. “Now, get in there and take care of your sister. I’ll be home soon.”
I want to argue, but I don’t have the energy. Nor do I want to. Dominic leaves via the stairs, and I’m left standing outside the bedroom, overwhelmed and in a daze. I take a moment to clear my mind before heading into the bathroom to Eliza.