Warning: The following scenes will be sexually explicit and will be inappropriate to younger readers. Reader's discretion is advised.

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Inaya's POV

I've never seen him look so helpless. He doesn't bother squirming or moving around. He's just accepting it all.

Before I could react, his father whips Dominic's back with a leather belt. The noise of the belt hitting Dominic's back was deafening. It was so loud that I thought his skin might've ripped apart.

"Stop it!" I scream as I throw myself in front of Dominic.

"Well, well, well, who do we have here? Having one of your whore's protecting you now? You've lost more of your manliness than I thought." His father says, mockingly.

"Please, don't do this." I plead with him, ignoring his comments.

"Or what?" His father challenges me, the belt in his hand preparing to whip again.

"Stay... stay out... out of this." Dominic could barely form words. His tone is strained from the pain.

I couldn't look at Dominic, looking at him felt like someone ripped my heart out.

Or what? What can I do?

Think, Inaya. Think.

"Mr. Luciano wouldn't appreciate knowing his all-star ally is being treated like this. Do you want to create chaos, Mr. Belcastro? Turf wars don't sound fun." My voice is shaking, there's not one bit of confidence in it.

I know that man has some kind of importance so this has to work as long as the father doesn't know what went on that night.

His father's eyes widen.

Jackpot, I found the nerve.

"How the fuck does this bitch know Luciano?" He yells at Dominic.

"It doesn't matter how. One phone call to him and it's not going to end well for anyone." I don't know what I'm saying. I'm literally spewing out nonsense.

"This is between my son and I. There is no place for a stranger like y—"

"Mr. Luciano is on speed dial." If I learned one thing here, it's that losing important alliances in this type of work is not good.

Out of anger, his father whips the belt at Dominic one last time, narrowly missing me. The last hit makes Dominic flinch but this is definitely not close to a reaction I'd expect from someone being beaten this brutally.

"You've messed with the wrong man, Miss. This will not end well for you." His father leaves, shutting the door so loud that I felt the floor shaking.

I quickly turn around to face Dominic and I couldn't take it. I couldn't look at him like this. There's blood dripping from his nostrils and the corner of his mouth.

I'm terrified to look at his back... I don't have the heart to look at it.

"Leave... leave me... alone." Dominic chokes out his words.

"No! Are you crazy? Do you see yourself? I'm not going anywhere." I scold him. "Do you think you could make it to the elevator if I help you up?"

The elevator goes straight into his room, thus, why I've never used it.

He nods and I gently wrap his arm around my shoulder, being careful not to make him pull any sudden muscles.

He takes his time to stand up and I give him all the time he needs. He limps slowly all the way to the elevator, I could tell he's trying really hard not to force his full body weight onto me.

Once we reach his room, I help him lay down on his stomach.

"I'll be right back." I run out to grab the first aid.

It seems that he's always breaking my heart, yet I'm always patching him up.

When I finally come back to look at the whip marks on his back, I gasp as quietly as I could.

The slashes are deep and look so painful that they're making my skin crawl. There's multiple slashes across his back... if I had just gotten there earlier...

An empty feeling arises in my stomach. A sudden sob escapes my lips, I hadn't realized tears had already formed in my eyes.

I quickly cover my mouth with my left hand as I clean his wounds with my right. I muffle my sobs into my hand to not make any noise but I couldn't help it. It's hurting so much to see him like this.

Throughout the whole process, Dominic didn't flinch. Not once.

"Dominic?" my shaky voice calls out.

"Hm?" He answers.

"I need to clean the blood stains off of your face. Can you lean on you right side?" I ask but he doesn't move. "Let me see you, please."

Instead of laying on his side, he sits up. That's when I start to notice faded scars on his back... there's so many lines I never noticed before. The tears in my eyes intensify as all my emotions begin pouring out.

How long has this been going on for? How long has he endured this?

Then, he slowly turns to face me, his expression looks beaten and exhausted. There's smears of dried blood stains on his face.

I throw my arms around him and pull him into a hug. I hold him against me for a minute or two, stroking his hair for comfort. "I'm sorry..." I whisper through my tears.

He doesn't move but he doesn't hold me either.

I pull out of the embrace and I reach out to rest my hands on his cheeks. My thumbs gently caressing his cheeks.

"I'm so sorry I didn't come by earlier. I'm sorry I couldn't stop this sooner." My lips tremble as the words come out as a small whisper.

He pulls me onto the bed, placing me right in front of him. He reaches out and pushes aside a strand of hair from my face.

"You're crazy for caring for someone as pathetic as me." His tone of voice is low.

The heat between us intensifies as he slowly leans in and this time, I don't move away.

As I rest my hands on his chest, my stomach bursts into butterflies and this time, this time I lean right in placing my lips softly on his, out of my better judgment.

I can taste the rust of the dried blood in my mouth as he kisses me with every intent to not let go. Every inch of my body melts in his grasp, his hands slide down to my hips to pull me closer.

"You're hurt." I whisper against his lips to stop him from going further.

He licks lips as he stares at me. "Nothing I can't handle."

The way he's looking at me... I'd give him my heart and soul in an instant. He has that smouldering, dark look that draws me in with every intent to sin.

I knew that this might be something just for the moment, that he might flip the switch the second the sun rises, but I didn't care.

He knows how quickly my body weakens for him. He knows how his touch sets me on fire. The second his lips touch my skin, my resistance crumbles because every part of me wants him. Just after a few gentle touches from him, my mind and body will willingly follow him to the depths of the ocean.

He slowly kisses my jaw, pushing away my scarf to access my neck. Then, he begins to gently kiss down my neck. I thought my body would collapse right then and there.

A small moan escapes my lips, which makes him pull me onto his thigh. His hand gradually slides down under me, taking me by surprise. My body trembles involuntarily at his touch.

"You're so fucking wet for me, amore mìo." He whispers in such a low tone, it sends shivers down my back. "I want you to tell me when you're going to cum, I want to hear you moan my name and ask me to fuck you harder."

"S-stop... n-not like... not l-like this..." It took everything in me to solidify my melting body. My body begged me to not stop it but my mind is screaming at me to stop.

"You're so fucking close to cumming for me, baby girl. Let me take you there, let me make you cum for me." His grip around my waist becomes firmer as he uses his other hand to stroke my inner thigh.

"Dominic... p-please don't..." My body is quivering at his touch but I need him to stop.

This is wrong. This is so wrong. I shouldn't have... I shouldn't have kept it going for so long.

"Then, stay with me." He suddenly says after stopping right before driving me over the edge.

"Huh?" Did I hear him correctly?

"Spend the night with me... Just—just lay beside me and nothing else." His eyes are looking into mine, begging me not to leave him for the night.

So, that's exactly what I do.

I excuse myself for 10 minutes to freshen up and when I come back, I see him wide awake, waiting for me.

My heart explodes at the sight of him eagerly waiting for me to come back.

Just for tonight, I remind myself. Not that it makes any difference because he's stolen my heart and I'd probably do it again if he asks because I'm that stupidly in love with him.

I wish he'd just make it official... just marry me... all this without marriage is going against every inch of my beliefs. The guilt for it hits me like a tidal wave every single time.

As I get lost in my thoughts, I hadn't realized that Dominic had wrapped his arms around me, holding me close to his chest.

As I drift off to sleep in guilt and bliss, I think about how I'd love for him to be the last person I see before going to bed and the first person I see when I wake up.

If only we were meant to be...

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A/N: whewwwww this was something huh... 😅

Next Update: Monday, December 30, 2019.