I drum my fingers on the center console.
Dominic was supposed to land ten minutes ago, but this snow is slowing him down. And from this spot, parked with the back of the SUV to the back of the airplane hangar, I can’t see anything.
Well, other than the two men standing outside the vehicle with visible holsters at their sides.
They both drove me here, but when they parked, they got out and told me to get in the passenger seat. Apparently Dom will be driving us to his mom’s house. Guess it figures that all these guys have families they’d like to be with, too.
I fiddle with the edges of my oversized red flannel button-down.
This is my Christmas outfit.
It’s not fancy, but I wore it last year when I left the house to go get takeout, and I want to wear it this year and fill it with good memories.
It’s stupid.
They’re just clothes.
But looking at my light-wash jeans, I second-guess every item I’m wearing.
Dom is going to step off that plane in an all-black suit. And next to him, I’ll look like a country bumpkin in my jeans, leather ankle boots, black turtleneck sweater, and my oversized, unbuttoned flannel shirt. My ring and bracelet are the only expensive things on my body.
I close my eyes and inhale slowly.
Last night, I was digging through the boxes I have yet to unpack in our closet, and I came across the suit jacket I kept after my first meeting with Dom. It was no longer bundled up like a baby, and it’s been too long, so it didn’t smell like him anymore, but I still brought it to bed and slept with it like a security blanket.
I miss him.
I picture Dominic.
Not his fancy clothes. Not his aura of intimidation.
I just picture him. The man. My husband.
His short hair that feels so soft under my palm.
His bright blue eyes that see more than I want them to but exactly what I need them to.
His strong body, capable of so much damage but so unwilling to inflict it on me.
I picture him.
And our future together.
The family we could have one day.
I picture him with me. Years from now.
I picture us. And I smile.
Because he’s the future I want. And the future I need.
Grasping the calmness I’ve been searching for since Dominic left, I open my eyes.
And I see him.
He’s striding toward me, the fat snowflakes softening the intensity of his gaze.
And just like that, my body is on fire.
Dom says something to dismiss the men, and they walk away, but my eyes stay on him as he comes around to my door.
He pulls it open. But he doesn’t pull me out. He doesn’t even undo my seat belt. He just climbs into the vehicle. There is nowhere near enough space for his bulk, but he crams in anyway. Covering my body with his. Gripping my neck in one hand. Grabbing my hip with the other. Slamming his lips against mine.
One of his legs is still outside the car, but it feels like he’s touching me everywhere. It feels like he’s inside me.
And then his tongue is there, demanding entrance, and I let him in.
I suck him in and moan for more.
He rocks against my leg, and I can feel his hard length straining for more.
“Dominic,” I gasp.
“Angel.” He kisses me again. “My Valentine.” Another kiss. “Wife.”
My lips smile against his. “Welcome home, Husband.”
He smiles back. “Merry Christmas.”
“It’s starting to feel like it.” I shift my leg.
Dom groans and pulls back. “I want nothing more than to fuck you in the back seat. But I promised myself we’d have a family holiday.”
His words hit me right in the center of the chest. “I would like that.”
He presses his forehead against mine for one long breath before he climbs back out.
“Alright. Then let’s go have a family holiday.” His tone is salty, and I can’t help my laugh when he slams the door and circles around the hood.
The engine has been running this whole time, keeping the heat on. So Dom just buckles his seat belt, then puts it in drive, and we pull away from the little airport.
“This isn’t the same airport we used when we went to Colorado.” I point out the obvious as we turn out of the main gates onto the quiet street.
“We keep our locations random, not using the same airport two times in a row. But it’s just a precaution. All my flights and planes are registered under real names that have nothing to do with me.”
There’s a blacked-out SUV that matches ours right in front of us and a pair of those all-black cars about a hundred yards ahead of them.
“Are these guys going to your mom’s too?” I gesture out the windshield. “I thought it was just us?”
The airfield stretches out on our right, on my side. And on Dom’s side is some sort of industrial complex. Large, low buildings that look unoccupied for the holiday. We must’ve been the only people at the airport because the roads are empty.
“They’ll drive with us there, then break off.”
I’ve gotten so used to having someone drive us around that it feels weird to be alone in a vehicle with Dominic. And I hate that it makes me feel a little nervous to not have extra security on hand. Apparently I’ve gotten too used to the chauffeured, bodyguard lifestyle.
The brake lights of the two cars illuminate in the snow as they approach a stop sign.
I almost snicker at them stopping. Bunch of law-breaking gangsters stopping for street signs when no one is around.
To hide my smile, I look out my window.
The ground drops down about ten feet into a ditch, and I can see the top curve of a large culvert running beneath the road.
I’m suddenly reminded of a time when I was a kid; I wandered into a small one next to a park, and a toad jumped onto my foot.
It scared the crap out of me, but it’s a fun memory. A happy one.
I want more of those.
Bracing myself to talk to Dominic, telling myself to be brave, I turn to my husband.
And our world explodes.
