If The Seas Catch Fire(59)

For a while, they just lay there, enjoying the lingering buzz of amazing sex, until Sergei finally broke the silence.

“So.” He propped his head up on his hand. “I’m curious about something.”

“Hmm?”

“You were out on a date with a woman tonight, and then you texted me and wanted to hook up. And let’s face it—you were horny as f*ck.” His eyebrow arched. “If she turned you on that much, why aren’t you in bed with her?”

Dom sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. “It’s… not quite that simple.”

“Let me guess—she has to be a virgin when you marry her?”

“No, no. In fact, I’m pretty sure she isn’t.” He lowered his hand. “For a woman raised in this bullshit environment, she’s liberated as hell. I doubt she’s been a virgin for a long, long time.”

“That doesn’t bother you?”

“Of course not. It’s f*cking refreshing.” Dom shrugged. “Just seems like a shame that a woman like her would wind up with a man like me.”

“Except she does apparently turn you on?”

“No, she doesn’t.” Sighing again, Dom stared up at the ceiling. “She’s beautiful. She’s intelligent. She’s everything I would want in a woman if I were straight.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “But I’m not.” He dropped his hand to his side, but still didn’t look at Sergei. “When I left the restaurant tonight, yeah, I was horny as hell, but not because I wanted to be with her. It was because being on a date with her, knowing how much pressure there is to marry her, it just made me realize how little time I have left to be who I really am.”

“Whoa.” Sergei touched his arm. “That’s… rough.”

“Yeah. And if Brigida and I don’t agree to get married soon, my uncle will find me another woman. And there will be even more pressure.” He rolled his eyes. “Don’t know why he doesn’t just throw a goddamned ball and make me find the woman with the glass slipper.”

“Well, with as much as he has you meeting potential suitors—” Sergei flashed a toothy grin. “Does kind of sound like you’re a Disney princess or something.”

Dom laughed, but it took work. “Sometimes it really does feel like it, and not in a good way.”

Sobering, Sergei tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

“Because my life is run by people who don’t give a damn if I want to be a part of it.”

“So why are you part of that life?” Sergei was quiet for a moment. “I mean, you’re really going to marry a woman, for the sake of what people think?”

“I was born into this.” Dom stared up at the ceiling and exhaled. “I could live a million years and never understand why anyone would want to be involved in this shit. I didn’t have a choice, and I’ve spent my life being reminded of that at every turn, especially after my father f*cked over the family. They’ve all been ready and willing, all this time, to take me out the second I give them a hint that my heart’s not in it, and that’s all the sign they need that I’m a turncoat like him.”

Sergei studied him for a moment. “Why don’t you leave? Why stay if—”

“If I could, I would.” Dom looked at him. “It’s complicated, but… this is the reality I live in. If I leave, my uncle will hunt me down, and he will kill me. In horrific ways you can’t begin to imagine.”

Sergei shuddered.

Dom swept his tongue across his lips. “The only thing I can do is keep my head down, and hope that when someone finally finds a reason to kill me, they do it quick.”

Sergei’s Adam’s apple jumped. “That’s…”

“I don’t like it, but it is what it is. And part of that means getting married. Being straight.” He sighed, touching Sergei’s face. “All I can do for the moment is stall as long as I can, and spend as much time…”

They held each other’s gazes.

Without a word, Sergei slid closer, tipped Dom’s chin up, and kissed him. As Dom wrapped his arms around him, something settled in his chest. No, this couldn’t last forever. No, this wasn’t something that fit into his pre-orchestrated world.

But for tonight—for as many nights as he could—this was where he needed to be.

This was the one person on earth he needed to be with.

This was who he needed to be.



*



Dom stumbled in through his front door around eight in the morning. He shuffled upstairs to his bedroom, stripped out of his clothes, and dropped into bed to grab a few hours of sleep before he went into the office. His receptionist already knew he’d be in later.

His head had barely hit the pillow, though, when his cell phone went off.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he muttered, and felt around for his phone. Except it wasn’t on the nightstand. Fuck, he hadn’t even bothered taking it out his pocket.

He jumped out of bed and pulled his trousers from the hamper, and managed to get the phone into his hand and answer the call before it went to voicemail.

“Yeah?”

“Your uncle wants to see you,” Biaggio said sharply. No specific time, which meant now, Domenico.