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“Bullshit. You meant it just like that, trying to say that Dom’s some sleazy guy who owns a sketchy club full of whores. That’s what you implied. But while you were busy insulting him, you forgot . . . I fucking work there.”
He cringes at my words, but also my volume, which has increased as I verbally slay him. “Allie—”
“I’m not defending Dominick—he doesn’t need me to do that—but defending myself and my friends. The girls there at Petals, they’re good people who work hard. I don’t need you sitting at my dinner table insulting them or me.”
TJ reaches for my hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that, truly. I know you’re an amazing dancer and a good person. I just . . .” He shakes his head, trying to put his thoughts together. Finally, he speaks, his voice quiet. “I just didn’t think this was where you were headed. You’re a stripper, dating your boss. You’ve gotta see how I could want more than that for you.”
I squeeze his hand, understanding that he’s coming from a place of good intentions but going about it all wrong. He doesn’t understand . . . yet. But that doesn’t mean his verbal barbs hurt any less. Part of me wants to rage back. How dare he insult me like that? “The truth is, you’re right. I am a stripper, dating my boss. It just doesn’t mean what you think it does. It’s so much more than you realize. And I am more than you think I am . . . stronger, happier, healthier than you’ve probably ever known me to be. You just can’t see it. And that makes me sad, not angry.”
Dominick has been quiet during our exchange. I appreciate that he let me handle it on my own, seeing that this was something I needed to do myself.
But I know he’s analyzing every word and expression and takes his time before he finally speaks. “TJ, when was the last time you saw Allison dance?”
TJ flushes nearly a deep purple, in either embarrassment or anger or some combination of the two, I can’t really tell. “I don’t want to see her like that.”
Dominick sighs slightly, and I’m glad he’s patient. “Not at my club. That I can understand. But anywhere. What about watching her do ballet?”
TJ’s mouth snaps closed, and I don’t think Dominick realizes just how much of a ‘punch’ he just landed on TJ. “Oh, it’s been a while, I guess. I’ve been gone and it was always kind of her thing.”
He looks at me, both of us thinking back through the years and various recitals my family came to. TJ would whine about it beforehand, like brothers do, I suppose, but he was always the loudest clapper, cheering me with enthusiasm.
“Probably three or four years ago. Right before I joined the service.”
Dominick hums and looks at me with so much intensity in his eyes that I feel my pulse start to race with each passing second. “She is beauty in motion on the stage, both at the club, where she brings more grace and elegance than the clientele probably deserves, and in her ballet performances. The public performance she had of The Nutcracker . . . she brought the house down. She is still your little sister, the sweet ballerina who needed her brother’s protection and support. But she is also a fierce woman who stakes her territory on the Petals stage, needs permission from no one to be her best self, and quite frankly, I’m honored to call her my woman.”
His sweetly expressive words turn hard, challenging as he stares at TJ, who’s shrinking by the second. “Allison also happens to work her ass off on the pole, on the barre, and in life. She deserves a family who supports her in that, not one that makes her feel ‘less than’ because of the choices she’s made.”
TJ nods, suitably chastised, but my heart’s soaring in my chest at Dominick’s words. I’ve seen him be rough, handling business like a monster, and dirty, bending me over his knee, but this is my favorite Dominick. The one who wields his usage of words even better than his control over the city.
That’s his true power, the brilliance of his mind. And it’s sexy as fuck. I grin, both at the irony of my foul language compared to Dom’s and from the joy springing from inside to shine on my face.
“I didn’t know you came to see my Nutcracker performance.”
Dominick’s look is pure smoldering desire, devotion, and a demonstration of the man he is. “An opportunity to see you do what you love is a gift I would not waste.”
Swoon. I think I literally wobble a bit, lightheadedly giddy and on the verge of jumping into his lap. But we’re not alone, and the air is only recently cleared, so I somehow restrain myself. But it’s hard. So fucking hard. I wonder if he is?
