Page 44 of Murder & Mayhem (Bloody Desires #9)

DOMINIC

Before Jamie and Bailey had even left the program, I had scouted out the building and tested all their security features, and I’d been impressed. More importantly, so had Ari.

It had been three weeks ago that Jamie had first texted me, and this was the first time I was taking him out on a date.

Just the two of us. A real grown-up date, and I was a nervous fucking wreck.

I had never taken someone out like this before.

I had occasionally paid for DoorDash with a hookup, but it had been nothing like this because I actually cared. It had to be fucking perfect.

The last year had been rough, putting it mildly.

Even after my brothers had called an intervention, I’d struggled a lot.

It had taken weeks before I’d finally gotten the courage to call up the therapist that Luca had recommended, and three more weeks before I’d shown for an appointment.

Now that I had, though, I’d begrudgingly admit that it had helped.

Don’t get me wrong, it fucking sucked most days, and I usually needed to kill someone or fight after a session, but at some point it had gone from being pure torture to productive.

There was a light at the end of the tunnel, and I’d found a way to fight through.

I’d never gone back to working at the marketing department though.

Luca had offered me a position on his security team, and I’d gladly accepted.

They were all crazy fuckers, so I didn’t have to hide the way I had in an office.

I wasn’t a shell of a person who only got a glimpse of living when they spilled blood.

I was me, Dominic Vecchio. A bit of a mess, but it was my mess and I was finally embracing it.

I’d tried to leave Jamie alone. For months, I’d succeeded.

I hadn’t asked Ari for updates or shown up at the facility.

I’d given him the space we’d both needed to grow and heal.

But then one of the guys I’d been sent to eliminate had kept records.

Very detailed files with pictures of his victims. When I’d seen a very young Jamie staring back at me with dead sage-green eyes and hallowed-out cheeks, my self-control had snapped.

There’d been a few bad weeks where I’d had a minor setback.

Okay, a major one. I may or may not have hidden from my brothers, not shown up for work or therapy, and sat vigil in front of the facility for days before I’d been found.

It had been a weak moment, but I had overcome it, and by the time Jamie had first called me, I hadn’t looked him up in weeks .

The door was still mocking me. I had to get out of my fucking head. Why was I acting like this? It wasn’t like this was even my first time here. Straightening my shoulders, I knocked. There was some shuffling and then Bailey’s face was there, with a shit-eating grin.

“Hiii, Dominic,” he singsonged.

I raised an eyebrow. “Hi, Bailey. Is Jamie ready?”

Bailey rolled his eyes and stepped back, letting me in. “He’s changing again. You should go back there and do your Daddy thing, tell him he’s beautiful and that he needs to fucking leave before his brother drags him out by the hair he keeps fixing.”

“Can you bring the psychopathy down to an 8 please? I actually wanna watch this movie.”

A head full of braids popped up from the other side of the couch. He was a young man, around Bailey’s age, with dark skin, bright gray eyes that were so striking, I noticed them from here, and a burn scar that ran down the lower half of his face.

“This is Mekhai, and this is Dominic,” Bailey introduced us. “We trauma-bonded over shitty childhoods at the group program.”

“Christ. Maybe you should still be in there,” Mekhai said fondly, shaking his head. Jamie had told me Bailey was having a sleepover while we were gone so he wasn’t alone. I’d thought that was more for Jamie than anyone else, but I was still glad to see he had a friend.

“Nice to meet you,” he greeted me pleasantly, still not getting up though. “I would come shake hands, but I took my legs off and my crutches fucking suck. I need to get them resized.”

“That’s okay. I’ll come to you.” Mekhai was sitting on the couch, and sure enough, both his legs had been amputated. I reached out to shake his hand, which he accepted. The burn scarring on his face continued down his right arm and hand. “Nice to meet you. Thanks for staying with Bailey.”

“No problem. I’m always happy to babysit for this asshole.”

“Hey!” Bailey grabbed a large handful of popcorn from the bowl on the coffee table and tossed it at Mekhai. “You know you fucking love me.”

I rolled my eyes but was secretly amused. Jamie had talked about Bailey and his struggles a lot over the last six months. It was good to see him act like a regular teenager.

“I’m going to check on Jamie. Try to behave.”

Bailey snorted, and Mekahi laughed. I walked away and to the back of the apartment, where the two bedrooms were. I knew which one was Jamie’s. I’d been in there last night. We’d fallen asleep watching a movie together on his bed.

The door was mostly closed, so I knocked on it.

“Jamie?”

There was a curse and a thud, and then, “Come in!”

I opened the door to see Jamie wearing nothing but dark jeans, the bed covered in shirts, and the floor lamp he had in the corner on the floor.

I closed the door behind me. “Are you okay? What’s going on?”

Jamie’s green eyes were filled with panic.

I hated it. One of the first things I’d noticed when I’d first seen him after treatment had been that his eyes weren’t as sad anymore.

There was still something guarded about them, I was sure there always would be, but he seemed to be genuinely happy, or at least working toward that. Now, though, he looked terrified.

I crossed the space in two seconds and cupped his face.

While we hadn’t officially picked back up a Daddy/boy dynamic, we had talked about it a lot and agreed we’d just do what came naturally.

Nothing formal or too intense, but if we kind of fell into it because that was who we were, then we would embrace that.

One step at a time and see where it went.

That was how we were taking this whole second chance we had.

There was no need to rush. We both wanted to build something special and had waited this long, so we wouldn’t force anything. Some things were worth the wait.

“What’s going on, baby boy? Talk to me.”

Jamie pouted, and it was so fucking adorable that I wanted to kiss it.

So I did. We’d talked about that too and agreed that safewords would always be viable.

Jamie didn’t want me constantly questioning things like I had before, so we would trust that the other one would stop things if they didn’t want it and go from there.

Of course, if we ever decided to do a more formal scene, that would change, but for what we had now, it was perfect.

Some of the tension in Jamie’s shoulders melted with the kiss. “I don’t know what to wear. I’ve never been on a date before. I want this to be perfect. But now I have so many fucking clothes. It’s overwhelming.”

I looked around his bed. Yeah, he had a lot more options than before, but I wouldn’t consider this excessive or anything. I probably had double what he did. I had a feeling that was only part of the problem though.

I dragged Jamie to the bed then sat on it, bringing him with me. I eventually had him settled on my lap, facing me, and my back was against the headboard.

“I’ve never been on a date before either,” I confessed, sensing that was some of the reason for his nerves.

His eyebrows went up to his hairline. Jamie kept his hair shorter now.

Neat and close at the sides with a few inches of length on the top.

He looked good, older. He had a little bit of peach fuzz that he insisted was a beard as well.

He was so proud of it that I didn’t have the heart to contradict him.

He was so fucking cute, and it thrilled me to finally be a part of his life as he came into himself.

“Really? How have you never been on a date? You’re so damn hot.”

I grinned and rubbed my nose along his jawline. “Thank you, sweetheart. But that had nothing to do with it. I only hooked up, remember? I avoided relationships like the fucking plague.”

Jamie’s lips twitched up in a partial smile. We’d talked about this before too. “Until me.”

I booped his nose. “Yeah, until you. But I’m nervous too. I stood in front of your door for eight minutes before I finally knocked.”

Jamie laughed, throwing his head back. “Eight minutes? Seriously?” I twisted his nipple lightly, which only had his laugh turning to a moan. My boy had really sensitive nipples.

“Oh shush. I want this to be special.”

Jamie rested his head against my chest. “I do too. Do you think we’re putting too much pressure on ourselves?”

I ran my hands up and down his back. “Yeah, probably. It doesn’t matter what you wear. You’ll look gorgeous in anything. It’s not lip service that I call you beautiful, sweetheart.”

Jamie bit his lip, but he had a soft smile. He was getting better at receiving compliments, most of the time. “I’m starting to believe that.”

I threaded my fingers through his hair and tilted his head back. “Beautiful,” I repeated and then kissed him.

We started to make out, Jamie grinding against my lap as I felt him up, palming his ass. If we didn’t stop, though, I’d be very uncomfortable during dinner.

Jamie still had difficulty getting hard.

They’d tried a few different ED meds at the facility, but he hadn’t reacted well to them.

He hadn’t given me all the details, only that they’d been painful and not worth it.

I was a little sad for him that he may never experience the pleasure that came with a full orgasm, but it didn’t seem to bother him much, and it certainly didn’t change the way I felt about him.

Me, though? The more he rubbed against me, the harder I was getting. “Baby.” I bit his lip. “We either need to do something about this”—I thrust up so he could feel how hard I was—“or stop so I don’t get arrested at the restaurant.”

Jamie grinned. “How much time do we have?”

I glanced at the clock on Jamie’s nightstand, because my boy had an old-school alarm clock. “We have time.” I pushed Jamie onto his back on the bed and climbed over him.

Jamie’s gaze was hungry. “Good, because I think I’m in the mood for an appetizer.”

“Fuck.” I palmed my dick through my pants. Jamie’s hands were at the button then, making quick work of it.

We hadn’t really fooled around since our reunion, besides making out.

The newfound confidence in him was staggering.

The boy I’d first fallen for was still there in the way he licked his lips as he took in my heavy cock and the way his hand shook slightly as his fingers circled the width, but there was no more fear.

It was all trust, all curiosity, lust, and need. And fuck did my boy need.

“No teasing, baby boy. We’re on a time crunch.”

“Don’t worry, Daddy. I can tease and still keep us from being late.” Hands on my hips, he eased me into his mouth, and fuck if he wasn’t right. He somehow found a way to edge the fuck out of me without us missing our reservation.

It hit me then. I loved him. Somewhere in between the best quickie blow job of my life and when Jamie was throwing on the first shirt he saw as I shoved my softening cock into my pants, I had the revelation.

I fucking loved Jamie Sullivan. I’d probably loved him from the first moment I’d seen him, gun in his shaky hands, all desperation and manic determination.

But I knew what that feeling was now. Fucking love.

Jamie looked up, his hair sticking up in all different directions. He scrunched his face. “What? Do I have cum on my face or something?”

“No, baby, you’re perfect.” Was my tone too dreamy? Probably. I wanted to tell him then how I felt, but the words didn’t come. It was still too new. But soon, Jamie would learn just how much I loved him, and I couldn’t fucking wait.