Pain and Pleasure

Chapter 5

I hadn't slept last night, and I could feel the bags under my eyes dragging my face down. I had stayed in the lounge room until an hour before John was meant to get up, fighting with myself to pull my shit together and gather some stuff so that I could get ready for work and leave before he noticed I was still here.

Drawing in a deep breath -hurting my ribs in the process- I climbed to my feet, closing my eyes as I stumbled a little. Once I was okay, I snuck around the house, grabbing some things: work clothes, my makeup, shoes, and a bag to place everything into.

Once my keys were in my hand, I tip-toed out the house and jumped into my car, driving away as fast as I could. And just as I thought I would, I started bawling when I pulled my car over to the side of the road when I was far away from my home. The scene from last night kept replaying in my head. John had never done anything like that before. He doesn't even yell at me when we fight. Did he just have too much to drink? Did Dominic coming over really provoke him that bad?

Allowing myself to cry for an extra five minutes, I finally wiped my eyes and dried my face, shaking my head before putting on my make up. I was still dressed in my clothes from yesterday, so I just decided to call into the closest cafe to get changed there and order a coffee before finally heading to work.

It was quiet when I arrived. No one would really start to arrive for another hour, but I decided it was best to just get myself to work rather than drive around aimlessly and ponder over last night's occurrence.

I walked to my desk, glancing around and seeing three other people here. Unconsciously, I caught myself looking for Dominic, and a pang of guilt hit me in the stomach. Maybe John had a right to be mad. Maybe I was becoming interested in Dominic. Is that possible after a day of knowing him? Maybe I'm more interested in what he told me he would do to me..

"Leah." Goosebumps formed on every inch of my skin, the mound between my legs heating up and becoming slick just from his voice alone. I turn around to come face to face with Dominic, wincing as my body ached with how fast I turned.

I craned my neck to look into his eyes. His beautiful green eyes, bearing deep into my own. "D-Dominic," I stuttered out, cursing myself. Why do I get so affected by this man?

Dominic looked as though he were going to say something until his eyes narrowed, looking at my face intently. "What happened to your face?" His hand flew out to rest on my cheek, causing me to flinch. When I didn't answer, Dominic asked again, this time more stern.

"I, um, I-" I racked my brain, trying to find a good excuse as to what happened. "I fell out of bed last night." A small laugh forced its way out of my mouth. "I think I had a nightmare and tried to run away, which resulted in me rolling out of bed and landing on my face."

Dominic didn't look like he believed me one bit. He grabbed my hand, pulling me into his office whilst he ignored my protests. The door slammed behind us and my boss pushed me onto his chair, watching me carefully as I winced when pain spread throughout my whole body. 

"John hit you." Those three words had me bawling. 

Sniffling, I whispered, "He was just drunk. He didn't mean to. I'm the one who is at fault. I shouldn't have been alone with you." A whimper. "It will be okay. I'll go home and everything will be fine." Did I sound believable? I hope so.

Dominic's eyes flew closed. "Don't you dare make excuses for him, Leah. After work, you will be coming home with me. I don't want you alone with him. He doesn't deserve to have you back after that."

I shook my head. "Dominic, I have to go back. He's my boyfriend. I swear it will all be okay."

When his eyes opened, Dominic was staring right into my own eyes, forcing me to hold his stare. Slowly, he stalked towards me.