Caught In Her Vengeance - Book 2

20

Chapter 20
Domenico

I walked into my office, loosening my tie and pulling it off before walking over to my decanter. Pouring myself a drink, I shrugged off my suit jacket and laid it on the back of the chair closest to me. It was late, and everyone was sleeping when I got in.

The entire day I wasn't able to concentrate on anything. I couldn't stop thinking about what Catalina told us this morning. It took everything in me to hide my anger because that wasn't what she needed. She was already angry enough for the three of us. I needed to keep a level head for her. I wanted to show her I was strong enough for the both of us, and she could lean on me even if she thought she didn't need to. I knew more took place the night she was beaten up by Reaper, but I wasn't going to push. She didn't trust us. And unlike my obtuse younger brother, I didn't blame her—not for running away. Not for Salvatore. Though I wasn't sure, that was even true on Lorenzo's behalf.

I knew my brother, and I knew he was only saying and doing the things he did to protect his heart. When she left, we were in a bad way, but he was worse. Coming home so drunk he could barely stand, destroying his room, bar fights, looking for any and every reason to put a bullet between someone's eyes. I had to pull him off Matteo more than a few times. He could lie to himself—to Catalina, but I knew the truth because I felt the same way. I was just better at hiding my pain than he was.

"NO! YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS!"

Catalina's screams shook my office walls, and my chest tightened with worry. Dropping my glass, I hurried out, making my way to her room. I swung the door open and found her thrashing back and forth under her bedsheets, almost as though she was fighting someone off in her sleep. It was dark, but the light in the bathroom was still on, and the door was cracked. I wonder if she meant to do that?

Kicking the door closed, I darted towards the bed but stopped myself just short of reaching her mattress. I wanted to wake her. I also didn't want to do any further damage by scaring the shit out of her. I felt helpless. I should let her be. If she was going through some PTSD episode, I could end up fucking her up more. I'd just sit here and look after her to ensure she didn't hurt herself.

I watched Catalina intently when her bedroom door flew open again. Lorenzo ambled toward her. For someone who didn't care, I could see the concern painted deep within his sharp features. God, he looked like our father. "Don't," I said, stopping him in his tracks.

"Why? She's fucking hurting," he ground out through clenched teeth, his icy blue eyes cutting to mine. I had to fight the smirk that wanted to crease my lips. I knew he was still in there.

"If it's PTSD, it could be worse if we wake her," I explained, looking back down at our hopeless girl.

"Yeah," he agreed without argument, stepping away from her and catching me by surprise. Then he shook his head and cleared his throat, looking back at me. "I'm gonna go."

Before I could respond, he was out of the room, closing the door behind him and leaving me alone with her again. I swear I wasn't going to touch her, but my mind was quickly changed when a strangled sob escaped her lips, unlike anything I had ever heard before. It was full of so much pain and anguish. Her body began to tremble in fear. I couldn't just be here and do nothing.
"Catalina!" I shouted, bringing my hands to her shoulders, trying to wake her.

"PLEASE, N-NO! MORE!" she squirmed beneath me, screaming before she lifted her head and collided with the front of my damn face. Fuck.

With a pained groan, I began shaking her shoulders harder. Come on, baby, wake up. Tears covered her cheeks despite her eyes being closed. "Shit, Catalina, wake up," I repeated over and over until her eyes finally snapped open. They widened in shock as she screamed to the top of her lungs. She was immediately punching and kicking as I tried to hold her down. Her fists began flying in every direction before one connected with the side of my jaw—damn woman.

"Goddamnit, woman. It's me," I tried to explain calmly, catching her hands and pinning them to the bed beside her head. But it was like even though she could see it was me. Who I truly was to her still hadn't registered in her mind, which only made her fight harder. Fuck, that son of a bitch did a number on her. I'm going to take my time fucking killing that piece of shit—slow and painfully.

"No! No! No! Please! No!" Catalina shook her head, begging me as she struggled to break free. Furrowing down at the woman I loved, my heart fucking shattered seeing her like this. I wanted to take it all away. Her chest heaved as her breath came in short pants.

"Baby, you're going to hyperventilate if you don't calm the fuck down," I attempted to console her, but it didn't work.

Not giving up the fight, a thin line of sweat began to coat the front of her forehead. I bared my full weight down and covered her small quivering frame with my large one. "Your word is Red," I told her, pushing away the part of me that wanted to coddle her through this, and I channeled my Dom. I needed to steady her—bring her back to reality.

Untangling my hands from her frail wrists, I trailed my fingertips down her arms until I reached her small waist and wrapped my fingers around her tiny trembling body. I flipped her through the air onto her stomach, causing a slight oomph to leave her lips. I needed better access to her ass. I needed to do this to help ground her. Catalina sniffled and turned to look back at me with tears welled in her puffy red eyes, a broken shell of the woman she once was.

"Nic, please help me." Her voice was shaky and weak, chipping away at my stoney façade and almost completely smashing the wall I had put up. My chest tightened even further with the need to hold her and kiss it better. That wasn't what she needed. I didn't need to handle her with baby gloves. Catalina needed the old Nic, and that's precisely what I'd give her.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

I was able to bring her back to the here and now with me. I wanted to give in to her, but I couldn't. It was hard enough having to spank her while keeping my restraint at the forefront of my mind. Catalina would have jumped me if I had let her. I could see how hot and bothered she was, though a selfish part of me wanted to turn her over and sink deep inside, making her scream for a whole other reason. I was man enough to know better. Standing from the bed, I didn't give her time to register what was happening. I scooped her up into my arms, bridal style, carrying her towards the bathroom. She hissed when her raw ass brushed against my dress shirt. I know, baby.

Instead of fighting me like I thought she would've. She just closed her beautiful hazel eyes and tucked her face to my chest, burrowing into me. My heart skipped a beat, knowing she was seeking comfort in me. Pushing the bathroom door open with my foot, I looked down at my fragile girl. "Hey, love, I'm going to put you down so I can start a bath for you, okay?" I hated that I had to sever the delicate moment between us, but the longer the welts on her ass went untreated, the more painful they'd become.

"Okay," she whispered, opening her eyes to look up at me with a tiny nod.

"Okay." I set her down and moved quickly to fill the tub with lukewarm water. I tested the temp with my index and middle fingers. I didn't want it too hot for her. Grabbing some bubble bath, I poured some under the spigot until the smell of brown sugar and vanilla filled the room around us. Once the bubbles reached the mid-way point, I shut off the water. I wiped my wet hands on my slacks to dry them before standing and turning to face Catalina again. She was standing with her arms wrapped around herself, hugging her quivering body.

Walking over, I pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, "let me help you." My fingers hooked into the hem of her nightgown, and I pulled it over her head in one fluid motion. She let out a shaky breath as I held mine. "Come on," I said, picking her up again. I knew she was more than capable of walking herself, but I preferred doing this for her—taking care of her, for as long as she'd let me anyway. She let out a small whimper when I placed her into the warm bath.

Sighing, she laid back against the curved rim of the tub. Closing her eyes, she sunk further, almost completely covering herself with the vanilla-scented white foamy bubbles. It brought me some satisfaction that I was able to offer her some sort of comfort though I wasn't sure if I should stay. I wanted to. I just didn't know if that was the best move. The last thing I wanted was to push her away even more by hovering, so without another word. I started to leave the bathroom.

"Stay," her raspy voice cut through the silence, freezing me in place. I turned to face her. She was still resting against the clawfoot tub, her head slightly hanging off the rounded edge while peering up at me through hooded eyes. "I don't want to be alone right now."

"Okay, yeah, I'll stay," I walked back inside, closing the door behind me.

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