Chapter 97

Aurora POV

For some reason, I believe him.

I don’t know why because I really shouldn’t. Not after everything he’s done.

Well, after everything I thought he’d done.

I had every right to stay skeptical, to hold my walls high and fortified but the conviction in his voice… it’s like it bypasses my rational mind entirely and strikes somewhere deep in my chest. Somewhere that part of me still remembers the Dominic who held me together at my lowest.

The Dominic who made me feel seen.

The Dominic I once loved.

Maybe still do.

Before I can second-guess myself, I surge forward to fist my hands in the collar of his jacket and yanking him toward me. His eyes widen a fraction before my lips crash into his.

It’s not gentle or cautious. It’s the kind of kiss born from too many nights of anger, betrayal, longing, and loneliness all clawing for release at once.

Dominic freezes for a heartbeat but then he’s moving again, his hands threading into my hair while his mouth taking mine like a man starved. I gasp against him and he takes full advantage, deepening the kiss until I’m trembling in his grip.

Weeks of pain pour out of me in a ragged and strangled heaves that he swallows without hesitation.

By the time I register what’s happening, I’m climbing across the center console, straddling his lap in the cramped driver’s seat. He reaches down to push the button on the side of his chair back, giving us more room to work with.

His hands come back up to grip my hips in a punishing hold—like he’s terrified I’ll disappear again if he lets go. His mouth trails desperate, bruising kisses along my jaw and down to my neck.

“You drive me fucking insane,” he growls against my skin.

“Good,” I whisper back, clawing at the hem of his shirt while rolling my hips against his. “Then we’re even.”

Clothes become obstacles we rip at mindlessly. His shirt is tossed somewhere in the backseat, my hoodie shoved up over my head. The cold leather of the steering wheel digs into my spine when he pushes me back to wrestle off my sweats but I don’t care.

I don’t care about anything but this… but him.

The way his mouth worships every inch of exposed skin. The way his hands slide between my thighs to part them and pull me closer. The way his eyes—dark, wild and unguarded—lock on mine like he’s trying to memorize me.

When he finally thrusts into me, I gasp, my head falling back as my fingers dig into his shoulders.

“Dominic…!”

“I’ve got you,” he murmurs against my neck.

It’s frantic, messy, beautiful in its desperation.

Each movement and roll of his hips as he slams into me pulls more of me apart and puts me back together in the same breath. Every sound that leaves my lips when I moan his name feels like something I’ve been holding in for years.

And when release finally crashes over me, it’s blinding. A tidal wave that leaves me gasping into his shoulder as he follows seconds later, his grip on my hips bruising as he buries himself deep with a hoarse groan of my name.

We collapse against the seat behind him, our sweat-slick skin sticking slightly in the chilled air of the car.

For a long moment, neither of us speaks, our breathing is the only sound in the world.

The car smells faintly of leather and sweat, the windows fogged from our frantic and desperate release. My thighs are still trembling slightly where I’m straddling him, my face buried against the curve of his neck as I try to catch my breath.

Dominic’s hands rest heavy on my hips, his thumbs rubbing soft, absent circles against my skin. There’s no demand in his touch now, no anger, just something quiet and steady that I’ve been desperate to get back since leaving for Mexico also three weeks ago.

It shouldn’t feel this safe to be with him after everything but despite all of that, it does.

For a long moment, neither of us speaks. Then Dominic’s arms wrap around me, pulling me tight against his chest.

“I need you to trust me. I will get Gianna out of Alek’s clutches. And when I do… we’ll all go home.” He exhales slowly, his chest rising and falling beneath my palms. “Just… stay. Please.”

His voice cracks slightly on the last word. The word please feels strange coming from him. Like a shard of vulnerability cutting through his usual steel.

Home.

The word is a dagger and a balm all at once.

I rest my forehead against his shoulder, my hands gripping his arms like I’m afraid he’ll vanish if I let go.

“I know I’ve done terrible things,” he says, continuing. “But not this. I would never. Not to Gianna when I know she means so much to you. You have to believe me, Aurora. I would never have let you in like this if I wanted to hurt you.”

I pull back slightly, just enough to look at him. His dark eyes meet mine, unflinching, and for once I can’t see the calculating mask he wears like second skin.

It gives me hope, even though that’s a naive and careless emotion for me to feel. “If you do this… if you can actually bring her back to me safely… all past transgressions will be forgiven. I’ll wipe the slate clean. I’ll believe what you say and never hold it against you again.”

His hands slide down to my thighs. “Deal.”

Then his hand comes up to cup my chin, tilting my face up to kiss him again. This one is different though. Slower and softer, but no less intense from the last few I’d fallen into.

My fingers thread through his hair, tugging gently while his lips move against mine, memorizing the shape of my mouth with his own. The kind of kiss is one that asks for forgiveness without words.

The kind that says I still want you even when it shouldn’t. A promise sealed with the kind of longing only we seem to know.

And for the first time in weeks, a tiny ember of peace sparks in my chest.