Chapter 2

 Dominic woke with a smile on his face.  It had been a while since he had had such a nice dream.  He dreamed of his Ale, of course, as all his good dreams were about her as of late.  In his heart, he knew she was suffering greatly wherever she was and this made him feel heartier for Dominic knew it wouldn’t be long until he found her and kept her without all the silly games.  And the dream had given him the most marvelous idea. 

A trick worth of the Three-Eyed Cąȶ to fool those who would mess with their happiness.  Fake her death and let all know so that he could keep her forever without anyone else intruding.  Not her family, friends, and especially not Jᴔnsa.  The idea made him giddy and Dominic stretched out in bed.  It would be a good day. 

A soft sobbing reached his ears and he grinned.  His company from the night before was locked in the bathroom.  He had to admit he’d been a little rough, but it had been a frustrating week.  One slave kept eluding him and until Dominic found the little brat, he couldn’t search for Aless per his contract.  Of course, he had thought the woman would have more spunk from the way she’d been boasting about her sexual prowess in the bar.  In his experience though, Dominic knew that the women who boasted about their abilities were sorely disappointing. 

It still had been a nice enough evening after the wooing and the usual bull that those women like to hear.  He never had to woo his Aless.  She saw through it all anyway.  He liked that.  They could just get down to business.  Though Dominic could admit he liked the idea of spoiling his Ale every once and while.  If they were to be together then she should be treated differently from the rest. There were very few women he had ever treated truly special. 

His Karina had been one.  How he missed her bright face and stubborn eyes.  On her sixth birthday, he had given her ribbons for her hair.  Silk ones that her mother could never have afforded.  She adored them, he knew, for she wore them every day. Mama had disapproved because Karina was below his station, but Dominic always seemed to fall for girls that were beneath him socially.   His Ale was the first one that was actually in his class.  It had been a sign that it was meant to be. Dominic was unsure of why he had been fighting the notion in the beginning.  She wasn’t a distraction.  If anything, his work had intensified since she appeared.

“When you meet the right girl,” his father had told him after Dominic’s second breakup as a teen. “You will want her more than anything but think that you are crazy for it.  All your instincts will tell you that it’s wrong because she’ll the only one who can hurt you.”

It is how it had been with his Ale the first couple of months and Dominic had allowed his fear to create space.  This had been a mistake because Jᴔnsa had slithered in and taken his Aless’s attention.  He hated that man.  Yet in the end, it would work out. It was only a matter of time before he took his Ale and broke her like a well-ridden horse.

Grinning Dominic adjusted in bed.  Even just thinking about it got him excited again.  Standing he walked to the bathroom and pushed the door open, beaming at the woman huddled by the toilet. 

“Ready for another round?” he cackled.

She squeaked a little in surprise, his chest warm where the vial of Alessandra’s hair hung.