Chapter 6
Richie had fallen asleep too with Dominique securely in his arms but he woke suddenly to her crying. He became aware of her pleading with an invisible foe for mercy, her body was drenched in sweat and trembled with fear. Her nightmare had invaded her security.
“Wake up, Dominique,” urged Richie knowing he had to wake her to reassure her that it was just a nightmare and that she was still safe.
Her eyes flew open and it took her a short minute to realize where she was before she began to cry as she clung to him. “Oh my god, Richie! I was back….”
“Shh…I know where you were but I promise you, you’re not there. You’re still safe in my arms.”
Dominique took several minutes to calm down and when she did, Richie got up to get her a drink. As he handed it to her, he asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”
Dominique sat up and took a sip of the warm, brown liquid. It burned as it went down but it was a welcome relief. “It was Chris and I was locked in my room begging him to make the pain stop…telling him that I’d do whatever he wanted if he’d just give me something for it.”
Richie shook his head. “Once you’ve been free of him for a little while, the nightmares will stop. You just have to realize you’re safe. Your father isn’t going to let anyone hurt you and neither am I.”
“Speaking of my father, what time is it?”
Richie looked at his watch. “Almost six in the morning.”
“He should be here soon.” Seeing the disappointment in Richie’s eyes, she got up and moved to him putting her hands on his sides. “It’s not that I want to leave you, Richie. I just really miss him too.”
“I know. I just want to keep you with me,” he pouted as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.
“Hopefully you’ll be able to come down to the island.”
There was a knock at the door and William stuck his head in. “Boss, Mr. Corinthos is here.”
“Thanks, William. Let him know we’ll be down shortly.” When the door closed, he looked down at Dominique, “I got you a surprise.”
“Really?” she asked as her eyes brightened.
“Hang
on,” smiled Richie. He let go of her and went to his bag where he pulled out
another bag. Going back, he handed it to her. “Tony went down to the shops and
got a few things for you from me. I hope you like them.”
Dominique opened the bag to find a stuffed dog holding a red heart that had ‘Be Mine’ sewn on it. “Oh Richie! He’s adorable! Thank you!”
“You’re welcome. Well? Will you be my valentine?”
Holding the dog in one arm, she hugged Richie with the other as she said, “Every day I’ll be your valentine!”
Richie picked her up in a bear hug. When he set her down, he said, “There’s a pair of jeans in there too, one of the tour shirts, and you can keep the shirt you’re wearing now. You can also have my tour jacket.”
“Don’t you need your tour jacket?”
“I’ll get another one. You know, your smile makes you even more beautiful than you already are.”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had a reason to smile.”
“I plan on giving you plenty more reasons to smile too. Get ready and I’m going down to talk to your dad.”
“I need to get another shower. I feel gross.”
“That’s fine. It’ll give me time to talk to your dad.”
“About what?”
“What do you think?” he smirked.
“Us?”
“I’m going to ask his permission to date you.”
Dominique sighed dreamily. “Thank you.”
Richie gave her a kiss on the forehead, “Go get ready, Princess.”
