Bound To Three Alphas

Chapter 4

Her name, his escape.

Dominik's Point of View

Rheya.

The first time I had heard the name, it was a whisper from the lips of a desperate, drunk man.

He had appeared on the front lawn that morning, looking beat up and wet from the morning rain.

Amos Dorkwood. I knew him, everyone knew him.

And he had in his eyes the kind of fear that a man had when he was about to lose everything.

The meeting had taken place in my private study on the west wing of my mansion. I had been bored and sick of his s**t that morning but for some reason I entertained him.

At least he was bold enough to come to me. A lot of people were not.

“I've got no other option left, Boss.” He held his head in his hands as he spoke. “The bank has threatened to take the house in a few days. I have a whole family. What would I do? Where would I go?”

But I was not moved because I had heard his story. He was the first son of the Dorkwood family. He had inherited the chunk of his father's properties but he had squandered it in brothels and taverns.

“And what's in it for me?” I asked as I watched him. “I have no money for fools.”

He swallowed hard and thought for moment. Then his face brightened up as an idea popped into his head.

“I've got…I've got something you might want.”

“And what would that be?” I asked, not eager to know what his slow mind had conjured up.

“Not land, not money but my daughter.”

I chuckled. He was giving away his daughter to pay for a debt.

“My daughter, Rheya.”

The name landed like a spark in my mind. Rheya. The name was like music to me. Hearing it made my chest tighten in a disturbing way.

I remained as composed as ever on the outside, but inside something stirred in me.

A pull I had not felt in years. Not even while I was married to Marina.

“You would give your daughter to me to offset a debt, Dorkwood?”

He nodded enthusiastically, like we were talking about one of his cattle and not his blood.

“Yes. You would love her. She's angelic. She's special. She's got a fire in her but she does know her place.”

My pulse quickened the more he talked about her and I raised a finger to silence him. I wanted to send him away, berate him for trying to give his daughter away so cheaply.

But at the same time I wanted to see this girl whose name excited me so much.

“I'll handle the debt. Arrange a wedding. I'll foot everything.”

Weeks later, I stood at the altar, my eyes fixed on the cathedral door. They were focused on one person, my bride, Rheya.

For the weeks leading up to the wedding, I couldn't stop thinking about her more matter how mad I tried and how many women I slept with.

I had never seen her but somehow she remained on my mind. I tried to conjure up pictures of her during my fantasies. Did she have black hair? Auburn? Blonde?

Was she slender or slightly on the chubby side?

All my questions were answered when she appeared at the cathedral door, in her white studded wedding gown and veil, arm in arm with her father.

She was way better than I imagined.

Her white face was stark against her black hair. I couldn't see her well since she was far away but I could make out her big black eyes and full lips.

Angelic? She looked anything but angelic.

She looked like sin. She looked like she could ruin my life if she set her mind too.

She looked like sin.

She looked like she was afraid.

As she walked down the aisle, my gaze remained fixed on her. I saw the way she clung to her father's arm. The same man who had given her away.

I knew she had heard of my reputation. No doubt she heard that I had killed Marina. She had heard that I was a devil and she was probably leaving this earth in a few months to come.

When they reached the altar, Amos handed her over, with not even a drop of guilt in his eyes, the bastard. I would deal with him later.

For giving out something so precious so easily.

I took her hand, soft and cool in mine as the priest said his lines.

My ‘I do’ was steady, eager, almost too eager.

But when it was her turn, I saw the hesitation in her eyes, the battle.

When she finally said ‘I do’, it was soft, resolute.

And as the crowd applauded, I leaned in and whispered, “ You might want to smile, pretty bird.”

She stiffened but didn't pull away. She was no Marina. She was something else.

That night I entered the room, she was awake. The room was dark, but not so dark that I could not see her sharp eyes.

I would never forget the way her body looked, the way her breasts stood and the way her eyes looked into mine occasionally.

I would never forget the way she moaned, the way her back arched, the way she clung onto me like I said everything, the way I had felt when I pumped in and out of her.

I had been with a lot of women but no one felt like her. It was like I was intoxicated and we really didn't even do much.

But what surprised me the most was the red mark when I turned three hours later. She was a virgin, no one had informed me.

And suddenly, I couldn't stay. I wanted to be as far away from her as possible. One night I wanted her so much and then in the next few hours, things had changed. It was not that she had become repulsive but I couldn't just be beside her anymore.

So I called Carlos Bennett and moved up a business that could wait for almost a month. Business that would keep me away from her for a month.

When I told Emma and Lottie, my two most trusted servants, I saw the surprised look on their faces.

A man who had just wedded yesterday was leaving his new bride only a few hours later. But they didn't ask questions.

Emma went ahead to give instructions to the other servants to prepare for my impromptu journey while I got ready. Right before I left, I went back into the room where we had consummated our matrimony. She was still fast asleep, unaware that her husband was running away from her.

I went to her side of the bed and placed three kisses on her forehead, nose and lips.

I was going to return but now I needed the space. I needed to put my thoughts together.

But I knew I would definitely be back for my wife.

My Rheya.