Past Unbound (House of Doms Series) Read Free Page B

She would probably hate him more.
    “Precious, I…”  He began to speak only to stop at the look she threw him over her shoulder.  She was still his Precious whether she liked it or not.  “I need to tell you some things, and this really isn’t the place to do it.”  He remembered her assistant in the front of the bakery, didn’t think Lia would want her to hear all he had to say.
    “What? You want to tell me how the wife and kid are doing?”
    He could hear the bitterness in her voice that she didn’t even try to hide. He couldn’t blame her.   “There never was a child and Tracy is dead.”  The words came out with a growl when they left his mouth.  His anger at the injustice of what Tracy and his father had put them both through came to the forefront.
    Lia almost dropped the bowl of peach filling she had been putting into the pies, but he moved quickly and caught the bowl.  Dare watched as her mouth kept opening and closing as she turned to face him.  Dare knew he had shocked her. He hadn’t wanted to blurt it out like that.
    She took a step away from him, but stopped as if catching herself.  Dare walked closer and stood right in front of her.  He had a furious need to be as close to her as he could get.  He lifted a hand to touch her face only to have her turn away. Another growl rumbled from his chest before he could stop it.  He watched her eyes go wide as she stared back at him.  His dominance started to come to the forefront; he could see how it affected her.  Her eyes glossed over as she started to bite her bottom lip.  Her hands clenched and unclenched at her sides.  She was getting fidgety, shifting from side to side as if trying to bank the arousal in her body.  A low rumble left his mouth, and her eyes fell to the floor before she caught herself and raised them to stare into his eyes.  A smirk crossed his face at her defiance while he grew hard as stone.  A vision of her tied to his bed crossed his mind, and he had to shake his head to clear the image.  He would not let her avoid him much longer.
    “Darius, w-what did you just say?”  Her voice shook, taking her a moment to get the words out.
    His need to comfort made Dare take a step forward, backing her into the counter behind her.  Her eyes grew wider as he invaded her personal space.  Bracing his hands on the counter on either side of her, he gave her no space to run from him.  “Precious, you have to understand that the things I’ve done have always been to protect you and your family.”

 
    Chapter Four
    He was too close.  She couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe with him so near.  Why did he have to stand so damn close?  She needed to think, but the heat coming off of him made that impossible.  And his scent…oh God, his unmistakable scent…it drove her wi ld and rendered her motionless.
    Lia looked up into the eyes that had always set her body on fire, immediately wishing she hadn’t.  Her body began to heat as she remembered all the things he used to do to her, all the magic he’d made her feel.  She also felt the dominance rolling off him, and in a strange coincidence, thought of the Dom at the House.  Why the hell had she thought of him right now?  Could it really have been Dare?  Shaking her head clear of the thought, she focused again on what Darius had said.  “What are you talking about?  How in the hell were you protecting me or my family?”  Her breathing turned harsh all of a sudden . P ain lashed at her chest and she couldn’t breathe.  Not now .  God , not now .   She would not have a panic attack and give him the satisfaction of seeing what he had done to her.  She was stronger now and would never let another man destroy her as he had.  Pushing against his chest, she struggled to put some space between them.  He stepped back, but she could tell he did so reluctantly.  She saw his eyes turn a smoky gray before she side-stepped him and moved back to the center island.
    “Alia,