Page 76 of The Dom with a Safeword

“Get your hands off my car, you fucker!”

The lunge and lash of Nico’s fist was expected. He grabbed the wrist, then yanked Nico forward as he kicked at the man’s ankle and swept it out backward. Momentum, gravity, and luck agreed with what he wanted, for once. A second later Nico was on his knees, screaming with his arm wrenched behind his back.

“Fuck! Let go!” Though he was yelling, Nico’s lack of resistance, after one futile jerk to try free himself, made it clear he’d got the armlock right.

Jude leaned in and growled. “You will get in your car and leave. You won’t come back. You will stay away from the girls. If I catch you near them again, I’ll beat the living fuck out of you. I have many, many friends who will be keeping an eye on you. Got that?” He screwed the arm a little higher.

Nico gasped and bowed forward. “Fuck! Yes! Got it!”

“Up!” He maneuvered Nico to his feet and shoved him into the driver seat then with his hand twisted in the man’s conveniently long hair, he gave a last command while staring down into Nico’s fear-widened eyes. “I know people in the community. Don’t try showing your face at any clubs. The word will be out that you’re a fool who can’t control his temper and assaults women.” He slammed the door shut.

When Nico started the engine and drove off, smoking the tires, but without more fuss than a string of shouted expletives and a finger out the window, the tension drained from Jude. He heaved in a breath and turned to the women.

Red-faced, hair plastered to her forehead, and paint can dangling from her fingers, Sabrina stood there, stunned. Then she whipped her head around. “Q!” She dropped the can to the pavement and sprinted away.

The collision of her body with Q’s was a small hurricane arriving – all noise and flailing arms, then she quieted. Her arms wrapped around Q and she did the same to her while patting Sabrina’s back. All he could hear were whispers.

When he reached them, Q was still saying it. “I’m okay. I am. Sabrina, I’m okay.”

“You’re sure?” After one last sniff and hug, Sabrina let her go, though they still held hands.

“Q?” At his voice, Q raised her gaze. Fear. There was fear in her eyes, of him?

She straightened and the familiar self-assured look took over. “Thank you, Jude. I’m sorry you had to see that.” As if the episode were done with, she straightened her t-shirt. “I’m going to get my stuff back upstairs.”

“No.” He frowned. There it was again – that twitch as if he’d scared her. Was it his voice, or just that he was a man, a Dom? “Come here.”

At the shake of her head, he stepped up and gathered both of them to him. Her protests could go to hell.

“Jude. No,” she croaked. “I’m –”

“Q!” Sabrina piped up. “Give the man a hug. He just saved our lives. Well, mine, anyway. I’m pretty sure Nico was about to strangle me.” She laughed nervously.

Her struggles lessened and, when he kissed her forehead, Q let out a sharp exhale.

Though she didn’t cry, tears lined her eyelids. Q blinked them away. They hugged for a while in silence. When he had both their heads resting on his chest, and their soft breaths warming him, he felt at last that he had everything going the right way.

Maybe now was a good time to shore up the foundations of trust again.

“I’m glad I was here. If I hadn’t been – if Nico had hurt either of you – I don’t know what I would have done. You can’t be alone forever Q. Sometimes you have to let someone else take the load. As your Dom, I consider it my duty, and as a friend and a man too. If you refuse my help, you hurt me.”

Then he turned her face up to him. He brushed a strand of hair from her eye, and kissed her softly on her trembling lips. “Okay?”

“Yes. I’m sorry.”

“Wasn’t your fault. Forget him. You two are coming to my place. We’ll pack some clothes and stuff, and you can stay until I’ve done all I can to make sure he won’t bother you again.”

Q nodded. Determination surfaced in her eyes. “And Jude. Just so you know, you’ve shown me there’s a difference between being a Dom and being an abusive asshat. I don’t think I really understood that before.”

He grinned. “Thanks. I think.”

Sabrina pursed her lips and examined them both. “You two were so cute kissing.” She stepped toward Q and stroked her hair, the sweetest look on her face. “See, Q? It's not true, what Nico said – that no one will ever love you.”

Nico said that? The guy couldn’t really feel that way about Q, even if he was a psychopath. Who wouldn’t love her? Shit. Love. Uh oh. But, there was a truth there that rocked him. Falling in love with these two was not on his agenda. Or not on his father’s agenda anyway. And med school was not compatible with moving in with Q and Sabrina.

Or with anything else I want from life.

Q put her hands around Sabrina’s shoulders and tugged her closer. “Thank you for trying to distract Nico.” She lowered her head and kissed Sabrina. Not hard and sexual, just the kiss of a woman appreciating the one who held her heart. As quietly as the sun rising at dawn, he felt peace drift down on them. Magic.