Salina was shaking atop of Dominik, he'd stripped her of her soaked dress in the trunk of their car where she was shielded and clothed her in his bloodied shirt for now as it would keep her from getting cold. She still wore her underwear and bra under it, considering she was now sat on top of Dominik's lap in the passenger seat with Lev driving.

The noise of the radio wasn't enough to quiet the silence between the three of them. Dominik leaned back in his seat, his dark eyes trained on his wife that sat across his thighs. When her back stiffened, so did his own. The back of her hand pressed to her mouth as if she was about to be sick, immediately he rubbed her back. He was fully prepared to deal with her vomit if that's what she had to do.

Still, she didn't say anything when the nausea passed. Instead, she opened the glove box and pulled out a pen and napkin. Turning towards him, both men watched her begin to jot down bullet points as she remembered them.

It was ten minutes of her crooked handwriting being scribbled down onto the fraying paper. When she was done, she blinked slowly. Rolling her head back, Dominik rubbed her neck to ease some of her discomfort.

"I have a concussion." It was the first thing she'd said into the thirty minutes of driving and since Dominik had pulled her out of the car. Her husband tilted her chin up, looking into her eyes while massaging her damp scalp.

"The doctor is already at home, baby." Sluggishly, Salina nodded at him. Lev looked at the poor girl from the corner of his eye as he raced the two back to where they'd be completely safe. "Is there anything you can remember that'll help us, hun?" Dominik shot him a look to shut the fuck up but Salina sniffled as she picked up the napkin again that she'd been fiddling with.

"Carter and Rory. I didn't hear the blondes name before Dima killed him," she whispered while looking at the ink on the paper. "Carter is the-the one that was driving. He had an American accent. The other twos were Irish, they said someone told them I wasn't going to give them trouble while taking me. A-And Rory called me Beaumont." She read off what she had written before she forgot it in the hecticness.

"That's enough," Dominik demanded before pressing his lips to her nose as they pulled up to their house. Security flooded the car as Dominik carried her inside to where the doctor was waiting to check the both of them out.

Later in the night, everyone was at the house. Angelo, Aleksei, and Dima were here. Dominik stood near them as they all spoke quietly, a doctor was continuously trying to wipe at the gash on his forehead but he ignored them as he stared at his wife. Her head laid on the dining room table, her eyes blinked blearily as the other doctor cleaned her temple. Lev held her hand, both her wrists were bruised badly. Both the gash on her calf and bicep only needed to be taped and wrapped shut rather than stitched for now. She'd gotten to put on shorts at least. Salina could feel him watching her, but she couldn't focus her mind at the moment due to her concussion. She'd never really felt like this, she always knew what to do next, she always had a plan. This was her reality as Dominik's wife and she isn't necessarily surprised- but still she couldn't shake the shock of the nights events.

She couldn't unhear the crack of that mans neck and the surge it sent through her to do it. Salina was torn down the middle, the satisfaction it brought to her was jarring. That man had taken her away from Dominik, who knows what he would have done to her if she didn't do what she did. And she would do it again in the same scenario. But that smaller part of her was horrified. Horrified that she herself had ended a life instead of just being linked to whoever was killing at the time. But Salina squashed that small part down. That part was useless and it was wrong.

"Honey?" Lev leaned forward, his thumb came and brushed under her eye to catch a stray tear. He'd seen her holding them in this entire night, how she would turn away from everyone in the house when they got to obvious. He wiped them away before anyone else could see them. "Do you need a second, Salina? It's okay to cry, no one is blaming you for crying."

She couldn't let them see her cry, Dominik told her that tears are pointless. He was right. These men definitely didn't deserve to see her cry, if they saw Dominik's Donna a mess after one little incident they would start to look at him as weak.

Without responding to Lev, she sat up with a sniffle. The doctor grunted, moving with her before swiping cream over her temple and using butterfly bandaids to keep it closed. Salina shot Lev a small smile to reassure him she was alright, squeezing his hand tight. "Thank you Lev," she murmured.

He squeezed her hand back as Salina turned to the doctor, she pointed at her temple. "Will it scar?" Her voice came out as a croak.

The doctor, Doctor Patel, hummed in thought. "It might, I'm leaving the ointment and all the necessary prescriptions that'll help prevent scarring and infection however." Salina nodded once and pressed her hands to the table and pushed herself out of her chair.

As soon as she moved she felt everyone in the room lurch to help her, her jaw crooked with annoyance. Salina's narrowed eyes scanned the room as Lev practically hovered over her, "Lev please-" she gripped his bicep to stop him from coddling her. "I just... I just need to clean myself up- Oomph!" Salina wasn't as aware of her surroundings as usual, Dominik had come up behind her and lifted her without hesitation. She growled under her breath but was silently relieved with the change.

Holding her up tight with the gentlest touch he could manage with his bandaged hands, Dominik looked at the men scattered around his house. "Thank you all for your help tonight," he cleared his throat uncomfortably as he tried to convey the gratefulness he was feeling. "Rest for the night, whoever fits in the house can stay the night or feel free to go home if you aren't on the security shift. Whoever is on the shift, work with each other to put together the evidence we have and keep an eye out if they try it again tonight. Although, I doubt it. We won't be down the rest of the night, don't bother me if it's not an emergency," his voice was full of authority and he didn't look back as he carried Salina up to their room.

He held her tightly, pressing his nose to the top of her hair and inhaling her scent deeply. Salina wondered what he could possibly be picking up on besides the scent of the lake and sweat but he continued to bury his nose in her neck to kiss it gently and breathe in her smell some more.

Neither of them spoke a word as he took her into the bathroom, cradled her easily in one arm as he sat on the edge of large bath in the corner of the room. He used the other hand to turn on the faucet. In the meantime, Salina was taking in his injuries, they were mostly focused in his hands. Miraculously he didn't break any of his fingers but the gash along his hairline was so deep that they stitched it up. Not to mention the knife that went through his hand, it was currently stitched up as well. The blade was in line with his bones, so there was no damage there but the doctor did mention possible nerve damage. Salina had been listening to his doctor more than it seemed he was.

She was taken out of her thoughts when he grabbed her entire container of soap for bubble baths, dumping it all in. Her lips parted but she refrained from saying anything. "We have to keep your leg and bicep out," Dominik grunted while eyeing the injuries with absolute disdain.

Sucking in a breath, Salina held onto his shirt as the water filled and bubbled. "I'm sorry," she couldn't stop herself from saying it while leaning her forehead against his shoulder. Dominik sighed, sliding his hands up her thighs as he tried to sooth her, before he gripped her hand like he'd seen Lev doing.

"Why are you sorry, eсолнышко? You have nothing to be sorry for- I'm sorry."

little sun

She couldn't stop the tears sprouting in her eyes again, as soon as they were alone she had felt them burning at the back of her eyes. "I-I'm sorry for letting them take me," Salina hiccuped. "I'm sorry I didn't fight them off better and I'm s-sorry you got hurt getting me back."

Dominik watched with a wide gaze as she sobbed against his shoulder. His own eyes stung as he wrapped his arms around her tightly, that fear he felt from before still lingered and he felt the urge to carve it out himself. Instead, he tightened his arms around her waist. Waiting until that irritating feeling in the back of his eyes went away, he then held her cheek to lift her focus up to his face. "I should have never let it happen. It's not your fault, pretty girl. It's never your fault. I'm so fucking proud of you, my strong wife fought the whole time." Her eyes were swollen and her cheek was bruised, seeing her injuries only made his flurry of emotions even worse.

"Promise you're not mad?" Salina rest her forehead against his own carefully. Their breaths mingled together.

"Mad?" he whispered incredulously. "I could never be mad at you, never. I'm so proud that you're mine, Salina. You did what you had to do." He held her chin and nodded her head slowly to make her acknowledge him.

Her lips quirked in a smile at his antics, squirming out of his hold. He turned off the very full bath and without warning, he started taking her shirt off. Salina huffed as he lifted it over her head and yanked her shorts down. On a mission, he reached for her bra and underwear. His mind was only focused on getting her properly cleaned and scrub her of the dirt those bastards smeared onto her.

Swiftly, Salina slapped his hands. Realizing what he was doing, remembering that Salina valued nudity much more than he did, he paused. His breath hitched as he was brought back to reality. The reality where he had a half naked Salina in his lap. He gulped hard, looking at her injuries and focusing back on the task at hand.

Slowly, Salina unclipped her bra and covered herself before it fell. She made no move to remove her underwear and he wasted no more time putting her in the bath. Dominik watched, finally satisfied watching her relax into the hot water. Her calf hung out of the bath and her bicep was lent against the edge safely. Dominik picked up a wash cloth as his other hand gripped her foot. Lifting it, he kissed over her wound softly before pressing another on her ankle and then the top of her foot.

Moaning quietly as she shifted, Dominik washed over her knee and up her thigh. "Get in with me," Salina trailed her fingers over his tattooed shoulder. He didn't think twice, fulfilling her request at the drop of a hat and going to lift his shirt. The bandages around his left hand constricted against the movement. The left one was where he'd been stabbed while his right had nothing bandaging it since his knuckles were just split open. Immediately, Salina leaned over and they both listened to the water splash, but her focus was on helping Dominik lift the shirt over his head.

When he was free, Salina saw a small tint to his cheeks after needing his wife's help to undress. Small giggles escaped from her in the brief moment of calm between the two. Then he stood up and dropped his dress pants. Their dark eyes met, he gestured to the boxers he wore.

"On or off?" He left it up to her.

Salina rolled her lips as she looked at her husband in all his glory. Even now, she couldn't help but appreciate how gorgeous he is. Leaning her cheek against her forearm, she openly stared at his broad, muscular body. He bulged in his boxers and Salina couldn't tell if the heat on her face was from her desire or the water.

Bending down, he pressed both hands to the edge of the tub and kissed her hard. It was a chaste, but meaningful kiss before they parted with a loud smack. "On or off?" he repeated this time in a lower voice only for her ears.

"Whatever you want," she rasped while leaning forward to make room for him. Rolling his lips in thought, Dominik decided to do them both a favor and keep them on. He stepped in and crammed his large body into the footclaw bathtub. To it's credit it was big, anything smaller and he wouldn't have been able to fit at all. She yelped when she was lifted up as his legs slid under. When she scooted back, Dominik ran his fingers through her knotted hair, feeling her sigh in annoyance at the reminder of another thing those men ruined.

"Can I?" he tugged on a strand lightly. Salina nearly cried again as he took all the right products down and rubbed her scalp. With a small nod, he took care of her that night and made sure to wash away all the remnants he could in the bath.

When Salina had finally fallen asleep, Dominik held her from behind and thought about what Lev told him at the gala before it all went to hell

Dominik stared at Salina in thought as she talked to a woman in an orange dress, then he looked at Lev who briefly checked his phone. "Why did Aleksei say you loved Salina?"

Lev spluttered his vodka and hissed at the burn it brought to his nose, he pounded his fist into his chest. "What the hell are you insinuating?" Lev was suddenly worried this was his last moments on earth if Dominik thought he was falling for the young woman. The thought made his stomach turn with disgust. "That girl is just that-a girl. I'm an old fucking man, do you think I'd stoop that low?"

Dominik looked at him sideways, "Aleksei insinuated it was a familial type of love. I don't understand how you could love her or even why it's such a big deal when it's just liking someone more than others."

This made Lev pause, catching up to what Dominik was getting at and what he actually wanted to talk about. Frustration had seeped into his voice as he finished that last part of his sentence. Ever since he was a boy, as the only Ivanov heir, Andrei had trained the boy ruthlessly. It was standard at first, but to make him the best they took it up a notch. And it paid off as Dominik is insanely powerful at this young point in his life. But even before that intense training, Dominik was stunted in the emotional intelligence category.

Whether it was from his parents lack of nurturing or he was just born this way, it didn't matter. What mattered now was the boy was probably heavily confused amidst the whirlwind of feelings his marriage was bringing on. Lev had initially been against Dominik marrying because of this very reason, Dom had previously viewed marriage as a business partnership like the ones he'd made so many times before. It was clear his view has shifted, or else they wouldn't be having this conversation.

"I do love Salina like family. Just like I love you boys like my own. There's different love and there's different paces for everyone. Sometimes there's just an immediate feeling, I did feel that with Salina and that family love just means I always want the best for her and I'll help make that a reality."

That response only served to make Dominik more frustrated, "You can feel that way about someone you like!" He raked a hand through his own hair. At this point, he was just trying to prove that he was right. Little did he know he was very wrong.

"I'd put myself in harms way for her, not as someone who works for the Ivanov's, but as someone who loves and cares for her wellbeing. She deserves to have someone take care of her unconditionally. It doesn't seem like she's had someone like that."

Dominik's brow furrowed as he thought about her shitty parents. And then for a split second he thought about his own, would they do that for him? He shook away the thought before looking over his wife.

"I'd risk myself for Aleksei and Dima that doesn't mean I love them."

Lev snorted, "Yes it does. People don't feel that way about people they just like. But those feelings for your cousins are different than what you'd feel for Salina." Dominik rolled his eyes at the older man, "No shit. I don't want to fuck either of those two," he growled as he tilted his head to eye Salina even more. As if feeling his gaze particularly on her ass, she peeked over her shoulder and shot him a look that made him smirk.

"That right there," Lev pointed out. "Those feelings you get for her. It's not just because she's your wife."

"You don't have to talk to me like I'm stupid. I made Salina my wife because she's Salina. She's my eсолнышко. That has always been true even before we signed the marriage certificate."

Lev pinched his brow, wondering if Dominik could even hear himself sometimes. "Another type of love is an... intense one. To say the least. Not many people are lucky enough to feel it, when your stomach hurts without the person. The idea of being apart from them makes you practically ill, even the thought of it. There isn't anything you wouldn't do for that person, that isn't simply liking someone Dominik. Even if you might not feel it, it still exists." Maybe that would get though to him, the newlywed man was practically obsessed with Salina and if he knew him well enough, Dominik wouldn't be able to ignore those physical reactions he had to her. Even if he wanted to ignore how she made him feel emotionally.

Now, Dominik was stuck lying here with the thoughts. And the awful feeling in his chest at the reality that he could have lost Salina today. As he pieced together his thoughts, his conclusion made him simultaneously want to shake Salina awake with boyish giddy and bash his head against the wall with dread. But he did neither, he only tucked his face tighter into her shoulder and rubbed her hip soothingly to hear the soft sigh she always makes when he does that.

~

someone stabbed me in the heart and twisted it while i wrote this chapter agh omg they are my sanity

make sure u comment and tell me ur thots and reactions i literally eat them up

what do we think abt that convo with domo and lev? it tells us a few things hmmm👀