Supernova (11 page)

Kerrigan silently cursed her body for its betrayal. It was becoming more impossible to deny the attraction she held for him. His body sang to hers, an erotic composition of desire vibrating through every fiber of her being. She wanted to get lost in the alluring crescendos of each breath he took, and float like a feather on each exhalation he released. Physically, she was lost, completely at his mercy. But mentally, she still had control over a small part of her brain, and she fought hard to regain power over the rest of her body as well.

“Mmm, you’re fighting it, Querida,” he whispered against her lips, elated by the way her body trembled against his. “But your body is aching for my touch, for my kiss, for my…” Although he didn’t say the last word, the way he rolled his hips against hers, left no room to question his meaning.

His breathy words washed over her skin, and his obvious arousal created a gush of warmth to her center. She mewled a little at the contact and licked her bottom lip in anticipation of more. A low rumble escaped Dominic’s chest at the visual. He had to bite his bottom lip in an effort to stop himself from claiming her mouth with his own to taste her.

He was just as affected by their closeness. He knew it was wrong. He shouldn’t have been teasing her. It was torturous not only to her, but to himself as well. If he didn’t stop, he wouldn’t be able to keep from throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her up to his room to have his wicked way with her.

A desperate grunt left his throat. “You have no idea what you’re doing to me.” He rolled his hips against hers one last time before he released her, his breathing just as heavy as Kerrigan’s. “I would gladly give you everything your body desires, but it would be wrong. So very wrong.”

The gentle hum that had been reverberating between their bodies was suddenly gone. Kerrigan opened her eyes to find Dominic’s retreating form on the staircase, the familiar creaks of the wood replacing the sound of her own heart beat in her ears.

The rest of the day was spent catching up with her old friends. It was as if there had never been any time or distance between them. Gabe seemed so comfortable around Sydney and Olivia that if Kerrigan hadn’t known better, she would have believed Gabe had always been in the picture as well. Dominic only reappeared for brief periods of time to get a fresh beer or a glass of iced tea, but for the most part, he kept to himself in his bedroom.

Kerrigan and her friends discussed him at length. She found it odd that they knew nothing about him when they seemed to know everyone else in town. She came clean to her friends about the few close encounters the two of them had and her frustration over the lack of further development. Gabe called her a chickenshit because she hadn’t raped the man, and Sydney called her a whore because she was so quick to want a romp in the sack with him. Sydney had, of course, been joking. Gabe had not. But even Kerrigan had to admit that it wasn’t really logical to want something with someone she not only didn’t know, but had only met a week before.

Primal physical urges. That was the only explanation her scrambled mind could come up with.

Kerrigan insisted the girls invite their boyfriends, Talon and Tyson Swail, over for dinner so that she and Gabe could meet and get to know them. Her only trepidation was that they might be huge homophobes and mistreat her best friend. But she knew Olivia and Sydney better than to think they would be dating a couple of jackasses.

The guys arrived later that afternoon after work. At least that’s what they called it. They were both avid beach bums – their self-appointed titles – and ran their own water sports rental kiosk down by the shore. They were identical twins, well, mostly identical.

Talon, Sydney’s boyfriend, had curly blonde hair, gray eyes, light facial hair, and a single dimple in his right cheek. Tyson had straight hair, a clean-shaven face, and a single dimple in his left cheek. Of course, spending a lot of time on the beach meant they were perfectly tanned.

Talon was about an inch taller and had that surfer body build, which was fitting because they were avid surfers. Tyson looked more like a linebacker, but was goofy as hell and that made him a little less intimidating. Gabe was salivating at the mouth with his unabashed appreciation of their physiques, but they just laughed it off as if it didn’t bother them at all.

After a trip to the grocery store, the gang had decided to grill burgers and hot dogs because it was a quick fix. Kerrigan and Gabe were in the kitchen preparing the burgers for the grill and making up some potato salad. The others were hanging out in the back yard, drinking beer and acting like they were still in high school.

“I dreamed about her again…last night,” she told Gabe, loud enough for only him to hear. No way did she want any of the others to know how crazy she really was.

Gabe sighed and pulled the meat out of the packaging. “Sweetie, it’s probably just because you’re still in mourning and missing her. I can’t imagine being in this house is helping much either.”

“But it felt so real. She told me all this stuff about destiny and fate and some weird sort of ability that I have…and Dominic. She talked about me and Dominic. And I think he was there, too.”

“Girl, even I have been having dreams about that scrumptiousness. He’s a fine piece of Mm-Mm-Mmm with a side of Oh-My-Gawd! Dreaming about him doesn’t make you crazy. It makes you human.

Hey, check this out,” he said, changing the subject.

When she turned around, she saw that he had taken two hamburger patties and placed them side by side, creating the illusion of an ass with a prominent crack. The disturbing part was that he had also tunneled two holes in the crack and had stuffed them with hotdogs.

Kerrigan couldn’t help her snort of laughter. “You’re a sick bitch,” she said, shaking her head.

“Double penetration ain’t nothing to snub your nose at, Kerr Bear. I’ve been trying to tell you that’s what you need, but you’re just too
Little House on the Prairie to
listen to me.”

“Oh really?” she asked. “See, normally you’re telling me I need to take the stick out of my butt. Now you’re telling me to put it in?”

“Now who’s sick?” Gabe asked, crinkling his nose up. “Didn’t nobody say nothing about putting a stick in your butt, nasty. Take out the damn stick and sit on a dick. Just try it, you might actually like it.”

Kerrigan washed her hands off, laughing the entire time. She had heard of people using double negatives, but left up to Gabe, he would most assuredly find a way to triple it.

Gabe smacked the ground beef butt sculpture while he sang Akon’s
Smack That,
obviously enjoying his molestation of it and in no hurry to dismantle his creation. Kerrigan went over and shoved him out of the way and grabbed the hotdogs to remove them. Before she could finish the task, Dominic walked into the room and looked in her direction, catching her in quite the precarious position.

“Wow,” he said, pausing with his hand on the refrigerator handle. “Something you’re interested in there, perv?” he asked her with a smirk on his face and one eyebrow arched.

His laugh was throaty and melodic, and made Kerrigan’s heart thump in her chest. Her mind was racing, trying to come up with an explanation. The only thing she could think about was how she was going to hurt Gabe for making her look like an idiot in front of the only man who had ever made her body feel sinful things. In an effort to save her from the awkward moment, Gabe spoke up. Which may, or may not, have been better for Kerrigan.

“Shit, that was all me, boo,” he boasted as Dominic reached inside the refrigerator and pulled out a beer. “I keep trying to tell her she needs to think outside the box and explore her sexuality a little bit, but she just won’t listen to me. I’m thinking maybe you might be able to help her expand her
repertoire
though.”

Really. She was going to kill him.

Kerrigan was so shocked and embarrassed she couldn’t say or do anything other than just gape at her best friend like he had lost his mind.

Dominic popped the top off his beer and walked over to where she stood to toss it in the trash can. As he reached around her, he got a suggestive tone in his voice and a look of lust on his face. “Hmm, maybe we should see what we can do about that.”

He loved messing with her and watching as she got all flustered. But, she turned the tables on him instead. “What, exactly, are you proposing, Grayson?” Kerrigan asked, snatching the beer from his hand and taking a drink.

Caught off guard, he fell silent. He hadn’t expected her to challenge him. He swore under his breath at his inability to come back with a witty retort.

“What’s the matter?
Gatita
got your tongue?” Kerrigan smirked as she tilted the bottle back to her lips for another sip.

“Not yet,” he answered her challenge. “Maybe, if you’re lucky, it will by the end of the night.”

Kerrigan spat the beer she hadn’t yet swallowed out in a spray. She jumped back and held the bottle away from her body in an attempt to avoid spilling it all over the front of her shirt. She wasn’t quick enough.

Dominic laughed and snatched the beer back from her. “I’m just going to go fire up the grill while you use your imagination to paint a picture of that in your beautiful, little head,” he said with an air of smugness. He turned to walk out of the room. He looked back at her and gave her a lopsided grin as she stood there, soaked in her own spit and beer. Then he disappeared in the direction of the back porch to join the others.

He felt pretty damn proud of himself as he stepped outside. He was nearly knocked on his ass by a huge Swedish wrestler looking guy who had Olivia thrown over his shoulder, swinging her around. When the gargantuan stopped, a giggling Olivia looked up and noticed Dominic standing there.

“Oh hey, Dominic! This is my boyfriend, Tyson.”

The big guy turned around then, still holding Olivia over his shoulder. “Just Ty, man.” Tyson held his hand out and slapped his palm to Dominic’s.

“And Syd’s boyfriend, Talon,” Olivia finished the introductions with her butt still facing him.

The other guy was sitting in a lawn chair with Sydney curled up in his lap.

“’Sup, bro?” Talon greeted him with an upward nod of his head.

“Not much,” Dominic answered as Tyson set Olivia down. “I thought I’d come out here to get the grill going.”

“Sweet! I’m starving.” Tyson rubbed his big paw over his stomach.

“When are you not starving?” Sydney asked with an eye roll.

“Hey, I’m a growing boy,” he answered defensively.

“
Boy
being the operative word.”

“I got your boy right here, sweetheart.” Tyson grabbed his crotch and shook it at her.

Sydney stuck her middle finger up and sneered at him in response.

“Be nice,” Olivia chastised Tyson, smacking him hard on the chest.

Dominic laughed and shook his head at them before sitting his beer down and taking the cover off the grill.

Kerrigan and Gabe joined them after a few moments. Dominic did the grilling with Tyson and Talon throwing in their opinions on how to do it properly. Let’s face it, every man thinks he’s the grill master, and not one of them wants to admit that he might not be doing something exactly right. Regardless, Dominic liked hanging out with the twins. They were pretty cool. Their crass humor was all in good fun, and they didn’t get nosy and ask a bunch of personal questions.

The girls, including Gabe, sat around and gossiped about the neighbors while trying to soak up some sun. Kerrigan looked more vibrant than ever, and Dominic couldn’t help but to steal glances at her. The way she tossed her head back and laughed fully at jokes or encouraged Gabe’s behavior was mesmerizing. She was so carefree, and he envied that of her. But then there were times when she dipped her head to make eye contact with Dominic over her sunglasses, and smiled coyly at him when she thought no one else was looking. So flirtatious and beautiful. Again, he felt like the prey trapped in her spell. He would’ve given anything if the circumstances were different and he could respond to her like a normal human being.

But of course he couldn’t do that. Ever. He was anything, but normal. And a human being? Well, that was questionable.

Night fell and the hours continued to tick by. Everyone was just sitting around in the back yard listening to music and tossing back a few beers. Well, everyone except Gabe. He insisted on having his Bubbletini. Bright pink and fruity. Yeah, that had Gabe written all over it.

The alcohol definitely had an effect on Kerrigan. She had been keeping her distance from Dominic for the most part, but became bolder as the night wore on. Before long, she had yanked on his arm and forced him to take a seat next to her on the double chaise. She positioned his arm around her shoulders and curled in next to him as she laid her head on his chest, claiming to be cold. Oldest trick in the book. Whether it was the truth or not, really didn’t matter. He enjoyed being close to her, even though he knew it was only going to make him want her more.

Before long, her fingers were lazily drawing a path up and down his other arm while she laughed and talked with her friends. It was a seemingly innocent thing to do, but it was igniting fires under his skin that he knew he couldn’t extinguish. He probably should have pulled away, but he couldn’t. He wanted to enjoy the quaint moment for as long as he could. It made him feel real, wanted.

If you had asked Dominic earlier that morning, he would have told you that would have never happened to him. He usually didn’t ever let his guard down, but he found it was easy to relax and be himself around Kerrigan and her friends. It could have been the buzz of the alcohol, but he was actually having fun for once in his life. It made him feel human again.

He could really see himself getting along with this bunch. It wasn’t like he ever had the opportunity to develop healthy relationships with people his own age and just hang out. Unless you count his ex, Sinclair, and her buddies – which he most certainly did not.

That thought snapped him out of his reprieve and brought him back to reality. Checking his black leather cuff watch, he realized that it was already after eleven o’clock. His time was up. He was the first to call it a night, claiming the beer he had consumed had more of an effect on him than it actually had and made him tired. Kerrigan whined a little and hung onto his hand in protest when he stood, pulling him back down to her.