Supernova (35 page)

They made love three times that night, each time more epic and passionate than the one before. Dominic swept Kerrigan away over and over again while murmuring sultry Spanish cadences in her ear, against her skin, as they reached their peak together and free-fell into an ocean of indescribable pleasure. Yes, Kerrigan had met and become close friends with the elusive ‘O’, with Dominic’s help of course. She vowed to never let him go. Neither of them had ever felt more perfect, more desired than they did in each other’s arms.

As the evening wound down, they lay resting in Dominic’s bed with the soft sounds of Jeff Buckley’s cover of
Hallelujah
playing in the background. Her back was to him, and she drew her fingers up and down his arm while he kissed her bare shoulder with soft lips.

But remember when I moved in you,

And the holy dove was moving too

And every breath we took was Hallelujah

The song’s words echoed around the room, and he drew her closer still.

“This is my favorite song,” he whispered against her neck.

“It’s beautiful. I’ve always loved it.” Her voice was quiet as she listened to the music play. “What do you think it’s about?”

“Love…and sex. But not just any sex.
Really great sex
. Hallelujah is an orgasm, the spiritual achievement of nirvana with the one you were destined for,” he said, his lips brushing across her skin in a way that made her whole body ache for him. Again.

She contemplated his interpretation quietly. He was right, and the fact that he put so much thought into the translation made him downright sexy as hell. But there was another question she was curious about. “What does it feel like?”

“With you?
Amazing
, but I’m pretty sure I just showed you that, like half a dozen times,” he answered, his smug smile coming through in his voice.

“Yes, you did, but that’s not what I was talking about. I mean when you turn into a…um…”

“When I turn into a ghost?” Dominic asked. She nodded. “Hmm, it’s kind of hard to explain. It starts out as this tingling sensation, like when you get goose bumps and the hair on your arm stands up. Only, I feel like that all over. And then it just sort of feels warm and prickly from the inside out.”

“So it doesn’t hurt?”

“Nah. It’s just a little uncomfortable, but it happens so fast that it really isn’t that bad.”

Kerrigan turned toward him, and he rolled onto his back so she could rest her chin on top of his chest. “Do you think that maybe you’re okay now? I mean, after what happened last night, or, this morning?”

“I don’t know, but I guess we’ll find out soon.” Dominic looked at his watch and let his arm fall back to the bed with a thud. “It’s almost midnight.”

He kissed her tenderly and closed his eyes.

“The dream you had about Availia when you went into her room, it wasn’t a dream,” he continued. “I was there.”

“You were?” she asked, tracing the definition of his muscles on his abdomen and chest.

“Yeah. She came to me and asked me to bring you to her. Do you remember? You thought there was someone in your room. There was, me. I knew you wouldn’t go on your own because you’d been avoiding her room. So, I led you there. I’m sorry if I scared you.”

“I wasn’t really scared. Just a little spooked.” She was quiet for a moment. “Were you the one who kept me from falling out of the window?”

“Mmhmm.”

“You carried me back to my room, too. Didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“The night the stupid chair moved in your room and scared the shit out of you...that was me too,” he admitted with a guilty voice.

“Dominic!” She playfully slapped at him. “That scared the bejeezus out of us.”

“I know, and again, I’m sorry.”

“Hey, wait a minute…I remember what we were talking about. Were you eavesdropping?”

“Actually, I went in there to check on you. That was after the whole lighthouse incident, and I had to be sure that you were okay. I might have stuck around to hear what you really thought about kissing me,” he chuckled.

She pinched his nipple and gave it a slight twist.

“Ow! Stop that!” He gave her a light swat on her rear. “I said I was sorry. Besides, it backfired on me anyway, as you well know. Not only did I not get to hear what you thought, but you decided to hold that séance.”

“I saw you, didn’t I?” Kerrigan asked with excitement in her voice. “I knew there was something there, but when I turned around, you were gone.”

He nodded. “Yeah, that was me. I swear, I was so freaking scared you were going to find out everything that night.”

“I was so mad at you for getting all bent out of shape over us wanting to do it. But, I guess I get it now.”

“I’m sorry about that, too.” He sighed. “I guess I’m sorry about a lot of things.”

“Don’t be. No harm, no foul,” she said with a shrug of her shoulders. “It all worked out in the end. But, no more secrets, okay?”

“No more secrets, Querida. I promise.”

The alarm clock on his nightstand went off, causing Dominic to tense.

Kerrigan sat up and looked at the clock. “Is it time?”

Dominic nodded and got out of the bed. He was still naked, and although Kerrigan should have been more concerned about what was about to happen, she couldn’t help but look him over in appreciation. He slipped on a pair of pajama pants and hurried back to her.

He placed his hands on Kerrigan’s shoulders and kissed her lips. “I love you, Querida.”

“I love you, too,” she whispered.

Kerrigan hoped that the curse had been broken when she put his soul back in his body at the graveyard. However, she was smart enough to figure out that if it hadn’t worked when her grandmother did it, and she was a gazillion times more powerful than her, that it likely didn’t work when she did it either.

As apprehensive as she was, she knew this had to be a lot worse on him. He looked terrified.

He stood straight and took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly. His eyes never left Kerrigan’s as the clock struck twelve and the tingling sensation took over. Dominic’s physical body began to disappear, beginning with his hands and spreading toward the center. She saw the disappointed look on his face before he disappeared. Her heart silently broke for him, yet again.

He transformed, all of his physical body disappearing, his celadon green eyes, full of sadness, the last to go.

“Dominic?” Kerrigan called into the now empty room.

A cold breath skipped across her cheek, and a lock of her hair was pushed back from her face. “I’m here, Querida,” he whispered. “Just like I’ll always be.”

Kerrigan sat up with Dominic all night. At first, he was so ashamed of what he was that he wouldn’t materialize. He didn’t want her to see him like that, but she was adamant that he show himself, and he could never refuse her anything she ever asked for.

So, he let her see him. Kerrigan’s expression never wavered. With a gentle smile, she reminded him over and over again that she loved him.

They talked all night, and somehow, Kerrigan’s presence seemed to make the time pass much quicker. Regardless, he was relieved to see the purples and pinks painted across the skyline, indicators that they were on the cusp of dawn.

Dominic walked to the window with Kerrigan followed close behind. She leaned her back against the window frame and stifled a yawn as she looked at him with a sweet smile. His heart nearly burst at the seams when the first of the sun’s rays spread through the window and illuminated the soft highlights of her long, mahogany hair. Her eyes were fixated him. Deep azure shined tenderly, and she watched him transform to his solid state. He was so entranced by her beauty that the tingle that usually accompanied the transformation felt more like a tickle.

When the process was complete, she lifted her hand and stroked his cheek with the back of her fingers.

“Come to bed,” she all but whispered, taking his hand in hers.

Dominic let her lead him toward the bed and they lay down. He wrapped her in his arms, once again made strong by the new day.

“We’re going to figure it out,” she said and raised his hand to press a reassuring kiss to his palm.

“Yeah, maybe.”

She nuzzled into his chest. The strength of his heart beating under her cheek reminded her of the exuberant life that coursed through his veins. It gave her hope. Dominic walked between the worlds of life and death on a daily basis. And, it wasn’t lost on her just how fragile that life was.

She was determined that, together, they would find a way to use her gift to cure his curse.

When Dominic and Kerrigan woke late in the afternoon, they found the rest of their ready-made family hanging out in the back yard. The twins were wrestling around on the ground while Millie hopped around them, barking shrill commands. The girls sipped on iced tea while Gabe casually nursed his Bubbletini.

“It’s barely one o’clock,” Kerrigan said with a disapproving tone as she went to sit on Gabe’s lap.

“It’s five o’clock somewhere, bitch,” he retorted. “And who said you could sit your fat ass all up on me?”

“Come here, Querida.” Dominic stretched his hand out from the lounge chair he had perched himself on to pull her into his lap.

Kerrigan made herself quite comfortable in Dominic’s lap, putting an arm around his shoulders while he nuzzled the side of her breast. The girls simultaneously lowered their sunglasses to eye them over the rim.

“What?” Kerrigan asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

“Ya’ll totally did it!” Olivia squeaked.

“Well, it’s about damn time,” Sydney mumbled and then went back to her magazine.

“E’ry body ‘round here’s gettin’ some, ‘cept the prettiest diva in the place,” Gabe said with sarcasm dripping from his words. “I must just be too pretty. That’s got to be the problem. Men are just intimidated by my beauty.”

“I’m sure that’s it, sweetie,” Olivia’s reassured him.

Gabe arched his perfectly manicured brow at her. “Don’t patronize me, ho. You still can’t have my body.”

Olivia threw an ice cube at him, and the rest of them laughed. Tyson and Talon finally looked up and saw that Dominic and Kerrigan had finally shown up, so they stopped their wrestling and walked over to join them as well.

Millie sprinted over to Kerrigan and pawed at her leg until she picked him up. He immediately assaulted both of them with wet tongue kisses in greeting.

“So what’s up with the other night?” Tyson asked as he sat on the ground at Olivia’s feet. “Are ya’ll ever going to tell us what happened?”

Kerrigan looked at Dominic and gave him an encouraging smile. “It’s up to you.”

He considered all the different reactions he might see from his friends, but decided to trust them with his secret regardless. It was a huge step for Dominic to make, and Kerrigan didn’t take it lightly.

After he had told the whole story, right down to what he was from midnight until dawn, the gang surprised him. They didn’t give him disgusted faces, they didn’t run and scream, and they didn’t seem to look at him any differently. Maybe they were desensitized to supernatural shit because they had become accustomed to Kerrigan’s abilities. It seemed anything was possible anymore.

“Well, at least you don’t have to worry about Sinclair anymore,” Olivia said.

“She don’t want to come around here acting all stupid, ‘cause I will straight up cut a bitch,” Gabe said with a roll of his head, and then he finished off his drink.

“It wouldn’t do her any good, Gabe,” Sydney started. “She has to use someone in Drake’s direct bloodline, so unless he’s got other kids out there...” she trailed off.

Kerrigan felt Dominic’s muscles go rigid around her. Visions of the smaller boy in the picture with little Nicky flashed across her mind. “Dominic, who is Colton’s father?” she asked in a wary voice.

Colton’s young face appeared behind Dominic’s closed lids. It was from a time that seemed so long ago. His eyes, innocent and unaware. His smile, vibrant and full of life. His soul, free and untainted.

“Dominic?” Kerrigan asked again when he opened his eyes.

“We share the same father,” he said flatly. “But, there’s no way Sinclair can know where he is. She can’t get to him.”

“Dude, you should probably warn him, just in case,” Talon suggested.

“Yeah. I’ll give him a call in a little bit. I just need to figure out what to say. This sort of thing isn’t exactly easy to explain to someone sitting right in front of me, let alone over the phone.”

Kerrigan gave him a tender kiss. “You’ll figure it out.”

“I sure could use a beer,” Tyson said and then elbowed Olivia’s leg. “Why don’t you run inside and grab me one, babe?”

“Me too?” Talon asked.

“Go get them yourselves,” Sydney scolded them. “She’s not your slave.”

“Aw, Syd,” Talon groaned. “We didn’t mean it like that.”

“Oh, just shut it,” Gabe said as he stood. “I’ll go get the damn things. I need a fresh Bubbletini anyway.”

Gabe sashayed into the house, and the others continued to question Dominic and Kerrigan on what happened. Each one of them vowed their secrecy and offered to help in any way they could be useful. Even as worried as Dominic was for Colton, he finally felt like he was part of a real family. Things were looking up for him, and it was all because of a little old lady and the granddaughter she adored.

“Lookie lookie what I found at the front door.” Gabe sashayed down the porch steps and into the yard.

Following him was a man Kerrigan had never seen before. He was a medium height with a medium build. Black hair, hazel eyes, and a clean-shaven face. No one that she should know, but still, there was something familiar about him.

“Colton?” Dominic stared after him in disbelief until he finally lifted Kerrigan from his lap so he could jog over to his brother. Colton let his duffle bag drop to the ground. Dominic grabbed his younger sibling’s shoulder and pulled him into a vice grip, hugging him so tightly that he was lifted off the ground.

When he finally let him go, he pulled back to look at Colton. Dominic was amazed by how grown up he seemed. No longer the little boy he had always seen when looking back on his past, Colton looked wiser. Apparently, a good education
was
written all over a person’s face.

“Damn, boy, it’s good to see you!” The smile on Dominic’s face mirrored Colton’s.

Kerrigan felt her heart expand in her chest, overcome with emotion while she watched the man she loved reunite with the only living member of his family.

“What the hell are you doing here? How did you even know where I was?”

Colton’s smile dropped for a fraction of a second and then it lit up again as if he had realized his older brother was pulling a fast one on him. “Very funny, Dom. You called me and told me to come.”

Dominic’s smile was replaced by a look of confusion etched into his furrowed brow. “What are you talking about? I didn’t call you.”

“Yes, you did,” Colton insisted. “You called and said you found our father, and that he needs our help. You said I needed to come home. Practically demanded is probably more like it,” he said with a knowing smirk that matched the one his older brother wore frequently. “So…here I am.”

Dominic’s stomach twisted into knots. Sinclair had somehow managed to find his little brother, even though he thought the task impossible.

“Colt,” Dominic started, but the words got lodged in his throat, and he had to take a minute to get himself together. “I didn’t call you.”

“Well then who did?”

“I don’t know. But you’re here now, and you’re safe, and that’s all that matters.”