Sweetness (23 page)

“That sounds perfect. I don’t want to share you
with anyone,” I cut him off.
Dominic’s grin turns wicked and I feel his
pleasure rod rubbing against my down under smile.
“Good. I don’t want to share you either. I don’t think it’s
a good idea to stay out in this sun much longer either.
You are going to burn. If you burn I won’t be able to
touch you the way I want to.”
I plunge my tongue down his throat as soon as the
words are out of his mouth. We are all lips and tongues
so I didn’t even notice that he has led us over to the
deeper end of pool where there are less people hovering
around. His hands are splayed on my upper thighs just
teasing the edge of my bottoms with his fingers. My legs
are wrapped around his waist making me weightless in
the water. I feel his one hand inching toward my front
and I pull back, staring at him wide eyed as his malicious
grin widens. I look over his shoulder to see if anyone is
watching and to my surprise the pool area has thinned
out considerably in the late afternoon hours. From
anyone else’s perspective it just looks like two
affectionate people canoodling innocently.
Dominic’s long finger slides between my folds
until he locates the nub of pleasure my folds conceal; he
starts rubbing slowly in small leisurely circles as his eyes
look deeply into mine. I grip tighter on his shoulders
digging my nails into him as the pressure in my core
increases. He backs me up into the corner of the pool and
drops my one leg so he can get a better grip on me. My
eyes never break his and as he pulls me in closer so I can
feel him between me.
Shrinkage my ass.
He glides his finger down and thrusts it inside.
My other leg drops as a small moan hisses between my
teeth. He stills. I can see the thoughts in his head swirling
around. As quickly as he started his assault is as quickly
as he stops.
What the hell?
He starts to walk toward the stairs and after a few
feet he looks over his shoulder. “You coming?”
“Well, I was trying to until you stopped,” I snap in
a very annoyed tone.
“Shhhh,” He scolds putting his finger up to his
lips. Amusement alights his eyes.
“What he hell, Dominic? Why did you stop?” I ask
while standing in front of him practically panting.
He leans into my ear, “I want to make you scream
and since your boss is a few feet away, I didn’t think it
was a good idea to fuck you in the pool. As much as that
image pleases me, I don’t want anyone else watching
you.”
I blush at his response and kiss him hard on his
soft lips. While we exit the pool and gather our stuff I feel
Gabe watching me again. It is a good thing Dominic
stopped us. He’s right I don’t want him to see us like
that. It would be silly of me to think others couldn’t see
us.

After a long, sensual bath
Dominic and I lock ourselves
up in my bedroom and order room service before we
watch his favorite movie, “The Boondock Saints”. After
it’s over it is time for me to pick my favorite movie. I
think he will enjoy the irony of my selection.

“Seriously?” He laughs as I order the movie.
“Yes, why? You don’t like this movie?”
“Actually, I have never seen the movie. I did see it

on Broadway and it was good, but the thought of Russell
Brand and Alec Baldwin making out makes me a little
sick.”

“Yeah, but the cute rock stars more than make up
for it.”
“Cute rock stars, huh,” he climbs on top of me and
tickles my sides, making me giggle. “I’ll show you cute
rock stars.”
“Oh good you will! I have never met one,” I laugh
as he tickles me harder. “Okay, okay. I give up. Stop
tickling me. Please.” I laugh, breathlessly, barely able to
get the words out. Dominic stops and stares down at me
with an unknown expression on his face.
“What?”
“You are so beautiful. I just want to freeze this
moment in time.”
He brushes the hair from around my face with his
finger. I can’t help but fall deeper and deeper in love
with him when he looks at me like this. He is the most
amazing person I have ever met in my whole life. The
love I feel for him is unnerving.
“I love you, Dom. You are the first person I have
ever wanted a happily ever after with. I hated every
minute you were away.”
“I love you too, Sweetness. You are
my
happily
ever after. I know the distance is hard but with trust,
we’ll get through it. Besides its not forever.”
“I know, but it feels like forever. I hate not being
with you,” I groan and slam my hands on the bed.
Dominic, still perched over me, looks into my eyes. His
face saddens and he drops his head on my chest. I lift my
arms to run my fingers through his hair. He settles down
on top of me with his head on my stomach. Both of us
just savoring the contact.
“I’m sorry, Emma. I know this can’t be easy for
you. Its not easy for me either,” he sighs, holding on
tighter as if I would disappear if he loosened his grip.
The room is getting sullen with the thoughts of
having to say good-bye again. We still have a few days
and I will spend every waking moment making them
count. We will figure this out. I love him and he loves
me. No matter what happens, we will be together.
“Alright that is enough of this sad shit. Come back
up here and lay next to me so we can watch hot actors
sing 80’s rock music.”
Dominic lifts his head and slides up my body,
kissing me sweetly on my lips before flopping next to me
and holding me tight to his chest. All during the movie
he felt the need to sing and dance around my room. After
the movie was over and we scarfed down a pint of Ben
and Jerry’s, Cherry Garcia ice cream, we lay in each
others arms listening to Dominic’s IPod. The playlist he
created was full of soft ballads starting with Open Arms
by Journey followed by my song, Sweetness.
When my song starts playing, Dominic rolls me
onto my back and strips me of my clothes. He lays soft
kisses all over my body and very slowly and very
sweetly makes love to me. There is no urgency. No strip
teasing. No kinky sex. Just us. Being together, loving
each other. It is a feeling I will never forget as long as I
live.

“Rise and shine beautiful,”
Dominic drawls. His heavy
body straddling my lower half, presses me into the
mattress as he trails light kisses down my throat and
between my breasts.

“Uuuuhhhhh. No, go away.” I try and flip over,
only to have my arms restrained on either side of my
head.

“Baby you have to get up. The reporters are going
to be here in a few hours.”
“What time is it?” I question with my eyes still
closed. I can feel his warm minty breath drifting over my
lips as I speak.
“Nine.”
“Ughhhh. Fine,” I grumble as I open my eyes to
meet his. Dominic slips off me and pulls me from the
mattress, much to my objection. The coolness of the room
snaps my eyes open in realization that I am in fact, very
naked.
“I have to take a shower.” I scurry into the
bathroom to hide, but before I can close the door it is
pushed open. Dominic is the only man I have every
woken up naked with. I am a bit self-conscience for him
to be watching my naked form walking about around the
room.
“So do I, and I am not showering solo. That’s why
I woke you up.” He follows me into the bathroom and
removes his boxers without giving it a second thought. I
mentally slap myself. I mean, it is not as if we haven’t
seen each other naked before. And we have showered
before. But showering together in the bright morning
light is a bit more intimate then sex, if that makes sense.
Everything is on display.
Dominic grabs my hand and leads me into the
large shower before turning on the water and fixing the
temperature. Once the water is warm enough I slip under
the flow and wrap my arms around his waist. I think he
was expecting some hot shower sex but I make it obvious
I am not a morning person. He doesn’t seem to mind
though. In fact, his sweet self seems to take great pride in
soaping me up and massaging my scalp with shampoo
and conditioner.
This is heaven. My heaven. Waking up and
showering, with the man I love more then life itself, is
beyond heaven. But as is my life, it won’t last. He will be
gone in a few more days and I will be back in New York.
All alone. My heaven will turn to hell in the blink of an
eye and there is nothing I can do about it.
“You okay?” Dominic’s voice snaps me out of my
thoughts. I look up and give him a half smile before
nodding and holding him tighter as the water cascades
over our bodies. He doesn’t say anything else. He knows.
From the way he is holding onto me I know he feels it
too.
“It’ll be fine babe. One day at a time. I’m not
leaving yet.”
“I know. I just want to stay right here. Forever.” I
squeeze him tighter so there is not even a water droplet
between us.
“I do too, but I don’t want you all wrinkly. Come
on. Let’s get ready before the guys come looking for us.
They won’t hesitate to barge right in here.” On a laugh, I
release my incredibly handsome man and step out of the
shower to get ready. I know he is not lying about the
guys barging right in.

Since I am technically working, I decide that my
white pencil skirt, white camisole, and a sheer pink,
sleeveless blouse with small, tight, ruffles down the
middle, where the buttons are, is my outfit for the day.
Stockings aren’t necessary so before exiting my room I
slip into my light pink heals and give myself one last
once over.

I join Dominic and Gabe, who are talking and
going over some tour dates. They pause their
conversation when I sit down at the table to eat breakfast.
They’ve both eaten without me. I guess I can’t blame
them for not waiting since I took over an hour to get
ready. Since this is obviously business time I don’t make
any attempt to kiss Dominic or make any excuse for Gabe
to tell me I crossed the line. While I am working I will be
as professional as possible, and not let Mr. Rock God
entice me with his naughty ways. Even though I
desperately want to rip off his shirt and let him bend me
over this table when he looks at me through the tops of
those long black lashes.

“So Emma, I was talking to Dominic and we
decided that since you are handling things for them so
well, you should join them on their journey up the west
coast,” Gabe states, causing me to choke on my coffee.
“You okay?”

I waive him off and cough gently into my napkin
as he pats my back gently. Go with them? Why would he
want me to go with them? Gabe has rode my ass about
being professional, and not a groupie, from day one. And
Now he wants me to hit the road with them. What kind
of shit is he trying to pull?

I look at Dominic who is watching as Gabe and I
interact. His face is cold and expressionless as he is rubs
his thumb and forefinger across his lip, with his elbow
propped up on the table. Dominic knew Gabe was going
to say this? I don’t like them making decisions without
me. As I look between the two men sitting in front of me
I get a nervous feeling in my stomach.

“Once Lost leaves here, they will be hitting a few
big venues starting in Texas, then up the west coast.
When they hit Seattle you can fly back. You will only be
gone about a month or so. This will allow us to get a
better handle on the press, since you will be personally
heading up this project from now on.”

I think my ears are deceiving me. Not only is Gabe
allowing me to go on tour with my boyfriend, he is
handing over this project to me on a silver platter. There
has to be a catch to this. He can’t possibly think that I am
ready to do this. I can’t screw around with the bands
career. This is their big shot at making it. I don’t know
the business well enough to handle this. I am going to
fuck it up.
Maybe that is what Gabe wants? On second though,
maybe that is what my father wants. He has not been too
accepting of my relationship with Dominic. So needless
to say, me screwing up a big promo tour for him, and
him ultimately dumping my ass is probably just what he
wants. The thought of that infuriates me.

“Dominic can you please excuse us for a minute,”
I ask my very displeased boyfriend. Dominic reluctantly
pulls himself away from the table with the excuse; he
needs to make a call in my bedroom. “Mr. Hernandez
why are you doing this. Don’t get me wrong, I am
grateful, but why all of a sudden do you feel confident
that I can handle this.”

Gabe just looks at me for a few seconds
contemplating what he wants to say to me. Whatever he
is mulling over his head clearly bothers him and causes
him to look at the ceiling so he doesn’t have to look me in
the eye. After a few long seconds he takes a deep breath
and pulls his eyes back to mine.

“Emma, you can do this,” Gabe tells me as he
grabs my hand on the table, sending my nerve endings
on a race to my groin. This feels very wrong. His hand on
mine shouldn’t do things like this to me. Especially with
Dominic in the next room.

“You are a smart, driven, and confident woman. I
have seen what you can do and I am impressed by your
drive.” There is something in the way Gabe speaks about
me, that evokes confidence. I gaze down at his hand
holding mine but he doesn’t pull back. He has way more
certainty about my abilities than I do.

“You really think I am ready for this?”
“Yes. I wouldn’t give you this opportunity
otherwise. You will be with them for four weeks and
during that time you can get the hands on experience
that very few people in your position get to have. I will
still expect you to conduct yourself appropriately. Living
this type of lifestyle can get a bit out of hand at times.
The minute I think you can’t handle it I will pull you. Do
you understand?”
“Yes I do. Thank you Mr. Hernandez. I will do my
absolute best I swear.” I throw my arms around Gabe’s
neck, giving him a big hug.
He stiffens and turns his face into my hair, I can
feel his breath on my neck as he inhales deeply. Gabe is
sitting at a weird angle so all he can do is pat my back
awkwardly in response As soon as his hand touches my
back I feel a tingle run though me and I shudder. He
clears his throat and I stand up while apologizing for
losing my head for the moment and retreat back to my
room to discuss this mater with my new roommate.
I am thrilled that I will be able to spend more time
with Dominic. But he didn’t seem to share my
enthusiasm when he left the room. When I open my
door, he is sitting on the edge of my bed with a huge grin
on his face.
I launch myself at him, forcing him to fall back.
“So I guess this means I have to share my bed with you,”
he says as I kiss him all over his face.
“No. You can always sleep in in one of the
foxholes with one of the other guys if you prefer.”
“Uh, no.” Dominic sits up and looks at me
seriously. “I am just as excited as you are, don’t get me
wrong, but you have to be prepared for what is about to
happen. Life on the road is not for the faint at heart. The
guys will bring girls back to the bus with them and the
parties get a little intense sometimes. You have to stay
close to me and not get caught up in all the nonsense.
And you have to trust me.”
“I do. I trust you,” I exhaled out harshly. “You act
like there will be 24/7 orgies or something.”
“If Rocco had his way, there would be. All I am
saying is that there are girls all over the place and the
guys will bring some of them back. It will be
uncomfortably with you there as it is, so you will have to
chill out and not cause drama.”
“If you don’t want me to be there, then I will just
tell Gabe no,” I say in an annoyed tone. I climb off him
and stand next to the bed with my hands on my hips and
my head down.
Gabe is giving me exactly what I want, what I
thought we both wanted; more time together, and he
doesn’t want me there. Dominic is acting like I am going
to be a bother to him and cramp his style or something. If
he has nothing to hide then I don’t see what the big deal
is.
“Baby, its not that I don’t want you there. I just
need to prepare you for being on a bus with 4 men. The
guys like to party and they are not shy about it. They are
my friends. I have to attend some of these after parties. I
just don’t want some chick to approach me and have you
punch her in the face or something. I also don’t want
some asshole trying to touch you because I
will
lose it.
We have only ever been together with not many outside
influences. That’s going to change now. There are going
to be people everywhere.”
I know his warning is for my own good but I
expect him to be a little more optimistic about me. He is
basically telling me not to throw punches at all the
whores who will be throwing themselves at him. The rest
of the band can do as they please but regardless of his
warning, if some bitch crosses the line, I will make sure
to drag her back over it.
“I get it. I get it,” I hold my hands up in defeat. “I
just won’t go with you guys. I understand that us going
from being apart, then being thrown together round the
clock for the next four weeks is intense for you. I am sure
I can get a hotel room and fly from city to city. Having a
girl around will be weird for them, and you.”
Tears are starting to burn the back of my eyes. I
am trying to be level headed about this but my emotions
are not cooperating. It is not fair to the guys to have to
have me tag along. This is their dream, and they should
be able to live it, without having to worry about me
being around.
“Emma, stop.” Dominic stands and cups my face
in his hands. “That’s not what I want. I am not
discouraging from coming. I am just preparing you for
what life on the road is. I need to know you can handle
this. Can you handle this?”
Can I? Can I handle woman pawing all over my
boyfriend? Can I handle random sluts parading around
me? Can I handle the parties and the crowds? God, I
hope so.
“I guess we’ll find out.” It’s the only assurance I
have. Honestly I have no idea if I can handle this, but I
am willing to try if it means spending more time with
him and proving to my father that I can handle this kind
of relationship.
“Good enough. If it gets too much you’ll tell me?”
“Okay. I-“ I feel my phone vibrate in my hand. I
hold up a finger indicating I am taking the call, without
looking at the screen to see who it is.
“Hello.”
“Hello, beautiful. How are you this morning?
Have you showered yet?”
Since Dominic is so close to me and since Max is
loud he can hear every word the male voice just said. I
roll my eyes and mouth Max’s name to him. That doesn’t
ease any of the tension in Dominic face. It looks like he
just ate something sour. I guess this will be our first
lesson in trust.
“I don’t know what your fixation is with me and
my shower, but yes I did. What’s up?”
“Oh nothing just thought I would let you know
that you are now friends with the newest rookie for the
Texas Rangers.”
“Oh my god! Shut up! Max, that is fantastic.
Congratulations.”
“Thanks. I just got the call last night. I called
Wanda’s parents right after and they were already
shouting down to the floor below to let the neighbors
know. The way the gossip flows around the
neighborhood I am sure the entire state of New Jersey
knows by now. I wanted to call you and tell you
personally before you kick my ass for finding out second
hand.”
“Good plan. When do you leave for spring
training?”
“February. Spring training is in Arizona. I talked
to Mark and he doesn’t want another roommate so I am
going to keep my stuff there for now and stay at the
apartment when I’m back. We have been hanging out a
lot and I have to admit, I really like him. He is a cool kid,
but-” I hear the excitement in his voice change to anxiety.
What ever he is about to tell me I am not going to like.
“Ummm, Emm I have to tell you something. Glen has
been sniffing around him lately.”
I look back at Dominic who is pretending to look
at something on his phone but I know damn well he is
listening to every word I am saying. I have to be very
careful how I word this conversation and what he hears
from Max. I need to get some distance between us so he
can’t hear everything we are talking about. I walk to the
other side of the room and pretend to look out the
window. I can feel his eyes boring into the back of my
head and I know he is hanging on my every word. I take
a few steps further away and turn my back to him,
noting his long drawn out sigh as I do.
“What do you mean sniffing around?”
“He is asking Mark about you and Dominic. He
heard you guys were dating from some girl he knows.
They stopped by our apartment one night, unannounced.
Emm, I was honestly worried about her. She kept looking
at the floor, she seamed scared. Mark told him he doesn’t
know anything and Glen just got angry and left.”
“Shit. Do you know her name?”
“Jessie, Jamie, something-“
“Julie? Was it Julie?” I shout. Dominic is on high
alert now standing right next to me, leaning toward the
phone.
“Yea, that was it. Julie. Poor girl. When they left
Glen was so angry. I saw him grab her by the arm and
force her into the car when she refused to leave with him.
Mark and I watched from the window, Mark looked
confused. As if he was looking at a different person. Like
he never saw that side of Glen before.”
“Because he probably hasn’t. Look, just keep an
eye on Mark until I get back. I will be away for about
four more weeks but I need you to make sure Glen
doesn’t get anywhere near Mark. If he thinks Mark is
keeping something from him, he will snap. I can’t have
another person get hurt because of me.”
“Emma, it is not because of you. You didn’t do
anything wrong.” But I did. I went against him and
continued to see Dominic even though he threatened me.
Now Julie is paying for it. I can’t let that happen.
“Look, Max I have to go. I’ll call you later,” I force
out before hanging up. I know I can’t have this
conversation the way I need to right now. I need to find
Justin and warn him. He has his own motivation for
wanting Glen dealt with. Simply telling him the info I
have should be enough to protect his sister.
I turn toward the door to find a very worried and
irritated Dominic standing directly behind me. He has no
idea what Glen is capable of and I am not ready to tell
him the whole truth just yet. None of this will make
sense to him but I have to make sure Glen doesn’t hurt
anyone. He is even more unpredictable when he is on a
mission.
“Dom, what room is Justin in?” I ask as calmly as I
can.
“211. Why? Emma what the hell is going on?”
“Just come with me. I don’t want to say this
twice,” I tell him as I grab his hand and try to pull him
toward the door.
“No. Tell me first. We have a big interview in two
hours and I don’t want him all pissed off or MIA. Tell me
what happened and I will talk to him after the
interview.” Dominic’s right. There was no sense in
spoiling this interview because of Glen. We have work to
do and this will just have to wait.
I explain to Dominic what Max told me about
Glen and Julie. I try in vein to explain how dangerous
Glen is but he just keeps insisting there must be some
sort of mistake. He honestly can’t be this dense.
“Why would he do that? Why would he care if we
are dating?”
“Because he is a sick bastard who gets off on
making my life miserable.”
“Emma, aren’t you being a little melodramatic.
Before we were all together back stage in New York, I
didn’t even know who he was to you. He never really
mentioned you to me. I doubt he cares as much as you
think. He always just said that he didn’t get along with
his step-sister. He said you always acted like you were
too good for his family. Hell, I don’t think he ever told
me your real name. Just called you, Princess when he
talked about you, which wasn’t very often.”
Panic. Panic. Hearing those words falling out of
Dominic’s mouth is making my head spin.. He can’t call
me Princess. He can never call me that. I don’t know why
he constantly sticks up for Glen. If he knew what he did
do me he wouldn’t think so kindly of him. My heart is
beating out of my chest; sweat is forming on my
forehead. Holy hell, I am going to pass out
“Baby, are you okay. You just got really pale,” he
examines as he steps closer, putting the back of his hand
on my forehead, checking for a fever. I snap my head
back causing his hand to fall away from me.
“Yes. I am fine,” I lie. “Don’t ever call me that. Do
you hear me? Never,” I pant in low slow breaths while
pacing the room, trying to calm down. I must look like a
crazed loon, running my hands through my hair tugging
at the roots.
“Fine. I won’t. Just tell me what’s wrong. What is
going on with you and Glen?”
“I can’t tell you that. All I am saying is Glen is
dangerous. I know you don’t believe me, but he is. He
never spoke about me to you because he was trying to
keep us apart. Whenever anything good happens to me,
he destroys it. You just need to trust me. I will handle
him, but if he asks about us you don’t tell him anything.
Do you understand?” My shaky voice is giving away my
worry and I can’t control the panic that has to be written
all over my face.
“Ok, I get it. It’s fine, baby. We don’t have to talk
about it now.” His voice is the calming salve on my
wounded existence; his embrace the right amount of
soothing and comfort I need at this very moment.
“Better now?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“Good. I don’t like seeing you so upset, Emma.”
He pulls back, studying my face with apprehension.
I throw him the fakest smile I can muster up and
although he is weary, he buys it. “I’m fine, really. Why
don’t you go make sure the others are getting ready?”
“Okay. You sure you’re alright?”
“I’m fine. Go.” He places a lingering kiss on my
lips and reluctantly pulls away when his phone beeping,
indicating he has a text message.
When Dominic closes the door behind him, I sit on
my bed and think about everything that has just
happened. I am going to be living on a tour bus, with
guys I barely know, while my deranged step-brother is
out there slapping around innocent girls because he can’t
get the goods on me.
I rush off into the bathroom and throw up what
little breakfast I managed to eat, before I was blindsided
into going on tour with the band. What am I going to do?
I can’t tell Dominic what my relationship with Glen is.
He will think I am disgusting. He’ll never want to be
with me after he finds out.
Whatever Glen does, Dominic always sticks up for
him. No mater what it is, he always puts Glen in a
positive light. Maybe if I tell Dominic the truth he will
see how fucked up Glen is. But would he even believe
me? That thought make me even more nauseous. If Glen
could put doubt in Max’s mind, than I am sure he can do
it to Dominic.
No, I can’t tell him. He can never know what
happened between Glen and me. I will do everything in
my power to make sure Dominic doesn’t find out.
I freshen up, and twenty minutes later I am in the
living room, preparing the band for their interview.
During the actual interview I notice Justin is not his usual
perky self. He is a withdrawn and only answering
questions that are directed toward him. He looks like he
didn’t sleep well and he has a lot on his mind. Our eyes
lock a few times. I give him a kind smile but he just
furrows his brow and looks away.