The Sacrificial Lamb (28 page)

There was a break in the trees ahead, and she heard the muffled noise of water striking sand. They stepped out into a small cove. The moonlight bleached the sand white, the water black in contrast. Domenic let go of her hand and stripped off his shirt like only a man could, reaching back to grab the fabric between his shoulder blades and pulling it over his head. He dropped it at his feet, and his hands moved to the waistband of his shorts.

“What are you doing?” Alex asked, simultaneously shocked and excited.

“Going swimming,” he replied, smirking devilishly. He kicked off his shoes and removed the shorts. She glanced away, blushing furiously, and Domenic laughed at her. “It’s nothing you haven’t seen before, Alex,” he teased, and she noticed he was still wearing his briefs. “Are you coming?”

Alex watched him pad toward the water, thoroughly enjoying the view. Domenic’s shoulders were broad, leading to arms that were corded with muscle. His back was wide and defined, drawing down into a trim waist, a tight, high backside, and long legs. Domenic stepped into the water, and soon he was up to his waist. He cupped water into his hands and splashed his chest and face. Once he was done, he dove in head first.

Here goes nothing
, she thought giddily. Alex kicked off her shoes and then stripped off her shirt and shorts. She stood as straight and proud as she could, considering the circumstances.
It’s no different than wearing a bathing suit
, she told herself. Domenic’s head broke the surface as she neared the lake. He was treading water, and she could feel his gaze as she made her way in. The water was still on the brisk side since the weather hadn’t been hot long enough to heat it up, but it felt so good on her feverish skin that she kept going. Like Domenic, she stopped when the water reached mid-thigh and began splashing handfuls of the cool liquid over her body.

Domenic just watched without saying a word. He stayed where he was and made no move toward her. Once she got used to the water a little, she plugged her nose and went headfirst into it.

“Oh my God! That’s so cold!” she squealed when she came back up. Domenic chuckled at her as she splashed about.

“It feels that way because you’re so hot,” his voice was soft, full of double entendre.

Alex bounced on the balls of her feet in the water, not daring to go deeper than her shoulders. She kind of knew how to swim but just an awkward, undignified doggie paddle. Domenic noticed she hadn’t ventured deeper, so he took a few long strokes and swam up to where she was.

“Are you okay?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Cold?”

“Little bit.”

“If you swim around, you’ll start to warm up again.” Domenic did a couple of laps around where she stood to prove his point.

“Um…I’m not that great of a swimmer.”

“Really?” Domenic asked, cocking his head to the side.

“Yep, really,” she said, shrugging. “My dad made me take swimming lessons when I was a kid though, just so I wouldn’t drown.”

“Can you float?”

“Yeah,” she snorted. “I’m not
that
inept!”

Domenic grinned at her and closed the distance between them.

“Trust me?” he asked, as he drifted behind her.

“Sure,” she said, glancing over her shoulder at him. Domenic came closer until their bodies were flush with one another. She felt his hands glide over her hips and circle her waist. He lifted her up using the buoyancy of the water and started moving further into the lake. Alex’s back was against his chest, and her legs trailed out in front of her. Once the water reached his shoulders, he pushed off with the balls of his feet and both of them were floating.

“Relax,” Domenic whispered in her ear.

Her body had tensed up, and it took a bit of effort, but she loosened her posture. Alex let her arms float out at her sides and drift in the water. Domenic let go of her waist and intertwined their fingers. She could feel him under her, her weight supported on his body as they drifted further out. Overhead the star-spangled sky spread out as the water lapped gently at their bodies.

Time seemed to slow, as if they were the only two living beings in the whole world. If Alex could freeze a moment in time, this would be it. She felt safe and content, a vast improvement over the way she’d been feeling scant hours before. Something had happened to change Domenic’s demeanor toward her, but she wasn’t about to question it. She just hoped that he remained like this for the rest of their time together.

She realized, sadly, that time was coming to an end sooner than she wanted. Alex had no idea what would happen to Domenic after he delivered her to her father. He couldn’t return to his life from before—most likely he’d be killed on sight. Her stomach plummeted at the thought. Wistfully, she thought that perhaps they could run away together. Somewhere far away, where the Liseni could never find them.

That thought made her smile for a moment, and then she felt a stab of guilt. Alex started to think about her father and Shane. If that happened, she would never see her father again. Likely they would assume she was dead, but neither would stop searching for her until they knew the truth. And what about Shane? It would break his heart if she just disappeared.

It’d break his heart if he saw you now
, a sly voice whispered. Alex jerked and slid off of Domenic into the water. The movement took him by surprise, and he lost his grip as her head went under. She panicked and tried to breathe, causing a rush of cold water to flood her mouth and burn her sinus cavities. Flailing around, it was impossible to tell which way was up.

A pair of strong arms wrapped around her rib cage and heaved her to the surface. When her head broke free of the water, she began to cough and splutter, taking deep gulps of air. Domenic kept her held to him tightly.

“Are you okay?” he asked in a worried voice.

Alex nodded her head, still coughing too hard to answer.

“I’m sorry, Alex. I shouldn’t have brought you out so deep.”

She shook her head to let him know it wasn’t his fault. Domenic swam backward, towing her along with him. She paddled her feet to help keep afloat as she caught her breath.

By the time they reached the shallower water, she had more or less stopped coughing. Domenic stood and carried her so that she was cradled her against his chest. Her arms crept around Domenic’s neck, and she placed her head on his shoulder. For a moment that searing guilt came back, but Alex pushed it away. She didn’t want to think of Shane right now.

Domenic walked out of the water, still carrying her in his arms as if she was some precious thing, and she did feel precious right then. Alex imagined that Domenic felt the same way about her as she did about him. What that feeling was, she still wasn’t quite sure, but it was getting stronger as days passed. Sometimes it seemed like Domenic reciprocated the feelings, but today he’d told her they were no good for one another. If he felt anything for her, would that have mattered?

Heading to a small outcropping of rocks, Domenic set her down and then walked to where their clothes were piled. He slipped on his shorts, but slung his shirt in the waistband after he used it to wipe the excess water off his chest and back. He gathered her clothes and shoes and brought them over. After handing her shirt and shorts to her, Domenic knelt by her feet and slipped on her shoes. His sleek, wet head was bent, and the moonlight glistened off his upper body. Alex felt his hands linger and caress her calves for a moment. When he glanced up, a tingle ran from the top of her head all the way down her body.

Her breathing quickened, and that heaviness in the air that came whenever she was this close to Domenic returned. It was charged full of energy. Alex tried not to seem too disappointed when he looked back down and then stood up, turning from her. He had promised her he would stop pushing her away. Nothing more. The problem was she
wanted
more.

She slipped her feet into the shorts and got up, shimmying them over her hips. From her peripheral vision, she could see Domenic watching her. All was fair in love and war. The tank top went back on, knotted tightly under her breasts. He followed her movements like a cat might watch a bird. She twisted her hair in a long tail to squeeze the excess water from it. Then she fluffed it out down her back, pushing her breasts out as her arms reached up and behind. Domenic swallowed heavily, and Alex tried not to smile.

“Ready to go?”

“I guess,” she sighed and looked back toward the water. Perhaps they could come back again if the weather stayed hot.

Once again they walked in silence back to the cabin. She wanted to take Domenic’s hand like before, but he kept them by his sides. It didn’t take long to break through the trees and onto the long grass that surrounded the cabin. They made their way around to the front, and Domenic unlocked the door. He gestured for her to go first then turned to enable the alarm for the night.

Alex went to her room first to discard her clothes and wet undergarments. It hadn’t occurred to her that she’d gotten her one bra sopping wet. She pulled on a loose-fitting shirt and found the feeling of the cotton against her naked flesh oddly exhilarating. Grabbing a pair of shorts, she pulled them on and headed out into the main room. Domenic was already seated on the couch, in fresh clothing.

Walking into the washroom, she grabbed the hairbrush and went back into the living room. She pulled her hair to one side and made a face as she tried to run the brush through the knots. The water from the lake had made the tangles worse than usual. Alex sat on the edge of the couch, yanking and cursing under her breath.

“Here, let me do that.”

She glanced at Domenic in surprise. He held his hand out for the brush.

“You want to brush my hair?” she asked, smiling.

He just smirked and nodded.

“Okay.”

She shrugged and handed over the hairbrush. Domenic turned so his back was against the arm of the couch. He kept one foot on the floor, leg bent at the knee, and stretched the other one against the back of the couch. Looking at her, he patted the spot between his legs.

Alex plopped down in front of him, sitting Indian style. Domenic reached in front of her and swept all of her hair away from her face so it was hanging down her back. He took a section of hair and with a gentle hand started working the knots out from the tips. He hummed to himself as he worked, and she tried not to purr as his fingers brushed her temples, ears, and occasionally her neck. Domenic had a soft, sure touch, and he worked out all the tangles with no pain to her at all. She felt a small pang of jealousy, wondering which of his many women he had learned this technique on.

“How do you know how to brush a woman’s hair?” she asked, curiosity getting the better of her while hoping she didn’t regret the question.

“I used to brush Bianca’s hair all the time,” he murmured. “She had beautiful black hair all the way down her back when she was young. It was too difficult for her to brush, so I would do it if our mother was too busy.”

“Oh,” Alex said, happy at the answer and touched to learn a little bit about his relationship with his sister.

“Then, when she was about sixteen, she chopped it all off,” he said in a chagrined voice.

“Is it still like that?”

“I don’t know.”

Alex heard the curtness in his voice and remembered, talking about Bianca was expressly forbidden. A promise had been made not to push him, and she planned to keep it. Domenic’s hands had faltered while speaking of his sister, but now they resumed their fluid movements. He had worked out all the knots and now was running the brush in smooth strokes from her crown all the way down. She would shiver in delight when he stroked a certain area on her back.

“Why do you do that?” Domenic asked in an amused voice.

“It kind of tickles. I don’t know how to explain it. I have sensitive spots on my back, and when you touch them it makes me shiver.”

“Hmm…interesting.” Domenic swiped her hair away from her back and ran his fingers lightly down her spine.

“No! Stop!” She wriggled frantically.

Domenic chuckled behind her. His hands explored her back, and he sucked in a quick breath, perhaps because he realized she was wearing nothing under her shirt. Every once in a while, he hit one of those sensitive spots, and her skin broke out in gooseflesh. Alex’s nipples hardened and drew up, rubbing against the front of her shirt. She bit her lip to keep from moaning.

Domenic had stopped trying to tickle her, but he was still stroking her back. He traced his thumbs along the column of muscle on either side of her spine and brought them up over her shoulders. The sensations sent little shock waves down her body, and she could feel a distinct throbbing between her legs. Domenic’s breathing quickened as he continued to touch her.

She wanted to turn in his arms and kiss him, and was relatively sure he wanted that too, but she couldn’t summon the courage to do it. His words from earlier stopped her. He didn’t think they should be together—he thought it was wrong. Alex was certain he wanted her, but she was afraid that if she tried too hard, he would push her away again. It was incredibly frustrating to be so close to him, wanting him the way she did, but impotent to do anything about it.