by C. L. Parker
Dominic lifted his head from the steering wheel and raked his fingers through his hair. He tilted his head toward the roof of the car, as if he was seeing straight through it and into the heavens.
“I’m trying not to disappoint you, Availia. I really am. But, I didn’t know it would be this hard,” he said barely above a whisper, hoping she could somehow hear him. When he got no response – not that he really expected one – he reached into his glove box and pulled a crinkled envelope out. He got out of the car and stuffed it in his back pocket before he headed toward the house again, resigned to do his best to fulfill his promise. No matter what.
Inside he found Gabe waiting for him at the top of the stairs.
“She’s ready for you now,” he said.
For just a split second, Dominic allowed himself to think of how excited those words would make him if they had been under different circumstances. But then was neither the time, nor the place, for such thoughts. So he pushed them back and climbed the stairs, taking them two at a time.
Gabe moved out of his way and let Dominic go into the bathroom without him. Once inside, he came to an abrupt halt. The lid was down on the toilet, and Kerrigan was perched on the seat. She was wearing a thin, white wife beater – sans bra – and a tiny pair of boy short underwear. Her hair was thrown up into a messy pony tail with locks falling loosely around her neck.
“I actually feel much better now. I can walk back to my room myself, but Gabe wouldn’t let me,” Kerrigan said as she stood.
“You do look more like yourself, but I’d feel better if you didn’t overdo it and let me carry you.”
Kerrigan sat back down with a sigh. “Fine.”
Dominic went over and picked her up, cradling her against his chest as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Walking with her to her bedroom, Kerrigan absently played with the fine hairs at the back of his neck, causing him to shiver in response. She hadn’t missed his involuntary reaction. With a mischievous smile on her face, she decided to take full advantage of her position and continued to toy with him.
“Like I said, a tease,” Dominic said just loud enough for Kerrigan to hear.
“I’m sorry, is that bothering you, Dominic?” Kerrigan asked, trying to sound innocent while she stifled a giggle.
“Just remember; payback’s a bitch.” He responded by sweeping his thumb over her breast, narrowly missing the hardened peak that resided just beneath the thin material.
Kerrigan gasped, causing Dominic to chuckle at her response. She swatted at his shoulder.
“Not funny.”
Gabe was already in her room and had turned the bed down while he awaited her arrival. Dominic laid her down while Gabe pulled the covers up and tucked her in.
“Okay then,” Dominic said with a single clap of his hands. “Nighty-night.”
He turned and started out the door.
“Wait!” Kerrigan stopped him from leaving.
Dominic looked down at his watch. He had about fifteen minutes before ghost time, but he turned to see what she wanted anyway.
“Gabe, can you give us a sec?”
“I sure as hell hope it takes more than a second, girlfriend,” he said before walking out.
“What’s up?” Dominic asked, stealing another glance at his watch.
“Can you stay with me?”
Dominic would give her anything within his power, but that request just simply wasn’t possible.
“I would if I could, but I…well, you know, I have that thing I needed to do and all, and I’m already late.”
“Oh, right, the date.” The disappointment was evident in her voice, and she rolled onto her side to avoid looking at him.
Dominic hated the sound in her voice, and he hated even more that he had to let her believe the lie. He walked over to her and bent down, kissing her on the head.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“It’s fine. Just go,” she said, waving him off.
Her voice was muffled by her arm, and she refused to look at him. Dominic knew he couldn’t give her what she was asking, but he also couldn’t leave it like that either. He squatted down beside her and lifted her chin with a long finger until she looked at him. Without a word, he kissed her barely responsive lips with as much passion as she would allow. The kiss was an apology, but he knew only the truth would make her feel better. He should have never let things go so far between the two of them, shouldn’t have led her to believe there could ever be something more between them. It was his fault, and he had no idea how he was going to fix it. The kiss ended almost as quickly as it began, and, without a word further, Dominic left with Kerrigan staring after him.
After his transformation to ghost boy, he wandered back down to Kerrigan’s room. He had to check on her to see if she was okay. The good thing about his current state was that he could see the truth without Kerrigan feeling like she had to conceal her true feelings from him.
Outside her door, he could hear the quiet murmurings of Kerrigan and Gabe’s voices. The floorboard creaked under his feet, and he halted his movements. Kerrigan stopped talking mid-sentence and shushed Gabe so that she could listen for the sound again.
When no further sound could be heard, Kerrigan dismissed it as the house settling and went back to talking. Dominic closed his eyes and passed through the door because it was just too freaky for him to do it with his eyes open.
Gabe was lying in bed with her. Dominic was glad that at least someone could be there for her when he couldn’t. He moved to the corner of the room and listened as Kerrigan told her best friend everything about what she thought was a dream of her grandmother. Gabe was rubbing Kerrigan’s back, listening in complete silence, just taking it all in.
“That’s some shit, Kerr. I can’t believe you were keeping all that from me,” Gabe said when she finished. He shivered visibly and pulled the covers up to his chin. “Does it feel cold in here to you?”
“A little.” Kerrigan snuggled closer to him for warmth. “You believe me, don’t you? You don’t think I’m crazy?”
“Oh, the story is definitely crazy, but even you don’t have enough imagination to make all that up. I just can’t believe you told Dom Juan about it before me.”
“What? I didn’t tell Dominic anything.”
“He’s the one who told me to ask you about it, so I’m pretty sure you must have said something to him. It doesn’t really matter,” Gabe said dismissively. “So, let’s review. You’ve got some sort of freaky ability, and you’re supposed to use it to protect Dominic from something, and he’s protecting you. I get that part, but what’s really going on between you two? Because there’s sparks just flying all over the damn place when you’re in the same room, and I’m not talking about sparkler sparks either. More like big Fourth of July, blow it out your ass kind of fireworks and shit.”
“Um, he kissed me.” Kerrigan bit her bottom lip at her admission.
“You shut your dirty whorish mouth!” Gabe gasped and hit her with one of the throw pillows. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me! What was it like? ‘Cause that man’s lips look like they can make you ‘O’ on command.”
Kerrigan laughed at him. Dominic couldn’t help but smile at the sound. “Oh my gosh, kissing him was,” she started, getting that far away dreamy look in her eyes. “It was like…”
Of course it was that exact moment that Dominic decided to take a seat in the old chair, but he wasn’t paying attention, and caused it to slide across the floor a little. Kerrigan stopped talking and both she and Gabe sat up, their heads snapping in the direction of the chair at the same time.
“What was that?” Kerrigan asked in a rush.
“I don’t know. The house settling?”
“Maybe, if the house settling makes a chair move across the floor.” Kerrigan nodded toward the chair in the corner, noting its new position.
“You’re thinking it might be Grammy again. Aren’t you?” Gabe asked, watching Kerrigan’s expression.
> “No. She said she wouldn’t come to me like that again.” Kerrigan backed up in the bed until her back was touching Gabe’s chest.
“Oh God, you don’t think it’s that ghost from the lighthouse, do you?” Gabe asked.
“I sure as hell hope not.”
Dominic mentally berated himself, both for scaring them and because his negligence had kept him from hearing Kerrigan’s thoughts on his kiss. He was so upset with himself that he jumped up and sped out of the room and back to his own. In his rush, he didn’t take care to not make any more noise, and the force of his movements caused his door to slam behind him.
Kerrigan and Gabe jumped at the sound of a door slamming shut in the hall and held onto each other, neither one brave enough to go check it out.
“We should go get Dominic.” Gabe’s voice was shaking from fear.
Kerrigan shook her head and huddled closer. “He left. Had a hot date that he just couldn’t tear himself away from.”
“Well, I’m scared. What are we going to do?”
“You’re a man, go check it out,” Kerrigan said, nudging Gabe to get out of the bed.
Gabe narrowed his eyes at her. “Say that again, bitch, and I’ll put my fist in your mouth. I’m about as much of a man as you are, and you know it. Besides, your legs are hairier. When was the last time you shaved, Jungle Jane?”
Kerrigan gave him the evil eye. “Okay look, we’re just going to stay right here until Dominic gets home.”
Gabe nodded. “I just hope boyfriend’s only interested in a quickie tonight instead of the full Monty.”
The thought of Dominic holding some other woman in those strong arms, pleasuring her in ways that only a man could slammed into Kerrigan like an iceberg, and she felt her heart sink. She had no right to think he would ever think about her like that. He was there to fulfill a promise he made to her grandmother, nothing more.
Kerrigan woke the next morning, still sitting up in bed with her back to Gabe’s chest. Judging by the position of the sun on the horizon, it was still very early. Gabe’s head was resting on the headboard and he didn’t look at all comfortable, but he was sleeping. She couldn’t recall when they had actually fallen asleep, but she knew it hadn’t been that long before, and she knew that Dominic hadn’t shown up.
She pulled the covers and pillows off and slipped out of the bed, careful not to disturb Gabe. Then she tiptoed out of her bedroom and down the hall to the door that led upstairs to Dominic’s room. She knocked three times. When she didn’t get an answer, she opened the door and tiptoed up the stairs, hoping she wasn’t going to walk in on him in bed with some skank.
She was grateful when she found him alone and fast asleep in his bed. The sheet was covering his bottom half, but his naked chest was exposed. She took a moment to appreciate how innocent he looked in his sleep. His lips puckered slightly, his brow relaxed, and his muscles, although still impressive, were not so tense. She could see hints of Nicky there, and it made her smile fondly.
Kerrigan managed to tear her eyes away and looked around the room, noticing how very different it looked from her old play room. It was definitely more masculine and all Dominic. His stereo was turned down low, but still playing his rock music, which she considered to be thoughtful. Obviously he hadn’t wanted to wake her and Gabe. But then she found the old acoustic guitar that was propped against it. She reached over and strummed her fingers over the strings, just barely enough to make a sound.
Dominic stirred in his sleep, and Kerrigan jerked away from the instrument to leave before she got caught in his room. He probably wouldn’t appreciate the fact that she was in his room, let alone touching something that seemed to be so personal to him. She recognized the guitar as the one that belonged to her grandfather, which further solidified the relationship she suspected he had with her grandmother. They had to have been close for her to offer something so meaningful to him. The thought actually made her happy.
“Where are you going?” She heard his sleepy voice from behind her as she started down the stairs.
Kerrigan turned around to face him, embarrassed that she was caught. “I was just seeing if you were awake.”
Dominic watched her face, noting the slight puffiness to her eyes and the darkness beneath them. She hadn’t slept much, thanks to him, and after everything she had been through the night before at the lighthouse, she needed the sleep.
“Come here.” He held his hand out to her to get her to join him in the bed.
She crossed the room to where he was and took his hand. Dominic pulled her down to him, forcing her to sit on the bed.
“You look tired,” he said, stroking the dark ring under her eye. “You need rest.”
He moved over in the bed and patted the space beside him, motioning for her to lie down next to him. Kerrigan knew she shouldn’t have gone to his room, and most certainly shouldn’t be lying in his bed, but she was tired. And, she really just wanted him to hold her and make her feel protected again.
She lay down and snuggled into his pillow, drowning in the enticing manly aroma that was concentrated there. Dominic draped his right arm over her waist and pulled her back to his chest.
“Is this okay?”
“It’s more than okay. It feels really nice.” Kerrigan yawned as she pulled his hand up to her chest.
She began playing with his fingers, tracing lines in his palm. In short, driving him insane even though what she was doing was relatively innocent. There was just something so seductive about the way she touched him.
Kerrigan’s fingers trailed down to his wrist where she played with the beads of the bracelet, spinning it around and around his wrist, and then she stopped short. She pushed the bracelet up a bit and let her fingers run over the tattoo there.
“How do you say this?”
“Corazón de Hierro,” he pronounced in a husky voice, his cold breath washing over the back of her neck.
Kerrigan closed her eyes and tried to regain her composure. “Translation?”
“Iron Heart,” he said and placed a light kiss to the sensitive skin at the back of her neck.
She didn’t want to pry and ask him what it meant to him. She had already invaded his room and his bed, so enough of his privacy had already been violated. But she noted the sadness in his voice and wanted to offer him some comfort. Maintaining as much composure as she could, she lifted his wrist to her mouth and pressed her lips to his tattoo. Dominic let out a gush of air and moaned a little as he pulled her closer into his embrace. She could feel his hardness pressed against her and decided she might as well live up to the title of cock tease he had bestowed upon her. She feigned a stretch, arching her back and pushing her ass back into him.
Dominic’s body went stiff. He growled at her before placing a hand on her hip to still her movements.
“Sleep, Kerrigan. Too many more moves like that and I can’t be held responsible for my actions,” he said and eased away from her.
Kerrigan giggled in response, but pulled his arm closer to her chest so that he was wrapped tightly around her. It didn’t take long for his smell, his soft caresses, his steady breathing, and the gentle beat of his heartbeat against her back to lull her off to sleep.
Kerrigan and Dominic were startled awake a short time later by an incessant banging on his bedroom door. Whoever it was, they weren’t intent on waiting for Dominic to answer. The door flew open and heavy stomps echoed up the steps ahead of the creator.
Gabe appeared at the top and pushed one hip out with a balled up fist resting on it, while he waved a finger on the other hand in the air in sync with his head. “Oh no you didn’t come up here to get your freak on and leave me down there all by my damn self with Casper.”
“Ugh, Gabe!” Kerrigan said, covering her head with a pillow. “Nobody was getting their freak on.”
“Well, why the hell not?” he asked, throwing his hands up into the air and letting them slap back down on his thighs. “At least then my death wouldn’t have been for nothing.
”
“You’re not dead, bitch,” Kerrigan mumbled and sat up on the side of the bed. “Sorry, Dom. We’ll just get out of your way.”
As she stood, Dominic pulled her back down. “You still need to rest,” he said in a raspy voice.
His concern for her knew no limits, and she reached her hand out to run them through his messy bed head. “I feel fine.”
“Yes, you do, which is exactly why I don’t want you to leave my bed.” He bit down on his bottom lip seductively as his fingertips made slow passes over her forearm.
“Mm, damn, boy.” Kerrigan turned to see Gabe massaging his chest. “I think the temperature just shot up like ten degrees in my shorts. Something else did, too. Wanna’ see?”
Dominic’s eyes went wide. Kerrigan busted out laughing, leaning over to plant a chaste kiss to his cheek. Then she got out of the bed and followed a giggling Gabe to the stairs.
“Querida?” When she turned to face him, all traces of the playfulness was gone. “We need to talk later. There are some things you need to know.”
She gave him a simple nod and a smile and proceeded down the stairs, leaving him alone.
By the time Dominic took a shower and dressed for the day, Sydney and Olivia had already stopped by. They were all in the kitchen having a cup of coffee when he stepped inside. He looked Kerrigan over and was relieved that the dark rings under her eyes seemed to have faded which meant that she had actually gotten some restful sleep.
In his arms.
“Oh! We should have a séance!” Olivia’s face lit up with the suggestion like she had just come up with the solution to cure world hunger.
Caught off guard by the suggestion, Dominic’s head shot in their direction. It was apparent that Kerrigan and Gabe had filled Olivia and Sydney in on their experience the night before.
“Livi, please be serious,” Kerrigan said, blowing her off.
“She is completely serious, Kerr,” Sydney said, sitting her coffee mug down. “Livi has been researching all that other-worldly stuff, and we’ve even played around with a couple of séances ourselves.”