by C. L. Parker
Kerrigan and Gabe looked at them in surprise.
“What? We were bored,” Sydney said with a shrug of her shoulders.
“And it works?”
“Oh yeah! We’re pretty sure we talked to the spirit of Anna Nicole,” Olivia said, nodding her head. “We so have to do it!”
“Why exactly do you want to do a séance?” Dominic asked.
“We heard a ghost last night,” Gabe answered.
“We think we might have heard a ghost last night,” Kerrigan clarified.
“That’s absurd.” Dominic opened the refrigerator and pulled out the orange juice, trying to appear normal even though he was nervous as hell. “There’s no such thing as ghosts.”
“Yeah, well my Grammy taught me that not everything is what it seems. Just because you can’t see them, it doesn’t mean they’re not there,” Kerrigan retorted.
“Fine. Tell me what happened then,” he challenged her as he leaned back onto the counter and crossed his ankles.
“Well, we heard the floor creaking like someone was walking across it,” she started.
“The house was settling,” he dismissed her quickly. “What else?”
“It got really cold in my room.”
“I got hot yesterday and lowered the temperature on the thermostat. I’ll fix it back today.”
“The chair moved.”
“You were just delusional after the passion flower concoction. It’s a side effect.”
“Gabe was there, too.”
“He was reacting to your delusion.”
He seemed to have an answer for everything, and Kerrigan grew more frustrated with the way he kept shooting down her theory. Then it hit her.
“Oh! Your bedroom door slammed!”
Dominic sighed as if he was bored. “I left my window open, and it was windy last night. The breeze probably caused it to slam.”
Her shoulders slumped in defeat and she just felt silly. Dominic crossed the room and squatted down in front of her so that he was on eye level before he took her hand in his.
“Listen, why would you want to do a séance anyway? Aren’t you worried about inviting something in? I’ve heard that can happen when you open doorways to the other side like that.”
“Nothing bad has happened when we’ve done it before,” Olivia interjected. “Lighten up, it’ll be fun.”
“Why don’t you just wait and see if anything else happens?” Dominic offered because he knew he damn well was going to make sure nothing else did.
Kerrigan sighed in defeat. “I guess you’re right. But, if anything else does happen, we’re doing the stupid séance.”
Dominic was beyond relieved that he had managed to talk Kerrigan out of the whole séance thing. It was a stupid idea, but only because he was petrified that it might actually work. And then she would know. They would all know. The fact that she was scared and didn’t feel safe in her own home because of his carelessness made him feel like a douche. Hell, he would kick his own ass right in front of her, if he could successfully do it, just to make her feel better.
Once their company had taken their leave, Kerrigan had approached him about what he knew about the dream she had about her grandmother. Dominic managed to appease her by saying they would discuss it later, and it wasn’t just to throw her off the scent. He had every intention of coming clean to her on that aspect. It was time that she knew more about her abilities, and he was going to help her as much as he could. He just wanted her to recuperate some more from the previous night before they got into all that.
For the remainder of the day, he insisted Kerrigan relax outside and soak up some sun while he worked around the house, putting a fresh coat of paint on the walls in the living room. Gabe kept her company, and it wasn’t long before Sydney and Olivia were back to join them as well.
He was putting the last coat on the final wall when Kerrigan walked into the room, carrying two bottles of beer. She offered one to him and took a drink of her own.
“Thanks,” Dominic said, taking the beer.
She nodded, and he noticed her eyes lingering on his bare, paint-splattered chest, particularly focusing on the tattoo on his shoulder and neck. He smirked and flexed his muscles on purpose to watch her reaction. She looked up at him and realized she had been caught. She quickly averted her eyes to look around the room. It was all he could do to stifle a chuckle.
Kerrigan cleared her throat and said, “It’s looking good in here. But, I really wish you would’ve let me help you.”
Dominic sat on the arm of the tarp covered couch and admired his work. “Nah, I can handle this.”
She wiped her finger over the thick splotch of paint on his cheek. “Looks like you got most of it on you.”
She held her finger up to look at the clump and got a wicked glint in her eye before leaning forward and wiping her finger across the tip of his nose. As she laughed, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“Oh, you’re going to pay for that,” he said when he opened them again. He lunged for the paint brush.
Kerrigan got to it first and swiped it across his chest in a long, diagonal stroke. He looked down at the mess and back to her before sitting his beer on the table. He reached for hers as well, but she wouldn’t let it go.
“Give it up, Querida, before you make even more of a mess than I’m about to,” he said, taking it from her and sitting it down with his.
As he turned back around to face her, she struck again with another stroke to his chest in the opposite direction, making a messy X design. Dominic looked down at his chest again and growled, which just made Kerrigan laugh even more.
“Oh, you think that’s funny?” he asked and she nodded, tears of laughter streaming down her cheeks.
Dominic lunged at her and pinned her back against the freshly painted wall. She groaned when she realized that her entire backside would be covered in paint, including her hair.
“Now that’s funny,” he chuckled at her pout.
Kerrigan tried to wiggle out of his hold, so he pressed his body against hers and placed a leg between her thighs to pin her in place. When he put his hands on the wet wall just over her shoulders, she was effectively caged in with nowhere to run. Dominic gave her an Eskimo kiss, smearing the paint on the end of his nose onto hers as well. She tried to move her head to avoid the paint, but only managed to help him as there was no way to avoid it.
Their laughter rang out through the house with their amusement until their close proximity seemed to dawn on them at the same time. His breathing heavy from their play, he looked into her eyes and dropped his sight to her lips, only to find that she was licking them in anticipation of the kiss they both knew was going to happen.
Dominic’s lips hovered over hers with a teasing smile on his face. Knowing how it affected her, he blew his cool breath over the sensitive flesh of her lips to entice her even more. A pouty mewl escaped the back of her throat, and he barely touched her top lip with his bottom in reward. He knew he was driving her crazy by not giving her what she wanted, but what he wanted was to prolong the anticipation. His lips brushed hers, and he pulled back again, amused by the way she eagerly tilted her chin up in answer.
The air around them was charged with the desire that flowed between them. Throwing caution to the wind, he bent his head to hers and softly kissed her. Kerrigan’s body melted against his as a contented sigh escaped her lips, her warm breath caressing Dominic’s skin and making it harder to pull away. She lifted her chin and kissed him again. This time her tongue swept across his bottom lip.
Dominic lost the battle with his control. He claimed her teasing mouth with his own and deepened the kiss. Kerrigan dropped the paintbrush to the covered floor and wrapped her arms around his neck, tilting her head to the side to allow him better access. The moment his tongue met hers, she hopped into his arms.
Dominic cupped her ass and lifted her against the wall. Instinctively, her legs wrapped around his waist. His lips left hers, and he trailed open-
mouthed kisses down her neck and then back up to the sensitive spot just below her ear. The tilt of his head allowed Kerrigan the perfect angle to his right shoulder, and she leaned down and licked at the mark there with the tip of her tongue.
Dominic’s head dropped back and he hissed. “Jesus…”
Kerrigan felt his entire body tense, and she seized the moment, swirling her tongue around the mark and sucking on it languidly. He rolled his hips against her, pressing his hardness to her center and giving them both the friction they craved. Kerrigan gripped his shoulders as his head dipped to devour the flesh on her chest.
“Oh God, I want you so much,” Kerrigan panted between open-mouthed kisses to the tattoo on his shoulder, grinding right back against him.
He was a hair’s breath away from carrying her up to his room, throwing her on his bed, and giving her exactly what they both wanted.
“Dammit, Querida. We shouldn’t be doing this.” Dominic’s voice was strained, but regardless of his words, he pinned her to the wall with his body while his hands wound themselves in her hair. He forced her mouth back to his with reckless abandon.
Kerrigan moaned into his mouth, a fever like none she had ever known spreading through her body. She could feel him, all of him. He was rock hard and ready to go. “I’m here. I’m yours for the taking, Dominic,” she whispered against his mouth.
Her hand snaked between their bodies, and she tugged on the first button of his jeans. Dominic froze in place with an abrupt realization of what was about to take place. He slowly sat her back on her feet, letting his forehead rest against hers with his eyes closed. His labored breaths mingled with hers.
“I can’t,” he growled in frustration. “You have no idea how badly I want to, but I promised Availia I would take care of you, not take advantage of you.”
Kerrigan grabbed Dominic’s chin and tugged until he was looking into her eyes. “You can’t take advantage of someone who wants it, Dominic.”
He pulled his chin from her hand and kissed her forehead. “I can’t,” he whispered, and backed away.
Kerrigan’s heart palpitated in her chest, and the moment he pulled away, she instantly felt the loss. And the disappointment. His moods always seemed to run hot and cold with her, and she was beyond frustrated by it. She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to throw the man down and take what she craved.
Dominic cleared his throat and grabbed a towel to wipe his paint covered hands. “Um, I’m hungry. Are you hungry?”
He was standing there with the top button of his jeans still unfastened, every nerve ending in his body still on high alert. Food was not what he hungered for, but he obviously wasn’t going to partake of her offering.
So, she said the only thing that she could. “Yeah, I’ll just go get cleaned up and get dinner started.”
Rejected, she bowed her head in embarrassment, not wanting him to see the tears that were threatening to break the surface.
“Can we talk after dinner?” he asked.
She didn’t bother to look at him, just nodded her head and walked away with Dominic’s painted handprints on her ass.
He hated to see her feeling so dejected, so angry, but he had to do it. No matter how hard it was for him to pull away from her, from the passion they shared, his purpose was clear. He had to help her develop her gift and own the person she was meant to be. Not just for his sake, but for the sake of everyone else whose lives she could potentially save.
Kerrigan Milena Cruz was the new Guardian of the Light. There was no way on God’s green earth that Dominic Grayson was selfish enough to keep her to himself.
After dinner that evening, Gabe decided to go out with Sydney and Olivia to hit some underground hotspot for gays in Jacksonville. Although he really wanted Kerrigan to go with him, he understood that she and Dominic had some talking to do. She promised to fill him in on all the details of their conversation, and Gabe promised to give her all the details of the tryst he was hoping to capture with some fine piece of ass.
Once alone, she told Dominic that she wanted to take her shower before they talked. She still had paint in her hair. If by some small miracle Dominic decided it was finally time to take their non-existent relationship to the next level, she didn’t want it to happen while she looked like crap.
She took a longer shower than she normal, letting the hot water wash over her body in hopes of trying to ease some of the tension and nervousness that had been building since she came face to face with the beautiful stranger in Grammy’s kitchen. It was when her loofah passed over her hip, that she realized she still hadn’t shown him her birthmark which just so happened to match the mark on his shoulder. She decided that would probably be the best way to start their conversation because she still had questions. It seemed only Dominic had the answers.
Cleaned to the point that she may have removed several layers of skin, she stepped from the shower and performed all her bedtime rituals. Once she was done with that, she looked at herself in the mirror, stuck out a determined chin, and went to face the music.
Literally.
Soulful music poured through the cracks of the door that led to Dominic’s room, and her steps faltered. It was as if the gentle strum of his guitar as he played along with the music coming through his stereo was beckoning her to go to him. Without knocking, she opened his door and started up the steps.
When she reached the top, she stood there undetected and watched him. He was shirtless, clad only in belted jeans and boots. The muscles in his forearms flexed like liquid fluidity with each strum of the pearl-blue pick across the guitar strings, while the long fingers on his other hand manipulated the chords along the neck with finesse and ease. The shadow of his barely-there beard overlaying the hardened line of his jaw conflicted with the soft contours of his supple lips and smooth skin. Kerrigan just wanted to touch him to be sure he was real.
His eyes were closed, and his sable hair was in total disarray as he tilted his head forward and swayed with the beat. He was humming along to the song, his lips moving ever so slightly to form the words. His voice was like nothing she had ever heard before. Pure, unadulterated. It made her want to strip naked and crawl into his lap.
Watching Dominic in his natural habitat made Kerrigan feel like the wind had been knocked out of her, but life being breathed into her for the first time all at once. So many conflicting emotions overcame her. Be still and observe, or pounce and play. What was a woman to do? He hadn’t seen her yet, and Kerrigan felt remiss to disturb such a tranquil scene. This was his world. She was an uninvited guest witnessing the vulnerability he undoubtedly never intended for anyone else to see.
Kerrigan shifted her weight from one foot to the other, ruining the moment when a floorboard creaked under her foot. Dominic flinched and turned his head in her direction, his singing, his playing coming to an abrupt halt. The magical spell had been broken.
“S-sorry.” When he didn’t reply, she tried to break the silence. “Um, your voice sort of sounds like…well, lust.” It just slipped out, and as embarrassed as she was to have said it, she couldn’t take it back because it was the truth.
Dominic dropped his pick, but didn’t attempt to retrieve it from the floor beneath his feet. He was stunned into silence by the sensual tone in her voice as she caught him unaware. The only other person that had ever heard him sing was his little brother, Colton, when he had tried to calm him down and get him to go to sleep after one of their mother’s dramatic bouts with the booze.
Kerrigan took a timid step forward. “Before I forget, I want to show you something.” She reached for the waistband of her shorts at her right hip and pushed it down a little bit.
Please do, Dominic thought.
He managed to get his mind out of the gutter and cleared his throat, prepared to protest if she had planned to remove them altogether. Because no good could come of that, or maybe a whole lot of good could come from it, but he wasn’t sure if he was prepared to find out. God, he hoped he wasn’t
drooling.
Kerrigan saw the apprehension written all over his face and giggled a little in response. She loved that she could, for once, make him as tongue-tied and flustered as he did to her on a regular basis.
When she pushed the cotton down to reveal the birthmark on her right hip, Dominic’s eyes followed her motions and he furrowed his brow in confusion.
“How is that possible?”
“You tell me.”
Dominic removed the guitar from his lap and propped it up next to his stereo. He patted the spot next to him on the futon, motioning for her to sit down. Kerrigan did as he asked and crossed her legs to get comfortable.
“How much of your dream about your grandmother do you remember?”
“Every single little detail of it. But the real question here is how do you know about it?”
Dominic nodded his head. “That’s a fair question.”
“And do you intend to answer it?”
“Availia confided in me about a lot of things, Kerrigan. She seemed to think that I could help you find out who you’re meant to be once she was gone.” He paused to think about how to say the next thing, but felt it was best to just say it. “She said that she would come to you, but that you would think it was just a dream and would need reassurance that you’re not losing your mind…that it’s real. I hope you don’t freak out on me, but I’ve been around Availia long enough, and seen and heard her talk about a lot of things that shouldn’t be possible, but they are.”
Kerrigan started fidgeting with her fingers in her lap, unsure of how she should react. Deep down, she knew there was something different about her. Grammy had always treated her like she was some sort of prize to be treasured in a way that went beyond maternal love.
Sensing her trepidation, Dominic reached under the futon cushion and pulled out the wrinkled envelope that he had secured there. “Here, maybe you should just let Availia tell you in her own words.”
Kerrigan’s hands shook as she reached for the envelope and opened it. She recognized the stationary as the same kind Grammy had used to write the first letter the attorney had given her the day she arrived in St. Augustine. She unfolded the letter with care and took a deep breath before she began to read it.