The only people she cared about in this town were Harvey and Dominic. They’d been dubbed the Three Musketeers by teachers and Marnie (Harvey and Hannah’s foster mom), plus Dominic’s parents. Their friendship group had other names—high school kids weren’t as nice about two twins who generally didn’t socialize outside of Dominic. The older they got, the crueler the rumors. Like about just how good a friend Dominic actually was to the twins, and whether there was something freaky going on.
It was laughable, really. Or, it would be. Whenever Hannah complained about it to Harvey, he promised it would be something she’d laugh about when the three of them were older. Idiot kids being idiots. That’s why they attached themselves to Dominic—because all the rest of their classmates weren’t worth their time.
Dominic had similar notions. “Screw them,” he’d say helpfully, pulling Hannah down the halls as she stared hard at groups of kids whispering and laughing at them.
At least they would never have to walk those halls again. That part of her life was over.
The thing that was still very, very present, though, was that the rumors had been at least a little right. Not the part about freaky twin stuff—yuck. But Hannah had been coping over the years with a rather debilitating crush on Dominic.
It wasn’t as if anything had ever happened between the two of them. A lot of the time, Hannah felt like she was the third wheel of the Three Musketeers, that she was always tagging along with Dominic and Harvey. But things had changed in high school.
She couldn’t put her finger on it. Puberty, maybe. Dominic finishing a growth spurt over the course of the summer that filled out his frame, muscles now fitting his height. Hannah filling out, too, in places no one had ever told her to consider. Sometimes, they caught each other staring. It was never as awkward or embarrassing as Hannah thought it would be. Dominic just made her feel…comfortable. Like she could be herself.
And the self she was right now longed for him. For something more.
“Are you sure there isn’t anything in your drink?” Harvey had been peering suspiciously at her for the duration of this reverie, apparently. “Where’s Dominic?”
“I don’t know.” She shook herself, looking around. It had been Dominic’s idea for them all to go to the party, and Hannah had seen him only in fits and snatches. “You know, if you keep drinking, I won’t have to tattle to Marnie. Your hangover tomorrow will do that for you.”
Harvey seemed to consider this. He really was capable of reason when he wanted to be. It was just that the four extra minutes of life he had on her, having come out of their biological mother first, gave him some sort of inflated sense of duty. Like he felt he had to be an older brother to her, even if the “older” part was just those four minutes.
The protectiveness could be stifling. Was stifling, when it came to Dominic. Hannah wasn’t sure whether it had more to do with Dominic’s hulking presence or the fact that, at the age of eighteen, Hannah was legally in control of her own destiny—whatever Harvey wanted for her be damned. She wouldn’t have been surprised if Harvey confessed to wanting nothing more than to lock her in a cage and throw away the key, to keep her away from the rest of the world.
It went without saying that she’d never really dated anyone. It was impossible, always flanked by Harvey and Dominic. She’d always comforted herself with the notion that she didn’t want to date anyone in the first place. None of the guys she was graduating with, anyway.
Minus Dominic.
“Let’s go swimming,” Harvey said, tugging at her arm suddenly. “Screw it, right? We’ll never have to see these people again. And who knows the next time we’ll have access to a pool this nice.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Hannah said. “You’re—okay, wow.” Her shoulders sagged in resignation. She wished it was the first time she’d seen her twin shuck off his clothes right in the middle of everything, but it definitely wasn’t. At least he had his swimming trunks on underneath his cargo shorts.
“Doesn’t everyone wear their swimsuits under their clothes?” he asked, apparently confused that she hadn’t tossed her shorts and camisole into his discarded pile of clothing.
“Not all of us,” she sighed. “I’m going to go change.”
Harvey answered her with a whoop and a running charge that ended in a splash somewhere beyond the sliding glass doors that had stayed open all night. Hannah shook her head and wandered through the house, trying to find the staircase.
Honestly, who needed all these rooms? Ronnie was an only child. He and his parents were the only people who lived here. Did they really need bedroom after bedroom? What did they do—rotate sleeping in each bed?
That wasn’t a bad idea, maybe. It would save them from wearing out mattresses. At home, Hannah’s mattress was the same worn twin bed she’d had when Marnie had taken her and Harvey into her home. It sagged in the middle, now, kind of like a taco shell. Usually, Hannah was pretty good at convincing herself that it was less like a sad taco, more like a nice hug—arms around her as she was going to sleep.
Sometimes, Dominic’s arms.
She picked a door at random, not sure which bedroom she’d stashed her backpack in, and opened it, only to catch a huge eyeful of Dominic’s—well, Dominic’s everything. The way his muscles stood out boldly on his body, with biceps, shoulders, and pecs absolutely bulging.
The moment crystallized in her mind, time slowing as he turned and her hand gripped the doorknob. She’d made a mistake. Hannah had only been trying to find an empty bedroom to change in. And out of all the freaking empty bedrooms in this place, she’d picked the one Dominic had been changing in.
It was a beautiful mistake, though, Hannah believed. Dominic’s dark, tousled hair. The sparkle of his eyes, catching the glow of twinkle lights strung up around the pool outside. The considerable size of his—
“Hannah!” Dominic yelped, unceremoniously yanking his swim trunks up over his hips. That was more than enough to break whatever spell she’d fallen under.
Hannah whirled around—that should’ve been her first inclination, not to stand there like some kind of pervert—and slammed the door shut.
Was there a prize behind door number one? Heck, yes. The view had been downright gratuitous. But had it been meant for her? No. Definitely not. It didn’t matter that she’d had a crush on Dominic for years, now.
In the end, he was Harvey’s best friend. That’s all he was. And if she ever did anything, ever acted on any of those feelings surging in her, things would never be the same. Probably in the worst way imaginable—the permanent dissolution of the Three Musketeers.
She leaned against the door, trying to slow her breathing, willing her pulse to return to its normal pace. She couldn’t believe she’d seen that. Couldn’t believe she’d gawked at it, and that Dominic had caught her at it. Maybe they could just agree to never speak of this to each other, or anyone else, ever again.
“Hannah?”
Dominic said her name more softly this time. And yet, the sound of it made Hannah jump nearly out of her skin. Well, that, coupled with the fact that Dominic had opened the door she’d been counting on to keep her upright. Instead of tumbling to the floor, though, she stumbled into Dominic’s strong arms, partially collapsing into his bare chest.
All of him had been bare mere seconds ago. She’d even caught a glimpse of something she’d only ever had the audacity to dream about. Now, though, she was flushed and humiliated and clumsy and still—still!—turned on by the man in front of her.
Because that was what Dominic was. Not the boy she’d grown up with. Now, he was all man. Every single mouthwatering inch of him. He’d turned eighteen a few months before she and Harvey had. They were all adults now, their high school days behind them.
“You okay?” he asked, holding her loosely as she straightened, trying to prove to herself more than anything else that she was capable of standing on her own two feet.
“Just lost my balance,” she said lightly. Briskly. Like she
could—if she simply wanted to bad enough—shake all of this off and proceed as normal. “Listen, I’m sorry for—”
“Don’t apologize.”
For the first time, Hannah got herself to look up into Dominic’s eyes. They were dark, darker than they usually were—the pupils wide, interested, bottomless. They made a shiver run down her spine.
“I’m…okay.” She struggled to regain her composure, even if it was a lost cause at this point. “I didn’t see anything.”
He seemed to mull that over for a long moment. Did he think that was the truth? Would he buy it? Or would he call her out for the blatant lie Hannah knew it was?
“I wouldn’t have cared if you did,” he said finally.
“You…wouldn’t?” What did that mean?
“I’m not ashamed of my body.”
Oh. She couldn’t help the rush of disappointment through her veins. Of what he could have said, instead of that.
Dominic leaned closer. Another inch and they’d be near enough to kiss. He smelled faintly of sweat and of the musk of deodorant. There wasn’t a trace of the vodka-laden punch everyone was getting drunk on tonight, ladling it out of bowls and soup pots throughout the house.
He hadn’t been drinking. And neither had Hannah. There wouldn’t be any excuse, then, if something happened. And she really, really wanted something to happen. She just couldn’t name it, and wasn’t sure what it would be.
“And maybe I wanted you to see,” he said, the words murmured and husky.
“You were just as surprised as I was when I barged into that room,” she pointed out, but it was an empty accusation. The energy between them was electrifying, the delicate blond hairs raising on her arms.
“Hannah, I just want to say…I’ve always thought you’re beautiful,” Dominic said, a tiny furrow wrinkling the skin between his dark eyebrows. He looked like he was struggling with coming up with the right words. “I just thought you should know that I—”
“Dom? Hannah? Where the hell are you two?” Harvey’s voice floated up the stairs and Hannah leapt away from Dominic as if an unseen force had propelled them apart. “You’re not going to make me hang out by myself with all these losers, are you? Of course I didn’t mean you, Ronnie; this is an awesome party.”
“Better go,” Hannah murmured, spinning toward the stairs. “Don’t want him to…”
To what? Catch her with his best friend? Catch them doing what? They weren’t doing anything suspicious, were they? They were just talking. Dominic was just telling her she was beautiful. That was perfectly normal, right?
No. It wasn’t. Hannah knew it wasn’t, but she didn’t want to be right about that. She didn’t want whatever was happening between her and Dominic to be over—this strange, shared, private moment.
“Hannah, wait a second.” Dominic captured her wrist in his strong fingers, and his voice was low enough, urgent enough, to make her stop.
When she turned, nothing could have prepared her for what happened next.
The kiss.
It was everything she could have imagined and nothing like what she imagined. It was more, making her heart rise in the prison of her chest, making something deep in her stomach stir and coil.
Dominic was good at kissing—really good. His lips were firm, his tongue present, but not overpowering. Hannah felt like it was all she could do to try to keep up, to ride the wave of desire rushing inside of her, to grip the hard muscles of his arms. God, when did he get so fit? She knew he worked out—knew that his family basically expected him to serve in the military at some point—but these biceps still surprised her.
Well, the biceps, and this toe-curling kiss.
“Hannah? Dom?”
Hannah gasped into Dominic’s mouth. She’d been so caught up in the sensation of his lips on hers that she’d forgotten Harvey was just at the bottom of the stairs, looking for both of them. Harvey couldn’t see them like this. Couldn’t know. But she was having a hard time backing away, Dominic’s hand woven into her blond hair like it belonged there, cradling her head.
“Don’t get your panties in a wad!” Dominic called back to Harvey, breaking the kiss suddenly. “I’m coming.”
“Seen Hannah?” came Harvey’s reply.
Hannah opened her mouth to respond, but Dominic clapped his hand over it. “She just found a room to change in.”
“Get your ass down here, then,” Harvey said. “I’m bored as hell—Ronnie, this isn’t about you. Seriously. I’m really thankful you invited everyone. This is really nice.”
Dominic gave Hannah an apologetic, effortlessly handsome smile as he uncovered her mouth, lightly stroking his thumb over her bottom lip before lowering his hand.
“Sorry.”
“It’s fine,” she replied quickly, hoping he wasn’t apologizing for the kiss. “You’d better go. You know how he is.”
“See you out there on the battlefield,” he said, flashing her one more brilliant grin before trotting down the stairs.
It was all Hannah could do to stagger back into the room and sit heavily on the bed before her legs gave out on her. That kiss—God! She wasn’t sure what she’d done to deserve that, but she’d have to figure it out. Because she wanted it to be more than a one-time thing. If anything, that single point of contact made her hungry for more. Greedy for the feeling of Dominic’s lips on hers.
Hannah wasn’t sure if she should be turned on or worried. As she found her bag and changed into her bikini, she had to settle on somewhere in between both.
His Baby Secret is available on Amazon now
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Also by Layla Valentine
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Hot Pursuit - A Marooned with the SEAL Romance (Once a SEAL, Always a SEAL Book 2) Page 17