Cataclysm (14 page)

“For his sake, I hope you’re right, Querida. Because if I get one whiff of Drake and Sinclair on him, I’m taking him out.”

Dominic had just left Colton and Gabe in the kitchen to go check on Kerrigan when he saw her at the bottom of the stairs leaning against the banister to put on her shoe. She was wearing a white sundress, a slinky little number that hugged every curve and accentuated her glowing tan. Hopping on one foot, she slipped the other fuck-me heel into place.

“How do I look?” she asked as she took an earring and hooked it into her earlobe.

“Ravishing as usual, but then again, I happen to think you’re gorgeous without all that. What gives, anyway? Why are you getting so dressed up for this guy?”

She secured the backing on the second earring and shrugged. “I want to make a good impression.”

He followed her into the living room. “You don’t ever get all dressed up for me.”

“That’s because I don’t need fancy clothes to make a good impression on you. I simply need to take them off, and never put them back on.” She kissed his cheek and gave him a teasing smile. “You’re so cute when you’re jealous.”

Just as he leaned in to kiss her, she pulled away, but he caught her hand and yanked her back to him. She squealed in surprise when she crashed into his chest. Eyes alight with laughter looked up at him, and then she batted her lashes demurely. She knew what she was doing, knew which button to push to drive him crazy as sure as she knew which button to push to calm him down. But he knew all of her buttons as well. Two could play at her game.

He took the kiss he had been denied and moved her until the backs of her knees hit the couch behind her and she was forced to sit. Then he lifted one of her legs onto the couch and kneeled before her.

“What are you doing?” she asked, smiling.

A devilish smirk pulled at the corner of his lips, and he bent his head as he turned on the full power of his bedroom eyes and placed an open-mouth kiss to the top of her thigh. “Making a good impression. I couldn’t give a shit less what this other guy thinks about me, but you... you I want to impress.”

“You don’t need to impress me, Dominic,” she said, but made no effort to stop him. “And I’m well aware of your
skills
. All of them, in fact, and I am very,
very
impressed.”

“Mmhmm. Well, I think maybe you might need a little reminder of what will always be waiting for you at home.”

He continued his ascent up her thigh and was just about to raise the skirt of her dress when she stopped him. Dominic gave her a wounded look, his pride taking a hit. She had never refused him before, and now she was sitting there with a big fat ‘denied’ sign flashing neon red above her head.

“Colton and Gabe are in the kitchen, and Andrew will be here any minute. We don’t have time for this.” She used the heel of her shoe to his shoulder to nudge him back.

It gave Dominic a glorious view of the white satin panties she wore underneath, only fueling his need, and he turned his face to press his lips to her ankle. Then he pulled out all the stops, dropping his voice to that rich, dark level he knew she couldn’t resist. His eyes bore into hers, lust pouring from their depths. “Querida, for future reference, a fuck-me heel planted into a man’s shoulder will only make him want you more, not less. But I have a feeling you already know that.”

He kissed her calf, lingering over her skin as he lightly teased her. Unable to resist, he looked between her thighs and licked the inside of his lip in eager anticipation. “Quiero saborearte.”

The sultry Spanish words licked at her even as he pushed past her makeshift barricade and nuzzled the thin silk between her thighs. She didn’t need him to translate the words to know their meaning. She had heard them whispered to her in the past, and even now she could feel the memory of his cold breath brush against her ear. He wanted to taste her, to savor her.

Expert fingers found their mark when their tips caressed the starburst-shaped birthmark on her hip, the mate to the mark on his shoulder. Instantly she was swept away by his touch. Everything else ceased to exist, and all that remained was Kerrigan, Dominic, and the passion they shared.

“You make my mouth water, and I can’t help myself. I want... I
need
to devour you.” He inhaled and exhaled in an exaggerated fashion, breathing her in. His icy breath penetrated the porous material over her center, and the contradictory flames that ignited in its wake created dual sensations that rendered her body incapable of doing anything but surrender.

He was fire and ice—a combination that could prove lethal or orgasmic, depending on whether you were friend or foe.

Kerrigan sucked in a breath when he placed his lips over her most sensitive spot. She was caught in his trance, compelled by the spell he wove through the magic of his own making. Dominic was no sorcerer, but the power of his words, his eyes, his touch—he could bend the will of any woman, immortal and human alike.

“Oh, Jesus.” Gabe had busted them, yet again. The exaggerated sarcasm in his voice was enough to break the spell.

With a disgruntled growl, Dominic sat back on his knees so that Kerrigan could sit up and pull her skirt down.

“I swear. You two little whoremongers won’t be happy until you’ve defiled every piece of community space in the house, will you?”

“Um, sorry,” Kerrigan mumbled, her cheeks flaming with residual lust and embarrassment.

Colton entered the room and stood next to Gabe. “What’s going on in here?”

Dominic sighed in frustration. “Nothing, Colt.”

Gabe guffawed. “We were just discussing redecorating the house. We can probably save a ton of money on supplies if we just use Dom’s overabundant supply of semen to paint the walls. And then, to generate extra revenue, we can hang a sign out front that says,
‘Cum one, cum all! Everyone is turned out at The House of Pussy Galore, Cocks, and More! Satisfaction guaranteed,’
” he said with his hands poised in the air as a frame around the invisible sign.

Colton chuckled. “I like that. Kind of has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? But let’s leave out the semen paint, m’kay? Too seventies porn.”

“Ah, but that would depend on what he’d had to eat that day,” Gabe rebutted.

Colton’s brows shot up. “Is it really true what they say?”

“You’re fucking disgusting,” Dominic scoffed, but Colton and Gabe ignored him, carrying on their conversation as if he and Kerrigan weren’t even there.

“Then again,” Gabe continued, “it might be too sticky... until it dries. Then it would just get all crusty and peel.” He tapped a finger against his smooth-as-a-baby’s-bottom chin in contemplation. “Yes, that could be a problem, indeed.”

A knock at the front door kept Gabe and Colton from continuing their onslaught of tasteless humor at Kerrigan and Dominic’s expense. Millie barked incessantly, lurching forward and then back again in rapid succession. Kerrigan leapt to her feet with her eyes wide in excitement, the uncomfortable conversation all but forgotten.

“He’s here!” She bolted for the door, leaving Dominic where he still sat on the floor like he was yesterday’s news.

He tried not to take it personally because he knew what it meant to her to finally have another Guardian of the Light around to show her the ropes. Plus, she was already putting so much faith into the prospect of the guy being able to help out.

She opened the door. “Drew, you made it!”

“Ah, but how could I resist spending another afternoon in the company of such a beautiful woman?” His hoity-toity British accent drifted in through the doorway. Dude was laying on the charm so thick Dominic had to close his eyes and count to ten so he wouldn’t grab him by the throat to cut off his air supply.

Time to make sure the new guy had no doubts about whether or not Kerrigan Cruz was up for grabs. She most certainly was not. She was his woman, and the new guy was going to have one hell of a fight on his hands if he thought he was going to give her up.

Dominic got to his feet and sauntered into the entryway with a swagger that belayed his confidence. Drew managed to stop eye fucking Kerrigan long enough to acknowledge his presence.

“Hello there. You must be Dominic,” Drew greeted him. He was taller, with longer hair that looked like he had spent hours in front of the mirror to get every hair in just the right place. Dominic had to give that a mental snort because only douchebags, vampires, and romance novel cover models wore their hair like that. The guy was decked out like he had just stepped out of the pages of a men’s fashion magazine. Not Kerrigan’s type at all. She liked the rugged look, or at least he assumed she did.

“And you must be Andy,” he said with a sneer in his voice. He wrapped his arms around Kerrigan’s waist and pulled her into his side possessively. His eyes never left the stranger as he sized him up, not liking what he saw. Drew was too confident, arrogant in the way he stood there as if he belonged.

He didn’t.

“Actually, it’s Andrew, but you can call me Drew.”

Actually, it’s Andrew, but you can call me Drew
, Dominic’s inner child mocked—heavy on the British accent. Yeah, he felt pathetic for resorting to such an immature response, even if only in his head, but he couldn’t help it. The guy was looking down his nose at him as if he was heir to the throne and Dominic was nothing more than white trash.

Yeah, buddy. I’ve got your white trash right here
, he thought as he mentally grabbed his crotch and shook it at him.

Drew extended his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Dominic took his offering, his handshake a bit more firm than usual. He had a point to prove after all and, as alpha male in the house, territory to defend. The strength of Drew’s answering squeeze said he wouldn’t submit to the dominancy that was being asserted, and that pretty much pissed him off. The guy was on his stomping grounds, and he was trying to piss all over it like he was staking his claim.

Funny how a handshake could say so much between two men.

Neither relinquished their hold until Kerrigan stared down at their joined hands and rolled her eyes, giving them both a grow-the-fuck-up look.

“Come on in, Drew.” Kerrigan nudged Dominic back to make way for their guest.

Drew gave Kerrigan a smile that made Dominic want to punch him in the face. His back was straight and his gait wide as he stepped across the threshold and into the house, his presence seeming to make the abundant space feel cramped. He didn’t like the twinge of insecurity that bubbled in his mind. The little jealous monster inside him was greener than two horny toads singing a froggy rendition of R Kelly’s
Bump N’ Grind
while getting their groove on.

Any doubt he might have had about the validity of Drew’s claims before went out the window. Drew carried the Light. He could feel it permeating the air around him in thick currents of energy that undeniably accompanied a Guardian.

He knew there were others. Availia had told him that much during one of their many conversations on the subject, but none had ever visited her, and she had never called any one of them by name. Guardians were a rare breed, so the odds that one would just happen to pop up out of nowhere—in the middle of what could adequately be called a crisis of epic proportions—was slim to none.

But there he was, larger-than-life and saturated in the common bond he shared with Kerrigan. To say Dominic felt insignificant, inadequate in comparison, was an understatement.

The timing of Drew’s sudden appearance was questionable. Suspicion wove its way through every cell in Dominic’s body and triggered red flags that shot up all over the place. Something was off, and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

He narrowed his eyes and gave Drew the once-over. Ironically, Drew was doing the same thing, but while Dominic was trying to see through the suave and debonair façade to find the ulterior motive that he was certain lay beneath, the Guardian was sizing him up like he was assessing the competition. The man had a lot of nerve, he’d give him that much.

And a little too much confidence for Dominic’s liking. The new guy was throwing off I’m-innocent-and-good-looking-so-trust-me vibes like his life depended on it. Little did he know, it did. Dominic wouldn’t hesitate to take a motherfucker out if it became necessary in order to defend his family.