Cataclysm (19 page)

After a rather sensual session in the bathroom that would have probably given Gabe and Colton enough material to do a complete play-by-play, Dominic dressed and stepped out onto the balcony for his postcoital cigarette. More eager than ever to start her training, Kerrigan opted to leave him alone so that she was sure to be downstairs as soon as Drew arrived. Besides, she had worked up quite an appetite after their water play and hoped to replenish some of her strength before the heavy-duty training began.

Descending the stairs, she heard the very distinct sounds of a keyboard drifting out of the kitchen. She had to stifle her laughter when she heard two very familiar voices singing
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
and rounded the corner to witness the performance firsthand.

Gabe had a turkey baster in his right hand and was singing into the fat bulb on the end. He faced off with Colton, who was singing his heart out into a plastic soup ladle, rocking forward and back again as they took turns challenging each other. Gabe shimmied while Colton sang the bridge, his face scrunched up in an attempt to hit the high notes. Gabe bobbed his head and swished his hips back and forth to the rhythm of the music. Just when the chorus came back around, Gabe started jumping up and down in place, belting out the lyrics with an intensity to which any
American
Idol
hopeful would do well to pay attention. When he finally settled back down, Colton bumped his hip into Gabe’s, and then his butt, and then his other hip. They never got a chance to finish out the song because Colton stopped abruptly and turned the music off, dropping the ladle to his side.

“Gabe, will you please stop trying to angle your ass toward my crotch?”

Gabe grinned sheepishly. “What? I thought that we was doing The Bump.”

“
I
was doing The Bump.
You
were trying to get a cheap thrill.”

“He’s a natural born slut, Colt,” Kerrigan said, stepping into the kitchen. “He’ll take his thrills wherever and however he can get them.”

“Pickle you, cumtwat!”

“It’s kumquat,” she corrected him.

Gabe looked her over from head to foot and leaned in toward her, sniffing the air. “No, cumtwat was right. A shower might cure that just-fucked smell, hooka’.”

She arched her brow smugly and pulled a grape off the vine that sat in the fruit bowl on the table. “A shower is exactly where I got that smell.” She popped the grape into her mouth and snapped her teeth closed in Gabe’s shocked face. “Eat your heart out, Queenie.”

She turned her back on him and walked away in true dramatic fashion, but she wasn’t quick enough. Gabe pinched her nipple, twisting it. “Ow!” she screeched and pulled back, twisting her best friend’s nipple in retaliation.

“What the... you got your nipple pierced! When did that happen?”

Gabe slapped her hands away and looked at her like she had lost her mind. “Didn’t nobody give you permission to squeeze the Charmin, lesbo!”

“Let me see!”

“No!” He smacked her relentless hands away again.

“Yes!” She tried another tactic—tickling.

Gabe laughed and wiggled around to avoid the attack of her fingers on his ribcage. Colton backed out of the way when they got a little too close to him and the beer he held.

“Let me see...” Kerrigan said in a warning tone.

Through fits of giggles Gabe managed to eke out an, “I... said... no... ho!”

There was a knock at the front door. Like the pause button pushed on a recording, the laughter died, he stopped smacking at her hands, and she froze with her fingers on his ribcage. The subject of Gabe’s pierced nipples was temporarily forgotten.

They both looked at each other at the same time and then squealed in unison. “Drew!”

Gabe bolted toward the door with Kerrigan quick on his heels in a race to get to it first. Millie weaved in and out of their feet, barking and nearly tripping both of them up in his enthusiasm to greet the visitor as well. Kerrigan beat Gabe to the door, but at the last minute, he grabbed a handful of her ponytail and yanked her backward, forcing her to fall behind. Before she could recuperate, he had pulled the door open and leaned against its frame like a model in a centerfold.

Not a bead of perspiration graced his perfect complexion, but he dabbed at his forehead anyway. His dainty fingers went to his lips as if sampling the nonexistent proof of his exertion, and he purred in appreciation. “Dammit, man, you are scrumptious! Let’s me and you run away together. Say yes, and I’ll let you dip your crumpet in my trumpet.”

Kerrigan sighed and shoved him out of the way. “Honestly, Gabe.”

“What? Naughty girls need love, too, heffa’.” He rolled his head, snapped his fingers in the air, and turned to walk away.

She gave their guest an apologetic look. “Hey, Drew. Sorry ’bout that.”

Drew stood on the porch wearing a pair of loose-fitting khakis and a thin, white cotton button-down shirt. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and the first three buttons were undone, showcasing a golden tan and a hint of the muscles that lay beneath. He smiled at her, his pearly whites pristine and perfectly aligned. “It’s quite all right. I do believe I’m already accustomed to Gabe’s shenanigans. I brought Akasha. I thought maybe she and your Millie might have a bit of fun together. I hope it wasn’t too presumptuous of me.”

Kerrigan brought her eyes to his. Their honey color glowed minutely and then resumed their natural shade. Her heart thumped in her chest. She would probably never get used to the reaction she felt when looking into another Guardian’s eyes. It was something ancient, magical. Shaking her head to clear it, she smiled back at him. “Of course not, don’t be silly. I’m sure Millie would love some company. Come on in.”

Accepting the invitation, he stepped over the threshold with Akasha at his side. Millie took a cautionary step forward, sniffing the air around their newest visitor before backing up and coming forward again to repeat the cycle. Inch by inch he moved closer to the bulldog. His tail wagged furiously, and his ears stood erect, but as he finally came nose to nose with her, all movement stopped and his ears laid flat against his head.

Akasha seemed to be indifferent to his explorations and even let Millie walk toward her rear to give her a proper canine greeting. Satisfied with what he found, Millie jumped back toward her head and gave her a happy yap before pawing at her face.

Drew chuckled. “I do believe we’ve managed to become matchmakers.”

Descending the stairs from his bedroom, Dominic heard the snobby British accent that had grated on his nerves from day one and then saw Millie with a very impressive fawn-colored English Bulldog. Millie wagged his tail and pawed at the new dog’s jowl. In return, the bulldog swiped his face with her long tongue. It was enough to knock Millie’s much smaller form back a few inches before he went running in for more of the same attention.

Great. Even his dog was taken with the British home wreckers.

“Traitor,” he mumbled under his breath.

Kerrigan and Drew both looked up at him. Okay, so maybe he hadn’t really mumbled.

“Grayson,” Drew greeting him.

“
Dickens
,” Dominic returned, accentuating the part of Drew’s last name that really said what he thought of him.

Kerrigan gave him
the
look
, the same one she always gave him when she felt he was behaving like a child. Maybe he was, but it was a whole hell of a lot better than fucking the guy’s face up, so he was pretty damn proud of his self-control.

Colton’s laugh preceded him down the hallway. “
Dick
ens... you gotta admit that’s pretty funny, Drew.” He leaned against the banister with his ankles crossed. One hand was tucked into his front pocket, and the other was wrapped around a cold beer. He looked quite comfy.

“Yes, well, it’s also not very original, now is it? I’ve been called that for as long as I can remember.”

“Must mean you’ve been a dick a lot.” Dominic took Colton’s beer from his hand.

“Or, maybe it just means I have a lot of dick,” Drew challenged with one eyebrow cocked smugly. When Kerrigan’s eyes widened, he cleared his throat and gave her an apologetic bow. “Forgive me, Kerrigan. I seem to have forgotten my manners.”

Gabe stepped up beside Colton. “I say you both just whip ’em out right here, and let’s see whose dick really is bigger than whose once and for all.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a measuring tape.

Colton laughed and pointed at the tape measure while Kerrigan yanked it out of his hand. “First of all, I don’t even want to know why you just happen to have a measuring tape in your pocket. Second of all, no one is whipping anything out.” She turned to give Drew and Dominic a stern look and wagged her finger at them. “You two are going to have to learn to get along. Dominic, we need Drew, probably more now than we ever realized before. It’s not a pissing match. Drew, there are reasons that Dominic might come off as a
jackass
,” she said pointedly, “but he’s dealing with a lot of sh... stuff right now that none of you can even begin to understand. Don’t antagonize him.

“And you,” she said, turning on Colton. “Stop being an instigator and find something to do with your brother while Drew and I go out back and start on my training. It wouldn’t hurt for you two to spend some quality time together before you have to head back off to med school.”

You could have heard a pin drop. Everyone was stunned speechless, all having been properly chastised. The only two living beings in the room who seemed immune to her reprimands were Millie and Akasha. They were snuggled against one another, oblivious to the tension in the room.

After what seemed like an eternity of uncomfortable silence, Colton clapped his hands together and rubbed them vigorously. “Rock Band, anyone?” When he didn’t get a response from his brother, he decided to sweeten the pot, knowing he wouldn’t be able to resist. “I’ll let you play the guitar, Dom...”

Gabe snatched his measuring tape out of Kerrigan’s hand and stuck his tongue out at her. “I call the microphone!” he called before following Colton into the living room to help him set up for an encore of their earlier mini concert.

Kerrigan put her hand on her hip and looked at a still unmoving Dominic with a raised brow.

He gave her an amused chuckle, even though he was anything but amused. “Will you give us a minute, Drew?”

Drew glanced at Kerrigan and thought better of sticking around for what was sure to be a confrontation on a personal level. “Sure thing. I’ll just meet you in the garden, Miss Cruz?”

She nodded, and Drew called for Millie and Akasha to follow him toward the back of the house.

As soon as they were alone, Dominic grabbed her wrist and pulled her into him. Within two long strides he had her back pinned to the wall and was pressed against her.

His hold on her wrist forced her palm against the bulge in his pants. “Does this feel like a child’s cock to you?” Kerrigan shook her head, her shock rendering her speechless.

He knew he had her where he wanted her. She could never, would never, resist his forceful seduction, so he took full advantage of his power and toyed with her some more, making sure to hammer his point home.

His mouth lingered just over hers, and she wet her lips in anticipation of the kiss she knew would come. Cold, minty breath teased her senses and enticed a quiet moan from her lips. She could already feel herself getting aroused. Amazing—she had just spent the better part of an hour in the shower with him, and all she could think about was getting him alone and out of those stingy clothes again.

“I didn’t think so,” he continued. “I’ll lay off the guy, but know that I won’t be treated like anything other than the man we
both
know I am. If you’ve forgotten the validity of that claim, I can always refresh your memory. I’m pretty sure you’re the one that said you liked a good hard fuck every now and then. Am I right?”

She nodded, her voice still too shocked to say anything back and her lips still anticipating the taste of his.

He gave her a smug, lopsided grin. “I thought so. Maybe we’ll get to that later. For now, you should run along and play with your little friend. As for me, I think I hear my fans screaming my name. Or maybe that’s just an echo of you screaming my name from earlier...”

With that, he pulled away, denying her the kiss he knew she wanted, and she restrained herself from begging him to resume his position. With a wink and that smug grin, he turned his back on her and walked away. His stride mirrored his cocky confidence, but she couldn’t argue the fact that he could most certainly back it up. Damn, the man knew how to walk the walk.

Just when she thought she had the upper hand, he always knew how to put her right back in her place.

Still in a seductive daze orchestrated by none other than
the
Dominic Grayson himself, she managed to walk out back to meet Drew for her first training session with a bona fide Guardian of the Light. With everything that she had recently learned about Dominic’s current dilemma—not to mention her own precarious state of impending motherhood—she wasn’t sure if she would be able to calm herself enough to actually accomplish anything but she had to try.