Sweetness (22 page)

“Well I am honored to be your first love.” Gee,
that was corny. His face screws up in confusion. “But
what do you mean you never had a boyfriend. Not even
in high school or college?”
Oh shit how do I explain this without sounding
like a complete whore. “No. There was never anyone I
was interested in dating. Well not more then once or
twice. I guess I was waiting for you.” And the corniness
continues, which seems to put a smile on his face. He
begins to run his hands up my thighs and into the back of
my robe forcing it to fall open.
“I love you, Emma Hill and right now I just want
to show you how much.”
“I love you, too, Dominic Ross. By all means, show
away.”

The next morning
Dominic and I decide to hang out by
the pool with his band mates. I have their bios and I have
met them before but I don’t know much about them
personally. I am intrigued to find out more, like what
they all do for fun while on tour. I am not stupid enough
to believe that this tour is G rated. I am sure there are
plenty of sluts to go around. As much as I trust
Dominick, I have to be rational and realize that there are
woman who are going to throw themselves at him. We
have discussed trust very emphatically and the moment
that trust is broken, this ends. This is a huge leap of faith
for me and with my first real relationship being a long
distance one, I have my doubts that this will end with a
happily ever after. But I can’t imagine a world without
him in it so I have to go for broke on this one.

As I approach the pool area I see the bands’
drummer, Rocco and the bass player, Chris horse playing
in the pool, trying to impress some girls who have circled
them. Dominick and the guitar player Justin are lounging
on the chairs at the far end of the pool, watching them
make asses of themselves. When Dominick spots me he
doesn’t hesitate to leap from his char and meet me half
way as I approach. I see the group of woman sitting next
to Justin follow Dominic with their eyes and throw
daggers in my direction as he wraps his arms around me,
hugging me right off my feet.

As we approach, Justin smiles and tells the girls
to, and I quote, “piss off”, in an Aussie accent. They
sullenly oblige when he gives them a wink, then
proceeds to smack their barely covered behinds as they
pass him by. No doubt they now think they will have a
second go at him later.

“Aren’t you from Jersey?” I quip.
“Yeah, but for some reason using my Australian
accent gets ‘um wet. I lived there until I was ten so it
comes back when I need it to,” he replies with a wink.
I roll my eyes and Dominic shakes his head to
admonish him. Justin is the same height and build as
Dominic with spikey brown hair with blue tips. He is
definitely the ladies man of the group. Dominic and
Justin have been best friends since grade school, which
means he knows Glen too. I have to be very careful that
he doesn’t start bringing Glen into the fold. Glen is going
to try and screw up my relationship with Dominic at all
cost. I know he hates to see me happy and God knows I
haven’t told him about the severity of our relationship,
but that doesn’t mean Dominic and Justin haven’t been
forthcoming with information. Once he finds out I am in
love with Dominic it will be game on, no doubt.
“So then what kind of accent do you use,” I ask
Dominic with a crocked smile.
Before Dominic can speak Justin does the honors.
“The priest?,” he snorts. “Not that he was the life of the
party before you came around but now that you’re in the
picture, I can barely get him to come to an after party.
Hearts are breaking all over America because he has
found the love of his life. Bleh…” Justin pretends to
vomit.
I glance up at Dominic who is standing
possessively at my side with his arms firmly placed
around my waist, turning a rare shade of red. Something
tells me it has nothing to do with the sun. I lean up and
kiss him on his cheek before he twists me around so he is
behind me, draping his long muscular arms around my
shoulders. It is as if he is using me as a human shield
against Justin. Dominic is always so forward with me
and so confident on stage so him acting shy in his best
friends presence is weird. And what is with the priest
comment. You can’t tell me he partakes in
none
of the
perks that come with being a front man, even if it was
before my time.
I slip out of his arms and throw my stuff on the
lounger next to where Dominic was sitting. Dominic sits
back on his lounger after punching Justin playfully in the
arm. When I take off my sundress and slip out of my flip
flops Dominic shoots back up to his feet and shields me
with his body by pressing up against my front. Justin
looks out over the top of his sunglasses, clearly
approving of my attire. Dominic takes notice and kicks
the side of Justin’s lounger. I don’t really see what the big
deal is. It is only a bathing suit. I push back slightly and
take inventory of my red string bikini with black lace
overlay that ties on the sides and in the back. It is not
skimpy in the breast area however the ass section doesn’t
leave much to the imagination. The tarts that were sitting
here a few minutes ago were wearing something similar
and he had no problem with them.
“Jesus Emma, don’t you have a bigger bathing
suit.”
“No. What is wrong with the one I have on,” I
laugh while putting my hands on my hips, daring him to
answer.
“I think you look smashing, love,” Justin says in
his Aussie accent wearing a big grin. That earns him an
icy glare from Dominic.
“I think you look lovely, too.” Rocco kisses my
cheek and shakes water off him and onto me while Chris
takes a seat near us, sliding his greedy eyes over my
body. Okay, now I feel self-conscience but I won’t be
telling Mr. Ross that.
Dominic is clearly not pleased with his band
mates ogling me. It is now obvious that Rocco and Justin
are goading him by not removing their eyes from my ass.
It feels like I am missing something but I don’t think I
want to know what it is.
Whatever! I am not changing.
I take a seat and Dominic moves his lounger next
to mine so they are now touching. He grabs my hand and
looks around to make sure no one, other than his friends,
is staring. He is so possessive and jealous. It is exciting
and unnerving at the same time. I have never had anyone
love me enough to be protective over me. Max of course
is the exception to the rule, but that is more a brotherly
love then anything else.
After a half hour of soaking up the sun, I ask
Dominic to go get me a bottle of water. He reluctantly
agrees and warns me not to move. He looks to Justin and
asks him to watch me.
“I will guard her with my life.”
“Yeah, that’s what I am afraid of. I will be right
back, baby. Don’t let this asshole touch you or he is going
to have to play guitar with his toes.” Dominic quickly
retreats to the bar as if his ass were on fire.
After Dominic is out of earshot Justin’s inquisition
begins. “So Emma, you are Maser’s sister.”
“Um, no. Holly is Glen’s sister. I am the poor soul
that has had to live with those two fuckwads.”
Justin chuckles and throws me an inquisitive
glance. “So I take it you don’t get along with Glen?”
“That’s the understatement of the century. Look, I
know you and Dominic are friends with him, God only
know why. I would appreciate it if you warn me if you
are going to invite him somewhere where I will be. We
don’t get along and I hate being blindsided when it
comes to him.”
Justin adjusts himself so he is leaning toward me
and takes off his sunglasses. He sits up a bit straighter
and visibly tenses while his jaw ticks with anger. At first
I think he is angry with me but when I see his eyes, they
look concerned or possibly confused.
“You won’t have to worry about me bringing that
piece of shit around. He is Dominic’s friend. Not mine.
Frankly I don’t know why he is still friends with him.
Maser has always been a sick fuck.”
Justin’s words raise a big red flag and my heart
starts to race. I sit up and move over to Dominic’s
lounger so I don’t have to raise my voice when I speak to
him. I sit on the edge with my feet on the ground and
lean forward with my elbows leaning against my knees.
“Why do you say it like that? Why don’t you like
him?”
Justin takes a deep breath and shakes his head. I
can see his jaw still flexing while he grinds his teeth. “I
don’t want to bring up the past. He is your family and-“
“Justin tell me! If anyone knows what a sick
bastard he is, its me,” I say without thinking. Justin is
searching my face, for what I don’t know, before he
continues. Shit. I may have said too much.
Justin rolls his eyes and looks over his shoulder to
the bar before darting his eyes back to mine. “It was two
years after we graduated high school. Glen was dating
my twin sister Julie. He started drinking a lot and the
more he drank the angrier he got. We were at a gig and
they showed up. He had already been drinking and she
kept asking him to slow down but he didn’t. She pissed
him off and he slapped her. The bouncer threw him out
but not before he grabbed a bottle of Jack from behind
the bar and sped off in his car. About an hour later he
called my sister to apologize but she said they were done.
I don’t think he liked that much.”
Oh my god. My brain is working in overload. Two
years after he graduated puts him at twenty and me at
16. The night he first raped me he had a bottle of Jack
with him. Could that be what set him off? Could his
break up with Julie that night, have made him the raging
lunatic he was. Panic. Panic. Panic. My breathing
becomes irregular and Justin takes notice as the wheels in
my brain work into overdrive.
“Emma are you okay?” Justin asks. I’m not but I
nod because I need him to finish.
“Yes. I am fine. Just hot. What happened after
that? Did they get back together?”
“Hell no. I would never allow him near her again.
He called her the next day telling her that he found a new
piece of ass and he was done with her. She was
heartbroken, god only knows why. She loved him,
regardless of everything he did to her, she loved him.
They even talked marriage briefly but after that night
something snapped in him. He was different. I saw him
at a party a few weeks after that. He was talking about
some blond who couldn’t get enough of him. After we
went a few rounds, I told him if he ever came around my
sister again I would kill him.”
“Did he?”
“He’s still alive isn’t he?” he says with a smirk.
“Dominic tried to play peace maker but I wasn’t
interested. Dominic always tries to see the good in
people, but there is no good in Glen Maser. When he is
set off you could see the rage in his eyes. Like he
completely checks out.”
“From what I understand he even tried to hook up
Holly and Dominic.”
“Eck, yea. What a train wreck she was? Dominic
wasn’t interested. He often wondered what happened to
you over the years. He knew you lied about your age and
he didn’t want to get you in trouble with your family. It
wouldn’t have mattered about your age once you turned
18, but no one but that chick Rocco was with knew you,
and she was long gone by then. Dominic may not have
known Glen was your stepbrother, but Glen knew. He
never said anything to him about you, even though he
knew Dominic liked you.”
“Fucking asshole!”
“Hey! Language,” Dominic scolds as he
approaches. “Can you be more specific?”
“Glen!”
I stand up and pace in front of the lounger while
talking to myself. The guys are all watching me like I am
a caged animal at the zoo. That fucker kept Dominic and
me apart because he is a sick son of a bitch. He could
have told him who I was but he never revealed it. He
even tried to hook him up with Holly just to rub it in my
face. Then he goes to some fucking party and brags about
fucking me? I have to be the blond he was talking about.
I am convinced now more then ever that the night he
raped me for the first time, was the same night Justin’s
sister broke up with him. He told her I was his
new…new what…piece of ass?
The thought of that is nauseating. The night he
dragged me out of the club and convinced himself that I
liked what he was doing, was part of his sadistic game.
Ugh. That son of a bitch is going to pay for this.
“Calm down, Emma. It doesn’t matter, now. We
are together, that’s all that matters,” Dominic mutters
reaching for me as I trace my four foot trek back and
forth.
“Bullshit! That is not all that matters. He did this
on purpose. He is a sick bastard and he deserves to be
strung up by his balls.”
“I knew I liked her the moment I saw her,” Justin
agrees with a calm coolness as he sits back in his chair.
“Knock it off, Justin. You are just riling her up.
Her and Glen don’t get along as it is.”
“Can you blame me? This is the shit he has done
since the day I met him. He has tortured me. For years,
he has done shit like this. He treats woman like shit. The
concert, the night before you left, he nearly dragged his
date out by her hair because
I
pissed him off.”
“WHAT? What date. The girl he was sitting
with?” Justin asks with a shocked look on his face as he
straightens his back.
“Yes.”
“Mother fucker,” Justin yells as he grabs his phone
and storms off.
“What was that about?” I look between Dominic
and the rest of the band.
“Shit! Justin’s sister was back in town and he saw
her talking to Glen before the show. The next morning
she had bruises on her wrists. She denied being with
Glen but Justin knew it was him even though Julie kept
telling him it wasn’t.”
Damn. That poor girl. He is a danger to all
women. What he did to Julie and me is twisted. He
would beat her then rape me. He wasn’t stupid enough
to leave marks on me. He’d did get rough but he never
left marks that would raise attention to anyone.
At the rape clinic, we would talk as a group about
what we went through. Some of the stories were
horrifying. Most of the women who were repeatedly
raped were beaten also and convinced they were to
blame. I know that nothing Glen did to me was my fault
but I wonder if Julie knows the same thing. If she has
feelings for him and he is playing the same twisted game
he did with me she could be in very big trouble.
Dominic grasps my waist and kisses me while we
settle back in and I allow the sun to absorb the tension
that has been surrounding us.
A silent half hour passes and Justin doesn’t return
so Rocco and Chris tell me embarrassing stories about
Dominic to lighten the mood. They remind me of
brothers with their inside jokes and adolescent banter. It
is nice to be around normal people who truly care for one
another. After Chris spots a brunette in the pool giving
him a come-fuck-me look he leaves the group.
The Miami heat is getting to me so I decide to go
for a swim also. The second I get up Dominic is beside
me, shielding me from the world. “Where ya’ going?”
“Pool. It’s hot. Want to join me for a swim.”
“If that’s where you are, than that is where I am.” I
can’t tell if he is being incredibly over protective or
incredibly sweet. Either way, I’ll take it. His need to
protect me in endearing. I feel safe around him. I know
he would never intentionally hurt me.
We walk around the pool to the steps and begin to
enter the cool oasis when I see Gabe sitting at the pool
bar in a pair of red board shorts. He is wearing
sunglasses but the prickling on the back of my neck tells
me his eyes are on me. As much as I convinced Dominic
there was nothing wrong with my suit, when Gabe looks
at me, I feel naked and exposed. A shiver runs through
my body, I convince myself it is because of the coolness
of the water on my hot skin and not the mocha, brown
eyes boring into me. Dominic stands in front of me
holding my hands as I enter the water, breaking my
trance.
“Too bad this pool doesn’t have a grotto,”
Dominic jokes while lifting me in the water and pulling
my legs around his waist.
“Humm, sex in the pool, huh,” I say as I nibble on
his ear. “My tub is big enough for two.”
“Oh yea,” He pulls my head back so he can kiss
the hollow of my throat. “I may need you to prove that to
me later.”
“So what is the plan for tonight?” I ask as I
continue to run my fingers through his short blond hair.
“What do
you
want to do? I would be happy just
relaxing in front of the TV with my favorite girl and a
good movie but if you-“