Jealousy (23 page)

He stared into her eyes for a moment before he kissed her again.  His mouth found her breasts and his hand traveled down her body.  She moaned at his touch and her body quivered with excitement.  His lips and tongue tickled her belly
.  He slowly licked his way lower.  She couldn’t stand it anymore.  She grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him up, wrapping her legs around his back and thrusting her pelvis into him.  She let out a deep guttural moan as he penetrated her.  She extended her legs up and over his shoulders.  His rhythm intensified and their bodies slapped against one another.  She tried to hold onto his shoulders, but her hands kept sliding from the thin film of perspiration forming on his body.  She held onto his neck and threw her head back.  He was deep inside her and it was almost too much for her to handle.  She had to brace one hand against his chest.  Her breath was heavy and she suddenly felt lightheaded.  Seconds later, intense pleasure shot through her groin, like a bolt of lightning.  She was practically screaming and had to tell him to stop.  The overload of sensations was too much.

Dominick
let out a small exhausted laugh and rolled her over onto her stomach.  Heather propped herself up on her elbows and presented herself to him, like an animal in heat.  He entered her from behind and held onto her hips, a little too tightly, as he pummeled himself into her body until he finally collapsed on top of her.  He kissed the back of her neck and she turned around to meet his lips, inhaling the musky scent of sweat mixed with sex.

“
I’ve been fantasizing about the day you came back into my life,” Dominick said.  “You’re the girl of my dreams, Heather.  I want to be with you.”

“
Shhhhh.  She silenced him with a kiss.  She waited too long for this moment.  She didn’t want to blemish it in any way by discussing their relationship and how it would affect the people around them.

She knew it would cause friction with Justin and Kenny because of Tyler, and she was worried about how Tyler would handle his feelings for Justin.  Too many people
’s lives were entwined.  She wondered why her life was always so complicated.  Why couldn’t anything ever come easy for her?  Why was it such a struggle for her to find happiness?

Chapter Fifty:

Heather thought it was better if she didn
’t tell Justin or Kenny about Dominick until she saw how Tyler handled it. She didn’t want Tyler’s feelings for Justin to send Kenny into a jealous frenzy like last time.

Keeping her relationship with Dominick a secret was easier than Heather thought.  Justin didn
’t ask a lot of questions and he was happy that she was going out and having fun.  He had no idea she had a boyfriend.  And Dominick was happy because now they were free to have a normal relationship, not one hidden behind closed doors.

Dominick didn
’t tell Tyler yet, though.  It was going to be a surprise.  Tyler was on his way over and Heather was looking forward to seeing him again, even though she was a little apprehensive about it.  All of her reservations disappeared as soon as she saw him.  Tyler didn’t see her at first and proceeded to rattle on in a self-absorbed tirade about something or other.  She wasn’t paying attention to what he was saying.  She was too enthralled by his antics and overly-theatrical body language and appearance.  He wore a graphic silk scarf folded like a bandana across his forehead and tied at the back of his neck.  The long ends of the scarf flowed down his back and mingled with the soft brown locks of his long hair, which was now substantially longer than the last time she saw him.  The scarf, along with his tight leather pants and the multiple metal chains that adorned his neck and chest, made Tyler look like a rock star.

At last, he saw her standing in the archway at the far end of the living room, smiling with affection.  He
froze mid-sentence.  “Heather! Oh my God!”  He was so startled by her presence that he called her by her given name, instead of “Gorgeous.”

She threw her head back, laughed, and went to him with open arms.

“What are you doing here?” Tyler asked.

She could hear a hint of disapproval in his voice.

“It OK,” Dominick said.  “She’s divorced.”

“
Divorced?  When did that happen?”

“
Months ago,” she waved her hand, “but I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“
I don’t care about that,” Tyler said.  “I want to hear about you – and Delicious.”  He took her hands, spread her arms out to the side and looked at her figure.  “You still got the body of a teenager.”  He smacked her playfully on the butt.  “Look at that tushy!  I could bounce a quarter off of that thing!”

She missed his spirited sense of humor and laughed. 
“What about you?”  She ran her hands around the circumference of his waist.  “You never gain an ounce.”

He pulled her toward the couch. 
“Come.  Sit.  I want you to tell me about Delicious.  How is he?  Is he still with that cute boy-toy?”

“
Yes, he’s still with Kenny.  He’s happy.”

Tyler let out a dramatic sigh and put his hand on his chest. 
“That man still has my heart.  Send him my love and stick your tongue down his throat for me.”

She chuckled. 
“I will do no such thing.”

“
I would love to see him again.  Do you think it would be alright if . . .”

“
Forget it, Tyler.”  She saw that coming.  “Justin doesn’t know I’m seeing Dominick and I don’t want him to find out about it yet.  I don’t want to cause any trouble between him and Kenny, plus he had a fit when he found out I was seeing Dominick last time.  I’m afraid he may have some hard feelings towards your brother.”

“
I can’t say I blame him.  I was pretty upset when I found out too, but it’s different this time.  You can’t keep secrets from Delicious, you know,” he turned to Dominick “and you’re my brother, you’re not supposed to keep secrets from me either.”

“
I’m sorry,” Dominick said.  “Heather didn’t want me to say anything.  I didn’t have a choice.”

“
So how are you, Gorgeous?”  Tyler primped her hair with his hands.  “What have you been doing – besides my brother?”

She laughed again. 
“You really have a way with words.  I’m trying to get my life back together.  I wasted so many years with Peter.”

“
He was never right for you.  But Sarge, here, is perfect for you.”  He gasped and his eyes and mouth opened wide.  “You could be my sister-in-law!”

“
Slow down,” Dominick said.  “I don’t think Heather is ready for that.”

Tyler grabbed her hands and held them up with excitement. 
“My brother is crazy about you, Gorgeous!  He never stopped talking about you all these years.  Think about it – wouldn’t it be wonderful?”

She didn
’t need to think about it.  Dominick
was
perfect for her, but she knew they could never have a future together.  If only he wasn’t Tyler’s brother . . . or if Tyler and Justin had never dated . . . or if she met Dominick first, before Justin met Tyler . . . or if Tyler wasn’t still in love with Justin.  There were a million “what ifs” that precluded them from having a serious relationship, but the one that weighed heaviest on her mind was, what if she would have left Peter when Dominick first pestered her about it?  They could’ve had a chance.  Maybe it would have worked out, maybe it wouldn’t have, but at least she wouldn’t be filled with regret about missing the opportunity to find out.  Now it was too late.  Even though she knew a serious relationship was out of the question, she craved Dominick’s touch and his presence in her life the same way Justin needed Tyler in his life when they were dating.  What
is
it about these Kennedy men? she wondered.  But, there was a larger obstacle standing in her way.  She had no intention of falling in love again.

Chapter Fifty-One:

The longer Heather waited to tell Justin about Dominick, the harder it got.  She had to admit that she really didn
’t try very hard.  But her absences aroused suspicion, and Kenny was the one who finally questioned her about it.  She hesitated before answering him.  She should have told Justin weeks ago.  That way, he could’ve broken the news to Kenny.  In a way, she was glad that Kenny brought the subject up, though.  She wanted them both to know the truth about Dominick, whether they approved or not.  She was relieved that it would finally be out in the open, but her heart was fluttering all over the place.  She averted her eyes and swallowed hard. “I’m seeing someone.”

“
That’s great, honey,” Kenny said.  “Tell us about him.  What’s his name?”

She couldn
’t say it.  Not directly to Kenny.

He exchanged a puzzled glance with Justin. 
“What’s his name?” Kenny repeated.

She chew
ed on her bottom lip.

“
What’s going on?” Justin asked.  “Why won’t you tell us about this guy?  And why haven’t you mentioned him before?  Who is he?”

She took a deep breath and held it. 
“You’re gonna be mad.”

“
Why should I be mad?” Justin asked.

She looked at the floor and then back up at him. 
“Because – it’s Dominick.”

Justin
’s eyes ballooned.  “Dominick?  Have you been seeing him all along?  You told me it was over.  What the hell are you doing, Heather?”

“
Calm down.  I’ve only been seeing him for about two months.  I didn’t want you to know because I knew you would be upset.”

“
You’re damn right I’m upset!  Why are you hiding things from me?  Why are you doing things behind my back?  What else is going on that I don’t know about?”

“
Nothing.”

“
Wait a minute,” Kenny interrupted.  “Who’s Dominick?”

She couldn
’t answer him, so she looked to Justin to explain.

He
shook his head with disapproval. “He’s Tyler’s brother.  She had an affair with him when I was seeing Tyler.”

Kenny furrowed his brow during the brief second it took for him to place Tyler.  The moment realization hit, Kenny
’s cheeks turned bright crimson.  He narrowed his eyes at Heather and placed his hands on his hips.  “That’s just fucking great!  Thanks a lot, Heather!  Thank you for bring that fucking
bitch
back into Justin’s life!”

She withdrew slightly, startled by his shouting. 
“I have no intention of bringing Tyler into Justin’s life.”

“
It doesn’t matter!” Kenny’s hands flew wildly in the air.  “If you’re dating his brother, he’s going to be involved in our lives! I’m not going to stand for this, Heather.  You need to stop seeing him.”

Heather
raised her brow and leaned back.  Since when did Kenny tell her what to do?  She knew he would be upset, but he never yelled at her before or tried to run her life.

“
He’s right,” Justin agreed.  “This is gonna cause a lot of trouble.  It’s gonna cause friction between me and you, and it’s gonna cause problems between me and Kenny.”

She exhaled loudly and smacked her leg with her hand.
She resented them both for trying to badger her.  She didn’t want to stop seeing Dominick.  “No,” she said.  “I’m sorry.  I’m not breaking it off with him.  I need Dominick in my life right now.”  She looked pointedly at Justin.  “The same way you needed Tyler in your life.”

Kenny threw his hands up again. 
“You see!  Like I needed to fuckin’ hear that!  If that bitch comes near my Justin, or if you tell him one fucking thing about us or about Justin, I swear, Heather, I will never fuckin’ speak to you again!”

He marched past her toward the bedroom, but she tried to stop him. 
“Kenny, wait.”

“
Don’t fucking touch me!”  He swatted her hand off his arm and slammed the bedroom door, practically in her face.

She was shocked, speechless, and stared at the closed door just inches from the tip of her nose.  She never had a fight with Kenny before.  She looked to Justin for comfort, but he stood his ground.

“I’m sorry, sweetie.  I have to agree with Kenny.”  He circled his finger in the air in front of him.  “This is going to put a huge strain on our whole relationship, but it’s your decision.  I’m not gonna tell you what to do.”

She lowered her head.  She cared about Dominick.  She could fall in love with him if she let herself, but she always knew their relationship was doomed from the start.  It would cause too much trouble for everyone, and no one was worth coming between her and Justin. 
He
was the most important person in her life. 
He
was the one she couldn’t live without.  She slowly looked up at him and nodded.  “Kenny’s right.  It’s too hard.  I want a relationship that’s easy, without all the drama.  One that I don’t need to work at.  I’m tired of it.  I don’t have any fight left in me.”  The corners of her mouth turned downward.  “I’m not gonna see Dominick anymore.”

“
Are you sure?”