In Love With Him

Chapter 20

Dominic’s POV

The rhythmic thud of my fists slamming into the heavy bag echoed through the MMA gym, mixing with the faint sounds of grunts and training pads smacking together around me. My muscles burned from the repetition, sweat soaking through my tank as I ducked, pivoted, and threw another series of combinations. Left. Right. Uppercut. Elbow.

I needed the distraction. Needed to get Kennedy off my mind.

It wasn't working.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her. Felt her. That night on the couch still haunted me. Her warmth, the way she leaned into me, the soft gasp that escaped her lips when my fingers brushed her inner thigh...

I shook my head and went harder. Jab. Hook. Kick.

Get a grip, man.

By the time I left the gym, my arms felt like concrete and my shirt was plastered to my chest. I welcomed the ache. It meant I was too tired to think.

Or so I thought.

When I pulled into the driveway and walked around back, the sound of laughter and splashing met me.

Max and his group of middle school goons were in the pool, flailing around like idiots. Paul was posted up under the patio umbrella with a beer in hand, and my mom sat next to him, fanning herself with her phone.

I walked over and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"Hey, sweetheart," she smiled, not even looking up, too focused on wedding dresses on her phone.

I dropped into the seat next to her, grabbing a bottle of water from the cooler.

"What do you think of this one?" she asked, turning her phone toward me.

I barely looked. My eyes were already drifting toward the pool, and then—

Silence.

I noticed it instantly. The boys stopped splashing. Their heads all turned toward the house, eyes wide like someone had pressed a mute button on the entire scene.

I followed their gaze.

And my mouth went dry.

Kennedy stepped out onto the patio with Marty and Finn beside her. Marty had on some fluorescent pink one-piece, Finn wore ridiculous rainbow shorts that somehow suited him… but it was Kennedy that knocked the air out of my lungs.

Black. Two-piece. Bikini.

Her pale skin glowed in the sun. Her dark hair was twisted into a messy bun that showed off the curve of her neck. She didn’t even notice the stares, walking like she owned the place. Calm. Cool. Confident.

Max’s friends were whispering, and I caught a few phrases I didn’t like. “Dude, she’s so hot.” “Is that Max’s sister?” “I’d let her babysit me any day.”

A flicker of possessive heat burned in my chest.

I clenched my jaw, fingers tightening around the water bottle.

"Dominic?" my mom said.

I didn’t hear her.

"Dominic!"

I blinked and turned back toward her.

"What?"

She chuckled. "I asked what you think of this one." She tilted her phone toward me again, showing off some lacy number I couldn’t care less about.

I glanced at it. "Yeah, that one's pretty."

But my eyes drifted back.

To Kennedy.

To the sway of her hips as she walked to the lounge chairs. The way the sunlight danced across her shoulders. The soft laugh she let out when Finn said something dumb.

She didn’t know what she was doing to me.

And that was the problem.

---

Kennedy’s POV

Marty plopped down onto the lounger next to mine, adjusting her neon pink one-piece that looked like it belonged on a highlighter. Finn flopped dramatically into the chair on my other side, his rainbow swim trunks flashing in the sun like a pride flag caught in a breeze.

Marty leaned over, her sunglasses sliding slightly down her nose. “Okay, so…” she whispered behind the rim of her plastic cup. “Is that your stepbrother?”

My stomach instantly flipped. I tried to act casual as I nodded once. “Yeah,” I mumbled.

They both gasped in unison, like a pair of teenage girls in a Netflix drama.

Finn clutched his chest. “Jesus. Kennedy. That’s the guy you’ve been complaining about?” he whispered dramatically. “He looks like a literal Greek god dipped in sin and protein powder.”

Marty fanned herself with her hand. “That man is dangerous.”

I rolled my eyes but bit back a laugh. “Shut up.”

Finn leaned in and whispered with an evil smirk, “Tell him I’d let him ruin me. Like… full send. No questions asked.”

I smacked his arm, trying not to laugh. “Gross, Finn!”

Just then, Dad stood up from under the patio umbrella, brushing off his shorts. Helen followed, holding her keys. “We’re gonna run to the store real quick,” he said. “You kids behave.”

“Mainly Max and his gremlins,” Helen added, giving her son a look.

Max held up two fingers in a scout’s promise. “We’ll be angels.”

I gave Dad a thumbs up, and they left through the back gate.

Almost instantly, Max and his friends turned their sights on me. The way they hovered at the edge of the pool with mischievous grins made me wary.

“Come swim with us!” one of them called. “C’mon Kennedy, please!”

“Maybe later!” I called back.

Then I noticed Dominic whistle sharply—loud and commanding. Max and his friends stopped their splashing and followed him inside without question.

I frowned. “That was weird.”

Marty leaned toward me again. “Okay, no seriously, he’s insanely hot. Like, I would fake drown just to have him do CPR on me.”

Finn snorted. “I’d fake a coma if it meant waking up in his bed.”

I was trying to shush them, cheeks warm, when it happened.

SPLAT.

A water balloon exploded against my stomach, soaking my black bikini and splashing icy droplets all over my skin.

I gasped and looked down, stunned. Then looked up.

Dominic and the boys stood just beyond the patio, arms loaded with water balloons. Grins spread across all their faces like mischievous little demons.

“Oh hell no—”

Another balloon exploded next to me.

“Attack!!” Max yelled, and chaos erupted.

Marty squealed and cannonballed into the pool, her pink suit disappearing in the splash. Finn flipped a lawn chair and ducked behind it, using it as a shield while screaming, “THIS IS A HATE CRIME!”

I jumped up, trying to dodge the next balloon but it still clipped my hip.

“Dominic!” I yelled through laughter. “I swear to god, you are such a man-child.”

He grinned devilishly. “That’s not what you were thinking when you were checking me out earlier, princess.”

My jaw dropped. “I was not!”

Dominic didn’t answer.

He charged.

“What—? Dominic—DOM—”

Before I could react, he scooped me up effortlessly and tossed me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing. My stomach flipped, a squeal escaping my throat as I instinctively grabbed onto his back for balance. His hand was gripping my thighs—firmly—and the contact made my breath catch in my chest.

“You're gonna pay for that!” I shouted between laughs.

“Oh, I'm counting on it,” he said with a grin.

Then he sprinted forward—and jumped.

SPLASH.

Water exploded everywhere as we plunged into the pool, the cold hitting my skin like a jolt of electricity. I came up gasping, pushing my soaked hair out of my face, laughing and trying to catch my breath.

Dominic surfaced a moment later beside me, shaking his head and flashing that signature smirk.

“You’re insane,” I said, treading water.

He winked. “Takes one to know one.”

And god help me… I was smiling.