Chapter 6
Dominik
No one wanted to go to work after partying hard.
Especially not when you worked on cars for a living and people were putting their lives in your hands.
Trusting you not to fuck up their vehicle and cause them to get hurt or hurt someone else.
I pulled on my swimming trunks and a white t-shirt, tagged the beer I was bringing, and a towel, pulled my black ball cap on, and headed out of my house and to my garage.
Since it was the Fourth and the forecast showed it was going to be the perfect weather, I climbed into my Mustang, started it up, rolled the windows down, and cranked the music.
My phone pinged just as I pulled out of my garage.
Sparkles – Can you swing by and get me?
Me – When have you ever driven yourself to the marina?
Sparkles – *snickers* Never.
Me – Just pulled out.
Sparkles – You did? Huh. Well, that wasn’t climactic.
I snickered.
Fucking Talia.
Me – Never said it was my cock.
Sparkles – Promises. Promises.
Me – Shut up so I can drive.
Sparkles – Yes, sir.
You can call me, sir, any fucking time you want.
Fucking hell, I reached down and adjusted my cock.
This was going to be hell.
And the moment I pulled up outside Talia’s apartment building, that statement repeated in my head.
Any time I got to see her golden skin on display, I couldn’t help myself not to stare.
And... I had to force my body on lock down, so I didn’t reach out, wrap her waist, haul her to me, and devour every inch of her.
Those light-washed jean shorts she was wearing, I knew, had to have been an old pair of jeans. Because they looked soft, and well loved, and fucking short.
She had the button undone, and the white pockets showed against her long, tanned legs.
Long, tanned legs that led up to the fucking promised land that was covered by a piece of fucking denim.
I wish I were the fucking piece of denim.
Lord have fucking mercy on me.
She stepped to my car and climbed in.
Then I wanted to slap myself upside my head.
Fucking too busy staring at her and didn’t even get out and open her door.
I needed to get my head on straight.
She winked at me, then asked, “You ready?”
I nodded, then looked at her, “Seatbelt.”
She snickered, buckled up, and then we headed to the marina.
I caught Talia from the corner of my eye nodding her head along to the beat of the music, with her arm outside of the window, her bracelets around her wrist doing the wave.
A horn blared, and I looked in my rearview mirror and shook my head.
Garrick, Tatum, and Sage were coming up behind us.
I blew my horn right back and revved my motor, which caused Talia to giggle.
Then she threw her head back and laughed when a few car alarms that were on the sides of the road on Main Street blared.
I chuckled because that was funny as hell.
We made the turn onto the road that was a straight shot to the marina.
And traffic was backed up.
It always was.
They had talked about turning this two-lane into a four-lane, and they fucking needed to.
Thankfully, we didn’t have much further to go.
The Griggs boat was docked at Merida Marina, at the inlet cove of the lake.
And the spot we were going to was almost like a beach.
It was on a corner of the lake and was nothing but sand.
Fucking perfect.
A few trucks passed us with American flags waving in the breeze.
A few other boats passed us.
And then I flipped on my turn signal and pulled into the marina parking lot.
Pulling off to the side in one of the parking spots, I rolled the windows up and turned the Mustang off.
When Talia moved to open her door, I growled, “What the fuck do you think you're doing?”
Her head whipped to me, “Excuse me?”
“You wait for me to open your door, little girl,” I said with a growl.
She winked, “Oh, baby, the moment you're inside my vagina, I’ll let you give me orders.”
Then she opened her fucking car door.
Hopped out and smirked.
I stared for a second out of my windshield and said, fuck it.
I tagged my stuff, reached over, pushed the lock on her door, then climbed out, repeated the process on my door, then slammed it.
And the moment I rounded the back of the Mustang, I knew I had a certain look on my face because Talia caught it, and then she ran.
I grinned as I tossed my stuff down.
I reached her in a few long strides, grabbed her, twisted her, and tossed her over my shoulder.
Then I did something I’ve always wanted to do.
I smacked her on the ass.
Hard.
“Fucking trouble.” I rumbled.
I carried her over my shoulder while she shouted and pounded on my back with her small fists.
Then I sat her down on her feet and narrowed my eyes at her, “Don’t do that again.”
She snorted, “Right. Okay.”
Sage let go of Garrick’s hand and raced over to me, holding her arms out, “Pick me up, Uncle Dom.”
I leaned down and picked her up, then I carried her as we walked to the dock where the Griggs boat was.
And no, I didn’t miss that it was Talia who leaned down and picked my stuff up.
Thankfully, Bronson, as well as Hyde, who happened to be on Alec’s team, also had boats, or else we would need to make two trips back and forth to get everyone where we needed to go.
I climbed on the Griggs boat with Sage in my arms, Garrick, Tatum, Carter, Harlee, Granger, Lola, Zaden, Hattie, Misty, and Frank.
Talia, Lila, Alec, Cassie, Krispin, Cole, Madalyn, Ethan, Melanie, Pete, and Darla climbed onto Bronson’s boat.
Smoke, Ice, Jekyll, Wolf, Hyde, and three women climbed on their boat.
All the kids had on life jackets; they had learned that they didn’t get on the boat without them.
About ten minutes later, we pulled up to the beach that was created.
Coolers and chairs were put on inflatable tubes and brought to the beach.
We had a game of tag football with the kids while the women floated on tubes in the water, cackling, gabbing, you name it, we heard it.
And laughter. Tons of fucking laughter.
It had maybe been an hour or so when a boat carrying six men and two women pulled up to the beach as well.
They weren’t from Whispering Falls.
And when three of them kept eyeing the women who were now carrying their tubes to the beach, Garrick growled, “Eyes back in your head motherfucker.”
Tatum laughed and then raced to him and launched herself into his arms.
Harlee did the same with Carter.
And my eyes were on Talia.
Waiting to see what she would do.
She looked at them, taking them all in, and then, when one of them returned the gesture, I had to clench my hands into fists to keep myself still.
Thankfully, Talia turned her head back around and headed over to where we all were.
And when Sage, Krispin, Melanie, Granger, Zaden, Lola, Hattie, Cole, and Madalyn caught the two men staring again, they all stood up, crossed their arms over their chests, and glared.
It was the funniest shit I’ve ever fucking seen.
What wasn’t funny, however, was that ten minutes later, Talia had gone to the woods to use the bathroom.
I happened to glance over my shoulder to see one of the guys break off and wait for her to be done.
It was the same guy she had eyed up and down. The same one who had returned the gesture.
Titling my head back, I took a long pull of my beer.
Damn, but I needed whiskey, a kick in the head, fucking something.
Anything to get the infatuation I felt for Talia out of my fucking system.
Because it couldn’t happen.
It just fucking couldn’t.
I watched as they talked.
And when he threw his head back and laughed, I had to grit my teeth to not stand up, storm over there, and knock his lights out.
Because she was smiling up at him.
Smiling.
That fucking smile that I wanted just for me.
Fuck. My. Life.
I kept staring, narrowing my eyes as he asked her something, and she shook her head.
He patted his pockets for something, then held up a finger to her.
I watched as he raced by us, waded into the water, got up in their boat, and came out moments later with something in his hand.
My chest hollowed out when I realized it was his phone.
I watched as he waded back out of the water, then made his way back to Talia.
Would it be childish to ask Alec to stick his leg out and trip the bastard?
Probably.
Was I tempted? Yes.
And I was even more tempted when she rattled something off and he typed it in his phone.
If that was her number, I was going to throw his phone into the lake.
They talked for a few more minutes, then she smiled and headed back to us.
“So, he was cute. What did he want?” Lila asked Talia the moment she sat down beside me.
I glared at the motherfucker. Yeah, look, she sat down beside me.
However, while I was glaring at the prick, I missed someone else watching Talia. With a look I damn sure wouldn’t have liked.
“He asked me out, but I declined. Then he asked me if I knew who the Charger and the Mustang belonged to. He told me he has an older Camaro he wants to restore. Gave him the number to the shop.”
“He asked you out?” Cassie asked.
Talia nodded.
“Why didn’t you say yes?” Misty asked her.
Talia snickered, “Because he has a tanned line on a very important finger.”
I listened, then looked at the prick and came to a decision.
I stood up, followed by Garrick, Carter, Alec, Ethan, Frank, Pete, Bronson, Smoke, Ice, Wolf, Hyde, and Jekyll.
They were all loaded back up into their boat with one of the women promising to let the pricks’ wife know that he was a cheating piece of shit.
The women were all gabbing as we headed back.
Cassie handed headphones to Alec, right before the fireworks started.
Wolf, Ice, Smoke, Jekyll, and Hyde all put earplugs into their ears as well.
I couldn’t imagine having to do that.
Damn.
They were all in the military, the Army, and the rest of what they did was classified.
It was getting dark, and even though the forecast had said it would be a clear night, they missed the rolling dark clouds.
We were all loaded up in boats just as the bottom fell out of the sky, literally.
Rain pelted at my face.
Garrick had Tatum and Sage’s faces pressed into his chest.