Dominick had managed to get her completely into the bathtub, the water splashing all over the floor, soaking the small rug in the process.
"Are you insane?!" Jade howled, trying to get up.
"Completely, and you're the reason why," he admitted, wrapping his arms around her back.
"You're a son of a bitch, Dominick! I thought you were drunk! Lying piece of shit!" she screamed, kicking inside the bathtub.
Dominick held her tightly, her hair clinging to her face as she kept struggling.
"If you don't stay still, you're going to hurt yourself," he growled, straightening up a bit to get a better grip on her. "Don't move, dammit!" he roared, his chest rising and falling.
Jade froze when she felt something brush against her stomach. She opened her eyes and looked at him in terror.
Dom had his eyes closed and lips slightly parted, letting out a deep exhale.
"Thank you," he murmured.
"C-can I go?" she stammered, placing her open hands on Dominick's thighs. She lifted herself a few inches to avoid feeling that so close to her. She was on her knees in front of him… far too close for her liking. Dom opened his eyes and met the green of hers.
"Why do you want to leave?" he dared to ask, his voice rough. One arm held her, and his other hand landed on her thigh.
"Can you stop touching me?" her voice was soft, and she was getting nervous. She hated being in these awkward situations, especially with him.
"I don't want you to go…" he whispered, bringing his lips closer to hers. Dominick's breathing grew heavier with each passing second.
"I want you to stop touching me and let me go or I swear I'll…" she threatened—or at least tried to—though her soft voice failed to be convincing.
"What are you going to do? Scratch me with your wildcat claws?" he asked flirtatiously. He wasn't drunk, but he had enough alcohol in his blood to do even more stupid things than when he was sober. He pulled her closer. The position was uncomfortable for Jade, her knees were starting to hurt.
"Believe me, with how turned on I am right now, you'd only make me harder than I already am," he said, his eyes slightly dilated. Instinctively, she looked down. The water was nearly transparent, and she could confirm what he said, seeing the massive bulge gloriously outlined, only covered by his black boxer briefs.
"Y-you're a p-pervert," she managed to say between stammers. She quickly looked up, not wanting to stare at that particular part of Dominick. She found him wearing a lascivious grin, clearly amused by the situation.
"I'm whatever you want me to be, gattino selvatico," he whispered the last part in Italian. Jade wrinkled her nose, she didn't understand what he said, but didn't care. She just wanted to get out of there.
"You're despicable…" she growled, trying to move again.
"And you're a menace, and yet here we are, soaking wet…" he smiled. "And full of desire…"
"You've trapped me here!" she shouted, cutting him off.
"Keep your voice down," he demanded.
"You don't give me orders! I do what I—"
"I'm done!" he roared, cutting her off mid-sentence. Before she could react, Dominick grabbed her by the nape of her neck and slammed his lips onto hers.
The collision of their mouths hurt both of them due to the roughness of the act, but Dominick didn't care… He was just enjoying the delicious contact of her wonderful mouth again.
Though the position was uncomfortable, Dominick managed to press himself even closer to her, showing her—by rubbing his erection against her—just how aroused and desperate for her he was.
He gripped her waist with both hands, and when she let out a soft moan, he slipped his tongue in, which hers welcomed without hesitation. The kiss was desperate, demanding, and passionate.
"I want to make you mine," he whispered against her lips, then kissed her neck slowly… And that's when the neuron of reason lit up in Jade. She had to come up with a plan to escape. Dominick claimed her lips again with urgency, but she bit him, hard.
"Fucking hell!" Dom howled. Jade took advantage of his lapse and jumped up.
"Ahh!" she cried when she felt a pull in her leg. "Shit," she whimpered. It was a cramp.
She rushed out of the tub, ignoring the pain in her leg and the water on the floor.
"Jade!" Dominick shouted when he saw her slip, fall, and hit her forehead on the edge of the toilet. "Goddammit! You couldn't just stay still!"
He got out of the tub and found her unconscious, lying on the floor.
"What am I going to do…?" he growled.
[...]
Dominick paced in circles in the same spot. Jade was still unconscious on the bed. All hell would break loose when she woke up and found out he had taken off her wet clothes… that he had seen her naked. «And what torture it was...», he thought.
Naked, she looked magnificent, like a sculpture worthy of Michelangelo, or perhaps a divine painting by van Gogh. She was truly beautiful. He wanted, with every fiber of his being, to have her.
To feel her in his arms, to hear her moan beneath him. To ride her like no one ever had before…
He cursed under his breath when he felt a surge of heat rush to his groin.
He finished putting the supplies back into the first aid kit. He had cleaned her wound, disinfected it with care, and applied gauze. But she still hadn't woken up, and it had already been half an hour.
"Shit, shit," he muttered, covering his face with his hands. "I'm going to have to do it."
He stood up and went for the room phone.
"Hello."
"Hello, yes. I need you to send Nerea to my room. You know who she is, right?"
"Yes sir, she'll be up in a few minutes. What's the room number?" the woman asked.
"Royal Suite, room 303," he said, glancing at Jade. She was wearing one of his T-shirts and a pair of his boxers.
He had changed too. A few minutes later, he heard a knock at the door. He mentally prepared himself for what was coming.
He opened the door, but didn't let her in. He stepped out, and she looked at him, confused.
"Do you need something?" she asked.
"Drop the formalities. In a moment, you'll want to kill me if you don't hear me out first," he said, staring at her.
"Dominick, I don't understand," she replied informally.
"It wasn't my fault, okay?" She frowned, understanding less and less with every second. She was about to speak when he interrupted her. "Let me finish. Jade was with me… in the bathtub." The brunette's eyes widened in shock. "We argued, I kissed her, she kissed me back, and as always, everything went to hell."
Nerea listened intently, still unsure why he was telling her this.
"She bit me," he pointed to his lip, which had a cut. "Then she ran out, slipped, and hit her head on the toilet…" he murmured the last part.
Nerea panicked.
"Where is she?!" she shouted, drawing the attention of people passing in the hallway.
"Calm down," he said, grabbing her by the shoulders. She slapped his hands away. Dominick rolled his eyes. Nerea was a lot like Jade, fiery and intense.
Dominick opened the door and she ran inside.
"Oh, Jade, my poor Jade. What did that bastard do to you?" she asked, sitting on the bed and holding her hand.
"I'm still here," Dom growled.
Nerea shot him a murderous glare.
"Alright, I get it," she muttered with a quiet chuckle. Jade stirred slightly, grimacing.
"Nerea, I need a favor…"
"You've got the nerve to ask me for one after what you did?" she interrupted.
"Yes, I do. Now listen. When Jade wakes up, you'll tell her you were the one who changed her. If she finds out I saw her naked…"
"She'll kill you," Nerea stated.
"Exactly. So this is how it'll go: you'll say I called you, you came in, and you changed her into my clothes." Dom crossed his arms, watching her.
The brunette thought about it for a few seconds, sighed in defeat, and nodded.
"I hate lying to you, Jade," she said to the blonde as she turned toward her, "but it's better if you don't know this."
"I'll leave you two alone," he announced as he saw Jade beginning to open her eyes. "If you need anything…" He looked at Nerea. "Call me."
He left…
He needed to talk to Maximiliano, even though he knew that would involve getting thoroughly lectured.
"Why do I always get into these situations because of her?" he asked no one in particular.
Jade
She began to wake up, her head pounding and her senses disoriented.
She blinked a few times to focus, squinting as she caught the sight of her friend's smile.
"Everything's spinning… where am I?" she asked, gripping the sheets in her fists. "This is way too soft to be mine."
Both laughed, and Jade winced.
"Are you okay?" Nerea took her hand again, gently brushing her knuckles.
"I feel like my head's been ripped off, but other than that, I'm fine."
"Okay. What year is it? Or better yet, what's the date?"
"It's Tuesday…"
"Yes."
"Tuesday the 31st… of January…"
"Good, good," Nerea smiled.
"Of 1985…"
"Oh my God, Jade!" Nerea whined. "You're not okay, they'll lock you in a mental hospital, and it's all his fault," she kept lamenting until she heard her friend's soft laugh.
"2017, Nerea. I'm just messing with you," she giggled, but the pain in her head made her bring her hands to the sore spot.
"Idiot!" Nerea gently smacked her foot. "You scared me, you're the worst."
"Alright, alright," Jade stopped laughing when she realized she wasn't in her uniform… she was wearing a T-shirt and boxers.
"Jade? Are you okay?" Nerea touched her forehead, checking for any sign of fever. "You're very pale."
"My clothes… who..." she swallowed hard, feeling dizzy again. "Who took off my clothes?"
Nerea closed her eyes.
"I did," she lied. "Dominick called me, and we patched you up together. He left while I changed you."
Jade sighed in relief.
"Thank you, Nerea." Jade sat up with her help.
"We're going to the infirmary…" Nerea started to say, but Jade shook her head.
"Ner, I'm fine..."
"That's not up for discussion. Did I ask if you wanted to go?" Jade huffed. She knew when Nerea made up her mind about something, there was no changing it. She rolled her eyes and nodded. "Perfect."
"Now let's get out of here," she said.
Dominick
"Don't look at me like that," Dom said with a tired sigh.
"How can I not, Dominick?" Maximiliano leaned back in the chair. "I don't know what I'm going to do with you. Will you ever be able to keep your dick away from a woman? Or better yet, from her?"
"No," he smirked. Maximiliano laughed at his shamelessness.
"You're the worst, Dom. The absolute worst," Maximiliano clinked his glass against Dominick's.
"Thanks. I'm flattered…" he took a sip of cognac, staring at the liquid in the glass. He'd been drinking too much lately, and the constant conflict with Jade had him in a worse mood than usual, worse than his normal "perpetually pissed" state. He set the glass down on the desk.
"Something wrong?" Maximiliano furrowed his brow, noticing Dominick's expression had turned serious.
"No, no," Dominick lied. "I'm great." He smiled, but Maximiliano didn't buy it. He knew his friend too well, he could always tell when he was lying, which was most of the time.
"Looks like you don't want to talk…" Max shifted in his seat. "But that's fine. I don't have to push. Sooner or later, you'll tell me."
Dominick nodded.
"I don't have many friends like you," Dom admitted, a bit lost in his thoughts. "Actually, I only had five—including you—and I almost lost two of them because of my own damn fault."
He threw his head back and stopped swirling the glass.
"I don't know what's wrong with me…" he confessed, rubbing his eyes. "Ever since…"
He sighed. Saying her name out loud was still too hard.
"I haven't been the same."
"Dominick… what that woman and Christian did to you," Maximiliano sat up and clasped his hands, "is unforgivable for most people. But forgiving them is the only way you'll ever live in peace. Dom," he added when he saw him shake his head, "it's the only solution. I know I'm asking the impossible, but..."
"Forgive them?" Dom let out a bitter laugh, feeling that familiar sting from that night crawl up his spine again. "Tell me, how do you forgive the betrayal of the woman you love with your brother? Tell me, damn it!" he shouted, standing up. Maximiliano did the same.
"Dom…" he was his friend, and he understood him, but he also knew that forgiveness was the only way Dom could heal.
"See?" That raw helplessness from years ago surged inside him again. The rage, the pain, the crushing disappointment… all of it, back with even more violence. And then it happened; he collapsed again like he hadn't in a long time. "You'll never understand, because only I know the suffering I carry," he said, the first tear falling.
"Dominick… I..." Maximiliano tried to say something, but he shook his head, turned around, and left the office.
Off he went again to drink until he passed out, and for a few hours, forget everything…