Page 15

T he rattle of Jesse’s cell phone dancing around the nightstand woke Destiny.

He was already climbing out of bed, grabbing for the unpleasant interruption to their sleep.

“Time to get up already?” She stretched and rolled into the warm indent he’d left behind.

“You can grab a few more z’s. I’m going to hit the shower. I’ll wake you when I finish.”

She pulled his pillow close and breathed in his scent, her body missing his touch already. There was no way she’d be able to go back to sleep.

He’d been the perfect gentleman all night long, just as he’d said he would be. Not that he hadn’t been interested in doing more—she knew that for a fact. She’d felt his interest pushing against her as he’d held her close.

Faint strains of music wafted through the closed door, bringing a smile to her face. Who would have guessed he even liked the same old classic rock she liked?

Be sensible.

Neither his choice of music nor his behaving himself for one night meant anything. A real relationship was based on more than…

She slammed the door on that line of thinking. A real relationship? What kind of fool was she? Hadn’t she already learned that fate didn’t have that kind of fairy-tale life in mind for her?

She’d dated. She’d tried to find a serious relationship. It had never worked out. Men weren’t that interested in a woman who had the responsibility of raising a teenager.

Well, not the men she’d met anyway. From what she could tell, most of them were only interested in having a fling, not in settling down in a real relationship. Though if she were perfectly honest, she’d have to admit she hadn’t met any she’d trusted enough to even attempt the relationship thing.

If you kept the walls solid, if you didn’t let anyone inside, they couldn’t hurt you by leaving. And up to this point in her life, she’d never met the one she was willing to take a chance on.

That special one she waited to find. The man for whom she’d gladly dismantle those walls.

Her mother had always told the three of them that one day they would each find their true love. The missing match to their soul that would make them whole. And when they did, their own souls would recognize that love instantly and be willing to give up everything for them.

Though Destiny had ruthlessly worked to discount nearly every word that had come out of her mother’s mouth as being nothing more than the ramblings of a drunk, deep down in her heart she knew better. Her mother had told them those same stories long before the disease had eaten away at her body, long before she began the heavy drinking to blanket her mind.

Like so many of the lessons Rainbow had taught her children, that little fairy tale of true love and finding one’s Soulmate had worked its way into Destiny’s psyche, burrowing its hooks in deep and taking permanent hold.

Apparently Rainbow’s Soulmate had been a Faerie.

“Which just goes to show you,” Destiny muttered to herself, sitting up. “Thanks a hell of a lot, Fate.”

Though there may be Faeries in this world, there were no happy-ever-after fairy-tale endings.

So, again she asked herself, “What kind of fool am I?”

Here she had this gorgeous man who stirred emotions in her she didn’t understand. Here he was, obviously interested in her, and she was busy worrying about what-if? Why couldn’t she allow herself this one moment?

She climbed out of bed and nervously ran a hand through her hair as she tiptoed over and wrapped her fingers around the bathroom doorknob.

What if she walked in there and he rejected her?

What if she fell in love with him and he left her?

“No more what-ifs. For now I’m going with so what,” she whispered defiantly for the benefit of any errant Fates who might be listening.

Taking a deep breath, she turned the knob and silently let herself into the steamy bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

If that hadn’t been the hardest night of his life, it had to be damn near the top of the list. Lying in that bed all night long, holding that hot little bundle of curvy woman squeezed up against him.

And doing jack-shit nothing about it.

Jesse closed his eyes, lifting his face to the spray of water. He tried to lose himself in the music, wishing he’d turned the volume up full blast before he’d stepped into the shower.

But the hot little bundle was sleeping on the other side of the door. Sleeping with those perfectly shaped legs sprawled out on the bed. His bed. As if waiting for him to fit himself right into…

Biting back a growl of frustration, he grabbed the bar of soap and went to work on his chest and arms. He reached for the handheld showerhead to rinse off, stopping as he felt the mark on his arm tingle and the small hairs at the back of his neck rise in warning.

He spun in the glass stall, ready for anything, only to find Destiny standing outside the shower door.

She watched him, her eyes large and serious, but whether it was doubt or fear reflected there, he wasn’t sure.

Adrenaline flooded his system at the thought of something threatening his home. Threatening her.

“What’s wrong?”

He threw open the door as he spoke, and started to step out, but she stopped him with a sad little smile and a shake of her head.

“Your question should be, What isn’t wrong?”

She confused the hell out of him and he was getting ready to tell her so.

But she reached down and, grasping the ends of the big T-shirt he’d put her into last night, she lifted the whole thing up over her head. Over her head and floating away somewhere.

Not that he knew where or even cared. The instant she stood there, naked, every single square inch of her begging for his touch, all rational processes ceased to function properly. It was as if time slowed. His words, his thoughts, his ability to move tangled as the blood rushed away from his brain.

She placed one hand on the doorframe and stepped into the shower, gliding up against his soap-slicked body.

“Are you okay with this?” She waited, as if she expected him to send her away. The message in her eyes made sense now. It was fear, but not fear of anything outside their little glass cubicle.

What was left of his logical mind grasped at a last chance for reason, screaming for him to push her away and beat a hasty retreat, but his logical mind wasn’t in charge anymore. Primitive Jesse had taken command. And the only message Primitive Jesse broadcast was, Mine.

One word, over and over. The refrain filled his mind as he embraced her, drowning out the rest of the world.

Mine, mine, mine.

She lifted her arms to his neck and he claimed her mouth as he’d wanted to all night, shifting as he did so, barely aware of the warm spray of water cascading over them.

When he slid his hands down her back, down under the firm round cheeks of her butt and lifted, she raised her legs, locking them around his waist.

One slick wiggle from her and any pretense of restraint was over.

“I want you.” He hardly recognized the rasp of his own voice.

“I know. I want you, too.” Her words escaped on a breath before she threaded her fingers in his hair, pulling his mouth back to hers.

All the scenarios he’d dreamed up since he’d first laid eyes on her. All the ways he’d imagined taking her. All the slow, methodical paths he’d considered for pleasuring her. All designed to drive her wild.

All gone.

He pressed her back up against the wet tile and drove into her, breaking the kiss as he did so. She felt so good around him—warm, tight, welcoming. He stilled, fighting for control, as she rolled her hips against him.

“Yes,” she whispered. “Again.”

Another roll, pulling him deeper, chipping away at what little control he had left.

“You got to slow down, babe, or this is going to be over before it starts.”

“No slowing.” She ran her tongue up the side of his neck, undulating against him once more. “If you can’t hold out this time, we’ll just have to do it again until you get it right.”

She pulled his mouth back to hers and he slid out of her, driving back in again, and again, feeling the exquisite pressure build, urged on by Destiny’s wild moans.

One last thrust and he felt his release coming, building, pulling from deep inside as all his muscles tensed.

Shit. What about protection?

Lifting her, he jerked out and pressed tightly against her as the now uncontrollable spasms hit.

Holy fucking shit. Pullout. He hadn’t used pullout as a means of protection since high school. And even then he’d been smart enough to know it didn’t work.

Her breathing was as ragged as his when she lowered her legs to the ground and trembled against him, her eyes closed.

“Sorry.”

His apology sounded so lame-assed, he wasn’t even sure why he’d bothered to utter the word.

She didn’t respond, didn’t even open her eyes. But she did rub her fingers back and forth on his chest. One little gesture of reassurance.

He was going to have to make this one up to her. Big-time.

She remained motionless as he ran the bar of soap over and around her beautiful breasts. One tiny gasp was the only indication that she noticed as he moved the soap lower, sliding it between her legs.

The gasp and her cheeks turning a dull red.

Amazing that two people could share a moment like they had and she’d still be embarrassed by this.

The water was starting to cool as he rinsed them both off.

She was silent as he lifted her to his arms and pushed out of the shower.

Across the floor and out the door, straight to his bed, where he lowered her to her back.

That got a response.

She struggled to sit up, but he held her down. “We didn’t even dry off! My hair’s dripping. Your bed will be soaked.”

He shrugged, grinning down at her. “And then we’ll be dry.”

Women. Like he gave a shit about the damned bedcovers.

He glanced at the drawer of the nightstand, remembering too late that he hadn’t bothered to replenish the condoms after Lara had left. Since he’d pretty much sworn off women after her, he’d reasoned that he wouldn’t have to buy more.

Yeah, right. That brilliant idea was working out real well.

How long ago had that been? Almost a year?

A lifetime ago.

No matter. There were other ways he could make it up to Destiny for his less-than-stellar shower performance.

He slid down her body, running his hands over the firm globes of her breasts before fastening them around her waist.

A small breathy moan was his reward.

He slid farther, off the side of the bed and onto his knees, pulling her along until her bottom was right at the edge. He lifted her legs, placing the backs of her knees onto his shoulders.

Her shoulders came up off the bed. “What are you—”

“Hush,” he interrupted her, pushing her back down. “I’m just finishing what I started.”

He kissed her stomach, enjoying the little moan as he ran his tongue into her belly button.

Her thigh muscles tensed when he ran his fingers over her mound, allowing his thumbs to glide lower, grazing over her outer lips.

When his thumb parted those lips and pushed inside, she bucked up off the bed.

Nothing got him all worked up quicker than a highly responsive woman.

An intended light kiss to the inside of one thigh suddenly became more intense as he fastened his lips tightly to the skin, sucking in.

Another reversion in his behavior to a decade past. He hadn’t left a love bite on anyone since high school, but somehow the idea of possessively marking Destiny as his was too strong to resist. It was as if he needed to know she belonged to him.

No one would see it, but he’d know it was there. His mark. His territory.

Primitive Jesse had once again reared his head, the Mine, mine, mine chant stronger than ever, drowning out any attempt at reasonable thought.

What had she gotten herself into? It wasn’t like she’d never had sex before.

But she’d never had it like this.

Not this focused on her needs, all-consuming, swallow-her-up-whole experience that tied her guts in knots and left her ears ringing.

She should be dying of embarrassment, legs splayed open for Jesse’s inspection, but the sheer excitement, the mind-numbing pleasure of having his hands, his mouth hovering over her body was too intense for her to want to do anything to stop him.

His thumb plunging inside her almost toppled her over the edge, and when he withdrew it, massaging over the top of her clit, she wanted to scream, her whole body aching with need.

Large, warm hands slid back up her stomach and around, under her bottom, lifting her, and then…

Oh my God! Is that his tongue?

She couldn’t think anymore, couldn’t rationalize to think, as he fastened his mouth to her and wave after wave of tremors hit, her entire body convulsing with her orgasm.

The cool air washed over her as he lifted his head and she wanted to yell, whether for him to stop or go on she wasn’t sure.

Finally she chose one.

“Enough.” Had that breathless sound really come from her?

In reply, he laughed. Laughed! “Oh no. We haven’t hit anywhere near ‘enough’ yet.”

As if to prove his point, he delved a finger into her sheath, followed by a second, slowly pressing deeper, in and out until she found herself moving in unison to the rhythm he established. When he set his mouth to her, her body exploded into spasms again.

This time, when the tremors passed, she knew exactly what she wanted, lifting up, reaching for him to pull him to her.

“You,” she said raggedly. “Inside me.”

He stood, his erection proof he was more than ready to oblige. But rather than covering her with his body, as she’d expected, he pushed her legs farther apart and fastened his hand around her waist, pulling her toward him, entering her as he did.

Slowly, deeply, he pressed into her, holding her captive against him. Just as slowly, he pulled out, teasing her body with his nearness, waiting just long enough before reentering to make her squirm, trying to force him to move faster.

A deep, satisfied chuckle from above her and he began a second slow entry.

Accompanied by the ear-jangling ringing of the telephone.

“Fuck,” he muttered as he moved away to grab the noisy instrument.

Destiny couldn’t have said it better herself.

“What?” he all but yelled into the receiver, followed by a deep sigh. “Right. We’ll be ready.”

Then he was leaning over her, kissing her cheek. “Sorry, Des, I lost all track of time. Peter’s on his way to take us to the airport. You hold that thought, okay? We’ll have to finish this up later.”

She nodded as he walked away to pull clothes from his dresser. But truly, at the moment, all she could think of was how much she hated that stupid Peter guy.