Accepting Destiny (13 page)

“I am now,
” I reply. I really wasn’t hungry before, but the smell has got my tummy rumbling. A funny Winnie the Pooh song comes to mind and I start to giggle.

“Something amusing you?” Jackson asks
, as he pulls containers out of the brown paper bag.

“It’s nothing, just me thinking silly things again. I have a bad habit of doing that when I’m stressed out.”

“Well, don’t stress out. Eat.”

He sets out battered shrimp, cole slaw, hush puppies and a gallon o
f tea. “I hope that’s sweet tea,” I ask around a mouthful of hush puppy, pointing at the gallon of tea.

“T
hat’s the only way to drink tea,” He responds, as he pulls two glasses out of the cabinet and fills them with ice. “Extra sweet and ice cold.”

The delivery guy comes back in
, carrying a metal bucket and another brown bag. “More?” I ask, still stuffing my face.

He sets
the bucket on the table, shakes Jackson’s hand and leaves. Jackson locks the door behind him and I peek in to the bucket. Filled to the rim, are still warm, lightly steamed oysters. I then dig into the bag and find a large Styrofoam container of butter and another of horseradish sauce. “Oh geez, I’m in hog heaven now,” I say, as I grab an oyster and an oyster knife, digging in to the slightly opened shell.

I scoop the succulent piece of meat out of the shell and dunk it in the butter, sl
urping it back. “Mmmm, fabulous,” I say, as the butter drips down my chin. Jackson’s eyes flash and he smiles that sexy smile of his. He reaches out to remove the dripping butter from my lips and chin, then he sucks on his finger, letting out a low growl.

“You know, oysters are an aphrodisiac don’t you?” He asks me
, as he cracks open his own oyster and dunks it in the butter. But he doesn’t put it in his mouth, he feeds it to me. He presses the oyster between my lips and I close them around his fingers, swirling my tongue over his butter covered finger.

“Careful, Alexandra. O
r we will be eating these later,” He warns.

I chuckle and grab a battered shrimp, dunking it in cocktail sauce. I suddenly feel like I’m being a pig and will start oinking at any minute, so I wipe my mouth and set my napkin back in my lap.

“You aren’t done are you?” He asks as he cracks open another oyster, depositing the morsel onto his tongue. This time, I swear my eyes flash, because he curls his lips in a sexy smirk as his tongue darts out, catching the droplet of butter on his lip.

Who knew eating oysters could be so sexy? No wonder they’re supposed to make you horny, just watching him eat them is soaking my panties.

But now it’s my turn. I crack open a shell and remove the meat, dunking it in the butter and gently placing it in between his lips, but instead of my finger catching the butter I lean in and lick it off of his lips. He groans and grabs me by the waist, pulling me on to his lap.

“Minx,” h
e whispers in my ear.

I chuckle and wriggle m
y way off of his lap, or at least I try, but my wiggling has awoken the beast. Uh oh, I guess I’ve really done it now. He grabs my arms and pulls me to him, where we are now face to face. I see a droplet of butter on his chin and I go in for the kill, my inner sex goddess roaring to life. Not sure where she came from, but I’m welcoming her in.

I lean in and lick the small drop of butter from his chin, raking my tongue along his scruffy skin
, until I press my tongue to his mouth and press my lips against his. He opens eagerly and sucks my tongue in to his mouth, groaning. My gosh, I can’t believe I have become so brazen with this man. I’ve never initiated sex before, it’s always been the guy cause....well, you know.

I can’t help myself around him. Just looking at him, feeling his body against mine awakens me
, like I’ve never felt before. He pulls back and looks at me, his fingers caressing my cheek and his eyes planted on my lips.

H
e lifts up, so I have to stand up, leaving the warmth of his body. “Finish eating, you’re going to need your strength,” He tells me, as he reaches for a hush puppy.

I get off his lap and poke my bottom lip out, which is typical for me. He knows I’m playing, but he smirks at me anyway. It took a lot of courage for me to be so intimate with him, at my request. Usually it’s him getting frisky. Frisky? Ha ha, now I sound like my mother.

“Damn it, I need to call my mother and let her know where I am,” I say as I dig for my phone, then realize I don’t have it with me. “Can I borrow your cell? Or will it even work here?” I ask.

“Probably not, use the
land line,” He nods towards the phone on the kitchen counter. At least it’s cordless, so I can go outside and not have him hear my conversation. I’m not looking forward to making this call. My parents were freaked out enough, after the kidnapping, which is why you haven’t heard me talk about them much.

I love my parents and I grew up in a very loving home, but they are over protective of me.....wait, do I have daddy issues? I l
augh to myself, no. They were that kind of protective and they let me live my life, but they worry so much that it will drive someone crazy. They didn’t even want me going off to college, they wanted me to stay under their, roof so they could keep an eye on me. Once I graduated from high school, I’d had enough.

I take the phone and step in to one of
the guest rooms for privacy. I can hear Jackson cleaning up our dinner dishes and putting the left overs in the fridge. After about fifteen minutes of listening to my mom crying and my dad yelling in the background to “get my ass home” I end the call, collapsing against the door of the bedroom. I sink to the floor and wrap my arms around my knees.

A few minutes later, Jackson is at the door trying to open it, but I’m leaning against the door and he can’t open it. Well, I suppose he could but
, he decides against trying. Smart move. “I just need a minute, Jackson. I’ll be right out,” I toss over my shoulder, at the closed door. I hear him grunt and stalk away, obviously not happy that I’ve shut him out.

I stay put for probably longer than I planned to, my head between my knees and the tears running freely. I feel him before I see him, and I glance up at his concerned face, brushing the tears away. This man is a stealth, sneaking in places
, without anyone knowing. “How did you get in here?” I ask as I see the sliding glass doors of the bedroom open, the silky drapes blowing in the breeze.

He doesn’t answer my question, because I guess he knows
, I figured it out. He sits down next to me on the floor, his back against the door beside mine and pulls me in to his chest. He doesn’t speak, but his presence makes me feel better. We sit for a few minutes in silence, taking in the situation that we find ourselves in.

“I take it
, that call didn’t go as well as you wanted?” Jackson asks, breaking the silence.

A sob catches in my throat, so I just shake my head, resti
ng it again in my hands. “Shhhh,” He reassures me. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll get through this, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“But you can’t protect me from everything, Jackson. Whoever this is, is determined to mess with me.
My life will never be the same,” I cry out.

“No, probably not the same. It will be better
than that, I’ll make sure of it,” he whispers.

Once I’ve calmed down and dried my tears, Jackson tugs on my hand and pulls me towards the door. “Let’s go for a walk on the beach.”

“Are you sure it’s safe?” I say, as I glance out of the French doors, that open up to the large deck.

He pulls out a walkie talkie thingy and presses the button. “We are heading to the beach, how does it look out there?” He says and then releases the button.

“All’s quiet, Mr. Bentley,” The person on the other end responds quickly. He nods at the walkie talkie and sets it on the patio table. I wonder why he’s not taking it with him, because that’s the only means of communication between us and the security guys. But I trust him, so I say nothing.

He opens the door and we step on to the deck, exiting through the screen door. I take in my surroundings
, as we go down the stairs, to the walkway over the dunes. As we approach the ocean, I suck in a breath, captivated by the scenery. Clear, turquoise water crashing in medium sized waves over the white sand. The sky is blue on one side, but dark and cloudy on the other. The wind has picked up too, so my hair is blowing in my face. I spit a hair out of my mouth and glance over at Jackson who is staring at me.

“Beautiful,” i
s all he says.

“Yes, it is,
” I respond, as I scan the landscape.

“I wasn’t referring t
o the view, but that’s nice too,” he says as he takes my hand, entwining our fingers together. “Looks like a storm’s coming, so we better be quick. Wouldn’t want you to get rained on,” He says.

“Ahhh, Jackson. I am not
a witch, so I won’t melt in a little rain.”

We kick our shoes off and Jackson rolls his pants legs up, showing off the golden skin on his ankles. Yes, even his feet are sexy.

We walk down the stairs and sink our feet in to the warm, soft sand. I wiggle my toes in the sand, feeling the scratchy, but soft grains between my toes. Jackson is just standing there, smirking at me. “You act like you’ve never been to the beach before, Ally.”

“Humph, it’s been a while. I grew up going to Myrtle Beach, but this is the first time I’ve b
een to Florida. This is amazing,” I say, as I stare out over the water.

My daydream doesn’t last long, because Jackson is pulling me
towards the water very quickly, I’m struggling to walk on this deep, soft sand, much less run, but he’s flat out jogging and pulling me behind him. “Jackson stop!” I scream, giggling, as I try and keep up with him, kicking sand out behind me.

He yanks me towards him and I fall face first in the sand. I lift my head up and spit sand out of my mouth
. I try wiping my face with a sand covered hand. “Are you all right?” Jackson says, as he hovers over me. I look up at him and he’s about to break out in to a smile but he’s makes sure I’m okay before he laughs.

“I’m fine,
” I say, as I spit another round of sand out of my mouth.

I know I must look totally ridiculous at this point, sand on my face and in my hair. I think there might be sand in my panties. That’s not a comfortable feeling. Jackson helps me up and my hands go to my crack
, to tug my panties out of my ass, sand tumbling down my legs.

Jackson starts laughing even harder and I scowl at him, not happy that I am going to be picking sand out of places
, where sand has no business being. Before I can voice my angry opinion on him, he pulls his cave man persona out of a bag and throws me over his shoulder. “Time to wash you off,” he says, as he smacks my ass and takes off in a run down the beach.

“Jackson put me down!” I scream, returning the ass smacks on him. His feet hit the water at lightning speed and he doesn’t slow down. “No! Don’t you throw me in the”.....
.
SPLASH
!
I go under the water. I come up sputtering and choking up sea water. I can’t believe he just threw me in the water in my clothes. “Jackson!!” I yell at him, pushing my way through the water towards him. I finally reach him after he teases me and takes a step back, for every three steps I take forward.

He doesn’t realize that I was a star swimmer in middle school, pre-chunky days.

I plant my feet on the ground and jump up, taking a nose dive in to the water and come up for air just as I reach him. “Gotcha!” I say, as I climb his body, attempting to pull him under, but he’s so much stronger than me, that it backfires and I’m tossed over his shoulder back in to the water.

Oh no he didn’t!!

Yes, yes he did, damn him. I swim up behind him and climb up on his back, wrapping my hands around his head and pull his back towards the water. Hey, if my hair is going to be wet, so is his. I manage to get the edge and his head falls backwards, sinking under the water. Before he is pulled completely under, he turns on me and pulls me down with him.

I come up for air, laughing my ass off and he pulls me in to his arms. “You don’t laugh nearly enoug
h, Ally. It’s a wonderful sound,” he tells me, as he presses his lips to mine. His lips are wet, soft and salty. I part my lips to allow him access and he takes full advantage. He swipes his tongue through my mouth and pulling out all of my energy with it.

He lifts me in to his arms, cradling me like a baby
, while never removing his lips from mine. Thankfully, water makes you weightless and I don’t have to worry about Jackson throwing his back out. “Stop that Ally.”

“Hmm?” I pull back from him, not knowing if I said that out loud or not, but apparently
, I did. I don’t say anything else, because I’m having a good time and I don’t want us to argue. I typically have trouble zipping my lips, but I know when it’s time to keep quiet.

H
e ignores me as well, slowly walking out to the sand, through the current. He gently lays me down on the sand and lowers his body over mine, covering my mouth with his again. He braces his body over mine, his hands in the sand, sinking slowly, as the waves crash over us. His kisses are lustful and frantic, his body heat warming me, even though we are soaking wet.

He lets out a groan and pulls away from me
, about the time the raindrops start falling. I squeal and try to crawl out from under him, ready to run back in to the house, but he grabs me, pressing my back down on the sand. “Relax, Alexandra. You’re already wet. In more ways than one,” he whispers as his lips meet mine once again and his finger slips in to my panties.

“Jackson,
” I sigh against his lips.

He looks at me with fire in this eyes, “Yes, Alexandra. Tell me what you want, what you need.”

“You, in me...now, but not here,” I say, as I look around the beach. Since its raining, there is no one outside, but I know security is somewhere around here, watching, and I prefer to not put on a show for them.

He rolls off me, landing on his knees and takes my hand to help me up. We stand up and I look up
, into his eyes, which are blazing down on me. His fingers tug on my chin and pull my face to his, as he leans down to kiss me. But this kiss is sweet and tender, not hungry like before.

His hair is a mess. A
water droplet trickles down his nose and his tongue darts out to grab it while he stares in to my eyes. “Let’s go in and get you dry,” he says as he pulls away.

“I kind of like being wet,
” I whisper, as pull him back to me, kissing him with a passion. This man does things to me that I can’t explain, and being wet is a constant when he is around.

“Sweet girl, I love you wet too, but I don’t want yo
u getting sick. Let’s go,” He tugs me forward, towards the stairs back to the beach house. I reluctantly stomp my feet on the wet sand and follow him, and follow him back inside.

We grab our s
hoes, stroll to the house and step inside. The air conditioner is on, so my body takes a sudden chill. The combination of the cold air, wet clothes, and my heated skin send shivers all over me, goose bumps coating my arms and legs.

“Hot shower, come on,
” Jackson says, as he nudges me towards the stairs to go up to the bedroom.

“Okay Mr. Bo
ssy pants, I’m going, I’m going,” I chuckle under my breath, as I step on the first step. But before I can get higher up the stairs, he grabs my arm and pulls me back into his arms placing his still damp lips, against the shell of my ear.

“You haven’t
seen bossiness yet, sweet girl,” As he nudges me back to the stairs, a sly smirk across his face, his upper lip curling in a sexy way. A trace of fear crawls up my spine, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand at attention.

“Oh yes I have,
” I say to myself, thankful I was successful in not saying it out loud. That would only get me in trouble and I’m having a good time for the first time, in a while.

I turn the shower on full blast, steam filling the room and fogging up the glass door to the shower. I peel off my wet dress, bra and panties
, dropping them to a pile on the floor. I’ll hang them up when I get out.

The hot water immediately seeps in to my pores as I step in to the shower, warming me from the inside out. As I grab the shampoo
, the door opens to the shower and in steps a very naked, very sexy Jackson Bentley. Taking a deep breath, the steam fills my lungs and I step back towards the tile wall. He has a predatory look in his eyes, as they travel up and down my wet body.

I suddenly feel light headed and woozy, a combination of his heated stare and the
steam in the shower. “Allow me,” he says, as he takes the shampoo bottle out of my hands. He pours a generous amount in his hands, rubbing them together. “Turn around,” he says, in his typical bossy tone.

I willingly comply, turning to face the shower wall and leaving him standing under the spray of the water. I should be cold since I’m no longer under the water, but the heat of the shower and Jackson’s body behind me
, keeps me warm. His strong fingers press against my head and he slowly and seductively shampoos my hair, the bubbles piling high on my head.

He massages my scalp and shoulders with the creamy shampoo
. I toss my head back to give him better access. “Rinse,” he says as he steps away from the water, placing my body under the spray and tilting my head back, to rinse out the bubbles. His fingers pull through my wet locks, caressing my scalp, as the soapy water rushes down the drain.

After my hair is rinsed, he squeezes body wash in his hands and rubs them together, cr
eating a foamy lather. “Face me,” He says, his eyes flashing with desire and greed. His bossy tone continues and I guess he’s decided it’s time for me to see the real boss. Like I haven’t seen that before.

His soap covered hands press against my sho
ulders, massaging the lather into my heated skin. His hands travel down my arms, all the way to my fingers, stroking a bolt of electricity through my body.

From my hands, which are at my side, he grabs my hips and pulls me closer to him. His fingers press in to my flesh and travel up
my sides to my underarms. He presses upwards causing my arms to raise above my head. “Turn around and keep your arms up.”

I’m speechless at this point, my arousal keeping me from arguing with him. “Hands ag
ainst the tile, don’t move them,” He demands, in a sexy voice. Oh God, this is going to be too much. I can already feel my legs shaking with anticipation and a throbbing between my legs. Yes, he is demanding on things and it drives me crazy, but this kind of demanding does strange things to my body. I just can’t say no.

He reaches around me with soapy hands and cups my breasts, gently squeezing and spreading the foamy softness around me. He tugs
on my nipples, pulling them into hard peaks. After a not so gentle pinch, his hands glide over my stomach and back around to my ass. I can feel my body stiffen, because that area is not one of my best assets. I know, not a good time for a pun, but it is what it is.

He massages the wobbly globes of my ass and my leg muscles tighten. Jackson senses this and places his lips next to my ear. “Relax, Alexandra. I w
on’t hurt you, just feel,” he lowers his hands, stroking down my tummy to my......
.
oh my
,
then slipping a finger between my legs, stroking my folds. He grazes over my clit and my breath hitches in my throat. I feel the urge to turn around and touch him, but he’s too close behind me so I can’t turn around.

He slips his finger inside me, crooking it in the way that only Jackson knows how and strokes in and out, adding a second finger. My hands start sliding down the tiles
, as my body relaxes against his touch. “Hands up, Alexandra. You move them again, I’ll stop,” My hands immediately move back up as high as I can reach. I don’t want him to stop. The sexual tension that has been between us, since we got here, is coming to a head and I feel I would die if he stopped.

His other hand comes around to my breast and his fingers toy with my nipple, rolling it around between his fingers and sending electrical pulses between my thighs. He is now so close I can feel his cock pressing against me. He groans in my ear as his thrusting gets harder, more determined. I’m panting
against the wall and I can feel the hot water starting to fade away, the cooler temperature easing the heat in my skin.