Destiny Undone: The Complete Series Box Set (49 page)

“Oh, I do. I like you a lot.” We kissed again, steamier this time, slower and more passionately. A nearby boat horn surprised us and we laughed nervously. “We’d better get going or we won’t get there until tomorrow. I can only take one day off.” A wave of anxiety rushed through me but I didn’t let it show.

We got out and loaded our bags onto the boat. Pepper stayed down below to arrange her stuff while I started up the engines and got us headed out of the bay into the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf waters were dark blue, smooth, and thankfully there wasn’t much traffic this time of night. The sparkle of lights from passing and anchored boats reflected like stars on the surface of the water. I’d always loved boating, and most of the time I’d rather be on the water than on the land.

I heard Pepper’s light footsteps behind me. She handed me a bottle of imported beer and I took a big sip. She kissed my cheek then sat in the white leather seat beside me and looked ahead into the dusky light. She’d changed into a light blue summer dress that barely reached her thighs and I tried not to look too hard but she was such a beautiful woman. I especially loved her legs—so long, lean and tanned and I was so happy to have her with me, I couldn’t help but grin.

Pepper didn’t miss much. “What’s so funny?”

“I’m just thinking, I must be a leg man, because I sure like looking at yours.”

“Do you?” she said innocently, leaning back in her seat, pointing her toes and posing playfully.

“Well, that’s not the only thing I like about you.”

“When we get to Sand Island, you can show me exactly what you mean. How long until we get there?”

“About an hour. Think you can wait that long?”

She swung round on her chair to face me with her legs slightly apart, and my eyes were drawn to the shadow between them in the dim light of the cockpit. She raised the neck of the bottle seductively to her lips, sipped her beer and said, “Well, I can if you can,” then she winked at me and my cock instantly strained against the fabric of my boxer shorts.

I turned the boat gently into the wind, pulled back the throttles and when I turned the engines off and hit the anchor button, she looked surprised. “No. I can’t.”

“Oh, my!” She giggled and put her beer down on the dashboard and the next thing I knew, Pepper flung off her dress and pulled me to her. I was surprised, but happy to see she wasn’t wearing any underwear and I kissed her and eased her back on to the leather sofa behind the helm. I really wanted to just take her right there and then but I’d never been a selfish lover, or at least I didn’t think I was.

My hands gently caressed her body from her feet to her beautiful face and I felt her nipples harden and her excitement grow beneath my touch. The truth was, I didn’t have a ton of experience with women, but I’d been a good observer and Pepper was great at sending signals. When I did something she liked, she didn’t hold back expressing how she felt. Her wet pussy glistened in the soft light of the cabin and unable to resist, I carefully lifted her leg and planted soft kisses up and down her thighs. She watched me for a moment then leaned back on her elbows and shook her long, blonde hair behind her. Her skin tasted sweet and salty at the same time and she smelled of her floral-musky perfume. It drove me crazy. I wanted her so bad.

My mouth found her sweet spot and I took my time stirring her passion while she panted and moaned beneath me. I curled my arms around her legs, spread her lips with my fingers and gently rubbed her clit as I ran my tongue slowly up and down her swollen pussy. She yielded to me and moved her hips against my face as I continued my delicate work. She was so wet—her scent and the wonderful taste of her filled my senses and I knew I could never get enough of this incredible woman.

I moved my arms, grabbed her ass tight with both hands and pulled her harder against me as I alternately sucked her lips and lapped at her clit with my tongue. Her head rolled from side to side as she moved her hips against my face and I loved every minute of pleasuring her like this. Suddenly, her hands gripped the back of my head as she pulled me hard against her and gasped then her legs trembled as she came hard on my face.

“Oh, Gabe! Gabe! Fuck, yes! Oh, …fuck!” I slid my fingers out, slowed the movement of my tongue and planted soft kisses on her pussy lips as her orgasm subsided.

“Mmmm, baby you’re so incredible…” she moaned.

“You are, love.” As smoothly as I could, I unzipped my pants and slid them down my legs. My cock was rock hard and she reached out and stroked it as I slid my boxers off.

With her wetness still on my lips, I leaned up and kissed her. “You’re incredible.” The taste of her lips and the sweet smell of her pussy combined drove me insane. I moved between her thighs and slid my cock up and down her swollen lips, wanting to plunge into her, but holding back a second to revel in the feel of her wet pussy. I slid the head against her lips. I moaned at the heat radiating off her and I wanted her. I wanted my cock deep in that heat.

My hungry mouth clamped on to her breast and sucked her nipple as I slammed my cock deep inside her. Her eyes rolled back and she let out a grunt, “Look at me Pepper. Watch me fuck you.”

Her eyes opened and a smile spread across her face, her eyes intently watching mine. “Fuck me baby. Fuck me good and fuck me hard.”

I’d had all I could take. I felt my orgasm rising and I held on tight to her tiny waist. Then she reached up and held my face in her hands. “Yeah, baby, come for me. Come hard. Watch me, watch me come with you.”

I pumped into her a few more strokes and exploded, our eyes never leaving each other’s sight, she grabbed my ass, threw her legs around me and ground her hips until she was screaming my name. I loved to hear her say it when she came. It was like a song sung especially for me. Only me.

I laid there, trembling. “You don’t know what you do to me, Pepper,” I confessed in a hoarse voice.

“I feel the same way, Gabe. I feel the same.” We lay there in each other’s arms and I heard a boat approaching and we both looked at each other, laughed, then felt an urgent need to get dressed. She stroked my face and I eased off of her. She grabbed her dress and went below on wobbly legs, presumably to take a shower. I quickly pulled on my pants and took my seat at the helm. We still had a forty-five minute cruise to Sand Island, but it was an easy one.

As I was about to start the engines and weigh the anchor, the boat pulled up beside us. It was a Coast Guard patrol boat and I recognized the crewman who greeted me. It was Samuel Jenkins. He was stout, short and had a head full of blonde-white hair that poked out from beneath his navy blue hat.

We’d gone to Destiny Beach High School together and I knew he grew up rich, but I wasn’t about to blow his cover. Some people liked to lead a normal life away from the spotlight and cameras and Sam had never been one to hang out with the flashy crowd. I’d always liked him.

“Hey, Sam! Just headed out to Sand Island,” I called to him. He waved at me from the deck.

“Hey, Gabe! It’s supposed to blow up a storm later tonight. Did you hear?”

“I checked earlier,” I called back, “but everything looked fine to me.”

He laughed. “You know how that is here in the Gulf. Don’t like the weather then just blink. It will all change! You by yourself?”

“No, I have a friend with me,” I confessed. Right on cue, Pepper emerged from the cabin, her hair still flowing free, but she’d put her dress back on. She waved absent-mindedly to the boat of Coasties who'd suddenly became interested in our conversation. I heard someone say, “Hey, is that…”

Sam glanced over his shoulder as if to say, “Shut up.” He yelled back to me, “Keep your weather radio on, just in case.”

“Okay. Thanks, Sam.” He waved and the boat sped away.

Pepper stood behind me with her arms around my waist. “A storm is coming?”

“That’s what he said but I didn’t see anything earlier. Why, you want to go back in?”

“No. If you think it’s okay, I trust you.” I leaned back and she kissed my neck. That was good to hear. I hoped I was deserving of it.

The breeze felt wonderful but my hair was tangling quickly and it would be a nightmare to fix later if I didn’t get it under control now. I pulled the ponytail holder off my wrist and wrapped my hair into a messy bun.

I slid my arms around Gabe again and put my face against his back. I wondered how it was possible to feel so secure with him? I didn’t know, but what would I do without him now? There was no question I loved him, but I felt guilty because I was constantly disrupting his life with my family drama. I hated that, especially because this whole relationship had begun when my father begged him to hire me.

I was so embarrassed about what I’d put him through. I stepped back and sat beside him, staring off into the darkness. We didn’t talk, both thinking about life, I supposed then suddenly, I panicked when I realized I’d left my phone in Gabe’s truck. What was I thinking? I knew I’d only be gone for a day, two at the most. Surely, the world wouldn’t stop just because I was off the grid, but I hoped Mills would be okay.

“There it is. You can’t see much right now, but that’s Sand Island.” I stood up and stared into the darkness. A few lights glimmered in the blackness but for the most part, I couldn’t see much of anything.

“Wow, that’s really an island?”

“Well, yeah,” He snapped at me.

“Dang! Gabe! I just asked!” I scoffed, surprised at his snarky answer.

When the boat had finally stopped, he dropped the anchor and turned it off. He flipped a few other switches and turned to me and said, “I’m sorry, babe. I just have a few things on my mind. I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

“Apology accepted. “I said, smiling playfully. “You know you’re allowed to throw a smart ass comment out there occasionally, but please don’t make a habit of it.” he grinned back at me, but it suddenly dawned on me that he might be going through some crap of his own, as well.

I stood up and went back to his side. I reached up and took his face between my hands so he had to look at me. “Talk to me babe. What’s wrong?”

His eyes locked with mine and although he hesitated to answer, I could tell he was close to letting me in. “I don’t want you to worry. By comparison with what you’ve been through, it’s really petty. Believe me. Just office politics stuff. No biggie.”

I shook my head. “I know you, Gabe and it’s more than that. Please tell me. You’re always supporting me. Now it’s my turn to be there for you, so don’t take that away from me.”

He closed his eyes, leaned forward and rested his forehead on mine.

“Spit it out, Gabriel Charles Gregory.”

“Oh, no, not my whole name. You aren’t going to do that all the time, are you? Please tell me you won’t.” He chuckled, pulled back and took my hands in his. “I talked to Bobbie Jo on the way to pick you up tonight, just to let her know that I wasn’t going to be in the office tomorrow, and she let me know that she’s been, and I quote, ‘actively lobbying’ for my job... as a friend, of course. According to her, I’m not focused and I’m not giving Sea Lab my all anymore.”

Pepper scoffed. “Let me guess, she thinks she’d do a way better job.”

“Naturally. To her credit, on paper she’s always been the better candidate.”

“Really? What do you mean by that? I’ve seen you at work. Nobody loves that place more than you do. How can she say that?”

“Thanks, babe. That’s good to hear but despite her bad attitude, Bobbie Jo has two degrees, one in marine biology and the other in general zoology. She’s published papers and even spent quite a few summers working on some notable research projects over the course of her career.”

“Hmm.” I thought about what he was saying. It wasn’t that I didn’t like Bobbie Jo—sure, things had started out rocky, but we’d come to some kind of silent understanding in recent weeks, or, at least, I’d thought we had. Gabe’s news shifted everything in my mind as far as my opinion of her was concerned.

“She might have more on paper, but it takes more than book smarts to be a leader, Gabe. She’s brainy—I mean, I wouldn’t want to play Jeopardy against her or anything—but when it comes to people, she doesn’t have a clue. No way is the board going to let you go and give your job to her. There’s just no way.”

I knew that all I had to do was make one phone call to my dad, and he’d put the brakes on any firing the Sea Lab suits might be contemplating. If I could pay Gabe back for all he’d done for me, I’d do it in a heartbeat.

“Well, I guess if I go back to work and all my stuff is stacked up outside waiting for me, I’ll know she’s won, but until then, I’m not going to worry about it. All I want to think about right now is you and me.” His voice was firm and convincing, but the look in his eyes gave him away. I could tell he was worried.

“Are you hungry?” he asked, obviously changing the subject.

He’d given me his trust and opened up to me, and that was all I’d asked of him, so I didn’t want to pry further and risk upsetting him or making him feel uncomfortable. I just wanted to spend some quality time with him—away from all the stress of my drama-filled messed up life. In fact, I was kind of glad I didn’t’ have my phone. Maybe we’d get some real privacy.