Destiny's Chance (14 page)

He dropped the telephone receiver into the cradle and spun his chair around.

“My brother,” Roman jerked his head toward him and added, “This is Laura, Destiny’s sister.

“I’ll leave you two to talk.” Roman touched her elbow. “Don’t leave without saying good-bye.” He winked at her and strolled out of the work area.

Laura wasted no time on courtesies but folded her arms, cocked her head, and blasted him with an X-ray stare—the kind that drove grown men to their knees in confession and convinced naughty children mothers could see out the backs of their heads. “When are you two going to come to your senses?”

When indeed? The woman who was supposed to be Zoe had been acting strange, and his thoughts could certainly be considered crazy. They were two insane people traveling on the same trajectory. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She stared at him, and her eyes seemed to glow bright. A smile touched her lips, then vanished. “You know who she is.”

“I know what I think, but the evidence of my eyes proves otherwise.”

“What about the evidence of your heart?” She closed the gap between them and tapped him in the center of his chest. “What do you see in here?”

“I attended Destiny’s memorial service. You did too,” he argued, a last-ditch effort to avoid a fiery collision between impossible and possible.

Laura shrugged. “So did Destiny.”

Chapter Fifteen

The blinds covered the windows when Destiny rushed into the studio to relieve Laura. Her sister wasn’t at the reception desk, and the screen stretched across the room, slightly ajar. Hugging the nondescript bag under her arm, Destiny squeezed through the opening to find Laura at the small photo desk.

She lifted her head, relief flitting across her face. “You’re late.”

“Traffic,” she said, hoping her sister wouldn’t pick up on the lie.

“No problem. You’re back now.” Laura set down her e-reader. “Not many calls, although I booked two sittings for later in the week. What did you buy?” She eyed the sack.

Nothing was worse than a nosy psychic. “Just a few things I needed.” Destiny gestured toward the front. “What’s with the blinds, the screen?”

Laura ducked to retrieve her purse from the desk drawer. “Sitting here twiddling my thumbs, I felt like a fish in an aquarium.”

Destiny frowned. “People will assume we’re closed. We rented this place to invite walk-ins.” She spoke to the top of her sister’s head. “If it’s that slow, maybe we should lock up and go home.” She could test her purchases. She clamped her arm against the plain sack.

“No!” Laura’s head shot up, and she produced a set of keys. In a more normal tone, she added, “Slow or not, one of us should be here.”

“You don’t need to yell. There’s only another hour to go anyway.” Tuesdays and Thursdays they remained open until eight p.m. “Where are you going again?” It had been her sister’s night to work, but she’d begged off right after a long lunch.

“Uh, meeting some friends.” The purse clasp fought Laura’s efforts to close it. “You’re a peach for filling in for me.” Tossing a wave over her shoulder, she darted out.

“Well, that was weird,” Destiny announced to the empty room with a shrug. She dumped the contents of her bag onto the desk. Spread across the ink blotter, the items appeared even more salacious than they had at the sex shop.

Purchasing sex toys proved to be a harrowing experience as she discussed the merits of size, speed, and texture with a complete stranger. If luck held out, she would never, ever have to face that man again. If a toy replacement or an upgrade became necessary, she’d buy off the Internet next time.

She hoped her embarrassment would be worth it—that the toys would distract her, take her mind off Chance. So many little things reminded her of him: Taco Paco’s, the chardonnay they’d sipped during their last meal together, his brand of soap and shampoo. She watched for his truck, checking out the drivers of similar vehicles, hoping to catch sight of him.

Her body craved him with a bone-deep ache that dogged her days and distracted her nights. Perhaps if she could relieve her physical symptoms, she could quiet the mental and emotional ones.

Since she couldn’t have him, she’d make do with a flexible silicone substitute. A Throbbing Blue Veiner.

Who chose those names? she wondered and attacked the nuclear-explosion-proof plastic packaging with a pair of scissors. When the clerk had learned she was a sex-toy virgin, he had attempted to steer her toward one he deemed
“more realistically sized,”
but Destiny preferred one that approximated Chance.

Packaging shredded, she hefted the phallus-shaped dildo in her hands, slapping it against her palm, then squeezed it and pumped. The shape and texture did compare somewhat to a real penis. When she got home, she’d give it a whirl. It wasn’t as large as the man it replaced, but what was?

She assessed her other purchase. Fool’s folly. She’d suffered with buyer’s remorse even before she’d left the store.
Don’t open it, return it
, common sense advised, but she ripped open the package to reveal the leather flogger. She dragged the supple red-and-black strands across her palm, then snapped them against her thigh. The strands splayed out and lightly stung her leg through the fabric of her pants. How much more would it tingle when it struck bare skin?

She’d never find out, because she wouldn’t flog herself.

Stupid purchase.

Destiny tossed it on the desk, picked up the Throbbing Blue Veiner, and popped in a couple of double-A’s.

With a flick of her thumb, she activated it. Three speeds. Low, medium, and holy crap.

It couldn’t compare to Chance, the way he used his mouth and his fingers, how he swiveled his hips so his cock caught the right spot to ensure that she was with him every second. She glanced at the flogger. Chance had shared her kink. He enjoyed spanking as much as she did. Fate had teased cruelly to dangle the man she loved, the one who could satisfy her every desire, and then yank him away.

Oops! Sorry. Just kidding.

Yep, the universe was a mean bitch.

You’re the one who ran away.
But how could she live with a man who believed she was a thief and a liar?

Especially when he was right.

She clutched the vibrating phallus to her chest and swiped a tear. Why had she bothered to buy this stuff? She desired orgasms with Chance, not by herself with a fake dick.

“Replaced me already, huh?” rumbled a familiar voice.

Destiny screamed and flung the dildo like a hot potato. It jittered atop the desk, mocking her reflexive attempt to hide the evidence. Embarrassment rooted her to the spot as the room spun around her.

Chance approached. “You won’t need this.” He deactivated the vibrator, then picked up the flogger and waved it like a pom-pom. “This one? A very good choice.” He grinned devilishly.

Her face flamed. She swayed as the studio rotated.

He tossed the flogger onto the desk; his mirth evaporated. “Destiny.”

The world jerked to a stop.

“Destiny,” he pronounced, louder and stronger, his caressing gaze locked on hers.

Disbelief and hope fought mano a mano in a winner-take-all fracas. “You know?” She forced words past paralyzed lips. “How?”

He flattened a palm against his chest. “My heart tells me so.”

The only thing more incredible than taking possession of another body was that Chance believed it.

“It does?”

He nodded and brushed her bangs off her forehead, his touch a kiss against her skin. “You know what else it tells me?”

She shook her head.

“That I love you, Destiny. That I want to explore what we might have together.” Regret contorted his features. “I’m so sorry for the horrible things I said to you. I didn’t mean them. I was frustrated. I tried to goad you into admitting the truth because I didn’t have the guts to say it myself. My heart knew what was real, but my head insisted it wasn’t. I was afraid.”

“Oh God,” she moaned. “I was so dumb!” She knew the preciousness of time, and she’d wasted a month of their lives.

Who moved first, she had no idea, but she was in his arms, and he hugged and kissed her like he couldn’t get close enough. Happiness whirled inside, spinning gray into rose, coloring possibilities with the brightest of hues. Like a blind man using his hands to capture a vision, he touched her hair, her face, her breasts, between her legs, her elbows, her fingers, the trough of her spine.

“I ought to spank you for the way you scared me,” he said against her mouth.

“Promises. Promises,” she purred.

He froze, then dove for the posing stage, pulling her with him.

Destiny squealed. “Not here! Somebody could come in!”

“I locked the door. Flipped over the CLOSED sign.” Satisfaction creased his face in a smile.

“You were pretty confident, weren’t you?”

“No, and that’s why I’m going to spank you. You’ve led me on quite a chase.” Chance planted his buns on the stage and patted his lap. “Drop your pants, sweetheart.”

Destiny giggled. She loved this commanding side of Chance. Loved him.

He pointed to the desk. “Grab the flogger.”

She snatched the leather implement and dashed to Chance’s side. After kicking off her shoes, she tugged off her pants and panties and flung herself over his lap. She had dreams to fulfill. “Make it a good one,” she said.

His rumble of laughter flowed like music to her ears. “I believe that’s called topping from the bottom.”

She flashed a sassy grin.

He cracked his palm against her buttock, making it smart.

“Ow…ooh!” A sharp sting morphed into a pleasant tingle when he slapped her again.

“Ow-ooh?” He chuckled.

Her responsive laugh caught in her throat as he continued to rain spanks upon her naked bottom. She wiggled and bucked on his lap, enjoying the bunching of muscles in his thighs, the nudge of his hard cock against her side, the sound of his breathing that grew ragged from exertion and desire. Pain and pleasure merged into one, leaving her gasping and burning. Needing. He hadn’t even touched her clit, her pussy, yet she was close to coming. Her inner thighs grew wet with her moisture, and her core clenched.

Without warning, he dragged her off his lap and set her on her feet. She swayed, staring at him. His eyes glowed hot, radiating lust and love.

He picked up the flogger, flicked it against his thigh in an exploratory snap. “Put your hands on the platform,” he rasped.

Her knees trembled with excitement, and she assumed a frisking stance. The carpeted stage felt rough against her sweaty palms. She dug her nails into the nubby texture.

Dozens of tiny bees stung her throbbing, tingly flesh all at once. “Ah!” she cried, arching.

Another strike and leather strands splayed out in an electrifying kiss. She rose on tiptoes, a dancer in pirouette.

“Okay?” he asked.

“Yes.” She hissed her agreement, and he teased her again. The merest flick of his wrist lanced nerve endings with rapture. The flogger caressed her ass, the tops of her thighs, delivering barbs of pleasure. Everything she’d hoped for in her life coalesced to this moment, this man, this time. The trembling in her legs intensified, spread to the rest of her body. Her ass burned and tingled, and the musk of her arousal drifted to her nostrils.

“I need you,” she said, peering over her shoulder.

His eyes blazed. “You got me.” He flung the flogger onto the stage, and it hit with a
thunk.

The zipper sliding caused her pussy to clench. He didn’t bother to disrobe but tugged down his pants and shorts with one swoop. She’d expected him to take her from behind—the posing stage offered the perfect setup. Instead he turned her to face him. Her tenderized ass hit the edge, but discomfort failed to register. Pain was buried in the past. Only pleasure existed in the present, their future.

He slid into her like he was meant to be. They both groaned. He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and thrust with an unbroken rhythm, staring into her eyes. He gripped her hips, tilting her pelvis to provide friction where she needed it most. She wouldn’t last long. Hugging his neck, she closed her eyes, rode the sensation, headed for home.

“No, look at me,” he ordered hoarsely.

She met his gaze. Saw his love, his recognition. How could she have missed it?

His features contorted, but he maintained eye contact. “You’re my Destiny.”

“You’re my…Chance,” she gasped as the burning in her clit triggered orgasmic contractions.

Chance squeezed her ass hard and convulsed.

* * * *

Destiny curled against Chance’s side and grinned. What a picture the scenario would make. She glanced at the scenic backdrop behind them and at the camera mounted on a tripod. She and Chance could be two lovers enjoying an al fresco interlude. She could set the timer, then zip back into place.

Later
. She sighed with contentment and wedged her bare leg between his jean-clad thighs. Chance was unzipped but fully clothed; she still wore her shirt, although at some point her bra had become undone and bunched under her armpits.