Fate Book Two (24 page)

“Really?” I took a bite of a cherry tomato, not breaking eye contact with him.

“Okay! That’s enough,” said my mother, who sat by my side. “You two need to leave now.”

I looked at her, wondering what I’d done wrong. “But we haven’t finished eating and—”

She stood from the table. “No, really. All of this drooling and—just go. See you in the morning for presents.”

I looked at Paolo. He looked at me. Then we sprang from the table and I grabbed my purse and car keys on the way out the front door.

He grabbed my hand, not saying a word, and pulled me down the walkway toward the driveway.

“We can go to my place,” I said. “It’s five minutes from here.”

“I can’t wait that long.” Parked in front of my mother’s house was a black stretch limo.

“Is that yours?” I asked.

“Yeah. Your dad didn’t want you driving home drunk tonight.”

It was the first time my father had made a decision for me that I appreciated. We jumped in the back. “Take us to her place,” Paolo said to the driver and then raised the divider. He pulled me to his mouth, grabbing the sides of my face to deliver a wild, frantic, sensual kiss. I moved my legs to straddle him.

“Does he know where I live?” I whispered between panted breaths.

“Who cares? Let him drive around in circles.”

I felt Paolo’s hardness pushing against my panties. “Good idea.” I ached to have him inside me, to feel his long, hot thickness pumping and sliding to release that erotic tension. I reached for his belt buckle, clumsily unfastening it along with his top button. I slid down his zipper and freed his long, throbbing shaft from the confines of whatever briefs he wore. Didn’t care.

His hands forcefully massaged my breasts over the fabric of my dress while he pushed them together to kiss my cleavage. “God, I missed these.” He planted hot kisses over the tops of my tingling mounds.

I rocked my throbbing bud against his hard cock as it pulsed in my hand. He felt so good, so right against my body, and I couldn’t wait. I slid my panties to one side and raised myself a few inches to place the tip of him at my heated, ready entrance. When I slammed down on him, I felt his hard, hot flesh filling me, pressing against that special spot that hurt so good. I loved the sensation of him being so deep, of him pushing my body to accommodate his size.

I rose a little and pressed my body back down on his shaft, repeating the motion hard and fast.

“That’s right,” he panted in my ear. “Come for me.” He gripped my hips and urged me to continue the rhythm while he raised his hips to deepen the penetration. I kissed his full lips and rode him hard, wanting the sinful, euphoric sensation to last forever, but when he threw back his head and groaned, pumping his hips with short little jabs, I knew he was coming, and the thought pushed me over the edge. My body exploded with numbing, intense waves of erotic contractions while my inner walls milked his cock. His deep, masculine groans penetrated my ears and thoughts, prolonging the moment of our bodies coming together. I clung tightly to him, reveling in the sinful sensation of his shaft jerking inside me, spilling his cum. It was too good, too delicious, and sparked one final contraction of bliss.

After a few moments, my mind began floating back down to earth, and I realized the limo was now parked outside of my apartment. I hadn’t even noticed we’d moved.

“That.” I kissed Paolo. “Was.” I kissed him again. “Amazing.”

He looked into my eyes and smiled. “You do know I’m never letting you go again.”

“But I told you we’re not back together.” I smiled. “You can stay the night, though.”

“How about two nights and then we stay at my place?”

I laughed. “Deal. But that’s all.” I knew, however, this wasn’t a onetime thing. It was the beginning of something new.

EPILOGUE

Paolo and I had barely made it back inside my apartment before we were free of our clothes, going at it for another round. We spent the night making love, learning each other again, and enjoying the feel of our naked bodies. And as much as there was to talk about, I just didn’t want to. I felt free from the past, and I sensed that Paolo did, too. There was a new levity to “Paul,” and it showed in his eyes.

When we returned to my mother’s house the next morning to open presents, there was a brand-new journal waiting for me under the tree. It had the same look as all the others, but Paolo told me it was made with plain old paper. “It’s time you get to keep your thoughts to yourself.”

I’d laughed. It really was time, but…I told him, “You’re free to read anything I write. I’m done with having secrets.” And it felt damned good.

That was four sweet years ago, and since that day my life became everything I’d hoped. I got to have Paolo all to myself in a healthy, unselfish kind of way. And every chance we got, we traveled. We went to Tokyo, Paris, Buenos Aires, and a dozen other beautiful spots (and yes, I shopped at every thrift store I could find—poor Paolo). No, I never did return to Italy, but that was all right. It was better to be safe than sorry.

And now, I was certifiably the happiest girl in the world, getting ready to celebrate three big events, aside from another wonderful Christmas together with my family. First, I’d earned enough credits to graduate this last semester with my bachelor’s in psychology. I’d already done an internship at a state-run home for kids and had decided to accept the offer to stay on. I really believed that my perspective on life, especially the hard parts, could help someone who might feel lost in the world. After all, that had been my specialty.

Paul, despite having more than enough money to live off of for a few lifetimes, had decided a few years ago to pursue his passion and opened a school for water sports—sailboating, diving, and windsurfing. No, it wasn’t saving the world from catastrophe, but he loved what he did, and it was way safer than playing bodyguard or spying on people. Besides, in my mind, he’d paid his dues to humanity and deserved to live
his
life now.

The second exciting event was that we’d bought our first house about thirty minutes from my mother and “Steve.” The Bahamian-style home needed lots of work, which completely excited me—maybe because it felt like a metaphor for my relationship with Paolo. We would put sweat and tears into that house and make it special. We’d make it our own. Yeah, okay, we’d have some help—neither of us knew how to do squat when it came to construction, but we agreed we’d do some of the work. Like normal people. Who didn’t have millions socked away in offshore bank accounts.

The third exciting event was wearing my new wedding jumpsuit—white with sequins and a sparkly zipper down the front. Mandy’s latest creation. Paolo and I had decided that there really was no rush to get married this time around—being together was what really mattered—so we’d wait until after I was done with school. And, given all of the bad memories of the past wedding, we’d decided to do the ceremony alone. Of course, friends and family would be at the reception.

Paolo gripped my hand and grinned. “You ready?” he yelled.

“Yeah! I’m ready,” I hollered back.

“Good.” He twisted his wrist and looked down at our joined hands. Well, that’s what I thought he was looking at, but then the fresh tattoo on the underside of his wrist caught my eye. Over that faded cobra head, Paolo had the words “Dakota Danger” inked on his skin in a swirly, cool tribal script.

“It’s beautiful,” I mouthed to him.

He leaned forward and tenderly kissed my lips before softly speaking into my ear. “Like you, Dakota. Thank you for not giving up on me.”

I blinked back my tears and beamed at him. “Never.” I would never give up on him or us. “Oh, by the way, I stopped taking the pill today.” Paolo’s face went blank, and I grinned. No, I wasn’t pregnant yet, obviously, but with a guy like Paolo and a three-week honeymoon in Greece, it wouldn’t take long.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: He was scared out of his mind. But the man hadn’t stopped pestering me about it since his twenty-ninth birthday three months ago…“Oh, baby, I can’t wait to knock you up. You’re going to look so hot with that big round stomach…Four or five times,” he’d add. I’d simply responded with, “Meh…Not so sure I’m ready to give up my hot body just yet.” Truth was, I wanted to finish school first and make him squirm a little.

Yeah, I rolled like that.

“Really?” he said eagerly.

“Really.” I smiled and then looked at the minister and the jump instructor, a.k.a. the witness. “Okay! Let’s do this!” I screamed.

Like we’d done on the practice run, Paolo and I jumped from the plane with the other two following closely behind. As for the symbolism Paolo had once mentioned? It was that there were never any guarantees, but that was what made life so damned cool. You never knew what to expect, but if you were brave enough, you got to write your own story. And if you were lucky enough, you’d land somewhere happy.

THE END

NOTE FROM AUTHOR:

Hi All!

I hope you enjoyed the ride! As most of you know, I really try hard to make each story completely different and full of fun surprises! So, unlike the first book, which was all about Dakota and Paolo coming together, this story was obviously about Dakota’s journey. Finding herself and coming to grips with the realities of her life meant accepting not only her imperfections, but those of the people she loved. I won’t go into all of the hidden meanings in the story, but obviously the “two” in Fate Book Two wasn’t just about twins. “Two” is learning to flip that coin over and seeing the other side of things: other people’s perspectives, your own shortcomings, finding the good in the bad, questioning your beliefs when you feel stuck… Anyway, if you find yourself rereading the story someday, have a little fun finding all of the twos!

As always, I super-duper-duper appreciate all of the support from my awesome-salsa readers! (“Salsa” because you’re not just plain old sauce; you’re spicy and fun.) Your reviews, e-mails, Tweets, and FB shouts are all so appreciated!

Finally, don’t forget to check my website for signed paperback giveaways (
MimiJean.net/romance_author_news.html
) and FREE bookmarks! (
MimiJean.net/romance_adventure_gear.html
) They go fast, but ANYONE is welcome to them while supplies last.

Now it’s time for the next challenge. Bring on the Mermen!! No, they’re not fish. They have no tails or gills. But they are a whole new breed of bass asses with very dirty mouths and very large muscles. Who like to swim. And kill things. Should be fun, right?

Happy Reading EVERYONE!!!

Hugs,

Mimi

P.S. Want to hear the music that kept my imagination well fed while writing this book? – The last song got played nonstop while writing that final chapter. :-)

Here’s my playlist:

“Dear Future Husband” by Meghan Trainor

“Pachelbel’s Canon in D for Guitar,” by the Spanish Guitar Music Collección

“Habits,” by Tove Lo

“Left Hand Free,” by Alt-J

“Groovejet,” by Spiller

“Love Runs Out,” by OneRepublic

“Last Nite,” by The Strokes

“Always in My Head,” by Coldplay

“Magic,” by Coldplay

“The Pleasure and The Pain,” by Lenny Kravitz

“The Chamber,” by Lenny Kravitz (Sigh! Those abs…)

“True Love,” by Coldplay

“Centuries,” by Fall Out Boy

“Preludio No. 1 for Solo Guitar,” by Heitor Villa-Lobos

“Preludio No. 5 in D,” by Heitor Villa-Lobos

“Reload,” by Sebastian Ingrosso

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

A big huge thank you to Team Fate Book Two!! I know it gets tiring hearing me say how wonderful you all are…but too frigging bad!! I’m saying it again, so bite me – :-) – Kylie Gilmore, Vicki Randall, Dalitza Morales, and Ally Kraai, thank you ladies for jumping in and offering your helpful critiques. Latoya Smith, Dina Rubin, and Pauline Nolet, thank you ladies for all of your editing magic!! Su at EarthlyCharms, thank you once again for the perfect cover to help tell my story. Stef at WriteIntoPrint, thank you for making sure my books are shipshape and ready for uploading! A huge round of hugs to all!

IMMORTAL MATCHMAKERS, INC.

COMING 2015!

BECAUSE…dysfunctional immortals need love, too.

ANDRUS

Once the most powerful immortal assassin ever to exist, this demigod now spends his days pining for the girl who got away: Helena. Doesn’t help that he’s also Helena’s full-time nanny slash bodyguard. But now that the apocalypse is over and her husband, the vampire general, has returned home for good, it’s time to move on.

But can Andrus let go of the woman he secretly loves?

Cimil, Goddess of the Underworld and owner of Immortal Matchmakers, Inc., knows the solution is finding another gal. The right gal. But getting a woman to date this callous, unrefined, cold-hearted warrior will prove to be the biggest challenge of her existence. Good thing they’re in L.A.