Destiny Undone: The Complete Series Box Set (33 page)

“Sophie? This is about Sophie? I swear to you, there was never anything between me and her, not since we were kids. My mother told me what she’d said to you when you visited the house, and she was wrong, so wrong. I didn’t go anywhere with her—not to the airport, not anywhere. You’re the only one I care about. Damn it, Pepper. I love you!”

She gasped and put her hand over her mouth. “Y-you…love me?”

I beamed a big, fat smile at her. She looked a mess—a beautiful mess—but I was in love with her. “Yes, I do. I love you, Pepper Anderson.” She leaned across the console and threw her arms around me. I smelled her soft, yet spicy perfume and felt the warmth of her body against mine. It was probably totally inappropriate given the circumstances, but I really wanted her and I held her tight as she clung to me.

In a soft whisper, she said, “I love you, too, Gabe.” Then I kissed her cheek and she sat back in her seat with a huge smile on her face.

“Now, can I take you home?”

“No, wait, please. I don’t want to go home. At least, not yet.”

“Well, we can’t stay here in the Waffle House parking lot all night.”

“Can we go to the boat again?

“We could, but it’s not stocked with anything. Why don’t you want to go home? Did something happen? Something I don’t know about?”

“It’s hard to explain. Nothing happened, honest. I just feel like I can’t be there right now. I need to get away for a while.”

“One thing you may have forgotten.”

“What’s that?”

“Mills. She’s worried sick. She’s the one who called me and told me where you were. Apparently, your mother—I mean Evangeline—called her.”

“It figures. I’ll call her tomorrow. I don’t feel very well right now. Can we stay on your boat?”

I chuckled. “Pepper, why don’t you buy a house or a condo?”

“So you don’t want me, either?” The crumpled look on her face broke my heart—she’d been through enough today.

“I think you know I want you very much. I told you…I love you.”

“I want you, too. That’s why we should go to the boat.”

“I have a better idea. Let’s go to my place and if you still want to get away tomorrow, I’ll take you to my boat and you can stay as long as you like, as long as you don’t leave the harbor. I don’t know if I’d call you a second mate yet. You need a bit more experience.”

“Okay. Thank you, Gabe. You’re the best.”

“Yeah? Well, only you think so.”

“No, I can think of quite a few people who think you’re pretty great.” We pulled back into the traffic and luckily, it wasn’t as busy as it had been. “My sister is one of them—and your mom, of course.”

“Try not to be too mad at Mom. She’s never acted like that before and I think she’s learned her lesson. We had a long talk and she’s really sorry for what she did.”

“That’s good to hear. I hope she gives me a chance. I’d never want to come between you and your mother. Never in a million years.”

“Don’t worry, you won’t. This isn’t about you—it’s her and she’ll have to deal with it, because you aren’t going anywhere.” I squeezed her hand in between shifting gears. We were quiet the rest of the way home. I knew I was going to be dead tired in the morning, but that was okay. Pepper was well worth it.

We pulled into my driveway, got out and walked hand-in-hand together down the sidewalk to my guesthouse.

“Do you want to take a shower?”

“Only if you take one with me,” she giggled.

“You don’t have to tell me twice. Come on, it’s in here.”

We kicked off our shoes and I led her to the walk-in shower. I flipped on the light and kicked on the water. I pulled off my shirt and tossed it into a corner while she took down her hair.

“Wait, I need a toothbrush. Do you have an extra one? It’s kind of a thing I have. I brush my teeth a lot and I know I’ve been drinking like a fish.”

“Sure.” I grinned and opened the bathroom cabinet. I fumbled around and handed her one in the package.

“I’ll be right there.” She smiled, and I slid off my jeans and boxer briefs then climbed into the shower.

“Hey, I forgot to ask. How’s my dolphin?”

The water sprayed from the floor-to-ceiling body jets and streamed down my body like warm little fingers and it felt good. “He misses you,” I answered her over the mosaic-tiled wall.

“Yeah? How can you tell?” she mumbled as she brushed her teeth with a mouthful of toothpaste.

“He won’t eat and he won’t let anyone ride on him. He’s sulking.”

I heard the brushing pause, then she spat into the sink. “Are you serious?” She turned off the faucet and walked back across the bathroom.

“Yes, I am…and it’s a real problem.”

She got undressed and walked into the shower.
Holy fuck!
She looked even more beautiful than the last time I saw her naked. Her curvy hips, gorgeous, round breasts and hard nipples made my cock respond instantly to the sight of her.

“Well, I guess I’ll just have to come back to work then, Mr. Gregory,” she said with a big smile, then she moved under the water next to me, wrapped her arms around my neck and looked me straight in the eyes. “Are you sure you love me, Gabe?”

I looked back at her, deep into her eyes and said, “Yes, I’m sure I love you, Pepper…and I mean that.” Then we kissed and I moved my hands down her back and cupped her firm ass. Pepper had a great ass with equally great legs. She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen and I loved the way her body just fit perfectly next to mine. I slid my face under the showerhead and let the water wash over us. There was no sense pretending that I wasn’t aroused. My dick was rock hard and it pressed against her soft stomach. I hadn’t realized she’d soaped up her hands until I felt her palms and fingers lathering up my dick and balls.
Fuck! That feels good!

“Oh, God, Pep. You’re going to make me come if you keep doing that.”

She giggled and said, “Good. I want to watch while you shoot your hot, sticky cum all over me.”

“In the shower?” I gasped. Her hands expertly stroked my shaft and the slippery soap heightened the sensation even more—I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold back for much longer.

“What better place?” Then she let the body jets rinse the soap off my body, knelt down and took my cock slowly into her hot mouth.
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
Then her hands worked skillfully on my shaft and balls. My head was swimming from the pleasure and within minutes, I knew I was going to come—I couldn’t hold back anymore. I grabbed her head and thrust my cock deep into her mouth, and she moved her hands to my ass and pulled me harder into her, grazing her nails lightly on my skin. My ass clenched and I had to lean on the shower wall to keep myself upright as she sucked and stroked the cum out of me. My knees were weak and my head fell back as I came in my beautiful girl’s mouth. Pepper licked up every drop, then she got up off her knees and kissed me.

“Fuck, babe. That was incredible…you were incredible.” I moaned against her mouth as our tongues meshed together.
God, I love this girl, every inch of the big mess that she is.
She giggled, no doubt pleased with herself for what she’d just done to me, then we kissed again and she leaned on my chest as the water washed over us. After a few minutes, she pumped body wash into her hands and soaped me up then I returned the favor, enjoying the feeling of her smooth curves and hard little peaks on my soapy palms and fingers. Somehow, between us, we managed to shampoo her long hair and rinse away the bubbles. Then with some intensity, we dried each other off and I led her by the hand to my bedroom. It was dark and I was going to turn on a light, but she said, “No, let’s leave them off tonight.”

“All right, whatever you want.” I kissed her sweet lips again then my hands were all over here.

“Tell me again.”

“Tell you what?”

“Tell me you love me, Gabriel. Just me and no one else. Tell me you’re mine…all mine.”

“Pepper, I already told you twice, babe, and I meant it.” I resisted saying it again, only because I could feel her control over me starting to grow—and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. I wasn’t used to surrendering my heart to anyone—this was brand new territory for me.

She looked up at me. “Please, tell me again, Gabe. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of hearing it.” Then she stood on her tiptoes with her warm, naked body against mine and her hot breath on my neck.

“How can I refuse?” I smiled down at her. “I love you. Just you. No one else. I’m yours, baby. All yours.” I shivered just saying those words—I’d never let anyone that close to my heart before.

My father didn’t beg me to stay and for that, I was grateful. “She told me I was Virginia’s daughter—her cousin. Did you know that?”

“Honey, you know your mother as well as I do. I never know when she’s telling the truth.”

I didn’t give him an out. This was how he did things, pushed all the problems onto Evangeline and Gabe had been right—it takes two to tango. This was
their
dysfunctional relationship, not mine. I needed to take a step back and view it without his input for once in my life, but I still loved the man I’d called Dad all these years, and that would never change, no matter what happened.

“You can’t do that. You can’t blame her for everything, Dad. You are my father and you should have made it your business to know this important stuff. You can’t tell me you didn’t have the means and the smarts to figure it out, because I know you did and you do.”

“You’re acting like this is all my fault.”

I threw my hands up in exasperation. He was really being dense. “Can’t you see—I don’t care whose fault it is, Dad. I just want an end to this back and forth. I’m going to be twenty-four soon and I don’t want to be marching into my thirties with all this drama still going on.”

“You’re hardly thirty, Pepper Ann.”

“That’s not the point.” I reached down and grabbed my bag. “I’ll be back in a few days. Please think about what I’m saying and how this affects me. Let’s talk then.”

“Where are you going and what do I tell Mills?”

“I’m staying with a friend and I’ll call her this afternoon.”

“All right, but can I at least have a hug before you leave?”

“Sure, Dad.” I hugged him tight and kissed his cheek. “I’m not moving out, okay? I’m just going on a mini-break to clear my mind.” He smiled and rubbed my head like he used to do when he wanted to mess up my hair. “Dad, come on.”

“I can’t help it. You’re still my little girl to me…and tell Gabe I said hello.”

That caught me off guard. How did he know where I was going? I laughed nervously. “Okay, I will.”

I walked out with my bag and purse, feeling a little lighter than before. This was definitely the right move for me. Maybe I should think about moving out and breaking away from all the craziness of life with Dad and Evangeline. But then again, I know I’d regret leaving Mills behind to fend off Evangeline by herself. I didn’t want to think too much more about it now. There’d be time to figure all that out and I sighed and tossed my bag into the trunk. I put my hand in my pocket to double-check I still had the key for the boat, and it was there. I promised Gabe I’d go to the grocery store and re-stock it for him as a kind of rent exchange. Not that he asked me to do it but I looked forward to doing something domestic.

I still couldn’t believe he’d said that he loved me. Just hearing him say those three little words filled my heart with peace. I’d never told anyone, not even the great Jonathan Church that I loved him, although I’m sure he would’ve liked to have heard that. He wasn’t worthy of my love, I knew that without question. Gabe had proven himself to be the man for me. He took a chance on me. He rescued me—cared about me. When had Church done any of those things? Never.

Of course, Gabe’s mom wasn’t crazy about me, but I was determined to win her over. I rolled out of the drive and pretended it was the last time. Surprisingly, it felt good and I imagined what it would feel like to have my own place—with a view of the beach, of course—and I really thought about what that might look like. I didn’t plan on staying on the boat forever, just a couple of days until I could make up my mind to what I wanted to do.

I drove half a mile down the road to the Green Tiger Food Stores. I checked my purse and looked over the long list of items that Gabe had helped me make to re-stock the boat with and since I rarely went food shopping, this was going to be fun.

As I approached the entrance, it looked like it was packed inside, and although I could barely see through my dark sunglasses once I’d walked through the doors, I’d kept them on. It was early morning, but there were a lot of people out and I’d hate to have run into the paparazzi while I was shopping.

I grabbed a grocery cart but when I pushed it, it made a really loud squeak from one of the wheels and some people glared at me, so I changed it—I didn’t want to attract any attention to myself in this tiny store. I pulled my long hair into a ponytail and put my purse in the cart. I’d worn a white tennis skirt and a white sleeveless top since I’d planned on meeting Aven for a few games later on. She’d sent me a text yesterday complaining about her weight, how she wanted to get in shape and could we play tennis? Of course, and I’d answered her with a, ‘
Sure, I’m in!’