Finding Destiny (4 page)

Matty was
right. She is a firecracker.
“I apologize. I didn’t mean to
upset you.” He felt like he had to redeem himself. The last thing
he wanted to do was turn her against him. “I just figured that if
you were able to get away from work so easily, you must work with
family.”

“Oh.” Destiny
blushed, recognizing her overreaction.

Even though
Skylar felt like an ass for making her feel that way, he loved
watching the warm color splash across her soft, white cheeks. And
he couldn’t help but smile at her.

“I lost my
job,” she admitted, pressing her eyes shut.

He hadn’t
asked her to elaborate any further, but he was glad that she
did.

“I loved my
job and I was damn good at it, but I was laid off last week.
Apparently quality has nothing to do with it. Seniority ruled and I
got cut. It’s not exactly fair, but what can you do?”

When she
looked up at him, Skylar nodded and smiled, knowing she didn’t
actually expect an answer from him. He loved watching her, with her
emotions exposed on her sleeves. He even liked the fact that she
was unemployed and had a dysfunctional family. But it didn’t knock
her down a single notch. He still wanted her.

After an
embarrassing exchange of too much information, Destiny was relieved
to hear that the headboard had finally stopped banging off the
wall. It wasn’t very long after that when Felicia and Matty
rejoined them, both with mischievous smiles on their faces.

Matty glanced
at Felicia like she was a tasty treat that he had yet to sample.
“Felicia and I have to go out for a few things. Can we get you guys
anything?”

Natalie
shuffled awkwardly to her feet, knocking the peas onto the old,
untreated floorboards. “Yeah. My truck.”

Destiny
watched how Natalie favored the wrong ankle. “Are you sure you
should be standing on that?” It was supposed to be more of a tease,
but Natalie didn’t get it.

Skylar smiled
and glanced at the floor, having read Destiny’s sarcasm like it
were written in his own baby book.

“I just want
to get my truck and get this weekend back on track. This was
supposed to be
our
weekend, remember? And now all this has
happened.”

The truth was
that Natalie was only upset because there were two men there and
not a single one of them were giving her the time of day.

“Quit being
such a party pooper. Matty says we can stay as long as we like.”
Felicia gave Matty a naughty eye that said she would be happy to
lock herself back in that bedroom with him for another round.

“Well, I’m
going,” Natalie insisted, turning her attention to Matty. “Skylar
said you can fix my truck. Will you?”

Matty shrugged
his shoulders, as Natalie pulled on her puffy white jacket. “I can
certainly have a look. Trouble is, I only have my truck here. It’ll
only fit three of us.” Then he glanced at Felicia. “Unless you want
to sit on my lap, doll.”

Felicia
smiled, but everyone else cringed. Those two were a perfect match
for each other.

Destiny stood
from the sofa. “Do you really think we could all fit?”

When Skylar
mirrored her stance, she turned to face him. She could tell he had
something important to say. She stared at his lips, just waiting
for him to stop her. But she worried that he didn’t have it in
him.

Skylar didn’t
know why his pulse was now throbbing in his throat, but there was
no way he could let Destiny walk out on him already. They had only
just met. When she had stood from her seat, a sudden stab of
realization had washed over him. He had to think of something
quick.

“You should
stay.”

His offer had
been charming, his voice soft, and the fact that he hadn’t heard
the word no on her breath gave him hope.

“I don’t
know,” she answered, after a slight hesitation. The look on her
face suggested she was unsure of what he was offering. “I don’t
know,” she repeated, like she was overthinking it. “Nat, you
probably need a doctor. I can come with you.”

Skylar knew
that was an outright lie. What was she so scared of?

Matty stole
Destiny’s attention. “Sorry to break it to you, Dee, but the
nearest doctor is close to an hour away.” He turned toward Natalie
to inform her of the situation, saving Skylar the trouble. “If it’s
a doctor you need, Skylar’s the best alternative you’ve got. You’re
better off lifting that foot up and taking it easy.”

“That’s fine.
I can do that at the spa we paid a small fortune to visit. It was
non-refundable, by the way.” Natalie ignored Felicia’s
disappointment, and glanced at Destiny as she zipped up her jacket.
“If Felicia’s coming back out here, then you might as well hang out
for a while.”

“Are you sure,
Nat?”

“Yessss!” she
stated, dramatically. “I’ll catch up with you guys later. You will
be okay out here on your own, right?”

Skylar saw
Destiny gulp when her eyes reached his. She would be very okay out
there, if Skylar had anything to do with it. He raised his eyebrows
in question. But he really wanted her to stay.

She turned
back to Natalie. “I’ll be fine.”

A dragon took
flight in Skylar’s chest from what her agreement insinuated. She
wanted him just like he wanted her. With that knowledge, he grew
more brave and moved closer to her.

He draped his
arm over Destiny’s shoulder. “I’ll take good care of her.”

When Destiny
leaned back to peer up at him, he caught his first glimpse of her
angelic smile up close.
Oh, God. Those lips.
His gaze snared
hers and he could see her innocence melting away. He wet his lips
with a lick of his tongue, overcome with a desire to take her mouth
against his. Her soft smile never left those perfect pink lips,
telling him exactly what he needed to know. She liked what she
saw.

“Let’s leave
those two love birds alone,” Matty teased. “Come on, ladies. Your
chariot awaits.”

They all
shuffled outside, leaving Destiny and Skylar very alone, his arm
still carefully strung across her back.

Cutting the
silence, and escaping the closeness that left him aching to touch
her, Skylar retrieved his arm and headed for the kitchen. “Can I
get you something to drink? Sorry I didn’t think to ask you sooner.
I must have left my manners back at home. They don’t come in real
handy around those guys.”

He watched
Destiny swallow again. “I can imagine.”

Skylar pulled
a couple of beers from the fridge and returned to the living room.
“I don’t suppose you drink beer.” He twisted the top off the bottle
and handed it to her.

“Not really,
but I could use one right about now.”

He chuckled as
he twisted the cap off his own bottle and snapped the lid across
the room. “Sorry. Old habits die hard.” He drew a long, slow gulp
from the bottle, and he caught her watching his mouth.

“It’s fine.
This is your place. You can do whatever you want in it.”

That
suggestion gave him unwholesome thoughts. He planned on finding out
whether she would make good on that promise.

Destiny couldn’t believe the
sudden change of events. Why had she agreed to stay with this
man?

Then Skylar
smiled, and that simple gesture instantly reminded her why. “If I
do anything that makes you uncomfortable, you only have to ask me
to stop.”

It was like he
had answered her unspoken question, but she was more worried about
who would stop
her
. Destiny couldn’t believe that she had
fallen head over heels for this man who she hardly even knew.
Funny, though: she couldn’t imagine anything he could do that she
wouldn’t want him to do to her. In fact, she couldn’t stop thinking
about how nice it would be to have his warm, rough hands all over
her idle body.

She took a big
gulp from her beer and made a funny face as she choked it back.

“You don’t
have to drink that if you don’t like it.” He came out with that
smile again, and she was sure she was going to faint from its
appeal.

“It tastes
fine. Refreshing actually. I’m surprised.”

“You don’t
drink beer often?”

“No. I don’t
drink any alcohol.”

If her
father’s alcoholism hadn’t been enough to turn her off of liquor,
her sister’s rape certainly had. She had learned at a very young
age that no good came from alcohol. So why, after guarding herself
from this very situation her entire adult life, did she find
herself sipping on a beer and hanging out with this strong,
handsome man whose last name she couldn’t recall?

“You’d better
slow down then. This is the strong stuff. It’ll knock you right off
your feet.”

She liked the
sounds of that, her libido reminding her that it still existed. She
had begun to believe that her sex drive had gone on a permanent
vacation, but it was now apparent that it had only gone into
hibernation. Skylar seemed to have brought her sexuality back with
a vengeance.

“Should I be
afraid that you might take advantage of me?” She couldn’t believe
that the liquor was already giving her bold, flirtatious lips.

“Oh, boy.
Someone must have really done a number on you.”

She scowled at
him, but it wasn’t very believable. He was right, after all. “Not
on me. My sister. She was sexually abused by her boyfriend and he
eventually threatened to take her life. And my friend, Natalie. Her
husband died of cancer last year. He hid it from her until he was
on his last breath. She still talks about it every day.”

“I’m
sorry.”

She was sorry
that she had even brought it up. But now that she had, she couldn’t
stop from giving him her story.

“I don’t think
I'll ever trust another man after that.” Why was she spilling a
lifetime of guts to this guy? The words were falling right off her
lips. He was so easy to talk to and he seemed like a really good
listener. He probably could’ve cared less about her lifetime of
livid memories.

Skylar leaned
into her, close enough that she could smell his cologne. “They all
want to fuck with destiny. Is that it?”

Destiny took a
healthy swallow of her beer. Why did she wish that statement had
been laced with more intimation? After lowering her beer, she
slowly nodded her head.

“So, you don't
trust
me
?” he asked, his voice a low, meaningful growl that
dared her to answer him.

Destiny backed
up and smiled softly. She had to put a little space between them.
The flirtations were starting to get out of control and there would
be no stopping her if she got started.

“How could I
possibly trust you? We only just met.” Her voice was so soft, it
shocked her. But not nearly as much as the moment when she realized
he was shifting closer and tilting his head for a kiss.

The pads of
Skylar’s fingers brushed her cheek and made her shiver as his warm
breath teased her mouth. When his lips met hers, she melted against
him, and when his tongue swept into her mouth, it was warm and wet.
She only wished she could get a better taste of him.

Destiny hadn’t
known that something so simple could feel so intimate, but
everything about him surprised her. Skylar’s lips were soft and
gentle, much like his touch. She hated to admit it, even to
herself, but she trusted him.

His kiss was
persuasive, but gentle. It was like he thought he might break her
if his lips pressed too hard. It made for a sensual experience that
lit her panties on fire. She wanted more from him, but she wasn’t
like Felicia. She suddenly wished she were.

Destiny didn’t
even know this man, who had rescued her from the big bad snow
storm, and yet she had no issue with how he was giving her neck a
massage with his soft, full lips. When Skylar slowly eased his
mouth away, her skin continued to tingle with anticipation.