Finding Destiny (9 page)

Skylar’s words
had melted Destiny’s resolve. She felt her heart unraveling before
his very eyes, and she was sure he could see that. She tried to
check herself, but it was too late. There would be no recuperating
from this weekend, without this man in her life after it.

Destiny really
had issues. Not only did she not know where this man lived, but her
life suddenly felt like it was in shambles, when the only thing
that had changed was him. And suddenly he seemed like the only
thing that mattered.

When the door
closed, emotions suffocated her and Skylar seared her with a
glance. He made it difficult to concentrate on trivial things, when
he looked like that, his fierce erection slowly easing away her
worry.

Skylar crawled
next to her on the bed and brushed a lock of hair from her eyes.
“What’s wrong, love? Did I do something to upset you?”

He could tell
that he had, but she couldn’t manage to find the words to express
herself. She shook her head no and attacked him with a kiss so
passionate that she wondered where it had come from. And then
Skylar came back with a slow, wet tongue that was equally as
passionate.

“I can’t fix
it, if I don’t know what’s broken.” Skylar smirked and Destiny
stole another kiss.

She dropped
her chin and stared at her twiddling thumbs. “I just don’t want you
to think I’m some crazy stalker or something. But I’m curious to
know where you live and whether you would ever consider continuing
our relations after this weekend.”

Skylar’s smile
grew, but she couldn’t be sure why. Yes, she wanted more of that.
No woman in her right mind wouldn’t. But lust wasn’t her only
selfish reason.

“Our
relations? As in, you want to continue to have sex with me?”

He was going
to make her spell it out for him.
But was that all he wanted
from her?
She worried that it was true.

Though their
time spent together had been short on the grand scale of things,
she had felt a connection with Skylar unlike anything she had
experienced in all her days. The sex was smoking hot and Skylar
clearly had a good head on those broad shoulders. She only hoped
that she wasn’t the only one looking for something more.

Destiny smiled
back. “Yes, sex would be part and parcel. But I actually meant I’d
like to see you again. Like on a date.”

Skylar nodded,
but his response didn’t look promising. “Strings.”

“Pardon me?”
Had Destiny just heard him correctly?
Destiny closed her
eyes and prayed that he wasn’t the player she had expected a man
with his impressive stature and skill would be.

“You’re
looking to tie me down.”

“In the
bedroom? Maybe. But that was hardly a marriage proposal.”

Skylar
chuckled, and she knew that rumble would haunt her for a long while
after that. “First you need to see if my check book is up to your
standards.”

Destiny shook
her head no, fiercely, and shuffled away from him. “I’m sorry if
that’s what you think I’m doing here, but this wasn’t something I
planned.”

Skylar’s hand
rested on hers and he pinned her with his whiskey eyes. “If not for
that, then why?” He didn’t wait for her answer, and she was
thanking the gods for that. “Women have played me like that to this
point in my life. You’re telling me my luck has magically turned
itself around?”

Destiny wasn’t
impressed with what he was accusing her of, but she also saw the
sadness in his eyes. He wouldn’t even give himself a chance at
happiness, and she would call him out on it if she had to.
What
did she have to say to get this through his suddenly thick
skull?

“You say
you’re financially secure. Good for you. That’s not really my
concern at this point. I thought we might sort through the less
finer points first.”

“On a
date.”

“Yes.”

Skylar propped
an eyebrow up and his smile returned. “Wouldn’t you say we’ve kind
of bypassed that stage already?”

She tried to
act like that smile hadn’t just wet her non-existent panties. “I
don’t know. It’s hard for me to judge whether we have anything at
all, when you act like that. I’d say at least there’s good sexual
chemistry. It’s a start.”

“Ouch!” He
grabbed at his chest dramatically. “I’m a
good
lover. I was
hoping that you would have said I was amazing, or at least great.
But good? I’m surprised you would even want to start something with
me, when you think I’m a B grade lover.”

Had he just
called himself her lover?
Oh, she loved the sound of that. But
she was perplexed by Skylar’s ability to run around the topic
without answering the question.

“If you’re not
interested in me, all you had to do is say so.” And she managed to
say that without a grain of emotion. How she did it was beyond her.
Her heart ached at the very thought of never seeing this man again,
even if he was being a total ass right now.

“Destiny.
Obviously I’m interested in you.” He glanced at his arousal, still
lifted from his body even while they argued. “I’m sorry to tell
you, but the sex is… let’s just say it’s overwhelming to feel
something that phenomenal.”

A glimmer of
hope bloomed in her belly, as Skylar’s hand reached for her face,
but she wouldn’t be letting him off the hook that easily. Though
his thickness was a turn on, she wasn’t about to continue their
sex-filled weekend if he really intended nothing more to come of
it.

She backed
away again. “The sex is better than my wildest fantasies, okay? But
this run around is really irritating. Either you like me and you
want to see me again, or you don’t.”

Frustrated
beyond comparison, Destiny turned away from him and stuffed her
head into the pillow at the head of the bed. She refused to release
a tear, but they were congregating in her eyes just waiting for him
to say an asshole comment.

“I like you
and I want to see you again.”

Skylar had sat
there for a long time, just staring at her. But she couldn’t speak.
Those few words he had spoken had made her so very happy that she
wanted to run around the yard naked and shout it from the
snow-covered rooftops. But there was no way in hell that she would
let him know that.

“Thank you,”
she said, at last. And a vulgar sass still soaked her words.
Was
that really that hard to say?

Skylar took
that as his opportunity to wrap himself around her. He buried his
nose in her hair and she gladly accepted the warm press of his lips
on her neck. She really loved the feel of his hard body shaping
around hers, but she couldn’t ignore the sharp press against her
behind.

Unable to deny
that she wanted him again, when he leaned over her, she kissed him.
She knew he could have been playing on her weaknesses, with no real
intention of ever seeing her again, but she really didn’t care. In
this moment, she would only feel with her senses. And if they were
any indication of love, then her heart would be full this
Valentine’s Day.

Skylar awoke with a jolt,
startling Destiny awake.

“What is it?”
she asked, realizing that something was wrong.

“It’s
nothing.” Skylar tried to relax and pulled Destiny back onto his
chest, but that feeling in the pit of his stomach didn’t go away
and he couldn’t seem to ease the tension in his bulky muscles.

He looked
around his room and saw nothing out of place. Then he listened
carefully.
Nothing.
He flashed a glance at the clock that
sat on top of the small night stand. As he suspected, Matty should
have been back by now. He was an early riser, regardless of what
time in the morning he called it a night; that is if he even called
it a night. Skylar leaned over and pulled his phone from his pants
pocket, then dropped it back onto the floor.

Skylar started
to stroke Destiny’s hair, in a sad attempt to soothe his own
nerves. He was having a hard time admitting it, even to himself,
that something might be wrong. Destiny had demanded that he be
straight with her, but it was difficult when he couldn’t even be
straight with himself.

“What’s
wrong?” She seemed to be focused on his unease, now that it had
settled into his bones. And when she smoothed her hand across his
chest, as if she knew exactly what he needed from her, it lightened
his anxiety ever so slightly.

“Matty should
have been back already. He’s not one to sleep in after one of his
sexcapades.” Skylar knew saying that would only lead Destiny to
think about their own sexual adventure over the past 24 hours. The
last thing he wanted was for her to think of him as a man whore,
but he didn’t have the heart to lie to her. “I’m worried.”

“Maybe they
were up late and slept in.”

She seemed
convinced, but Skylar knew Matty better than that. He was a Knight
through and through. He
never
slept in with a woman.
“No.”

Taking
immediate action, Destiny whipped open the blankets and covered her
glorious rear-end with a pair of jeans. “Let’s go then.”

He was
surprised that she hadn’t questioned him any further and he
appreciated how much she trusted him. He hoped he was wrong, but
his gut rarely lied, and he didn’t feel good about this. He didn’t
know what he was looking for, but he wouldn’t be able to rest a
wink with that feeling gnawing at his insides.

Skylar rolled
out of the bed and pulled on his clothes, as Destiny pulled on her
boots. He realized then that she didn’t have any suitable snow
clothes for the weather out here, and there was no saying how far
their ride would take them.

“I drove up
with Matty. We’re going to have to take the snowmobile. Are you
good with that?”

When she
nodded, he held Matty’s snowmobile suit out to her and dropped some
gloves at her feet.

“Are you sure
he won’t mind?”

Skylar carried
both of the helmets to the front door and rested them on the floor.
“If he does, he’ll get over it.”

Without a
word, Destiny zipped the suit up to her chin and snapped the neck
together over her precious white accessories. It draped off her
slim body like an oversized curtain, but he still thought she
looked adorable in it.

“You look
hot,” he joked, trying to get a rise out of her. And even though he
was only teasing, he really loved the way she looked in his
clothes.

She shoved at
him, and he took advantage of her closeness, by stealing a small
kiss. They had made love last night again, after discussing the
fate of their relationship, and it was unlike all the sex they had
enjoyed before that. A barrier had been lowered and it was like
they had opened up to each other in a way that had let them feel as
one.

They hadn’t
discussed their plans after that, or anything else for that matter.
After making love, they were so exhausted and content that they
curled up together, and that was where they remained until bright
and early this morning. Maybe she was waiting for him to bring it
up, since they hadn’t discussed where each of them were from, and
maybe he would grow a pair and say something before the weekend was
up.

After a moment
of wordless canoodling, Skylar pulled her outside and locked the
door behind them. He helped her with the helmet, and it was then
that he realized just how strong his feelings for this woman were.
Destiny was a game changer. She didn’t know the rules but, if she
had, he was sure she would take that short list and shred it, right
in front of him and his family.

In an attempt
to focus on Matty, he fired up his machine and checked all of the
gauges. Without him even having to ask her, Destiny wrapped her
arms snugly around his waist. He pulled away from the cabin and
headed back the way they originally came, making tracks through the
fresh dusting of snow that showed no sign of other human life.

Snow continued
to fall, but the flakes were much lighter than those from the other
day, and it wasn’t blowing around like it had been. The flakes
fluttered around in the sky and whipped past them, as Skylar sped
back to where he expected to find Natalie’s truck. The closer they
got, the worse the feeling in his stomach became.

As he made his
turn onto the main road, and at the sight of the emergency crews,
his chest caved. With lights still flashing, at a location just
beyond where they had picked up Destiny and her friends the other
day, he could only think the worst. Destiny had peeked around him,
and saw it too, her small hands gripping tighter around him as they
waited to hear the fate of his family and her friends.

He prayed that
Natalie’s truck was empty when the other vehicle had collided into
it, but then he saw his brother’s truck – or what was left of it –
piled up on a flatbed tow truck.

Skylar
approached the scene and parked his snowmobile where he could be
sure Destiny could not see the wreckage. The feelings coursing
through his veins weren’t something he was used to. He had visited
scenes like this on a regular basis, but never with a woman that he
cared about and never with family involved.

Adrenaline had
always run high when he rescued victims from a car accident, but
that wasn’t what was flooding his system right now. He turned his
machine off and all but sprinted to the crash site, after ordering
Destiny to wait there.