Finding You (16 page)

~  ~

Feeling her lips quiver against his melted him.  “I have always known you were so much more Nova.  I bought you from Caroline to protect you and keep you with me.  I was afraid you wouldn’t want me outside the club.  It was never about owning you.  It was about being close to you.  You unraveled me and I couldn’t let you go.”

Tears flowed down her cheeks again.

“My life was so controlled and predictable until this beautiful brunette gave me advice over a hand of cards one night.  She was the most beautiful women I had ever seen and no matter how hard I tried I just couldn’t get her out of my head but once I got her in my bed, I knew I had to have her.  What started out as a need turned into something else.  Something that I hadn’t planned for either but there is no way in hell I would give you up.  I love you too.” 
And fuck if that didn’t feel amazing to say out loud.

That night without asking or implying he made love to her for the second time.  When she finally fell asleep in the early hours of the morning, Ian was wide awake. 

He left the bed and went down stairs to the patio.  The moon was full and the sky was bright.  He sat down with a beer thinking of the beautiful angel sleeping in the bed he had just left.  In a month his life had completely changed.  She had been so hard to read.  Her admission of her feelings for him not only overwhelmed him but it also scared the hell out of him.  He had never loved anyone.  He fucked and left them, but now every women before her seemed a waste. 

She told him he was a fighter.  Her words had pushed so many of the horrible things his father had said about him out of his mind.  He sipped the beer thinking about just how messed up he had let his life become over the things his father had done.  She was right.  As hard as he had tried to make a life for himself, his father had still molded him into the man he had become.  Being alone now, no longer had any appeal.  The only thing he wanted was her, beside him for as long as she would have him. 

“You okay?”

Her words startled him.

“Yeah, just couldn’t sleep.”

Cautiously she approached him.  This was how she did things, always testing the waters before she got too close.  He hated how engrained that trait had become in her.  Even more so, he hated the ache deep in his heart that made him think she hadn’t told him everything. He didn’t know if he could handle what he feared was true.  He’d be on the next plane to Georgia to kill that son of a bitch if it was.  A prison cell would suit him just fine if it meant he got to deliver retribution to that sick bastard. 

Realizing she was watching him, he forced down the hate that was slowly eating away at him.  He needed to know the truth but right now wasn’t the time to find out. 

“Come here,” he said patting his leg.

“Beautiful night, huh?” she said finally relaxing.  She sat down on the edge of the chair and stretched her legs across him. 

“Yeah, I was just thinking I don’t think I’ve ever seen the moon this bright.”

“That’s because you are a city boy.  The moon just isn’t the same when you are looking at it with all the lights from the city.  This is what it was like in Georgia, only no crickets chirping here.”

Running his fingers under the soft flesh under her knee he smiled up at her.  “You said something nice about Georgia.  That is surprising.”

He watched her crinkle her nose.  “It’s not the state I don’t like Ian.  Georgia is a beautiful place.  We lived about an hour outside of Savannah.  Stanford’s family made their money in cotton and the plantation was left to him.  It was four hundred acres of open fields and the house looked like it came straight out of ‘Gone with the Wind.’”

“You make it sound really nice.”

“Oh minus Stanford and my heroine hooked mother it would have been great.”

She nudged him when he hadn’t spoken.  It’s not that he didn’t have a million questions but he didn’t want to mess up their time together on the island.  He wanted this trip to be special and so far it was well exceeding anything he had hoped for.  After a few minutes when he still hadn’t spoken she nudged him. 

“Ian, I hope our conversation in the shower isn’t what has you sitting out here.  It’s okay.  If you have something you need to say, tell me.  I will understand.”

My god, he had made her doubt him.  “No, I don’t have any regrets if that’s what you are asking.  I meant what I said Nova.”

She let out a deep breath.  “Want to share what has you out here all by yourself.”

He smiled and took another sip of his beer. 

She bent down and kissed him on his forehead.  “I’m going down to the beach.  Mind if I steal a few of your beers?”

“You’re going down to the beach?”

“Yeah, the full moon won’t last much longer.  I better take advantage of it.  Besides a little swimming might help the soreness I have since we have done nothing but have sex since we got here.” 

“Ah, yes I remember,” he said starring down at his boxers.  “Something about Greek God and well endowed.  Is that about right?”

He tried to hold in his laughter. 

“You are never going to let me forget that are you?”

“Not a chance in hell baby.”

~  ~

The water felt good but it was hard to enjoy it with the great desperation that was growing inside her.  She swam out from the shore and ducked her head under the water.  She knew something had changed and Ian’s reluctance to tell her what it was made her feel heavy.  She didn’t doubt how he felt about her.  He wouldn’t have lied about that. It was something else.  He would talk when he was ready and she didn’t want their vacation to be anything less than fun and relaxing.  Her mission was to keep Ian in his swim trunks all week.  He needed to unwind.  It was going to be her job to make sure he did that. 

              After a few minutes of relaxing in the water she swam back to the shore sitting just deep enough for the water to cover her stomach.  She couldn’t help but think about the changes she had made since Ian come along.  She had for the first time actually made a joke about her life.  Maybe he was helping her let go of some of her demons.  Maybe that was what was wrong with him.  She remembered the look on his face when she told him that he wasn’t like his father.   He looked at her like he had never considered that.

They had both grown up with a screwed up parent or in her case parents.  She knew better than anyone how difficult changing the perception of your self could be.  For every way she had fought to be someone different, she didn’t see how much of a hold they still had on her.  Maybe it was the same for Ian.  Having reality waved in front of you has an almost crippling feeling.             

“Need another one of those?” he asked picking her up a beer.

She tensed at his voice but as she turned her head she saw something in the water.

“Oh my God, Ian!  Look, its two dolphins.”

About twenty yards off shore two dolphins came out of the water.

“Did you see them?”

“The owner said dolphins stayed around the beach a lot.”

“I have never seen a dolphin before. That was incredible.  Did you see how fluid they were with each other?”

He sat down next to her.  “I think there are two others down here that are pretty fluid with one another.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”  I leaned over to kiss him on his cheek but he caught my lips.

My heart rate picked up.  I couldn’t help it.  Ian always did that to me. 

“I love you Nova.”

“I love you too.”

I rested my head on his shoulder.  “Do you think we will see the dolphins again?”

“Baby I have no idea.  I can tell you what I do know though?”

“What?” I asked staring out over the water.

“Just because you told me you love me doesn’t cancel out your punishment.”

I lost all the air in my lungs.  “You had to go and ruin a beautiful moment didn’t you?” 

“Oh, I am going to show you a beautiful moment,” he said taking her beer and chasing it down.

“You know Ian, I’m not sure which one of your personalities I like better.”

“What does that mean?”  He asked as he pulled her closer to the shore and settled over her. 

Staring up into his eyes she could so easily loose herself but when he pinched her she regained her focus. “You are like Jekyll and Hyde baby.”

Sitting up on his knees, he looked at her like she had just told him she was a man. 

“You have got to be kidding me Nova.  Are you trying to change the subject to save your ass?  Literally?” 

She giggled.  Something she seemed to do a lot with him now.  “You really think you are funny, don’t you?”

“You have to admit that one was pretty good.”

Reaching down he pulled her up.  “Come on, we need to get in bed or we will sleep all day.”

She sat the beer down and raced towards the house.  She tried hard but he caught her with little effort as he tossed her over his shoulder and took her straight to the bedroom. 

“Do you really think I have two personalities?” he asked turning on the shower.

She was sure her eyes bugged out but he seemingly ignored it and stepped in the shower. 

When she dried off and toweled her hair as best she could she went back to the bedroom where Ian was lying in the bed waiting for her.  She was a little nervous because he hadn’t said a word in the shower. 

“Do you care to elaborate?”

I snuggled in next to him.  “Fine.  Ian is the man who was in the shower with me earlier.  You remember him, the one who made love to me for hours.”

“And?” 

She didn’t want to make him mad so she sat up and lay between his legs.  She watched as he tucked his arms behind his head.  God, would she ever get tired of looking at him.  Forgetting the conversation she started kissing his stomach between his belly button and his…

“And” he said lifting her head.

“Fine, your Mr. Hyde is someone I call Seven.”

“Are you kidding me, your safe word?  What does that mean?”

“Well, you can’t blame me. Seven was your number at the club.  It’s not like I knew your name.”

“So, that’s what you called me, Seven?”

“Yes.”

He laughed.  “So tell me about “Seven.”

“Seven is intense.  Seven is the one who spanks me when I don’t mind and…”

“And what?” he asked grabbing her face just before she took him in her mouth.  He had never stopped her from oral sex so she knew he was seriously interested in hearing her out.

She straddled him and brushed his hair off his forehead.  “Seven is the one who tries to pound me through the mattress.”

The next thing she knew he flipped her over and pinned her to the bed.  “Which one of me do you like best?” he asked running his finger through her slit. 

“Right now?”

“Yeah, right now, who makes you happy?”

His fingers slid inside.  “Seven,” she moaned.

His fingers were like magic.  He took her nipple in his mouth and nipped at her flesh.  She came in seconds it seemed. 

“Still like Seven,” he asked running his fingers through her wetness.

“Most definitely.”

“Good, cause Seven has a punishment for your sweet little defiant ass.”

He turned her over before she could protest.  “Up you go.  I want you on your hands and knees, ass in the air.”

Reluctantly she did as he asked. 

Kneading her flesh with his warm hands she almost drifted off to the point of forgetting what was coming until he bit her making her jump from the pain.   

“You’re sassy little mouth is most often your undoing, but this time you decided to use your sweet little ass to taunt me.”

She took in a deep breath as he continued to nibble and lick her backside.

“This ass is mine Nova.  Say it.”

“It’s yours,” she whimpered as his teeth bit down on her flesh.

“What if someone had seen your naked little ass down on the beach baby?  Do you not know how much I value things that I own?”

Before she could answer his hand came down hard on her bottom.   “I’m sorry Sir.”

Three more times his hand delivered hard blows making her scream out into the darkness of their room. 

“Does it hurt Nova?” 

She whimpered and choked back a sob as his hand came down again.  “Yes sir.”

“Good, because the next time you decide you want to show the world what is mine without permission I want you to remember that I own this ass.”

Bending down he bit her hard enough to make the tears fall.  She tried to get away from him but his hands locked around her waist holding her still while he kissed and licked the pain away.

“I marked you baby.  If you decide to show your ass down here again anyone who sees will know its mine baby.”

Sobbing she should be mad at how hard he had bit her but in some completely messed up way she loved the idea that he had marked her.  All the times she wore his marks she secretly loved it.  Loved knowing that he marked her flesh but this was ownership and despite how bad her ass was hurting her heart swelled.

“I’m yours Ian.  Only yours.” 

“Damn right you are,” he growled as he pushed inside her. 

She cried, she moaned and finally begged him as he fucked her relentlessly. 

“Oh God, I am going to come Ian,” she screamed trying to fight it off with everything in her. 

“Do it baby, let go!  Give it to me.”

“Ahhhh,” she screamed as he pounded into the sweet spot inside her.  White lights flashed before her eyes, her breath caught as she screamed out his name.  She felt him still, spilling his seed inside her until he finally collapsed against her back.

When he pulled out and rolled over she was still panting breathlessly.