Destiny Undone: The Complete Series Box Set (17 page)

“Yes, I’m fine. Just stings a little.” The doorbell rang and Cecelia frowned. “I’m really sorry. This should do it, but if you need anything else, check that medicine cabinet.” The doorbell rang again. “I guess Fallon can’t hear the doorbell. I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t worry about me, Cecelia. I’m fine, really. It’s just a scratch.” I laughed at the craziness of it all. “This won’t take but a minute. I’ll be right out.”

“Okay, thanks. That’s probably my date, Gabe, and I don’t want to keep him waiting. He’s a flight risk!” She laughed and closed the door behind her. I stood blinking at the door.
Please, don’t let this be Gabe Gregory. Here I am with scratched up legs and a huge band-aid… and he’s on a dinner date with Cecelia after we fucked the other day?
I wondered if she had any cyanide in that cabinet. If it truly was the case that he was her date—I’d like to put myself out of my misery now. No way could I handle an entire dinner with Gabe and Cecelia flirting with one another. Maybe she was just joking. I finally got my leg fixed up and left the privacy of the restroom. I held my breath, kept my back straight and walked into the living room.

Damn, it IS Gabe.

I plastered a big smile on my face and hoped my lipstick wasn’t all over my teeth. I didn’t look him in the eye right away, but waited to be introduced.

“Hi, Pepper,” he said as he ignored Cecelia’s surprised look. “You look great.”

“Thank you. You’re looking pretty fine yourself, Mr. Gregory.” I winked, and he gave me a huge smile back. He didn’t seem to notice the band-aid, but I knew it was there as that scratch on my leg was screaming now.

Cecelia laughed. “I didn’t know you two knew one another.”

“Pepper works with me at Sea Lab,” Gabe explained in his deep, dusky voice. He never took his eyes off mine as he replied and Cecelia’s perfectly-coiffed ginger eyebrow shot up another notch.

“Pepper works with you at Sea Lab?” She laughed aloud. “What in God’s name do you do there?”

“Uhm, wow, okaaay.” That was a snarky question, but I was a guest in her house so I wasn’t about to be impolite—I’d hate to come across as a bitch in front of Gabe. “I help train and ride the dolphins. Well, just one dolphin.” Everyone in the room seemed to pause and stare at me as if I’d confessed to some heinous crime.

Gabe looked around, then brought his gaze back to me and grinned. “Yeah, she’s great with Singh. He’s the star of our show.”

Cecelia reached out a hand and touched my arm. “I never knew you did that kind of thing. That’s so…so…”

Her brother, Fallon, offered his sentence filler. “So cool!” he said, and Mills smiled adoringly up at him.

“That’s my sis and she’s
very
cool. I can’t wait to see her ride at the gala. That’s the end of the month, right, Gabe?” Mills looked so proud of me, but I felt a little embarrassed at the attention. Right on cue, Gabe stepped in to save me as he told everyone about the gala and invited them all to come.

“Why, sure, we’ll come! I’d love to see Pepper riding on a fish,” Cecelia purred as she continued to stare at the two of us.

“Actually, he’s not a fish. He’s a mammal.” I smiled at her.

“Oh, okay. Would you like a drink, Gabe?” she asked.

“I’m driving, so I’ll just have a Coke, thanks.”

“…and you, Pepper?”

“Soda is fine for me too, CeCe. Thanks. Do you need some help?”

“Sure. This way.” I brushed past Gabe’s arm and felt him stare after me as I followed her to the bar to help her with the drinks. When we were out of earshot, she whispered to me, “I’m not trying to be nosy, but do you two have something going on? I thought I felt a little, you know… tension between you two?”

I still wasn’t sure if Gabe really was her dinner date…or even if we were an item, so I put on a smile and tried to play it down.
Shit! Had I made it that obvious that I liked Gabe in front of her?
I said, “If there’s any tension, it’s only because we work together. Why do you ask? Have you guys got anything going on?”

Cecelia laughed dryly. “I wish I could say something was going on, but Gabe’s kind of a slow mover in that department. We’ve known each other for years. Never romantically though—which is a shame because he’s so suitable—rich, successful and he is hot as hell.” We both laughed, but I didn’t make eye contact with her in case she could somehow suck out of my brain what I did with Gabe on his boat. I just dropped the cubes into the crystal glasses using the silver tongs in the ice bucket, but she wasn’t going to let me off the hook that easily. “Okay, now I know I’m not getting the whole story from you. What’s the deal with you two? Please be honest, Pep. You know I’m not the kind of girl that likes wasting my time.”

I reached into the refrigerator to stall for a little more time to think. I pulled out a few soda cans and popped a few of them open.

“Well, we kissed once…at Mills’ party…and maybe once more after that.”
How’s that for honesty?

Cecelia quietly tipped soda into the glasses and poured liquor into a few of them, then she smiled and said, “Maybe once more? I imagine kissing Gabriel Gregory is not something you’d forget in such a hurry! Well, that’s it, then. He’s off the market—at least for me. Oh well, I guess I’ve waited too long.”

“What?” I laughed aloud.

“Seriously, if he’s seeing you every day, and he’s already kissed you once…and maybe twice…then he won’t even give me the time of day now. You’re gorgeous, smart
and
you ride dolphins. What chance do I have?”

“I’m sorry, CeCe. I had no idea you liked him so much. I hope I haven’t hurt you.”

“No, you haven’t hurt me, Pepper. It’s not like he’s ever shown any interest in me, anyway. Thanks for telling me. I do hope you guys hit it off and you know what they say…there’s plenty more fish in the sea.” She touched my arm and we both laughed at the irony of what she’d said. There was an awkward silence just for a second, then we carefully put the drinks on a silver-handled tray and headed back to the other guests.

“Please don’t say anything to him about this, CeCe,” I said. “I don’t want to embarrass him.”

“Don’t worry. My lips are sealed.” I hoped she was a woman of her word. Otherwise, I’d have to leave early or die of embarrassment.

I hung out with Mills and some of her friends who’d also scored an invite to Cecelia’s exclusive party. There were about a dozen of us with a few more girls than there were guys, but it was all very low-key and elegant, just like our hostess. I mingled and chatted with several of the guests until I found myself next to Mills and Cece’s brother.

“So, Fallon, what have you been up to?” I asked, and for the next fifteen minutes, I listened to him talk about his latest hobby. He was excited about learning to fly and that was all he could think about. He’d talked his dad into buying him a single-engine Cessna, but he couldn’t take it out alone until he’d gotten certified, and that was going to take some time and plenty of training. I was thankful about that, because the idea of an eighteen-year-old flying around in the skies above me had me worried—especially one that might want to take my little sister along with him.

When we’d finished our conversation, Gabe strolled over to where I was, standing with his drink in his hand, and it was strange seeing him all dressed up. Usually, he was always in shorts whenever I saw him at work, but the gray slacks and blue shirt he had on tonight fitted him perfectly. Obviously, they must have been tailor-made for him—how else would they look so snug in all the right places? I giggled to myself at my naughty thoughts and couldn’t stop staring at him. He was so…so delicious!

“Cecelia tells me you were the victim of an animal attack. Are you going to survive?”

“Animal? Oh, the dog,” I laughed. “Yes, I think I’ll live. His claw caught me just right, though, and I did bleed a little.” I showed him my injured leg and hoped for some sympathy.

“That’s a shame. You know you still have beautiful legs, though, right?”

“Thanks, Gabe. I’m sure my wound will heal in no time.” Mills sipped her drink and made the big eyes at me over the rim of her glass. I tried to ignore her and turned to Gabe and smiled.

“Hey, y’all. Dinner is served so please come on into the dining room,” CeCe called out gracefully. Light jazz played quietly in the background and I found my name, beautifully penned, on a place card on the far side of the table and went to pull out my chair, but Gabe stopped me.

“Here, I’ve got that. You’re walking wounded, right?” he teased as he pulled out the chair and I took a seat. To my complete surprise, Gabe sat next to me instead of Cecelia.
What’s going on? I thought Cecelia had invited him here as her dinner partner.
I peeked down the table and she smiled back and winked at me.
Oh, wow, that was so incredibly gracious of her. What are you doing, girl?

The lively dinner conversation and delicious food made the evening go by quickly, and I couldn’t remember what I ate or who said what, for the most part. I could smell Gabe’s cologne and occasionally our hands brushed as we reached for silverware or our glasses. I didn’t know if it was intentional, but I liked it…a lot. I was in a Gabriel Gregory haze and when his warm leg brushed against mine, I shivered.

“Are you cold? Would you like a jacket?” he asked. Mills giggled and I gave her a stern look.

“No, thank you. I just got chilled.” I was surprised I managed to choke those few words out. I was normally a strong and confident woman, but here, right now, I felt tongue-tied and awkward.
What is he doing to me?
I blame everything that happened between us on the beer.
The guy on the other side of me, Matthew, brought me out of my swoon-filled haze by asking me a few questions about Singh. “So, are you a marine biologist like Gabe?”

“No, I’m not a marine biologist. I just train and ride the dolphins. I work with the head trainer, Bobbie Jo. She’s taught me a lot about handling Singh and until I started working with her, I had no idea that dolphins were so smart—and strong.”

“Really? What tips would you give someone who wanted to ride like you do?” Matthew pushed his gold-rimmed glasses back on his nose. I didn’t detect any mockery in his tone. I thought he was genuinely interested, so I gave him the best answer I could.

“You’d better have strong thighs.”

Someone spurted out a drink and Matthew laughed at my answer. “What do you mean?”

Before I could clarify what I meant, Gabe jumped in. “These animals have very robust bodies and they’re nothing but pure muscle, really. Unlike other animals you ride, there are no harnesses, no reins—all the direction the animal gets comes from your legs, the thighs.”

“Aren’t they trained to swim a circuit?” Matthew asked.

I put my hand on Gabe’s to let him know I wanted to answer this one. “Yes, they are, but Singh is so smart that sometimes he has his own ideas about where he should swim. I just coax him along.” I moved my hand back and reached for the napkin in my lap. I didn’t want to send the wrong signal here.

“Sounds like you two know what you’re talking about. I look forward to the gala. You’ll be performing?”

“Yes, and I’m really nervous about it.”

“Well, I’ll be there and I’m sure you’ll be great. Here’s to Pepper!” Cecelia lifted her wine glass, I raised mine and the rest of the guests followed suit.

“Thanks! I hope to see you all there.”

Suddenly, I felt Gabe’s hand reach for mine under the table. He squeezed it and smiled at me. I squeezed back then let his hand go. I already had a plan of how I might be able to see him later. I didn’t know if it would be possible, but I really hoped so. I needed to hold him again.

I stood by the window in my office and watched Tracee and Pepper work the dolphins together. It was obvious to me who had the better skills. Pepper was a more graceful rider, but they’d both put in a lot of hours of hard work and it showed. I couldn’t help but admire Pepper’s body, her hard nipples showing through her bathing suit top, and that ass…that round, sweet ass. She was my fantasy girl. Uninhibited, sexy, and she seemed to like it when I took charge. Like she
wanted
me to pound her pussy like that. I sighed, but decided to get back to work to take my mind off her since my cock was starting to get hard.

I stuck my hands in my pockets to try to stop the growing bulge in my pants and watched the two riders just a few seconds more. Both girls were natural competitors, and I was glad to see the two of them working together so well. I was lost in my thoughts when I felt two cold hands slide over my eyes.

“Guess who?”

“Let’s see…Mom? No…Bobbie Jo…?”

“No! You punk! Don’t tell me you don’t know!” I turned and saw Sophie’s familiar face, busting me in my dirty thoughts. She playfully punched my arm.

“You never forgot that, did you?” Sophie and I had a lot of inside jokes because we were two children of parents who liked being away from home—a lot. I couldn’t remember how many times we’d all gotten together for our parents’ planning sessions. They used to go on safaris, trips, tours, you name it, but now, it was mostly philanthropic. When Sophie’s father died about five years ago, her mother stopped traveling and did all her work locally. Still, we had a past together. Sophie was tall—taller than me by an inch—but she was so feminine and curvy, it was easy to forget. She had long, dark, silky hair like her mother’s and large, hazel brown eyes and the most perfect skin. She’d come close to marriage twice before, but both times she’d changed her mind at the last minute. Maybe they just weren’t her Mr. Right.