My Salvation (14 page)

She spent the next two days on edge, although
nothing new happened. No new information on who was behind
everything. She did get the Jeep back with nice new tires. Owen
wouldn’t let her go anywhere in it, but that didn’t bother her too
much. She was too scared to leave without him, but knew Steven or
Erik would go if she really had to leave.

Thursday night Owen came home in a terrible
mood. Said a quick hello to her before going upstairs to get
changed. Fifteen minutes went by and he didn’t come downstairs. She
stood and decided to go see what was wrong. Walking in, she saw him
lying on the bed. She laid down beside him and put her head on his
chest.

“Bad day?” she asked.

“You have no idea.”

“Want to talk about it?”

He let out a breath and said, “I went to the
main floor today to check on Ethan and he was on break, leaning
against the wall talking to Mia. I was shocked to see her standing
there. He saw me and straightened right away. Mia took one look at
me and came over while Ethan hung back. From the look on his face
he knew he fucked up.”

She inclined her head to look at him. “What did
she say?” She didn’t get any good vibes from Mia the one time she
saw her.

“She asked how I was and tried flirting with me.
The closer she got, the farther away my feet stepped. I told her if
she wanted to visit Ethan fine, but not to make a habit out of it.
I needed him to focus on work and having her around could mess with
him. I thought seeing Mia with him would piss me off. Outside of
surprising me, I really didn’t care.”

Owen moved to kiss her and Cali gladly accepted
the warmth of his lips. Those were the words she wanted to hear.
The thought of the bitch at Owen’s work didn’t make her happy. She
didn’t want to become the jealous, crazy girlfriend, but that chick
was nothing but trouble. The thought reminded her to ask him,
“How’s Ethan working out?”

“He’s really good. His work is amazing, always
has been. I need him to keep his head in the game though. How Mia
came back into the picture I don’t know, but will ask him. What did
you do today?”

“Ummm, let’s see. I went from the bedroom to the
kitchen and out to the pool. That’s about the extent of my day. Oh,
and I read.”

Owen smiled and said, “More relaxing than my
day. You’ve been trapped in the house. I’m sorry. Why don’t we do
something fun tomorrow night?”

“Don’t be sorry. I understand why I’m stuck
here. At least the house has a library and pool. And an amazing
cook. Adeline is fabulous. You got lucky with her.”

“Yes I did, with both of them.”

“I would love to do something tomorrow night
though. Any ideas?”

“As a matter of fact, I do have one. Not telling
you, however,” he said and stuck his tongue out at her. She moved
fast and caught his tongue between her lips, sucking on it gently.
Owen pushed her onto her back, bringing her hands up to pin her to
the bed.

“Want to play, do you?” Holding both of her
wrists in one hand, he used the other to tickle her side. Cali was
laughing so hard she had tears falling from her eyes. She brought
her legs up to try to push him off. Both of his legs positioned on
either side of hers, making it impossible for her to do more than
wiggle. He pressed himself down on her and she could feel that he
was hard.

He ground himself against her while licking and
sucking on her neck. Moving his hands to pull her shirt over her
head, he unclasped her black bra. Owen shifted enough so she was
able to capture his waist with her legs. The little bit of teasing
from him made her fill with want and desire. His head lifted and
she opened her eyes to look at him.

“I want you, Caliana.”

“You have all of me.”

He stood to remove his pants and briefs. Her
shorts and panties came off. Owen stayed where he was and took
ahold of her legs, dragging her to the edge of bed. He reached down
and used his thumb to spread her wetness. Grabbing his cock, he
slowly pushed into her.

Cali moaned, playing with her nipples, pinching
and tugging the stiff peaks. She was never shy when it came to
sexuality and knew her body well. She knew what would make her come
fast and what to do to prolong the climax.

However, with Owen she found herself having
little control over her orgasm. When she would move to slow the
pace he would shift and she was unable to fight the feeling.

“You touching yourself is really fucking
sexy.”

He lifted her legs to grasp behind her thighs,
controlling the movements. He was deep inside of her and her body
had to stretch to take all of him. She watched as the muscles in
his chest and stomach flexed with his movements. The way sweat
trickled down his face to his chiseled jaw.

Owen stroked her clit causing her to fist the
bedding and writhe under his touch. No longer able to focus on his
movement, she let the sensation take over. His every touch sent a
current through her.

He was breathing heavy. She loved the way his
body reacted to her. The feeling of him hitting the perfect spot
within was driving her mad. She moaned causing Owen to quicken the
pace.

A couple more thrusts and she let go. Her body
convulsed in ecstasy. Owen pulled her hips higher and found his own
release. He called out her name as he jerked inside of her. She
went lax on the bed, recovering from another blissful encounter
with him.

“You are amazing.” Each word was said in between
breaths.

“As are you, Mr. Matthews. Now tell me more
about this idea you have for tomorrow night.”

“Nice try,” he said chuckling. “You get me all
sexed up and think I’ll give my plan away. No way, not going to
work. Nice try though. And feel free to try again later.”

“You’d like that wouldn’t you?”

“More than you know, but I have a feeling you’d
enjoy it too.”

She smirked. “You’d be right.”

She couldn’t have been more comfortable with
this man. They shared many intense moments of passion, could laugh,
he held her when she cried, and he always seemed to know what she
needed. She felt like anything was possible with him by her
side.

~ 14 ~

The next day he surprised Cali by coming home a
little early. Owen noticed something different about her as soon as
he laid eyes on her.

“You straightened your hair.”

She ran her fingers through her silky, brown
hair. “Yeah, when I packed the suitcase at the townhouse I grabbed
my flat iron. Do you like it?”

He took a few steps toward her and reached to
feel her hair as well. The brown strands felt as smooth as they
looked. His fingers brushed the hair over her shoulder, but a few
pieces fell forward, not quite long enough to stay back. He tucked
the pieces behind her ear.

“I do. You’re beautiful, Caliana. Even if you
cut your hair off you would still be the most attractive woman I’ve
ever seen.”

Looking into his eyes, she said, “Compliments
like that will get you everywhere.”

“Good, I’ll cash in later,” he said with a wink.
“Now, let’s go eat. We have places to go.”

Dinner was outside on the patio since the
weather was cooperating and he was glad it was. The surprise he had
depended a lot on the weather. They needed to eat a little earlier
than normal since they needed to arrive at the destination a couple
of hours before sunset.

He decided to blindfold Cali to really throw her
off. The car ride lasted roughly thirty minutes. She kept asking
where they were going and when would they get there, but nothing
was given away.

Stopping the car, Owen got out and went to the
passenger side. She would need help getting out since the blindfold
was still on. Once outside of the car, he walked her a few feet
until the sound would give her a clue. It was a very distinct
sound, almost like a whoosh. The second the noise went off Cali
gasped.

“Do you know what that is?”

A smile spread across her face. “I think so, but
I want to have a look to be sure.”

“Take off the blindfold.”

She stood still for a few seconds, eyes wide. “I
was right! We get to go up in a hot air balloon?”

“Yes, we do. The ride will last about an hour
over the mountains, valleys and rivers.”

She started bouncing in excitement. She jumped
up catching him off guard, throwing her arms and legs around
him.

“Thank you! I’m so excited!”

Laughing he said, “Really, I couldn’t tell.”

Inside the building they met an older man with
grey hair and a lean build. Both had to fill out some paperwork
before heading out. He walked them over to a multicolored balloon
that was already filled with air, waiting to take off. The colors
on the balloon reminded him of a rainbow.

They both climbed into the basket and soon
started drifting upward. She was leaning over the edge, making him
nervous. She wasn’t scared in the least. As the ride went on, the
owner mentioned interesting facts regarding the areas they were
flying over. He was surprised how quiet she was, seeming to be in
awe of everything.

Being in the air was the oddest feeling. It felt
like they were floating along on a cloud. He thought the ride would
have been a little bumpier, but it wasn’t at all. The balloon
glided along the air. He felt at peace looking down on the valley
below.

As they started making their descent, Cali
leaned into him. He put his arms around her waist, nuzzling his
face into her neck.

“Thank you for the surprise. I would have never
guessed this.”

“After all you’ve been through, you deserved
something fun.”

Leaning toward his ear, she whispered, “Hang on
to the blindfold.”

He looked down at her, nodding. Now his mind
raced with the different things he could do to her while she was
blindfolded. Yeah, he was definitely keeping it.

Once the balloon safely landed on the ground,
one of the workers escorted them to a champagne picnic. A quilt was
laid out on the grass and chilled champagne waiting. Owen filled
both of their glasses and made a toast.

“Caliana, it’s been a non-stop whirlwind since
you’ve come back into my life. I cherish every day with you and
take none for granted. You make me a better man. You stole a piece
of my heart years ago and today you have it all. I love you. I
always have and always will.”

He noticed her bottom lip trembling. “I love you
too, Owen. You’re a dream come true. I only thought men like you
existed in books or movies. You’re the real thing and I can’t
believe you’re mine. All that you’ve done, the care you’ve taken.
You’ve placed me on a pedestal I don’t deserve. You’re amazing,”
she said, her voice full of emotion.

“Cali,
you
are the one who is amazing.
You are strong and courageous, passionate and caring. I didn’t used
to believe in fate, but having you like I’ve always wanted, that
has to be it. Fate knew our story wasn’t finished and brought us
back together.”

His hand reached up to caress her cheek. She
leaned into him, closing her eyes. This beautiful woman was in love
with
him
. He felt like he was still floating in the air.
Moving closer, he brushed his lips against hers. He could taste the
champagne on her tongue when she opened her mouth to accept his
kiss.

He sat back with a sigh, afraid he wouldn’t be
able to restrain himself from taking her on the quilt. He doubted
the owner had
that
kind of picnic in mind when he put it
together.

They sat outside until the sun set. Thanking the
owner on the way out, Owen also gave him a generous tip for being
able to arrange the flight on such short notice. Cali nodded off
during the ride home. He guessed she had a little too much
champagne.

Once in the garage with the door closed, he
looked over and saw her Jeep inside between the Benz and the Caddy.
He had to admit he really liked having her stay with him. He
wondered if she would consider moving in.
She practically has
anyway
, he thought. Owen knew their relationship was still in
the early stages, but wanting her most of his life, the length of
time didn’t matter. The two weeks they’ve been together solidified
what he always felt for her.

He turned toward her, thinking he really didn’t
want to wake her. She was sleeping soundly in his black, leather
seat. Tomorrow they had to go back to the cabins and close them for
the year.

He had a cleaning crew go in and remove
everything damaged from her cabin. The crew was also going to clean
it thoroughly. She had no idea, but he also replaced all of the
damaged furniture, dishes and linens. Owen didn’t want her to have
to worry over buying anything new and hoped she didn’t mind.

He hoped some items were left untouched that she
could salvage. The thought of her losing precious items of her
aunt’s put an ache in his chest. She had been through enough, to
lose priceless belongings was too much.

Quietly opening his car door, he exited the
vehicle and shut it as gently as he could. He walked to the
passenger side, opened the door and bent to lift her into his arms.
When he pulled her out of the car her eyes blinked opened and she
looked at him.

“What’s going on?”

“We’re home. You were sleeping so peacefully. I
didn’t want to wake you.”

She nuzzled into his chest and said, “That was
very sweet of you.”

He kicked the car door shut with his foot.
Walking upstairs with her in his arms was effortless. He was in
great shape and Cali didn’t weigh much at all.

He went to the bed and gently laid her down. As
he was taking her shoes off, she stirred once more.

“Don’t worry about that. I can do it.”

“I know you can, but I want to,” he said.

She smiled and let him take her shoes, shirt and
shorts off. He left her in her bra and panties, but she moved and
unclasped her bra. She pulled on the bedding to cover herself,
sighed, rolled over and drifted off to sleep.