Operation Date With Destiny (21 page)

“
Chicks with a
pulse
turn you on, Tupperoni.
”

“
That was totally uncalled for.
”

She looked back over the water and he gave a small sigh.
“
Look, in all seriousness, your little brother is growing up and you
’
re gonna
’
have to take that into consideration. He
’
s had a shit few weeks and he
’
s gonna
’
be goin
’
through all kinds of
screwed up
for a while until he deals with it…but he
’
s a tough kid—he
’
s a lot like you. He
’
ll come around. He didn
’
t mean those things he said,
”
he told her quietly.

She turned anguished eyes onto him once more and he didn
’
t hesitate this time—pulling her into his arms and holding her tightly as she let go of the torment she
’
d been carrying around for far too long. He wasn
’
t sure how long they stood there, but he didn
’
t care if he had to stay there all night—all he cared about was that she knew he was here for her. All he wanted was for her to finally see that he would
always
be here for her.

“
Come on, let
’
s get you inside,
”
he finally said when she pulled away from his chest to wipe her face.
She was cold, but a hot shower to soak under for a while would soon fix that.

Wordlessly she allowed him to take her hand and lead her back up the beach to his cabin.

He took her into the bedroom and turned on the shower for her, telling her to take her time while he went out and made her something to eat, but as he went to leave the room, she caught his hand and held it tightly.

Tupper glanced down at their joined hands then looked up and his breath froze in his lungs at the
expression
on her face
. I
t was hunger alright, but not for food. She pulled him back towards her and dropped his hand, pulling off her t-shirt and holding his gaze as she slowly unclasped her jeans, lowering the zipper and stepping out of them to stand before him in only the barest scraps of underwear.

For a long moment Tupper felt himself seize up like some terrified teenager.
What the hell was wrong with him
? He
knew
what the hell was wrong with him
.
S
he was the most perfect woman he
’
d ever laid eyes on and he was in love with her.
It hit him with the force of a freight train and almost dropped him to his knees with the force of the emotion.

Slowly he made himself move forward, dragging his shirt off over his head with one hand, shucking his jeans, kicking them off with all the finesse of a bull in a china shop. He put his hands on her hips, holding her steady as he lowered his head and took her lips in a deep, urgent kiss. Heat, steam and the scent of arousal mixed all around him and he let out a groan of frustration
as
his usual control and honed skills had gone flying out the window with one touch from this woman.

Nothing mattered when he was with her—he wasn
’
t here to prove a point—he wasn
’
t using her to satisfy his ego
. A
ll that crap just didn
’
t make sense any more. She made him want to be the only man she
’
d ever need in her life
, m
ade him want to be the best man he could be—
just
for her. She made him want to be a better man.
And damned if he wasn
’
t gonna
’
die trying!

Gently he moved his hands up her side, mindful of the bandage, and around her back to unclip her bra. The contradiction of this woman wearing lace and silk beneath combat clothes almost did his head in. The fact that only
he knew this
was the hottest thing he
’
d ever imagined. He threw the scrap of lace to the floor behind him and cupped her breasts as they spilt out into his hands. She was so
God damn sexy
,
h
e thought with a need building inside him that was verging on embarrassing. At this rate it would be over before it even started!
Get a grip on yourself man!
His disgusted ego yelled at him.
This was not the cool operator,
ladies
’
man he
’
s spent the majority of his adult life creating!

He knelt down and skimmed her hip with his mouth—planting small kisses along the smooth skin, as he gently slid the silk material
—t
he last remaining barrier to having her completely naked, down her legs and added them to the growing pile of clothing on the floor behind him.

She tugged him back up to his feet and stepped back under the warm spray of the shower head. At the first touch of skin on skin, all his good intentions of restraint flew out the window and he found himself drowning in the sheer power of his need.

Tupper could feel his heart thudding hard against his ribs as he kissed her deeply, sliding his hands through her wet hair as he held her firmly—coming up for air when he
realized
he was
spiraling
out of control and
all they
’
d been doing was kissing.
He held her face between his hands, resting his forehead against hers and sucked in a deep breath to regain control over his wayward body.
Christ! This had never happened to him before…how was it possible to want this woman so badly that just kissing her could send him over the edge?

Impatiently, she began to explore his body, running her hands down his sides, and across his flat abdomen sending a bold of electricity through hi
m
as she lightly skimmed across the tip of his erection
—c
ausing him to suck in a sharp breath and drawing a curious look from Destiny, before she slid her small hand back across and began stroking him slowly, a sexy smirk tilting her lips as she watched his reaction. .

“
Darlin
’
if you want this to last—you better ease up a little.
”

“
Wow Johnny...I never had you pegged for a one pump wonder,
”
she said seeming to enjoy his discomfort.

That did it!
He may have been forced to endure many things since meeting this woman—but if there was one thing he was
not
going to give up—it was his reputation as a generous lover. He prided himself on making sure his women were treated well—and it wasn
’
t about to stop now!

Reaching behind them, he quickly turned off the hot water tap and sent a blast of cold water over them, chuckling at Destiny
’
s scream of surprise and holding her firmly so she
couldn
’
t escape. Adjusting the water flow again, he felt her relax slightly as warm water replaced the biting cold of a moment before.

“
Alrighty—I think we have the situation under control again.
”

“
What the
hell
was that for
?
It was
your
problem!
”
she spluttered, wriggling in his arms. Tupper took a step forward, which backed her up against the wall of the shower and her struggles stilled, as she felt the contact of their bodies fusing together.

“
Now…where were we?
”
he murmured against the side of her throat, as he nibbled his way down the length of her neck, and smiled
when
he heard her low groan in response. He tucked away each little piece of information to save for his arsenal to reuse on her later
.

As the heat built between them again, Tupper
bit back his groan of
despair
as she ran one long leg up his thigh and moved against him. This was not helping him keep
his wayward ardor under control at all. But when she began running her tongue across his chest and found the sensitive area around his nipple, all bets were suddenly off. Lifting her up, she needed no encouragement to wrap her legs around his waist and a long rugged groan filled the shower stall as their bodies locked into place. For a minute he almost stopped breathing as the magnitude of what he was experiencing hit him the full brunt of emotion. He couldn
’
t take his eyes off her, her long dark hair sleek and wet from the shower h
ung
over her breasts, her head thrown back as sh
e let out small, blissful cries—the sweet sound
beginning him closer to the edge with every second.

His arms held her weight easily, but even as his thighs stained to hold them both upright—the burn was nothing compared to the gut wrenching, soul tearing ecstasy of feeling her surround and hold him so damn completely.
This
was what he
’
d been missing all these years.
This
was how the others had known what love was.
How the hell had it taken him so long to find it
?
He knew why now…
he
’
d been waiting for Destiny to find him.

Chapter
Thirteen 

The waves sounded loud tonight as they crashed upon the shore beyond the window. Destiny settled herself more comfortably and listened to the steady thump of the heartbeat beneath her ear as she lightly traced patterns on the wide chest beneath her fingers.

The gentle breeze that blew in through the window cooled her still dampened skin, as they lay and catch their breath from a second round of Johnny Tupperoni proving his point
that
he was no
one pump wonder
.

“
You going to take it back?
”

Destiny grinned against his chest.
“
I will concede you have made your point and I
apologize
for insinuating you may be something you were not.
”

“
Couldn
’
t you just say yes?
”

“
Yes.
”

“
You gotta
’
dumb it down for me darlin
’
. Remember
,
I
’
m just a humble grunt—I
’
m no University grad.
”

“
You and humble should never be used in the same sentence together. It just doesn
’
t work. And I think you
’
re selling yourself short in the brains department. You
’
re far too smart for your own good,
”
she said dryly, running her hands through the light sprinkle of hair on his chest.
“
My Dad—Alan,
”
she added.
“
He spent his younger years in the Army then left and became a self-made businessman. He never went to University
,
but always told me that I could do anything I set my mind to. He was the one who pointed me towards the Army. He said there was no better balance between common sense and knowledge than gaining a degree while having to pay my dues to my country.
”

“
He sounded like a good man,
”
Johnny
said quietly as he played with her hair
where it
spread across his chest.

“
He
was
a good man,
”
she said and her throat suddenly closed up tight as tears stung her eyes.
“
The best.
”

“
You were lucky to have a father like him to look up to in your life,
”
he
said quietly after a few moments.
“
Mine didn
’
t waste any time encouraging me. He was too busy getting drunk and stayin
’
angry at the world.
”

“
Why? What made him that way?
”

“
Who knows. I don
’
t remember my mother—she left when I was young. It was just him and I. He was a heavy drinker and had an accident at the timber mill
where
he
’
d worked his whole life. After that, he pretty much stayed drunk.
”