In A Heartbeat (6 page)

My parent’s boat is a luxury speed cruiser. We have the
privilege to just idle along and enjoy the water or speed across it and enjoy the rush. I prefer the speed. There is a lot of space on the boat for passengers and we tend to fill it up when all the guys come out for a lake day. I can tell she is impressed by the size of the boat by her facial expression.

She doesn’t hesitate to help pull in the buoys when I pull out into the cove. It’s like we have done this a million times together. I tell her to hang on as I speed across the lake. The boat will catch some waves every once in a while and bounce over them. That makes for a nice view of her chest. I will be catching some waves when she is out of that dress for sure.

I find a spot on the lake that has a great view of the western sky. I kill the engine and anchor us down to this location. It is time for a swim, so I yank off my shirt and dive into the lake. I look back into the boat expecting her to resist getting in the lake with me just in time to see her blue string bikini before she lands in the water.

I have never felt so in sync with a girl before. I can’t think of any of my friend’s girlfriends or my own from the past who would have jumped in without worrying about their hair or makeup. She swims over to me and catches me off guard by jumping
up out of the water and puts both hands on top of my head shoving me under. I grab onto her waist and drag her down with me. We both surface in an all-out dunking war.

We
finally ease up and I put my arms around her. I find myself just holding her while we tread water. Her face is filled with a huge smile and, if it’s possible, her eyes are even smiling. I can see happiness in her entire face. Her smile takes my breath away. It has been so long since I can remember happiness like that.

She has her hands around my neck and she glances at the tattoos on my arms. Both of my arms have
a few angel feathers tattooed on them as if they are floating back to the surface from a fight. There are a few more beneath the angel on my back as well. I got this tattoo after losing my battle with Nicole. I felt the angels in heaven were as devastated as I was at the loss of the innocent life that was taken entirely too early.

“I really like your tattoos. What do they mean?”

“They represent a time in my past.” I am not ready to have this conversation. I hope that she will understand this and give me the space I need until I can share this with her.

“Are you hungry?” I ask her
, knowing that this is going to be a true test of her easygoing personality. My brothers and I always bring cold hot dogs with buns and beer out on the lake. The girls usually turn up their noses at the cold weenies.

“Yes
.” We swim back to the boat and I let her get out first.

“Mom hates leaving lake water on herself, so my dad rigged her up a
little hose if you want to use it.” I show her and enjoy watching as the water runs down her body. She is a very sexy woman and I decide it is time for that first kiss.

“You know, you didn’t really do the body shot right last night.” I say trying to figure out how to ease into this.

“Really? There is a wrong way to do a body shot?” She asks as she puts her hands on her hips in protest.

“Well let
’s just say there are better ways to do body shots.” I ask hoping she will encourage me to show her.

“You seem really confident about yourself. I guess you had better teach me your body shot skills.” She says making my heart skip a beat because I know this is going to be damn good. I grab the Jack
Daniels from the compartment we stash it in and a small shot glass.

“Get on your knees up here.” I guide her to the back of the boat where the engine compartment is. This is a nice flat space that has a little padding on the door to the engine. She follows my lead hesitating just slightly. In this
position I notice how quickly I could have her bikini off and she could be stripped completely bare for me.

“Sit back on your legs and lean back just a little bit. I am going to give you the shot to put in your mouth, but do not swallow.”

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Eaven

Holy shit is this really happening? We haven’t even started the body shot and it already blows the one from last night out of the water. I have an idea of what he plans to do, so I am searching my brain for ways to make it even
better. He expects me to be inexperienced at this, which I am. Hopefully I can channel my inner sex goddess to pull this off.

“Just let it
slowly drip out of your mouth and down your body and I will show you a proper body shot.” He grins with anticipation as I pour the Jack Daniels into my mouth. I barely open my lips and let it begin to dribble down my chest. He watches very closely as the liquid nears my cleavage.

I turn my head to the right just a little so it will hit the top of my breast before it slides down. Then I shift my head to the left and let it begin to
cover my left breast. I notice how all of the liquid has stopped and seeped into my strap just under my chest.

He is now on his knees on the seat right in front of me. The air is cooling my skin and I am about to burst with all of the wound up tension going through my body. I grab the bottle from him and take another mouthful. This time I pull the strap away from my
body to allow the liquid to trail down my stomach and into my bikini bottoms.

I decide to pull the front of my bottoms away from my skin just enough that some of the liquid trails further down. His eyes are focused on my fing
ers and the liquid running south. I let go of the material and let it pop back to my skin. He looks into my eyes with a smirk on his face and then begins my unraveling.

His tongue starts where my fingers were holding out my bottoms. He glides it all the way up my stomach and towards the valley of my cleavage. He takes his time licking between each breast and around the tops. He lets his tongue glide back down each side outlining the skin where my breasts begin. His tongue continues up my chest and neck until he is face to face with me. He licks my chin and my lips devouring all of the Jack that was left.

Then he finally kisses me. A kiss like I have never had before. A kiss so deep and passionate I swear my toes are starting to curl. I kiss him back fighting for air because my heart is beating out of my chest. Talon knows how to get deep inside my soul. I never let my guard down this quick. He finally starts to slow our kiss down and begins gliding his hands down each of my arms, then back up. My entire body tingles from the heat of his touch.

“You are the sexiest girl I have ever seen. Are you trying to make me attack you right here on this boat?” He whispers into my ear.

“What do you mean? I was just trying to learn the proper way to do a body shot.” I say smiling my devious grin that lets him know I am a little evil inside.

“I think
you
taught
me
how a proper shot is done. I didn’t do anything except enjoy the view. Now all I can think about is how lucky Jack is to be in your bikini bottoms.” He says nibbling on my ear.

Was I temporarily insane to do that? I must have lost my mind. He just makes me feel more confident than I ever have. He knows how to make a girl feel sexy
. I am coming out of my shell and I have to say it is a hell of a lot of fun out here.

“I guess I will rinse off again. Nothing like needing three showers in two hours.”

“Mmmm, I like that you need to shower when we are together, you are my dirty girl.” He growls to me and sends a shiver up my spine. “I will get the grub out while you rinse off.” Talon breaks our connection and starts pulling things out of the ice chest.

After I rinse and towel dry, I decide it is best to put my sundress back on.
He hands me a cold hotdog in a bun and a beer. I am not exactly sure what I think about a cold hotdog, but give it a try anyway. It is actually not that bad. I won’t be rushing home to have it for dinner anytime soon, but it seems to hit the spot right now.

“The sun will be going down soon. I love to come out here and just think.” He starts the conversation.

“It is very peaceful and I am glad you decided to share it with me.” We finish eating and I lean back to look at the horizon. The sun is glaring off the water almost forming a line from the boat to the shore. There are yellows and oranges mixing with the blue sky. It is breathtaking. He sits next to me and guides me to sit between his legs and I lean back against his chest.

We sit like this in silence as the sun sets completely.
The rhythmic sound of the water slapping against the bottom of the boat is the only sound I hear. It reminds me of last night and the drum lesson that caused him to break down. I want to ask him about last night, but can’t seem to form the words.

“Beef or Chicken
?” I ask.

“What?”

“Beef or Chicken? I want to get to know you and this will be fun.”

“Beef
.” He says slowly, almost afraid of where this game could go.

“Your turn to ask me a question.” I say
, hoping he will play my silly game.

“Bud or Coors?”
He asks me.

“Neither really. I like rum and coke. Text or Call?” I quickly ask.

“Usually text, but I have a feeling that will be changing soon. Shower or Bath?”

“Apparently s
hower, but I love taking baths. Pepsi or Coke?”

“Neither. But if I had to pick, I like Coke products better than Pepsi. Tucked or Untucked?”

“What?” I am confused.

“Your sheets
, tucked or untucked at the foot of the bed.”

“Definitely untucked. I feel like I am suffocating if I don’t drape a leg out of the covers. Republican or Democrat?”

“American. I vote for the person, not the party. Lights On or Off?” I look back at him confused again by his question. Then it dawns on me that his recent questions are insinuating a heck of a lot. Two can play this game.

“Umm either. Night or Morning?”
I ask, and notice he is smiling at my question.

“Both
. Don’t forget about daytime and evening also. Bed or No Bed?”

“Depends on where we are at.”

“I like how you said ‘we’.” He turns my head and we are kissing again. This time it is more sensual than overly passionate. He nips at my bottom lip and I had no idea that I loved that until just now. We are still sitting with my back to his chest and I want to deepen the kissing so I flip my legs over the side of the bench seat.

He starts running his hands through my hair. It is up in a messed up bun. “Take your hair down.” He whispers. I do it and he starts to r
un his hands through the full length of it. I usually hate when someone touches my hair, but he has a free pass any day.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Talon

My plan to be distracted is completely working because there is nothing on my mind except Eaven. She
is everything that I want in a girl. She has the looks, brains, personality, and sense of humor. This is someone I could spend day after day with and never get tired of her. I had better quit kissing her or I will not be able to hold back any longer.

I know she has been up for everything I have thrown at her so far, but there are a lot of things we have to talk about before I will
go any further with her. This is the part that I don’t want to relive and put out there for anyone else to know about me. How I failed to keep my family safe. How I failed to do the most important job of a father and protect his child.

“Eaven, I need to tell you some things about me. I am not this happy, carefree person that you seem to bring out in me. I have dark secrets and disappointments that haunt me. You make me forget the old me. I have felt more alive in the past few hours than I have in years
, and for that I want to thank you.”

How do I start this conversation? I know she is not going to understand what I am going through, but I feel like I can talk to her. I guess I should just go for it.

“I should have become a father today.” I feel her tense up as I say that. I
should never have said anything to her. I start to get up.

“Talon, you can tell me anything. Please don’t be afraid to let me see you, all of you. I don’t ever want there to be any lies or acting between us.
What happened? Don’t leave it like this.” She grabs my hand and pulls me back down beside her.

“My
ex-girlfriend, Nicole, and I knew each other since we were kids. She was addicted to pain pills our junior year in high school. I helped her through a lot of difficult times in her life, one of them being getting off of the pain pills to
deal
with her emotions. After we started dating, she seemed happy and I didn’t really worry too much about her and the pills. Then we moved here our freshman year of college. Things continued to go great until she found out she was pregnant. I wanted to keep the baby and she didn’t. She didn’t handle stress well and went for the pills to help her deal with the newly added stress. One night she overdosed and the baby didn’t make it. Taron and I were there to witness the whole ordeal. I couldn’t stop her. I should have seen it coming and been there. I should have never walked out on her that night causing her to go over the top.” My throat is constricted and I can’t say anymore.