My Salvation

by Michelle Dare

  “Cali, this is Steven. Steven, I’d like to introduce you to my girlfriend, Caliana.” Steven reached out his hand to take hers, shaking it gently.

  “Very nice to meet you, Cali or should I call you Caliana?” He had a warm smile and she felt very comfortable.

  She returned the smile and said, “Either is fine.”

  “We are going to get a bite to eat and are ready to depart whenever you are,” Owen said.

  “Sounds good. We will be leaving momentarily.”

  Owen reached for Cali’s hand and they went to a seating area with a small table on the back upper deck of the ship. Already laid out for them was lunch and a bottle of chilled champagne.

  “This is wonderful, thank you,” Cali said as she reached to gently rub Owen’s upper arm.

  “You’re welcome. I checked the weather and knew this was going to be a beautiful day, perfect for being out at sea.”

  Cali took a bite of the sandwich in front her. Internally groaning, she looked down to see what she was eating, not paying attention before, only focused on Owen. The sandwich had turkey inside, but the fresh carved kind, with bacon, lettuce, tomato and what tasted like a pesto mayo.

  “This is so good,” she said.

  “Steven’s wife made the sandwiches. She is an amazing chef.”

  “He seems really nice. How did you two meet?”

  “About five years ago I needed someone to guard me and Steven came highly recommended. We got to really know each other and I asked if he wanted to come and work for me full time. Any time I travel he comes along and if we are going to be gone for an extended period his wife joins us. Their kids have all left home so she loves accompanying us.”

  “That’s great. I think it’s wonderful you get along well with your employees. I’m sure that makes things easier for them too. Your employees don’t think they are disposable then.”

  “Steven is like a brother to me. And no, I never want the workers to think they are easily replaceable. We try to give them the benefit of the doubt, but if they repeatedly have issues, we need to fire them.”

  Nodding, she brought her hands into her hair to pull the thick waves into a ponytail. The wind was blowing her hair every which way and random pieces kept blowing into her face.

  After enjoying a very relaxing lunch and way too much champagne, she was feeling tipsy. The champagne didn’t take much to get her buzzed since she didn’t drink often. Owen must have taken notice too since she was giggling and flirting with him like a teenage girl.

  “Do you think you can walk?”

  Still giggling she said, “I hope so.” She had taken her heels off when they boarded the yacht which was good since she doubted she would have good stability in them.

  “Do you want to stay on the top deck and relax or do you want a tour?”

  “Let’s do a tour. I want to see the inside of this big boat.”

  Shaking his head, Owen stood and held out his hand. She gladly accepted the help and followed him to the inside of the yacht. The first room they stopped in was a small kitchen. It was small, but had a stainless steel refrigerator, cook top, microwave and sink. The countertop was granite and the cabinets black wood.

  They also walked through a seating area on the inside which had a brown suede couch, a large wooden coffee table, and a built-in desk with chair. There was also a small guest bedroom that was decorated with a dark aqua comforter and pillows. All of the flooring throughout was a light hardwood.

  Walking past a bathroom, they made their way to what was assumed to be the master suite. The king sized bed had a white, padded leather headboard with end tables on either side. The comforter was black with grey swirls all over the soft fabric and grey accent pillows were at the head of the bed.

  The wall the bed was on was black but the other walls in the room were white. Cali sensed a pattern with his taste. All modern, clean lines and masculine colors. On the opposite wall was a built in widescreen television. A small seating area completed the room with two modern looking grey chairs.

  “You decorated the bedroom like your office,” she said.

  “Yes. I like things a certain way, especially for work. I’m not really into the deep, dark wood.”

  Owen sat on the bed and pulled Cali close. He had his hands on her waist and thumbs caressing her stomach. Slowly shifting his hands, lifting her dress, he placed kisses along her abdomen. She instinctively put her hands in his hair, holding him close.

  “Owen, you better not start something you don’t intend to finish.”

  “Don’t worry. What my hands and lips are doing is just a preview of what’s to come.”

  Grabbing her hips, he quickly turned her until her back was on the bed with her stomach and panties exposed. He kissed his way to Cali’s thigh, but avoiding the space she wanted him to pay attention to most. Her body was writhing with need.

  Owen hooked his fingers into her panties and dragged them off, throwing them onto the floor. He brought his mouth to her inner thigh and kissed the most sensitive area. His tongue went up and down along her clit, applying just the right amount of pressure.

  Cali could hear him moaning along with her as he licked and nipped. His tongue dipping in and out of her core. She was fighting not to come, enjoying the sensation rolling through her. Then he inserted not one, but two fingers inside, hooked them forward and moved against her g-spot. That was all it took for her come undone, unable to keep the orgasm at bay any longer.

  Cali’s back arched as she moved her hands to grip the comforter and scream his name. Her body shuddered and Owen kept licking her until he was pushed away.

  Laying on the bed, she was out of breath and had what felt like a permanent smile. Owen stood, grabbed her panties and slowly moved them up her legs, running his fingers over her mound eliciting a final shudder. He crawled onto the bed and rested his head near hers.

  “Owen, that was amazing! Holy shit, we are doing more later.”

  “Anything for you, beautiful,” he said and kissed her firmly on the lips. She could taste herself on him and it was sexy as hell.

  They spent the rest of the afternoon out in the open air, enjoying the ocean. A few dolphins rode along with the yacht as it sped along, crashing through the water. She could get used to this life with Owen, but didn’t know if she should. The last thing Cali wanted was a broken heart and she worried if he did break her heart that she may not ever recover.

  ~ 7 ~

  They made their way to the shore when the sun started lowering on the horizon. He thanked Steven for his help and drove to the lake. He noticed by the time they returned her buzz had almost completely worn off.

  Once they arrived at Dalia Lake he invited Cali over for coffee. Owen couldn’t wait to get her into bed and run his hands all over the delicious body next to him. He fought internally all afternoon not to drag her into the bedroom on the yacht. His cock got hard any time he touched her, even if was to put his hand on her lower back.

  After relaxing a bit on the porch sipping their coffee, Owen placed his cup on the small table between the chairs and walked over to Cali with a purpose. He wanted her in bed. She must have known it, because the second he stopped in front of her, she stood and dragged him into the cabin behind her.

  Cali led him right to the bedroom and pushed him onto the mattress. She climbed on top and straddled his lap. Reaching down, she pulled the dress over her head and unclasped her bra, throwing both to the floor. It appeared Cali wanted him as badly as he wanted her.

  Owen crushed his lips to hers. He rolled over and brought her arms up, pinning both to the bed. As their tongues tangled, he ground his hard dick against her and she met the thrusts by rocking her body.

  Just as she started to undo his pants the sound of a soft knock was heard from the front door. Deciding to ignore whoever was there, thinking it was nothing, Owen bent to take her nipple into his mouth. The knock returned, but louder and with more force.

  He growled and pulled away from Cali. “W
ho the hell is at my door at this time of night?”

  Owen told her not to move and he would be right back before stomping to the door. He pulled the wooden door open with such a force that the person on the other side jumped.

  “Mia?”

  “Hi Owen.” She was tall with strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes and a thin build, but wasn’t curvy like Cali was. The last time he had seen her was two years prior.

  “What the fuck are you doing on my front porch?” He knew the tone was harsh and he didn’t care. When he said he never wanted to see her again, he meant it. Those words were some of the smartest he ever spoke.

  With her voice barely above a whisper she said, “I wanted to talk. I missed you.”

  “So you drive out to my cabin in the middle of the night? You could have called, Mia. How did you even know where I was?”

  “I stopped by your house, but no one answered at the gate. Then I remembered you had a cabin. And you know I’ve tried to call you numerous times, but you never answered. I left messages too.”

  “You’re right, I didn’t answer any of those calls, because I had nothing to say to you!” His voice kept getting louder and louder. Having her standing in front of him made too many painful memories come rushing forward.

  Owen heard Cali come to a stop behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he gave her an apologetic look. She looked weary, but still came to stand alongside him. Reaching her hand out, she asked, “I’m Cali and you are?”

  Mia simply stared and didn’t bother shaking her hand. Instead she wiped tears from her cheeks and sucked in her lower lip. Owen could only imagine what Cali was thinking during this dramatic display of emotion.

  Cali was ignored as Mia looked to him and started talking once more. “Owen, please, I just want to talk.”

  “Mia, you need to leave.” He stepped away and pulled Cali with him starting to shut the door in Mia’s face. Mia, however, was having none of it. Instead of letting the door shut, she put her foot in front of it to keep the door from closing.

  Cali went to move forward, but Owen blocked her path. “You need to move your foot. I don’t hit women, but I will call the cops and have an officer remove your ass from my property.”

  “I’m not going anywhere. If you want to shut the door fine, but I’ll be in the car waiting for you to come talk. Where I parked is not on your property,” Mia said.

  Cali stepped away from Owen and went to look out of the side window. Walking back to the door she said, “You’re right, Mia is it? Where you parked isn’t Owen’s property, it’s mine. Now go and get your piece of shit car off of my drive.”

  This time Mia decided to address Cali. “If you would leave Owen and I alone I would be happy to move my car.”

  With venom in her voice, Cali said, “It will be a cold day in hell before you are left alone with him.”

  “Enough!” Owen roared. He was done with the conversation. “Mia, leave, now.”

  “Fine, I’ll go, but do know that you will be seeing me again. I still love you and intend to get you back, one way or another.”

  Not missing the way Mia seemed to be able to turn the tears off and on, Owen hung his arm over Cali’s shoulders and moved to shut the door. Mia didn’t move to stop the door from closing.

  She stepped off of the porch and walked toward the car. Halfway there she stopped, turned her head and winked. Now he knew she was fucking crazy, no doubt in his mind.

  He took Cali’s hands in his to try and rub out the tension. He knew only one thing was coming now, the talk he dreaded where he laid everything on the table. The details were ugly, but he hoped she would still want to be with him once the past was revealed.

  “Owen, spill.”

  Groaning he said, “Fine. I started dating Mia five years ago. Our relationship was great in the beginning and after six months we moved in together. We had a lot in common and rarely fought. A year later things started to go downhill. She started to pull away and every time I confronted her the fighting got worse.

  “It was a vicious cycle. We would fight, she would leave only to appear the next day like nothing happened. This went on for a couple of months. She never said where she was going. I figured she went to her parent’s house since she was living there when we met.

  “One night we had a particularly bad fight. Mia left and an hour after her leaving I couldn’t take the silence anymore and decided to get out of the house. I drove to Ethan’s house thinking we could go out for a drink and I could get his take on the situation. We were close and saw each other a lot since he was working for me at the time.

  “Well, I pulled up to his apartment and knocked on the door. He didn’t date much, more like casual flings. And every single time he was inside fucking someone a towel would be hung on the front doorknob so I would know not to go in. I didn’t see a towel so in I went.

  “All of the living room and kitchen lights were on, but no sign of him. I decided to check and see if he was in one of the bedrooms. There was an office in one and he slept in the other. The first bedroom came up empty. All the while mind you, I was calling him. Yelling his name to try and figure out where he was.

  “I get to the master bedroom and the door is open. The light is dimmed, but on and music was playing. When I looked into the room I saw Mia on the bed on all fours with my brother fucking her from behind. She was moaning and calling his name. I must not have heard her since I was calling him. That was probably the reason no one heard me, plus the music was playing.

  “I stood in place for a minute in shock, but then it all clicked. Mia had been running to his apartment when we would fight. She never reappeared until the following day. She had been fucking Ethan for two months and I never knew. I saw him every damn weekday and he was able to look me in the eyes and lie. The fact that we were having problems wasn’t news to him, Ethan and I had discussed it before.

  “Do you know what hurt the most? Not that I was being cheated on, but that she was cheating on me with my fucking brother. My best friend. One of the few people that was trusted.

  “I had slipped out of his apartment without saying a word. The next day at work, he came in like nothing happened. I said we needed to talk and asked to meet me in my office. I told him I knew everything and said he had to leave, I couldn’t stand to look at him anymore. He left and we haven’t spoken for over two years until he pulled in to the lake the other night.”

  With sincerity in her voice, Cali said, “Owen, I … I don’t know what say. I’m so sorry you were cheated on, especially when it involved your brother. How awful.”

  He sighed. “It’s okay. Like I said, what hurt most was my brother fucking my girlfriend and then lying to me about everything. Mia and Ethan didn’t get together or anything after I found out. He said he didn’t want anything to do with her and told her the same. She begged me to forgive her, but no way that was happening.”

  He felt a little relief having told her almost everything. He left out Ethan’s drinking problem, but they had talked enough for one night. He was exhausted and seeing Mia turned any desire he felt for Cali off.

  “It’s late and I have to work tomorrow. I understand if you want to go to your place to sleep.”

  “Why would I want to?” she asked, taking a couple of steps toward him. “I love sleeping next to you and seeing your handsome face in the morning.”

  She is full of surprises, he thought. He didn’t know how she would react to hearing his brother stole his girlfriend. He was relieved to know Cali was still with him and wanted to share his bed. Their evening was ruined once more due to some sort of bullshit.

  * * * * * * * *

  When Cali woke Friday morning with the realization she wasn’t in her bed, but Owen’s took a minute to process. Turning her head, she realized the bed was empty. He walked in a minute later, leaned over and pressed a kiss to her temple.

  He was looking at her with a smile when he said, “While I’m at work today you need to pack a bag. I’m only working a half
day, so be ready by noon. Make sure you bring clothes for warm weather, a bathing suit and anything else you’ll need to be gone until late Monday night.”

  “Why? Where are we going?” Cali was a little leery but excited at the same time. She knew she could trust him, but surprises weren’t her favorite thing in the world.

  “You’ll find out where when we arrive at the destination. Just make sure your sexy ass is ready on time. Oh, and we’re flying,” he said with a wink.

  She spent the day relaxing by the lake, but on the inside her stomach was doing flips. The bag was packed and ready when she heard the truck pull into the gravel drive. He stopped by quickly to ask if she was ready and ran to the cabin next door to grab what he needed.

  Fifteen minutes later they were in his truck driving to the airport. She was surprised when they went to a local, private airport instead of the major one in the city. Once the truck was parked they walked to a small, private jet on the tarmac.

  “Owen, do you own a plane too?”

  “Yeah. I bought one a few years ago. I travel for work and decided a plane was the easiest way. It allows me to go wherever and whenever without having to worry about delays and layovers.”

  Waiting at the bottom of the jet’s steps were Steven and a woman. Cali assumed it was his wife. The woman was slightly taller than Cali and a little heavier. She had long, straight, silver hair and blue eyes. Owen shook Steven’s hand and hugged the woman, placing a kiss on her cheek. “Cali, this is Adeline, Steven’s wife.”

  “Cali, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Steve told me you were lovely and he was right,” Adeline said.

  “Thank you, it’s a pleasure meeting you as well. I’m guessing you’ll be joining us on this trip to …” Cali said hoping she would slip and say their destination.