Danika's Gift (6 page)

We held each other quietly, the room silent.  It was a comfortable silence as I traced his arms and chest with my hands and Derek mimicked my moves.  His fingertips brushed over the material of my shirt, across my collarbone, moving down to draw circles around each breast.  His tender touch tickled me and my skin shivered.  His fingers slowly moved down the center of my stomach, tracing the indent where my belly button was, then moving even lower towards my legs.
 

“You are perfect,” Derek’s voice was husky as his hands traced the tops of my thighs.  His hands were so close to the apex between my thighs and my body reacted immediately.  “Can I do something for you?”  His voice was low and deep.

“Uh, okay.”  I wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, but I knew I didn’t want his hands to stop moving.

Derek rolled me over until I was on my back.  He slid his big hands behind my back and moved me to the center of the bed.  I watched his every movement.  My eyes followed the flexing muscles in his arms, the firmness in his hands as he gripped his tee shirt and tossed it to the floor. I felt my eyes widen as I took in his broad, muscular chest.  I think I may have even been drooling.  If I wasn’t it was a miracle. 

Derek laid his body next to mine and kissed my neck.  He slipped up my tee shirt and trailed kisses across my collarbone, continuing down to my breasts where he lavished attention to each.  His mouth took in one breast at a time, his tongue swirling the pebbled tip.  I bucked against him as the sensations ripped through me.  Derek moved his mouth to my stomach, and for less than a second I missed his mouth on my breasts.  Just as quickly though, my skin heated up as his lips and tongue stroked their way to my belly.  I started to giggle as the stubble on his face tickled my skin.

“Ticklish?”

“Mm hm.”

Derek smiled as he looked up into my eyes.  He didn’t stop though.  He moved his mouth even lower and stopped just above the auburn curls between my thighs.  I sucked in my breath and bit my lower lip.  Was he going to do what I thought he was? 
I felt the heat that crept up my neck and settled on my cheeks. I’d never been so intimate with anyone.  What if I wasn’t as perfect as he thought I was?  I felt my body tense.

Derek traced one hand up my inner thigh, stopping at my most private place.  His hand stayed there as his lips kissed my other thigh.  He kept his eyes locked with mine the whole time.  My body quivered under his touch and I closed my eyes, savoring the
sensation of what he was doing to me.  A thick, strong finger probed at the folds of my sex, and my eyes shot open.  He traced every part of me with his wet finger and I felt like I was burning from the inside out.

“Don’t close your eyes,” Derek whispered as he looked into my eyes.  “I want to watch you come.”

Words failed me.  My throat was completely closed off.  I nodded and watched his hand move.  Derek’s lips trailed more kisses on my thigh and as he got closer to my hot spot, he took the sensitive flesh in his mouth as he slipped his finger inside of me.  The two sensations completely unraveled me. I cried out his name and tears pricked my eyes.   Derek stopped moving and watched my face.

“Am I hurting you?”

I shook my head and moved my hips, pushing his finger deeper inside of me.  I couldn’t see his smile, his mouth hidden by my auburn mound, but I knew he was because his eyes crinkled at the corners. Then, he was doing it again.

Derek slowly tortured me, moving his finger in and out of me as his tongue swirled around my clit.  My heart
thumped so loudly, he had to hear it.  I didn’t want to look away from him.  I wanted to watch everything he did to me and never forget a single moment.  My chest swelled at the emotions washing over me.  My body writhed under his touch and I felt that build up, deep inside of me, again.  It was different this time.  There wasn’t friction like before, this was white hot, straight on wet contact.  His fingers and tongue switched and I could feel his slick, hot tongue licking inside of me as his fingers rubbed my own wetness on my clit.  I was on the very edge of that cliff and a whisper of a breeze would send me over.

“Come for me Danika.”  Derek’s voice rumbled against my sex.  There was the whisper I needed and my body crashed.  I convulsed over and over as Derek stuck two fingers inside of me, stroking me deep as my muscles clenched around him.
I couldn’t hold back and closed my eyes.  Bright lights pierced my eyes, as if the sun had combusted in front of me.  My heart pounded in my ears and my body tingled everywhere.  Even my toes reacted, curling in pleasure.  It was amazing and intimate.

I threw an arm over my face.  I couldn’t stop smiling.  Derek came up next to me, his hands now tracing patterns along my stomach and chest.  He kissed at my shoulder, nibbling my skin.  Every inch of me was hypersensitive and his touch
made my body tremble.

“That was amazing,” I murmured.

“You are amazing,” Derek whispered in my ear.

“But what about you?”  I didn’t know what to do next.  I couldn’t imagine not returning the favor, but I honestly had no clue how to do that.

“I’m fine.”

“I don’t want to be selfish,” I said as I pulled my arm away from my face and looked
into his eyes.

“I wanted to do that for you.” Derek
grinned at me.  He pulled my body closer to his and I snuggled into his arms.  I could feel his erection pushing into my thigh. I reached down with a shaky hand and grabbed him.  Derek hissed at my touch and as I slowly moved my hand against him, he groaned deep in his throat.

“Teach me,” I whispered.

Derek

              I always thought there was nothing more beautiful than a woman having an orgasm.  I was wrong.  There was nothing more beautiful than Danika having an orgasm.  Her beautiful skin flushed as her eyes widened.  Her body was soft and pliant.  Her muscles gripped my fingers so hard they almost went numb.  And the look on her face was pure ecstasy.  Just that alone would have been enough for me to come.  But, when she touched me through my shorts, her small hand shaking as she gripped me, I almost exploded immediately.

             
Then, to make my torture more exquisite, she looked at me with those innocent eyes and asked me to teach her how to touch me.  For the love of God I was a goner.  Since I first saw her, my heart pined for her and my body ached for her.  But to have her touch me and want to please me, it completely unraveled me.

             
I pulled down my shorts and let my erection free.  Those beautiful blue eyes bulged at the sight of me.  I didn’t want to scare her away.  I kneeled on the bed in front of her.  I began to think about how to handle the situation, but before I even came up with one iota of an idea, her hand was back on me.  She licked her lips and I felt my balls tighten.  I put my hand over hers and guided her through the movement.  I was already close, too close.  Just the way she looked at me, the way her tongue danced over her lips…it was almost too much.  I had never felt this way before and I wondered if it had ever been worth the time I spent with one-night stands. 

Danika’s breaths came fast as I moved her hand
quicker.  I didn’t need to guide her anymore, she learned the rhythm quickly.  But there was something about doing this together that turned me on even more.  I felt the buildup and closed my eyes.

“Look at me,” Danika whispered.

I opened my eyes and looked into hers.  She hadn’t lost that look.  Her eyes were hooded and full of desire.  She moved even closer to me and kneeled right in front of me, resting on her heels. She looked up at me and smiled.  I felt it coming.  I wanted to move so I didn’t make a mess on her but she wouldn’t let me move. 

“Danika, I’m going to come…” Was that my voice?  It was strangled and breathy.

She brought herself up on her knees but never stopped her hand.  Her face was a few inches from mine.  She kissed my neck then my jaw.  She nibbled on my lips and I exploded.  I literally exploded all over her and the bed.  I came so hard that I saw stars in front of my eyes.  Danika kissed me hard, devouring my lips.  I opened for her and her tongue probed every bit of my mouth. Our tongues danced as her hand slowly moved over me still.

I brought my hands up to her cheeks and cupped her face.  I softened our kiss ever so slowly.  I was still hungry for her.  I felt like I couldn’t get enough of her.  The amazing part that blew my mind is that we weren’t having
actual sex.  Yet, we were discovering so many other ways to explore one another and be intimate.  I wanted her to feel how deeply I cared for her, especially since words failed me.  I could feel how much she cared for me in every touch, every kiss, every look and smile.  I didn’t want this to ever end.

I
didn’t want to release her, but I knew I had to.  Danika gave me one more lingering kiss before going into her bathroom.  I heard the shower turn on, and as much as I anted to join her, I knew I wanted to take it slow with her.  I threw on my shorts and went to my car to grab my duffel bag.  I had always kept a stash of clean clothes in there.  I figured I would shower as soon as Danika was done.  I waited on her bed.  My cell phone chirped, and still in a haze, I grabbed it, not thinking, and answered.

“Hello?”

“Derek”

Shit.  It was Sergio.

“Be at my office in 30 minutes.”  He hung up.

I looked over at the alarm clock next to Danika’s bed.  It was almost 5 p.m. My three days were up.  Fuming, I grabbed my duffel bag and headed to the other bathroom.  I found a washcloth and towel and cleaned myself up and dressed in a clean tee and cargo shorts.  I held on to the hope that maybe Sergio would insist I follow Danika.  I still didn’t know what he wanted from her, but if I was close to her, I could keep her safe.  The flip side scared me too much.  He’d forbid me to ever see her again.  My heart couldn’t take that.

By the time I was done, I only had ten minutes to get across town.  Danika was still in the shower so I left her a note.

Danika,

My boss called me in to work.  He didn’t give me much time to get there.  I had an amazing time with you and will miss you every second I am away from you.  I will call you later
.

Yours,

Derek

I let myself out of her apartment quietly and headed to Sergio’s.  I hoped for good news.  I prayed for it.  I just didn’t know if I was going to get it.

Chapter 6

“Ah, Derek, come on in,” Sergio sat behind his large oak desk, sipping on a cup of tea.

I walk
ed over to the chairs in front of his desk and plopped down.  My stomach knotted while I watched Sergio calmly flip through some papers on his desk.  He pushed them aside and put his hands together and looked at me.

“I’ve considered your proposal Derek.”

Here it comes
.  I held my breath.

“I appreciate all that you have done for me with this girl, but my answer is no.”

My stomach dropped as the breath I was holding whooshed out of me.  My heart raced and panic set in big time.

“Katia is flying in from New York.  You remember Katia, right?  Her gift is similar to yours.  Anyway, she will be handling the girl from this point out.  You, my friend, are headed to Vegas.”

“Katia?  Vegas?”  My voice was strangled.

Sergio tapped on his desk impatiently.  One of his henchmen nervously eyed me while the other stared hard at me.

“Yes.  You will go with Daniel and check on the Vegas operations.  Your flight leaves in two hours.”

Sergio thrust a file across his desk, in my direction.  Inside was a plain, typed list of businesses complete with address and contact name.

“Talk with each contact and make sure you get the truth out of them.  There is money missing and I want to know who is cheating me.  People that cheat me do not get away with it.  I will contact you for a report in one week and I want answers.”

I looked over the information.  A list of seemingly generic questions were typed out, such as “How much profit was made the last quarter?” and “Who is the top salesman?”  All of the questions seemed legit, but I knew what Sergio wanted.  He wanted them to think about the answers and then I was supposed to read their minds and relay back the unspoken words.  As I studied the information, I realized the nervous-looking henchman had stepped over to me.

“I will take you to your place to grab your stuff and then we will head to the airport.”  Must be Daniel.  His voice was calm despite the fear in his eyes.  I stared into them and read the truth.

Hope this kid doesn’t rat me out.  Two years of undercover work will go down the drain and we’ll both end up six feet under in the desert.

I quickly glanced away.  Daniel is an undercover cop or Fed.  Now what? We’re both going to end up dead.  I stood up, wanting a quick escape before Sergio picked up on my discomfort.

“Oh and Derek,” Sergio’s voice booms behind me.  “Cut all ties with the girl now.”

I glanced back at him and gave him a quick nod.  All the while, my heart slowly twisted in two.

Chapter 7

Danika

“Come on Dani, forget about him for one night.  Please?  It is your birthday and this party is going to have tons of hot guys.”  Samantha continued to beg outside of the bathroom door.

I pulled my brush through my hair over and over, trying to get the curls to behave.  I stopped and stared into the mirror.  I couldn’t forget him.  Not even for one night.  Every time I looked at myself and saw the dark circles under my eyes, the way my cheeks and body had thinned out, I remember how he left me.  Just disappeared.

My voice trembled, “I don’t know Sam, I really can’t think about other guys right now.”

“Look, you are eighteen now.  You are a true adult.  You don’t have to find a boyfriend tonight.  Just maybe a guy that fits the “Mr. Right Now” scenario.  Have some fun.  Dance.  Sing.  Maybe have a drink and relax a little and have some fun.”

I yanked the bathroom door open and glared at Sam.  Fun?   Was she freaking serious?  The past two weeks have been nothing but school, work, sleep and occasionally eating something.  I just didn’t have the heart to have fun.

“I don’t want to go alone Dani.  Just come, hang out and you can be my designated driver.  You can meet some of the sorority sisters and see they’re not like the movies make them out to be.  Come on, just a girl’s night out.  Please?”  Sam’s begging irritated me.

“Okay.  Fine.”  I shrugged and went to get dressed.

****

After much primping and fussing, Sam helped me look presentable.  I wasn’t going to win any hearts tonight, that was for sure.  I had gotten too skinny over the past two weeks and looked more like a crack addict than a vibrant eighteen year old.  But I was only going for her.  I slipped my cell phone in the back pocket of my black skinny jeans and headed for the door.

The party was in full swing when we got there.  Sam parked down the block a bit and handed me her keys.  The party was at a frat house and the whole area was full of drunks.  Amazing how people could get so blasted before ten.  I stepped around a kid puking in the street and around another two girls sitting on the curb smoking a joint.  I guess they didn’t worry about the cops around here.

The frat house was huge.  Once upon a time, I bet it was a beautiful Victorian.  It had a beautiful wrap around porch which was probably white at one point with beautiful spindles in it.  I was never good with architecture, but if you could imagine a beautiful old Victorian home with its rounded front and pointy sections of roof, you’d be pretty close for this house.  I think it was a soft blue at one point, but the paint was faded and peeling that even with the bright porch lights, it was hard to tell.  All I know is that it was a damn shame this house had gone to crap.

Inside was a whole different story.  As Sam and I made our way through the crowd of gyrating college kids, I could see the inside had been painted, the floors were shiny, there was a huge plasma TV and gigantic stereo system in the living room.  We finally made it into the kitchen, which also had the latest and newest appliances.  Sam grabbed a beer from the keg and I found a bottle of soda in an open cooler.  The music was so loud; Sam and I had to shout to be heard.

“Come on, let’s mingle.”  Sam winked as she pulled me into the living room again. 

All the guys seemed to notice as she came through this time.  Sam flipped her long blonde hair over her bare shoulder.  She looked like a supermodel in her fuchsia tank top and denim mini-skirt.  Sam had on sky-high heels that made her taller than me and half the guys in the room.  I glanced down at myself.  Boring. Navy blue tank top, black skinny jeans and my usual white sneakers.

Sam noticed and said, “I wish you’d have let me lend you some of my clothes.”

“You know I am not comfortable in clothes like that.”  I pointed at her feet.  “And, I’d kill myself, or an innocent bystander, in shoes like that.  I am tall enough already.”

One of the frat guys, Ben I think, came up and whispered in Sam’s ear.  She nodded and glanced at me.  I waved her away and plopped into a chair.  Sam and the frat guy were bumping and grinding in the middle of thirty or so other college kids.  She looked like she was having fun.

I pulled my cell out of my pocket and scrolled through the messages.  Even though it had been two weeks, not a day didn’t go by when I didn’t read his last text to me.  I replied, but he never wrote back or called or anything.  If I wasn’t so confused, I’d be angry as hell at Derek.

Sorry.  Have to go to Vegas for boss.  Won’t be back anytime soon.  Take Care.  D

Really?  We had such an amazing time together.  He left me such a sweet note, but he up and disappeared while I was in the shower and then later that night, sent me that text?  Why?  Maybe I was fooling myself the whole time and he was just looking for some fun.  Maybe once he realized I wasn’t going to go all the way, he decided to move on.

“Hey.”  My thoughts were interrupted by a short guy with black hair and bloodshot grey eyes. 

“Hey.”  I politely replied, scanning the room for Sam.

“You here with someone?”

“Yeah.”  I didn’t see Sam anymore.  I didn’t see Ben either.  I started to get nervous.  “Excuse me, I need to go find them.”

“You blowing me off?”  Now shorty has my attention because he was painfully grabbing my arm.

“Let go or lose it,” I warn him.

“Why not just come with me and we can have some fun?”  Shorty wiggled his eyebrows and my stomach lurched.

“You only get two warnings, then I break your nose.”  I yank my arm away from him, but he quickly grabbed at my shirt, just below my breast.

I swung around and elbowed Shorty in the face.  The crack of his nose and his scream let me know I probably broke it.   I warned him though.  Why do guys have to push?  I quickly walked away from him and toward the kitchen.  I heard the scuffle in the other room and then Shorty left with his friends.  No one seemed to notice I did it and if they did, they didn’t say anything.

To my relief, Sam found me in the kitchen.  She was already tipsy, but seemed otherwise fine.  There were a bunch of girls with her as she made her way over to me.

“Girls, this is my cousin, Dani,” Sam introduced me.

“Danny?  Isn’t that a boy’s name?”  The obvious leader of the pack, so to speak, looked down her nose at me and rolled her eyes as her groupies giggled.

“Danika,” Sam continued, “this is Chelsea.  She’s a senior and President of our sorority.”

I fake a smile as I check out their President.  Yep, just like in the movies.  Perfection in a pair of stilettos also referred to as a “Barbie.”  Perfect blonde hair, perfect tanned skin, small blue eyes with perfect make-up. She was my height, thanks to the bright red heels.  There wasn’t an ounce of fat on her.  As she noticed that I was sizing her up, something she was probably used to and highly anticipated, she stuck her chest out so I wouldn’t miss her “D”’s.  I just sighed, wishing I was at home watching a movie with a bucket of ice cream.

Chelsea did the hair flip thing as she waved at her groupies. 

“This is Brittany, Heather, Amber and Celeste.  All sisters at Pi Delta Pi.  Are you pledging?”

I saw the glint in her eye and suddenly felt like a gazelle being sized up by a lioness.  They would eat me alive for sure.  No way in hell.

“No.” 

I didn’t make eye contact with Chelsea, but instead looked at the other girls.  My eyes stopped on Celeste.  She was shorter than the other girls and had on just a pair of skimmers.  Her hair was short, golden-brown with blonde highlights.  Her eyes were blue, like the ocean.  She looked straight into my eyes and I suddenly felt lost in the blue of her eyes.  It was like a trance, and then suddenly the blue was swirling within her irises and gradually the swirls danced around her face, all of her body and throughout the room.  I couldn’t see anyone anymore, only Celeste.

The swirls changed to gentle waves in front of me.  I felt my body sway as the waves grew stronger and stronger. I was having trouble breathing as I watched the waves came up around Celeste covering her waist, then moving up to her shoulders, all the while trapping me as well.

The water was turning into a deep, dark grey blue as it crept higher around us.  Celeste was suddenly neck deep in the water.  Her eyes never left mine, staring blankly in my own.  I tried to speak, but couldn’t.  I tried to reach for her, but my hand was trapped at my side.  The water came up over her face and then, Celeste was gone and the beautiful blue ocean around us turned crimson.  The entire room was washed in blood red waves.  I looked around, but saw nothing but an ocean of red.  Celeste was gone and my body felt heavy as I tried to tread water, but I was just too tired.  I just stopped and slipped under into the darkness.