Determination

by S. E. Rose

  I start to say something to her but am abruptly stopped when she takes me in her mouth. I groan at the sensations of her hot tongue against my cock. I am enraptured by this woman and her wicked mouth for a few minutes until I come to my senses. I pull out of her mouth and push her down on the bed.

  “My turn,” I say to her as I kneel between her legs to view her most private parts, the parts that are only for me now and I slowly lick and suck at her until she’s crying out my name. When I feel her muscles clenching against my tongue, I quickly lean up and slam into her during the height of her orgasm which sends her quickly into yet another one. Her body quivers and quakes under my touch and I feel like the ultimate puppet master, like a sex god, controlling her every move.

  My thrusts become more frantic as I start to spiral out of control, her orgasms seem to ripple from one to the next and it’s pushing me over the edge. With one final thrust, I bury myself deep inside her and let go, calling out her name into the darkness of our bungalow.

  I collapse on top of her, and we lie there panting.

  “Did I mention that I really missed you?” she says after a beat. We both break into laughter.

  I nuzzle her neck. “God, I missed you too, baby,” I say to her as I kiss her chest, her neck, her jaw, and then I make fucking love to her mouth, plunging my tongue in and out of it over and over until I feel myself growing inside of her again.

  This time I move slowly, and halfway through, I flip us over, so she can have control. She keeps the slow pace, and we go on and on until our bodies are dripping with sweat. I roll us over again and pull her down the edge of the bed. I spread her legs and hook her feet over my shoulder and then I grasp her hips and pull her to me, so I go even deeper as I pound harder into her. She moans at the new depth and I can feel her walls ripple around me, she’s close.

  “Come on, baby,” I urge her. “Come with me.”

  And after a few more deep thrusts, we both cry out into the silence of the room. I crawl up the bed and pull her to me, and we both pass out from sheer exhaustion.

  Chapter 23

  Jesse’s Playlist: “Fallen” by Imagine Dragons

  The phone’s buzzing is what wakes me early the next morning. I roll over and pick it up and see Jack’s name. Fuck!

  “Jack?” I answer.

  “We’re coming down there,” he says.

  “Wait, what?” I rub my face, trying to wake myself up more.

  “The rendezvous point near you. It’s the next one up on the list. Bryce and I are coming down there. We’re going to attempt to intercept or at the very least get some clear evidence, so we can take these bastards down.”

  I gently disentangle myself from Vanessa who is still fast asleep. She curls back up into a ball and I pull the covers over her as I walk to the sliding glass doors and go outside. The sun is just starting to come up and the sky is a wonderful hue of pink and orange.

  “When?”

  “We’re on the plane now.”

  “Shit, well, alright. What do I need to do?”

  “Nothing…just stay put. We’ll be in touch. I just wanted to keep you in the loop.”

  I look back in at Vanessa. “Yeah, make sure you do.”

  “I’ll be in touch,” he says, and we hang up as I walk back inside.

  I sit down and stare at Vanessa. My heart bursts at her mere presence. I can’t let anything happen to her. She’s already been through enough recently, she doesn’t need this crazy shit. I should just leave. Who the fuck am I kidding? I can’t leave her. She’s like a drug. I’m like the moon and I’m orbiting around her. Her sheer gravity sucking me close to her, so I can’t escape. And damn it, I don’t want to.

  “Good morning,” she says not opening her eyes.

  “Good morning,” I reply and lie back down and face her as she opens those giant blue eyes.

  “Jack?” she asks.

  I nod. “Bryce and Jack want to provide us with extra protection,” I lie. I can’t bear to tell her the truth.

  “Why?” she asks as she suddenly sits up and looks very worried.

  “Just precautionary, they think they’ll be able to catch these motherfuckers soon,” I say.

  She looks a little skeptical, but eventually sighs and lies back down. “Alright, if that’s your story,” she says.

  “That’s my story,” I say.

  She groans and rolls over, burying her face in a pillow and screams into it.

  “Vanessa, what the—” I start.

  “I wish you’d just trust me,” she interrupts, her voice muffled against the pillow. “I can handle the truth,” she says slowly, sounding out each word.

  I pull her against me and hug her tightly. “I can’t explain this, but I need to protect you. Like with every single fucking fiber in my body.”

  She sighs. “Does protecting me mean lying to me?”

  “Perhaps.”

  “Oh, Jesse, really? I’m not three years old.”

  I feel her ass. “Yep, I completely agree with that statement.”

  She swats my hand. “Stop trying to distract me.

  “Jack and Bryce are coming here, aren’t they?” she asks. My girl is smart, I’ll give her that.

  “Yes.”

  “Fine, don’t play fair. I’ll figure it out, eventually.”

  “I’ll tell you when it’s safe. How about that?” I say.

  She rolls her eyes. “You’re impossible, you know that, Jesse Ryder?”

  “I may have heard that before,” I muse.

  She swats my chest. “When will they be here?”

  “Later today.”

  We are silent as she contemplates the meaning of this news.

  “Sooooo…will they be staying at the resort?” she asks me.

  “Honestly, I don’t know,” I admit. I hadn’t even thought about that yet.

  “Let’s go snorkeling,” I say as I get out of bed.

  We snorkel for about an hour and when we return I can see I’ve missed a call from Jack. I quickly call him back.

  “You here?” I ask him.

  “Yes, we’re staying at a house on Tahiti that Bryce borrowed from a former client. We don’t want you involved, so just be aware that we are over here.”

  “I understand,” I say. In other words, stand down. I don’t like sitting on the sidelines, but I also know this helps to protect Vanessa.

  We hang up, and Vanessa looks at me. “You’re not seriously going to do nothing, are you?” she asks me with the slightest hint of a smile.

  “Uh, yes, in fact I am,” I say. What the fuck? She can’t be serious.

  “Remember the day you took me out on the boat the whole day, just you and I,” she reminisces.

  “Yes, why?”

  “Well, why don’t we do that again?” she asks.

  “What? No way,” I say.

  “Why not?” she sighs.

  “Because…” I trail off trying to figure out what to say. I don’t want her to know about the drop-off point near here, the one at the island we passed on our day trip.

  “Please,” she pleads. “I need to get off the island for just a few hours,” she explains. “I’m going crazy.”

  Now it’s my turn to sigh. “Let me think about it and see if I can even get a boat,” I say. Oh, I know I can get a boat, I think to myself.

  I open the laptop and check the data. The island’s name is still there with a drop-off schedule for tomorrow.

  I look at a map and see that there’s an island about the same size not far from that one. Maybe I can just take us there instead. She won’t know the difference. I’ll just say this one looked better. I shoot Jack an email letting him know we’re going out and I email my contact from last time. Within minutes, I have it arranged.

  “OK, get dressed. The boat will be here in thirty minutes,” I tell her.

  It takes much more dialogue for me to talk Dean and Baxter into letting us go. They really are not keen on the idea. However, once they thoroughly check the
boat and I explain that we won’t actually go on land, just sail around and snorkel, they relax, slightly. I make sure to take my phones so that they will be able to track us, and Vanessa takes hers as well.

  Eventually, we manage to “escape” and we head out into the crystal blue waters. Vanessa stands in front of me and I place her hands on the wheel and place mine over hers. She leans back against me and I can feel her long hair whipping the side of my face. For a few minutes, I can feel both our bodies relax. We’ve been through a lot the past few weeks since we were last here and this is the first time the two of us are alone in way too many days, completely alone and free of the rest of the bullshit the world has dumped upon us.

  I can’t help it, I lean forward and kiss her cheek and I feel her smile as I pull my lips away from her soft skin. She crooks her head and looks up at me and I smile down at her.

  “Thank you for helping us escape today,” she says quietly.

  “You are most welcome, mon étoile.”

  “You know, you can’t always protect every person, right?” she asks me. I know I can’t. I mean logically, I know I can’t, but ever since my dad was shot and killed I feel the need to try to control everything and protect everyone I know. It’s not a rational desire. I recognize that, however, I can’t help myself. And no amount of therapy will fix my need to do it.

  “I know,” I huff.

  She smiles. “Do you trust me?”

  I look down at her a bit perplexed. “Yes, why?” I say slowly.

  “Just wondering.” She shrugs. “You know, I am capable of taking care of myself.”

  Looking down at her now, I contemplate this. She seems small and helpless in so many ways, but I’ve seen her be powerful and her stubbornness, well, she could topple even the strongest of men with that attitude of hers. I know she has fought like hell to make it in an industry that eats young people and spits them out for fun.

  “I know you are strong,” I say to her, and I really do mean it.

  “You don’t have to keep things from me. I can handle anything you throw at me. I promise,” she says and does the little Girl Scout symbol with her fingers. I laugh at that.

  “Alright. I’ll try my best to be upfront,” I tell her. It’s a white lie. I feel a little guilty about that, although seeing her get hurt would make me feel way guiltier.

  We continue on in silence after that. I come upon a small reef after a bit and we anchor and snorkel and eat the sandwiches I had prepared for our day trip. This boat is much larger than the last one. We have two Jet Skis and a smaller boat that can be used to go off into more shallow areas around the islands. This is more of a mega yacht than a sailboat. But nonetheless, it’s fun to play with for the day. I internally groan at the cost of renting it. I make a lot of money now. However, I still hate to see the bills. Old habits die hard, I suppose.

  We spent another thirty minutes getting to the island that I mapped out for us. We pass the other island in the distance, and I notice Vanessa is looking toward it. However, she doesn’t say anything. I’m actually sort of surprised by that. I shrug it off and suggest we do some more snorkeling and maybe use the Jet Skis later. She nods.

  We snorkel for a little while and then Vanessa suggests we use the Jet Skis.

  “So how do these work?” she asks me. “I mean, like how much time do I have before it needs more gas and what not?”

  That’s a strange question, I think to myself. “Well, we won’t be going that far,” I explain.

  “I understand. I mean, how far could you go?” she asks.

  “Oh, I don’t know, maybe ninety miles or so, give or take. They usually last about two hours or so,” I answer. “Why?”

  “Just curious. I’ve only ridden one once and I was a passenger, so I didn’t operate it.”

  For some reason, this whole conversation is giving me goose bumps and I don’t like it. I explain how to work the Jet Ski and make her do a few laps around the boat. I decide we should take our phones just in case we get separated for some strange reason, perhaps it’s because of my sudden leeriness.

  We head off toward the island. I can see a boat in the distance. It is heading toward the drop-off island, and I don’t like that. There are two smaller islands between us and this larger island. None of them are inhabited as they are pretty small. I decide we should take the Jet Skis to the far side of this island, out of the purview of this other vessel.

  “Follow me,” I say to Vanessa, and she waves at me. I head off toward the leeward side of the island. I look back once and she gives me a thumbs-up. Once we clear the side of the island with the view toward the others, I start feeling a bit better now that they can’t see us.

  After about ten minutes, I look back to see how Vanessa is enjoying her ride and I don’t see her. My stomach drops. I circle back, hugging the shoreline as close as I can around the reef. I don’t see her Jet Ski anywhere.

  “Vanessa!” I yell over and over, hoping beyond hope that she is just in an alcove I’ve missed. I circle the island and as I come back around I look to the horizon and the boat near the drop-off island. Oh shit, I think to myself. No, she wouldn’t, would she?

  I curse myself twenty times as I start in that direction. It’s been a good thirty minutes since I last saw Vanessa. I should have told her everything. If she’d known, maybe she’d have been more careful. The boat is moving away from the island now. I decide I need the day boat. I park the Jet Ski at our boat and switch vessels quickly. Now, I’m a good forty minutes behind her. I try calling her phones, but neither one is picked up and my heart lurches. I call Jack.

  “Jack, I think Vanessa went to the drop-off island. There was a boat over that way, but it’s gone now.”

  “What?!” he screams. “Jesus, does she know?”

  “No,” I say.

  “Shit, that’s bloody fantastic.” I hear him talking to Bryce muttering about plans getting fucked up and what to do now.

  “OK, I got your coordinates. We are coming. I see her coordinates. She’s somewhere around that island.”

  “Yeah, I’m guessing she went to check it out. I just hope she didn’t run into anyone,” I say as I start heading in that direction.

  “Jesse, don’t even think about it. Stay put. We’re on our way. I’ve got a speed boat and Bryce is getting a helicopter. We’ll both be there in about thirty minutes or so.”

  “I’m not staying put, she could be in danger,” I say, my teeth clenched.

  “Jesse, they moved the drop-off to today. It’s not safe.”

  “Wait, what? But this morning it said tomorrow,” I yell as I push the throttle.

  “Fuck, just stay still, Jesse,” Jack yells and I disconnect.

  I toss the phone down and stare ahead. This is not good.

  Chapter 24

  Jesse’s Playlist: “Won’t Back Down” by Eminem

  Present Day

  I trudge through the rocky center of the island. I look at my phone one last time. I can see the last location of her purple dot pinging and it’s in front of me, in this spring. This can’t be happening, I think as I toss my phone down and dive into the water. I swim down and down. The spring is deep. I use a small, water-resistant flashlight I found on the boat. Just as I think I’ve reached the bottom of the spring I see a small underwater cavern. I keep swimming.

  As I near the entrance to the cavern, several glimmers of light catch my attention. I scan the spring floor once more and what I see sends shivers down my spine. Bullets, I see bullets and then Vanessa’s phone. I grab it and stick it in my pocket. I look around, but I don’t see her burner phone, just her personal phone. I shine my light into the cavern. I only have about thirty more seconds before I need more air. I decide to go for it. I swim into the darkness.

  The light behind me begins to fade and then everything is black. Just as panic begins to set in, as my sense of up and down begins to fade, just as I’m about to give up hope, I see light ahead. I swim faster, my lungs are literally on fire. I’m g
oing up again and then my head breaks the surface of the water and I gasp for air. I’m momentarily disoriented. I look around. I’m in a cave and up above me there is an opening. I’m not sure how to get to it. It seems impossible to climb to it. I quickly scan the rocks and then my heart stops as my vision clears.

  “Vanessa!” I cry out as I swim to the edge of the water and pull myself up on the rocks beside her. “Baby, please, wake up.” She’s lying on a giant boulder and in the dim light of the cave, I can make out blood. I roll her over and she groans. Oh, thank God!! “Mon étoile, wake up, please!”

  I start looking over her body for a wound. Then I feel her head and when I pull away I see the blood on my fingers. I shine my light on her scalp. It looks like she was grazed by a bullet. I see another graze on the inside of her thigh near her knee.

  I rip my shirt and tie it around her leg and another one around her head. “Vanessa, I need you to stay awake for me.”

  “Jesse,” she whispers.

  I squeeze her hand. “I’m right here, sweetness. I’m right here.”

  I’m shaking from all the adrenaline. I need to calm down. I hear a helicopter overhead. My phone, they might find us.

  Vanessa tries to move. “No, baby, stay still. I don’t know the extent of your injuries,” I say softly as I squeeze her hands.

  Her eyes flutter open. “I knew you’d come,” she murmurs. “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry, please forgive me.”

  “There’s nothing to forgive. I should have warned you.”

  She shakes her head and winces. “No, you don’t understand. I know.”

  “Shhhh…it’s alright.”

  “I know,” she says a little louder.

  “What?” I ask. Now I’m just really confused or maybe she is. She’s definitely lost a fair amount of blood.

  “I saw your computer. I thought…I thought I could help,” she says. “Oh God, I’m so stupid. What was I thinking?” She sits up now and looks around.

  “Wait, what do you mean?” I ask slowly, keeping my hand on her back to stabilize her.

  She slowly shakes her head and I can see the tears streaming down her face. “I couldn’t stop them,” she whispers. “I only got away because I swam in here.”