Graduation and Gifts (Untouchable Book 8)

by Heather Long

Disney World had been fantastic, don’t get me wrong. But there was something insulating about the five of us on board the plane together.

  “I’m right here, Baby Girl. Sometimes the other guys just need you more. I’m good with us, don’t worry. If you need me or want more of me, you just say the word.” He flexed his arms around me, and I rubbed my cheek against his chest. “You and Bubba are going to nail this recording deal, and then you’re gonna be this big star and I’m going to be right there making sure no one bugs you.”

  I laughed. “I don’t care about being a star. I want to be there when you and Archie invent the self-driving car that responds to voice commands or the fully automated house or…I don’t know, the robot Jeremy.”

  His laughter rumbled in his chest. “Not sure what Jeremy would think if we replaced him with a robot.”

  “Me neither,” I said, making a face. “But I want to support you in everything you do. I want to be right there to cheer you on. I mean, I went to some of your football games, you know.”

  The shake of his laughter deepened, and then he rolled me over so we were side by side, our heads on the pillows so we could stare at each other. “You support me every day. Now, is this about how much I’ve been talking to my dad?”

  “No,” I said slowly, frowning. “I’m glad you and your dad are talking again. I’m glad that you want to talk to him…even if some of those conversations haven’t been the best.”

  They didn’t always end their calls on a particularly happy note. “Dad is stuck in his beliefs,” Jake said, with a shrug. “As open as he is about relationships, theirs and ours, he’s still convinced that I am doing myself and the country a disservice because I don’t want to enlist.”

  I sighed. “I would miss you so damn much.”

  He chuckled. “We’d manage, if it was what I wanted. See, I know you, Baby Girl.” With light fingers, he traced them over my cheek. “You would cut off an arm to help any of us do whatever we wanted. I don’t want to go into the military. I see the benefits and I see the drawbacks. But in the long run, that’s not where I see my life in five, ten, or fifteen years.”

  Surprise flickered through me. “Where do you see your life?”

  “Right here,” he murmured, trailing his hand lower until he rested it over my breast, just above my heart. “This is where I see my future. I’m just lucky that we have the family built for this. So no more worrying about me. If I need more, I’ll ask for more, and the same for you. Deal?”

  The corners of his mouth curved, yet it was the warmth in his eyes holding me hostage.

  “Deal,” I agreed. “But…” I pressed a finger to his lips. “We have one other serious discussion to have.” His eyebrows raised, and I grinned. “Someone wanted to get a tattoo this summer, and I’m not sure when you’re planning on getting it with all this crazy traveling.”

  And had I mentioned how damn happy I was that we’d all gotten our passports done? Archie had one, but now all of us did. It made the seemingly spontaneous foreign travel arrangements easier.

  Jake laughed and sat up, then stripped off his shirt before twisting to face me. Rolling on my back, I stared up at him. Rugged. Hot. Charming.

  “So, I’m thinking dragons…” And a bit of a dork.

  But he was my dork. And I loved every damn inch of him.

  “Show me,” I said as he began tracing where he wanted the first dragon to go. It would wrap around him from his back to his chest, with the wings on his back. Holy shit, that would be hot.

  Our flight arrived a little after ten at night, local time. Private customs greeted us and stamped our passports, admitting us to the country. Cars met us and took us and our luggage to the yacht. Seriously, I couldn’t wait to see it. I couldn’t figure out why I was yawning. I’d slept. I’d actually fallen asleep with Jake and woken to Coop tucked in with us about an hour before we landed.

  One perk of flying that way, I was able to shower and change before we landed. Still, I wanted to look and see. We had a late supper on the deck of the yacht. The ocean scents teased at us, and there were lots of stars visible, even with the light source from the island itself. I wanted to go and explore, but we weren’t staying in Fiji proper, not this trip.

  This trip.

  I loved the sound of that. How many more trips would we take? I used to think I’d have to save up forever to travel. Yet now, I could literally travel whenever I wanted. Wherever I wanted. A part of me had always known Archie would take me if I asked, but there was a difference between having him take me and being able to go.

  More, I liked going with them. In addition to our meal, there was wine, and I raised my brows. It was Jake who filled my glass and said, “Legal drinking age is eighteen here, so we’re fine.”

  Laughter rippled around the table. Glasses raised, I said, “To you guys, thank you for this amazing vacation.”

  “It’s not remotely close to done, Angel,” Ian pointed out.

  “Nor have we even had half the time on it we wanted yet,” Coop agreed. “We are making up for last summer…”

  “And beginning traditions. June is gonna be our month, all five of us,” Archie said firmly. “From now on, no matter what we’re doing or where we are with careers or school, June is the month we spend together, and if that means we spend it on tour with you and Bubba, or back in Texas visiting their families, or finding some new hot spot to travel to, then that’s what we do. But this is our month together. For us. As a family.”

  I loved that so much.

  We clinked our glasses together, and I grinned. After dinner, the guys traded out their wine for beer while I stuck with the wine. We lounged around on the deck chairs, staring at the sky and trading stories. The weather was just about perfect. It wasn’t hot or cold. The breeze was comfortable, the air beautiful, and sometime between Archie and Jake’s debate on something to do with circuitry and Coop settling me against his chest while Ian pulled out his guitar, I fell asleep.

  The next time I opened my eyes, the sun was turning the horizon pink, golden, and red. It was…a postcard, it was so perfect. All around me, the guys slept. We’d all just fallen asleep up here with light blankets. Coop was still tucked next to me, but I was able to just sit up and stare out as the sun rose.

  There weren’t a lot of truly perfect moments. Yet here, surrounded by the guys, with the remnants of our lazy dinner from the night before as the sun rose—not only on the other side of the world from home, but in another hemisphere—I was flying higher than the little wisps of pink clouds painting against the rapidly brightening navy sky.

  This time, a year ago, Maddy let me down for the hundredth time. No trip to Harvard. She’d gone off on business. I’d shut the guys out. I worked, hid out in my apartment, and left only for one long weekend to see Jennifer in San Antonio.

  Fuck, I hadn’t talked to her in months. A little laugh escaped me. Rachel was still on my shit list for having ripped the blinders off me, and now her absence was probably the only thing really dimming today, and even that couldn’t do it. Mostly because I knew she was where she wanted to be.

  “You okay over there, Angel?” Ian asked me quietly, and I grinned at him.

  “I’m perfect.”

  He rose, raking a hand through all that gorgeous blond hair and looking sleep rumpled and beautiful. With ease, he plucked me up and cradled me to him. “Yes, you are.”

  I chuckled as I looped my arms around him. “I wasn’t fishing for compliments.”

  “I know,” he teased before rubbing his nose against mine. “Just remember how much I love you.”

  “I have no intention of forgetting.”

  “Good.”

  I should have known better. That heart stopping grin of his bewitched me though, and it barely registered that we were moving before it was too late. Ian jumped right off the end of the yacht into the near crystal perfect water.

  At least I didn’t scream too loud.

  But we weren’t in the water alone for long. The whoo
ps from the guys as they plunged over the side and into the water with us just made me laugh. The crew was already readying for our departure by the time we climbed out of the water and then back onto the yacht. I rinsed off below deck and changed into a suit with a sarong I could tie around my waist. The water around us was so crystal perfect, it was right out of a magazine.

  I’d pinch myself, but I didn’t want to wake up from this dream.

  Ever.

  Subject: COVER OPPORTUNITY READ ASAP

  Hey! Answer me as soon as you get this. We’re putting together a charity album and inviting some of our favorites to do covers of our songs. Since you are such big fans and cool (okay, let’s be blunt, I like you two more than I like most of our peers), the girls and I thought we’d give you an opportunity to record a cover of one of our songs.

  Pick your favorite. Pick one you like. But tell me which one so I can lock it up. If it all works out, we’ll even let you guys use it on your first album, but only if you let me join you for some kind of trio moment. Or maybe a five way. Think your boy can handle four girls at once?

  Okay, that was way dirtier than I intended.

  Email me. Or better yet, call me. I have no idea what country we’re in, but voicemail works.

  Kisses.

  KC

  Chapter Seventeen

  Beach Bums and Babe

  Frankie

  The temptation to re-enact the Titanic scene was way too cheesy to resist. Bless Jake for hopping right up there with me on the prow. He locked one arm around my waist as I stretched my arms wide, and we yelled out that we were king of the world.

  The guys laughed and there were pictures and I didn’t care. The sun in our face, the ocean around us, and the way the yacht sliced through the water just added to the whole experience. I ducked below deck to change at one point, opting for short shorts over my bikini bottoms and a bikini top.

  Jake grumbled a little when I came back up, hair pulled up into a pony tail. Hands on my hips, I stood by the door and waited him out. Coop’s lips twitched, but his eyes were hidden behind his sunglasses. I couldn’t see Archie or Ian from this angle, but neither of them usually minded how much skin I showed.

  This bikini was hardly indecent, but there was side boob.

  A muscle twitched in Jake’s cheek, but it was hard to tell because the adorable scruff had been filling in. I bit my lip and raised my brows. The air out there was exceptional. We were all still tired, but it was a lazy kind of tired and I wanted to be out in the sun.

  “I’m putting sunscreen on you,” he conceded grumpily before stepping aside. Relief and delight combined to flood through me. Coop let out a low whistle and then tilted his head back as though he needed to sun himself. Archie and Ian both grinned at me as Jake became the shadow at my back.

  Yes, the yacht had a crew. We’d met like two of them, the rest had just gone about their business and ignored us. I didn’t even know whose yacht this was. Archie’s? His grandfather’s? Their friend’s? Worse, I didn’t want to ask because I was half in love with this vessel, and if it turned out to belong to someone else, I might cry.

  Don’t be ridiculous, it’s probably a family yacht. Shuttling those thoughts away, I tucked my sunglasses on as I headed for one of the loungers. Once I was on my stomach, Jake tugged open the strap on the back of my suit, and I smiled. The coolness of the sunscreen on his fingers had me sighing as he began to rub it in. I’d done the same earlier, making sure all of them had their backs done. He paid particular attention to my tattoo.

  “Do you guys want to work on that song this weekend?” Archie asked. “We have the island for five days, but I can probably make it a week.”

  “No,” I said from where I lay with my eyes closed. “I mean, Ian and I can work on it some, but I want this week to be about all of us too. And you said something about boogie boarding.”

  Surfing. Snorkeling. Skinny dipping.

  They were all on the list.

  Archie chuckled. The push of Jake’s fingers dipping below my waistband had me shifting to glance up at him. A smirk played at the corners of his mouth. Dammit, I curled my toes and then slid my legs apart as he worked his way down to my thighs. The top of the shorts wouldn’t give him much access but…

  “We can do both,” Ian suggested as Jake smoothed sunscreen up and down the backs of my legs. He kept darting up the inside of my thighs and away again. “Don’t worry, Angel. The point is to be together, and if we start boring the guys, I’m sure they’ll make you play a few hours of video games.”

  I laughed. “That’s not a threat. You guys just knock me out, then try to convince me to get naked.”

  “If I have my way, you won’t be dressed at all for the next few days, so getting you naked won’t be a problem.” Archie raised his beer toward me, and I laughed as he took a drink. But the fact Ian just nodded as if the thought had occurred to him had me shivering all over again.

  Private island.

  No people.

  Just us—

  Jake slid his fingers right up between my legs, and I let out a little sigh as he shifted on the seat. The tease of his fingers along my labia sent a curl of lust through my system. The sun. The sea. The guys.

  “Cold?” Jake asked in a soft voice, and I bit my lip. His gaze was so intent on me, it threatened to burn me up.

  All the moisture in my mouth seemed to dry up, but I shifted my legs just a little further apart. “Do I feel cold?”

  With one hand against my back, Jake leaned over me, and I had a feeling it was more to block what he was doing from the others than anything else. The thrust of his fingers into me had me swallowing a moan. The blunt tips of his nails scraped gently, just enough to sharpen my focus on the feel of him without injuring.

  The two fingers together weren’t as thick as any of them, and at the same time, when he scissored his fingers, I swore liquid heat spiraled outward from the contact. I moved on his hand, and it rubbed the seam of my shorts right against my clit. The spasms ignited by the contact had me contracting around his hand, and Jake’s soft laugh in my ear was dizzying.

  “You like that, Baby Girl?” He teased his tongue over the shell of my ear, and I let my eyes close as my nipples beaded tight. The urge to turn over and reach for him vibrated beneath my skin. The breeze on my overheated flesh suggested that might be a bad idea.

  Ian’s and Archie’s voices faded as Jake’s hot breath feathered over my ear.

  “What about this?” He curved his hand, and it pushed my right thigh higher. The thrusting of his fingers added another sharp contact of pleasure that only increased when two blunt fingers became three.

  Fuck.

  The shorts hadn’t seemed so loose before. I swore the breeze chased his fingers against my skin, and it only made the heat inside of me grow more intense.

  “I can’t hear you,” Jake murmured a moment before he bit down on my ear and increased the push of his hand. The force ground me against the seam, even as he mimed the force of his dick taking me. While it didn’t quite push me over the edge, it had me riding the precipice, breath coming in little explosions.

  Somehow between gently massaging sunscreen onto my back and teasing me, he’d left me soaked and needy.

  “Aren’t you going to answer me, Baby Girl?” Jake drew me back to him, and I forced my eyes open to find him staring down at me. Wordless wonder flooded me as I opened my mouth, and then his lips claimed mine and thought erased as he added a fourth finger. The combined pressure threatened to split me apart. All subtlety failed me as I ground against his hand, the chair, my shorts, anything to get just that little bit more of friction.

  The warmth of a hand pressing under my chest jerked my eyes open as Jake smiled against my mouth. The pinch of scorching fingers on my nipple sent a blood rush to my head, and I came apart. A cry tore free from my throat as Jake sucked on my tongue. Breath escaping in panting explosions, I dug my fingers into the chair.

  Where we were trickled back in like th
e dampness escaping me as Jake eased his fingers free. The trembling in my legs and body kept me glued to the chair. A hand traced over my hair, then fisted it gently.

  Jake’s kiss turned softer and sweeter as he nibbled his way along my lips as though he only wanted to sample each breath. Even the click of our sunglasses glancing off each other didn’t puncture the moment. Pulse galloping, I went boneless, trusting his grip on me to keep me from floating away.

  “Mr. Standish…” At the intrusion of the accented voice, I stiffened.

  “I’ll join you in a moment, Captain.” The words and tone brooked no argument. Jake soothed his hand over my back as I shivered. I missed when he’d pulled his fingers from me, then he broke the kiss to suck on one finger, then another, as though licking them clean. I couldn’t miss the scent of me on him or the way his eyes lit up as he stayed so close.

  The flash of his tongue had my toes curling.

  “Better?” Jake asked.

  I grinned slowly. “Perfect.”

  “Fuck yes, you are,” Coop let out with a grunt of appreciation, and bit by bit, where we were registered again. I lifted my head just a bit higher as Jake glanced over at Coop. “What?” Coop demanded in a heated voice. “She’s fucking perfect.”

  My gaze locked on Ian’s though, I couldn’t see his eyes through the sunglasses nor he mine, but I swore I could feel him all the way down to my toes. “Did you enjoy that, Angel?” Dark promise kissed each word, and I couldn’t resist smiling at him or a little nod, because I wasn’t sure if my voice would come out as more than a squeak.

  “Fuck, I did,” Archie said on a groan. “I’d have enjoyed it more if it had been my dick she was riding as she squirmed like that.”

  “You’ll get your chance,” Ian said, and a flush of heat crashed through me like a lava eruption boiling to the surface.

  “Not arguing,” Jake said, the teasing words anchoring me. They were all watching me, and I wanted to fucking preen under the attention. “Just cool down, player three.”