Gypsy Heat: A Gypsy Beach Novel

by Jillian Neal

“Yes.” She whimpered and leaned against him now, weak against torturous moves.

  “Come for me, Nady. Come and let me drink you.” A quivered moan accompanied the liquid heat that flowed over his lips and filled his mouth, all from his angel. “That’s it.” He drank from her and then dragged the back of his hand across his mouth as he stood. “Lean over that seat and spread your legs.”

  Still quaking from her orgasm, she stumbled towards the seat he’d directed her to. The driver’s seat backed up to a passenger seat behind it, giving her a place to lean forward and hold on. Grady reached and steadied her against the waves rocking the boat and an entirely different set pitching through her body. When she was up on her knees and staring at him expectantly, he shed his jeans and watched her eyes flash as she took in his cock throbbing in dire anticipation of her. She licked her lips.

  He ran his palm back and forth along his stiff ridge, grasped his head, and gathered the beads of pre-cum leaking from himself. “Don’t worry, angel, Grady’s gonna give it to you.” Again, he brushed his fingers over her mouth, this time feeding her his essence instead of her own. Her tongue lapped and sucked at his fingers, so hungry for him.

  He joined her in the seat, pressing himself against her ass cheeks as he dipped his fingers deep between her throbbing lips. “Move with my hand, angel. Just like that.” She rocked back and forth against him and her body drew his fingers deeper.

  His eyes rolled back in his head. Need clawed against his resolve. It sizzled under his fevered skin. He wanted to delve between those swollen lips and make her body nurse away everything that his mind couldn’t make sense of. All of the shit that had happened in the last fourteen years; his father, Beau, the business, he needed to dissolve it all in that liquid heat that flowed from her.

  When he drew the next orgasm from deep within her, he grasped his cock again and ran it between her lips back and forth, pressing himself against every soft fold and the firm pressure of her mound. So damn tempting, but he ordered himself not to enter her until he was wearing a condom. Right now, he just wanted to feel her lips glide against his head and crown and coat the throbbing veins of his cock with her dew.

  Nadya’s entire body shook as she allowed herself to simply feel the velvet steel he was indulging her pussy with. His engorged crown stroked her, licking at her clit until she was certain he was going to drive her over again from the anticipation alone. He was hers, all hers. Her body responded to his without thought. Like a pendulum that swung back and forth, he was her balance, her compass, her North star, the only one that knew how to guide her home. Their past dissolved in the tides surrounding the boat. It just didn’t matter. Now, here, them together, that pressure building, waiting to detonate and devastate them both, the love that flowed so readily between then, that was all that mattered.

  “Grady, please,” she whimpered, unable to take anymore. She just needed to be owned, to know that he felt their magnetism, their unending love, along with her.

  In one quick move, he located a condom from the pocket of his jeans and rolled it on. Unable to help herself, Nadya wiggled against the seat in front of her.

  A rumbled moan erupted in her ear as he surrounded her with his body. Grasping himself again, he pressed inside of her in one quick thrust of ownership that left no hidden spot of her silky channel untouched and no spot of her entire body unaffected.

  “Hold on for me, angel. I told you I’m gonna tear you up.”

  “Yes!” She grasped the sides of the seat, and he drove into her over and over, claiming every centimeter for himself and ravaging his way deeper with each pass.

  His hot breath panted against her shoulder. His hands grasped her bouncing tits, holding them firmly as he pounded into her. His body made fierce commands she wanted to obey.

  Nadya tried to breathe. Her thoughts, the entire world around her, everything that had happened in her life that hadn’t involved Grady Havens shattered into unrecognizable pieces as her body uncoiled around his cock.

  His thundering growl pierced the sky, echoing over the crashing waves rocking the boat as he came ferociously, filling the condom with hard spurts of cum that wouldn’t seem to cease. She not only healed every wound his body and mind had endured; she silenced the demons for good as she collapsed against him with a half-gasped pant of “Grady, please never leave me. Please, love me forever. Please, promise.”

  He managed to stand and remove the condom before he guided her up and into his arms. “I promise I have always loved you, Nady, and I will always love you forever. We will get through everything we didn’t deal with fourteen years ago and everything that’s happened since you got back. I will never walk away again. Now, you promise me the same thing.”

  “I promise never to leave you again. I promise to stay and fight this time. I was just so lost and so scared, but now if I’m lost or scared I’ll tell you and let you guide me back. I’ll never hide what I’m feeling from you again. I promise, Grady. I’m so sorry for everything I did.”

  Letting that vow flow through his veins healing his heart, he guided her up to the benched seating on the deck of Wind Dancer and reclined as best as he was able. His long legs extended out on the deck floor so she could stretch out beside him as they watched the stars perform a celestial dance above them. A recognition that despite all the world had taken away, they had found their way back together. He just had to keep them safe; all of them, his family included.

  “Hey Nad, I have a few emergency blankets and towels in the hatch. Let’s just camp out here tonight. I’ll keep you warm, and no one will see us.”

  “I don’t want to go back either.” Her whispered admission joined the breeze as it breathed through his chest hair.

  With exhaustion weighting his musculature, he eased her upright and retrieved the towels and blankets from the covered hatch in the back of the boat. He made them a makeshift bed and they settled on the deck floor, covered in quilts. “I’m right here. I’ve got you, and I always will.”

  The waves rocked them to sleep under the starlit sky in complete peace without the world and its damned endless intrusions.

  Twenty-Two

  Early the next morning, Grady and Nate tried to work discreetly as they ran the wiring for the motion sensors in the office. They didn’t want anyone to know they were setting up surveillance. It was too early for anyone to stop in to book a fishing trip, but they were burning daylight, and they needed to work quickly.

  Nadya and Beau were testing out the cameras and making certain that they transmitted the signals to Grady and Nadya’s cell phones. “You sure this isn’t for me?” Beau chastised, but had been kind to help.

  Nadya giggled as Nate shook his head. “Bro, if I’d been Grady, I would’ve kicked your ass. If you need a room, I have a spare, just keep it down.” He’d offered Beau the guestroom in his apartment in town when he’d heard the tale of what Grady and Nadya had walked in on the evening before.

  Rolling his eyes, Beau stood. “Okay, I’m gonna go set these up on the houseboat and on the dock.”

  “Make sure no one sees you,” Grady ordered.

  “Not sixteen and not an idiot. It’s my ass on the line if we don’t figure out who’s doing this. Don’t you think I’ll be careful?” he huffed indignantly.

  “I’ll help you Beau.” Nadya reached upwards and pinched Grady’s ass as she went by. He was up on a four step ladder positioning the motion detector in the upper corner of the wall and ceiling. Nate chuckled and shook his head at both of them.

  “Hey now, turnabout is fair play, don’t forget that, my lucky angel.” He winked at her, reveling in her beaming grin.

  Nadya opened the door for Beau, who was carrying the large box of surveillance equipment. She scanned the dock and beach, trying to figure out how to mount the equipment without being seen. It was still early and vacationers hadn’t yet congregated on the beach.

  When her eyes landed on a timid Mia easing towards them down the dock from the parking lot, she grinned. Sho
ck worked through Beau’s features. He glanced around uncomfortably. Nadya’s smile faded. Why wasn’t he happy to see her?

  “Hey, gorgeous, what are you doing out here?” He couldn’t seem to keep the panic from his tone. Nadya clenched her jaw. If he was cheating on her, she’d skin him alive, and Grady and Nate would help her.

  “It’s okay. No one’s out here, really.” Mia seemed to glance around instinctively. Nadya’s brow furrowed. What was going on with them? “Mom thinks I’m at school. I missed you. I just wanted to bring you some breakfast and maybe hang out with you a little. My next class isn’t until noon.”

  Erasing her doubt about him cheating, Beau looked thrilled. He set the box of equipment on the dock and drew her into his arms. “Come here to me.”

  Nadya couldn’t help but smile. He sounded just like Grady, but because it was in her blood, her eyes immediately zeroed in on a very expensive diamond and pearl bracelet that hung delicately from Mia’s wrist.

  Another worry altogether niggled up her spine. Beau couldn’t possibly have afforded something like that, and it looked like a gift from a lover. A rather expensive designer bag hung from Mia’s shoulder. She couldn’t stand to think that Beau and Mia might be in on the burglaries, but what if Mia was a bad influence on him? What if she was the reason he had that lock pick set in his truck? What if he was trying stupidly to impress her with money he would never have?

  Nadya tried to locate an escape. Beau was blocking her path back to the office.

  Edging back several steps, she hoisted the box into her arms and left Beau and Mia on the dock. Grady’s brow furrowed when she returned.

  “Mia came to tell Beau good morning.”

  “Ah geez, do not let them in the houseboat,” he huffed.

  “Hey, how did baby bro have a girlfriend for two years that we didn’t know about?” Nate, standing at the counter, waved his hands to watch the motion detector lights flash on.

  “Maybe there’s a lot about Beau you two don’t know,” Nadya pointed out. “For instance, it sounded to me like they’re hiding their relationship from everyone, especially her parents.”

  Grady and Nate’s grimace matched. They looked like twins in that moment.

  “If he gets into more trouble, so help me.” Grady shook his head.

  Before Nadya could confess any of her other concerns, Officer Bevins eased inside the shop. He took in Grady coming down the ladder, and Nate lifting a glass-break alarm from the box on the counter.

  “You plan on catching a crook, gentlemen?”

  “Not sure who we’re gonna catch, but I’m tired of men being around my boat, my dock, and especially my girlfriend.” Grady’s voice was cold and irritation stirred in his blood.

  Bevins held his hands up. “Hey, I get it. I’m on your side, remember? I just came to tell you that the prints came back on the stuff they found in Beau’s truck.”

  “And?” As always, Nate was somewhat more polite than Grady.

  “Do you want the bad news or the semi-good news first?”

  “Semi-good news,” Grady urged.

  “There were no prints on the phones or on the laptops in the truck, meaning that whoever took them wore gloves, but there were no gloves found on Beau or in the truck, so that’s kind of good.”

  “Okay, what’s the bad news?” Nadya’s nerves were getting to her.

  Bevins face fell. “His prints — and only his prints — were all over the lock-pick set. No one else’s, and every house that’s been broken into has had the lock very skillfully picked.”

  Air escaped Grady’s lungs in a defeated huff. He’d hoped against hope that someone else was involved in all of this.

  “We couldn’t get him to tell us why he had them. Do you have any idea?”

  “No,” Nate sighed. “I’ve asked. Grady’s asked. He won’t talk.”

  “I bet Mia knows.” Nadya glanced out the back door. Mia and Beau were seated on the far side of the houseboat, eating the breakfast she’d brought away from prying eyes.

  “If you know someone who knows, they need to talk. He’s gonna go down for this over that stupid lock-pick set. Three more houses in Forest Hills were broken into last night, and we still have no other suspects. Whoever did it left the Good Target Gypsy markings at the houses again. I tried to talk to your dad this morning. He kind of said Beau was there last night, but you and I both know he’s not going to be a credible alibi.”

  “He got back to Pop’s about midnight last night. I stayed ‘til he got there.”

  “Yeah, but the break-ins were between two and sunrise. No one knows where he was between midnight and this morning. That’s the problem.”

  No one could argue that. Grady felt vomit and bile swirl in his stomach. What the hell was Beau up to? “I’ll talk to Beau again. Figure out the lock pick thing.”

  “Yeah, well, let me know what he says. I gotta get back to the precinct. Good luck playing detective, guys.” With that, Bevins waved his goodbye and headed out.

  Nate turned to study Grady and Nadya. “So, three more houses were hit last night, right?”

  “That’s what he just said,” Grady huffed.

  “Okay, so whoever is doing this would be looking to hide their take until they can sell it. I think I’m gonna head over to Pops. You keep Beau here. I’m going through his room and his truck, but if he isn’t in on this, and someone is trying to frame him, seems to me they’d be looking to stow the stuff if they can’t sell it today. Maybe I’ll just sleep over with Pops and Beau tonight, keep an eye out.”

  Impressed with his brother’s deductive reasoning, Grady nodded. “I hate you’re gonna have to go through his stuff, but we have to know what he’s up to. Let me know what you find, and I’ll get everything else set up.”

  Grady checked his watch. It was just after ten and the beach was filling up. He’d booked two trips for the next week, but nothing out of the ordinary had happened so far.

  Nadya wrapped her arms around his waist from behind him, making him smile. “Can I ask you something?”

  He spun around and cradled her to him. “Anything.”

  “I know you’re kind of freaked out about everything going on with Beau, but what he said about turning this into a full marina sounded like a good idea.”

  Knowing this was coming, Grady signed. “Nady, angel, that would require quite a bit of up-front cash that we may or may not ever get back. It would also require me hiring several additional hands to run the rental side of this, and people don’t take care of shit that doesn’t belong to them, meaning the watercraft would need constant maintenance. I don’t have that kind of time. I just got you back. Beau’s looking at jail time if we don’t figure this out. I’m not saying we’ll never expand, but for now, I need to focus on what’s right in front of me.” He gently squeezed her to him. “Because this relationship right here, we screwed it up really badly several years ago, and somehow, we got a second chance. That will always be what’s most important to me, and that’s what I’m going to work on right now.” Assuming she couldn’t argue with that reasoning, he planted a kiss on the top of her head. “Now, I changed my mind. I do want to get one of those cameras for the side door. You mind going back to the hardware store with me?”

  Nadya considered. He would probably be back in less than thirty minutes. She wanted to work on their relationship, too, and that meant learning to be on her own without freaking out. Sinclair certainly wouldn’t be back out there, and it was broad daylight. People were on the beach now. She could do this.

  “No, I’ll be okay. I’ll keep an eye on the office, and the phone, and everything. If I get the clasps on those bracelets, I can take them down to Leah at Mystic Mermaids this afternoon.”

  “You sure, angel? I don’t want you alone right now, especially until you’re comfortable being alone.”

  “I’m sure. I want to do this. A baby steps kind of thing.”

  “All right.” He seemed wary and stepped back to study her eyes. “Call me i
f anything happens or you just need to talk. I’ll be right back.” He brushed a kiss across her lips this time.

  “I’ll be fine.” That quickly became her mantra.

  “I love you, angel,” he called as he headed out the door.

  Beaming at him and letting that knowledge further soothe her, she blew him a kiss. “I love you more.”

  “Never.” He gave the customary response he’d given her everyday of her life right up until the moment she left him.

  Still grinning, she headed out to the houseboat to retrieve the bracelets. The dock burned her bare feet, so she picked up pace. The air felt more liquid than the water below it. Sweat immediately dewed on her back and forehead. Flinging open the door to the houseboat while performing what had to have been a comedic step dance as she worked the lock, she rushed towards the chest of shallow drawers where she’d stowed the bracelets she’d been working on two days before.

  She pulled open the top drawer where she always kept her current projects and lifted the bracelets from their velvet lined box, but something was off. Her brow furrowed. A tiny box of the beads Nana Cooper had saved for her were toppled over. That was odd. Must’ve been the waves. She wondered once again if the houseboat would really be a good house for them. Crafting jewelry on it was less than ideal. Maybe they could give it to Beau, but that would require finding someone to take care of Pops, and Grady letting her pay the mortgage on a house for the two of them.

  She set the bracelets on the table and shut the drawer after righting the box of beads.

  Opening the drawer below it, just out of curiosity, she gasped. Her normally organized supplies were now in a disastrous heap in the middle of the drawer. “What on earth?” She opened the next drawer to find that a several rather expensive antique pieces of silver she’d planned on using for crafting rings were missing.

  Tears stung her eyes. Beau wouldn’t. He just wouldn’t. He wouldn’t steal from her, would he? But Beau and Mia were the only people who’d been on the houseboat. She had to tell Grady, but she was terrified of his reaction. Her heart sank all the way to her churning stomach. How could Beau have done this? No. She couldn’t believe it was Beau. It had to have been Mia. That little bitch had not only stolen from her but was going to let Beau take the blame for her crimes. Nadya narrowed her eyes. That wasn’t happening. Not on her watch.