Destiny Revealed (There's Always Tomorrow Book 2)

by Saperstein, M. D.

Vance smiles as he looks down at her. “Yeah, would you rather I called him a jerk?”

  Melina clings to the lapels of Vance's jacket while she throws her head back and laughs. She’s feeling a little tipsy, but it’s all good. She slowly stops laughing and looks at Vance who is watching her with a soft smile on his face. It makes her stomach flutter and her heart pound.

  “You are so gorgeous when you laugh,” Vance utters softly, his eyes drifting down to her lips.

  Please kiss me, Melina begs in her own head.

  Melina smiles, unable to take her eyes off his. She feels one of Vance's hands leave her waist. He brings it up and cups her cheek, his fingers sliding into her hair. He leans down and presses his lips tentatively to hers. Melina sighs and melts against him. That must have been enough of a go-ahead for Vance because his arm tightens around her waist and he uses his hand on her face to pull her into a deeper kiss.

  Melina has died and gone to heaven. She slips her hands under his t-shirt and around to his muscled back. His skin feels so good under her palms, so hot. Vance groans and tilts his head to get even closer as he slips his tongue between her parted lips. My god, is he a good kisser, probably the best Melina has ever encountered. Plus, there just seems to be an extra spark there, something she's never felt with anyone else. He’s kissing her like they’ve been doing it forever, not for the first time. She has a feeling that she's met the man that she is going to spend the rest of her life with.

  Vance pulls away reluctantly. They are both panting. She tries to make eye contact, but he quickly lowers his eyes, seemingly thinking of something serious. Melina can’t figure out what’s running through Vance’s mind, but what she does know, is that she is unbelievably turned on. And she never gets that way from just a kiss. She also knows that Vance is turned on because she felt his very large erection pressed against her belly.

  “Mmm, kiss me again,” Melina breathes, her lips brushing against his.

  Vance sucks in a sharp breath and pulls back. “No, if I kiss you again, I won't be able to stop,” he groans and steps back. “We need to go,” he mutters and takes her hand as he starts toward where the car is parked down the block.

  Chapter 2

  “Summers! Get in here!” booms Chief Shawn Peterson’s deep voice as Vance walks by his office on his way into the station on Monday morning.

  Vance shakes his head, trying to clear it. Every time he sees Chief Peterson, his mind swims with memories of his “partner” Shawn. The strong, caring, supportive, loyal, partner Shawn. The one who helped him solve murder cases and gave him advice about Melina. Not his control freak, egotistical, douchebag boss, the Chief. But then again, “partner” Shawn never really existed, did he?

  Vance backpedals a few then steps into his boss’ office.

  “Shut the door,” Chief Peterson snaps, his gaze furious.

  Vance groans inwardly as he shut the door.

  “What did I do now?”

  “What the fuck is this?” Chief Peterson asks and tosses a magazine on his desk in front of Vance.

  Vance steps closer and looks down at the tabloid magazine sitting there. The headline reads, Melina's Hot for her Hero Cop! And under it is a quarter-page sized picture of them kissing outside of the restaurant. There is also an inset of a smaller snapshot of them laughing at dinner.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” Vance barks and snatches up the magazine. They are the cover story. Vance flips through to the article, which has more pictures from dinner and of them kissing outside. It goes on to tell personal information regarding Melina's story of her ex abusing her to how Vance got there just in the nick of time to save her, blah blah blah. And according to “inside information,” she and her “hero officer” are now dating.

  What the fuck?

  “Do you have any idea how bad this looks for the department, Summers?” Chief Peterson growls. No wonder he’s pissed.

  “I had no idea we were being photographed, Sir,” Vance says, sounding stupid, even to him.

  “Why the hell were you out with her anyway?”

  “She said that she wanted to thank me for helping her. I haven't even talked to her since. It was a one-time deal...” Vance rambles, his arms flying all over the place as he tries to explain away his fuck up.

  “Sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me, Summers. You were caught kissing her!” Chief Peterson snaps.

  Vance flounders, really having no excuse. “It won't happen again, Sir.” Vance sighs.

  “You're damn right it won't! If I see any more pictures like this, you're going to be in deep shit, Summers! Drawing negative attention to this Department will get your ass a one-way ticket out the door. And screwing victims or potential witnesses is the dumbest way to go!” Chief Peterson shouts then points toward the door.

  Vance takes the hint and leaves the Chief's office. He walks into the locker room and is immediately harassed by his fellow officers. They are all giving him shit about the picture, and he’s not surprised to find it plastered all over his locker. Great, he’s going to be the butt of all jokes until something happens to someone else to top this mess.

  Vance sighs, he should have known better. He can’t even blame her because he kissed her, too.

  Fuckin’ idiot, he should’ve listened to his gut and not gone out with her.

  Vance pulls open his locker then starts undressing. He changes into his uniform while officer after officer comes over to screw with him. Some guys make kissing noises, and some give him pats on the back, while others rub up on him like idiots and make lewd comments. Vance feels like such an ass. He shakes his head in disgust, mostly at himself.

  Vance gets home around five pm and goes straight to his room for a shower. Melina called him multiple times throughout the day, but he ignored her. He doesn't want to talk to her. He’s still pissed about the magazine and the likelihood that she knew full well what would happen. What pisses him off even more is the fact that the kiss they shared was mind blowing. Her lips were so soft and silky - just as he remembered - and he swears that they were made just for him. And her sweet sexy body still fit perfectly against his.

  Ugh! Damn her!

  Vance climbs out of the shower and runs his towel over his body to dry off some before walking out into his bedroom. He has his towel over his head, drying his hair, as he’s walking back into his bedroom. The female gasp makes him freeze. Vance slowly drags the towel down his face until his eyes meet Melina's. She’s sitting on his bed, her mouth hanging open, and her face beet red. Vance quickly slings the towel around his naked waist.

  “What are you doing here?” Vance growls as he walks over to his dresser for a pair of gym shorts.

  “I...Dayne...he told me to wait here for you,” Melina's soft voice stutters, obviously mortified.

  “Fucking asshole,” Vance grumbles.

  Dayne did that on purpose. He knew that Vance would walk out of his bathroom naked and that Melina would get an eyeful. Vance pulls on a pair of gym shorts under his towel then removes the towel and wipes down his chest and abs again.

  “What do you want?” he grunts as he tosses the towel into his hamper.

  Melina frowns. “You didn't answer any of my calls.”

  “Maybe I don't want to talk to you, ever think of that?” Vance snaps nastily.

  Melina flinches, making Vance feel like a shithead.

  “I'm sorry about the picture, I wasn't thinking...” she starts.

  “Oh, come on, Melina. You can't tell me that you didn't know there’d be paparazzi there. You get followed all of the time. You have your picture taken daily. I didn't think that you were that hard up for publicity, but I guess I was wrong.” Vance slips on a t-shirt, needing to cover up completely.

  Melina gapes at him.

  “I hope you got what you needed because it'll never happen again,” Vance snarls.

  “I wasn't trying to get publicity, Vance! I just wanted to go out with you. I never meant for our date to be exploited like that,” Melina argu
es, looking sincere.

  But Vance can't let himself believe her. He needs to stay mad at her, but she looks really good, and he wants so badly to kiss her again.

  “I got into trouble at work because of that fucking picture, and I'll be in even deeper shit if it happens again,” Vance says.

  Melina blanches. “Oh god, I'm so sorry, Vance,” she says, dropping her face into her hands.

  Fuck! He hates it when she looks so upset; it screws with his head and makes it difficult to stay angry.

  “Is that why you wanted to sit outside?” Vance asks quietly. He has to know if she did it on purpose.

  Melina's head flies up, her shocked green eyes locking onto his. “Is that what you think?” she whispers.

  Vance shrugs. “I can't see any other reason.”

  Melina shakes her head. “Is it really that hard to believe that I like to sit outside? It was a beautiful night,” she murmurs quietly, turning her face away, but not before Vance catches the tears rolling down her pink cheeks.

  Vance plants his hands on his hips and drops his head back on his shoulders. He takes a deep breath and tries to focus himself by staring at a discolored spot on the ceiling. He hates when women cry, but with Melina, it’s the absolute worst. It just tears his heart out. She really seems like she’s being honest, that she never meant for this to happen. Dammit! He wants to stay mad at her, but it’s so hard with her sitting on his bed, crying.

  “I never wanted to hurt you, Vance. I'm sorry,” Melina whispers, brushing the tears from her face.

  Vance sighs and walks over to the bed. He sits down next to her and takes her hand in his. “Don't cry, Melina. I’m sorry for yelling at you,” he says softly, running his thumb over her knuckles.

  “I hate this aspect of my life sometimes - no privacy and everyone I associate with gets dragged down with me.” She sniffs. “Can you forgive me?” she pleads, looking up at Vance with her sad eyes.

  Why does she have to be so beautiful? He could never resist her.

  Vance sighs and rakes a hand through his damp hair. “Of course.”

  Melina smiles and it melts Vance's heart. “I swear I'll make it up to you.”

  Vance raises an eyebrow in question.

  “How about I make you and the guys dinner tonight?” Melina offers brightly.

  “You cook?” Vance asks, a little shocked. He just figured that she had people to do that for her.

  Melina rolls her eyes. “Yes, I cook.”

  Vance shrugs. “I'm sure the guys would enjoy that.”

  Melina frowns. “And you?”

  “Me, too.” He nods. “But I'm still mad; you need to give me time to get over this.”

  Melina nods. “I understand,” she says and gives him a sad smile.

  So Melina cooks dinner for Vance and the guys. This is an absolute first for them. None of their previous flings/girlfriends have ever cooked for ALL of them; usually it was only for the guy they were seeing. Melina seems to understand that they are a package deal, which makes Vance annoyingly happy. And damn she’s a good cook. Using some things that are already in the fridge and pantry, she makes a pasta and chicken dish that is absolutely delicious.

  “Who the hell knew supermodels could cook like this?” Dayne groans around a mouthful of pasta.

  Everyone groans and grunts in agreement. Melina just smiles and shakes her head.

  “I can't tell you the last time I've had a woman cook for me,” Mike murmurs, digging into his pasta for another huge bite.

  Melina frowns. “Really?”

  “Mmm, my mom passed away when I was 13 and my sister...” He snorts. “Forget it, she's a horrible cook, burns everything.” Mike rolls his eyes and shakes his head.

  “She's not that bad,” Tripp mutters quietly, his eyes on his food.

  Mike points his fork at Tripp. “You only say that cause you have the hots for her.”

  Tripp's cheeks turn pink as he pushes his pasta around in his bowl. Vance smirks and nudges Tripp with his elbow since he is sitting next to him.

  “Can you blame him? Shit Mike, your sister’s friggin’ hot,” Dayne says.

  “Don't start, asshole. I don't want to hear about my sister,” Mike snaps.

  Vance meets Melina's smiling green eyes across the table, feeling his gaze soften as he looks at her. His friends have never accepted a woman so easily. Especially Dayne. Dayne’s a tough one for women to get along with, but Melina handles herself just fine, and actually won her way into their hearts by cooking them dinner. Dammit, what the hell is he going to do now? They are still worlds apart without any middle ground to stand on. Not to mention the Chief, who will have his ass.

  Melina's phone rings and she excuses herself from the table. She walks into the other room to answer her phone so Vance has no idea who she’s talking to. But when she comes back to the table, her whole demeanor has changed. She’s tense and withdrawn and refuses to look at him, so he can't get a read on her from her eyes. What was that call about, and who was it? All he can tell for now is that whatever it was, it wasn’t good.

  The guys insist on cleaning up after dinner since she cooked. Silently, Vance pours her a glass of white wine and hands it to her while she stays seated at the table. He knows that something’s up, she can sense him watching her. She can't help it, though, she’s now scared out of her mind. The call was from her lawyer saying that Damien has been released on bail. Yeah, she has a restraining order against him, but that won't stop him. He has money and good lawyers to get him out of trouble. Melina sips her wine as the guys clean up around her.

  The wine calms her nerves slightly, but she’s still wound up tightly. Melina jumps when she feels a pair of large hands on her shoulders.

  “Easy, it's just me,” Vance murmurs, his mouth next to her ear. “How about we take a walk on the beach?”

  “Can I bring my wine?” Melina whispers.

  “Sure,” Vance says and comes around her chair to stand in front of her.

  He holds out his hand to her and Melina slips her much smaller hand into his larger one, letting him lead her out the back door, across the patio, and onto the path that leads to the beach. They have to walk over a dune to reach the waterline.

  Vance is wearing his gym shorts from earlier and the t-shirt he threw on before dinner. He still looks sexy as hell. The image of him walking out of the bathroom naked pops into her mind. Melina can't remember ever seeing a man so perfectly built. And Hello! The man is hung like a freaking stallion. A shiver of pleasure races down her spine at the thought of how big he would be when aroused.

  “You cold?” Vance asks, bringing her out of her dirty thoughts.

  “Oh...no, I'm fine,” Melina flushes and takes a sip of her wine to hide it.

  Vance laces his fingers in hers. “Wanna tell me what that call was all about?” he asks softly.

  “Damien's been released on bail.” She sighs.

  Vance bites out a nasty curse and shakes his head. “Ya know, some judges are real fucking idiots,” he growls.

  Melina looks up at Vance. Lord, he’s gorgeous when he’s angry. His jaw is clenched tight, his blue eyes are narrowed and staring out at the ocean, and his normally full lips are now a tense line. Melina tugs him to a stop. When he turns to face her, his expression questions why they’ve stopped walking.

  “He's gonna try to kill me, Vance. He’s insanely jealous, and as soon as he sees the picture of us, he's gonna lose it completely. He’s gonna try to kill me, and I wouldn’t put it past him to come after you, too,” Melina whispers, her eyes lock on his.

  Vance's expression softens and his eyes mirror her worry and concern. He cups her face in his hands, brushing his thumbs over her cheeks.

  “Listen to me, Melina. I will do everything I possibly can to protect you, I promise,” Vance says, his voice low and husky, his eyes holding some kind of emotion that Melina can't place.

  “I don't want you to be in the middle of this, I don't want you to get hurt because of me. Dam
ien is crazy and he won't care who he has to hurt to get to me,” Melina whispers, not trusting her voice. The tears have already started and she knows her voice will be shaky.

  Vance brushes the tears away with his thumbs and leans down until his mouth hovers over hers. Melina closes her eyes and grips the front of his t-shirt with her free hand. “I'm not going to let him hurt you ever again, Melina. Besides, I’m not in the middle of anything. Damien has had it out for me since we were kids. He’s always been jealous of my relationship with Tripp. He doesn’t need you as an excuse to come after me,” Vance murmurs just before his lips touch hers.

  Melina drops the glass of wine and wraps her arms around his neck, lacing her fingers into his hair. Vance groans and changes his hold on her so that his arms are wrapped around her, one hand splayed between her shoulder blades, and the other on the small of her back, just above her ass. He pulls her tight against him as his kiss becomes more passionate. Melina has no idea what’s going on between them, but whatever it is, it’s happening really fast.

  Vance pulls back but leans his forehead against hers. “What are you doing to me?” he breathes.

  “I can ask you the same thing,” Melina replies, running her thumb lightly over his bottom lip before nipping at it.

  Vance moans softly then kisses her hard, pulling her hips tightly against his. She can feel his very large, very hard erection pressing against her lower belly. Melina’s body responds as her inner muscles clench deliciously and her stomach flutters with anticipation. Melina wants Vance now. So badly, that she would let him take her right there on the beach not caring who sees. And that’s so not like her.

  Vance must be feeling the same way because he abruptly tears himself away from her. She catches his tortured expression before he turns his back on her and faces the ocean. His shoulders are heaving with the force of his breaths. He plants his hands on his hips, trying to regulate himself. After a moment, he adjusts himself in his shorts then turns to face her. His lips are slightly swollen and pink from kissing her and his eyes are darker than normal and heavy-lidded with desire.