Gansett Island Boxed Set, Books 1-16

by Force, Marie

  With every eye in the crowded room on her, Tiffany got up and walked to the microphone located in the center aisle.

  “You’re the owner and proprietor of the boutique, Naughty & Nice, on Ocean Road?” Royal asked.

  “I am.”

  “And what do you sell in this boutique?”

  With her hands tightly clasped at her waist, Tiffany cleared her throat and fought to keep the nerves out of her voice. “Gifts, candles, lotions, underwear, lingerie and other novelty items.”

  “Would you please describe these novelty items?”

  A male voice rang out from the back of the room. “Dildos and vibrators!”

  Nervous laughter rippled through the crowd.

  Tiffany felt her face get very warm and probably very red.

  “Please contain your outbursts, or I’ll clear the room,” Mayor Upton said sternly.

  “Ms. Sturgil?” Royal said.

  “I sell a number of products designed to enhance sexual pleasure.” She’d spent all day working out that rather innocuous way to say “sex toys” without using the words sex toys.

  “And why was it that you felt Gansett Island needed a store such as yours?”

  Relieved that he hadn’t asked her to elaborate on her products, Tiffany was pleased he’d posed that particular question. “Because I believe we had more than enough T-shirt and souvenir shops, and my research showed that stores such as mine were very successful in other tourist towns. I can provide the council with sales data from similar stores in Newport, Nantucket and Mystic, if you are interested.”

  “I’d be very interested,” Royal said. The other council members nodded in agreement.

  Tiffany returned to her seat and retrieved the copies she’d made earlier in the day that showed significant revenues from the other stores and distributed them to each member. Returning to the microphone, she said, “I realize this is something very different in our town, but judging by our early data, I expect the store will do quite well in its current location. Our business has more than doubled during Race Week, and we hope that will continue throughout the season.”

  “About your advertising strategies—”

  Tiffany held up a hand to stop him. “I’ve reconsidered my strategies and will be going in a different direction in the future.”

  A buzz of chatter cut through the audience.

  “And that direction won’t include public indecency?” Royal asked.

  “Your definition of indecency and mine differ, but it will not include women in skimpy outfits outside the store.”

  “Very good. Now I’ll open the floor to anyone who wishes to speak on this matter.”

  She walked away feeling like she’d done a good job defending her store, but by the time Tiffany returned to her seat, a long line had formed behind the microphone.

  Blaine bided his time as one detractor after another questioned the town council’s judgment, morals, ethics and values by allowing a store like Tiffany’s in their town. Unfortunately, only the mayor and Royal seemed to be supportive of Tiffany. The other five members were nodding in approval of the comments from Tiffany’s foes.

  When Linda McCarthy approached the microphone, Blaine held his breath. He wasn’t sure if she’d be for or against the shop.

  “I have patronized Ms. Sturgil’s store,” Linda said to startled gasps from her children and others in the audience. “The merchandise is sexy but tasteful and the more adult items are kept in a separate area. There’s absolutely nothing indecent about the store, and with all the legitimate problems this town has, I can’t believe the council is wasting its time on this.”

  The crowd behind Tiffany cheered long and hard after Linda sat down.

  Blaine wanted to cheer, too, until Jim Sturgil had his turn.

  “I wanted to raise my daughter here because of the values this town has always had,” Jim said. “Lately, however, I have to question whether this is the best place for her to live.” He glared at Tiffany. “She’s just doing this to spite me for leaving her—”

  That’s it, Blaine decided. I’ve heard more than enough. He stood and went over to pluck the microphone from its stand.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Jim asked indignantly. “It’s my turn.”

  Into the microphone, Blaine said, “It was your turn. Now it’s mine. You want to talk about values, Sturgil? What kind of man lets his wife work two jobs to put him through law school and then leaves her when the money starts rolling in?”

  Jim’s eyes bugged out of his head, and for a moment, Blaine thought Jim might be stupid enough to hit him. He really, really wished he would.

  “What kind of man asks his very nice wife for a divorce, moves out of the house and takes all the furniture, leaving the wife who put him through law school and his young child in an empty house?”

  Jim’s fist rolled into a ball, and Blaine gave him a challenging look that dared him to go for it. Assaulting a police officer could get him disbarred, which Jim well knew.

  “Sit down, Sturgil,” the mayor ordered.

  “You heard the mayor,” Blaine said. “And we’ve all heard enough out of you.”

  Everyone sitting behind Tiffany whooped and clapped. Blaine didn’t dare look at her, or he might lose his nerve. To the council, he said, “This whole thing is ridiculous. For better or worse, the town approved Ms. Sturgil’s application, and now you’ve got to live with it. She has the same right to make a living here that all of you do. She’s an accomplished businesswoman who has run two successful businesses on this island for years. She pays her taxes just like everyone else. This is a witch hunt because you’re all afraid of something different. To you, this is about sex toys and sexy nighties. To her, it’s about food on the table and a roof over her child’s head.”

  “She’s caused at least one accident on Ocean Road,” one of the councilmen reminded him.

  “How was that her fault? Was she driving the car? Did she take her eyes off the road and run into another car? We cited the driver who caused the accident, not her.”

  “She caused a distraction.”

  “And she’s said she won’t do that anymore.”

  “I’m ready for a vote,” the mayor said.

  Blaine glanced to the back of the room, pleased to see that everyone was in place. “Before the council votes, I’d like to remind you that you represent the citizens of this town. It might be helpful get a sense of where the citizens stand on this matter. With the election coming up in November, I’d think you’d want to be sure you’re following their wishes.”

  After some whispered discussion among the council members, the mayor said, “I’ll allow that. With a show of hands, how many are opposed to the Naughty & Nice shop remaining open?”

  Quite a few hands were raised, including Jim’s and Blaine’s mother’s in the back of the room.

  “And how many are in favor of the shop remaining open?”

  All the hands on the side of the room where Tiffany sat went up, along with the hand of every police officer, firefighter, first responder, paramedic, ambulance driver and the guys Blaine worked out with at the gym. He’d even gotten Linc and some of the officers from the coast guard station to come into town for the meeting.

  Blaine finally allowed himself to look over at Tiffany and caught the exact moment when she realized what he’d done. Her eyes got very big when she saw the men and women in uniform lining the back wall casting their votes for her.

  With their help, she had more than enough votes to sway the council.

  “Motion to table the matter of the Naughty & Nice store indefinitely,” Royal said.

  “Second,” one of the others said.

  “All those in favor?” the mayor asked.

  All seven members voted “aye.”

  Pandemonium broke out as Tiffany’s family and friends surrounded her to celebrate the victory. The enormous smile on her face pleased him tremendously.

  “That was rather ballsy of you, Chief Taylor,�
�� Mayor Upton said over the din of celebration. “Taking on the council that you report to.”

  “Some things are more important than jobs.”

  “I hope you’ll invite me to the wedding.”

  Blaine’s eyes bugged out of his head as he stared at the mayor. “Wedding? What wedding?”

  Upton smiled knowingly and started to walk away, shooting over his shoulder, “Get a goddamned haircut, will you?”

  Mona, the mayor’s assistant, gave Blaine a hug. “If she won’t marry you, I will.”

  Laughing, Blaine hugged her back and saw his mother waiting for a word with him. “You’re on, Mona.”

  “I see some things never change,” his mother said, arms crossed and mouth set with displeasure.

  “That’s right, Mom. Apparently, I don’t know any other way to fall in love than to go all the way.”

  “I honestly hope it works out better this time than it has in the past.”

  “It already has. No matter what happens, I’ve already had more with her than I’ve ever had with anyone else.”

  “Is that so?” Tiffany asked.

  He hadn’t noticed her approach them. Nodding, he looked down at her, greedily taking in every detail of her gorgeous face after several torturous days without her. Sliding his arm around her shoulders and bringing her in close to him, he said, “Mom, this is Tiffany.”

  “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Taylor.”

  Because she was too polite not to, his mother shook Tiffany’s outstretched hand. “Likewise. I hope you and your daughter will come to dinner soon so we can get to know each other.”

  “We’d love that.”

  “Thanks, Mom,” he said, relieved to realize she was going to give Tiffany a chance.

  “I’ll see you soon, son,” Mrs. Taylor said, going up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

  “Yes, you will.”

  After his mother walked away, Blaine glanced at his watch. “I need to get back to work.”

  “What time are you done?” Tiffany asked.

  “Midnight.”

  She waggled her finger to bring him down to her and whispered in his ear, “Leave your door unlocked. I want you completely naked in bed. Any questions?”

  Just one, Blaine thought. How was he supposed to walk out of town hall sporting an erection? “Um, no. No questions.”

  “Good. See you later.”

  Tiffany sauntered off to rejoin her sister and the rest of her family, putting some extra wiggle in her walk for his benefit.

  It was official—she’d be the absolute living, breathing death of him, and he absolutely couldn’t wait.

  Epilogue

  At one thirty the next morning, Tiffany tiptoed into Blaine’s house and closed the door softly behind her. The last time she attempted this mission, she’d had no idea how she would be received. This time, she had no doubt at all about the reception she could expect, and her entire body zinged with anticipation. After what he’d done for her, she couldn’t wait to worship every inch of him. If she could only give him a fraction of what he’d given her, she’d leave happy.

  She moved stealthily into the bedroom, pleased that he’d left the light on in the bathroom. He appeared to be asleep, but she wasn’t entirely sure. Since she wouldn’t put it past him to fake sleep, she moved quickly to retrieve the items she’d brought with her from the bag she carried.

  Beginning with the handcuffs, she slid one cuff on his wrist and lifted his arm to bring it closer to the headboard. If he was faking sleep, he was doing a hell of a job. His arm weighed a ton! By the time she got the cuffs looped around one of the rails on his headboard and secured his second hand, she’d worked up a sweat. He let out a soft snore that startled her. He really was asleep!

  She bounded off the bed to remove her clothes, slid the blindfold into place and then drew the sheet down over his hips, exposing his raging erection. “You are faking!”

  Laughing, he said, “You really think I’d be asleep when you ordered me to be naked in bed when you got here?”

  Wanting to see his gorgeous, devious eyes, she pushed up the blindfold. “Why didn’t you say something?”

  “Because that was one hell of a show. I liked the striptease the best. Can we do that again sometime? Soon?”

  “I ought to leave you like this and let them find your carcass sometime next week.”

  “You wouldn’t do that to me.”

  Leaning over him, she kissed him, softly and slowly. “No, I wouldn’t, especially not after what you did for me.”

  “You liked that, huh?”

  “I loved it. I’m not sure which part I loved best—it’s a toss-up between you publicly humiliating Jim and getting all your friends to vote for me.”

  “Humiliating Jim wasn’t part of the plan, but I have to say it was the highlight of the evening for me, too.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you so much for risking your job and your career and your reputation and your mother’s wrath to stand up for me. No one has ever done anything like that for me before.”

  “No one has ever loved you as much as I do.”

  She hadn’t seen that coming and stared at him, almost waiting for him to take it back. “You do?”

  Nodding, he said, “For a very long time now, I suspect.”

  “I love you, too. For probably just as long.”

  “Now that you have me,” he said, smiling suggestively and tugging on the cuffs, “whatever will you do with me?”

  “I have a few ideas.” She slid the blindfold back over his eyes and began with kisses all over his face and neck and then tortured him with suggestive strokes of her breasts and hair over his chest and belly.

  “Do you promise you’ll never leave me, no matter how mad you get with me?”

  “God, yes. I promise.” His groan and the arch of his hips made her smile with satisfaction. “Why would I leave the best thing to ever happen to me?”

  Pleased with his answer, she touched him everywhere but where he wanted her most, starting at his feet and working her way slowly up his legs, only to deny him time and again, making him thrash and pull against the cuffs.

  “Do you promise to never again use your badge to bully me?”

  His erection lay heavy against his belly, weeping and straining for the contact she refused to give.

  “Right about now I’d let you use my badge to bully me.”

  Laughing, she said, “I’m afraid I need a promise.” From the bedside table, she retrieved the vibrator and turned it on, making him tug even harder against the tight hold of the cuffs.

  His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. “I promise.”

  “Remember what you said after our first ‘encounter,’ when you were leaving my house?”

  “I barely remember my own name right now,” he said through gritted teeth.

  Hoping to arouse him even more, she turned the vibrator up to high. “Allow me to refresh your memory. You said if I snuck into your bedroom and handcuffed you, you wouldn’t call the cops. You’d cry for mercy. Remember?”

  “Yes,” he growled.

  She brought the vibrator down on his nipple, and he cried out from the surprise and shock of it. Then she did it to the other side, garnering the same reaction. Trailing the buzzing toy over the rippled muscles on his abdomen made his erection grow impossibly larger, and still she hadn’t touched him there. She used the vibrator on his inner thighs, coming perilously close to his balls before backing off again.

  “Christ,” he muttered. “Mercy.”

  Filled with her own power and loving every minute of it, Tiffany held back a laugh.

  “If this is how you reward a guy, remind me not to do you any more favors.”

  He sounded so tortured that Tiffany withdrew the toy. “You don’t like it?”

  “If you stop now, I’ll spank your ass until it’s so red you can’t sit down for a week.”

  “Tell me how you really feel.”

  “Watch that saucy mouth, or I migh
t spank you just for the fun of it.”

  “You’re talking far too much,” Tiffany said, dragging the vibrator up the inside of his right leg, bringing it to a stop under his balls.

  With a sharp cry, his hips surged off the bed.

  Tiffany was ready for him, taking his straining erection into her mouth and sucking on the tip. She positioned the vibrator so the smaller arm made contact with his back door. The combination made him come explosively.

  “Holy shit,” he whispered many minutes later. He tugged hard on the cuffs. “Take them off.”

  “Do you promise not to spank me?”

  “No promises.”

  Despite her trepidations, she released the cuffs.

  The first thing he did was tear off the blindfold, and then he was reaching for her. Before she knew what hit her, she was under him with her knees raised and her arms around his neck. “I know about what happened to you. With Eden.”

  That stopped him short. “Oh. Mac?”

  Tiffany nodded. “But only after significant cajoling. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you myself. I should have.”

  “I understand that some things are too painful to talk about.”

  “We’ve both had enough pain,” he said, kissing her sweetly. “I don’t know about you, but I’m more than ready to be happy.”

  She brushed a strand of hair off his forehead. “Maddie asked me how I knew I was in love with you, and I told her being with you makes me happier than I’ve ever been. And when I thought I’d lost you—”

  He pressed a finger to her lips. “You never lost me. Not for one minute. You’ve had me from the very beginning.” Punctuating his words with soft kisses, he added, “You may not realize this, but before you, before us, I never would’ve been able to give up control the way I just did. Being in control of everything—all the time—has kept me sane the last few years, but it gets exhausting after a while.”

  She curled her arms around his neck and brought him down for a kiss. “I’ll shoulder some of the load for you.”

  “I love you,” he whispered as he surged into her. “I want everything with you. Tell me you want the same thing.”