Gansett Island Boxed Set, Books 1-16

by Force, Marie

Kevin held her coat for her and then put an arm around her shoulders as they walked to his car. She rented a tiny, cozy house in town, so they didn’t have far to go to get to her place. They’d fallen into a comfortable routine over the last few months, spending time together every night at her place, which gave his sons the full run of the house he had rented for the three of them.

  He and Chelsea rarely spent a full night together, and sometimes he rolled in after three or four in the morning. Maybe his sons were pissed about that, too, since he’d made them come home at a reasonable hour until after they graduated from college and got their own homes. The three of them had been living together again since the fall, when they’d come out for Laura’s wedding and ended up staying for the winter—Kevin because he’d needed to regroup after the split with Deb and his sons because their cousin Mac hired them to work for his construction company for the winter.

  After a short drive, Kevin followed Chelsea into her house, removed his coat and went into the kitchen, where she poured a glass of wine for herself and opened a beer for him.

  “Thanks, hon.” Since he’d had only two beers much earlier and was still fine to drive, he downed a hearty mouthful and leaned back against the counter to look his fill at the gorgeous woman who’d captivated him so completely. He certainly hadn’t expected that when Chelsea invited him to come home with her one night in September. At that time, he’d figured they might have a fun one-night stand, and that would be that.

  But that night had turned into three of the best months of his life, and he was in no rush to see it end. As recently as last night, he’d tried to talk Chelsea into committing to more, but she wanted to wait until his divorce was final to make any decisions. After Christmas, his first order of business would be to get in touch with Dan Torrington about speeding up the divorce.

  “You want to talk about it?” she asked as she worked her fingers through her hair, releasing the braid she’d worn to work.

  “Talk about what?”

  “Whatever’s bugging you.”

  “Nothing’s bugging me. I’m fine.” He forced a smile for her benefit. “Tired.”

  “Just last night, you told me you want more than a hot roll in the sack, but when you’re obviously upset about something, that’s not my concern?”

  He stared at her, stunned by the forthright statement. That sort of communication had been missing in the latter years of his marriage, and it was one of many things he appreciated about Chelsea. Kevin put down the beer and took a few steps toward her. Putting his hands on her shoulders, he looked into her eyes. “You are so much more to me than a hot roll in the sack. If you don’t know that by now, I need to do a better job of telling you so.”

  “I’m not fishing for compliments, Kevin. You told me last night you want us to be about more than sex. You haven’t been yourself tonight, and I’m asking why.”

  He appreciated the effort she was making and was encouraged that she’d taken what he said last night to heart. “It’s nothing to do with you. It’s the boys… I’ve been sensing a little pushback from them.”

  “About us?”

  “Among other things.”

  Her brows knitted the way they did when she was thinking something over. “Hmm.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “It’s just… Don’t take this the wrong way, but you know they aren’t boys anymore, right? They’re fully grown men, as are you, and all of you are free to do whatever you want, within reason, of course.”

  “I do know that, but old habits die hard. I’ve always called them ‘the boys,’ and I probably always will. And I do know that we’re not doing anything wrong. Believe me, I know that. They’re still getting used to their mom and I breaking up, and they’re having a hard time processing it. That’s all it is.”

  “The breakup wasn’t your doing. They know that, right?”

  “Yes, they do, but we’re still their parents, and our split has had an impact on them. I see it all the time in my practice. I swear divorce is easier on little kids than it is on grown kids. It tilts their entire world out of alignment. Everything they believed to be true is challenged.”

  “And they get over it. In time. It’s not fair for them to make you feel bad about doing something that makes you feel good, especially when it wasn’t your decision to end your marriage.”

  “It was in some ways,” he said with a sigh. “I knew she wasn’t happy, and I didn’t do a damned thing about it.”

  “Because you wanted out, too?”

  “Yeah, but I was never going to leave her.”

  “I don’t get that. If you were unhappy, why would you stay?”

  “Loyalty, tradition, the boys… Lots of reasons.”

  “And not one of them is about being happy. Don’t you have a right to be happy? Don’t we all?”

  “Yeah, we do. I’m happier than I’ve been in a long time. And that’s all thanks to you.” He raised his hands to her face and compelled her to look at him. “That’s what I was trying to tell you last night when I said I want this to be more than just the best sex of my life.”

  “I thought about what you said. That’s all I thought about today.”

  “Yeah?” His heart fluttered with hope. He was so gone over her and was looking for something, anything other than screaming orgasms to indicate the feeling was mutual.

  She nodded. “I don’t want you to think…”

  “What, hon?”

  “That I don’t want the same thing you do. I do. More than I expected when we started this. I’m just wary, that’s all. You’re going through a huge life change, and as great as this has been—and it’s been amazing—I don’t want to get ahead of myself when you’re not divorced yet.”

  “I understand that, and I thought a lot about what you said last night, too. I get it. In a few months, the divorce will be final, and we’ll see where we are. Until then, no pressure, just fun. Okay?”

  “Okay, but I still want to know if something’s bugging you. Just because we aren’t making declarations of forever together doesn’t mean I want you to feel like you can’t talk to me.”

  “I love talking to you. You’ve become my favorite person to talk to.”

  “About stuff that matters, Kevin. Not just surface things.”

  “I hear you, and I want that, too. I want it all with you, Chelsea Rose, and I’m going to keep telling you that until you believe me. In fact, I want you to join the boys and me for Christmas dinner, and I want you to come with me to my nephew’s wedding in Anguilla.”

  She eyed him skeptically. “Seriously?”

  “Dead seriously.”

  “Would your sons… They’d be okay with that?”

  “Sure.” As he said that, he hoped he was right, but he had a few days to smooth things with them before Christmas and weeks before the trip to Anguilla.

  “You have no idea if they’d be okay with it, do you?”

  “I don’t care if they are or they aren’t. Like you said, they’re grown men, and I have to stop treating them like kids. You’ll be there as my guest, and they’ll be polite, or I’ll ask them to leave. Okay?”

  “If you’re sure…”

  “I’m sure I want to spend Christmas with you, and I’d love to have you with me in Anguilla.”

  She smiled, and his heart fluttered with more hope. Everything was new with her, like he was falling in love for the very first time. That thought stopped him cold. Was he in love with her?

  Before he had a chance to process that possibility, she was kissing him, her mouth opening under his, their tongues meeting in a dance that had become so familiar and so necessary to him. God, he was in love with her. Had been for a while now, if he was being honest.

  With her hands on his chest, she pushed him backward toward the living room, stopping him before he could sit. She unbuttoned his pants, and working together, they got rid of his pants and then hers. She helped him out of his sweater, and he was happy to return the favor. Then she gave him
a gentle nudge that sent him into an upholstered chair with no arms. She straddled him, her wet heat against his cock making him harder than he’d already been. She was so hot and sexy and willing to do anything if it felt good.

  He cupped her ass and pulled her in tighter. “You make me feel like the luckiest guy to ever live that I get to be with you this way.”

  “We’re both lucky to have found this.”

  “Mmm.” He nuzzled her neck as she moved on his lap with the deliberate intent of making him insane. “That’s why we need to hold on to it.”

  She tightened her hand around his cock. “Hold on to it like this?”

  Kevin gasped as he laughed. “Just like that.”

  Chelsea raised herself up and came down on him, taking him in slowly, torturing him with the tight squeeze. Since she was on birth control, they’d stopped using condoms after both had produced clean bills of health, and he loved the way she felt against his bare skin.

  “Fucking hell, that’s amazing,” he whispered, teasing her nipple with his tongue, which only made the tight squeeze tighter. Being with her reminded him of experiencing sex for the first time, only hotter than ever. And when she began to ride him, tilting her hips back and forth, he nearly lost his mind. “Chelsea, baby…”

  “Hmmm?”

  “Don’t act like you don’t know what you’re doing.”

  “What am I doing?”

  He looked up at her and waited for her to meet his gaze. “You’re making yourself essential to me.”

  Her smile lit up her eyes and had her picking up the pace until they were both coming with shouts of pleasure and a deep, satisfying sense of connection that was slowly but surely changing the course of his life.

  He was most definitely in love with her.

  Chapter 11

  Christmas Day dawned sunny and cold on Gansett Island. A light dusting of snow overnight made the lawn sparkle in the morning sun. The sea was choppy and a deep, vivid blue. Erin never tired of the view from the lighthouse and wondered how she’d ever go back to living in an ordinary house after having lived here.

  After a series of late nights, Slim was still asleep, so she snuck downstairs to make coffee and check her email.

  Her body ached in areas that hadn’t ached in years, but it was a good kind of pain, the best kind. He was a creative, inventive lover who never ran out of ways to pleasure her. Erin’s head was spinning from four nights of sensual pleasure that had her rethinking everything about what she wanted from him.

  She plugged in the tree lights, made coffee and took a steaming mug to her desk to fire up her laptop to check her email. Scrolling through the latest messages to her Ask Erin account, she found one message that captured her attention.

  Dear Erin,

  I’ve met a wonderful guy who makes me feel like a princess. I’ve never been with a guy who listens the way he does and seems to truly care about making me happy. So what’s my problem, you might ask. Well, thanks to all the frogs who came before him, I’m having a hard time believing my prince is for real. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and I’ll see who he really is. That’s how I think, and I fear I’m sabotaging the best thing to ever happen to me by saddling him with the sins of his predecessors. Maybe he is as great as he seems, and I’m the one who needs to stop being so cynical. How do I get past this dilemma before I ruin the best thing to ever happen to me?

  Sincerely,

  Beth

  Wow, Erin thought, that strikes close to home. When writing the column, she often felt like a fraud since she hadn’t been in a real relationship in years. In lieu of actual experience, she tried to come at each situation from a practical standpoint. But this one got to the crux of her concerns about Slim. How could he possibly be as awesome as he seemed?

  She kept waiting for him to be cranky or nasty or testy or anything other than his usual witty, charming self. Surely he couldn’t keep that up indefinitely, could he? It had been four days since the first time they slept together, and if anything, he’d only been more charming since then. He wasn’t like some guys who got what they wanted and seemed to lose interest. No, the more he got, the more interested he seemed to be.

  Erin chewed on the end of a pen as she puzzled over her dilemma and Beth’s. The sex was stupendous, life-changing, mind-blowing. Every superlative she could think of applied to sex with Slim Jackson. The more they did it, the more she wanted. He was like a drug, the best kind of drug, and she was quickly becoming addicted. Which led her right back to what would happen when he left to finish out the winter in Florida.

  She’d be a hot mess. That’s what would happen. Sighing, she dropped her head into her hands. In just a few days, he’d turned her world upside down, and she liked the view from down here. She’d had more fun, more laughs and more sex than at any other time in her life.

  It would be so easy to get hooked on a guy who made it so easy to like him, which was why she needed to tread carefully. Her free and unencumbered life had worked well for her and made it so she could do things like pick up and move to Gansett Island to be the lighthouse keeper without a hassle. She rented rather than owned. She dated rather than committing. She took jobs she could walk away from when they stopped being fun or beneficial. She had friends who didn’t require daily care and feeding to stay in her life. She liked her life the way it was, and sexy Slim Jackson was the first significant threat to her freewheeling way of life.

  Returning her focus to Beth’s letter, Erin tried to separate her own situation from Beth’s.

  Dear Beth,

  Congratulations on finding a prince in a sea of frogs. Sometimes people are exactly what they seem, but you’re wise to be cautious and to protect yourself from being hurt. What has he told you about his past dating history? Has he made a habit of commitment or is he a serial dater? What do his friends say about him when he’s not around? What does his mother, sister, daughter say? How he treats the other women in his life says a lot about how he’ll treat you when the blush wears off the rose—as it always does.

  By all means, do your due diligence, but don’t make the mistake of projecting the actions of other men onto your new guy. Not all guys are the same, and it isn’t fair to expect him to do the same things another guy did just because they have the same plumbing. It sounds to me like you’ve found a gem. When you’ve done all your research and the time comes to stop being cynical, I hope you’ll open your heart to the possibility that he could be your happily ever after. Do let me know how things work out.

  Hugs,

  Erin

  She saved the letter and response in the file she was compiling for her next column and sat back to reread what she’d written. It was probably time to take her own advice and apply it to her relationship with Slim.

  The sound of the toilet flushing upstairs let her know he was up. Erin went into the kitchen to put on more coffee and start breakfast. He was always starving in the morning, and she loved cooking for him. She loved everything about having him around. Her small living space should’ve felt cramped with him underfoot, but it didn’t. He was a courteous, easy guest, and she wished he could stay far beyond New Year’s Day.

  They had another week until then, and she planned to fully enjoy every minute while trying to decide her next move. When she wasn’t wrapped up in his arms, she thought obsessively about his invitation to come to Florida.

  Honestly, she thought as she cracked a half-dozen eggs, you’re a disaster over this guy, Erin, and it’s getting worse with every passing day. Take yesterday, for example. They’d gone into town to do some last-minute Christmas shopping, had lunch at Stephanie’s Bistro, which was open for the holiday week, and were back home in bed by two. They hadn’t left her bed again except to eat soup at midnight.

  She didn’t spend sixteen hours in bed with a man. Or she hadn’t before he came along.

  He snuck up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, dropping his head to her shoulder. “Morning, sexiest lighthouse keeper ever
.”

  Her face flushed with heat that she assigned only partially to the burner she stood watch over. “Jenny might take issue with that.”

  “Jenny is beautiful, but she’s got nothing on you.” He rubbed his hard cock against her backside.

  “I can’t believe you’ve got any gas left in your tank after yesterday.”

  “My tank is fully recharged and ready for more of the same.”

  Erin cracked up laughing. “You’re incorrigible.”

  “You love that about me.”

  Her heart staggered at his use of the word love. “And you suffer from a terrible lack of self-esteem. I worry about that.”

  “I know. It’s a problem I’m trying to overcome.” He nudged her hair out of his way and placed hot, openmouthed kisses on her neck that made her legs feel wobbly under her.

  “Keep that up, and I’ll burn your breakfast.”

  “We can’t have that. I need all the fuel I can get to keep up with you.”

  “Keep up with me?”

  “Aw, yeah, sweetheart. You’re a wild woman. I had no idea.”

  “I’m going to punch you when you let me go.”

  Chuckling, he tightened his hold on her. “This is already the best Christmas I’ve had since I believed in Santa.”

  “Really?” she asked, ridiculously pleased to hear that.

  “Really. I love being here with you.”

  “I love having you here.”

  “Mmm, there’s a whole lotta love flying around this morning. And speaking of flying, why don’t we go for a ride before we go visiting later? I can show you some of my other skills.”

  Erin hadn’t been expecting him to say that and had no idea how to respond. After a long pause, she said, “We’ve already got a lot going on today. Maybe another day?”

  “Sure, whatever you want.” He let her go and began to butter the toast, leaving Erin to breathe a sigh of relief. She was on borrowed time on this issue, and before long, she was going to have to tell him she didn’t do airplanes. Not anymore.