He paused for a moment wearing the strangest expression on his face. “I told you, darlin,—”
“No, I mean, can I enter?”
His brow furrowed and he blinked as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“You want to enter the pie-eating contest?”
“Yes.” Going off the expression on his face, I tried to tamp down my enthusiasm. He looked as though he were questioning my sanity. It was the same look he’d given me when I’d told him that I wanted to change the tire.
“Are you being serious?”
“Yes.”
“Damn, woman. First, you change a tire and now you want to stuff your face with pie. If you’re tryin’ to make me fall in love with you, it’s workin’.”
Was I? I wanted to say no, but the way my heart leapt like a lemur, I wasn’t so sure.
Love. That word kept coming up. The question was, where did it belong in my new life? I used to think that my worst fear was never falling in love. Now, I was rethinking that. My biggest fear was falling in love and not being able to be with that person.
If I wasn’t careful, I was pretty sure my worst fear was going to come true.
CHAPTER 19
Jimmy
As we walked through the crowds I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride that Bella was by my side. And not just because she’d come in third in the pie-eating contest. It was just because I was proud to be with her.
I knew that I had no place feeling it, but I couldn’t help myself. I was doing my best not to go overboard on the PDA but honestly, it was difficult to stop. When she was near me, I was drawn to her like a magnet. I had a very difficult time keeping my hands to myself.
I was looking around for excuses to touch her. Was there a bench we could sit on? A photo booth we could slip in? A dark alley I could sneak her off to? I’d been walkin’ around at half-mast since our make out session had been rudely interrupted by Tanner.
“Hey, Jimmy!”
I looked up and saw Beth Ann Mosely. She was the first girl I’d ever kissed. Now she was married to Mark “The Hawk” Timmons, and they had two kids. “Hey, Beth Ann.”
“You really do have a lot of friends.” Bella smiled.
The emphasis she put on friends told me that she was referring specifically to my female friends. And I couldn’t lie, I liked the hint of jealousy I’d heard in her statement. I could assure her that the most Beth Ann and I had shared was a smooch at the drive-in when we were ten years old, but where would be the fun in that?
I grinned. “I’m a friendly guy.”
“Yes, you are.” She opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say more, but then quickly shut it.
“What? Just say it,” I encouraged her.
I may not’ve volunteered the information about Beth Ann, but if she asked, I’d always be honest with her.
We ended up at the gazebo, which was covered in twinkle lights. She climbed the steps and looked back at me. “How many girlfriends have you had? Ballpark.”
“None,” I breathed, once again struck by her beauty. She looked like an angel beneath the twinkle lights.
Her expression remained blank. “You’ve never had a girlfriend?”
“Not officially, no. I’ve hung out with women, but when things start to get too serious, I back off.” It was the truth but as soon as I said it, I realized I was tasting my own foot. I didn’t want her to think that statement included her.
If she had taken it personally, she didn’t seem too upset about it. With absolutely zero judgement she asked, “Why?”
“I guess, I just…” I’d always told myself that my reluctance to get into a relationship had nothing to do with the curse, but now that I was thinking about it, I was starting to wonder if subconsciously, it had. “I just never saw any relationships work out.”
“What about your brother and Reagan?”
“They’ve only been together a few months. I’m talking about long term.” I figured now was as good a time as any to find out more about her past. I stepped into the gazebo with her, lifted my arms, holding onto a rafter above my head. I didn’t want it to seem like I was grilling her. I wanted to keep things casual. “What about you?”
“I told you,” she lowered her voice, “I was a virgin before you.”
My dick hadn’t got the memo that we were in a very public place and therefore her statement didn’t equal asking him for an encore. He was sure that she was calling him to action. I lowered my arms and took a seat so as not to offend passersby.
“That doesn’t mean you couldn’t have had a boyfriend.”
“Yeah, I guess so.” She walked around the edge of the enclosure, her hands trailing along the rail. “But I haven’t. I mean, not really. I’ve dated a few guys but after a couple of weeks they just…”
“They just what?” Ask you to marry them? I assumed that’s what she was going to say. I definitely understood where they were comin’ from. Hell, I’d never had a girlfriend, but I’d happily get down on one knee if I thought Bella would say yes.
“They just…stopped talking to me,” she stated bluntly. “I think it’s called ghosting.”
Who in their right mind would stop talking to this woman?
“Well, then darlin’, it sounds like you were dating the wrong sort of men.”
“Or they just weren’t interested in me.” She sighed.
“Any man that’s not interested in you, who isn’t already spoken for, should have their head examined, because they are obviously not in their right mind.”
She smiled and continued her walk around the perimeter. When she looked out over the courtyard her face lit up. “Oh, there’s dancing! It’s just like in Hope Floats.”
I loved watching her get so excited over something as common as the community dance they held every year at the end of the festival. She was such a unique mix of innocence and worldliness. Today I’d learned that she spoke four languages, yet had never been to the countries where they were spoken. She was an accomplished pianist and composer but had never performed on stage, only online. She’d earned her MBA in half the time it normally takes, yet her face lights up when she sees a group of folks cuttin’ a rug.
I’d been looking for an excuse to touch her, and this presented me with the perfect one. I stood and offered her my arm. “Care to?”
“Really?” Her brows lifted. “You can dance?”
“Baby, I’m a good Southern boy. I was born two-steppin’.”
She started to take my arm but then hesitated. “But I don’t know how.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll lead.”
The smile that spread on her face sent my head spinning. She placed her hand in mine and warmth filled my chest at the thought that she trusted me. Sure, the stakes weren’t that high. It was just a few spins around the dancefloor. But apparently my emotions didn’t know the difference between that and life and death.
We walked down the steps and across the grass to the patio that was the designated dance floor. I showed her the steps, twice, and then I tugged her hand and we took our place in line. The next few songs we line danced through, and then a slow song hit.
That was the moment I’d been waiting for. I tugged her into my arms and she willingly surrendered to my hold.
She rested her head against my chest and sighed. “Thank you. You have no idea what that means to me.”
I could feel that there was truly a significance to her statement that I was missing. I didn’t think this unicorn of a woman was a liar, but I did get the feeling I wasn’t getting the whole story. And my spidey senses were telling me whatever I didn’t know was a pretty damn big thing.
Instead of dwelling on what I didn’t know, I decided to concentrate on what I did. I knew that I had the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on in my arms. I knew that I felt something for her I’d never felt for anyone else before. I knew that I never wanted this dance, this night, this moment to end.
A calm washed over me. A sense of pe
ace and serenity settled into my bones. The sensations were so foreign it took me a moment to put my finger on exactly what I was feeling.
Then I knew exactly what it was…I was happy. I was truly, completely happy.
I wasn’t thinking about food, or the next time I was going to be out on my boat, or how old Sherlock was getting. I was just being there in the moment. I was exactly where I wanted to be, doing exactly what I wanted to be doing.
And I never wanted the feeling to go away.
CHAPTER 20
Isabella
The sand crunched beneath my bare feet as we walked out on the beach under the blanket of moonlight. There was a light breeze. The salty sea air was fresh and invigorating. Fireflies flitted around us, making the entire backdrop feel like something out of a movie.
“I can’t believe this.” I took in the scene before me in absolute awe. I knew the island was named for the very phenomenon I was witnessing, but that didn’t make it any less impressive. Lightning bugs by the hundreds fluttered up and down the mile-long stretch of sand and out over the water giving the entire beach a surreal, dreamlike quality.
After spending over an hour on the dancefloor at the festival, I hadn’t wanted the night to end. Coming to see the fireflies was the first excuse I could come up with so the night would continue. It was something I’d wanted to do, it just hadn’t been at the top of my list like Abernathy Manor. But now that I’d seen it, I felt like I’d been wasting my time not being down here every night.
Well, except for last night. Last night could never be considered a waste of time. I hoped that there might be an encore of that particular performance tonight. Since I’d been the one to initiate all three of our encounters now, I was putting my foot down. I would not be initiating the fourth.
Of course, I’d made that rule before I’d had a mason jar of Sweet Tea Moonshine. Rhonda Moore had given me a complimentary glass and told me it was because she was impressed that I was the only female in the pie-eating contest and that I’d taken third. In fairness, two contestants were eliminated for fighting. And the other was only ten, but still, I’d placed third. And I was the only one on the stage with a vagina.
Jimmy had warned me that the drink was deceptively sweet but that it packed a hell of a punch. It was true, the drink hadn’t tasted like there was a drop of alcohol in it, but I felt like it might be sneaking up on me. I could feel that my muscles were loose and I wondered if my inhibitions would be too or if I would stick to my convictions and resist making the first move.
“It’s pretty, right?” Jimmy broke the silence hanging between us.
“It’s more than pretty. How have I been here for four days and I haven’t come down here?”
“Well, last night you were a little busy.”
And I hoped I’d be busy tonight as well. He’d just given me the perfect opening to let him know where I wanted the night to go, and at this point my pride had taken a backseat. My hormones had taken the wheel. I opened my mouth to tell him that I’d like to be busy, or I guess get busy, again tonight, but nothing came out. Apparently, the moonshine hadn’t been enough liquid courage. Butterflies zipped around my stomach like the lightning bugs surrounding me.
Last night I’d been forward and brave because I’d wanted to check having sex off my list. But without the list to hide behind, I was less sure of myself. So, instead of saying what I really wanted to, I remarked, “I don’t understand how the entire island isn’t down here.”
“This beach is local access only and most locals are jaded, I ’spose.”
I inhaled deeply as I gazed out onto the water, sparkling from the reflection of the moon and fireflies. “I don’t think I could ever get jaded seeing something so beautiful.”
“I know the feeling.” Jimmy’s voice dropped an octave and I could feel his stare boring into my cheek like a physical touch.
When I turned my head and met his eyes, the predatory look in them caused a tingling bliss to spread low in my belly. He took one step toward me and lowered his chin. His mouth was hovering above mine. I could smell the fresh mint scent from the peppermint bark he’d had at the festival. My heart was thudding against my rib cage, and I found myself holding my breath in anticipation of feeling his lips on mine.
Nothing else existed in that moment. Not the vast ocean or its waves crashing up onto the shore. Not the lightning bugs flitting around us. It was as if we’d stepped into our own little bubble, one that only contained the two of us.
Then, without warning, that bubble of intimacy was shattered by a sharp crack. I felt it rattle my bones. I jumped and looked over my shoulder. “Was that…was that a gunshot?”
Jimmy laughed, “You’re letting your ‘city girl’ show. No, it wasn’t gunfire. It was thunder.” He looked up at the sky. “And I think we better get out of here because that particular variety means that in about two seconds—”
Nature cut him off before he could finish his sentence. One second we were standing on the beach, dry as could be. The next, rain poured down on us in dense sheets, with no lead up to that intensity. We were instantly soaked.
He grabbed my hand and pulled me across the wet sand.
“There’s a spot just up here called The Cave.” He shouted to be heard over the downpour.
With zero visibility thanks to the heavens opening up, I kept my head down and feet moving, trusting that Jimmy would pull me to safety. Which he did.
Once we were under the sheltering rock, he held me close to him, rubbing my back as chills rattled me. I wasn’t sure if I was trembling from being drenched or from being pressed against the hard-muscled planes of his body.
“We’ll just stay put until the worst of it passes,” he assured me.
I didn’t care if we stayed forever. There were worse things than being stranded in a private rock shelter, safe in Jimmy Comfort’s arms. The longer he held me, the more my arousal stirred. His large, warm hands running up and down my back was both soothing and stimulating. My body was warming up from the inside out.
I looked up at him, and his gaze met mine. I tried to communicate that I wanted to pick up where we left off, but I found myself speechless as he stared down at me, his dark eyes pinning me in place with a fierce gleam that stoked the flames of my desire.
His jaw tensed as he moved his hands up my back and then around to cup my face. I found myself, once again, holding my breath. Finally, he pressed his mouth to mine. The kiss was gentle at first, soft and romantic. My hands gripped his muscled shoulders and I clung to him as his lips moved against mine.
A depth of desperation I’d never known existed bloomed in me as his large, work-worn hands traveled over my body. Each place his heated palms touched felt branded by him. His strength was all-consuming as he turned, holding me tightly against him, and pressed my back up against the smooth wall of the cave.
The kiss that had started slow now quickly ramped up when his tongue plunged between my lips. His mouth covered mine in a demanding, punishing kiss that had me dizzy with lust. The wind roared, the thunder cracked, and the rain poured. But the kiss was wilder and more untamed than the weather we were seeking shelter from.
My inner walls clenched as I felt my shorts being tugged down my legs. l’d been so swept away with how I was feeling, I didn’t even notice that Jimmy had unbuttoned and unzipped my cutoffs. He broke our kiss as I stepped out of my panties and shorts.
I watched, panting with unabashed carnal need as he pulled a condom out of his back pocket, unfastened his jeans, and freed his large member. My eyes drank in the sight of him sliding the protection onto his steel-hard dick.
There was something so hot, so primal about the act. When he had the rubber in place, he stepped back up to me, grabbed my hips, and lifted me off the ground. My legs wrapped around his hips and I could feel the pressure of his engorged head positioned at my entrance. We’d effortlessly lined ourselves up as if our lower regions were magnets being drawn together by an outside force.
H
is nostrils flared like a bull ready to charge as his eyes searched mine. A shiver of anticipation raced through my entire body when he growled, “Ready?”
“Yes.” I nodded. “Yes.”
With that, he pushed into me in one long, powerful thrust. A groan ripped from his chest and, just like that, we were in the bubble again. There was no wind, no rain, no thunder. There was just us.
CHAPTER 21
Jimmy
Bella’s arms wrapped around my neck as she buried her face in my shoulder. My hands gripped her ass tightly as I pumped in and out of her. Each time I did, her hips lifted to meet mine, encouraging me to go deeper. I heeded her silent plea and tilted her body so I could get a better angle.
The next time I entered her, she gasped against my ear as her nails dug into my skin. “Fuck.”
Hearing her curse and feeling the sting of her nails had my balls tightening with release. I knew that I needed to do something to slow this down. I’d promised Bella and myself that the second time we were together I’d make up for the first time being over so quickly. So far, this was not going as planned.
It seemed every time I was inside of her, the most overwhelming force of an exquisite mix of pleasure and insatiable need slammed into me. I’d never experienced these kinds of intense, primitive urges. When I drove into her, I didn’t just want to be with her, I wanted to possess her.
A moan vibrated through me when I felt Bella’s lips press against the side of my neck. She spread kisses up and down my damp skin, her tongue licked up from my collarbone to just below my ear. When her teeth sank into the sensitive skin just below my jaw any control I had snapped. As much as I’d wanted to slow things down, I was helpless, powerless to the wild animal that she’d just unleashed in me.
I growled as I drove into her again and again.
“Yes,” she gasped and demanded, “harder.”
Every time I thrust into her; her inner walls clamped down around me tighter, causing all rational thought to evaporate. I wanted to claim her. To make her mine. In my aroused and primitive state, that seemed like a completely reasonable aspiration.
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