by Marie Force
Jenny’s eyes were fixed on the screen, while his were on her. He was like a lovesick fool hoping the girl would turn her attention to him rather than the movie. After a particularly funny exchange between the characters, she glanced at him, smiling at the joke, and found him staring at her like a crazy stalker. But he couldn’t help it. If she was close by, he’d much rather look at her than watch a movie he had no interest in.
“Pay attention,” she whispered.
“I am paying attention.”
“To the movie.”
“You’re much more interesting than the movie.” He gave her shoulder a gentle tug and brought her close enough to kiss. Her lips were salty and sweet from the popcorn, and one taste was nowhere near enough.
“Now I know why you wanted to sit back here.”
“May as well make the most of our dark corner,” he said as he went back for more of her.
Her hand on his face was all the encouragement he needed to drop the nearly empty popcorn box to the floor and dive into the tongue-tangling kiss he’d been dying for all night. It only took about fifteen seconds for the kiss to spiral almost completely out of control.
Alex drew back from her, dragged in a deep breath and buried his face in her hair. “Can we please get out of here?”
“But you paid for the movie.”
“I don’t give a fuck about that.”
Because he was holding her so tightly, he felt the shudder ripple through her. She was so sweet and her responses to him so genuine. She made him wish he were a better man, someone more worthy of her—someone more refined than he’d ever be. But she didn’t seem to care that he could be rough around the edges. If anything, his coarse language seemed to turn her on.
“Let’s go.”
Alex launched out of his seat and led her by the hand from the theater, cursing his lack of foresight in leaving the bike parked at the Surf. On the sidewalk, he put his arm around her and steered her back the way they’d come through town. He was so into her that he didn’t notice they were about to slam into someone coming the other way until it was nearly too late.
“Well, isn’t this cozy,” a male voice said.
Alex and Jenny looked up at the same second to see her pink-shirted date from the other night taking a hard look at the two of them together and apparently not liking what he was seeing.
“Linc,” Jenny said. “I… How are you?”
“Not as good as you are, apparently. Is this why you aren’t interested in seeing me again? Because you met him the night you were with me?”
“I knew him before I went out with you, not that it’s any of your business.”
“What kind of game are you playing, Jenny?”
“Wait a minute,” Alex said as his blood began to boil. If he thought he’d been jealous earlier with Paul, that paled in comparison to the rage he felt at Linc’s apparent sense of entitlement where she was concerned. “Am I confused? Does she owe you anything more than a thank-you and goodnight after a date?”
“I never said she did, but—”
“Here’s a big idea,” Alex said. “Don’t finish that thought. We met the day before she went out with you. It was no big deal then. It is now. Let it go, okay?”
“I’m sorry,” Jenny said softly, making Alex want to roar with outrage. What did she have to be sorry about?
“Yeah,” Linc said as he stepped aside to let them pass. “Me, too.”
Alex propelled them forward, more anxious than ever to get back to the bike and get the hell out of town. He desperately needed to be alone with her.
“Sorry about that,” Jenny said.
“Don’t you dare apologize to me.” His unusually harsh words had her stiffening under his arm. He made an effort to soften his tone when he added, “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Are you jealous?”
“What do you think?”
“Alex—”
“We’ll talk about it when we’re alone.” Annoyed by the other people on the sidewalk, the cars and mopeds that slowed them down at intersections and everything that stood in the way of what he wanted and needed, he quickened his pace.
“Slow down. I can’t keep up with you.”
“Sorry,” he muttered.
Back at the Surf, he had the helmet strapped on her so fast she didn’t have a chance to protest before he was helping her onto the back of the bike. He was hovering on the edge of control, and he knew it, so he focused all his thoughts on the safe operation of the bike as they headed out of town. Thankfully, it wasn’t far to the lighthouse, and they pulled onto the dirt lane about ten minutes later.
He was off the bike as soon as he parked it outside her door and practically lifted her off the back.
“You’re in a big rush,” she said when he’d removed her helmet.
He took hold of her hand. “You have no idea.”
Inside, they went up the first flight of stairs single file, with Alex in the back, his eyes fixed on the sway of her denim-covered ass. He decided one more flight was too far and directed her to the sofa.
“Wait,” she said. “Where are we going?”
“Right here.” His patience was officially gone, and the need for her in that moment was unlike anything he’d ever felt before. “Right now.” He began pulling at clothes—his and hers.
“Alex—”
“Now,” he said against her lips. “Right now.” He was acting like a lunatic. He knew that, but knowing it didn’t stop him from taking what he needed more than the next breath. Her soft skin and sexy curves made his mouth water with lust as he came down on top of her on the sofa. “Jenny… I can’t wait. I need you.”
Her arms encircled his neck and her knees hugged his hips, providing all the encouragement he needed to sink into her wet heat. With their bodies connected, Alex felt like he could finally breathe again. Even with desire beating through him relentlessly, a sense of calm came over him at knowing she wanted him every bit as much as he wanted her.
He looked down to find her watching him closely, probably trying to decide when he’d turned into a sex-crazed madman. “Are you okay?”
Nodding, she smoothed her hands from his shoulders, down his back to cup his ass and keep him lodged deep inside her. “More than okay.”
“You make me crazy.”
“I like you that way.”
He huffed out a harsh laugh at her unexpected comment. “I like you every way, but this way is becoming a particular favorite of mine.”
“It’s been a favorite of mine for a while now.”
After that, there were no words. There was no need for words. Their bodies did the talking for them. What started out urgent became slow and sensual, their hands linked, their eyes locked on each other, their movements perfectly choreographed, as if they’d been lovers for years rather than days.
“Jenny,” he said on a gasp when the pleasure became almost too much to bear. “I can’t…” He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t talk, he couldn’t think of anything other than the need for completion.
And then she blew his mind when she pulled her right hand free of his grasp and reached down to help herself along. Christ alive, he’d never seen or felt anything hotter in his life.
“Now,” she whispered, her body arching into his deep stroke.
Alex didn’t need to be told twice. He gave himself over to the powerful release, losing himself in her, in her sweetness, her sexiness, her incredible kindness. As if they, too, could no longer be contained, the words poured forth. “I love you,” he uttered gruffly against her ear. “It’s too soon, and it’s too much, but it’s true.”
Jenny turned her face into his deep, searching kiss.
He wanted to show her everything he felt for her. He wanted to show her how essential she’d become to him. He wanted to offer her everything, which was when he remembered how little he actually had to give anyone at a time when his family needed him so greatly. The thought was like a pinprick to his euphoria, a deflating r
eminder of his reality.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. “Why did you just go rigid?”
“I shouldn’t have said what I did.”
“Why? Is it not true?”
“It’s true, but it also puts a ton of pressure on you when this is so new.”
She looked up at him with incredibly expressive eyes. “Why does it put pressure on me?”
“Because… It’s just… I still have nothing much to offer you beyond that.”
“That is a lot in and of itself, and you have plenty to offer.”
“I don’t want you to feel pressured or weighted down by me.”
She pressed her hips against his, reminding him he was still lodged deep inside her—as if he needed the reminder. “I like feeling weighted down by you—in case you hadn’t noticed.”
He gave her a small smile, because he knew she was trying to make him feel better.
“I love you, too.”
As if he hadn’t heard her correctly, he stared down at her. “You don’t have to say that—”
Her fingers on his lips quieted him. “I’m not saying it because you did. I’m saying it because I feel it. I know what it feels like to be in love. It feels just like this.”
“Jenny,” he said with a sigh, his forehead dropping to her chest.
She combed her fingers through his hair. “You told me you were jealous because I was having a beer with Paul after work.”
“That was stupid. I know that.”
“Hush up and listen to me. Yesterday, I spent most of the afternoon with him and Adam, both of them exceptionally good-looking guys who also happen to be very nice, too.”
“I’ll have to take your word on the good-looking part.”
“You can trust me and all of womankind on that. Anyway, as I was saying, I was with them all afternoon and never once in all that time did I look at either of them and think, ‘Whoa, I want him.’”
“That’s very comforting,” he said sarcastically. “Thanks for sharing.”
“Will you shut up and let me finish?”
He laughed at her sauciness, delighted and amused by her. “If I must.”
“When you came in after work, the second you walked in the door, everything female in me woke up to take notice of you.”
Touched by what she’d said, he raised his head to kiss her softly. “Everything in me noticed you, too. It noticed you were alone with my brother and Adam, and I wanted to drag you out of there and claim you in the barn.”
“Oh for God’s sake,” she said with a laugh. “What am I going to do with you? You’re nothing more than a caveman in disguise.”
“Guilty as charged.”
“I feel bad about what happened with Linc before.”
“Why should you?”
“It’s not my way to go around hurting people on the way to getting what I want.”
“He’s not hurt, Jenny. His pride is wounded because a woman he’s interested in isn’t interested in him. There’s a difference between actual hurt and a damaged ego.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
“I didn’t like the way he looked at you, as if he had some sort of claim on you. The whole time we were standing there, I wanted to chant mine, mine, mine.”
“You are a caveman.”
“And judging by the heat I’m feeling down below, you like me that way.” His comment made her blush furiously, which had him laughing.
“Stop it.”
Rather than stop anything, he began to move again, wrapping his arms around her legs to open her to his fierce possession. “Mine,” he whispered. “Mine, mine, mine.”
“Yes.” She pulled so hard on his hair that it hurt, but the bite of pain only made him want her more than he already did—if that was possible. “I’m yours.”
Chapter 20
Early the next morning, Evan left Grace sleeping on the one morning off she allowed herself in the summer, and headed for the marina on the motorcycle. He hoped to catch his dad before the rush of the day began. At the picnic table outside the restaurant where Big Mac and his friends held their morning meeting, Evan found his dad and Ned enjoying a cup of coffee and a plate of sugar doughnuts.
Evan’s mouth watered at the sight of the doughnuts. “Can you spare one of those for me?” he asked when he took a seat at the table.
Though his father sent him a delighted smile, he moved the plate out of Evan’s reach. “These are all accounted for.”
“He can have one a mine,” Ned said, handing a doughnut to Evan and sending a disgusted look to his best friend.
“Thanks, Ned. Nice to know where I stand with my dear old dad.”
Ned guffawed with laughter that made Big Mac smile.
“Don’t get in the way of me and my morning sugar fix,” Big Mac said.
“My apologies.”
“What brings you out and about so early?” Big Mac asked around a huge mouthful of doughnut.
“I’m looking for a little advice, so I decided to come to the brain trust.”
“Yer a wise man,” Ned said gravely. “Right here’s where all the world’s problems get solved. What can we do fer ya this fine morning?”
And it was a fine morning indeed. The sultry heat was gone, the sky was clear and blue, the breeze warm but not oppressive. A perfect Gansett Island day.
“Did my dad tell you about the situation with the album?”
The two men exchanged guilty glances.
“Oh, come on,” Evan said, laughing. “I know he told you. You two are more married than he and my mother are.”
“Not sure how I feel ’bout that,” Ned said.
“It’s kinda true,” Big Mac said. “I told him because I knew you wouldn’t care if I did.”
“And I was comin’ to see ya today,” Ned said. “So ya saved me a trip.”
“Coming to see me about what?” Evan asked, eyeing the doughnut plate and trying to decide if he dared to steal a second one.
“I don’t wantcha ta think that just cuz I gave ya the money ta start the studio, I expect ya ta pass up a golden opportunity with Buddy Longstreet. There ain’t no strings attached ta that money. You shoulda damned well known that.”
“I do,” Evan said, moved by Ned’s impassioned speech. He’d been a beloved second dad to Evan and his siblings all their lives, and none of them had any doubt about where they stood with him. The studio had been Ned’s idea in the first place, and he’d financed the purchase of the equipment. Ensuring Ned’s investment was well protected had been foremost on Evan’s mind in the last few days. “Of course I know there were no strings, but I appreciate the reminder.”
“What’re you thinking, son?” Big Mac asked. “Air it out with us, and let’s figure this out together.”
Since there were no two men he’d rather air it out with, Evan took a deep breath and spilled his guts. “The kicker is,” he said when he had explained the situation from every angle, “I no longer want what I once would’ve given everything for.”
“Then that’s what you need to tell Buddy,” Big Mac said. “I don’t know the guy at all, but it seems to me he’d probably understand that plans change. Goals change. Dreams change. What did he expect you to do for the last year while the bankruptcy was hashed out? Twiddle your thumbs?”
“Yer daddy’s right,” Ned said. “I’ve read about this Longstreet fellow. He’s known fer being a straight-up kinda guy. I’m sure he’d appreciate ya being straight up with him, too.”
“I suppose he would,” Evan said, even though the thought of being straight up with Buddy Longstreet made his stomach hurt.
“Why don’t you give him a call right now,” Big Mac suggested. “Get this off your chest so you can get on with your life.”
“Right now as in right now?”
Big Mac leaned across the table. “Right. Now.”
Evan wasn’t sure what was more intimidating—the thought of calling Buddy, or his father when he had his mind set on something. Evan pulled hi
s cell phone from his pocket, found the Nashville number from when Buddy had called him the other day and put through the call. Since he fully expected to leave a message with an assistant or one of the many people who worked for the superstar, Evan’s heart nearly stopped beating when he heard Buddy’s distinctive drawl.
“Longstreet.”
“Um, hi,” Evan said haltingly. “This is Evan McCarthy.”
“Oh hey, how’s it going?”
“Um, pretty well. Do you have a minute?”
“Sure thing. What’s up?”
“I wanted to talk to you about the album and the tour and…everything.”
“What about it?”
Evan looked up to find his father and Ned hanging on his every word. His father nodded in encouragement. Evan took a deep breath and dove in. “When the whole thing happened with Starlight, it forced me to make some changes to my plans.”
“I imagine it did.”
“A close friend of my family’s put up the cash for me to start my own recording studio. We’ve recently opened our doors, and we’ve got artists booked through October. I’m also engaged to a woman who owns a business here on the island where I live, so she’s unable to move right now. I guess what I’m saying is…”
“You’re saying you don’t want the same things you wanted a year ago.”
“Yes. Exactly.”
“Well, this puts me in a bit of a bind. I shelled out a hefty sum to free your album from the bankruptcy proceedings.”
Evan winced. “I know. That’s been keeping me awake at night.”
Buddy was silent for a long time, and Evan could almost hear him thinking.
“Could you give me six weeks spread out over the next year?”
Six weeks… Evan’s mind spun with the implications of six full weeks away from Grace. At least they wouldn’t be all at the same time… “I think I could make that work.” As miserable as it would be, they could do it. Couldn’t they?
“Excellent.”
“I’m sorry about this, Buddy.”
“Don’t be sorry. I think you have an incredible talent, which is why I pursued the project. But if you don’t have the drive to go along with the talent, then there’s no point in putting us all through the paces.”