“They really went all out. Oh, by the way.”
Kimberly turned her attention back to Lara and saw the woman consult the clipboard she’d been holding at her side.
“The guy you’ll be meeting with is Charlie Doyle. He’s the Food Service Specialist. And it looks like I’ll be talking with his brother, Emmett. I haven’t met either of them yet.”
Kimberly shifted to stand next to Lara and watched as the patrol boat drifted to a stop at the dock. “Their names don’t ring a bell as any of the Coasties I’ve met so far. I guess we’ll figure out who is who when they get off the boat.”
“Holy moly,” Lara said minutes later, her voice soft and ringing with appreciation as two men climbed off the boat and headed toward them.
Kimberly’s attention zoned in on the taller one walking a few steps ahead of his brother and her girly parts went haywire. Holy moly was right! Long, powerful-looking legs encased in tropical-blue uniform pants carried the man in confident strides closer and closer. Her heart rate climbed with her gaze as her focus moved up a torso of finely sculpted peaks and valleys perfectly delineated by the lighter blue shirt he wore. His shoulders were broad and his neck was thick as if both had been molded specifically for a woman to hold on tight as his lean hips settled between her legs. A dusting of a five o’clock shadow traveled along his strong jaw line, accenting a pair of pale pink lips that kicked into a warm smile as his gaze locked with hers. When he removed his sunglasses and hooked them on his shirt pocket, her heart nearly stopped. A chill she knew had absolutely nothing to do with the temperature of the December afternoon and everything to do with the wintery green eyes gazing back at her brought goose pimples to the surface of her flesh.
“You’re happily taken,” Kimberly quietly reminded Lara out of the corner of her mouth.
“Yeah, but a woman would have to be dead not to appreciate these two.”
“Ladies.” The first one reached them and removed his round, white hat, revealing his brown hair buzz-cut so short she could nearly see his scalp. He tucked the hat in his left arm and, without breaking eye contact, extended his right hand. “Petty Officer Mett Doyle.”
Kimberly didn’t think to brace herself for the contact. It probably wouldn’t have done her a bit of good anyway. She put her hand in his and felt a heated awareness zing up her arm. She had to swallow before she could speak as lust rained through her body. “Kimberly Bevel, Silver Island Welcome Center attendant.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Bevel.”
Christ on a pogo stick! Petty Officer Mett Doyle’s voice was as electrifying as his eyes. It held the slow drawl of the Deep South and moved over her like a warm, sweet syrup.
“Care for a cookie?”
Kimberly blinked at the sound of the deep baritone that came from her right as Mett released her hand, reached for Lara’s, and introduced himself again. She tore her attention from him only to have her mind short-circuit all over again as she stared into a pair of potent dark brown eyes, shadowed by the bill of a Coast Guard Bears team cap. A few strands of wavy dark hair peeked from beneath the cap at his temples.
Her gaze slid down his white chef coat that did little to hide the ripples of muscle and hard planes beneath and fell to the plate he held. Her tummy gave a low grumble, though she couldn’t decide if it was the anticipation of tasting the Christmas-stocking-shaped cookies or the sudden desire to taste the man offering them that had her appetite soaring.
“Sure. Thanks.” Relief collided with the yearning in her system when her voice came out steady and normal rather than trembling and breathy, which was exactly how she felt. Jeez Louise, if she’d realized the Coast Guard was making men look like this these days, she would’ve been paying a whole lot closer attention since she’d stepped on the island.
He shifted the plate, balancing it on one hand as she took a cookie, and held out his free hand. “Food Service Specialist First Class, Petty Officer Charlie Doyle.”
Kimberly managed a small laugh. “That’s quite a mouthful.” She took a small bite of the cookie and nearly melted at the man’s feet as the taste exploded over her tongue. “Mmm, first class indeed. This is delish.”
The grin that stretched his lips put her in mind of a candle-lit bedroom, rumpled sheets, and naughty intentions. “Thank you. I have samples of other treats on the boat if you want to come aboard and try them while we discuss what you’d like me and my crew to serve at the party tomorrow night.”
Other treats? Holy hormones. The possibility of what those other treats might be nearly made Kimberly choke on her cookie. Of course, he hadn’t meant it the way her dirty mind had taken it. He was likely talking about cookies, candies, pies, and other sweets.
She managed a surprisingly steady, “Sure,” in agreement and tossed a look over her shoulder as she followed him to the boat. Lara was already deep in conversation with Mett. Her gaze dropped to Mett’s ass, perfectly hugged by his uniform pants, and she couldn’t help but think the Doyle brothers were the only treats she’d find on that boat that she really wanted to sample. Too bad she was leaving one of them behind.
* * * *
Charlie pulled open the cabin door and let his attention fall from the back of Kimberly’s head to the heels of her feet as she walked inside. Straight ebony hair hung in a silky wave down her back, the tips flirting with the waistband of her jeans as she slowly turned her head as if she were examining the small cabin. Her curvaceous hips swayed like a well-oiled metronome as she headed straight for the short island counter between the table and kitchen area before she stopped and turned to face him.
Geezus, the woman had a beautiful face, a beautiful body, a beautiful everything. Dark blue eyes gazed back at him from a face with high cheekbones and bow-shaped lips complimented by deep bronze skin. She angled her head and his gaze traveled down the side of her slender neck to the V-neckline of her sweater straining over a pair of ample breasts that made his mouth water. For the first time in his life, he found himself silently damning the holidays and the cooler weather they brought with them. If it were summer, he’d no doubt get a better look at her amazing body and maybe even be able to determine if hers was an all-over tan or if he would find milky lines breaking the bronze.
“You’re sizing me up.”
Charlie yanked his attention back to her face and bit back a grin at the challenge he saw dancing in her eyes. She was blunt. He liked that in a woman. She was also waiting to see if he would be equally blunt or cop out like a coward. “Guilty as charged,” he admitted and let the grin come as he added, “though no more than you were sizing me up out there.”
She threw back her head and laughed, a musical sound he wanted to bottle up and keep to replay over and over again. “It sounds to me like we’re both guilty.” She drew her bottom lip between her teeth and his cock stiffened beneath the zipper of his slacks. “What do you think the sentence is for that?”
He let the door close itself as he moved across the small cabin toward her, keeping his gaze locked with hers. He stopped so close he could smell her, a heady mix of lavender and woman that nearly brought him to his knees. He reached beside her, setting the plate on the counter, and snagged a square of fudge from another dish nearby.
“Sugar, for starters.” He held the fudge to her mouth and stifled a groan as her lips parted and her teeth sank into the chocolate. His balls tightened painfully and his dick pulsed to feel those lips gliding down his shaft.
“Oh, wow. That’s even better than the cookie.”
“Really? Maybe I should I find out for myself.” He lowered his hand, letting her see his intention in his eyes as he eased his face closer to hers. Her lips parted again, this time in an obvious invitation he was more than happy to accept.
He brushed his lips over hers, drew back a fraction, and traced the outline of her mouth with the tip of his tongue before delving inside. Her tongue met his, gliding over it, and tangling with it in a way that spoke of pure confidence and desire.
> Charlie was toast. He’d known it damn near the moment he’d stepped off the boat and spotted her waiting at the dock. Every sensory nerve in his body had switched on, stimulating his cock and stealing every thought from his mind beyond how he could get his hands on this woman.
Instead, it was her that got her hands on him. She flattened one on the front of his shoulder, fisted the lapels of his coat in the other, and yanked him closer. Her breasts flattened against his abdomen as she angled her head and let him take the kiss deeper.
Geezus, the woman was hot, certain, and not afraid to let him know what she wanted. He found himself thanking his lucky stars that he was apparently what she wanted right now.
He let the piece of fudge drop to the floor in favor of grabbing onto her. He gripped her hips, using the hold to pull her lower body more firmly against his, and thoroughly devoured her mouth.
Her hand on his shoulder glided up the side of his neck and reached around to cup his nape. Her fingers dipped beneath the back of his cap, knocked it off his head, and laced in his hair.
Charlie dared to let his hands roam. He glided one up her side and reached around with the other to cup her ass. The move drew a low-throated moan from her mouth, the sound muffled by his kiss.
He should probably stop. The knowledge of that swam through the sexual fog in his mind. But convincing his mouth and hands to obey proved a task he wasn’t capable of accomplishing at the moment. Instead, he squeezed the cheek of her ass and pushed his other hand between their bodies to palm her breast.
Her mouth wrenched from his as her head fell back and another of those sexy-as-hell low-throated moans escaped her lips.
His attention fell to her neck and he licked his way down her throat, pausing over the vein just beneath her satiny flesh, which was beating a staccato rhythm in time with his heart, before continuing down. He bent his knees slightly as his tongue met with the V of her sweater and he licked his way along the edge. He heard her breath catch, felt her fingers fist in his hair, and silently cursed himself as she used her hold to tug his head up.
“Should I apologize for taking that too far?” he asked, his voice gruff to his own ears.
She lifted her head, met his gaze, and ground her belly torturously against his cock.
Charlie couldn’t stop his eyes from rolling back in his head any more than he could prevent the growl that rumbled from his chest.
“No more than I should apologize for letting you.” She released her hold on his hair and let her hand fall to his shoulder. “I’m just stopping this before we get to that.” She bumped her belly against his cock as if she thought he might need her to explain exactly what that was. “You know, because we just met and all?”
He felt the corner of his lips twitch even as his cock sighed in disappointment. “Yeah, we were moving pretty fast there.” He put an inch of space between their bodies and delved a hand in the side of her hair behind her ear. “I should have at least asked you out first.”
That got him another of those musical laughs. “What did you have in mind?”
“What kind of music do you like?”
She blinked at him, her brows drawing together in a mix of intrigue and confusion. “I listen to just about anything. No rap,” she added quickly. “I hate rap.”
He grinned. “So do I. What about heavy metal?”
She perked up. “Love it! Why?”
“I’ve got two tickets to the Facade show in Billings two days from now. I was going to drag Mett with me even though heavy metal isn’t his thing, but if you want to go…”
“Well, we can’t make your brother suffer through a heavy metal concert when he doesn’t like the music, now can we?”
Charlie grinned. “Is that yes?”
She didn’t answer right away, but looked thoughtful. “The last excursion boat leaves the island just before sunset. I can get to the mainland, but I’m not going to be able to get back home.”
Charlie traced her earlobe lightly with his thumb. “Two options sprang in my head when you said that and I’ll tell you both of them. You can stay on the mainland with me for the night or I can bring you back in my boat after the concert.”
“As tempting as option number one sounds right about now, I’ll have to go with option number two. I have to be here to greet the excursion boat the next morning. I can’t really do that if I’m on the boat.”
“That depends on how you look at it,” he said slowly, wanting nothing more than for her to take the first suggestion. It had been far too long since he’d woken up with a woman in his bed, in his arms. Hell, it had been far too long since he’d met a woman he’d wanted to wake up with the next morning. “You can meet the visitors at the docks in Silver Springs, introduce yourself, and tell them all about the island on the trip over. It could be really good for business.”
She giggled. “I suppose when you think of it that way, it could be. However, I do have other responsibilities I have to take care of before the excursion boat arrives.”
Charlie sighed. “I’m not going to win this one, huh?”
She rose to her tiptoes and planted a quick kiss on the tip of his nose. “No, you aren’t. But you do get your date. Now, what kind of goodies are you planning to put on the menu for the island Christmas party?”
* * * *
“You’re not too crazy about being in the boat parade, are you?”
Mett chuckled. He liked Lara Hampton Cabelly. She wasn’t anything like any politician he’d ever met. Not that he’d met many, and being the daughter of a US senator didn’t actually make her a politician. She had a good heart, though. He could see that in way she talked about the island, the people who lived here, and those who visited. She was happy, too. He could see that in the way she moved, hear it in the tone of her voice, and feel it in the energy she exuded. If there was anything in the world he liked to see most, it was a woman who was happy with her life.
Because he got the impression right off that he couldn’t bullshit her, Mett gave it to her straight. “No, I’m not.”
He stretched his legs out beneath the table, careful not to kick her, and leaned back in his chair. She’d lured him to Tasty Trios on what she had called the main drag of the island. At nearly 1500 on a December day in the middle of the week, the bistro was surprisingly bustling with business. Then again, he was currently on an island full of tourists where the only people who seemed to work were those who ran the businesses.
Lara dragged her finger down the condensation on the outside of her tea glass as she studied him. “I can ask your commander to assign someone else if you really don’t want to do it.”
“That won’t be necessary. Orders are orders, ma’am. I’ll be on that holiday-decorated boat dressed in my Santa’s helper suit with my holiday smile on.”
Her green eyes twinkled. “Good enough. And I hope you’ll attend the party afterward, as well.”
Mett grinned at her. “I’ll be there with bells on.”
“Fantastic! Then I think we have everything covered, Petty Officer Doyle.” She got to her feet and Mett followed suit, reaching for his wallet as he stood. “Don’t worry about the check. I get freebies at Tasty Trios.”
Mett pulled a few bills from his wallet anyway and tossed them in the center of the table. “The waitress doesn’t get free tips, though.”
“Ah, touché.” Lara winked at him. “I’ll walk you back to the boat.”
“I can find my way back, ma’am. I’m sure you have other business on the island to get to.”
“That I do.” Lara paused as he opened the door to the bistro for her and then preceded him out. “Oh, and Mett, you keep calling me ma’am and I’m going to wrap my support hose around your neck.”
Mett threw his head back and laughed. “I’ll see you at the parade, Lara.”
She flashed him a brilliant smile and headed down the sidewalk in the opposite direction of the docks.
Mett toyed with the idea of taking a little tour of the main drag before
returning to the boat. He’d known about the island and cruised around it plenty of times on patrol, but he’d never stepped foot on it until today. What had once been a chunk of undeveloped land twenty miles into the Gulf from Silver Springs was now a privately owned hotspot of attractions and scandal. The open-minded view of the people who lived and visited the island had made local headlines for months and created a chaos of picketing protesters and advocates on the mainland. Once Lara Hampton Cabelly settled on the island, those headlines had become nationwide for a time.
Still, none of it had stopped the people of Silver Island from carrying on with their lives the way they saw fit. It was obvious by the number of ménage couples that passed him on the sidewalk, all smiling in greeting as they ventured into the shops with names such as Pleasured Minds and Divine Playthings.
Mett replaced his hat on his head and shoved his hands in the pockets of his slacks as he broke into a casual stroll back to the boat. Though a tour of the island would be interesting, he’d allowed the most intriguing thing he’d seen so far to walk onto that boat with Charlie. He’d taken one look at Kimberly Bevel and his heart had damn near stopped. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had such a visceral reaction at the mere sight of a woman. She was spectacular and he would’ve enjoyed nothing more than to have spent the last half-hour talking with her instead of Lara Hampton Cabelly.
Charlie’s been with her the last half-hour.
Yeah, like he needed that reminder. Though he’d forced himself to shift his focus from Kimberly to Lara back at the docks, he hadn’t missed the way his brother had looked at Kimberly. He and Charlie had nearly the same taste in women. He’d need the aide of all his fingers and toes to count the number of times he and his brother had gone after the same woman, and he’d still be several digits short. He figured they were about equal when it came to which one of them the woman decided to stick with for a while.
Safe and Coasting with Ecstasy [The Heroes of Silver Island 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 2