“Sheriff Cabelly would understand.” She reluctantly flattened her hands on his shoulders and eased back from the solid warmth of his body. “But sex in public is one of the few things that is absolutely taboo on the island.”
“Are we still on tomorrow night?”
“For the concert? Of course.” Kimberly could tell by the look that passed through his eyes he had far more planned for tomorrow night than merely taking her to a concert.
“Good. Now, how about we get you that sample and you can tell me if I got even remotely close to your mom’s infamous cornbread dressing?”
* * * *
If Charlie got the opportunity to kiss Kimberly one more time and not get a taste of her sultry body, he felt certain his cock would explode. There was something about her, an extraordinary ingredient she possessed that was far more magnetic and ran way deeper than sex, that caused something to snap in his head every time he got close enough to touch her. It made all rational thoughts in his head dissipate and took over his very soul. He’d wondered over it half of last night. He’d spent the rest of the restless hours longing to see her again and imagining the naughty things he would do to her when he finally got her naked in a private place with her legs wrapped around his waist.
He let her take the lead as they walked through the empty restaurant to the kitchen in the back, unable to stop his gaze from dropping to her tight ass, another part of her sexy body he’d imagined pistoning his cock into more than once last night.
The crew was engrossed in a conversation likely not fit for a woman’s ears when Kimberly pushed through the door of the kitchen. Charlie caught something about tits large enough to fuck and let out a loud, sharp whistle before the talk went any further.
“Hey, Kim, you’re back,” Cramer, Charlie’s second in command, said with a wide, interested smile.
Charlie gave the man a warning look and got an infinitesimal nod in return. Good, they were on the same page. Kimberly was off limits.
Cramer sidestepped around the rest of the crew, who had continued with their tasks of chopping, mixing, and sautéing without missing a beat. “Are you here to twist my arm for more samples of tonight’s feast?”
“Maybe,” Kimberly sing-songed. “What ya got for me this time?”
Cramer moved to a dish that had obviously just been taken out of the oven, gathered a bit of the food on a spoon, and brought it to Kimberly. “How about some roasted butternut squash with maple pecan butter? Careful, it’s hot.”
“Hmm, but it sounds delish.”
Charlie watched her sensuous lips purse together as she blew on the spoon to cool the squash before taking the bite. The sound she made coupled with the sheer erotic expression that moved over her face as she slowly chewed nearly made him groan.
“Perfect,” she finally said once she’d swallowed.
Charlie moved to the industrial refrigerator, pulled out a bottle of water, and snagged the small bowl of cornbread dressing he’d set aside for her. “Drink a bit of this first.” He handed her the water. “That way the only thing you’ll taste is the dressing.”
“Right. I don’t want anything altering my taste buds for this.”
“This hasn’t been browned yet,” he warned her as he shoveled a bite of the dressing onto a fork. “It’s still cold.”
“That’s okay. All the ingredients are cooked before they’re mixed. I remember that much because mom used to fuss at me for stealing bites out of the pan before she could get it into the oven.”
Charlie chuckled as he held the fork to her lips. “Good. Then you already know how it’s supposed to taste before it’s browned.”
She held his gaze as her lips parted and closed around the fork. Geezus, just watching the woman eat was enough to have his system going into a full round of calisthenics. Her expression turned to one of deep concentration as she slowly chewed and then finally swallowed.
He waited for the verdict, but instead of telling him what she thought of it, she reached for the fork and took another bite, repeating that same snail-paced sequence of sampling it that had his cock weeping.
“Are you going to tell me if it’s right or do I need to consult Mett and try again?”
She drew her brows together as she swallowed the second bite. “Why would need to consult Mett?”
“I might be the Food Service Specialist, but he’s a better cook than I am, hands down.”
Surprise flickered through her beautiful face. “No shit?”
“He got three extra years of learning from our mother before I was born.” Charlie lifted a shoulder. “He got a bit more of her talent in his genes, too.”
“It’s good.” She scooped up a third bite and giggled. “Obviously, because I keep going back for more.” She made a considering face as she chewed. “But it’s missing something. I don’t have a clue what it is, but there’s a dabble, a little zing, that just isn’t there.”
Charlie mulled over the ingredients in his head. The basic recipe wasn’t hard. He’d even tweaked it a bit, adding some additional spices he figured her mother might have done. Apparently, he’d missed one or two.
Kimberly set the fork in the bowl and dragged her hand down his bicep. “I’m sorry.”
“Nope, you’re being honest. I can’t get it right if I don’t know it’s wrong to start with.” He turned slightly and set the bowl on the nearest counter. “We’ll have to serve this tonight, but I’ll get it right for you by Christmas dinner.”
Something questioning moved through her eyes and he guessed she was wondering if they would be together for Christmas dinner. He’d already considered inviting her to his parent’s house. God, how long had it been since he’d brought a woman home to meet his parents? Months? No, wait, years.
“Where is Mett? I haven’t seen him on the island today.”
That question pushed all thoughts of inviting her for Christmas dinner aside. She’d been looking for Mett. Damn it. He knew Mett was as attracted to her as he was. His brother hadn’t said much about her on the boat ride back to the base yesterday afternoon, but he hadn’t needed to. Charlie knew his brother as well as he knew himself. He tried to nip the problem in the bud by cagily mentioning that he’d asked Kimberly to the concert so Mett didn’t have to go, but he hadn’t missed the look that had darkened his brother’s eyes. He’d been disappointed, jealous, and edging on angry.
“He’s on an SAR. Search and rescue,” Charlie explained. “A couple of duck hunters were reported missing near the Pascagoula River just after sunrise this morning. His team was sent out to find them.”
Kimberly covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh, God. I hope the hunters are okay.”
“Yeah, we all do.” It was the nature of the job, especially in Mett’s case. The need to help people, to save them, ran deep in Mett’s blood. It was that need that had compelled him to become a rescue swimmer instead of cooking for the Coast Guard the way Charlie did. “And maybe, if we’re lucky, he’ll find them alive and make it back in time for the parade.”
* * * *
“I figured you’d be jumpin’ with joy right about now,” Will Leavelle commented as he maneuvered the rescue boat slowly through the strong currents of the Pascagoula River.
Mett leaned over the side of the boat, his trained gaze fixated on the water. They had been at it for hours, combing the bank and the river, looking for any signs of the missing hunters. The police and fire department, along with Marine Patrol, were assisting in the search. The longer it went on the more the fear heightened that the men had fallen into the river and gotten swept under one of the several barges moored at the bank by the currents.
“Why the hell would I be doing that? We’ve got two men in trouble out here somewhere.”
“I was talkin’ about that boat parade you got assigned to. Ain’t it supposed to be goin’ on soon?”
Mett tore his attention from the water long enough to glance at his diving watch. “It started about ten minutes ago. I’m sure the commander s
ent someone else in my place.” And Charlie was there, of course.
Fuck! He turned his focus back on the search, not allowing his mind to travel to Silver Island. This SAR took precedence over a boat parade. It also took precedence over Kimberly.
Damn, he’d actually been looking forward to the fucking parade just for the chance to see her again. It hadn’t mattered that Charlie had told him about their upcoming date. It still didn’t, even though it probably should. When Charlie had gotten to a woman first in the past, Mett had backed off and wished his brother all the luck. He’d turned his attention on the next striking woman he’d found without a second thought.
He’d actually tried that with Kimberly. He’d gone through a full set of mental gyrations from the moment he’d found out about Charlie’s date with her until he’d turned in for the night. He’d tried to convince himself she was just another beautiful woman and had even attempted to sway himself into believing he had exaggerated the effect that merely talking to her’d had on him.
It hadn’t worked. Instead, he’d lain in his bed more than half the night, staring at the ceiling, and wishing he’d been staring into her dark-blue eyes. That longing had morphed to the fantasy of having her naked, straddling his waist, her hands flattened on the front of his shoulders as she gazed down at him while she rode his aching cock to oblivion.
He’d followed that vision with one of him snaking his arms around her and rolling her off of him until they lay side-by-side. He’d imagined staying like that for hours, cuddled close as they talked about anything and everything until the sun came up.
In the sudden shift of the dream world universe, he’d seen them next in the middle of a crowded dance floor, her body molded to his like a long lost puzzle piece, her head tipped back, and her gaze locked with his as they swayed together in time with the music. She had told him to save a dance for her tonight. He would give her every single one of them, even if it ended up being only in his head.
No, Kimberly Bevel wasn’t just another pretty face. She was fantastic, magnetic, and irresistible. He found himself wondering if a man had ever giving her the kind of attention every woman deserved. Charlie would to a point, but, damn it, Mett wanted to be that man.
“I’ve got one!”
The shout rang out from across the river. Mett lunged for the binoculars he’d set on the bench seat of the boat and brought them to his eyes. Through their magnified lenses, he saw a member of the Marine Patrol on the bank to the east aiding the other Coast Guard rescue boat as they pulled a camouflage-clothed body from the water.
“He’s still alive.”
That shout sent a rush of relief coursing through Mett’s system. One down. One to go.
Dear God, please let us find him alive, too.
* * * *
Kimberly settled onto a stool at the makeshift bar and ordered a Pearl Diver. She thanked Amie, the cute, petite bleach-blonde bartender who worked for Cerridwen at Ménage A Drink, and turned on the stool to survey the crowd. The island Christmas party was a huge hit, as had been the boat parade. It pleased her to see Island Hall packed to overflowing with the smiling faces of all the people she knew and had grown to love.
She looked down at her glass, thought about the name, and realized the drink brought Mett to her mind. He was a rescue swimmer. Swimmers went diving. She was drinking a Pearl Diver.
She smiled and took a sip. Wasn’t that cute?
Not that she really needed anything to remind her of Mett. He’d been planted firmly in her head, right along with Charlie, since yesterday. Disappointment dimmed the smile on her face. Mett hadn’t made it for the boat parade and it was looking like he wouldn’t make it to the party either. Charlie was performing his Food Server Specialist duties with his crew. That left her sitting here, enjoying the party alone, all the while wishing she had the Doyle brothers at her sides.
“Are you waiting for me to give you that dance?” a smooth, syrupy voice asked softly in her ear, sending curls of heat whipping through her body and lashing at her pussy.
Kimberly jumped and spun further around on her stool to find herself gazing into Mett’s wintergreen eyes. He wore a red long-sleeve, button-down shirt that stuck to his torso like second skin, delineating every muscle in shoulders, arms and abs, and making her head spin. The shirt was tucked into a pair of gently-worn jeans that rode low on his narrow hips and lovingly curved over the impressive bulge of his cock. Arousal gathered along the folds of her sex. The man looked sexy as sin and she bet he would be dangerously delicious.
“I was beginning to think I’d have to give you a rain check.”
He rested an arm on the edge of the bar and leaned a fraction closer. Desire shimmered warmly through her veins as she got a whiff of his woodsy aftershave combined with a natural masculine scent. “It was touch and go for a while, but I always do my best not to break a promise.”
“Charlie said you were called out to rescue a couple of hunters. Did you find them?”
Deep lines etched themselves around the corners of his mouth as he frowned. “We lost one of them.”
Kimberly felt a lump form in her throat and she flattened a hand on his chest over his heart. “I’m so sorry, Mett.”
“Yeah, me, too. His buddy was okay. He was found first. The other guy, the one we lost, got swept further down river than we expected. He managed to catch hold of a branch hanging over the water, but he wasn’t strong enough to pull himself out. We got to him, but he was no match for the current. I dove in after him, got him out, but…” His gaze dropped from hers as he shook his head. “It’s always tough not being able to save someone, but this close to Christmas…” He lifted his gaze to meet hers again and sighed. “It’s going to be a hard one for his family.”
“I lost my mother at Christmas when I was fourteen. Yesterday was the anniversary of her death.”
His eyes filled with surprise. “Yesterday?”
Kimberly gave him a small smile and nodded. “I bet you’re wondering why I was in such good spirits instead of grieving when you met me.”
“I’m guessing that was about ten years or so ago. You’ve learned to accept and move on no matter how much you still love and miss her.”
Kimberly narrowed her eyes at him. “Don’t you know it isn’t safe to guess a woman’s age aloud?”
That got her a laugh as she’d hoped it would. “Since I’ve already made the mistake, was I right?”
“Eleven. And it isn’t just that I’ve learned to accept and move on. I always do my best not to break a promise, too, and I made one to my mother just before she died. She made me promise that I wouldn’t let her death spoil the holidays for me. She wanted me to celebrate the years we’d had together and remember what a joy the holidays always brought to both of us. Magical things happen at Christmas time. That’s what she always said.”
You were right, too, Mom. You might have been taken from me, but eleven years later on that very day, I met this magical man and his brother.
Mett’s pale pink lips stretched in a sexy grin. “It sounds like your mother was a wise woman.”
“Of course she was. Where do you think I get it from?”
He threw his head back and laughed, then sobered when Amie offered to fix him a drink. “I’m off duty for the night. Do you mind if I get something before we hit the dance floor?”
“Not at all. This party’s not over yet.” She studied him as he ordered a whisky and coke, letting her gaze move over the corded muscles in his neck, along his strong jaw line, and over the chiseled features of his face. “Have you eaten anything today?” It occurred to her that he’d been working all day. Did a rescue swimmer take out the time to eat when he was searching for missing victims?
“I munched on some rations on the boat.”
“But you haven’t had dinner?” she prodded.
“No. I got back to the base, shot home for a quick shower, and then hopped in my boat and headed here.”
So he had his own boat, too. She wond
ered if he and Charlie shared the same one or if they each had their own. Did they live together on the mainland? Hmm, she wished she would have thought about that before she’d declined Charlie’s invitation to stay at his place after the concert tomorrow night. She might would have reconsidered and talked to Kenneth Winters, her boss and one of the owners of the island, about getting someone to cover her shift for the day after.
“You need to eat. Your brother and his crew have prepared a feast fit for an army of kings over there.” She slid off her stool, hooked her free arm in his, and tugged him toward the buffet tables. Reluctantly, she let go of his arm when they reached the tables and she snagged a plastic plate from the stack on the end. “I’ll fix you a plate. What do you want on it?”
He slanted her a look, his eyes swirling with intrigue and something more she couldn’t define, and started pointing at the selections. They found two empty seats at a table near the far wall. He pulled out a chair for her, waited for her to sit, and then settled into the one next to her.
He glanced up at her as he bowed his head over the plate she’d fixed for him and started to dig in. “You’re not going to eat with me?”
She covered her belly with her hand and groaned. “Are you kidding? Between sampling before the party, indulging in candies and cookies during the parade, and the mound of food I put on my plate when the party first started, I’m surprised I haven’t popped by now.”
He chuckled and kept eating. “I see Charlie taught the crew to make Mom’s butternut squash. Either that or he made it himself.”
“I think Cramer did that. At least he’s the one who gave me the sample when I went with Charlie to the kitchen before the parade this afternoon.”
Mett’s fork paused in the act of stabbing a piece of beef tenderloin and his gaze slid her way. Was that jealousy she saw flash through his face before he quickly masked his expression?
“I know Charlie made the dressing himself,” she went on, watching him closely. He was still holding back.
Safe and Coasting with Ecstasy [The Heroes of Silver Island 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 4