Mine After Dark

by Marie Force

  Sometimes having a conscience freaking sucked. He was about to get up when his phone chimed with a text from Mac.

  Make it noon. The snow is still coming down too hard to bother.

  Oh, thank God. A stay of execution.

  “Do you have to go?” Nikki asked, her voice husky with sleep.

  “Nope.” He curled up to her back, helped himself to a handful of breast and pressed his hard cock against her back. The sound of her voice had made him hard this time. That was all it took. “Mac said it’s still snowing too hard to bother.”

  “Speaking of too hard…”

  “Shall I bother?”

  Laughing as she groaned, she said, “You’re going to break me.”

  “Never.” He kissed the back of her shoulder and then left a trail of kisses down her backbone. Then he turned his attention to her ass, kissing and nibbling until she strained against him. “Like this,” he said, arranging her on her hands and knees. He quickly rolled on a new condom, the last one he had, and entered her from behind, stopping when she went tense. “Does it hurt?”

  “Only a little. It’s okay, though.”

  “Are you sure? We don’t have to.” They’d already done it three times, and the fact that he wanted her again made this the craziest and best night of his life.

  “It’s okay. Just go slow.”

  “I can do slow.” At least he thought he could. The desire she inspired in him made it difficult to do anything as simple as think when he had her naked in a bed with him. Her eager enthusiasm for everything they did only made him want her more. He was beginning to understand why his cousins had changed their lives for the women they loved. If this was what it was like for them…

  Nikki cried out and came hard, clamping down on him and making him see stars as he lost any semblance of control. They landed in a sweaty, heaving pile on the bed, arms and legs intertwined.

  Pressing his lips to her shoulder, he closed his eyes and tried to calm the racing beat of his heart.

  The next thing he knew, his cell phone was ringing in the tone he’d set for Finn. Riley groaned and reached over Nikki to grab the phone from the bedside table.

  “What?”

  “Where are you?”

  “None of your business.”

  “Everyone is here to plow, and Mac is looking for you.”

  “Fuck,” Riley muttered under his breath. His eyes were gritty from the lack of sleep, and his muscles protested even the slightest movement. “I think I might be sick.”

  “Sex flu does not count as an actual illness.”

  “Seriously.”

  “You want me to tell Mac?”

  “Would you? And can you leave out any mention of the words ‘sex flu’?”

  Finn snickered. “I’ll see what I can do. It may be hard to restrain myself.”

  “Try.”

  “Yeah, yeah. You owe me one.”

  “Whatever.”

  “So I take it things went well after I saw you at Makeout Point last night?”

  “Bye, Finn.”

  “Come on—”

  Riley ended the call and felt Nikki shaking with laughter under him. “It’s not funny. He is not funny.”

  “Yes, it is, and yes, he is.” She turned over to face him.

  He pushed the hair back from her face, which was flushed. Her lips were swollen, and as she ran the tip of her tongue over them, he felt a new surge of lust. That couldn’t be healthy, but he’d never felt better.

  “It’s okay if you need to go to work.”

  “I can sit this one out. Finn will cover for me.”

  “Will he ever let you hear the end of it?”

  “Nope,” he said, leaning in to kiss those swollen lips. “But you’re absolutely worth the aggravation.”

  * * *

  “Yeah, so, Riley’s not feeling good,” Finn said to Mac. It took all his restraint not to mention the words “sex flu.”

  “Great,” Mac said, scowling and obviously skeptical of Riley’s sudden “illness.” “Now we’re down two people. I’ll call in my dad and Ned. They’ll be thrilled to have an excuse to play in the snow.”

  While Mac went to make his calls, Finn helped himself to the coffee his cousin had made behind the counter at the marina restaurant. This place held so many memories for Finn. Some of the best times of his life had been spent here with his larger-than-life uncle and the older cousins he’d idolized as a kid.

  Those had been good times, but now was better. Hanging out with his cousins as an adult, working with Mac and having the others close by made for a satisfying life. He liked knowing Janey was around if he needed a female perspective. The two of them had always been close, but this was the first time they’d ever lived near each other year-round.

  Clint had made him and Riley a good offer. No doubt about that. He’d be crazy not to jump on it, especially since Clint was desperate and probably willing to make some other concessions. A company truck would be nice, among other things.

  But when Finn thought about leaving before the Wayfarer was finished or not working next to Mac, Shane, Luke and Riley every day, Clint’s offer didn’t look quite as good. Riley wasn’t going anywhere as long as Nikki was around. Finn had never seen his brother so gone over a girl. Riley was more of a short-term kind of guy, but this thing with Nikki had long-term written all over it.

  His phone chimed with a text from Missy.

  I’m snowed in and lonely. Wish you were here. When are you coming home?

  Finn sighed as he read the message. She was nothing if not persistent. Not sure yet. Might be here for a while.

  She replied with a pout face emoji. Can I come visit?

  It’s not the best time. We’re working long hours on a big new job. I wouldn’t get to see you very much. And it’s freezing here.

  I miss you and I love you. I don’t know what to do.

  We agreed to see other people...

  Do you have someone else? Is that what’s going on??

  No! I’m not seeing anyone. All I do is work and sleep. Speaking of work, I’ve got to go plow snow. Can we talk later?

  Yeah, I guess.

  As Finn stashed the phone in his back pocket, his uncle Mac walked in with Ned Saunders, both of them appearing delighted to have been called in to help. They must’ve been together up the hill at Big Mac’s when Mac called them. Finn wished he shared even a fraction of their enthusiasm. He hated plowing snow.

  Big Mac came bearing gifts—a huge tray of doughnuts Auntie Linda had made for the men.

  Finn began to actively drool at the sight of them. Those doughnuts had been a cornerstone of his childhood, and the smell of them could take him back to perfect summer days, working the docks with his uncle, crabbing, Wiffle ball and doughnuts—as many as he could consume in a day without making himself sick. To this day, the smell of sunscreen and fried dough took him right back to those blissful days.

  He grabbed two off the tray and went to fill his to-go mug with coffee. You couldn’t have doughnuts without coffee.

  “All right, everyone,” Mac said. “Listen up.” He handed out assignments to his father, Ned, Finn and Luke.

  When Frank and Kevin arrived, they were greeted with rousing applause and teasing abuse.

  “Desperate times must truly call for desperate measures if we need a shrink and a judge to plow snow,” Finn said, earning a cuff to the head from his father and then one from his uncle.

  “Where’s your brother?” Kevin asked over a mouthful of doughnut.

  “He’s ‘sick,’” Finn said, making air quotes with fingers covered in sugar.

  “Is he now? What’re his symptoms?”

  Lowering his voice, Finn said, “I believe it’s lack of sleep from an overabundance of sex, but don’t quote me on that.”

  “Well, good for him,” Kevin said, grinning.

  “If you say so.”

  “You’re not happy for him?”

  “Of course I am. I just hope he isn’t getting
into something that’s going to leave him crushed if she takes off again.”

  “True, but she seems equally into him.”

  “I guess we’ll see, won’t we?”

  “Let’s go, boys,” Mac said. “We need to get this island up and running.”

  “When do the ferries start up again?” Luke asked.

  “Joe said they’re hoping for later this afternoon when the wind dies down,” Mac said.

  The reminder that the ferries were shut down and there was no way off the island made Finn feel itchy and confined in a way he hardly ever had since he’d moved to Gansett. It was a weird feeling to know he couldn’t leave, even if he wanted to, which he didn’t. But still… weird. Island life wasn’t for everyone, but he’d taken to it rather swimmingly. No pun intended.

  During the long lonely night with the wind howling and the snow piling up, he’d thought about Clint’s offer to come back to work for him in Connecticut for twice what he was making now, and Missy’s pleading requests that he come home to her.

  As he got into his truck and secured his coffee mug in the cup holder, Finn had to admit he was tempted. However, something was stopping him from jumping at Clint’s offer. Perhaps it was Missy and knowing she wanted him to come home that had him hesitating. Their relationship had been a roller coaster of ups and downs. More downs than ups, if he was being honest. While he had genuine feelings for her and definitely missed her, he wasn’t sure he wanted to revisit that situation.

  He wasn’t sure what he wanted, and the mental debate of should I stay or should I go was getting exhausting. Did he honestly want to put down roots on the island and stay forever? Would he wake up ten years from now and realize he’d missed out on a number of opportunities by settling for a “safe” job working for his cousin in a place where he was surrounded by family members?

  Or would he be better off going back to the mainland for a few years and maybe return to the island after he got married? Gansett would be a good place to raise kids someday—someday far off in the distant future.

  For now, he decided, he would stay put. He’d like to see the renovations to the Wayfarer through to the finish since that was a family effort he wanted to be part of. When that was finished, he’d see where things stood with Clint and the job offer in Connecticut. Missy wouldn’t be happy, but after a year and a half, what was a few more months on the island? The third reason to stay was to keep an eye on Riley, who was off the rails over a woman for the first time ever.

  Finn worried about Nikki’s troubled sister crooking her finger and Nikki running to bail her out of yet another scrape. If or when that happened, Finn would be there to deal with Riley.

  In the meantime, Finn dropped his plow and went to work. The snow wasn’t going away on its own.

  Chapter 18

  That weekend was right out of a dream come true for Riley. When they weren’t in bed, they worked on the kitchen, boxing up the things collected over a lifetime of summers on the island. Cups bearing the logos of Mario’s Pizzeria, Beachcomber Hotel dish towels, a package of napkins from the Oar bar that Nikki said someone must’ve stolen. Underneath the counter, they unearthed a huge platter bearing the branding of the original Wayfarer.

  “Whoa,” Riley said, holding it up. “Can we have this for the new place?”

  “It’s all yours.”

  “I want to do something cool with this, like make it the centerpiece of the new bar or something.”

  “That’s a great idea.” Nikki tipped her head. “I think there might be a framed picture of the original building in the attic. I remember it from when I was a little kid and Jordan and I would play haunted house hide-and-seek up there.”

  “Haunted house hide-and-seek sounds horrifying.”

  Laughing, she said, “It was fun.”

  At two o’clock Monday morning, the old house creaked as the wind continued to whip. From what they’d heard earlier from Finn, the ferries were still shut down due to exceptionally high seas. They were trapped, and there was nowhere in the world he’d rather be trapped than in Evelyn Hopper’s kitchen. He wore only a pair of boxer briefs while Nikki bent over and gave him a flash of delectable ass when the shirt of his she wore rode up her back.

  “Nice view,” he said, moving into position behind her and pinching her ass.

  She let out a squeak of laughter and stood, holding another item from the Wayfarer, this one a pitcher with the logo etched onto the glass.

  “Did you people blatantly steal from every establishment on the island, or does it just seem that way?” Riley asked, amused.

  “I have no idea if my Gram is a closet kleptomaniac, but knowing her, she found this stuff at yard sales and added it to her collection. She loves a good yard sale.”

  “Isn’t she somewhat well-off?”

  “Uh-huh, and still loves a bargain more than anyone I’ve ever known. She shops for clothes at thrift stores and drives a used car. She’s super frugal and raised us to be, too. I followed her example while Jordan discovered a taste for the high life.”

  “I think I’m going to like this Gram of yours.”

  “I know she’s going to love you. She appreciated you fixing the roof last fall.” She handed him the pitcher. “Take this to the new Wayfarer and use it with our blessing.”

  “I’ll do that.” He kissed her. “Thank you.”

  “I’m starving. Are you hungry?”

  “I could eat.”

  She opened the fridge and freezer to examine their options while he examined her toned, tanned legs under the T-shirt that just barely covered her spectacular ass. She turned to consult with him and caught him looking.

  Riley offered a sheepish smile. “Sorry. Just enjoying the view.”

  When she returned his smile, the hint of shyness coming from her invoked fierce feelings of protectiveness. It occurred to him, standing in her grandmother’s kitchen in his underwear, that he would go to war to keep her from ever being hurt again. He had never experienced anything remotely similar to the feelings she aroused in him.

  He was in love with her.

  Perhaps he had been since that first day last fall when she’d met him at the door, arms wrapped protectively around herself, as if that could somehow keep danger away.

  “Riley?” She tipped her head and gave him a perplexed look. “What’s wrong?”

  Clearing his throat, he said, “Nothing.” He couldn’t very well blurt that he loved her out of nowhere. There was a time and a place for such pronouncements, and the middle of the night in her grandmother’s kitchen hardly seemed like the right place. All at once, he felt the way he often did on the ferries, when the deck seemed to move beneath his feet, tipping him off balance and sending him scurrying to find something to hold on to.

  The counter behind him lent the sturdy support he suddenly needed.

  “How do you feel about frozen pizza?” she asked.

  “Is it plain cheese?”

  “Would I offer you a pizza with gaggers on it?”

  “I would certainly hope not.”

  “I know better by now.”

  While the pizza cooked, he helped her box up two more cabinets full of mismatched cups and bowls and kitchen junk. She’d decided to go through it all after the renovation rather than before so it wouldn’t take forever to prepare. In the meantime, she’d been texting with Sydney about ideas and plans. Being snowbound had given Sydney time to dive into the design of the new kitchen, and Nikki’s excitement over the initial plans had been contagious.

  Riley couldn’t wait to start the job and to help make her vision a reality.

  They ate the pizza sitting on stools at the large kitchen island, a bottle of red wine sitting on the counter between them.

  “What do you think about remodeling the island rather than getting a new one?” she asked, a spot of sauce decorating her bottom lip.

  Grinning at her enthusiasm for the pizza as well as the project, Riley dabbed at the sauce with a napkin. “How do you mean?”<
br />
  “What if we resurfaced the bottom with bead board and topped it with the same thing we use on the countertops?”

  Currently, the island boasted a laminate surface that differed from the tile on the countertops.

  Riley bent to take a closer look at the island, which had drawers on the front side. “I think we could do that. Would you paint the drawers to match the white cabinets?”

  “That’s what I’m thinking—or what if we painted the island an accent color? Maybe a cool blue?”

  As Riley pretended to give that deep thought, he rubbed at the stubble on his chin. “You’re very daring.”

  Nikki rolled her eyes. “That hardly counts as daring. You need to watch more HGTV.”

  “No, I really don’t,” he said, laughing. “I live HGTV every day at work.”

  She frowned as she glanced down at her plate. “It’s okay if you don’t want to deal with me and my kitchen after a long day at work. It’s really too much to ask of anyone who works as hard as you do.”

  Pushing his plate aside, he said, “Come here.”

  “I’m right here.”

  He crooked his finger. “Closer.”

  Seeming perplexed, she stood and took the two steps that closed the distance between them.

  Riley drew her in between his legs and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her hair and breathing in the refreshing scent that was permanently etched upon his soul after this weekend. “I want nothing more than to deal with you and your kitchen, and PS, it’s not too much to ask. I’m looking forward to it.”

  “It’s okay to tell me if you change your mind.”

  “Not going to change my mind,” he said, drawing her into a kiss that made his head spin. Would it always be like that with her? Would every kiss be somehow more than he’d ever imagined possible? As he kissed her, he ran his hands over her back and down to cup her ass under the hem of his shirt before lifting her onto his lap.

  “Riley!” She broke the kiss, gasping. “We’re going to break the stool.”

  “No, we’re not.” He tried to resume the kiss, but she turned her face.