by JoAnn Ross
“Oh.” She lifted her head and looked at the water that was getting closer to the edge of the blanket. “Well, since I’m not Deborah Kerr and you’re not Burt Lancaster, and this is real life, not the movies, I guess we’d better.”
It was not her first choice. Then again, Mary thought with a little burst of sexual anticipation as they walked hand in hand toward the SUV, they did have the rest of the night.
36
Since it would be obvious to anyone who saw her what she’d been up to, she was grateful when J.T. called ahead and arranged for them to go in the back door and take the service elevator up to the suite.
Where, after a long steaming shower, which essentially turned out to be hot, wet foreplay, they took advantage of the oversized bed.
By the time a soft, silvery predawn light was filtering through the shades, Mary lay with her cheek against J.T.’s chest, drinking in the musky scent of his dark skin, listening to his steady breathing and the beat of his heart.
The night had passed in a sensual blur, a stolen, fantastic time apart from reality. Her dreams of him had been so hot, when she’d decided to make love to him, she’d feared the reality could never live up to those erotic images smoldering in her mind.
But she’d been wrong. Last night had been no dream, as the vague ache in her muscles attested to. The reality had proved amazingly better. And had her understanding, for the very first time, what her selkie queen had felt when she’d so totally given herself to that human scientist.
Mary had never known it was possible to feel so much; had never given herself so openly. So freely. Nor had she ever wanted to. Until meeting J. T. Douchett.
With a single look, a mere touch, the man could arouse her to desperation, inflaming passions she’d never realized were lurking deep inside her.
Displaying a stamina that was nearly superhuman, he’d shown her exactly how responsive her body could be, taking her places she’d never imagined possible. And in turn, he’d held nothing back, encouraging her exploring hands and lips to grow more and more intrepid until she’d learned to read his needs and desires as a blind woman would read Braille.
The upside was that she’d experienced a night of passion that few women could ever imagine.
The downside was that she was also realizing that she wasn’t any good at casual sex. It struck her that if she was going to be able to distance herself from this man whose leg was over both of hers, effectively holding her hostage, she was going to have to do it now.
Years in a war zone had taught J.T. to sleep quick and light. Which was why he’d known the moment she’d woken up. Which was when, suspecting she might have regrets, he’d flung his leg over hers, to keep her in bed a little longer.
She was good, he allowed, as she carefully slid, inch by inch, out from under him. Although he’d never been one to believe in destiny, these past few days, especially the last hours, had J.T. wondering if, just perhaps, there was some unseen force working here. Some fate that had brought them together at this time, in this place.
Whatever the reason, this was the first morning in months he’d found himself looking forward to the day. To exploring whatever was happening between them.
The problem was, although last night she’d been the most uninhibited woman he’d ever been with, in the light of a new day, Mary didn’t seem on the same page.
The bathroom door hinges squeaked, just a bit, when she opened it. He felt her tense, like a deer in the forest sensing a predator’s approach.
He could stop her. He was, after all, larger. Stronger. Not that he’d have to use any force. Because it would take only a slow, deep kiss, a lingering touch, a hand to that slick, hot place between her legs, and he’d have her right back in this bed where she belonged.
He was still weighing his options when he heard the shower turn on.
While he’d been away, Shelter Bay had been designated a “green” town. Recycle bins were everywhere, plastic bags had been banned, and even Sax had gone out and bought energy-efficient appliances for Bon Temps.
The least he could do, J.T. thought, as he threw back the rumpled sheet, was do his part to save water.
The sun was shining, their morning lovemaking in the shower had been every bit as amazing as everything they’d shared the night before, and although he’d resisted the idea yesterday, J.T. hadn’t balked when she’d changed into running shoes, shorts, a white T-shirt, and a baseball cap to run on the beach with him.
They returned to Moonshell Beach, which was nearly deserted, as he’d predicted it would be. They passed by Adèle and Bernard Douchett, who’d gotten there before them, beachcombing for shells and agates left by the receding tide.
Because it would have seemed rude to run by without a word, they stopped to exchange greetings.
Adèle’s eyes swept over Mary. “As pretty as you were in that fancy dress the other night, I think I like this look better,” she said. “Especially that Whale of a Town cap. I have one of my own, in blue, and while a lot of people might think it’s touristy, it makes me happy to wear it.”
“I feel the same way,” Mary agreed. “It must be amazing to live where you can see whales all the time.”
“That was the first thing that helped me get over my homesickness for the bayou,” the older woman said. “I was down here gathering shells, just as we are today, feeling a bit blue, when a pod began riding the waves right in front of me, so close I was worried they’d beach themselves. I know it’ll sound fanciful, but it seemed as if they were welcoming me. From that moment on, I felt as if I belonged here in Shelter Bay.”
“I don’t think it’s fanciful at all,” Mary said. “There have been so many stories about whales and dolphins interacting with people—maybe they somehow sensed your emotions and wanted to cheer you up.”
Adèle’s beaming smile lit up her face, giving Mary an idea of the beauty she must have been when the couple had first married. “Do you know,” she confided, “I’ve often thought the same thing?” She shot a look at J.T. “This one’s a keeper.”
J.T. nodded as his grandfather did his best to smother a laugh. “I’ll keep that in mind, ma’am.”
Adèle’s answering nod was sharp and satisfied. “You do that.” Then she turned back to Mary. “My grandson’s gone through a rough patch. But it’s obvious even to an old woman whose eyesight isn’t what it once was, and whose brain has turned into Swiss cheese, that you’re good for him. And believe me, dear, you could do a whole lot worse.”
“Believe me, I know,” Mary said, speaking from personal experience.
“Well,” J.T. said, beginning to jog in place, “I guess we’d better get going if we’re going to keep to the schedule the committee has set up.”
Mary knew her busy schedule was not the reason he suddenly felt the need to escape.
“She certainly seems fine this morning,” Mary said as they continued running.
“She did, didn’t she?” His relief was obvious. “Though now that Sax and Cole have settled down, it looks like she’s got me in her marriage crosshairs.”
“I think it’s sweet. She cares about you and wants you happy. Which is the way families are supposed to be. You should’ve seen my father and grandmother trying to manipulate my sister and Quinn into a romance.”
“I’m not sure people can be manipulated into a relationship if they don’t want it themselves.”
“You won’t get any argument from me about that. And although Quinn didn’t want to admit it for a long time, I think he was ready from the moment he and Nora met. It just took a while for the family to wear him down.” The memory of that time had her smiling, even as it made her more homesick. “And it had to have been true love for me not to scare him off.”
“How could you have scared anyone off?”
It was, Mary thought, another compliment. “I was a petulant Goth teen drama queen given to tantrums and door slamming. Looking back, I’m amazed anyone put up with me.”
He glanced down
at her. “I’m having trouble seeing you made up like a Goth girl.”
She laughed merrily, feeling more lighthearted than she had for ages. “Let’s just keep it that way.”
As they rounded the cliff, J.T. waved to Lucas Chaffee, Maddy’s new husband, who was throwing a stick into the surf for the dog Mary had been told he brought back from Afghanistan. Although the dog had lost a leg to an IED, it didn’t seem to slow her down in the least.
The sight of the former Navy SEAL brought home the fact that while she’d mostly been thinking about J.T.’s last difficult duty, she hadn’t given all that much thought to the years he’d spent in dangerous places where so many brave men and women had lost their lives.
If he’d been killed, which he well could have been, they’d have never met.
And whatever happened between them, wouldn’t that have been a loss?
Although he was taller, her legs were long, and he was easily able to adjust his stride to hers, which had her thinking how well they fit together in so many ways.
Yet, as they ran along the packed sand, with the sea breeze clearing the last of the cobwebs from her sleep-deprived head, Mary wondered why, as they ran back past the place where just last night he’d shown her she could fly, she was feeling sorry for herself.
Because, she realized as they ran around the rock below the Shelter Bay lighthouse, she wanted more. As amazing as the sex had been, having shared her body with him, although she knew even just a week ago she’d have considered the notion foolish and overly romantic, Mary wanted to share her heart.
The problem was she didn’t believe J.T. was ready to accept it.
37
“You really don’t have to do this,” Kara said as Sax flipped the CLOSED sign over in the window of Bon Temps. “I’m perfectly capable of driving to Portland to pick up my mother and John myself.”
“I don’t doubt that for a minute,” he said. “But I want us to do this together because Faith’s not only going to finally be my mother-in-law—she’s Trey’s grandmother and they’re going to be grandparents to that baby you’re carrying beneath what, may I point out, is a very sexy top.”
The blouse in question was a simple cream silk, much like Kara knew her mother would’ve chosen. It was sleeveless, with a lace-edged scoop neck that, just a month ago, would have been considered conservative. Looking down at herself now, with her breasts seeming to have swollen to the size of cantaloupes, she could see that it was a great deal less so.
“You just like it because it shows off my boobs.”
“Mais yeah.” There were times, especially when he was frustrated or aroused, that Sax reverted back to the Cajun French that was still used in his family home. From the way his eyes were glittering with friendly lust, she knew this time it wasn’t the former.
“We may be all adults, but she’s still my mother,” she reminded him. “A mother who didn’t expect to have her daughter get pregnant twice outside of wedlock.”
He drew her closer and nuzzled her neck. “Have I ever mentioned that I get really turned on when you talk like that straitlaced honor student the teenage me used to get a woody fantasizing about?”
She slapped his arm and pulled away to give him her sternest look. Which was impossible to hold when faced with that bad-boy grin.
“That’s exactly what I’m talking about,” she said. “Mom and John are only going to be here a couple days. Surely you can behave yourself for that long.”
His expression was one of pure innocence. Kara didn’t believe it for a minute. Fortunately, although there’d been a time when her mother hadn’t hesitated to voice her disapproval of her friendship with Shelter Bay’s bad boy, this time around he’d won her over by proving that he was not only more responsible than most men; he loved both Kara and Trey.
Then, of course, there was that Douchett male charm, which seemed to appeal to every other woman in Shelter Bay.
But they could look and fantasize about him all they wanted. Because, Kara thought, as she lifted her lips to her soon-to-be husband’s, Sax Douchett was all hers.
The flight from Japan was, surprisingly, on time. Since her mother and John had to go through first passport control, then customs, then take a shuttle to the terminal, Sax, Kara, and Trey went to the lower level to baggage claim, where they’d agreed to meet.
When her mother first appeared, the two women burst into laughter.
“We’ve changed places!” Faith said as she hugged her daughter in a way she had seldom done while Kara had been growing up.
It was true. Kara’s blouse and dark slacks could have come from Dr. Faith Blanchard’s old closet. While the T-shirt and jeans her mother was wearing had always been Kara’s style.
“Doris and Dottie have been easing me out of my rut,” she admitted. “And you look beautiful.”
That was also true. The brisk, professional neurosurgeon who’d left Shelter Bay had always looked as if she’d walked off the pages of Vogue. Her suits were always classically fashionable, her makeup impeccable, and even in rainy Oregon, Kara couldn’t recall ever seeing a blond hair out of place on the short bob her mother had trimmed at Cut Loose every two weeks.
This woman’s silver hair was pulled back in a loose braid, her smiling face was bare, and her clothes looked well-worn and chosen for comfort. And utility, since there obviously weren’t dry cleaners to be found in medical-relief rescue centers.
“I feel good,” Faith said. Then smiled up at John and put her arm through his. “Really, really good.” It showed.
She turned toward Trey. “And look at you!” She swept him up into her arms and hugged him so hard she had him shooting a surprised look up at Kara. This was definitely not the grandmother who’d flinch whenever he’d play with his Hot Wheels on the wooden floors. “You’ve grown like a weed!”
When she finally released him so he could talk, he stuck out his chest with pride and said, “I’m gonna be a big brother.”
“I know. Isn’t it exciting! I know you’re going to be the best big brother ever.”
Her mother swept a look over Kara, pausing at her stomach. And immediately her smiling eyes misted. That was another thing. Kara couldn’t recall ever seeing her mother weep. Not even at Kara’s father’s funeral. Or afterward, when she’d returned immediately to work.
“May I touch?”
Since Faith Blanchard had never been a toucher, that heartfelt request had Kara’s own eyes misting up. “Of course.”
Faith touched a hand, almost reverently, against the front of the silk top. “Hello, little one,” she said softly, seeming totally unaware of the travelers bustling around them. “This is your grandma. Who already loves you so very, very much.”
She looked up at Sax. The mist had turned to actual tears. “Thank you,” she said. “For taking such good care of my daughter and grandson. And for…” She drew in a breath, obviously fighting for the calm she’d once worn like a second skin. “This glorious gift.”
“I didn’t do it alone,” Sax said. He waited until she’d done whatever bonding thing was going on, then gave her a hug. Which was something Kara knew he’d once never dared try to do.
“Well,” John said in a gruff voice that revealed that he wasn’t unmoved by the reunion, “let’s get our bags and go home. We have a wedding to attend.”
38
Unsurprisingly, given that Sax, Kara, Faith, and John were an important part of the Shelter Bay community, not a single person on the committee offered a word of complaint when Mary opted out of the film-character costume party to attend the wedding. She’d promised to award the trophies at the festival brunch before the sneak preview of Selkie Bride on tomorrow’s final day of the festival.
The scene itself could have come from a movie. The scent from Sofia De Luca’s gardens filled the late-afternoon air with perfume. On an emerald green lawn that smelled of fresh-cut grass, a string ensemble entertained the family and friends who’d gathered for the long-awaited double wedding.
/> J.T.’s parents and grandparents were in the front row, sitting next to Sofia. Next to them was Kelli, who kept sniffling into a tattered Kleenex. As if she’d been welcomed into the family, Mary had been given the seat beside her.
Gabriel St. James was seated on Mary’s other side, and next to him was former Navy SEAL Lucas Chaffee: Sax’s former teammate, and Maddy’s new husband. On the other side of the aisle sat other former team members and close friends—Zach Tremayne, Quinn McKade, Shane Garrett, and Dallas O’Halloran—who had arrived with their wives from South Carolina and California to attend the ceremony.
The two grooms, Sax and John O’Roarke, stood side by side in the lacy white Victorian gazebo brightened by a fragrant profusion of scarlet climbing roses.
“Sax better unlock his knees,” Gabe murmured. “Or he’s going to fall flat on his face.”
He’d no sooner spoken than John leaned over and said something to Sax. Who immediately shifted his weight.
“Looks like thanks to his future father-in-law, the Saxman just lost his chance for YouTube fame,” Lucas said.
When the musicians segued into Handel’s Air, the three groomsmen, J.T., Cole, and John’s nephew Danny Sullivan, paired with bridesmaids Maddy, Charity, and Sedona, walked down the aisle, followed by Kara’s son, Trey, who was carrying the rings on a satin pillow.
Watching the way Sax looked down at the seven-year-old boy he’d adopted caused a lump in Mary’s throat. She knew all too well how painful it was to have a parent die.
When the quartet began playing Bach’s Arioso, a light but beautiful piece of music that Mary had chosen herself for the place in Siren Song when her selkie first emerged out of the water onto the beach, the assembled guests all rose and turned to view the brides.
Both were beautiful, as brides always are on their wedding day. Looking at Kara, Mary could totally see her stepping off a movie screen. Unsurprisingly, given her police training, Shelter Bay’s sheriff appeared cool and self-assured. The only sign of nerves was the splash of bright color on her cheekbones.