by Marie Force
Carolina let loose with the delicate laugh that always reminded Joe of the sound wind chimes made.
“Why is that funny?”
“Is there any chance she might be pregnant?”
“What?” Joe felt like he’d been hit with an electric cattle prod. “No. There’s no chance she’s pregnant.”
“You say that like the two of you aren’t going at it every chance you get.”
“Mom!”
“Oh, don’t be a prude. I remember what it’s like to be a newlywed, and I’ve seen you two together. You can barely keep your hands off her in a room full of people. It doesn’t take much imagination to picture what goes on when you’re alone.”
“This is a very inappropriate conversation for a grown man to have with his mother.”
“Since when have we ever been appropriate?”
Joe laughed at that. She’d taught him every swear word and filthy joke she knew by the time he was ten. Thanks to her, he’d been the first boy in his class to know the ins and outs of sex, information he’d happily shared with his peers.
“Remember the phone call from the school?” she asked, the merriment in her tone coming through the phone line.
“I was just thinking about that!”
They shared a laugh, remembering. “You were everyone’s best friend that year.”
“Yes, I was.”
“I thought Linda would kill me when Mac brought the info home to his younger brothers,” she said with another laugh. “So is it possible your lovely wife is pregnant?”
Joe swallowed hard, imagining what Janey would have to say about being pregnant when she was only in her second year of veterinary school. “I suppose it’s possible. If she is, she’s going to kill me.”
“Now, darling, just remind her it takes two to tango.”
Joe felt a little ill at the thought of raising the topic of pregnancy with his wife, who was stressed out enough with a full course load. But the idea of a baby, their baby. . . That filled him with the kind of giddy hope he’d only experienced once before, when he and Janey were first together.
“You might want to think about buying a test,” his mother said.
“I’ll talk to her.”
“And of course I’ll be the first to know if she is.”
“Naturally.”
“Don’t let her kill you. I couldn’t live without you.”
“Don’t worry. I think she loves me enough to let me live.”
“Yes, she does. You’re a lucky man.”
“Believe me, I know that. I’ve never been happier in my life. I want the same for you, too.”
“That’s very sweet of you, but you know I’m happy.”
“You’re content. That’s different than happy. Trust me, I know.”
“I’ve decided to spend the winter on the island,” she said, clearly not interested in pursuing the subject of her happiness any further.
“How come?” She lived in Connecticut but still owned the ramshackle island house her parents had called home. Other than the summer she’d spent in Tuscany the year he and Janey got together, she’d never missed a summer on Gansett but had given up on the winters after her parents passed away.
“Ever since I agreed to let Karen fix me up, all our friends want in on the game. I have no desire to be everyone’s pet project. I’d rather go out to the island and get some work done.” She designed jewelry and was happiest when she was hunkered down in her studio for hours on end.
“I hate to think of you out there all alone in the winter. Besides, there’s only the one wood stove. You’ll freeze your ass off.” He remembered sleeping near that woodstove on many a cold winter night as a child.
“I’ll be fine. I’ll hardly be alone. I have plenty of friends still living there.”
“I’ll send Mac over to check on the stove and make sure the roof isn’t leaking.”
“You don’t have to do that. He’s busy with the new baby and his own family.”
“I’m texting him the minute we hang up. Do me a favor when you get there and check in with Seamus. Make sure he’s not running our business into the ground.”
“Oh, I’d love to. He’s such a sweetheart. You couldn’t have hired a better steward to handle the ferries while you’re in Ohio with Janey.”
“He’s been a godsend for sure, but he’s full of big ideas on how we can grow the business. He exhausts me.”
Carolina laughed. “You know you’ll have to keep him on when you get back to the island. You’ll break his heart if you let him go.”
“I’ve already thought the same thing. It certainly doesn’t suck to have someone competent to lean on so I can have a life of my own, especially now.”
“You’ve worked like a madman running that business on your own for your entire adult life. If anyone has earned a break, it’s you.”
“Thanks for that.” She’d kept the books for years after his grandfather died, until Joe hired an accountant and freed her up to pursue her own passion. He’d retained her on the company’s payroll and health insurance, however, a move that continued to be a point of contention between them. Since his grandfather had left the business to both of them, Joe wasn’t budging on either of those things.
“How’s the painting going?” she asked.
“Great. It’s nice to have time to indulge, as you would say.”
“And your class? How’s that working out?”
“I love it,” he said, still amazed that Janey had submitted an application for him to teach a first-year painting class at Ohio State and only told him about it when the school called about an interview.
“I bet you’re a wonderful teacher.”
“I don’t know about that. It’s fun, though.”
“Good. Well, I need to run and start packing. The more I think of spending the winter on the island, the more excited I get. It’s been years since I’ve been out there in the offseason. It used to be my favorite time of year there.”
“I remember. We thought you were nuts.”
“Sticks and stones, darling. Let me know how the pregnancy test works out.”
“I will,” Joe said with a sinking feeling. Janey wouldn’t actually kill him, but he doubted she’d be thrilled to be pregnant with so much school still to go before she got her degree.
Owen came awake slowly, the sensual memories from the night before hitting him fast and furious, one after the other, each more exciting than the one before. Laura was pressed against him, sleeping soundly in his arms. He hadn’t planned to stay, but when she fell asleep he hadn’t wanted to disturb her.
Keep telling yourself that, you opportunistic asshole. In truth, a team of mules and ten men couldn’t have dragged him way from her lush softness. He took a quick inventory and realized her hand was tucked into the back of the jeans he’d left on out of sheer self-preservation. Her leg was between his and her baby bump was resting against his belly.
The baby chose that moment to let him know it was awake, and Owen was breathless as he felt the ripple of movement against his skin. The miracle of it, the miracle of her, of what had been decided between them, was almost too much for him to process. He’d laid himself bare to her in a way he’d never done with any other woman. While he normally would’ve been embarrassed recalling the deeply personal thoughts he’d shared with her, he wasn’t embarrassed. Rather, he was exhilarated and relieved that she finally knew the full depths of his devotion to her.
He’d stopped just short of telling her he loved her. He was saving that for after she saw Justin and resolved things with her estranged husband. There would be plenty of time after that obstacle was cleared for declarations of love.
Unable to resist the opportunity to touch her, he ran his hand lightly over her back as he breathed in her sweet scent. When he reached the waistband of her yoga pants, he hesitated for a second before letting his fingers venture the slightest bit inside. He stopped abruptly when he reached the top of one cheek, knowing if he went any fu
rther he wouldn’t be able to resist taking more.
He withdrew his hand, and was startled by a mewl of protest from her. Even though her eyes were still closed, she tilted her hips to press her core against him, and he went hard as stone. A hiss of desire and frustration escaped from his clenched teeth.
“Don’t stop,” she whispered, rubbing herself against him with increasing urgency.
“Laura,” he gasped.
She took his hand and returned it to her lower back. “Don’t stop,” she said again.
Did she think he was made of stone? That he could be tempted this way and not act? He’d tried to do the honorable thing by putting their relationship on hold until Justin knew about the baby, but she wasn’t making it easy to remember his resolve.
Her hand moved over his chest as she continued to push against him in an increasingly provocative rhythm that was making him crazier by the second. Because she’d asked so nicely—and so insistently—he pushed his hand into the back of her pants again, this time cupping a sweet cheek that fit perfectly into his large hand.
“Yes,” she whispered, her breath hot against his neck. She tugged on the button to his jeans, unzipped him and had her hand wrapped around his straining erection so quickly he didn’t have time to protest—not that he would have.
As if it had a mind of its own, his hand delved into the cleft between her cheeks until he encountered slick heat.
She moaned as he made contact with her clit and stroked him harder when he slid two fingers into her tight channel. When she raised her face, seeking his mouth, he kissed her with an urgency he’d never experienced so acutely before, as if he would drown or suffocate or die some other miserable way if she didn’t save him. Tongues clashed and battled as the movement of their hands became more desperate.
“Owen,” she panted, moving her leg to give him better access. “Owen. . .” She came hard around his fingers, triggering his own almost-violent release as weeks of longing poured forth in the most intense orgasm he’d ever experienced. It left him panting and sweating and spinning as he came back down to find her watching him with bottomless blue eyes.
“Wow,” she said, looking rather satisfied with herself.
“Yeah. Wow.” As much as it had been, it wasn’t nearly enough. He wanted to be inside her so badly he closed his eyes and shuddered when the need grabbed him by the throat, refusing to let go until he’d had all of her. The next few days were going to be hell on earth.
She caressed his face with her soft hand. “Are you okay?”
He nodded because he didn’t trust himself to speak and having her touch him wasn’t doing a thing to lessen the need. It only made it greater, if that was possible.
“You don’t look okay.”
He couldn’t help but offer a small smile at the concern he heard in her voice. Opening his eyes, he met her worried gaze. “You demolished me.”
Her eyes widened into an adorably innocent expression. “I did?”
“Totally.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“It was a very good thing. But it’s left me wanting so much more.”
The hand that had been gently soothing his face stopped all of a sudden. “I want more, too. I’ve never experienced anything like this. I didn’t even know. . .”
“Neither did I.”
They were sticky and sweaty and the air smelled of sex, but he couldn’t bring himself to let her go. Suddenly, he was afraid. What if he had waited his entire life to find this woman and he somehow managed to mess it up? What if Justin refused to give her a divorce? What if he never again got to hold her and touch her this way?
That couldn’t happen. He wouldn’t let it. One way or the other, he would make this work. He would make sure they both got everything they wanted—and then some. “We need a shower.”
“Mmm.” Her fingers had moved to his unruly hair, smoothing and combing. That was all it took to fire him up all over again. “In a minute.”
Because he was afraid he might forget all about his honorable intentions and give in to overwhelming temptation, he attempted to zip his jeans over his still-hard cock, but the zipper wouldn’t cooperate.
Laura laughed at his dilemma. “I thought we took care of that problem.”
“I thought so, too,” Owen said, grimacing at the way her laughter only made the ache worse. “It’s your influence. He can’t get enough of you.”
She trailed a finger down his neck to his chest, dragging her nail over his nipple.
“Is that supposed to be helping?” he asked, sounding strangled.
“We don’t have to wait, Owen.”
He stopped her hand before it could travel any lower. In the state he was in, if she so much as brushed against him, he’d detonate.
“I’ve filed for divorce. I’m single in every way that matters.”
“You have to resolve the situation with the baby first. I don’t know why that matters so much to me. It just does.” He bent his head to kiss her, making sure to keep a tight rein on the desire to plunder her sweet mouth. It wouldn’t take much to give into the tremendous temptation. “We’ll have all the time in the world once you get that worked out. We’ll spend entire days in bed.”
Laura laughed at that. “And what will your grandmother say when her hotel isn’t ready for opening in the spring?”
Owen hovered just above her, so close their lips were nearly touching. “She will say it was time very well spent. She’s always wanted me to find someone special and settle down.”
“Is that what you’re doing with me? Settling down?”
He snorted out a laugh. “I’m hardly ‘settled’ around you. Agitated, horny, desperate, frustrated, needy, happy. . .”
She rolled her bottom lip between her teeth as she looked up at him. “Are you happy?”
“Very much so. Are you?”
Nodding, she said, “So happy. Who would’ve thought I’d be in the boat I’m in—pregnant and divorcing my cheating husband—but happier than I’ve ever been in my life? It’s all because of you.”
“I’ll be happier when he knows about the baby and you guys have a plan for how you’re going to handle custody.” Owen rested his forehead against hers. “You do realize it’ll be almost impossible to share joint custody when you’re living out here and he’s in Providence, don’t you?”
“I’m almost certain he won’t want joint custody. He’s too selfish and career-oriented. He won’t want to be responsible for the baby on his own.”
“I don’t even know him, but I already know that if he can find a way to make life difficult for you, he’s probably going to do it.” And that, Owen realized, was his greatest fear.
“My father can make life difficult for him, too. I plan to remind him of that on Friday, if I need to.”
Owen hoped threats against his precious career would be enough to convince Justin to let her go.
Sydney stood in front of the mirror and gave her face a careful inspection. The sleepless night was obvious in the smudges below her green eyes. Thoughts of Jenny’s story had kept Syd awake, thinking about how she should approach the other woman. What had seemed like such a good idea now had her wondering if Luke had been right to be concerned.
But she was determined to at least see Jenny and make her aware of the other women on the island who were anxious to meet her and make her feel welcome.
She glanced down at the ring Luke had given her, struck again by its unique beauty. That he’d gotten her a ring she would’ve chosen for herself was further proof he was the one for her—as if she needed further proof. When she’d arrived on the island earlier in the summer after leaving the teaching job she’d once loved, she’d reconnected with Luke, and he’d helped her to put the pieces back together. His patience and tenderness had been a balm on the open wound on her soul. She thought of her late husband and children every day, but the memories were becoming easier to bear with the passage of time.
Being with Luke filled her with a s
ense of peace and tranquility she hadn’t expected to find again after she lost her family. Her skin heated when memories of the passionate night with Luke played through her mind like an R-rated movie. Well, most of it was probably X-rated, she thought with a smile.
“What are you all smiles about?” Luke asked as he stepped into the bathroom and handed her a steaming mug of coffee.
“Oh thank you!” She rewarded him with a lingering kiss. “I have so much to smile about this morning.”
He hugged her from behind and propped his chin on her shoulder. “It’s nice to see you happy.”
Sydney put the mug on the counter and turned to him, resting her hands on his shoulders. “I don’t think I could’ve gotten here without you.”
“Yes, you would have. You were well on your way before we got back together.”
“I was doing okay. I never would’ve gotten past ‘just okay’ without you. Without this.” She went up on tiptoes to kiss him more intently. “Without us.”
“You saved me, too, you know.”
Syd raised a skeptical eyebrow. “How so?”
“I was destined for a life as a cranky loner who coasted through life without experiencing the finer points.”
“And do you feel like you’re experiencing the finer points now?”
He moved his hands from her hips to her breasts, sliding his thumbs back and forth over nipples that responded to him instantly. “The finest of fine points.”
She tossed her head back and laughed, which gave him permission to leave hot, open-mouthed kisses on her neck. “Didn’t you get enough last night?”
“Never enough,” he said as he used his hand on her bottom to better align them so she could feel how much he wanted her.
“You have to go to work, and I’ve got a lighthouse keeper I need to see.”
“You’re really going to let me walk around all day in this condition?” He took her hand and held it against his rigid length. “Is that the kind of wife you plan to be?”
Sydney knew she should have some sort of witty comeback to an outrageous statement like that, but as usual, her brain turned to mush when he touched her. The combination of his fingers playing with her nipple and the pressure of his erection against her hand had her wavering. “What about work?”