Gansett Island Boxed Set Books 1-16 (Gansett Island Series)

by Marie Force

  “I don’t think I can, babe. I’ve got all these invoices—”

  Grace kissed the words right off his lips, going for broke with a kiss designed to remind him of what would be waiting for him at home. “Please?”

  “Aww, baby, what am I supposed to say when you ask me like that?”

  “How about, ‘Yes, Grace, I’d love to go home and sleep with you tonight.’”

  He smiled and kissed the end of her nose. “Yes, Grace, I’d love to go home and sleep with you tonight.”

  “Excellent.”

  He squeezed her tight before he released her. “You’re full of beans tonight.”

  “I’m lonely for you.”

  When they were both standing, he embraced her again, kissing the top of her head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to neglect you.”

  “Have you been hiding out here?”

  Perplexed by the question, he said, “Hiding from you?”

  “Not from me, but from something else maybe?”

  “I’m not hiding, Grace. I’m working. I promise.”

  “Okay.”

  “Let’s get out of here.”

  She waited while he shut down all the equipment and locked everything up. Outside, she watched him glance at the motorcycle with a bit of trepidation. “How about I drive?” she asked. “I can bring you back in the morning before work.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “You’re exhausted, Ev. Let me drive you home.”

  “I won’t say no to that.”

  “You need to do something about this landscaping.”

  “I’ve got my friend Alex Martinez coming tomorrow.”

  “Is he related to the Martinez Garden people?”

  “One of their sons. I went to school with him and his brother Paul. Alex is a master gardener. He worked for a time for the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington. He came back to the island after his mother got sick, because Paul needed help running the business.”

  “Is his mom Marion Martinez?”

  “Yes, I think that’s her name. Do you know her?”

  “I haven’t met her, but her sons come into the pharmacy. Nice-looking guys.”

  “So now you’re checking out the customers, Ms. Ryan?”

  Grace smiled at his proprietary tone. “I might be madly in love with my sexy boyfriend, but I’m not blind or dead.”

  He leaned across the console to nibble on her neck. “Madly in love, huh? That boyfriend of yours is one lucky bastard.”

  “I keep telling him that, but sometimes I wonder if he knows it.”

  “He knows, baby. You don’t ever need to wonder about that.”

  “I was kidding, Evan.”

  Resting his head on her shoulder, he said, “I know.”

  At home, Evan took a shower and shaved while Grace brushed her teeth and changed into a nightgown. Listening to him in the shower, she realized how much she’d missed sharing their home in the last week. Nothing was the same without him around.

  She got in bed and picked up the book that had been keeping her company during her nights alone, but couldn’t seem to concentrate on what she was reading.

  Evan emerged from the bathroom in a cloud of steam. Once it cleared, she saw that he was completely naked and heading for the bed.

  She licked her lips in anticipation.

  “Aaah,” he said as he settled in next to her. “Feels good to be in a real bed. That sofa in the office isn’t very comfortable.”

  She rested her hand on his chest. “I’m proud of what you’ve done with the studio, Evan. It’s going to be an awesome success. I know it.”

  He covered her hand with his own. “I sure hope so.”

  “Why do you look so worried?”

  “I’ve got a lot riding on that place. A lot.”

  “You’re worried about protecting Ned’s investment, but you know he gave you that money free and clear—”

  “That’s not the part I’m most concerned about.”

  “Then what?”

  “I can’t tell you. It’ll make you mad.”

  She tugged lightly on a tuft of chest hair. “Now you have to tell me.”

  “Only if you swear not to get mad.”

  “I have a feeling I shouldn’t do that before I hear your big secret.”

  “You have to swear you won’t get mad if you want to hear it.”

  “Fine. I swear. Now tell me.”

  “I promised your dad I wouldn’t propose to you until the studio is making real money.” He looked over at her. “And I really want to propose to you.”

  Grace went cold all over with shock. “You… He… You did what? When did this happen?

  “A while ago.”

  “Oh my God! I can’t believe him! This is outrageous! You don’t have to honor that promise, Evan. I absolve you.”

  “I do have to honor it, Grace, and you can’t absolve me. I gave him my word.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  “Because it seemed to matter a lot to him that you not marry a freeloading loser.”

  Grace had never been more furious in her life. “I’m going to kill him. I’m going to kill them both.”

  “No, you’re not. He has a good point, and if you were my kid, I’d probably feel the same way about my smart, studious daughter shackling herself to a musician who’s had more bad luck than good.”

  “This is why you’ve been working like a madman over there?”

  “Not the only reason, but the most important one. I’m determined to show him—”

  “Stop,” Grace said, blinking back tears as she covered his mouth with her fingers. “Don’t say any more. You don’t have to show anyone anything, least of all my family or me. You’re everything. From the first minute you came over to me after that rat bastard Trey abandoned me here without a nickel to my name, you’ve been my everything. You always will be. I don’t care if you’re dirt poor and never have another paying job. None of that matters to me, and if you know me at all, you know I’ve long ago stopped letting my parents’ opinions matter to me. If I’d continued to listen to them, I’d still be three hundred pounds and as miserable as any person could possibly be.”

  “Grace…”

  “I love you, Evan. I love you exactly the way you are. The studio could be the most successful in the business, and I wouldn’t love you any more than I already do.”

  “Do you know,” he said, leaving a trail of kisses from the crook of her elbow along the tender skin of her inner arm, “that I thank God every day for the rat bastard who abandoned you at our docks?”

  “Is that right?”

  Nodding, he kissed the palm of her hand and then looked up at her. “Marry me, Grace.”

  “Of course I’m going to marry you. All you had to do was ask.”

  “Stay there,” he said, bounding out of bed.

  “Where’re you going?”

  “You’ll see.” He returned a minute later, slid back into bed and tugged her in close to him. “Hold out your left hand and close your eyes.”

  Smiling, Grace did as he directed, holding back tears as he slid a ring onto her third finger. “Can I look yet?”

  “Go ahead.”

  “Oh, Evan! Oh my God, it’s gorgeous!” A large, emerald-cut diamond sat surrounded by smaller diamonds in an antique setting. She couldn’t stop staring at it. “When did you do this?”

  “Remember when I went to the mainland to buy the equipment for the studio?”

  “That was a couple of months ago.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “You’ve had it all this time and never said a word?”

  “I told you. I wanted to get the studio off the ground before I asked you.”

  Grace threw her arms around his neck and held on tight.

  “Do you like the ring? If you want something different—”

  She kissed the words right off his lips, putting everything she had into a kiss that she hoped would tell him all he needed to know about how much she loved
the ring—and him.

  “Whoa, Nelly,” he said when they resurfaced many minutes later. “I take that to mean you like it?”

  “I love it. It’s absolutely beautiful.”

  “I want you to know I paid for it with the money I made on my record deal, not the money Ned gave me for the studio.”

  It touched her to know that he cared about such things. “You shouldn’t have spent so much on me.”

  “Who else should I spend it on?”

  “When I went to fetch you tonight, I didn’t think our evening would turn out this way,” she said, still gazing at the gorgeous ring. “I can’t believe it. I never thought anything like this would happen to me. And then last week, when you were missing all that time… I found out what it feels like to have your heart literally break.”

  “Aww, baby. I’m so sorry I put you through that. You were all I could think about out there. Thinking about you kept me going.”

  They held each other for a long time, and then he drew back so he could see her face. “Are you happy?”

  “So happy. Happier than I’ve ever been.”

  He kissed her softly, holding her gaze. “So am I. No one has ever had so much faith in me or loved me the way you do. Have I ever told you how glad I am that you insisted on trying to pay back the money I loaned you?”

  “If I recall correctly, you were annoyed with me for tracking you down.”

  “That wasn’t annoyance. It was relief. Pure and simple. I’d never been so happy to see anyone.” As he spoke, he moved them as one so he was on top of her. “I’ve been happy to see you every day since then, too. There’s no one I’d rather be with in this whole world.”

  Cradling him between her legs, she raised her hips, letting him know what she wanted.

  He didn’t have to be told twice. “There’s nothing like this, Grace. No one like you.” He made slow, sweet love to her, driving her crazy the way only he could, her one and only love. “When do you want to get married?”

  “As soon as we can.”

  “We can’t upstage Laura and Owen.”

  Grace wondered how he could think so clearly when he was making a muddled mess out of her brain one stroke at a time. And then he reached down to where they were joined and caressed her in all the right places, clearing every thought from her head that didn’t involve the incredible high that came with loving him.

  “God,” he said, groaning. “I love you. I’m so glad you’re gonna marry me.”

  Laughing and crying, she held him close, soothing him as he reached his own release.

  “This winter,” he said when he could speak again. “We’ll get married this winter.”

  “Fine by me.”

  Reclining against a huge pile of pillows, Abby couldn’t take her eyes off Adam as he unbuttoned his shirt and took it off at her request but left his pants on. “Could I ask you something?”

  “Anything you want.”

  “Is it weird that before yesterday we never thought of each other this way, and now…”

  “Now it’s all we can think about?”

  Biting her lip, she nodded.

  “I think,” he said, as he crawled from the foot of the bed to join her, “it’s a matter of timing. It’s a matter of both of us being in this place and this time and finding something in each other that we need right now.”

  “That’s a nice way to put it.”

  He reached out to run his index finger over her cheek, a soft touch that sent tremors ricocheting through her body. “Are you nervous about doing this with me?”

  “A little.”

  “Why? Because of Grant?”

  “No. I’m not thinking about him. I haven’t thought about him that way in a very long time.”

  “Then why?” His finger moved from her face to her neck and down to the valley between her breasts, which were still contained by the bra.

  “I’m afraid it’ll be like it was before.”

  “Unsatisfying, you mean.”

  “Yes.”

  “If it is, will you tell me?”

  “I don’t know…”

  “I’d want you to. I don’t want you to fake anything with me.”

  Abby tried to focus on the conversation, but that was hard to do with his finger moving slowly over her belly, circling her navel and continuing straight down her middle, over the seam between her legs.

  “Does that feel good?”

  “Yes.” Her heart beat wildly as she waited to see what else he would do.

  The tip of his finger moved lightly down her inner thigh to the back of her knee, before taking the same slow, torturous journey back up. This time when he reached the juncture of her legs, Abby gasped.

  “Don’t think,” he whispered. “Close your eyes and just feel.”

  Although she was hesitant, she did as he asked and gave herself over to the darkness and the tingling trail of sensation he left as his finger slid over her skin. If he could arouse her so fully with the tip of one finger, what else was he capable of?

  “You’re thinking. I can hear your wheels turning. Let it all go. It’s just you and me, and I think you’re amazing, beautiful and sexy as all hell. Every guy in the bar was jealous of me tonight because I got to leave with you.”

  “I doubt that.”

  “Shhh. You’re not thinking. You’re feeling.”

  Abby released an exasperated sigh that turned into another gasp when she felt his lips between her breasts.

  “Relax, honey. Let me worship you.”

  How long had she waited to hear those words? Did he have any idea what a turn-on that was for her?

  His tongue was warm against her nipple, arousing her through the lacy bra. When he bit down lightly, she cried out.

  “Adam…”

  “Hmm?”

  “Can I touch you, too?”

  “You can do whatever you want as long as you keep your eyes closed and don’t think.”

  “I’ll try.”

  With her hand curled around the back of his neck, she held him to her chest, letting him know she liked what he was doing there.

  He found the front clasp of her bra and released it, pushing the cups to the side.

  “So beautiful,” he whispered, placing soft kisses everywhere but where she yearned for them. “So, so beautiful. I bet you have no idea how sexy you really are. I wish you could see what I see right now.” He punctuated his incredibly stirring words with the touch of his tongue on her left nipple. “You taste like heaven.” He teased her nipple with only his teeth and tongue, setting off a riot of reaction that settled between her legs in an insistent throb. And then he added suction and more swipes of his tongue.

  Abby fisted a handful of his hair, her entire focus drawn to the pull of his warm mouth on her tender nipple. She squirmed under him, trying to get closer.

  He responded by aligning the hard column of his erection to her core. And then he turned his attention to her other breast, giving it the same treatment while pressing rhythmically against her.

  Her entire body was on fire, straining and yearning for fulfillment.

  “Let it happen,” he whispered, his breath warm against her breast. “Let go of all your worries and focus on how it feels. Don’t think about anything else.” He sucked hard on her nipple while pinching the other one, still sensitive from his earlier attention, between his fingers. The combination of his tender words and actions was her undoing.

  She came hard, screaming from the pleasure and the full-body orgasm that made her scalp tingle and the soles of her feet burn. Her senses returned slowly, and it occurred to her that if he could do that to her with her panties still on, what might it be like to actually make love with him?

  “You’re thinking,” he whispered.

  Abby opened her eyes and met his gaze. “That was amazing.”

  “It was amazing from my end, too. How about we do it again?”

  She was still recovering from the first one. “I don’t think I could.”


  “I’d like to prove otherwise. Will you let me?” He made his case by dragging the tip of his tongue on the same path his finger had taken earlier. Before he reached the waistband of her panties, Abby was already onboard with his effort to prove her wrong.

  “Is that a yes?”

  “Yes… Yes.”

  “Close your eyes. No thinking. Only feeling.” He moved down on the bed, kissing and licking and nibbling as he went. “Tell me what you like.”

  He expected her to talk when she could barely breathe? She opened her eyes to find him watching her.

  “Abby…” His chin settled on the scrap of silk that covered her as he looked up at her with piercing blue eyes.

  “I…I’ve never been a big fan of…of that.”

  Adam raised his head and touched his tongue to the heart of her. “This?”

  Her entire body heated with acute embarrassment even as her legs parted ever so slightly to make room for him. “Yes.”

  “Why not?”

  Could this be any more mortifying? “I don’t know.”

  “I think you do, but you’re too shy to say so. Where has shyness gotten you? Unsatisfied, unfulfilled, unhappy—”

  “All right! All right… It makes me self-conscious thinking about…”

  “About what?”

  She put her hands over her face. “I can’t say it!”

  “About whether it smells good to your partner? Tastes good? Feels good? Any of those things?”

  “Yes, yes and yes,” she said, her hands muffling her voice.

  “That shouldn’t be a problem for us.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re not thinking, remember? You’re only allowed to feel. You’re not allowed to think about how it is for me. You’re only thinking about you.”

  “I don’t know if I can do that.”

  His hands slid under her, tangling in the string of her thong and tugging it free. “Let’s see if you can, shall we?”

  As the silky thong slid down over her legs, Abby knew a moment of panic. What if she disappointed him? He’d been so sweet and considerate. “Adam… I don’t know about this. I’ve never been able to, you know… Not like that.”

  “Do you trust me?”

  “As I’m currently spread out naked before you, I’d say it’s rather obvious that I trust you.”