by Marie Force
Enough was enough.
He’d dragged himself out of bed, taking his feverish little girl with him. Better to hold her while she slept than to risk being unmanned by a sharp elbow or foot. And Maddie had suggested getting the kids a dog for Christmas. As if! That would be just what he needed—two kids and a dog in his bed.
Thomas had woken up feeling worse and had clung to Maddie, while Hailey was all about Daddy. Usually, that was more than fine with Mac, but after a restless night, he was tired and expecting more of the same tonight.
“I guess we should call Jenny and tell her we’re out for tonight,” Maddie said late in the afternoon.
Thomas was asleep in her arms, and Mac worried about her catching whatever the kids had. She was still in her first trimester of pregnancy, and he didn’t want anything going wrong this time. They’d bounced back from losing their last pregnancy, but thinking of the baby they’d lost could still bring tears to his eyes—and hers.
“I suppose so.” Though he was disappointed about missing the night out with friends, their children came first. “You want me to put him to bed?”
“You can try.”
“Let me put her down first. I’ll come back for him.” Mac went upstairs and got Hailey settled in her crib, watching as she popped her thumb into her mouth. Her cheeks were red from the fever, but it was lower now than it had been earlier. He went down to collect Thomas and got him tucked into bed, too, returning to Maddie, who was stretched out on the sofa. “You feel okay, hon?”
“Yeah, just tired. Been a long day.” Only yesterday, she’d confessed to feeling unattractive to him as her pregnancy had progressed. He’d shown her just how attractive she would always be to him, but he’d looked forward to showing her again last night.
It worried him that she could think he would ever fall out of love—or lust—with her. That would never happen, and he wanted to be sure she knew how much she meant to him. She held out a hand to invite him to lie with her on the sofa.
He gladly accepted the invite, snuggling up to her. “Whatever shall we do with this night we now get to spend at home?”
“We could sleep like sane people would after the day we’ve had.”
“We could, but what fun would that be?” He ran a hand down her back to cup her ass, tugging her in tight against him.
“Is there ever a time you’re not interested in sex, Mac?”
He pretended to think about that for a second. “When you’re in the room? No, not really.”
“You should’ve come with a warning label,” she said, a teasing smile making her eyes sparkle with amusement.
He nuzzled her neck. “What would the warning label have said about me?”
“Whoever marries this man must be prepared to put out morning, noon and night, even after a full day of tending to whining, sick kids.”
“That sounds about right, and I’m glad to hear you’re prepared to put out morning, noon and night.”
She nudged him with her elbow, making him laugh.
“I can’t help it that I love you so much I can’t stop touching you.”
“Don’t try too hard to help it.”
Mac grunted out another laugh as he kissed her. “How about a sofa quickie?”
“Do I have to do anything?”
“Nothing other than be your amazing, sexy self.”
She groaned dramatically. “There is nothing sexy about me right now. I have kid drool on my shirt.”
“I told you yesterday that I don’t want you talking shit about my wife, and I meant it. Everything about her is sexy.”
“I think you may be delusional or under some sort of spell.”
“I’m under the Madeline McCarthy spell. She just does it for me.”
She placed her hand on the face he hadn’t bothered to shave. “Remember when you were single and unencumbered and living it up in Miami? A different hot babe every day?”
He knew she was teasing him, as she often did about his former life. “I never think about Miami or being single. Why would I wish for that when I have you and our kids and my work and my family and a great life here?”
“It’s a better life than the one you had there?”
“You can still ask me that after everything we’ve had together?”
“I wonder sometimes. That’s all.”
Dropping his forehead to rest against hers, he said, “Let me put your mind at ease. There is nowhere I’d rather be than right here with you.”
“Even with sick babies who whine and cry all day?”
“Especially then. I got hours of Hailey snuggles today, which are hard to come by now that she’s on the move.” A strand of Maddie’s caramel-colored hair had broken loose from her ponytail. He tucked it behind the fragile shell of her ear and traced a fingertip over the line of her jaw. “I never wish for my old life.” He kissed her, starting with soft, sweet touches of his lips to hers, which became hotter, deeper kisses when her mouth opened and her tongue teased his. “And I can’t bear that you think there’ll ever be a time when I don’t want you.”
Being with her made the difficult day with the kids fade away. She always had that effect on him, making him forget everything else but her when they were together this way.
Working her leg between his, she pressed her thigh against his erection, making him groan. He thought about suggesting they move this upstairs but didn’t want to take any chances that they’d wake the kids.
Determined to see this through to the finish, right here on the sofa if that was what it took, he worked Maddie’s T-shirt up and over her head. His own shirt went sailing across the room as he knelt to help her out of the yoga pants that had been feeding his fantasies all day as she tended to their children. He loved the way her ass looked in the clingy pants.
Her skin was flushed and rosy from the heat they generated together, and knowing she wanted this as much as he did had him moving faster to get rid of their clothes. The overly large breasts that she hated and he loved were sore from her pregnancy, so he was extra gentle when he held them and ran his tongue over each nipple, making her squirm beneath him. That little squirm ramped up his urgency, and while he would’ve loved to spend more time on foreplay, time alone was one thing they hadn’t had much of today.
He came down on top of her, her arms wrapping around his neck to bring him back for more kisses. Being naked with her was his favorite thing in the entire world. “Missed you,” he whispered as he captured her lips for another tongue-twisting kiss.
“We did this yesterday, Mac. You haven’t had time to miss me.”
“I missed you today when I had to share you with the other man in your life.”
Smiling, she tilted her hips in invitation, and that was all the encouragement he needed to enter her in one smooth thrust that made him gasp from the overwhelming pleasure.
“God,” he whispered, “that’s so good. It’s always so good.”
“Don’t go slow, Mac. Not tonight.” She wrapped her legs around his hips and pushed into his thrust, making him see stars. Between that and the way she dug her fingers into his ass, tugging him deeper into her—
A cry from upstairs made him freeze mid-thrust.
“Mommy!”
Mac wanted to wail—and he wanted to finish.
Maddie pushed at his shoulder. “Let me up.”
“Maddie…”
“I’ll meet you in bed after I settle him.”
Though it was the very last thing he wanted to do, he withdrew, helped her sit, found her T-shirt and handed it to her.
She kissed him before she headed for the stairs. “Sorry.”
With his cock throbbing and his heart beating furiously, he fell back on the sofa, trying to calm himself and taking a measure of comfort from one small thing—at least Thomas hadn’t caught them in the act this time.
Luke brushed the hair back from Sydney’s forehead, gazing down at her as she slept in the hospital bed. Dried tear tracks marred her otherwise flawless com
plexion.
Thank God. Thank God. Thank God. The two-word phrase cycled through his mind like a chant, because the baby was fine. Syd was fine. Earlier, when she’d looked at him with those big doe eyes and told him she was bleeding, he’d had to force himself to keep it together for her when he was freaking out on the inside at the thought of losing the baby they both wanted so badly.
He had to keep reminding himself that she was fine. The baby was fine. Everything was okay. Sydney had worn herself out, worrying and crying and stressing. They’d given her something to settle her and had decided to keep her overnight because her blood pressure was higher than it should be.
Gee, I wonder why.
Then he remembered that Slim was still here, waiting for word about Syd’s condition before he left.
Luke bent to kiss her pale cheek and went to find his friend, who was right where he’d left him in the waiting room, flipping through a copy of People magazine. He jumped up when he saw Luke coming. “How are they?”
“Fine, thank goodness.”
“Oh,” Slim said, heaving a huge sigh of relief. “That’s great news.”
“They’re going to keep her overnight, so you can split. Sorry to have messed up your day. Send me a bill for the flight.”
“No apologies needed, and Merry Christmas on the flight.”
“Slim—”
He waved off Luke’s protest. “That’s the end of it. I’m so glad everything is okay.”
“Thank you. I’m glad, too. So damned glad. If anything ever happened to her… I can’t even imagine it.”
“I don’t know how all you guys do it.”
“Do what?” Luke asked.
“The wife and kids and home and hearth thing. It’s so fraught with peril everywhere you look.” He shuddered. “The thought of giving someone that much power over me… It’s frightening.”
Luke smiled for the first time in hours. “It’s also the best thing to ever happen. To be loved the way she loves me… There’s nothing else like it in this world.”
“If you say so.”
“When I saw you with Erin at Jenny and Alex’s wedding, I thought maybe something might come of that. The sparks were flying. Everyone saw it.”
“I’m spending the holidays with her at the lighthouse.”
“Oh, wow, I hadn’t heard that.”
“It was just decided this morning.”
“I hate to tell you, but spending the holidays with a woman smacks of serious.”
“It does not. We’re hanging out, having fun.”
“Just be careful,” Luke said with a teasing grin that belied his exhaustion. “You might find yourself with a shackle around your ankle in the new year.”
“Bite your tongue,” Slim said, smiling.
Luke extended his hand. “Thank you again for everything today—the ride and the support. Much appreciated.”
Slim shook his hand and gave him a bro hug. “Any time. Give me a ring when you’re ready to head home. I’ll pick you up.”
“You’re the best, but don’t worry about us. We’ll take the boat back when Syd’s ready.” Luke sent Slim on his way and returned to Sydney’s room in the ER. They’d be moving her upstairs to the OB ward in the next hour or so. He sat by her bed, took hold of her hand and rolled his head, seeking to relieve some of the tension in his neck and shoulders.
She squeezed his hand.
He raised his head to find her watching him with concern.
“Are you okay?”
“If you are, I am.”
“Sorry to put you through such an ordeal.”
“Don’t be sorry. I have a feeling this won’t be the only time our little princess puts us through the wringer.”
She smiled. “What a way to learn what we’re having.”
“At least we’ll never forget the first time we saw her.”
“No, we won’t. Do you want to go to a hotel for the night? No need for both of us to be stuck here.”
“I’m not going anywhere without you and the princess.”
“Are you sure?”
He raised her hand to his lips. “I’m very sure.”
On the flight back to Gansett, Slim thought about the conversation he’d had with Luke. He’d spoken the truth about being fearful of giving anyone that much power over him. But even as he’d said the words, he knew he’d already given Erin the power to hurt him, which was a sobering thought. When, exactly, had that happened?
At the very beginning, if he was being honest with himself. He thought about the night he’d come upon her sitting outside the lighthouse, tending to a fire and crying about her dead brother’s fiancée marrying someone else. Her grief had broken his heart that night, and her fortitude had impressed him ever since.
Not only had she gotten through Jenny’s wedding, she’d positively sparkled as one of her bridesmaids, tending to the woman who should’ve been her beloved brother’s wife. That took some kind of guts, and he admired her tremendously for the way she’d put aside her own pain to rally for her friend.
But seeing Luke so undone over Sydney earlier had given him pause. Caring that much about someone else was a scary thing, and something he’d gone out of his way to avoid. Soon he would be forty, and he was no closer to settling down than he’d been at twenty.
Regardless of how attracted he was to Erin—and he was incredibly attracted to her—he wasn’t sure the family-man life was for him, and he had no idea at all what she wanted. They hadn’t “gone there” in their many conversations. He might be getting way ahead of himself—and her—by asking questions about home and hearth and family.
A shackle around his ankle would give him hives. No doubt about that. But the idea of spending more time with Erin made him happy and excited for what might be possible. Enjoying a woman didn’t equate to being shackled. Did it?
As the island came into view, he turned his full focus toward landing safely, relying on the runway lights to touch down in the dark. Slim couldn’t wait to get to her, to be with her, to kiss her some more, to… Damn, maybe he was more shackled than he’d thought.
He went through the methodical routine of securing his plane—speaking of shackles—by attaching the clips to the metal rings built into the tarmac to ensure that the gusty winds expected over the weekend wouldn’t damage his livelihood.
The second he was in the cab of his truck, he sent Erin a text to find out where she was.
At Jenny’s. Are you back?
Just now. On my way.
See you soon.
Can’t wait.
He couldn’t wait either. Shackled had never felt so good.
Chapter 7
“Check out that big smile,” Jenny said after Erin stashed her phone in the back pocket of her jeans and resumed chopping red peppers for Jenny’s veggie tray.
“What big smile?”
“The one that stretched across your face when you heard from your sexy pilot.”
“He’s not my sexy pilot,” Erin said, beginning to feel uncomfortable with Jenny’s certainty that something would come of her friendship with Slim.
“Is he or is he not a sexy pilot?”
“He is.”
“Is he or is he not shacking up with you over the holidays?”
“Have you always been this much of an ass pain, or did it start when you were happily married?”
“She’s much more of a pain since she got married,” Alex said as he came into the room, grinning at his wife.
“Listen to him,” Jenny said, scoffing. “I’m the best wife he’s ever had.”
“You know it, baby.” He hooked his arm around her from behind and kissed her neck until she giggled like a schoolgirl.
Erin was taken by surprise when her heart began to ache. By now, she ought to be used to seeing Jenny in love with someone else. But until she’d come to the island over the summer, Alex had existed in the abstract for her, the new guy Jenny was seeing. Now he was a flesh-and-blood man who was obviously crazy abo
ut Jenny. Toby’s Jenny…
“Er?”
Erin looked up from the pulverized peppers to realize Jenny had been talking to her. “Sorry, I was spacing.”
Jenny sent her a dirty smile.
She thought Erin was thinking about Slim. That was for the best. The last thing Erin would ever want to do was crap on the happiness Jenny had waited so long to find. Toby, who’d been madly in love with Jenny, would tell Erin to get over herself and get on board, especially while she was a guest in Jenny and Alex’s beautiful new home.
Paul and Hope came in a few minutes later with Hope’s son, Ethan, who was full of pre-Christmas excitement.
“I set you up with the Xbox in the bedroom,” Alex said to Ethan.
“Nice!”
“One hour and then it’s bedtime,” Hope called after her son.
“Mac and Maddie’s kids are sick, so they’re out tonight,” Jenny said. “But they invited everyone to their house on the twenty-sixth.”
“Sure, sounds fun,” Hope said.
“You guys never quit with the partying,” Erin said.
“That’s all there is to do around here this time of year,” Hope said.
“Need me to give you some pointers for passing the time, bro?” Alex asked, a cocky grin making his eyes gleam with mischief.
“Oh, sorry, honey,” Hope said, wincing. “I tossed him a softball, didn’t I?”
“And he hit it right out of the park.” Paul smiled at Hope and put his arm around her. “You should know better by now.”
“I really should.”
“Alex’s dirty mind and mouth are the thing of legend,” Jenny said for Erin’s edification.
“You love my dirty mind, and you positively adore my dirty mouth.”
Jenny stuffed a roll in his mouth, making everyone laugh hysterically.
“I love you so much, Jenny.” Paul wiped laughter tears from his eyes. “So, so much.”
“You love that I manage him for you,” Jenny said to her brother-in-law.