by Marie Force
“Fucking hell, that’s amazing,” he whispered, teasing her nipple with his tongue, which only made the tight squeeze tighter. Being with her reminded him of experiencing sex for the first time, only hotter than ever. And when she began to ride him, tilting her hips back and forth, he nearly lost his mind. “Chelsea, baby…”
“Hmmm?”
“Don’t act like you don’t know what you’re doing.”
“What am I doing?”
He looked up at her and waited for her to meet his gaze. “You’re making yourself essential to me.”
Her smile lit up her eyes and had her picking up the pace until they were both coming with shouts of pleasure and a deep, satisfying sense of connection that was slowly but surely changing the course of his life.
He was most definitely in love with her.
Chapter 11
Christmas Day dawned sunny and cold on Gansett Island. A light dusting of snow overnight made the lawn sparkle in the morning sun. The sea was choppy and a deep, vivid blue. Erin never tired of the view from the lighthouse and wondered how she’d ever go back to living in an ordinary house after having lived here.
After a series of late nights, Slim was still asleep, so she snuck downstairs to make coffee and check her email.
Her body ached in areas that hadn’t ached in years, but it was a good kind of pain, the best kind. He was a creative, inventive lover who never ran out of ways to pleasure her. Erin’s head was spinning from four nights of sensual pleasure that had her rethinking everything about what she wanted from him.
She plugged in the tree lights, made coffee and took a steaming mug to her desk to fire up her laptop to check her email. Scrolling through the latest messages to her Ask Erin account, she found one message that captured her attention.
Dear Erin,
I’ve met a wonderful guy who makes me feel like a princess. I’ve never been with a guy who listens the way he does and seems to truly care about making me happy. So what’s my problem, you might ask. Well, thanks to all the frogs who came before him, I’m having a hard time believing my prince is for real. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and I’ll see who he really is. That’s how I think, and I fear I’m sabotaging the best thing to ever happen to me by saddling him with the sins of his predecessors. Maybe he is as great as he seems, and I’m the one who needs to stop being so cynical. How do I get past this dilemma before I ruin the best thing to ever happen to me?
Sincerely,
Beth
Wow, Erin thought, that strikes close to home. When writing the column, she often felt like a fraud since she hadn’t been in a real relationship in years. In lieu of actual experience, she tried to come at each situation from a practical standpoint. But this one got to the crux of her concerns about Slim. How could he possibly be as awesome as he seemed?
She kept waiting for him to be cranky or nasty or testy or anything other than his usual witty, charming self. Surely he couldn’t keep that up indefinitely, could he? It had been four days since the first time they slept together, and if anything, he’d only been more charming since then. He wasn’t like some guys who got what they wanted and seemed to lose interest. No, the more he got, the more interested he seemed to be.
Erin chewed on the end of a pen as she puzzled over her dilemma and Beth’s. The sex was stupendous, life-changing, mind-blowing. Every superlative she could think of applied to sex with Slim Jackson. The more they did it, the more she wanted. He was like a drug, the best kind of drug, and she was quickly becoming addicted. Which led her right back to what would happen when he left to finish out the winter in Florida.
She’d be a hot mess. That’s what would happen. Sighing, she dropped her head into her hands. In just a few days, he’d turned her world upside down, and she liked the view from down here. She’d had more fun, more laughs and more sex than at any other time in her life.
It would be so easy to get hooked on a guy who made it so easy to like him, which was why she needed to tread carefully. Her free and unencumbered life had worked well for her and made it so she could do things like pick up and move to Gansett Island to be the lighthouse keeper without a hassle. She rented rather than owned. She dated rather than committing. She took jobs she could walk away from when they stopped being fun or beneficial. She had friends who didn’t require daily care and feeding to stay in her life. She liked her life the way it was, and sexy Slim Jackson was the first significant threat to her freewheeling way of life.
Returning her focus to Beth’s letter, Erin tried to separate her own situation from Beth’s.
Dear Beth,
Congratulations on finding a prince in a sea of frogs. Sometimes people are exactly what they seem, but you’re wise to be cautious and to protect yourself from being hurt. What has he told you about his past dating history? Has he made a habit of commitment or is he a serial dater? What do his friends say about him when he’s not around? What does his mother, sister, daughter say? How he treats the other women in his life says a lot about how he’ll treat you when the blush wears off the rose—as it always does.
By all means, do your due diligence, but don’t make the mistake of projecting the actions of other men onto your new guy. Not all guys are the same, and it isn’t fair to expect him to do the same things another guy did just because they have the same plumbing. It sounds to me like you’ve found a gem. When you’ve done all your research and the time comes to stop being cynical, I hope you’ll open your heart to the possibility that he could be your happily ever after. Do let me know how things work out.
Hugs,
Erin
She saved the letter and response in the file she was compiling for her next column and sat back to reread what she’d written. It was probably time to take her own advice and apply it to her relationship with Slim.
The sound of the toilet flushing upstairs let her know he was up. Erin went into the kitchen to put on more coffee and start breakfast. He was always starving in the morning, and she loved cooking for him. She loved everything about having him around. Her small living space should’ve felt cramped with him underfoot, but it didn’t. He was a courteous, easy guest, and she wished he could stay far beyond New Year’s Day.
They had another week until then, and she planned to fully enjoy every minute while trying to decide her next move. When she wasn’t wrapped up in his arms, she thought obsessively about his invitation to come to Florida.
Honestly, she thought as she cracked a half-dozen eggs, you’re a disaster over this guy, Erin, and it’s getting worse with every passing day. Take yesterday, for example. They’d gone into town to do some last-minute Christmas shopping, had lunch at Stephanie’s Bistro, which was open for the holiday week, and were back home in bed by two. They hadn’t left her bed again except to eat soup at midnight.
She didn’t spend sixteen hours in bed with a man. Or she hadn’t before he came along.
He snuck up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, dropping his head to her shoulder. “Morning, sexiest lighthouse keeper ever.”
Her face flushed with heat that she assigned only partially to the burner she stood watch over. “Jenny might take issue with that.”
“Jenny is beautiful, but she’s got nothing on you.” He rubbed his hard cock against her backside.
“I can’t believe you’ve got any gas left in your tank after yesterday.”
“My tank is fully recharged and ready for more of the same.”
Erin cracked up laughing. “You’re incorrigible.”
“You love that about me.”
Her heart staggered at his use of the word love. “And you suffer from a terrible lack of self-esteem. I worry about that.”
“I know. It’s a problem I’m trying to overcome.” He nudged her hair out of his way and placed hot, openmouthed kisses on her neck that made her legs feel wobbly under her.
“Keep that up, and I’ll burn your breakfast.”
“We can’t have that. I need all the fuel
I can get to keep up with you.”
“Keep up with me?”
“Aw, yeah, sweetheart. You’re a wild woman. I had no idea.”
“I’m going to punch you when you let me go.”
Chuckling, he tightened his hold on her. “This is already the best Christmas I’ve had since I believed in Santa.”
“Really?” she asked, ridiculously pleased to hear that.
“Really. I love being here with you.”
“I love having you here.”
“Mmm, there’s a whole lotta love flying around this morning. And speaking of flying, why don’t we go for a ride before we go visiting later? I can show you some of my other skills.”
Erin hadn’t been expecting him to say that and had no idea how to respond. After a long pause, she said, “We’ve already got a lot going on today. Maybe another day?”
“Sure, whatever you want.” He let her go and began to butter the toast, leaving Erin to breathe a sigh of relief. She was on borrowed time on this issue, and before long, she was going to have to tell him she didn’t do airplanes. Not anymore.
Slim and Erin left the lighthouse shortly after three to go to dinner at Jenny and Alex’s house. On the way, they stopped by to see Luke and Sydney, who were enjoying a quiet day at home.
“Thank God you’re here,” Syd said when they came into the living room where she was on the sofa, a blanket over her lap. “He’s keeping me prisoner. I need someone to spring me.”
Slim laughed at the way Luke rolled his eyes at his wife’s complaints.
“She’s doing exactly what the doctor told her to do—nothing.”
“He acts like I was put on official bed rest. He’s even carrying me to the bathroom! Erin, tell him this has to stop!”
“Umm, well…”
“Not you, too! I thought we were friends.”
“We are friends,” Erin said with a laugh, “which is why I want you to do what you’re told and take it easy for a few more days.”
Sydney scowled at her.
“Thank you, Erin,” Luke said. “She’s driving me crazy.”
“I’m driving you crazy? That’s a laugh!”
“Love you, sweetheart,” Luke said with a big goofy grin that made all of them laugh, even Sydney.
“This sucks,” she said. “We had all kinds of fun plans for today, and we’re stuck at home.”
Luke sat on the sofa and placed his wife’s feet on his lap. “It’s for a good cause.”
“Yes, it is,” Sydney said, smiling at him.
Slim and Erin sat on the love seat and kept the happy couple company for an hour before they had to leave to continue on to Jenny’s.
“Tell everyone we said Merry Christmas,” Syd said glumly.
“I will,” Erin said.
“Did you hear we’ve got a New Year’s Eve wedding to look forward to?” Slim asked Luke.
“Yes! Adam and Abby are tying the knot. Can’t wait. What a fun night for a wedding.”
Slim recalled Abby’s tearstained face on the flight back to Gansett the day of the anniversary party and wondered if there wasn’t more to the story of their impromptu wedding than anyone had yet heard.
On the way to Jenny’s, he took hold of Erin’s hand and brought it to his lips. “What’re you doing on New Year’s Eve?”
“I figured we’d hang out and watch the ball drop before you have to go back to Florida.”
“How about coming with me to my friend’s wedding?”
“Are you even invited?”
“Ha! Of course I am. This is Gansett. Everyone is invited. I have a great group of people I hang out with in Florida, but the people here, especially the McCarthys, they’re my closest friends.”
“I can see why. I love the people here. At first, when Jenny asked me about applying for the lighthouse job, I thought no way. I could never stand to be marooned on an island all year. But she encouraged me to come see for myself, and after one weekend here, I was packing my bags.”
“I hate leaving in October, but there’s nothing much for me to do here all winter. Well, there hasn’t been in the past, but now there’s this gorgeous lighthouse keeper who makes me want to rethink my plans for the rest of the winter.”
“Don’t tease me.”
“I’m not.” He looked over in time to see her brows furrow and her lips purse. “I’d much rather be here with you than down there without you. Have you given any more thought to coming with me?”
“Oh. You still want me to?”
“Erin,” he said, laughing, “yes, I want you to. Haven’t I spent days showing you how badly I want you?”
“Yes, but… I… I don’t know about Florida. I have a commitment here and a contract with the town and… I just don’t know.”
“None of that sounds insurmountable if you want to come, but I won’t push you if it’s not what you want.” He felt oddly disappointed by her noncommittal attitude. After the last few blissful nights in her bed, he was fully committed to her and them and seeing what might come next. Not knowing where he stood with her was making him crazy, but he was trying to give her space she seemed to need to come around in her own time.
But what if she didn’t come around? What if this was nothing more than a holiday fling to her when he was getting in deeper by the minute? That would suck. He was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t.
He drove into the driveway at Martinez Lawn and Garden and went around the retail store to hang a left toward Jenny and Alex’s house. Other cars were in the driveway when they arrived. He parked in the road so they could leave when they needed to and shut off the engine.
“Slim.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry if I said the wrong thing just now. My head seems to be all over the place the last few days, but I’m thinking about your offer and trying to figure out what to do.”
“I don’t want you to think I’m pressuring you to decide something if you’re not ready to, but I’d love to have you in Florida with me and at Evan’s wedding in Anguilla. We’d have so much fun.”
“I know we would, but I’m not ready to decide anything for sure yet. I thought my life was settled after I moved here, and then I met you and we’ve had this time together and now… Now I don’t know what’s what, and nothing feels settled anymore.”
Her distress moved him. It made him realize how fragile she was and that he needed to be extra careful with how he handled the next steps with her. “There’s no rush, sweetheart. I swear. I’m not going anywhere for another week, and we’ve got plenty of time to figure out what happens next.”
“Okay,” she said with a sigh of what sounded like relief.
“Don’t stress out about me. There’s no need for that. I promise.” He leaned over the center console to kiss her. “We good?”
“Yeah, we’re good.”
“Let’s go have some fun.”
Chapter 12
Inside, Alex poured drinks for Erin, Slim, David, Daisy, Paul and Hope while Jenny put the finishing touches on dinner.
“Alex, why don’t you show the guys what Santa brought you before dinner?” Jenny said.
“Is it something that’s going to add to my emotional scars where you two are concerned?” Paul asked.
“You’re going to love it, bro.” Alex led the men to the basement, where a brand-new pool table was the centerpiece of the family room. “Is my wife the best, or what?”
“She’s pretty damned awesome,” Paul said, running a hand over the rich green felt. “Let’s break this baby in!”
Alex called dibs on Slim for his team, which left David and Paul to play against them. “Jared and Quinn can play the winners,” Alex said as he racked the balls.
“How did Jenny get a pool table out here without you knowing about it?” David asked.
“She recruited Joe and Seamus to help her get it on the ferry and then have it delivered here while I was out plowing snow. Best Christmas ever.” As he said the words, Slim noted the
hint of sadness in his friend’s eyes and realized this was also the brothers’ first Christmas without their mother, who was in a memory care facility on the mainland. He wanted to ask how she was doing but didn’t want to ruin the festive mood.
David saved him the trouble by asking if they’d heard from Marion’s caregivers.
“We talked to them yesterday,” Alex said. “She’s doing very well, adapting to her new surroundings.”
“That’s great news.”
“It is until we show up and she begs us to take her home,” Alex said, grimacing as he broke, watching a striped ball head for the corner and then groaning when the ball bounced short of the pocket.
“That’s got to be rough,” Slim said.
“It blows,” Paul said bluntly. “We leave there feeling like total shit every time, and the kicker is that five minutes after we’re gone, she doesn’t even remember we were there.”
“But we’re a disaster for days afterward,” Alex added.
“Have you thought about cutting back on the visits?” David asked as he eyed the orange number five ball and sank it in the side pocket.
“If we do that, we still feel like shit,” Alex said. “It’s a no-win situation no matter what we do.”
David moved on to sink the yellow number one and the green number six.
“Um, Alex, the doc is kicking our ass here,” Slim said. “Is it not enough that you’re a freaking doctor? Do you have to be a pool shark, too?”
“I’m about to also be an engaged man,” David said without looking up from the table.
“Say what?” Alex asked.
“I’m going to pop the question when we get home tonight. Daisy has no idea.”
“Oh my God,” Paul said. “That’s awesome.”
Whoa, that’s big news, Slim thought. After David’s spectacular breakup with Janey McCarthy, Slim had wondered if he would ever get married. But then he met Daisy, and the two of them had fallen hard for each other. He was glad to see David taking another chance on love. Based on the way Daisy positively glowed with happiness whenever David was nearby, Slim had a feeling this one was for keeps.