Desire After Dark: A Gansett Island Novel (14 page)

“Yep,” Adam said, “and now you have, too.”

“Where did you guys find Mac anyway?” Frank asked Big Mac and Linda after Mac and his
family had departed.

“At a baby flea market,” Linda said. “We’ve been trying to make him civilized ever since.”

Big Mac’s best friend Ned Saunders laughed at that. “Still got a long way ta go.” He and his wife, Francine, were holding hands like the newlyweds they were.

“I’m never having kids,” Riley said.

“You say that now, son,” Kevin said, “but it’ll happen to you.”

Riley grimaced at the thought. “Not any time soon, please.”

“I think it’s time to get our little temptress home to bed,” Tiffany said, standing to leave.

“I’m locking her up until she’s thirty,” Blaine muttered to more laughter.

“Thank you for a lovely day, Mac and Linda,” Tiffany said, kissing them on the way out.

“Thank you for the best laugh I’ve had all year,”
Big Mac said.

“I’m
dying
,” Tiffany groaned on the way out. “If this is three, what will eighteen look like?”

“I need to start drinking more,” Blaine said.

“I haven’t laughed that hard in years,” Erin said to Slim when things quieted down again. “That was awesome.”

“I don’t know what was the best part—the reaction of their parents, or Thomas saying Ashleigh doesn’t have
a pee-pee.”

“Don’t even,” Erin said, laughing again. “I can’t take anymore.”

“This is what Tiffany gets for opening a store called Naughty & Nice,” Slim said.

“A store the men in this town
love
, by all accounts.”

“I heard Tiffany say she had the biggest month since her opening ahead of Christmas.”

“Good for her. I love that store.”

Speaking close to her
ear, he said, “Is that right?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I’m going to need you to model some of your Christmas presents for me.”

“That could be arranged.”

The promise he heard in her softly spoken words traveled right to his cock, making him instantly hard. “Let’s go. Right now.”

“Relax, stallion. It’ll keep until later.”

“I won’t survive that long in this condition
you’ve put me in.”

She glanced over at his lap, which was all it took to make his situation even worse.

“Knock it off,” he said in a low growl.

She smiled at him, and the most incredible sense of rightness overcame him, leaving him staggered by the realization that he wanted much more than this week with her. He wanted everything with her, and he’d never wanted that with anyone
else.

“What?” she asked, her brows knitting with concern.

He forced himself to rally. “Nothing. Just looking forward to having you all to myself again later.”

Erin leaned her head on his shoulder and linked her fingers with his, deepening the feeling of rightness.

Before this, before her, he might’ve tried to disengage from something that smacked of seriousness. But
with her, the last thing he wanted was to disengage. He wanted more, much, much more of her.

Talk turned to Evan and Grace’s upcoming wedding in Anguilla, travel plans and excitement to escape winter on the island for a week.

“Speaking of our wedding,” Evan said, glancing at Grace, who smiled at him. “Gracie and I have a little news about what’s going to happen after the wedding.”
Taking hold of her hand, he said, “Buddy has talked me into riding the hit record for a while longer, and Grace is coming with me on the road. Her friend Fiona from school has agreed to come over to manage the pharmacy, and Josh will cover me at the studio.”

After a moment of stunned silence, everyone spoke at once, congratulating them on their news and firing off questions about where
they were going.

“We’re joining the second half of Buddy’s current North American tour that starts up again in February, and then we’ll see what happens after that.”

“I’m happy for you, son,” Big Mac said. “As much as we’ll miss you both here, I’d hate for you to have regrets later about what might’ve been.”

“Thank you, Dad. That’s what my very wise future wife said, too.”

“I suppose I should mention that after Anguilla, Steph and I are heading to LA for a couple of months,” Grant said.

“Was it something we said?” Linda asked her husband.

“Ha-ha, Mom,” Grant said. “I’ve got some work to do with the company that’s producing the film about Charlie and Stephanie’s story, and it’s easier for me to be there for a while. Since the restaurant is shut
down for the rest of the winter after this week, Steph’s coming with me.”

“Dan and Kara are going to be out there, too, aren’t they?” Joe asked.

“They are, and we’re looking forward to hanging out with them.”

“You’ll be back for the summer, though, right?” Adam asked.

“Wouldn’t miss summer on Gansett for anything,” Grant said, “and my lovely wife has a booming business
to tend to.”

“That’s right,” Laura said. “I need you to feed my hotel guests.”

“I’m on it,” Steph said, “don’t worry. I’m just sorry we won’t be here when the twins are born.”

“We’ll send pictures,” Owen assured her. “I can’t wait to meet these two little people.”

“I can’t believe you guys aren’t finding out what you’re having,” Laura’s brother, Shane, said. “I’d be
out of my mind with curiosity. Hell, I’m out of my mind with curiosity about
your
babies, let alone my own.”

“We can’t wait to know either,” Owen said, gazing at Laura, “but we want it to be a surprise.”

“Who knows what’s going on with Syd?” Abby asked. “They’ve been sticking close to home this week.”

“I heard she had a little scare with the baby,” Linda said, “but all is
well.”

“Thank God,” Janey said to agreement from everyone else. “While we’re sharing news, I probably ought to let the rest of you know that Joseph has knocked me up again.”

Her announcement was met with dead silence.

“I know what you’re all thinking, and believe me, we’re thinking the same thing. We’ve got an appointment with a specialist in Providence after the holidays,
and we’re going to do everything we can to make sure baby number two’s arrival is far less dramatic than his or her brother’s was.”

“Janey,” Grant said, his expression agonized, “are you sure about this?”

“No,” Joe said, answering for both of them, “we’re not sure of anything other than we’re going to hope for the very best and thoroughly prepare for every possible scenario. I’m
going to see to it personally, Grant. You have my word on that.”

The brothers who so loved to razz their sister had gone silent at the thought of the kind of danger she’d faced when PJ was born.

“If I may,” Mallory said, and all eyes turned to her. “What happened to Janey when she had PJ is extremely rare. There’s no reason to believe she can’t have a perfectly normal pregnancy and
delivery this time.”

“That’s very reassuring, Mallory,” Big Mac said to his daughter. “Thank you.”

“She’s right,” Katie Lawry said. Shane’s fiancée was also a nurse. “But you’re going to need to be very careful about doing anything too strenuous or lifting PJ in the last trimester.”

“If I have my way,” Joe said, “she’ll be on full bed rest by then.”

Janey’s expression
told them what she thought of that.

“We’re going to be overrun with babies around here before long,” Frank said.

Abby got up and went into the kitchen. Adam went after her.

“Is she okay?” Kevin asked.

With her gaze fixed on the kitchen door through which Adam and Abby had disappeared, Linda said, “They got some news before the anniversary party. They’re both fine, but
they’re facing a difficult challenge.”

Everyone pounced on Linda for more information, but she held them off with her hands in the air. “It’s not my news to tell. You’ll hear it from them when they’re ready.”

The boisterous group fell silent when Adam and Abby returned, holding hands as they came into the room.

“Abby,” Laura said. “Are you all right?”

Abby glanced at
Adam, who nodded in encouragement. “Not as all right as I’d like to be,” Abby said, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “We recently learned that I have polycystic ovarian syndrome or PCOS, which comes with a variety of health complications, including fertility issues.”

“We’re going to fight it, though,” Adam said. “There’s a lot we can do, and we’re going to do all of it. If we can’t
have a baby on our own, we’ll adopt. But we
will
have a family.”

Stephanie left her perch on Grant’s lap to hug Abby. “I’m so sorry to hear this, but if anyone is tough enough to fight it, you are.”

“I don’t know about that,” Abby said. “I’ve been a basket case ever since we got the news.”

“Stay off the Internet,” Mallory said. “Every situation is unique, and you don’t want
to scare yourself with too much information.”

Adam nodded in agreement. “That’s what I said, too.”

“The one thing I want to say,” Abby said, seeming to marshal her defenses, “is I don’t want any of you to feel you can’t be excited about your babies in front of me. I can’t wait to meet all of them and to love them and spoil them. Please… Don’t let our challenges take away from your
joy. Adam and I would hate that.”

Janey stood to hug Abby. “Love you. That’s all I want to say.”

“Love you, too.”

Erin leaned in to speak to Slim. “We ought to go. This is kind of a private family thing.”

“Sure, sweetheart. We’ve got important private business of our own to see to anyway.”

She rolled her eyes at him, but her face lit up with the blush he loved
so much. He couldn’t wait to see more of that blush when he got her back to the lighthouse.

“
W
hy do
you have to announce to our entire family that you’re cock-blocked?” Maddie asked when she came into the bedroom after getting Thomas down for the night.

Hailey had gone much easier, which was why Mac beat her to bed.

“Because I am, in fact, cock-blocked by kids lately.”

“They’ve been
sick
, Mac.”

“They’re not sick now,” he said, waggling his brows suggestively.

“All I want is eight straight hours of sleep.”

“You’re kidding me, right?”

“No, I’m not kidding you. This has been a hellacious week between sickness and Christmas preparations, I could sleep for a week. In fact, I might sleep all day tomorrow and let you handle things around
here.”

“I’d do that for you.”

Her gorgeous caramel eyes lit up with surprise. “You would?”

“Of course I would. If…”

Hands on hips, she gave him a challenging look. “If what?”

“If you help me out with this tiny little issue I seem to have.”

“What tiny little issue do you have?”

“A hard-on that won’t quit.”

“Are pigs flying in hell? Are you
actually referring to your precious manhood as
tiny
and
little
?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course I’m not. My problem is little and tiny. As we both know, my manhood is massive. Now will you please get in this bed and give me the only present I really want for Christmas?”

“So I can send back that new power tool you were so excited about?”

“Absolutely not. You can come and tend
to the power tool that gets
you
excited.”

“Honestly, Mac,” she said with a huff of laughter. “You get more outrageous with every passing day.”

“You love me.”

“You’re very lucky that I do.”

“Yes, I am. Now get over here and let me show you how lucky I am to be loved by you.”

“I need to change and get the food out of my hair that Hailey put there during dinner.”

“You don’t need to do a damned thing besides get naked.”

“Five minutes, Mac. Give me
five
minutes.”

She went into the bathroom, and he dropped to the pillows, resigned to having to wait five more interminable minutes. A crackle of life from the baby monitor in Hailey’s room had him holding his breath.
Please, no… Not tonight, sweet girl. Give Mommy and Daddy a break. Please…

Thankfully, there were no more noises from the monitor, and Mac began to relax. Then Maddie emerged from the bathroom wearing one of the new sexy nightgowns he’d bought her for Christmas at Tiffany’s shop. Her hair had been brushed into shiny submission and fell to below her shoulders.

Game on. Hello, sexy wife
.

“Wait,” he said, sitting up on his knees for a better look at
the pale pink gown with the black lace accents that did spectacular things for her spectacular breasts.

“What am I waiting for? I thought you were in a huge rush.”

“I am, but I want to memorize the way you look right now so I never forget it.”

“Just when I think I’ve actually married a teenage boy, you surprise me.”

He held out a hand to bring her onto the bed with
him.

She met him on her knees in front of him, her hands on his shoulders.

“I may joke around a little—”

“
A little?
”

“Okay, a lot, but one thing I’d never joke about is how stunningly beautiful you are. You take my breath away, Madeline, and I love you more than I can ever tell you.”

“Sometimes, especially on days like today, I can’t believe that this is my life
now. You and our kids and this house and your family and mine, all together. It’s like a dream.”

“Even the naked boy-naked girl part?”

Groaning, she dropped her head to his shoulder. “We’ll still be talking about that when they’re in college.”

“We’ll be talking about that forever. And PS, it’s like a dream for me, too. I never imagined anything for myself like what we’ve found
together, and that we get to share our lives with the people we love the most… We’re truly blessed.”

“Yes, we are,” she said, rubbing shamelessly against him.

He rested his hand on the small curve of her belly over the baby no one else knew they were expecting. “If you’re too tired tonight, I’ll understand.”

She glanced up at him, seeming relieved. “You will?”

Mac wanted
to shoot himself for saying that. “Of course I will. If you don’t want to, we don’t have to.”

“Oh thank God. I’m exhausted.” She withdrew from him and sacked out on her side after positioning her pillow where she wanted it.

With his cock hard enough to pound nails, he suppressed a groan and got under the covers, shutting off the light. He lay there trying not to think about the throbbing
coming from his lap when he realized the bed was shaking. What the hell?

He turned the light back on to realize the shaking was coming from his wife, who was laughing her ass off. “
What are you laughing at?
”

“I can’t believe you fell for that so easily. You’re losing your touch, Mac.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? You
faked
being tired?”

“I am tired, but not
that
tired.”

“That was so mean! I’m hard as a rock, and you leave me hanging.”

She laughed so hard, tears fell from her eyes.

“You’re really racking up the demerits lately, Mrs. McCarthy. First the evil prank you perpetrated against me and my boys, and now this.”

“I’m very sorry,” she said, wiping the tears from her face. “Let me make it up to you.”

“I don’t know if I want
you to.”

She wrapped her hand around his erection and gave it a squeeze that made him see stars. “Really?”

“Okay, I want you to.”

“Thought so.” She left a trail of kisses from his chest to his belly as she continued to stroke him.

Mac ran his fingers through her hair, watching her and loving her, even when she was mean to him.

Maddie swirled her tongue around
the tip of his cock. “Am I forgiven?”

“I haven’t decided yet. All depends on how things go in the next few minutes.”

Smiling, she drew him into the heat of her mouth and nearly finished him off with the perfect combination of tongue and suction.

“Getting closer to forgiveness,” he said through gritted teeth. His hips surged off the mattress, and she took him deeper, until
he nudged against the back of her throat and still she didn’t back off. “Maddie… Fuck…
Baby
.” God, he was going to come in her mouth if she didn’t stop right now.

A sharp cry from the next room made them freeze.

“
Mama
.” Thomas. And he was crying.
No. Just no
.

Maddie’s lips slid over his shaft as she withdrew, leaving him with a look of sincere regret. The sight of her silk-covered
ass as she left the room did nothing to ease the ache.

“
Fuck
,” he muttered to an empty room.

T
his had been
, Erin decided, the nicest Christmas she’d had in years. Other than the emotional blip at Jenny’s house, she’d gotten through a day that had been difficult for her in other years. Much of the day’s success was due to the man who was now driving her home.

He’d been
quiet since they left the McCarthys’, and Erin wanted to know what he was thinking. But she didn’t ask. She wanted to thank him again for being such a rock for her when she was spinning earlier. She wanted to tell him how, in the past, an episode like that could’ve ruined her for days, but because of him, that wouldn’t happen this time.

There were so many things she’d like to tell him,
but she wasn’t sure he was ready to hear them. They were in the odd position of having been close friends for months but romantic partners for only a few days. It would be easy—too easy—to press the accelerator on the new romantic portion of their relationship in light of the many hours they’d already spent together, talking, laughing, flirting, sharing confidences.

When the silence became
weighty, she decided to ask what he was thinking about.

“Naked boy-naked girl,” he said with a sly grin.

“How funny was that?”

“Funniest thing I’ve ever seen, but I wasn’t thinking about the kids. I was thinking about you. And me.”

Was it warm in here, or was it her? “How many McCarthy men do you suppose are using that line on their women tonight?”

“I suspect
all of them. It’s an instant classic. Have I mentioned how incredibly hot you look in that skirt?”

“Um, no, I don’t think you have.” It was definitely getting warmer in the small cab of his truck.

“Major oversight on my part. All day today, I’ve been wondering what you’ve got on under there.”

“Will you be disappointed to find plain old white cotton?”

“Absolutely not.
Nothing about you has disappointed me.”

Would he be disappointed to learn that she would never want to fly with him? That thought threatened to ruin the nice warm buzz she had building thanks to his shameless flirting, so she pushed it aside for another time.

He reached over to run his hand up her leg, under her skirt, stopping at the top of her thigh, which he gave a gentle squeeze
that ignited her desire. That he could make her feel so much by barely touching her was remarkable and unprecedented. For a long time after she and Mitch broke up, she’d wondered if she’d made a terrible mistake by letting that relationship go. In just a few days, Slim had shown her what’d been missing with Mitch.

By the time he pulled into the driveway at the lighthouse, he had her on
the verge of explosion, and he still hadn’t done anything more than touch her leg. When he got out to deal with the gate, she shivered from the cold as much as the loss of his warm palm on her thigh.

He drove the truck through the gate and then got out again to close and lock it.

She was practically vibrating in her seat as they pulled up to the door. He cut the engine and the lights,
casting them into inky darkness that would last until the motion-sensitive lights came on.

“Stay put,” he said gruffly.

Erin’s heart beat so fast with anticipation and excitement that she couldn’t seem to draw air into her lungs. The door opened, and he reached across her to unbuckle the seat belt she’d been too flummoxed to do herself. His arm brushed against her nipple, and she
gasped.

She expected him to back away and let her out of the truck, but instead, he lifted her right into his arms. Her legs encircled his waist and her arms wrapped around his neck as his lips found hers in a hungry, desperate kiss. While she was lost in the hottest kiss of her life, he somehow got them inside. He kicked the door closed and pressed her against the mudroom wall, his cock
rigid against her core as the kiss went from desperate to wild.

Erin buried her fingers in his hair, keeping him anchored to her. Then he surprised her by softening the kiss before breaking it to turn his attention to her neck. His hands were everywhere, under her coat, cupping and squeezing her breasts, then under her skirt, his fingers finding her clit.

She cried out from the pleasure
that shot through her system like a shock wave. “Upstairs,” she somehow managed to say.

“Here. Right here.” He put her down only long enough to toss both their coats to the floor, pull her tights and underwear down her legs and free himself from his pants and roll on a condom. “Now.” His desperation seemed to match hers as he lifted her again, bringing her down slowly onto his rigid length.
“
Yes
,” he whispered fiercely.

As her body stretched to accommodate him, she held on tight, half afraid he would drop her but knowing in her heart of hearts that he never would. She was safe with him. That much she knew for certain.

“God,” he said, his lips close to her ear. “You’re so hot and tight. You make me crazy.”

She wanted to tell him he made her just as crazy, but
the words were lost in a deep thrust that triggered her orgasm.

His fingers dug into the dense flesh of her ass as he hammered into her, riding the wave of her climax into his own.

“Christ,” he uttered between deep breaths. His forehead dropped to lean against hers, the heat of his skin warming her from the inside. “What just happened?”

Erin laughed at his befuddled tone.
“I think we had mudroom sex.”

“Hottest mudroom sex I’ve ever had.”

“Me, too.” She stroked the sweaty hair off his forehead. “How about we take this somewhere more comfortable?”

“Mmm, as soon as I’m sure my legs still work, we’ll do that.”

Smiling, Erin stroked his hair while he continued to breathe like he’d just run a marathon. A feeling of profound contentment and
peace came over her, making her wish for things she’d thought weren’t going to happen for her. Now she wasn’t so sure. She wasn’t sure of anything other than how he cut through the numbness that had been so much a part of her and made her
feel
.

He took a deep breath and released it before withdrawing from her and setting her gently on her feet, holding her until she got her bearings. Tugging
her tights and underwear over her knees, she followed him up two flights of stairs to her bedroom. Only then did he drop his hold on her hand so she could sit on the bed to remove her boots.

Her body continued to quake and tingle with aftershocks from the hottest sex of her life.

After ducking into the bathroom to deal with the condom and removing his sweater, Slim sat next to her
on the bed, putting his arm around her. “I was rough with you. Are you okay?”

“You really have to ask?”

“Yeah, I do. I don’t know what came over me—”

She rested her finger on his lips. “Please don’t apologize. It was incredible. I’ve never done anything even remotely like that, and if you apologize, you’ll ruin it.”

His lips curved into a smile, and he nibbled on her
finger. “We can’t have that, now can we?”

Erin shook her head and withdrew her finger, her eyes closing as he kissed her so softly, so tenderly that her body trembled anew. That he gave her both wild passion and abiding tenderness within the scope of ten minutes was almost too much to process. Laying her hand flat against his cheek, she pulled back from the kiss. “Give me one minute.”