Desire After Dark: A Gansett Island Novel (26 page)

O
n their third
night in Anguilla, the guys and girls went their separate ways for bachelor and bachelorette parties for the bride and groom.

Evan’s brothers took over a British pub on the resort property, and the beer was flowing a couple of hours into the party.

“What’re the ladies
doing?” Alex asked as he toked on one of the cigars that Dan Torrington had contributed to the gathering.

“Something about the spa.” Mac turned up his nose. “They really know how to party.”

“They’re getting spa treatments and then going to dinner at the Japanese steakhouse,” Evan said. “They’re probably finishing dinner by now.”

“Ohhh,” Adam said. “How
wild
.”

“Well,
Tiffany helped to plan the night,” Blaine said, “so anything can happen with my wife involved.”

“This is true,” Mac said. “She’s a terrible influence on my sweet wife.”

“Whatever!” Blaine said. “Whose idea was it to tell us they’d hired strippers for Jenny’s bachelorette party?”

“
Maddie’s
,” the guys said in unison.

Mac squirmed. “That was a rare lapse in judgment for
my lovely wife. She’s been soundly disciplined, and it won’t happen again.”

“I
sooo
can’t wait to tell her you said that,” Joe said, laughing and accepting a fist bump from Grant.

“It might be better if you didn’t tell her,” Mac said, sending the others into hysterics.

“I’ve only been married a couple of weeks,” Paul said, “but even I can predict trouble in your future, Mac.”

“Nah.” Mac waved his hand, sending cigar ashes flying. “She worships at the altar of Mac McCarthy.”

“It just gets better and better,” Shane said, grinning as he shook his head at Mac.

“Son, far be it from me to tell you what to do, but if I were you, I’d stick a sock in it,” Big Mac said, to howls.

“He’ll never stick a sock in it,” Frank said. “He’s been this way all
his life.”

“Sad but true,” Kevin said.

Slim took it all in, laughing at Mac’s antics and enjoying one of the fine cigars Dan had brought. This was usually one of his favorite ways to spend a night—with his best friends, juicy steaks, good vodka and fine cigars, laughing and bullshitting. But on this night, he wasn’t able to relax or fully enjoy the party because someone was missing.

Erin would be here tomorrow, but that felt like a lifetime from now. He’d only gotten there himself late that afternoon, in time for the bachelor party, which was why he’d had her come the next day. He knew he wouldn’t want to leave her for any reason after she arrived, and he couldn’t miss Evan’s party.

So he was destined to spend one more night alone and was half out of his mind
waiting for her. From the moment she’d said yes to his invitation, time had slowed to a torturous crawl for him. Every minute felt like an hour, every day like a year. The flight from Palm Beach to Anguilla had been pure torture. But once he’d arrived, he’d found the ebullient McCarthy family in high spirits, and it was impossible to be anything other than sucked into their excitement.

Finn McCarthy joined the bachelor party late, having taken part in an all-day scuba-diving expedition that had returned after dark. He was drawn right into the circle of friends and family, given a beer and a plate of food.

“Ran into the ladies on the way over here,” he said between bites.

“Where were they heading?” Luke asked.

“I’m almost afraid to tell you guys.”

“Now you’d better,” Blaine said in his sternest cop voice.

“There was talk of skinny-dipping at the beach.”

The boisterous group went silent.

“Like hell,” Blaine said, getting up from the table and heading toward the beach.

“Wait! Blaine,
wait
!” Mac called after him. “This is our
chance
.”

Blaine stopped, turned back, hands on hips, clearly seething. “For
what
?”

“Revenge,” Mac said, drawing out the single word with dramatic flair. “Come back here, and let’s make a plan.”

“Uh-oh,” Finn said, giving his full attention to the steak. “Was it something I said?”

“You just threw gas on a fire, son,” Kevin said, chuckling.

Slim sat back, filled with amused detachment, listening to the guys plot against their women and imagining the
many ways this could go wrong. As a single guy, he didn’t feel he had any place to speak up and suggest they might want to reconsider their plan. What did he know about being married or engaged, or committed, for that matter? He hoped to change that status very soon, but in the meantime, he couldn’t resist tagging along on their mission, just to see how it turned out.

They snuck down to
the beach, where the women could be heard a mile away, screaming, laughing, splashing. To say a good majority of them were pregnant and sober, they were having one hell of a time. Thanks to the full moon shining down on the white sand, they could easily pick out the piles of clothes that had been left on the beach.

“There,” Mac whispered, pointing to the clothes. “Let’s go.”

“Boys,”
Big Mac said, “I have to tell you… This is
not
going to end well.”

“Oh come on, Dad,” Grant said. “It’ll be hysterical, and they have it coming after the crap they’ve pulled on us.”

Grant’s capitulation surprised Slim, as he tended to be much more mature than his older brother. One thing Slim had to say for Mac, he’d missed his calling as a military commander. He was excellent at
getting others to follow his lead. While they crept onto the beach to collect the women’s clothing, Slim stayed back with Big Mac, Frank, Kevin and Ned, otherwise known as the actual adults in this group.

“Buncha fools,” Ned muttered.

“Ah, yes,” Big Mac said, “but they’re my fools. I’m just glad Linda, Betsy, Francine and Chelsea offered to babysit tonight so the girls could go out.
I’d want no part of digging myself out of this one.”

“You know it, brother,” Frank said.

“Chelsea would kill me,” Kevin said bluntly.

The guys returned, laughing and whispering—loudly—arms loaded with dresses and panties and bras and sandals that they then deposited in a pile on the sand.

“I did this once to Abby,” Adam whispered. “I thought she was going to murder
me.”

“She will this time for sure,” Frank said.

“I can’t believe Katie is skinny-dipping,” Shane said. “She doesn’t like being naked in the shower.”

“Dude!” Owen said, sending the others into somewhat-silent hysterics. “That’s my
sister
you’re talking about.”

“Sorry,” Shane said, chuckling.

“No, you’re not.”

“I feel your pain,” Mac said, using his thumb
to point to Joe.

“I only speak the truth,” Joe said, “and your sister is one hot mama.”

“
Joseph
,” Big Mac said. “End it. Now.”

“You’re talking about his precious princess,” Frank said, patting Joe on the back. “Inferring that you sleep with her is grounds for execution by firing squad.”

“You’re goddamned right it is,” Big Mac growled.

“So what happens now?” Slim
asked the mastermind.

“Now, we wait for them to notice,” Mac said.

The ladies were in no apparent rush to end their nocturnal adventure, and the splashing and screaming continued for another fifteen minutes.

“I gotta pee,” Grant said.

“Me, too,” Alex replied.

They left to find the nearest men’s room while the rest of them waited and waited and waited, so long
it was almost as if the women knew they were torturing them by dragging it out. They’d be thrilled to hear later that they’d done that without knowing it.

“Kara is going to kill me dead for this,” Dan said.

“But what a way to go,” Paul said, grinning.

“We are going to rescue them, aren’t we?” Shane asked, sounding nervous. “I was hoping Katie might actually marry me at some
point.”

“Let me tell you something about revenge, young grasshopper,” Mac said, his hand on his younger cousin’s shoulder. “It doesn’t count until they suffer a
fraction
as much as they made us suffer.”

“But, um, Katie’s gonna be pissed, and I was hoping to get laid like a lot this week.”

“
Dude!
” Owen’s roar carried across the beach, resulting in silence from the women.

Uh-oh
.

“What was that?” Maddie asked.

“Sounded like Owen,” Laura said. “Owen? Are you out there?”

Mac put his hand over Owen’s mouth and glared at him.

“I swear to God,” Stephanie said, “if they’re spying on us, I’m going to neuter Grant.”

“Okay, I’m out,” Grant said.

Mac grabbed his arm before he could bail. “No one’s out. We’re all in this to the
finish now.”

“She said the word
neuter
,” Grant hissed at his brother.

“All talk,” Mac said, releasing his brother. “Stay strong.”

Wary now, the women got out of the water and walked up the beach to discover their clothes were gone.

“
Those sons of bitches!
” Tiffany’s howl could be heard for miles.

“What?” Katie asked. “What’s wrong?”

“Our clothes are gone.”

The screaming started in earnest at that point.

“Adam McCarthy!” Abby yelled. “Bring me my clothes, or
I’ll divorce you
.”

Adam whimpered and tried to pull free of Mac’s iron grip.

“Stay strong,” Mac said to his brother. “She’d never actually divorce you.”

“I’m not so sure,” Adam muttered.

“Can we get a group rate on divorce?” Stephanie asked.

“How
could they do this?” Katie asked, sounding slightly hysterical. “What’ll we
do
?”

“Dan Torrington!” Kara’s voice echoed through the night. “Bring me my clothes, or you’ll never see your favorite parts of me again!
Ever!
”

“I’m out.” Dan took Kara’s dress off the pile and headed for the beach.

“Don’t look at my wife.” Blaine grabbed Tiffany’s dress and followed Dan. “I’ll fucking
shoot anyone who looks at her.”

“Oh come on, you guys,” Mac said as the others followed Dan and Blaine, intending to rescue their women.

“Mac McCarthy, if you can hear me, you’d better get over here right now with my dress, or you’re never, ever,
ever
having sex again.
Ever!
”

“Well,” Mac said with a sheepish grin, “this was fun, but might be time to call it a ball game.”

Slim rocked with silent laughter. This was the funniest thing he’d witnessed since naked boy-naked girl, and it just got better when the guys arrived with the women’s clothes, and much screaming ensued as the wrong guy saw the wrong woman naked.

“Someone poke my eyes out right now,” Evan said. “I just came face-to-face with Janey’s boobs.”

“I should get to see Grace’s,” Joe
said. “It’s only fair.”

“Not the same thing,” Evan argued. “Those were
sister
tits. They don’t even count as tits.”

“Oh
yes
they do,” Joe said.

“
Joseph!
” Big Mac bellowed.

“I’d like to say for the record that this wasn’t my idea,” Luke said to Sydney as he handed over her dress.

She yanked it out of his hand. “You’re still in big trouble, mister.”

“Uh-oh,”
Luke said. “What does this mean for vacation nookie?”

Sydney’s glare answered for her.

“
Where’s Alex?
” Jenny screamed.

“He and Grant had to go pee-pee,” Paul told her.

“Oh my God! Don’t look! I’m going to kill him!”

“I’ll help you,” Stephanie said, using her hands to cover the important parts until her clothes were located.

“I’m not looking,” Paul said
to Hope. “I only have eyes for my wife.”

“Who will poke your eyes out of your head if you so much as glance at one of my naked friends,” Hope said.

“Awww, baby, come on. You gotta admit it was funny.”

“Hilarious,” Hope said dryly.

“One of my
brothers
had better bring me my clothes, or you’re going to see more of your new sister than you ever wanted to,” Mallory said.

“Got ’em right here,” Grant said.

“Ladies,” Maddie said, beating off Mac’s hands as he tried to help her get dressed. “This means
war
. No sex for any of them for the entire time we’re here. Who’s in?”

“
Me
,” every female voice, except for one, said at the same time.

“Not me,” Grace said as she pressed her naked body against Evan and kissed him. He scooped her up and carried
her away while the other women called her a traitor and the guys begged them to change their minds.

But the women weren’t budging, and the guys were shit out of luck, much to Slim’s amusement. How do you spell
backfire
?

“Told them it was a bad idea,” Big Mac said, shaking his head. “They never listen to their old man.”

“Especially your oldest one,” Frank said.

“True,
but I think his wife can handle him.” Big Mac gestured to Maddie, who was marching Mac off the beach with his arm bent behind his back.

“Looks like she won’t be worshiping at the altar of Mac McCarthy this week,” Joe called after them.

“
Did you say that?
” Maddie smacked Mac’s shoulder with her free hand as she marched him off the beach.

“You might want to step up the discipline,
too, bro,” Adam called after them. “Seems to be working out real well for you.”

“I’m going to kill you,” Maddie growled.

“Come on, baby,” Mac said, walking on tiptoes as she wrenched his arm even higher on his back. “It’s all in good fun.”

“Don’t you
baby
me.”

The poor bastard was in for it, but Slim had to give him credit. He was one funny son of a bitch who sure knew
how to get himself into deep shit with his wife.

T
he ride
to the airport in the resort shuttle the next afternoon was the most torturous part of a torturous six days since she accepted his invitation to come to the wedding. An accident on the single-lane road had them sitting still for fifteen minutes. Slim was about to get out and start jogging
through the thick humidity if that was what it took to be there when she came through the door from customs.

He didn’t want to miss a single second with her, even if that meant showing up sweaty and winded.

Before running became necessary, the shuttle began to move—far too slowly for his liking—going around the accident to continue on.

When they pulled up to the curb, Slim
bolted from the van before the driver could come around to let him out. He jogged into the airport and straight to the reception area, where others milled around, waiting for family, friends, loved ones.

Erin was all three to him, Slim realized. One phone call at a time, one text, one FaceTime conversation and every blissful hour in her arms had made her essential to his future happiness.
It all hinged on her. He didn’t want to be alone anymore, but that was only because not being alone meant being with her.

That made her different from anyone else he’d ever been with. He’d never considered changing his life for any other woman. He’d never even come close. Perhaps that was in part due to what he went through with his high school girlfriend, but it was more than that. It
was Erin. She fit him in every way that mattered, and if the longest weeks of his life were any indication, living without her, even for a short time, was going to be nearly impossible.

After her flight was announced, he nearly lost his mind waiting for her to clear customs. And then there she was, wearing a gorgeous floral dress and a wide-brimmed hat. Her dark hair was long around her
shoulders, her smile brightening when she saw him waiting for her.

They moved toward each other, him working against the crowd, dodging families, suitcases and even a dog on a leash to get to her. He picked her right up off her feet and crushed her to him, drawing a squeak of surprise and then laughter from her that was smothered when he kissed her, mindless of the people all around them
or that her hat had flown off her head.

What did he care about any of that when he finally had her back in his arms where she belonged?

He could’ve stood there all day kissing her, but she pulled back from him, looking up with laughter dancing in her gorgeous eyes. “Fancy meeting you here.”

Bending to retrieve her hat, he said, “How was the flight?” He’d worried endlessly
about her being afraid without him there to calm her.

“Half a Xanax and first-class service took the edge off.”

“Told ya.”

“How’re things here?”

He’d taken great pleasure in relaying the details of the prank gone wrong to her on the phone the night before. “Tensions were running high at breakfast. The guys are contrite, and the women are determined to make them suffer.”

“They have it coming.”

“I gotta say I agree with you in this one case. Normally, I’d side with my bros, but in this case, they got what was coming to them. I’m just glad you weren’t here yet, so I wasn’t tempted to participate.”

“You’d be sleeping alone for a long, long time if you did that to me.”

“Good to know.”

Slim took her suitcase handle in one hand and
wrapped his free hand around hers to lead her out of the terminal to the resort shuttle. The heat of the late-day sun was in stark contrast to the air-conditioned building.

“Oh wow,” Erin said, taking in the blue sky, the palm trees, the heat. “Doesn’t that feel good?”

“Nothing beats the Caribbean when it’s snowing at home.”

The driver took her bag to put it in the back while
they got into the vehicle.

Slim kept his arm around her, his lips sliding over the silk of her hair. “I thought today would never get here.”

“Me, too. I’ve been on pins and needles.”

“Because of the flight?”

“That was only a small part of it. The rest was you. I couldn’t wait to see you.”

Slim raised his hand to her face and turned her toward him so he could
kiss her again. This, right here… This was love, as pure and as simple as anything had ever been. Over the last few years, as his friends had fallen like dominoes, he’d had cause to wonder what the hell was wrong with them. Why would they shackle themselves to one woman when they could have
all
the women?

Well, he got it now. He couldn’t imagine ever again wanting to hold or kiss or make
love to any woman but the one currently in his arms. And the thought of her with any guy but him made him positively murderous.

They barely came up for air on the ride to the resort. The poor driver was probably used to it with all the honeymooners he transported, but Slim couldn’t be bothered with caring what the driver thought. Not when he had the woman he loved back in his arms. He had
no idea how much time they’d have together. Would it be just this week, or would she take him up on his offer to come to Florida? Not knowing what the future held made him even crazier than he’d been for the last week spent waiting to see her again.

A lot was riding on this week. More than she knew. He was determined to make a go of this relationship, and he wasn’t leaving this island until
she was on the same page.

H
e’d swept
her off her feet—literally. The breathless giddy feeling had never been stronger than when he greeted her at the airport and kissed her all the way back to the resort. Upon arrival, they’d gone directly to his room, walking along beautifully landscaped sidewalks that she barely noticed as she struggled to keep up with his long-legged stride.

That he was in an all-fired rush to be alone with her only added to her anticipation, which was already off the charts. Her OCD had been epic this week, while she waited for something to go wrong, to disrupt the excitement his invitation had stirred in her.

Like in Philly, the second the hotel door clicked shut behind them, he had her pressed against the wall, devouring her with deep,
drugging kisses. Erin was so happy to be with him again that she surrendered completely, willing to go anywhere he wanted to take her. And apparently he planned to take her right there.

“Another wall,” she said, gasping as he lifted her skirt and ripped her panties in his haste to get them off.

“Can’t wait,” he said, sounding as desperate as she felt.

Then he was inside her,
filling her so completely that she could barely breathe, let alone speak.

“God, I missed you,” he said gruffly, his lips brushing against her ear and setting off a chain reaction of sensations that she felt everywhere, especially in the place where they were joined.

With her arms around his neck, she held on tight as he took her on another wild ride. “Missed you, too. So much.”

“Gonna be quick.”

“Fine by me.”

He reached down to coax her to the finish line, right ahead of him. His head dropped to her shoulder while he tried to catch his breath.

Erin ran her fingers through his hair, soothing him as their bodies quaked with aftershocks.

“Just when I think it can’t get any better…”

“Mmm,” she said, laughing softly. “If it gets any
better, I might not be able to walk.”

“I was rough with you.”

“And I loved every single second of it.”

Raising his head, he looked into her eyes for a long moment before he kissed her softly and withdrew, setting her down on her feet and waiting to make sure she was steady before letting her go. Then he began unbuttoning her dress, until it fell into a billowing cloud of fabric
at their feet. Her bra soon followed, leaving her naked before him.

He kept his gaze fixed on her as his shirt, which was covered in palm trees, disappeared over his head. He took her by the hand, led her to the bed and turned down the covers for her, kissing her when he tucked her in. “Be right back.”

After he disappeared into the bathroom, Erin took her first look at the gorgeous
room that had been decorated in shades of white and tan. It included a kitchen, sitting room and deck that overlooked the crystalline blue water. But the view had nothing on him when he emerged from the bathroom, having removed the rest of his clothes.

She took a greedy, hungry look at his muscular body, and the cock that was hard and heavy once again.

He crawled into bed and reached
for her. They came together in the middle of the king-size bed, arms and legs intertwined, lips hungry for more. “What’ve you done to me, Erin Barton?”

“The same thing you’ve done to me,” she said, smiling up at him.

He kissed her everywhere, reducing her to a quivering mess of nerve endings—all of them on fire for him—before he made slow, sweet love to her while watching over her
with the eyes that saw her in a way no one else ever had.

Afterward, they lay on their sides, facing each other as the sun set over the Caribbean in a fiery ball. He ran a finger from her shoulder to her hand and then back up again.

She had so much she needed to tell him, so many things she wanted him to know, and the long days of counting down the minutes until she could see him
again had made her see that the time for hedging was over.

“The last time I saw my brother,” she said, breaking a long silence, “we had a rare argument. Mitch and I had rented a place in the Hamptons for a weekend with Toby and Jenny, two weeks before Toby died. Mitch was asleep on the beach—well, passed out, I should say. Jenny had gone to shower, and Toby asked me to take a walk with
him. We went down to the water and walked along the shore, talking about law school and his job and his and Jenny’s wedding, which was a month and a half away. And then he told me he had something he’d wanted to say for a while by then—that I could do better than Mitch.” She paused before she continued. “I was so angry with him for saying that, for putting those thoughts in my head, because he knew
how important his opinion was to me. I was more furious with him that day than I’d ever been before. I’d gone out of my way to make Jenny feel welcome in our family, which was certainly no hardship. I loved her from the first time I met her, and I thought he owed me the same courtesy.”

Slim continued to stroke her arm as he listened to her, watching over her as she shared her pain with
him.

“I’d just moved in with Mitch and had made this huge commitment to him, and here was my brother, my best friend, the most important person in my life, telling me I’d made a mistake.”

“Did he know you were pissed?”

“Uh,
yeah
,” she said with a laugh. “He knew. I walked away from him, and he ran after me. When he caught up, he took me by the arm to keep me from storming
off again. He said, ‘Mitch is not a
bad
guy, but
you can do better
. Don’t settle for him, Erin. Hold out for something better.’”

“Yikes. That must’ve gone over like a fart in church.”

She smiled at his choice of words. “You could say that. Things were tense between us for the rest of the weekend. Mitch asked me what was up. Jenny asked. But I never told them, and I don’t think he
did either. And when it came time to leave on Sunday, he hugged me, told me he loved me best of all and that he didn’t want me to leave mad. I said if he didn’t want me to be mad, he should’ve kept his opinions to himself.”

“What did he say to that?”

“He laughed and hugged me again as tight as he had in years, and he said, ‘Someday, you’ll know exactly what I mean, and you’ll thank
me.’”

“Cocky bastard, huh?” Slim said, grinning.

“Not usually, but in that case, yeah, seriously cocky.” She linked their hands and looked up at him. “Every time I’ve thought about that weekend since then, I’ve been annoyed with him for trying to sabotage my relationship with Mitch, but now I know he was one hundred percent right. Now I know exactly what he meant, and I’m indeed
thanking him.”

“Yeah?” he said, his brows raised in question.

She nodded and took the plunge. “My Toby was telling me to wait for you, and as usual, he was right. I love you, Tobias Fitzgerald Jackson Junior.”

He blinked a couple of times, as if trying not to cry, before he reached for her, bringing her close enough to kiss. “Marry me,” he whispered gruffly against her lips.

Erin gasped. “
What?
”

“You heard me.
Marry. Me. Erin
. Please, marry me. Be my wife, my love, my everything. I love you more than I ever thought I could love anyone. Will you please, please,
please
marry me and let me teach you how to fly in every possible way?”

She was so stunned that she could barely think.

“We could have it all, baby. Winters in Florida, summers on
Gansett. Together every day. Maybe even a little Slim or Erin tossed in there, too, if we get really lucky. You’re the only thing I need to be happy. You’re it for me. Say yes.”

She loved him, her parents loved him, her friends loved him, and she had no doubt, no doubt whatsoever, that her beloved brother would’ve loved him, too. What was left to think about? Absolutely nothing. “Yes.”

“Really?” he asked, his expression priceless.

“Really.”

“Oh my God,” he said on a deep exhale. “You’re really going to marry me?”

“I really am, and I’ll let you teach me how to fly, too.”

“I’d love to.” He kissed her then with a kind of desperation he’d rarely shown her, and she returned the desperation, the intensity, the desire. “I need to get up for a second,
but I’ll come right back.”

Erin reluctantly released him, and true to his word, he returned a minute later and put a stunning diamond ring on her left hand. Tears filled her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. “W-what? When… When did you get this?”

“The day before I left West Palm. I hadn’t planned to blurt out a proposal the second you arrived, but after what you just told me about
Toby… It was the perfect time, the perfect woman.” He kissed the back of the hand where his ring now resided. “If you don’t like it, we can return it.”