On the Rocks (A Turtle Island Novel) (16 page)

“What are you doing up here?” Her voice climbed an octave. “Did you let him in?”

“He’s waiting for you in the foyer.” He skimmed his gaze over her body. “Why all the pretense?” he asked. “The dresses, the jewelry . . . You hate that.”

“It’s called making a good impression.” Turning away, she checked her backside and tugged at the material over her hips. “And anyway, I like this dress.”

“It’s called being fake. Any
anyway
, you make a hell of an impression without even trying.”

She stopped long enough to smirk at him. “I am
not
walking down there naked.”

Embarrassment colored his features, and his cheeks once again turned pink. “I didn’t mean that.” He clenched and released his hands, then glared at her. “Just be you. That’s what I’m saying. Don’t try so hard.
You
are pretty terrific.”

He made it sound so easy.

She turned back to her reflection, and tried not to think about how much she wished Carter’s words could be true, but her past indicated otherwise. Better to stick with the plan.

Grabbing her purse off the small love seat, she moved across the room. When she reached his side, she looked up at him expectantly, and he took a step back to let her pass. Before she’d gone more than a couple of feet, she turned back. She didn’t want to go.

But her date was waiting.

“I don’t have a charter in the morning,” she told him. Her eyes watched his carefully. “See you at sunrise?”

“Definitely. Let’s go out to your house, though. I want to see the view from your deck.”

She smiled. “Sitting on the pier out there is even better.”

Leaning in to him, she quickly lifted to tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek. It wasn’t a move she’d planned, but it felt right. And she liked the feel of his scruffy days’ growth of whiskers under her lips.

“Don’t forget to lock up when you leave.” She winked, then walked away.

As her foot reached the bottom stair, Carter leaned over the railing above. “By the way . . .”

She looked up, waiting to see what he had to say.

He smiled widely, the move so disarming, so sultry, that she lost her breath. “Nice tattoo.”

Dang. That fast, and she was turned on again. He must have seen more than she’d realized as she’d dashed from the kitchen.

Because her tattoo rode high up on her hip.

C
HAPTER
T
WELVE

H
ow’d the date go?”

Carter stood on the front porch of Ginger’s house at dawn the next morning, his hands tucked into his back jean pockets, wishing he didn’t enjoy the frown on her face so much.

She eyed him from the bottom of the steps. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

He winced. “Sorry.” It was all he had.

He couldn’t very well admit he’d secretly been hoping it didn’t go well—he hadn’t liked the firefighter who’d come to her door last night. And he certainly wouldn’t tell her that he’d spent the previous evening—again—watching for her to return home. There had been no drinking for him—or smoking . . . that had grown old—just in case she didn’t show up and he had to go looking for her.

And why? All because he’d seen her naked? Because he’d gotten all hot and bothered when he’d written a sex scene about her?

Or because he’d gotten his nagging question answered when he’d
seen
her naked?

Pink. Her nipples were pink, just like he’d imagined. A very soft, almost-too-faint-to-see touch of color that proudly centered her breasts. A hue that he would have gladly handed over the keys to his custom-built home for just the opportunity to touch.

Fuck. He had to get a grip. Ginger was his friend, and a friend only. Even if he wanted it to be more, what would be the point? She was looking for a husband. A man to give her babies. And that wasn’t him. He’d blown the husband and father opportunity with Lisa, and he had zero desire to put himself back out there.

Ginger climbed the steps to him. “Why didn’t you wait and come over with me?”

He’d left a note for her that morning. He’d woken up with the desire to actually write
his
book. And he’d wanted to do it here. More than one scene had been in his head when he’d opened his eyes, and once he’d set up a makeshift desk on the top-floor deck, his fingers had flown over the keyboard. He was writing again.

“Couldn’t sleep” was all he said.

He knew he should tell her he was an author. That he was, incidentally, one of her favorite authors. But he wasn’t ready to talk about it yet. Mostly because until this morning, he’d been wondering if he could still call himself that.

But the two hours he’d spent lost in his head had given him an adrenaline rush he hadn’t felt in months. Another morning or two like that, and he’d spill his guts. He wanted to see the look on her face when she found out.

“I was over here yesterday,” she told him, glancing behind him to the house. “The walls were going up.”

He could see the anticipation in her eyes, and he gave her a teasing wiggle of his brows. “They’re up.” He nodded toward the closed door. “So the question is . . . see the walls now”—he angled his head toward the water—“or see the sunrise?”

He knew what he wanted.

Ginger bit her lip as she worked through her decision, and as she stood in front of him, all he could picture was her naked body. Again. He’d done that a lot in the last twelve hours.

Normally, the sight of a beautiful bare woman—while arousing—wouldn’t send his hormones into a complete rage. But seeing Ginger had done exactly that. Because he’d seen more than her naked body. He’d seen himself waking up.

He’d not only wanted sex, he’d wanted to live again. Even if for only the few minutes it would take to slide his body inside of hers. He wanted to feel something other than misery and anger.

“The sunrise.” She’d made her decision. “On the pier.”

She reached for his hand and pulled him down the stairs. At the bottom, he wrapped his fingers around hers and took the lead, and two minutes later they were on the pier. Without speaking, they dropped their hands and walked side by side to the end. They sat, feet hanging over the edge, and waited.

Of course, Ginger could only stay quiet for so long. “The way I see it, it’s time for you to tell me more about your marriage.”

He leveled her with a look. “And why do you think that?”

“Because you saw me naked.”

Her green eyes stared, unblinking, back at him. She didn’t seem embarrassed so much as exposed. Which she had been. And he wanted her to be again.

For the life of him, he couldn’t get that thought out of his head.

“And what does your nakedness have to do with my marriage?”

“Mortification, Carter.” She rolled her eyes at him as a teenager might do, and he had to bite down on a smile. “You saw me naked,” she explained. “No man has seen me naked in a long time. A fact I thought about a
lot
last night.”

“You thought about me while you were on your date?”

She narrowed her eyes. “My date ended early enough that I had time to think after.”

“Ten o’clock.”

“What?”

He turned away and casually explained, “Your date ended at ten o’clock.”

“And how would you know that?”

Because he’d been jealous. He forced a sigh. He preferred her to believe his actions of the previous evening had been born of frustration. “You told a stranger where you lived, Ginger Root. Therefore, I watched to make sure you made it home okay.”

“You spied on me?”

He wouldn’t tell her that it wasn’t the first time. He continued watching the sky.

She poked him in the arm. “You do know that I’m a grown woman? I can take care of myself.”

“It doesn’t hurt to have backup.” He slid her a glance. “So . . .
did
you think about me while you were on your date?”

“I thought about me!” She raised her voice in exasperation. “Me being naked.”

He smiled. “I thought about that, too.”

“Stop it. You’re trying to derail me. The point I’m making is, you saw me naked. Vulnerable. So I deserve a bit of the same. If you don’t plan on getting naked, then tell me about your wife.”

He looked down at his clothes, and she immediately pointed a finger at him.

“Don’t you
dare
get naked.”

“Why not?” He pulled out another smile. “You think you might like it as much as I did?”

She blew out a harsh breath, and he couldn’t stop the chuckle. Damn, but she was cute. And if he weren’t mistaken, she was turned on, as well. At least a little.

Where was this thing between them going? And why was he trying to drive it there?

“Yes.” All irritation disappeared from her demeanor with the single word. “I would like it, too.” Her honesty moved him. She stuck out her chin. “Now spill.”

“Lisa left me for someone else.”

Ginger sucked in a sharp breath. “Oh, Carter.” Her fingers landed on his arm. “I’m so sorry.”

Pressure eased inside of him with the release of the words. He gave her a tight smile and let her touch remain. “No biggie. I wasn’t the kind of man she wanted.”

Ginger didn’t blink. He watched her throat rise with a swallow, then she gave a small nod and her thumb caressed a tiny section of his skin. “I understand how that feels. Not being what someone wants.” Her eyes stayed focused on his. “But clearly, it
was
a biggie. It changed you.”

It had changed him. And he hadn’t even told her the worst of it. Nor did he plan to.

“This is why you feel so bad about yourself that you aren’t having sex?” Ginger asked.

He shook his head. “No more, Red. That’s all you get. No more talking about the ex.”

“But you need to.”

“What good would it possibly do?”

“What harm would it do? And it could totally help you.”

“Help?” He brought one knee up on the dock, shrugging off her touch. But he faced her dead on. “I don’t think so. But yes.
She’s
the reason I’m not having sex. Hell, I wasn’t having sex
with
her. And now you want me to talk about her? No.” He shook his head. “It’ll only make it worse. Make me want sex less. And seeing you naked last night . . .” He eyed her carefully as he thought about the surge of heat that had spiraled through him the night before. “Seeing you made me actually
want
it. A hell of a lot. And I liked that feeling.” He gave her a hard look. “I’d like to keep it.”

She didn’t answer. Nor did she seem to breathe.

“So no more sharing about Lisa,” he finished and turned back to the horizon. Ginger had been right, this was a beautiful spot for a sunrise. The way they were practically sitting out in the ocean made it feel as if the day were waking up purely for them.

The colors of the sky lightened above the water, indicating that the sun wasn’t far behind.

“So you weren’t having sex during your marriage?”

Carter’s teeth clenched together.

“For how long?”

He scowled at her.

“We’re friends, Carter,” Ginger said softly. The honesty still burned in her eyes, so Carter closed his. They might be friends, but that didn’t mean he had to share his past screwups. “I just want to help,” she continued. “Because I want you to be happy again.”

Fuck. She had a way of getting to him. He reopened his eyes to find hers right there. Still on his. And he couldn’t staunch the words. “I found out about them in May,” he said. “But if you count the months before that . . .”

“Months?”

He gave her a quiet stare. It was embarrassing.

“How many months?”

He turned back to the ocean. The sun was there. They’d missed the sunrise. “Before Christmas,” he admitted. Shame filled him. Lisa had been home for only one day over the holidays, yet they hadn’t bothered. He hadn’t seen her for months at that point, and he hadn’t cared to take her to bed.

“That’s a long time,” Ginger said beside him.

“You’re telling me.” He leaned back, resting his palms on the wood behind him and stared at the sky. “And my god . . .” He blew out a breath. “Could I use some sex.”

Then he smiled. Because he realized that telling her about Lisa
had
made him feel better. Lighter, as she’d said Saturday night.

He turned to her. “Especially if you’re going to keep running around naked.”

She grinned back at him, the look so radiant, it was if his own personal sunrise had just risen. “I promise to check the kitchen for rogue casseroles being cooked from now on,” she said. “
Before
I take off my clothes.”

“Hey, don’t do that on my behalf.”

She laughed lightly, but quickly fell into silence, and he watched as she realized they’d missed the sunrise. Her smile dropped, but she didn’t seem upset. However, it was as if her entire being was suddenly shrouded with sadness. “It’s been over two years for me.”

“Damn.”

“I know.” She twisted her lips. “I told you no man has seen me naked for a long time.”

“No wonder you want those dates to work out.”

She snorted softly, and he pushed off his hands to sit up straight. An idea began knocking around inside his head. It was probably a bad one. But it wouldn’t go away.

“
We
. . . could . . .” He let the words trail off. He didn’t look at her.

“We could what?”

He lifted a brow, and without saying another word, he knew he got his point across.

“Carter,” she gasped. “We’re friends.”

He swung his gaze back to hers. “What better person to have sex with? We’d know we’d still be friends afterward.” He stared at her mouth. “And I’d be willing to bet we’d have chemistry.”

She also looked at his mouth. And she seemed to consider it. A tiny line formed between her brows. She licked her lips. Then, as if coming out of a trance, she blinked and gave him that rolled-eye thing again.

“I am
not
having sex with you,” she stated. “You’re out of your mind. Anyway, I’ve got another date Thursday night.”

That caught him off guard. “So last night
did
go well?”

“No. Last night was a bomb. He was too immature. But I lined up this one a couple of weeks ago. He doesn’t live on the island, only comes over for work every few weeks. We had a really nice talk the day he asked me out.”

“Your ability to draw new men so often amazes me.” And made him jealous.

“Tell it to my mother,” she drawled out. “That’s the only thing I inherited from her. Anyway, I have that date”—she shot him a look—“so I’ll hold out for that. Maybe I’ll get lucky.”

He stood and reached a hand down to her. “Let me know if you change your mind.”

“I’m not going to change my mind.” But her words grew soft as they stood face-to-face.

“Should we kiss just to see?” he asked. Now that he’d had the idea, he wasn’t ready to let it go. “Test the chemistry?”

“Carter.” The word came out more breathy than she probably realized. “We’re friends. Friends can’t run around kissing.”

“We are friends, and that won’t change, kissing or not. And anyway, I’ll be leaving soon. It’s not like you’d even have to be around me if things got uncomfortable.”

Her clear gaze studied him. “You won’t come back to visit Julie and the baby?”

The moment changed, and he nodded. Things were different now. Different than just two weeks ago. “I will come back,” he said. It was a promise to himself as well as an admission to her. “I won’t stay away like I did in the past. But you won’t be living beside her anymore; you’ll be out here.” He squeezed her hand, aware for the first time that he hadn’t turned her loose after he’d pulled her to her feet. “So we could avoid each other if we wanted to.”