Rescue After Dark: A Gansett Island Novel

by Marie Force

  “Who is she, and how can I have her killed?”

  Riley’s laughter rumbled through his chest. “There’s only one woman for me, and you know her very, very well, as do I. Which is how I know you suffer when Jordan suffers. But I have a good feeling about her and Mason. They could be great for each other for however long it lasts.”

  “I suppose so. As long as no one gets hurt.” Jordan couldn’t handle another big disappointment, and neither could Nikki. Because Riley was right—when Jordan hurt, Nikki did, too.

  Chapter 16

  Jordan had no idea where she was when she awoke in the dark with a heavy arm around her. As the events from earlier came rushing back to remind her of the best sex she’d ever had, she shifted her position and winced from the bite of soreness between her legs. The man was formidable in more than one way. Smiling, she thought about how sweet and tender he’d been with her even as he’d rocked her world right off its axis. How was it possible that a man she’d only just met seemed to “get” her in a way the man she’d been married to never had?

  Unlike Brendan, who’d always been far more self-absorbed than he should’ve been, Mason didn’t have a self-absorbed cell in his body. He was constantly tending to others, and when they were together, he seemed to actually see her rather than look through her the way Brendan had, even before he’d gotten crazy-famous. It was always as if he was looking for something better, something more, and it had driven her crazy that she felt like she was constantly trying to keep his attention on her.

  She’d noticed the way Mason stayed focused on her that first night in the clinic. Even as others came and went, he never became distracted the way Brendan would have. Even after her husband had begged and pleaded with her to forgive him after the video debacle and promised her things would be different, it had been more of the same when she joined him on tour.

  They rarely had a minute to themselves, and when they did, he didn’t want to talk about their relationship or how they were going to get back on track. He was more than happy to have sex, but there was no sense of connection or true intimacy. It felt transactional, like something he was doing because he felt he had to or because he needed the physical release, not because he wanted to show her how much he loved her.

  Truth be told, Jordan didn’t think he’d actually loved her in quite some time. How could he when he was so consumed with love for himself and his music and his band and his groupies? Where was there anything left in that maelstrom for his wife? Then add his addiction issues to the mix, and you had a recipe for certain disaster.

  Mason stirred, his arm tightening around her, bringing her in closer to him and making her feel safe with his big body curved around hers.

  True confession—he was the second guy she’d ever slept with, and now she knew her husband had failed her in bed, too. She was lucky if she had an orgasm every fourth or fifth time with him, and usually it happened when she helped herself along. Because she’d never been with anyone else, she’d assumed the failing was hers. Now she knew better. It wasn’t her at all.

  “You okay over there?” Mason asked, his voice gruff from napping.

  “I’m very okay.”

  “Very okay is good. You hungry?” The room had gone dark while they snoozed.

  “I could probably eat something. What time is it?”

  He raised his arm to check the digital display on the watch he wore to work. “After eight.”

  Jordan ran her hand over his arm. “Is it hurting?”

  “Just aches a little. It’s fine. Much better than it was.” His hand slid from her abdomen to cup her breast. “What about you? Anything hurting?” He ran his thumb over her nipple and just that quickly had her straining against him.

  “Not hurting so much as a bit sore.”

  “Sorry about that.”

  “Don’t be. It was well worth it.”

  “Glad you think so. What do you feel like eating?”

  “Doesn’t matter to me. What do you want?”

  “I’d go into town to pick something up, but I might get dragged into something for work if I show my face there.”

  “Let’s order takeout.”

  “Mario’s will deliver to me if I ask, but we’ve already done that.”

  “I love their big house salad, so that works for me if it does for you.”

  “Good for me, too.” He kissed the back of her shoulder and got up to call in the order.

  Jordan was disappointed when she noticed he’d pulled on boxer briefs before going to find his phone. She’d hoped for another look at his well-honed body. The deep rumble of his voice from the living room drifted into the bedroom as she relaxed into the pillow and tried not to overthink what was happening here.

  She’d had a nice time—and amazing sex—with a great guy. It was tempting to read more into it than that, but doing so would be a mistake. Especially right now, with so many aspects of her life so uncertain. Besides, Mason had a good life that satisfied him on Gansett. Jordan was fairly certain she’d go mad living on the island full time. Gansett was a great place to visit in the summer, but to live there? No way, and she’d said as much to Nikki when she decided to stay.

  Of course, Nik had Riley and his extended family to keep her entertained, so it made more sense for Nik to stay. It would make no sense for Jordan to stay. What would she do here besides go stir crazy? Although, after the last five years of absolute madness, the slower pace of Gansett wasn’t without its appeal. For a little while, anyway.

  Jordan shifted onto her back, wincing at the ache between her legs while wondering how long it would take her body to become accustomed to a guy of Mason’s size. It would be fun to find out.

  Mason came back into the bedroom and stretched out on the bed next to her. “Forty minutes.”

  “Let me pay this time. My purse is on the chair.”

  “Too late. I already paid. You can get it next time.”

  His use of the words next time gave her heart a happy lift that was contrary to the talking-to she’d just had with herself. It wouldn’t be wise to let something like this become anything more than lighthearted fun, and she realized she needed to say as much to him. “Mason.”

  “Yes, Jordan?” He’d taken her hand and pressed her palm against his, reminding her once again that his was easily twice the size of hers.

  “I just wanted to say…” She’d never done this before, never had to tell a guy not to get overly invested in her because it wouldn’t be a good idea for him.

  He turned on his side to face her, keeping his grip on her hand. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing is wrong. Tonight has been amazing.”

  “For me, too. I’ll never forget it.”

  His sweet words made her smile. “I won’t either. It’s just that being with you is so much fun, but it really can’t be anything more than that.” She swallowed hard, suddenly feeling emotional for reasons she couldn’t begin to fathom. “I’m not able to promise you anything right now.”

  “I get it, honey. Don’t worry. I know the deal.”

  “I’ll understand if you want to stop this before it goes any further.”

  “Is that what you want?”

  “No, it’s not, but I want to be fair to you. I’m technically still married, and I have no idea how long it will be until I’m not, among other things.”

  “What other things?”

  “I’m still trying to get out of the contract for another season of the show, and if that doesn’t happen, I’ll have to go back to LA for a few months. Gigi is trying to get them to see that I’m in no condition to be stalked by cameras, but I’m also in no condition to be starting a new relationship.”

  “I hear you.”

  “I don’t want to hurt you, Mason, or get hurt myself by getting attached to you and then having to leave.”

  “We won’t let that happen. We’ll hang out, have fun and maybe some more of this.” He leaned over to kiss her. “And some more of this, too.” Pushing the she
et down, he ran his tongue over her nipple.

  Jordan buried her fingers in his hair, amazed by how quickly he’d woken up her entire body and put her on full alert. She’d said what needed to be said, told him the whole truth of her situation, and he’d heard her. Now there was nothing left to do but enjoy whatever time they got to spend together.

  Mason was quite certain he was going to wake up any second to discover that he’d dreamt this whole thing, because surely there was no way Jordan Stokes was naked in his bed or pulling his hair as he licked her nipple or squirming under him, letting him know he was turning her on. God, she was sexy and sweet and utterly adorable.

  Regardless of what he’d said to her before, he did have his hopes up where she was concerned. He didn’t care that she lived in LA or that she was still married or that her life was in an uproar. How could he care about any of that when he felt such a genuine connection to her? Maybe it was ridiculous to feel that way so soon. Hell, he knew it was ridiculous, but damned if he could push the train backward now that it had left the station.

  It had started with the odd reaction he’d felt while getting her breathing again and had continued with every subsequent encounter. The only analogy he could come up with was being with her felt the same way touching a live wire would—shocking, disruptive, attention-getting, life-threatening. She could turn his whole world upside down if he let her, and even knowing that, he couldn’t stop himself from gorging on her while he could.

  This would end badly. He had no doubt about that, and it would be even worse than it had been when Kayla broke up with him four weeks before their wedding. He’d loved her. He honestly had, but in three years together, he’d never felt the connection to her that he’d immediately experienced with Jordan. As he tended to the other breast and kissed his way to her belly, he acknowledged that he’d had the same feeling of connection every time he’d seen her.

  “How’s the soreness?” he asked, glancing at Jordan, who watched him with big brown eyes framed with extravagant lashes.

  “Not so bad.”

  “Maybe I should kiss it better.”

  Raising her knees and spreading her legs, she said, “That might help.”

  She drove him wild with her blatant sexuality. It’d been a very long time since anything had truly surprised him the way she had earlier when he’d found her naked on his sofa.

  Even as he acknowledged that this might be nothing more than fun and games to her, he already knew it was more than that for him. She was more than that. She was the kind of woman who could change a man’s life and make him thankful for the earthquake she caused because he got her from it.

  He propped her legs on his shoulders and set out to destroy her with his tongue and fingers and gentle suction on the tight nub of nerves. Perhaps if he ruined her for all other men, she wouldn’t ruin him by leaving. Though he knew it was absolutely preposterous to hope for such things with a woman like her, he couldn’t help but wish that there was something he could say or do to make her want to stick around to see what this might become.

  Taking care to be gentle, he pushed a finger into her as he swirled his tongue over her clit.

  Her hips jolted as she pulled harder on his hair.

  He kept up the sensual torture until she was coming with a loud cry of completion that made him feel ten feet tall because he’d done that to her. Mason wanted so badly to follow up her pleasure with more of his own, but she was sore from the first time, so that would have to wait.

  He rested his forehead on her abdomen, needing a second to get himself together.

  “Mason.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Come here.” Her voice was throaty and sexy from screaming her way through the orgasm, and those two words from her made him even harder, if that was possible.

  He moved so his head was next to hers on the pillow. “I’m here.”

  She turned on her side and kissed him as she wrapped her hand around his erection. “I can’t get my hand all the way around it.”

  Hearing those words in her sexy voice made him crazy. He cupped her ass, his fingers digging into taut flesh as he tried not to blow his load all over her.

  She gave his shoulder a gentle push. “Lie on your back.”

  God was she… Oh fuck, she was. “Jordan.”

  “Shhh, it’s your turn.” She fitted her lips around the crown and gave a gentle suck.

  Mason bit back a pathetic-sounding whimper as he tried to think of the least-sexy things he could come up with. Only an image of Mayor Upton came to him, and that was enough to beat back the rush of desperation, for the moment, anyway.

  She took him into her mouth, her lips stretching to accommodate him as she sank down on his shaft while her fingers cupped his balls.

  Holy shit. “Jordan. Sweetheart.”

  “Mmmm.”

  The vibration of her lips against his shaft was his undoing. Before he had even a second to warn her, he was coming as hard as he had earlier. If it was possible to see stars, he saw an entire fireworks show in the span of a few seconds. “Sorry about that.”

  “About what?” She used her tongue to mop up the mess he’d made and looked at him with those big doe eyes.

  “I didn’t give you any warning.”

  “I knew what was coming.” She gave him a madly vulnerable look that tugged at every emotion he’d ever experienced. “It was okay?”

  Mason huffed out a laugh. “You couldn’t tell?”

  “Just making sure.”

  “Everything about you is far more than okay, babe.”

  “That’s nice to hear.”

  “It infuriates me that anyone would ever make you think otherwise.” He let a strand of her hair slide through his fingers. “You have to know you’re amazing and beautiful and sexy and funny and ballsy.”

  “Thank you, but I haven’t felt very ballsy lately.”

  “Seriously? That move on the sofa earlier? All the balls.”

  Jordan giggled. “I was freaking out on the inside. I’ve never done anything even remotely like that before.”

  Mason loved that she was an intriguing mix of worldliness and innocence, that she often touched both ends of the spectrum in a single second. “You should do it all the time, but only for me.” He no sooner said that than he realized he’d just crossed the line that she’d put in the sand earlier by asking him not to get overly involved. Before he could take it back or tone it down, his phone rang. “Hold that thought.” He got up to retrieve the phone he’d left in the other room. “Johns.”

  “Hey,” Dermot said, “wanted to give you a heads-up that we’ve got some overdue boaters. Deacon and Linc Mercer’s Coast Guard team are out looking for them, but they’re about to call it off until the morning.”

  “Anyone we know?”

  “Haven’t gotten names yet, but I’ll text you when I know more.”

  “Let me know if you need me to come in.”

  “I think we’re okay for now.”

  “Thanks for letting me know.” Mason put down the phone and went to turn the light on for the delivery from Mario’s that should be arriving any minute. He ran his fingers through his hair and thought about the revealing statement he’d made to Jordan, how he wanted her to get naked only for him.

  Why did the thought of her baring that exquisite body for anyone but him already make him furious? This was what he did—dove in headfirst without knowing if there was water in the pool, and when he hit the bottom—hard—he usually had only himself to blame for being stupid in the first place.

  More than at any other time in the past, this woman had the power to absolutely ruin him. There was no water in this pool, and he knew that before he dove in. He had to control the crash before he inflicted damage on himself that could never be undone. The only problem with that plan was that with her in his arms and in his bed, he was powerless to dial it back even when he knew he absolutely had to.

  He didn’t want to. He wanted to take the dive, regardless of how
painful the crash would be in the end.

  Jordan came up behind him and slipped her arms around his waist as she rested her head on his back. “What’s going on?”

  Mason placed his hands on top of hers and told her the truth as it stood right then and there. “We’ve got some boaters overdue.”

  “Do you need to go to work?”

  “Not at the moment.”

  “So everything is all right?”

  He gave her truth as he saw it right then and there. “Everything is just fine.”

  Chapter 17

  In the morning, as he drove Jordan home, Mason got a text from Dermot letting him know that the “missing” boaters had ended up in Martha’s Vineyard without letting anyone know their plans and were safe.

  “Does that happen a lot?” Jordan asked him after reading the text to him.

  “More often than you’d expect. People don’t think. They take off on boats, let cell phones go dead and get sidetracked while loved ones are frantically looking for them.”

  “Not to mention the first responders who have to risk their lives searching.”

  “Not to mention. I also got a text this morning that the guy in the car accident had a heart attack, but they got him back. He’s in critical condition, but they expect him to recover.”

  “That’s good news.”

  “Yes, it is. He got lucky.” Mason reached for her hand. “Last night was awesome. I had the best time.”

  “Me, too. Thanks for having me over to visit.”

  “My pleasure,” he said with a dirty grin. “Can you come out to play again tonight?”

  “Let me check my busy schedule.” She paused, tapped her chin and said, “Looks like I can.”

  “Excellent. I’ll pick you up after work.”

  “Or I could borrow my sister’s car, hit the grocery store, go to your place and make you dinner while you’re working.”

  “Yes, please.”