by Drea Stein
Her fingers fumbled with the belt buckle and she had to use two hands before it slid free. He stopped her before she could go any further.
“Your turn,” he said, and the warmth of his fingers burned on her skin as he grabbed the bottom edge of her top and pulled it over her head.
“At least those are easy to get out of,” he said with a laugh, as his finger caught the waist of her pants and tugged them down. She was thankful that she had thought to wear matching underwear and bra today.
He smiled, his finger flicking the nub of her nipple under the red lace of her bra. She could feel it harden in response as her back arched up to him.
“Racy, lacy red lingerie. Under scrubs. Will wonders never cease?” he said as he kissed the spot between her breasts and then trailed kisses down the flat surface of her stomach.
“Just like they say, don’t judge a book by its cover. Or a girl by her scrubs.”
His fingers teased around the edge of her panties and then slowly, almost unbearably slowly, he slid them in to find her wet, moist center.
“Don’t worry,” he said as his eyes darkened, watching as her body responded to his touch, “I like the whole package.”
She almost lost it then, pushed over the edge but she fought the need, letting him stroke her until her desire built up in her, pulling her, pushing her to a crest. She reached for him, her hands finding his fly, and this time he didn’t resist as she slid his pants off, tugging them down so he could shrug out of them. He stepped free of them and then tugged down the waist of his boxers so she could see that he was ready for her.
He unhooked her bra and lowered his mouth down to her nipple and took it with his tongue, gently flicking it to rigid attention. His hands slipped her panties off and she couldn’t wait any longer, as she moaned his name and raised her hips up to him, almost there. He entered her quickly and together they moved in sync.
She felt her whole body thrum and hum with fulfilled pleasure. She wrapped her legs around him and rose up to meet him. Together their eyes met and he locked his gaze on her. They moved together, finding their rhythm, and together they rode up and over the wave.
#
They lay tangled next to each other. Lynn felt her heart racing and willed it to calm down. Next to her, Jackson was lying, strong, quiet, the sheet pulled halfway up around him. He lifted up one arm and smiled at her and she felt her heart melt. He was a nice guy, she reminded herself, nothing more. In fact, he couldn’t be. She had to remember that before she let herself get too caught up in him. Still, she could imagine lying next to him, like this, on a regular basis.
It was his stomach that gave him away.
She laughed. “I guess I never fed you.”
“I appreciate you for your other talents,” he answered, a wicked tone in his voice as his hands lightly traced the line of her hip.
“I suppose we could always order in,” she said.
“I’m pretty sure Giovanni’s pizza delivers,” he said.
“And thank goodness for that.”
Chapter 44
The fire crackled warm and bright. Lynn looked around the assembled faces and smiled. Logs and chairs were pulled up in a circle around a huge bonfire that had been built on a little slip of beach below Noah and Caitlyn Randall’s house. The log next to her was empty, but not for long as Jackson lowered his long form down next to her.
“I brought you a lobster, corn, and some clams,” he said handing her a plate. She put her cup down, setting it into the sand so it wouldn’t spill.
“Wow, this looks delicious. You cooked this all in a hole in the ground?” she asked.
“Yup, that’s the beauty of a proper New England clam bake. It’s a bit late in the season, but when you said you’d never been to one, I couldn’t resist.”
The firelight flickered, casting long shadows across their faces but she could see his smile and catch the twinkle in his eye.
“So, Doctor. How’s the food?” Chase asked, settling down easily onto the log next to them and putting an arm around Phoebe, who gave him a kiss on the nose. Across the fire, Caitlyn Randall, lounged in a real chair, while Noah brought her a plate. Caitlyn was smiling but Lynn caught the looks she kept shooting up toward the house, where baby Luke was supposedly sound asleep, under the watchful eye of a trusted babysitter.
Beyond the fire, Sean Callahan, tended to the big hole in the ground from which all their food was emerging. Also in a chair, Darby, looking like a veritable Madonna, sat, her hands across her full belly, smiling every now and then as she felt the baby kick.
Tory was there, with a guy from the rival softball team. Jake Owen was here as well, but flying solo, which didn’t seem to bother him at all.
Someone had set up a radio and a steady stream of upbeat music, a mix of classics and contemporary hits, played on.
Lynn held up the lobster by the tail. “What am I supposed to do, just crack it open?” she said, eyeing the hard, spiny shell with curiosity. She figured she was pretty adventurous when it came to food, but somehow she had never eaten a whole lobster before.
“Do you mean,” Tory said in mock horror, a hand over her heart, “that you’ve never eaten a lobster before?”
Lynn looked around the assorted faces of the group, all of whom were looking at her as if she had tentacles and claws herself.
“Well,” she said as she began to defend herself, “it’s not exactly indigenous west of the Rockies, is it?” she pointed out.
Jackson laughed and pulled her to him, giving her a kiss. “I take pity on you. I will help you slay the big bad lobster.”
There was a round of laughter as Jackson picked the lobster up from her plate. He started to explain the proper methodology of eating a lobster to her but she looked up, distracted, feeling someone’s gaze on her. It was Chase and his dark eyes were looking at them, staring as if he was seeing something he didn’t quite believe. The intensity, the speculation in the gaze made her uncomfortable. All of a sudden, she wondered if it had been such a good idea to make hers and Jackson’s relationship public so soon.
It was Jackson who had wanted it; he’d looked so hopeful when he asked if she’d mind, as if he was afraid she’d say no, worried that she would be nervous to be with him. Lynn had told him to stop being silly. As far as she knew, there had been no further incidents like the one at the café, and what’s more, she didn’t care. All that was in the past, as far as Lynn was concerned.
So with a glee that she hadn’t expected, Jackson had organized this party and said it felt good not to be sneaking around. She hadn’t tried to dwell too much on what that meant for the definition of their relationship, but she knew she was starting to believe that what was between them was more than a casual thing.
Phoebe caught Chase’s attention and it shifted from them. Lynn decided to ignore the shiver of foreboding that ran down her back and turned her thoughts back to Jackson.
It was getting late and the bonfire was starting to wind down. Caitlyn and Darby had left together, climbing the stairs up to Caitlyn’s house, Darby moving slowly, saying she needed a real chair and a real bathroom, while Caitlyn had assured everyone they were welcome to stay.
Noah, Jake, Sean, and the rest of the couples were scattered around, on logs or blankets, digesting the enormous meal. It was getting cold, Lynn thought, the warmth of the day slipping quickly away as night settled fully down. The water was a soft whisper of waves lapping gently at the shore. Off along the coast, the lighthouse, the real one, flashed its light in a steady rhythm and the far shore was defined by a flickering line of lights. Conversation was dwindling and when Jackson whispered in Lynn’s ear, she nodded, ready to go as well.
He stood up, sand spilling down from him. “I’ll start to gather our things,” he said.
“I just want to take a quick look at the water,” she said and picked her way carefully along the rocky shore, the light from the moon and the fire her only guide, to the water’s edge. She hugged her arms tightly aro
und her. She was wearing jeans and a warm coat, but still the air was chilly, and on a whim she bent down and ran her hand through the water. It felt surprisingly warm.
As she rose up, she felt a presence next to her. She looked up, expecting to see Jackson, but it was his brother Chase.
“Don’t be fooled. It’s way too cold for skinny dipping,” he said. His voice was light but even in the shadows she could tell that his face was serious.
“How would you know?” she shot back.
“Experience. You can’t live in Queensbay and not be tempted. It feels warm because the water retains the heat of the summer well into the fall. It’s always warmer in October than in April, no matter how hot a day you get in the spring.”
“Is that something you did a lot?”
“What, skinny dipping?” Chase gave a low chuckle. “Among other things. Small town. We had to find a way to assume ourselves.”
Lynn waited. She was friendly with Chase, but there was no way to mistake this for a casual encounter.
The silence seemed to stretch between them so that she had to ask. “Do you have something to say?”
“You seem to be getting along very well with my brother,” Chase said.
“I might be,” Lynn answered.
“That’s good. He needs that.”
Lynn waited, sure she knew what was going to be next. A big brotherly warning about not hurting Jackson or he would have to kill her. Or something like that. But what Chase said next surprised her.
“Just be careful, Lynn.”
“What do you mean?” Her voice was laced with surprise. Of all the things he could have said, she had not expected that.
He turned to her, his voice pitched low and filled with concern. “You’re a nice girl, Lynn, a good friend. I don’t want to see Jackson hurt you is all.”
“How would he hurt me?” Lynn asked.
“I don’t know if Jackson’s really ready to love someone again. But you are. You’re one of the happiest, most passionate people I know. And you think you can fix people, and most of the time you can. But my brother, I’m not so sure he’s fixable or that he’ll be able to give you what you deserve. I am only saying this as your friend,” Chase said as Lynn took a step back as if she had been slapped.
“Love…Who said anything about love,” her voice started out high, but she caught herself and ended in a whisper.
“I see how he looks at you and how you look at him. He’s happy; I’ll give you that, and I thank you for that. I never thought I would see him that way again after what happened.”
“You mean her,” Lynn said.
“Yes, Ashley. It destroyed him. And truth be told, I don’t know if he’s whole yet.”
Lynn wanted to scream in frustration. At every turn with Jackson she felt haunted by a dead woman, Jackson’s silence about it doing more than anything else to confirm the presence of the saintly, deceased Ashley in his heart than anything. She felt always like it was one step forward and two steps back. Or maybe this was what Jackson had meant all along. He was perfectly capable of being a great boyfriend. But he would never give his heart to her. She ran a hand over her hair, ending in a tug on her ponytail.
She wasn’t sure what to say, and thankfully, didn’t have to because Jackson came up to them, threw an arm around her shoulder and snuggled her close to him. She leaned into his warm, hard body and let herself be warmed by the dazzling smile he sent her, and thought that maybe she should be happy with what she had. A sexy, attentive man who made love to her but didn’t love her as much as she loved him.
“What are you doing out here with my girl, brother?”
“Just advising her against taking a dip,” Chase said, laughing easily.
Jackson leaned down, scooped up a rock, and tossed it into the water. In the silver moonlight, Lynn watched as it skipped three hops and the dropped down into the surface, sending its concentric ripples outward.
He looked down at Lynn. “You do have a sense of adventure,” he said and his voice was lightly teasing as he shot a look toward Chase.
She took a step back, already sensing what the brothers had in mind.
“It’s colder than it looks,” she protested. But she was too late.
She screamed for help but it was two against one. Phoebe and Tory came running to her rescue but the girls were outnumbered. Somehow they all managed to end up in the water, fully clothed, wet and shivering but laughing.
#
Later, warm and snug in bed, with Jackson sleeping beside her, Lynn struggled to find her own sense of peace. She and Chase had never finished their conversation but his message had been clear. Jackson was still in love with his dead fiancée. She looked over at his sleeping form, gently tracing the smooth muscles of his back. He shifted but stayed asleep. True, he had made no promises to her, only that he would treat her like a grownup. That she would enjoy herself. That she would feel sexy and sophisticated. And with him, she did. But not once had he mentioned love. And just where did that leave them? Or leave her? Did she truly love him? Or was she just in love with him, in love with the way he made her feel? Was there a difference? And why now, after guarding herself so carefully, making sure there were no distractions, had she fallen for a man who couldn’t love her back?
She reached out, wrapping her arms around him, and pulled him close, as if she could divine his intentions through the heat of his body. He stirred, turned toward her so that he was pulling her close to him. Even in his semi-awake stake, she felt his desire for her as his lips found hers.
He pulled back and his eyes were awake, alive. “Can’t sleep?” he asked.
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
He smiled and scraped his chin against her cheek, the prickly contact causing a shiver of delight to course through her.
“Let’s see what we can do about, shall we?” he said, his words breathless against her ears. She shivered again and gave herself over to him, to the sensations of making love. Perhaps Jackson couldn’t love her the way she loved him; in which case, her final thought was that she needed to take as much of him as she could get.
Chapter 45
“This will only take a moment,” Lynn said as Jackson pulled the car up in front of Darby Callahan’s house, a cute little Victorian on one of the main streets of the village. It was later in the day, the café would be closed and Darby said she’d be at home resting.
Lynn needed to drop some paperwork off to Darby, the contract for catering the fundraiser Caitlyn had urged her to set up. The plan was to use the money raised as the seed funds for the Healthy Kids Now foundation. Lynn had wanted to use her own money but when she had mapped out all she wanted to do, she realized that it would take more than she could give. A kickoff event was what was needed, Caitlyn had told her, and so she’d been planning one.
And now it was time to put everything in motion, and she wanted to give Darby all the details before she and Jackson headed out on their errands.
They, she and Jackson, were going furniture shopping. Well, TV shopping. He wanted a new one for his basement and he had asked Lynn to come with him. She had only hesitated a moment, thinking that this was what it was supposed to be like, right? This quiet way they had moved into being a couple. Shopping for electronics during the day and incredible sex at night. Still, they hadn’t ever really touched on anything more than that talked-about some kind of future together. She tried not to mind it, not really, trying to remind herself that they had time, that there was no reason for her to rush him on anything, that she should just enjoy being with him.
“I’ll come with you. Maybe she’ll have some fresh cookies,” he said, smiling.
He got out of the car, and his hand found the small of her back as he guided them up the tidy flagstone path towards the front porch steps. There were pots of mums sitting on the steps, in dusky oranges and maroons, reminders that autumn was fully upon them. It was a sunny day, but the weather had turned cold and there was a crispness to the air, o
verlaid with the smell of a wood fire.
Lynn breathed it in, her feet crunching on a few fallen leaves that hadn’t been raked up. Behind her, she could see if she craned her neck the harbor, blue and bright, the light wind kicking up small waves. Jackson had pulled the boat in for the winter, but already she was looking forward to springtime and the chance to get back out on it.
She glanced up at him and he looked down, gave her a quick smile and a kiss before they stepped up the stairs that led to the wide wraparound porch. A wicker chair and couch were still out, their cushions pushed up. Potted plants swung from the porch, twisting and turning in the breeze. The house was freshly painted, a light cream color, with contrasting white woodwork and sharp green shutters. Everything about it looked inviting, and while Lynn was convinced her own style was more contemporary, the house, though compact, was more than charming.
Lynn raised the knocker and let it down once, then again. There was quiet and she knocked again, and finally she heard the sound of feet moving slowly toward them. The bright red door opened and Lynn was taken aback.
“Darby, are you ok?” she asked. Darby, even though she was eight months pregnant, had always looked glowing and strong. But today was a different story. Her face was pale and she was in a pair of sweats and an oversized t-shirt. Her reddish brown hair looked dull and lifeless, pulled back in a ponytail, and her hands were rubbing her giant belly.
“I don’t know, I feel…” She took a deep breath and then she doubled over. Lynn saw her face contort in pain and immediately her instincts kicked in. She stepped forward, grabbed a hold of Darby, and guided her into the living room.
“Let’s get you someplace where you can lie down.”
“I’m having contractions,” Darby said, through gritted teeth.
“It’s going to be ok,” Lynn said, feeling calm and collected. Her specialty wasn’t delivering babies, but she had done a rotation in obstetrics and assisted in several births.
