Lucky in Love on Hound Island

by Karice Bolton

  “They like each other.” I smiled, seeing a trace of a smile on Lucky’s lips.

  “I think they do.” He grinned, turning on the television and sliding in the first disc.

  “Has Maddie had her baby yet?”

  “Nope. Chance said it might not happen until morning.” He glanced over his shoulder at me. “I think it’s going to be a long night for them.”

  “I can’t even imagine.”

  “Which part?”

  “The actual delivering part.” I hobbled over to the middle cushion of the couch and sat down. “It’s all fun and games until…you know the baby has to come out.”

  Billy laughed as he went to get the bag of popcorn for us.

  It was so easy being around Billy, and I obviously wasn’t the only one who felt it or he wouldn’t have so many friends, male and female. I glanced over at Lucky who’d curled tighter around Lady and held in a sigh.

  Young love melted my heart.

  Billy took a seat on the couch and handed me the bag of popcorn before fumbling with the remote. As silly as it seemed, being this close to him made my body temperature rise, and I suddenly didn’t care which movie was about to appear on the television.

  “Are you looking forward to your trip?” I asked, propping my leg on a pillow I’d put on the coffee table.

  “I am.” He sat back and placed his arm around my shoulders. “But not quite as much as I had been.”

  I didn’t want to read too much into it so I just pressed on.

  “So you’re headed to Portland first?”

  “I’ve got a few meetings and then it gives me an excuse to visit Stone.”

  “That’ll be a good start to your vacation.”

  He turned toward me and nodded. “It should be.”

  “I hope you don’t leave town before we get to have a little fun.” I couldn’t believe the words were out of my mouth before I had a chance to stop myself.

  He let out a deep groan that made my entire body heat up with desire. I wanted to hear more of those sounds coming from those beautiful lips.

  “Do you really want that, Tiff?”

  He’d never called me that before. I liked it coming from him. It made things—us—feel more intimate.

  “I do,” I confessed, sucking on my bottom lip with a nervousness I couldn’t hide.

  “I don’t want to promise anything I can’t deliver on,” Billy whispered, pressing his forehead to mine. “You know that, right?”

  His gaze fell to my lips before returning to my eyes.

  “I know that this is only fun. You’re leaving town and so am I.” I bit my lip. “But I’ve wanted this…” My breath caught as I twisted my fingers in his hair. “I don’t care if there’s not a tomorrow for us. I want what’s happening now. I don’t want to regret anything by letting you leave and—” I didn’t know what else to say.

  “If I could offer you more, I would,” he said flatly. “But it’s not that time in my life for me. It hasn’t been, and I don’t know when it will ever be.”

  “I know,” I whispered, ignoring the voice of caution in my head. I could handle this. “Same goes for me. It’s not like I’m looking for anything long-term.”

  A brilliant flash of desire flared in his eyes, and a slow moment of longing stretched between us. I wanted to be kissed by him. I wanted so much more. But we just sat on the couch, his hand holding my good one.

  I wondered if he’d continue or if he’d talk himself out of whatever was about to happen. I tried everything to be as blunt as possible. I knew sleeping with him wouldn’t lead to anything more than what it was now, and I was okay with that.

  “I’m beginning to think you’re all talk when it comes to having a little fun,” I breathed in. Everything about him was intoxicating.

  Billy’s gaze shifted to my mouth, but he didn’t come closer. I realized he was handing me the power. He wanted me to be the one to make this decision. It didn’t matter what I told him. It mattered what I did.

  I slid my tongue slowly along my bottom lip, which made his breathing speed up or maybe it was the fact that I’d slid my hand under his sweater, feeling his hard abs and contoured chest. Every dip and peak of his body made my mind endlessly swirl with the thought of getting to feel his bare skin against mine.

  I’d played it safe for years. Stayed away from relationships by staying away from men all together so I didn’t get burned.

  But for once, I wanted to have a little fun. I wanted to play with fire because for the first time in a long time I knew what I was getting. There were no empty promises. I wasn’t going to get burned because I already knew what to expect. There was only this night, maybe one more.

  “I want this,” I whispered, looking into his green eyes. “Don’t make me beg.”

  He brought his mouth to mine and everything in the room melted into oblivion. All I could think about was Billy’s lips on mine, his hand skating across my back, the delicious way he smelled of soap and the outdoors. For once, all I was thinking about was this moment and this kiss.

  “You taste so good,” he murmured, his lips still pressed to mine. “But I think I need to get you into bed.”

  “Not alone, I hope?”

  “Not alone, Tiffany.” His voice was gruff with need, and a shiver ran down me with the way he said my name.

  Without any effort, he scooped me in his arms, making me feel as light as a feather, even with a cast.

  “I bet it’s not every night you get to take a girl to bed who is part plaster.” I looped my arm around his neck, and he laughed before pressing his lips to mine.

  We somehow made it to my bedroom where Billy laid me on the bed, his eyes combing over me as if I was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

  “I’m not trying to rush things, but we might want to take my yoga pants off now with the cast and all.”

  He laughed, but his gaze held a stormy intensity as he slid his fingers along my waistband, slowly working the fabric down my legs. I was grateful I’d had on a pair of lacey underwear instead of what I typically wore.

  “You look so cute when you’re smiling,” he said, crawling over me, careful not to bump my leg or wrist, before pressing his mouth back down on mine.

  With this kiss, desire raged between us. There was nothing tame about the way his tongue met mine, and his hands ran underneath my shirt. It was like all the other kisses had led to this moment.

  Billy’s hands explored my body with such determination and expertise that my body trembled, ached, and burned for more. I’d never experienced desire like this.

  A little moan escaped my lips as Billy slowly brought my shirt over my head, dropping it on the floor before he kneeled over me, his eyes canvasing my body, followed by his fingertips.

  “You’re absolutely gorgeous, Tiff.”

  I held up my arm with the brace and waved a little. “Even with this?”

  “I like my women bionic.” He laughed, bringing his mouth along my neck, sending another wave of shivers through me.

  As he worked his mouth down my neck to my chest, I pulled off his sweater with one hand and threw it behind us.

  He was gorgeous. He had more tattoos with designs so intricate I would need hours to absorb all the beauty and meaning. The dark lines against his bronzed skin were extraordinary. He was extraordinary.

  Billy brought his eyes back to mine, and my breath caught as he unfastened my bra. His hands skimmed my breasts, stopping at the nipples to tease and taunt.

  I’d never felt so turned on before. The ache for him only grew stronger as his gaze stayed on mine, and he brought his lips to mine once more. I wrapped my only working leg around his waist and attempted to unbutton his jeans with my good hand, but it turned into a fumbling mess.

  Billy broke free from our kiss and quickly undressed the rest of the way, shaking his jeans and boxers to the floor before bringing his tongue to my belly, teasing me.

  His body was even more incredible than I’d imagined, and I’
d done quite a bit of imagining. I wiggled my hips, silently begging him to take off my panties, which he quickly did.

  Every part of me wanted Billy inside of me, but he was taking his time, caressing me, working his fingers between my thighs, bringing my whimpers to near cries.

  “Billy,” I whispered, pressing my hips against his hardness. “I can’t take much more.”

  Those words unleashed what I needed as his mouth crashed to mine, and he slowly entered me. Feeling his fullness inside of me made my heart pound to incredible speeds.

  He let out a low, guttural moan as I ran my fingers along his back, bringing my leg around him and moving my hips in a matching rhythm of ecstasy. I’d never felt sensations this intense as he moved into me with each push.

  “Don’t stop,” I murmured, twisting my fingers through his hair.

  “I don’t think I could,” he whispered. “You feel absolutely amazing.”

  The moment he spoke those words, my body exploded into ecstasy, our kisses turning more frantic as we both lost control with one another, and I knew I’d never regret this night.

  As he caught his breath, still hovering over me, his gaze connected with mine.

  “That was incredible,” I whispered.

  “I was thinking the same thing,” he murmured, brushing back some of my hair, as our bodies remained tangled together. “I’ve never…”

  He stopped himself, and I tilted my head to get a better look.

  “You’ve never what?” I asked.

  “I’ve never quite experienced something like that.” He pulled me into him, and I felt my body melt into his.

  I closed my eyes and felt his warm breath skating across my neck as I wondered if what he said was true. Not that it mattered.

  But that was the problem. It did matter.

  He swept a soft kiss across my cheek, and I let out a wistful sigh as my mind wandered to the impossible and I fell asleep.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Well, you seem awfully chipper today.” My sister was sitting across from me in the kitchen.

  The sun had barely made an appearance, but we had places to be. Even though we hadn’t really gone anywhere around the islands, we still had to make it up to Silver Ridge to check out the venue.

  We had an appointment with the event planner about my parents’ anniversary party, and broken leg or not, this was the only time Stacy and I could both see the lodge before the big day. Besides, most of the day would be spent in the car driving to and from the mountains.

  “I’m only in a good mood because I get to leave the house.” I grinned and took a sip of coffee.

  “Whatever you say.” She smiled and shook her head. “So when did you make it out to rent DVDs?”

  “Huh?” Was all I could muster as my face turned bright crimson.

  “You know, the stack of DVDs next to the popcorn over there?” She pointed behind her toward the living room and my eyes landed right on the stack of DVDs.

  “For your information, Hound Island is full of very caring people who don’t want to see me bored.”

  “Something tells me you really weren’t bored last night.”

  I stood up with my crutches and hobbled out of the kitchen to the DVDs. I’d been caught red-handed, but I had no intention of admitting anything or I’d never hear the end of it. She’d make a big deal out of one night, and I was in no mood to go through that. I was having a hard enough time trying to pretend that last night was nothing more than a one-night stand.

  I took a better look at the DVDs, and they didn’t look like they’d been rented from anywhere. Not that I’d even know where to return them if they had been.

  “We better get on the road. We have a long way to go and our appointment’s at noon.”

  My sister chuckled as she walked into the room with her coffee cup. “I know he came over last night.”

  “Who?”

  “Really?” Her brow arched. “You’re going to pretend like nothing happened?”

  “Yup.” I slipped on my coat and called Lucky. He reluctantly waddled down the stairs to greet us by the front door. None of us enjoyed being up at this hour and after my sister let him outside this morning, he went upstairs and dove back into bed.

  Billy had left sometime in the middle of the night. He knew my sister was coming over early so we could drive to Silver Ridge and neither of us wanted that morning complication. Unfortunately, my sister had the sleuthing skills of a double agent.

  “You know I’m going to get it out of you.”

  I ignored her and leashed up Lucky and handed him to Stacy before we walked outside into the pouring rain.

  “Not a fun day for a drive,” I said, ignoring her statement. “But I think it’ll be clear once we hit the Cascade foothills.”

  I fumbled my way to her car and slid in the passenger seat as Lucky jumped in the backseat, and my sister climbed into the driver’s seat.

  “I don’t know what the big deal is.” She shrugged as she turned on the ignition. “Why not just admit it.”

  “Because there’s nothing to admit.” I reclined in the seat a little and prayed I wouldn’t have to endure this for the next several hours. “I talked to mom last night. She seems excited about coming out.”

  “I’m sure she is.”

  “I seriously can’t thank you enough for taking care of Lucky and me this last week. It certainly wasn’t what I had planned for your visit.”

  “I know.” She followed the street signs to the ferry and pulled up to the booth to pay. “But I have to tell you, I’d take this any day over having to go in to work. I really liked hanging out with you, and Lucky really grew on me.”

  “He has a habit of doing that.” I smiled. “But if helping your sister bathe and go to the bathroom sounds better than going into work, you need to find a new job.”

  She laughed and nodded in agreement.

  Just as we pulled onto the ferry, my phone buzzed, and I managed to pull it out of my purse. An adorable photo of Lady and Lucky all curled up last night lit up my screen, and I couldn’t hide my smile, especially when I read his text.

  Took this before I left last night. They might be in love.

  “When he left last night, huh?” My sister’s eyes sparkled with her all-knowing look, and I rolled my eyes. “Nothing to tell?”

  I let out a groan and quickly texted Billy.

  “There’s nothing to tell because as I’ve said a million times, this isn’t going anywhere so there’s nothing to talk about.”

  “He likes you. I can tell.”

  My eyes met hers and I laughed. “Well, I hope so.”

  “No, like really likes you.”

  I shook my head and let out a heavy sigh. “It’s not like that. We’ve both talked about things. He’s not in a place where he wants to do a relationship and neither am I. It’s one of the most straightforward dating situations I’ve been in.” I clutched my phone.

  “Because you’ve been in oh-so-many.” She laughed, and I punched her lightly in her arm.

  “Listen, I’ve gotten burned so many times because I’ve always held out hope for something more in a failing relationship or I’d fall for one-liners and believe whatever lies were spewed my way. There’s none of that with Billy. Yes, we slept together, but no, it’s not going anywhere, and I’m totally okay with that. He’s headed in one direction, and I’m headed in the other. End of story. We had a good time and that was that.”

  “You’re sure your okay with that?” Billy’s voice echoed through our tiny car and I froze.

  I looked down at my phone and realized that I must have accidentally dialed him while giving my phone the death grip.

  “Can I just jump overboard now?” I moaned.

  “I wouldn’t with a cast on your leg. You’d probably sink like a rock, and I kind of like you,” he answered, and my sister held in her laughter. “But I am happy to hear that you had a good time last night.”

  I glanced at my sister who was eating up every
word.

  “Yes, it was pretty fantastic.” I cleared my throat. “Anyway, my sister and I are on our way to Silver Ridge to check out the venue.”

  “That will be fun,” he said, laughter tingeing each syllable.

  “So I’ll give you a call tonight so we can talk details about tomorrow.”

  “I’ll be waiting.”

  “Okay, well. Have a good day.” And I hung up on him.

  “That got awkward real quick.” My sister’s brows pulled together.

  “Yes…yes it did.” To make sure nothing like that happened again, I shut off my phone completely and tossed it in my purse.

  “So has Maddie had her baby yet?” My sister asked as the ferry docked and we waited to exit.

  “Not that I’ve heard. It sounded like she had a long way to go as of last night.”

  “Poor thing.” My sister shuddered. She’d never had any interest in having kids.

  I used to be certain that I wanted them, but after a few bad relationships I wasn’t so sure any more. Or at least I wasn’t so sure until I saw Maddie and Chance. Now all of a sudden the idea didn’t seem so far out.

  Or maybe that was because of Billy. Yes, another wise decision. To start dreaming about having kids with a guy who has made it as clear as I have that neither of us are ready for a relationship.

  By the time we’d made it onto the highway, the weather had only worsened, which actually worked in my favor since my sister was concentrating so hard on the road. It actually made most of the drive very peaceful until we hit the ridge where the sun was shining, and my sister’s thoughts immediately ventured back to Billy.

  “What if he decided to stay and not go on his trip?” My sister asked me in between my giving her directions to the resort.

  “Not going to happen,” I answered. “It’s part work and part leisure. He’s a busy man.”

  I looked up from my phone just as we were entering the town of Silver Ridge. If I thought Hound Island was quaint and cozy, this little mountain town almost had it beat.

  The streets were lined with matching ornate street lamps, overflowing flower pots, and fall flags hanging from each of the light posts. There were a ton of little restaurants and boutiques dotting the street.