Time for Love , The McCarthys of Gansett Island, Book 9

by Marie Force

  “Maybe because I’m also your ex-fiancé?”

  “That was a very long time ago.”

  “Not all that long.”

  “Long enough that we’ve all moved on, haven’t we?”

  It seemed to matter greatly to her that he agree, so he nodded.

  “I want you to be happy, David.”

  “That’s far more than I deserve from you.”

  “I don’t like what you did, but I forgave you a long time ago. If I can forgive you, maybe it’s time to forgive yourself, too. Hmm?”

  “Maybe,” he conceded.

  “I heard you’re seeing Daisy.”

  Startled by the blunt statement, he met her gaze. “Yeah.”

  “I like her. She’s perfect for you.”

  “Is that right?” he asked, feeling mildly embarrassed to be having this discussion with Janey of all people.

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Don’t you have other things on your mind besides my love life?”

  “So it’s love?” Her delighted smile reminded him of many a sparring match with her in the past. She’d always been a worthy opponent.

  “None of your business. Let’s talk about you, your baby and your bed rest.”

  “I’d rather talk about your love life.”

  David laughed at the scowl she directed his way. “I know it’s a major drag, but it’s in your best interest and the baby’s to stay as quiet as you possibly can. No strenuous activity, nothing that makes your heart beat fast.”

  “Well, that eliminates a few of my favorite things.”

  David tried not to let the memories of how much she’d enjoyed sex wash over him, but some things were hard to forget. “Definitely none of that.”

  “You’re a real killjoy, Dr. Lawrence.”

  “So I’ve been told a few times. We’ll see you in the clinic tomorrow. If you call when you get there, we’ll meet you with some wheels to keep you off your feet.”

  “Oh, a wheelchair. It just gets better and better.”

  He zipped his bag and stood to leave. “It’ll all be fine, Janey, as long as you follow doctor’s orders.”

  “Joe’s first question is going to be whether we should leave now for our house on the mainland.”

  “You have to do what makes you comfortable, but personally I don’t think it’s necessary. We can take good care of you here for the next four weeks and get you to the mainland to deliver with plenty of time.”

  “And I’ll be able to travel?”

  “We never know anything for certain, but based on what I know now, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “I’ll be quoting you later tonight when Joe is packing our bags.”

  “Good luck with that. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “David?”

  “Yes?”

  “This is the second time you’ve come when I needed you. I just want you to know that your generosity doesn’t go unnoticed.”

  David let her words wash over him, a gentle balm on the wounds he carried with him. “When I think of you, Janey—and I think of you often—I try not to focus on how we ended, but rather on the very good years we spent together. And I’ll always come when you need me.”

  “There’s going to be an invite coming your way to Mac and Maddie’s cookout this weekend. I hope you’ll come with Daisy.”

  “I’ll try to make it.” He turned to leave and nearly ran smack into Joe. Judging by the stormy expression on Joe’s face, he’d heard what David said about coming when she needed him. That was okay. David didn’t regret saying it.

  “I’ll see you both in the clinic tomorrow,” David said, anxious to get out of there.

  “Thank you for coming,” Joe said, surprising David with a handshake.

  “Any time.” He let himself out the front door and found Janey’s parents sitting on the porch swing.

  “Everything okay?” Big Mac asked.

  “It is for now, but she’s going to need to stay off her feet for the next few weeks.”

  “Nothing can happen to my little girl,” Big Mac said, his voice hitching on the last two words.

  “That’s the last thing in the world I want either.”

  Big Mac stood and came over to him, his height and size as imposing as it had been when David began dating Janey as a fifteen-year-old. He extended his hand to David. “Thank you for checking on her.”

  David shook the older man’s hand. “Happy to do it.” Aware of them watching him, he went down the stairs and got into his car. Driving into town, he allowed himself to wallow in the odd feelings that came with seeing Janey, even if she was married to another man and pregnant with his child.

  This time, however, he didn’t feel bitter so much as sad for what he’d had and lost, for what he’d failed to treasure the way he should have. As his thoughts shifted to Daisy, waiting for him in town, he was suddenly desperate to see her. When he was with her, there was no time for bitterness or regret. With her he found hope and renewal and other things he couldn’t yet name.

  He decided to call her to see if he was still welcome so late.

  “Hey,” she said when she answered his call, her voice husky and sleepy sounding.

  “Hey. Just checking to see if you’re still up or if you’d rather take a rain check.”

  “I’m still up, and I’m not issuing any rain checks tonight.”

  Smiling, he said, “I’ll be there in a few.”

  Chapter 10

  David pulled up to her house ten minutes later and parked at the curb. As he took the stairs to the porch, she opened the door and greeted him with a warm, welcoming smile. A profound sense of homecoming overtook him, wiping away every thought that didn’t involve her.

  “Everything okay with Janey?” she asked as he stepped inside.

  He nodded and hooked an arm around her waist.

  She wound her arms around his neck, her fingers sliding through hair that needed to be trimmed. “Everything all right with you?”

  “It is now.”

  Smiling up at him, she looked sweet and young and gorgeous—and determined. What was that about? “I could heat up your leftovers. Are you hungry?”

  “Not for food.”

  “You’re in a strange mood.”

  “Am I?”

  She nodded. “Was it hard to see Janey?”

  “Not particularly.” He drew her in closer to him, aligning her body with the erection that hardened to the point of pain when her breasts pressed against his chest. Bending his head, he nuzzled her neck, kissing the place where her pulse thudded against his lips. “I’m kind of tired.”

  “Oh,” she said as she began to release him. “I’m sorry. I should’ve let you go home—”

  He kissed her, thrusting his tongue into her welcoming mouth and loving the moan of pleasure that came from her throat as her tongue mated with his.

  “You don’t seem tired,” she said many minutes later. “In fact,” she said as she rubbed against him suggestively, “you seem very much awake.”

  “I was hoping you’d ask me to stay.”

  “You were? Wow, I totally missed that.”

  David laughed at her befuddled expression. “Next time I’ll be more direct. I’ll say something like ‘Daisy, all I’ve thought about today is sleeping with you last night, and I really want to do it again if you’ll have me.’ Is that direct enough?”

  “Yes, it is, and I’d love to have you stay with me tonight.”

  He kissed the furrow that formed between her brows. “But?”

  She rolled her lip between her teeth, making her look adorable and uncertain. “I don’t want to stop this time. I want…”

  Outrageously aroused by the desire he saw in the eyes that looked up at him searchingly, he kissed the end of her nose and her poor, abused lip. “Tell me what you want, Daisy. Tell me.”

  “I want you. I want this. I want to feel like a normal woman who is crazy about a wonderful guy and wants to show him how she feels about him.”


  “You don’t feel like a normal woman with me?” That bothered him greatly.

  “Yes, I do, of course I do, but it’s just… I…”

  “Say it, honey. Whatever you want to say, it’s fine. I promise.”

  “I don’t want you to treat me like I’m fragile. You’ve moved nice and slow, and you’ve been great. Very understanding and gentle. But now…” She dropped her head against his chest. “This is so embarrassing.”

  He smiled as he kissed the top of her head. “Now what? Tell me.”

  Without raising her head, she said, “Now I want you to treat me like you would anyone else. I want to pretend, just for tonight, that nothing bad ever happened to me.” She finally looked up at him with her heart in her eyes. “Can we do that?”

  “I’d hate myself if I did anything to scare you or set you back.”

  “You couldn’t. There’s nothing about you that reminds me of him.”

  “The other night, at Maddie’s house—”

  She laid her hands on his chest, no doubt able to feel the galloping beat of his heart. “It was the first time. That’s all. I’m ready for that now. Please, David. I want to move forward, and I can’t do that if I walk around afraid of my own shadow all the time.”

  “I don’t want you to be afraid. I want you to be happy.”

  “Being with you makes me happy.” She extended her hand.

  He took her hand and closed his fingers around hers.

  “Come to bed with me.”

  *

  Daisy locked the front door and shut off the lights while David waited for her, watching her every move. Despite her brave words and resolve to move forward, she hoped he couldn’t feel the way her hand trembled when she reached for his again.

  He didn’t say anything as he linked his fingers with hers and let her lead him up the stairs to her bedroom, where she’d lit some candles earlier, hoping for this very outcome.

  “This is very nice,” he said as he took in the pile of pillows on her bed and the warm glow of the candles.

  “I hope it’s not too obvious,” she said, regretting her forwardness now that she had him where she wanted him.

  “It’s not obvious. It’s romantic and lovely, just like you.”

  Daisy dropped his hand and twisted her index fingers around each other. “I said all that downstairs because I really wanted you to stay, and I really want… Well, I told you what I want.”

  “Now you’re nervous.”

  “Yes, which makes me feel foolish.”

  He brushed her hair back from her face and cupped her cheeks. “Don’t be nervous. Let’s just go to bed and not worry too much about what happens then. Can we do that?”

  Relief flooded through her veins, infusing her with gratitude for the series of regrettable events that had brought this wonderful man into her life. “Yes, that’s exactly what I want to do.”

  He patted her on the bottom. “Go use the bathroom first. I’ll be right here, waiting for you.”

  Daisy grabbed one of the oversized T-shirts she slept in and went across the hall to the bathroom to change and brush her teeth. She also ran a comb through her hair and applied the sample of fragrant lotion Tiffany had given her to her hands and face. Studying her reflection in the mirror, she noticed the heightened color in her cheeks and the glazed look in her eyes. She blew out a deep breath and returned to find him sitting on her bed. He’d removed his shirt, revealing his lean, muscular chest.

  She wanted to touch him and hold him and feel the way she did every time they were close to each other. As he brushed by her on the way to the bathroom, he dragged a hand across her belly, setting off a firestorm of reaction that made her knees weak.

  After the door to the bathroom closed, she got in bed and pulled the covers up to her waist. She found a focal point across the room, a poster of Marilyn Monroe she’d bought to cover a crack in the wall. As a young girl, she’d admired Marilyn’s gumption and confidence. Later she learned more about the reality behind the veneer and could relate to some of Marilyn’s despair. Nothing was ever quite what it seemed.

  Since that thought had the power to depress her when she didn’t wish to be anything other than excited about the night to come with David, she pushed it aside and greeted him with a confident smile when he returned. She tried not to watch as he dropped his pants, but she couldn’t seem to look away from the flex of muscle and sinew as he moved about.

  Wearing only navy-blue boxer briefs, he slid into bed next to her.

  Daisy left the light on and turned on her side to face him, scooting down to lay her head on the pillow.

  He rested a hand on her shoulder, and the heat from his palm permeated the thin cotton shirt. “What’re you thinking about?”

  “It’s nice to have you here with me like this.”

  “It’s nice to be with you like this.”

  “It makes me feel special that you want to spend so much time with me when there are so many other women—” She didn’t get to finish that thought, because he kissed the words off her lips.

  “There’s no one else I want to be with, Daisy.” His hand slid from her shoulder to her wrist, encircling her arm before starting back up again, leaving a trail of goose bumps. “You know how you said I helped you get better?”

  “You did. You came over every night to check on me, even though you didn’t have to. It helped—a lot. I started to look forward to your visits every day.”

  “So did I. You helped me, too. For the first time since things fell apart with Janey, I feel hopeful again. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed that feeling until I had it again. You did that for me. So don’t ever think this was a one-way street. We helped each other, and from that has come something neither of us expected.”

  She reached for him, drawing him into another passionate kiss, holding on to him as she had for weeks now. Apparently, he’d been doing the same thing. She liked knowing that she’d helped him, too.

  His arm came around her, pulling her in closer to him without breaking the kiss. And then his hand was under her shirt, lying flat against her back and making her skin tingle from the desire for more.

  She slid her leg between his, the coarse hair of his legs starting the tingling anew. Every time he touched her, she felt it everywhere.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, his chest heaving as he drew back so he could see her face.

  “I’m great. You?”

  He laughed, and she realized how infrequently he did that and how boyishly handsome he looked when he did. “Haven’t been this good in a very long time.”

  Empowered by his words and the emotion behind them, Daisy reached for the hem of her T-shirt and pulled it up and over her head.

  His eyes got very dark as he took in the lacy black bra and panties she’d left on for him. “God,” he said, kissing his way down her neck to her chest, “you’re gorgeous, Daisy. Absolutely beautiful.”

  She’d always thought of herself as pretty at best, but when he told her she was beautiful, she believed it. Cradling his head against her chest, she let go of the worries and the fears and gave herself over to the desire that had simmered between them for weeks now. Even when she’d been bruised and battered and broken, she’d found him attractive.

  But never had she imagined a scenario where he’d be all but naked in her bed or cupping her breasts in his big hands or dragging his thumbs over her tight nipples through the silky fabric of the bra. Tiffany had said that bra was guaranteed to clear a man’s mind of all thoughts that didn’t involve sex.

  From what she could tell, the bra was having the desired effect on David, but all she could think about was getting it off. The feel of his tongue on the slope of her breast had her wrapping her arms around his head to keep him right there.

  His fingers twisted the back of the bra, releasing the hooks and freeing her breasts.

  Daisy nearly moaned from the relief, and then she moaned from the heat of his mouth on her nipple, tugging and sucking ravenously.
She kept waiting for the fear to resurface, but all she felt was a deep, craving need for more. She touched him everywhere she could reach, dragging her hands over his back and dipping inside his briefs to cup the contours of his backside.

  That drew a tortured groan from him. He pressed his hard length against her belly and moved to her other breast, giving it the same attention. “Something tells me you’ve been hanging out with Tiffany,” he said as he smoothed his hand over the tiny triangle that covered her mound.

  Daisy was so undone by the movement of his hand that she couldn’t form the words to reply to his statement.

  “Daisy?”

  She forced herself to focus on his eyes as he looked down at her in concern. “Hmm?”

  “Breathe, honey.”

  She sucked in a deep breath and realized she’d been holding her breath.

  He dropped his head to her belly, his lips setting off a new firestorm of desire that surged between her legs.

  She’d never felt such urgent need in her life, but neither had she ever been with a man who put her first the way David always had.

  “Are you still okay?” he asked, concern etched into his handsome face.

  Nodding, she said, “It feels so good to hold you this way.”

  “I love it, too. Are you sure you want to keep going?”

  “Yes. If you do…”

  He took her hand and pressed it to his thick erection, which surged under the heat of her hand. “Don’t have any doubts about what I want—or who I want.”

  She stroked the full length of him, which made him gasp and moan.

  “Christ, Daisy.”

  His jaw was clenched with tension, and seeing him struggle for control made her want him even more than she already did. She tugged at the boxer briefs and was relieved when he helped her take them off. She eyed his erection, which stretched to his navel and seemed to get bigger as she looked at him.

  “If you touch me, we’ll be all done,” he said, sounding tense.

  “Then why don’t we save the touching for next time?”

  “That sounds like a very good idea.”

  “Do you have protection? I never even thought of it.”

  “I thought of it, but I need my wallet.”