He growled, the sound of a tortured man, and pushed himself up between her legs once more. He wiggled and shifted until he’d removed his shoes and jeans. She watched, amused by the realization that it was the fastest she’d seen him move yet. Then he was wedging his hips between her legs and, God, yes, she felt the tip of his cock rest lightly against her pussy.
He stopped there, bowed his head, and shook it. “I don’t know what the hell I’m thinking.” He lifted his head and met her gaze, his eyes filled with torment and need. “I can’t make love to you right now, sweetheart. I can’t protect you. I don’t have a condom.”
Her heart twisted with a mix of sorrow and adoration. “It’s okay. I’m on the pill.”
A glimmer of hope shot through the anguish in his eyes. “I’m clean. The Coast Guard requires regular checkups.”
“I checked out clean at my last physical and I haven’t had sex with anyone—” besides Charlie. She nearly said it before she caught herself. Oh, God. Now was definitely not the time to bring up Charlie.
Mett must have seen it in her eyes, though, because a dart of something shot through his face. Anger? Jealousy? Hurt? Resignation? Whatever it was, he closed his eyes briefly as it passed and his shoulders rose and fell in a ragged breath.
When he opened his eyes again, every emotion except longing had disappeared from his expression, but his words told her he knew what she’d been about to say. “I need you too damn much to care.”
Before she could say anything, he pushed his cock inside her in a slow, destructive rhythm that forced her to feel every glorious, rock hard, gigantic inch of his cock. Her breathing became labored as he settled inside her balls deep and cupped her cheek in his large hand.
“Am I hurting you?” Concern rang in his husky tone. “You’re tight, sweetheart. Don’t let me hurt you.”
She was only tight because his cock was even bigger than Charlie’s. Christ, she wondered how he was even able to fit it inside her.
She fought to drag in enough air to answer him. “No.” The word came out as half moan and half sigh as she locked her ankles around his back and lifted her hips, drawing his cock even more stupendously deep inside her. “It feels so good, Mett. Don’t stop. Please, don’t stop.”
He eased his hips back, pushing against her ankles, drawing his cock out of her until only the head remained inside before gradually thrusting inside her once more. He threw his head back and closed his eyes as he buried his cock as deep as it would go.”
“You feel too good. I’m going to embarrass myself in a minute if I’m not careful.”
Kimberly laughed, albeit breathlessly, and wiggled her hips, gyrating her pussy on his cock. The move garnered her a low-throated groan from him that made her smile widen. “Come on, big boy. Give me what you’ve got.”
He lifted his head and gazed down at her. She could tell part of him was biting back a grin, but the other part seemed to be in a different land. She narrowed her eyes and tightened her legs more firmly around his body.
“Are you thinking about something else right now?”
Guilt filled his expression. “The equipment necessary for a deep sea rescue dive. I had to think about something to get my mind off how amazing it feels to be inside you.”
She hooked an arm around his neck and pulled his face down to hers. “I know you just made me come minutes ago,” she said against his lips. “But I think that orgasm was faulty because I’ve got another one burning to get free. Now stop worrying about embarrassing yourself and make me come again.”
“Christ,” he said on a half-chuckle and half-moan. Then he kissed her and started to move.
Even being as close to losing it as he claimed, the man still maintained that slow, agonizing rhythm that made her want to scream. She did, too, moments later when the second orgasm tore its way out of her. She thrashed beneath him as the sensations ruled her body, her heart, and her soul. Still, he waited until he pulled the last dregs from her before he roared with his own release.
Sated and thoroughly spent, she went limp beneath him. He collapsed on top of her, his breaths fanning the side of her neck in short, exhausted bursts that matched her own.
“Remind me later to thank Arie for telling you where I live,” she said when she finally managed to find the energy to speak.
“That makes two of us.” He lifted his head and smiled down at her. “She told me to look for a black Chevy Corsica parked in the driveway of a baby blue cottage. It would’ve saved me some time if she’d just told me to look for the cottage with the Christmas playground in the yard.”
Kimberly giggled. “I know I go overboard. Almost all of the decoration came from my parents. Dad kept half of them and gave me the rest.”
Mett’s brows winged up in shock. “That’s only half of them?”
She nodded. “I told you my mother thought of Christmas as the most magical time of the year.”
His expression softened. “I’d say, this year especially, I’d have to agree with her.”
“Me, too.” She lifted her head and kissed the tip of his nose. “I’m hungry. We never got around to trying the cookies I baked.”
A smile played at the corner of his lips. “Well, we can’t disappoint the Pillsbury dough boy, now can we?”
She slapped his shoulder as he rolled off of her. “Did you bring cookies?”
“I brought the dressing, remember?”
“Mmm,” she moaned dramatically. “And it’s far better than cookies. Maybe I’ll have some more of that before I dive into the cookies.” She slid off the bed, surprised when her legs didn’t buckle under her, and snagged her robe off the hook on the back of the bedroom door. She turned to face him as she slid the robe on and found him already half-dressed again. Bummer. The man was damn fine in clothes, but he was one prime specimen naked.
“Two things before I forget,” he said as he pulled his shirt over his head and then walked to her and pulled her into his arms. “One, have you been invited to Christmas dinner yet?”
She hesitated for a moment, mulling over the way he’d asked the question. Yes, plenty of people on the island had invited her to share Christmas dinner with them. But she was pretty sure what he really wanted to know was if Charlie had invited her yet, which he had as he’d escorted her home after the concert.
“Yes,” she finally said and watched as Mett kept his expression carefully blank.
“Did you accept?”
She angled her head. “You really want me to meet your parents?”
His hands glided up her back as he held her gaze. “I really want you to meet my parents.”
“Even though…”
“Even though,” he repeated.
She knew she should probably say no. Not that she didn’t want to meet the remarkable woman he’d told her about earlier and the man who had introduced her to a life of loving paradise. She did. But what kind of tension would her presence create between Mett and Charlie?
“Okay,” she reluctantly agreed. “I’ll come. What’s the second thing?”
He looked momentarily confused. “Oh, there was an envelope under the wiper on your windshield when I walked up. I stuck it in the outside pocket of the duffle I brought the food in.”
“It’s probably a Christmas card. Hallmark is making thousands off the people on the island this year.”
They walked to the kitchen together and he pulled the envelope from the pocket of the duffle. “It looks too small to be a Christmas card.”
Kimberly took the envelope, untucked the flap, and pulled out a folded piece of paper. She felt all the color drain from her face as she read the single word spelled out in capital letters glued from a magazine. SLUT.
“Kimberly?”
She looked up to find Mett had dropped the plate he’d been fixing and had closed the distance between them in a single long stride.
“What is it, baby?”
She held the note out to him, her hand shaking.
“What the?” Anger tightened the s
oft lines in his face. “Who would do this, sweetheart?”
“I…don’t know.” But even as she said the words, a warning bell rang in her head and a familiar fear chilled her blood. Mack Snider. He would do something like this.
Mett refolded the note with his fingertips and put it back in the envelope, obviously being careful not to touch either of them any more than necessary. “Get dressed, please, sweetheart.”
“Why?”
“We’re taking this to the sheriff,” he told her in a tone that left no room for argument. “I’ve got to be back at the base in a few hours. I can’t stay on the island tonight and I’ll be damned if I’m leaving you here until I know you’re protected.”
* * * *
Charlie punched the off button on the television remote, snagged his beer from the table next to his recliner, and took a large swig. He’d only been home an hour and he was already going stir crazy. He used to enjoy his lazy nights at the house, lounging back in his recliner in his underwear with a beer and the NFL Network blaring on the TV. The only part of that he’d done tonight was grab the beer. He hadn’t even taken off his shoes when he’d walked in the door.
Because home is the last place you want to be right now.
Yeah, and the first place he wanted to be was on Silver Island with Kimberly. The catering schedule he’d been on the last two day had made it impossible for him to squeeze out enough to hop in the boat and head out there. He’d called her and they’d talked for hours last night, but talking with her over the phone was nowhere near as satisfying as being with her in person.
“Hell, it’s better than nothing,” he muttered, and reached for the phone.
The sharp rap on his front door had his finger pausing on the third digit of her phone number. Cursing under his breath, he tossed the phone on the table next to the remote, and went to the door.
“We’ve got a problem.” Mett pushed between Charlie and the doorframe and stalked inside.
Charlie closed the door and turned to face his brother. Steely eyes flaming with a barely controlled anger stared back at him. It took a lot to piss off Emmett Doyle, but someone or something had obviously managed to push his detonate button pretty damn hard. The man looked so pissed Charlie was surprised he didn’t see steam coming out of his ears.
“What’s gotten into you?”
“Someone is after Kimberly.”
Charlie stiffened as that single, tightly voiced statement sent a ripple of fear coursing through his system. “What do you mean someone is after her? Where is she?”
“On the island. I left her with the sheriff. She’s safe for now.”
Charlie stared at Mett as his words sunk in. He’d been with Kimberly. She was in danger. She was safe…for now. “You went to see her?”
Guilt cut through the fury in Mett’s eyes. “I’ve been with her all evening, until about an hour ago.”
Charlie stumbled back a half step as if he’d been sucker punched. His gut damn sure felt like it had been. Seething with jealousy, he glared at his brother, watched the man rake a hand over his head and then let the hand drop to his side as his face filled with apology.
“Look. I know you asked her out first and I tried to respect that, but I can’t seem to stay away from her.”
Needing something to hold onto before he cold-cocked his brother, Charlie moved to the end table and snatched up his beer. “Yeah, sticking your tongue down her throat on the sidewalk outside Island Hall the other night was really respecting that and trying to stay away from her.”
Mett’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know that?”
Charlie took a swig of the beer and then pointed at Mett with the bottle. “I fucking saw you. I was coming out of the restaurant across the street. I started to say something when I saw her kiss you and you damn sure didn’t push her away.”
Mett’s brows winged up. “Would you have?”
“This isn’t about me.” Charlie slammed the bottle back on the table. “You fucking knew I had a date with her already.”
“Yeah, I did,” Mett said, meeting Charlie’s angry tone with a much calmer one that only pissed Charlie off more. “And, right after you accepted that date, she asked me to save a dance for her at the party. I kept my word.” He dragged a hand down his face. “Damn it, I’m as attracted to her as you are. I can’t get her out of my head. I know you got to her first and I know I should be the one to back off, but I…” He shook his head and lifted a shoulder. “I can’t.”
Charlie pushed a hard breath from his lungs, wishing like hell he didn’t understand how his brother felt. He left Mett standing there as he went to the kitchen, snagged two beers from the fridge, and returned to the living room. “You can’t because you feel it, too.” He handed one of the bottles to Mett, twisted off the cap on the one he kept, and tossed the cap across the room. “She makes you feel alive, like you’ve just been going through the motions every day. You thought you were happy before you met her, but now that you know her, now that you’ve touched her and talked to her…” He paused and then added, “Now that you’ve been with her, you know you’re not going to be the same.”
Mett’s gaze dropped to his beer. “I made love to her tonight.”
Charlie’s gut clenched. “Yeah, I already guessed that. Did she tell you we made love in the boat on the way back to the island two nights ago?”
Mett gaped at him. “Christ, Charlie. It had to be forty degrees or less out there on the water. Couldn’t you have waited until you got her some place warm?”
Charlie bit back a grin. “I know how to keep a woman warm.”
Mett snorted a half-laugh. “Yeah, I guess you do. And, no, she didn’t tell me in so many words, but I already knew.”
“You figured out the ingredient I missed in the cornbread dressing, fixed it, and took it to her, didn’t you?”
Mett made an innocent gesture with his hands. “Hey, it’s not my fault you couldn’t get it right.”
“Shithead,” Charlie muttered. “What did I do wrong?”
Mett scoffed. “Like I’m really going to tell you.”
“No, you’ll keep using it against me to impress her until I figure it out.” Charlie tipped the neck of his beer bottle at him before taking a sip. “I will figure it out.”
“Eventually. It’s a few simple spices with the addition of another in the right combination that does the trick.”
Charlie rolled his eyes. “Duh! That tells me a lot.”
Mett grinned, but then almost instantly sobered. “Look, if you’re not going to knock my lights out now that you know I went to see her—”
“Believe me, I thought about it.”
“I’m sure you did and you had every right. I might even let you later, but we’ve got bigger problems right now.”
Charlie wouldn’t punch him and Mett damn well knew it. Yeah, he was jealous as shit that his brother had been with his woman, but it took two to tango and Kimberly definitely hadn’t been an unwilling party. He’d been trying to ignore the fact that she obviously wanted Mett as much as she wanted him. He knew exactly how she hoped it would all end up and, at the rate things were going, she just might get what she wanted.
“You said someone is after her,” he said, pushing that problem aside for later. “Who? And why is she with the sheriff right now?”
Mett heaved a sigh. “I don’t know who. I found an envelope under the windshield wiper of her car when I was walking up the driveway to her cottage this evening. I shoved it in the pocket of the duffle I took the food in and forgot about it until after we made love.”
Charlie gave him a quizzical look. “What was in it?”
“A folded note with a single word made from magazine cutouts. Slut.”
“What the?”
“That was exactly what I said at first.” Mett rubbed the back of his neck. “I went with her to the sheriff’s office. John Cabelly dusted it for prints, but couldn’t find any other than hers and mine. She says she doesn’t have a clue who
would’ve put that note on her car.”
“Did she say if anything like this has happened before?”
“She said it hasn’t.”
Charlie started to pace, his mind reeling. “I spent as much time as I could with her when I was on the island the day of the parade and the party. I kissed her outside the restaurant. There weren’t many people on the street at that time, but that doesn’t mean someone didn’t see us. I picked her up in the boat for the concert the other night and walked her back to her cottage when we got back to the island.”
“And I was dancing with her at the party, kissed her on the sidewalk later, and showed up at her cottage this evening.” Mett nodded. “Yeah, people on the island know we’ve both been spending time with her. Hell, one of the islanders told me where she lived today.”
“So word has gotten around.”
“Kimberly is swearing it can’t be an islander because of the open-minded view of the community.”
“It wouldn’t make sense if it was,” Charlie said, more to himself than Mett. Something tickled his memory. He thought back to the conversation he’d had with her on the boat after the concert.
“It’s got to be a visitor. That’s the angle the sheriff is taking.”
Charlie stopped pacing and faced his brother. “Or a man she’s dated before. Has she told you anything about how she ended up on the island?”
“No. We talked mostly about Mom and Dad today. I invited her to Christmas dinner.”
“Yeah, so did I. She told me she’d think about it.”
“She told me she would come.”
“Good.” Charlie braced himself for what he was about to tell Mett next, knowing his brother’s anger would return with a vengeance. “She was a drifter before she settled on the island. She moved around from one big city to the next after she graduated high school. Her intended destination was Hollywood. She told me she lived there for a while, dated a few men, and a couple of them, especially one of them, thought he could control her.”
Mett’s knuckles turned white around his beer and Charlie wondered how the man didn’t shatter the bottle in his palm. “Some motherfucker put his hands on her?” Rising fury turned his tone deadly.
Safe and Coasting with Ecstasy [The Heroes of Silver Island 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 8
