Gansett Island Boxed Set Books 1-16 (Gansett Island Series)

by Marie Force

  All at once, Laura realized tears were rolling down her cheeks. “Owen. . .” She’d never in her life been more touched—or seduced.

  “Now tell me, how in the world will I get all that if I’m not here with you?”

  “I don’t know,” she said, wiping her face.

  “No one knows anything for sure, Princess. All I know is I’m exactly where I want to be right now. I can no longer imagine a day without you in it. That’s got to count for something, right?”

  Despite all her worries, Laura decided she’d rather have a few months or a year with him than a lifetime with anyone else. “All right. You’ve convinced me. The job is yours for as long as you want it.”

  “Oh yay. Does this mean we’re going steady?”

  Laura laughed through her tears. “I guess it does.”

  “I’ll do my very best not to let you down.”

  “I can’t ask for much more than that.”

  He brushed the dampness from her face and cupped her cheek with his big hand. For a long, breathless moment he looked into her eyes before touching his lips to hers.

  Laura curled her hand around his neck and let go of the worry and the fear and gave into the desire.

  As if he sensed her capitulation, he tipped his head to delve deeper, teasing and flirting with his tongue until she opened to allow him in.

  A low groan rumbled through him as he feasted on her as if he’d been starving for her.

  Suddenly, Laura wanted to touch him everywhere. Her hands moved over his back, almost frantic in the quest for more of him. She found the hem of his T-shirt and pushed it up, sighing with completion when her palms found warm, smooth skin.

  Owen tore his lips free and let his head fall back.

  “Are you okay?” she asked, surprised by his reaction.

  “I’m way better than okay.” He opened his eyes and kissed her softly, sweetly. “Feels so good to have you touch me. Finally.”

  “I wouldn’t mind if you returned the favor,” she said with a shy smile. Heat flooded her face, making her burn from the inside.

  He traced a finger over her cheekbone. “I love the way you blush.”

  “It’s so embarrassing. I’ve always hated it and gone out of my way to avoid saying or doing anything that would make it happen.”

  “Apparently, you’re not worried about that anymore.”

  “Not with you.”

  “Good,” he said. “I don’t want you to ever worry about saying or doing the wrong thing with me. You hear me?”

  “I hear you, and I want the same from you.”

  “You got it, Princess.” His kisses were urgent, as if he was trying to make up for all the time they’d kept their distance. He kissed her as if he’d never get enough.

  When Laura removed her hands from his back, he let out a tortured-sounding moan. “Take it off,” she said, tugging at the T-shirt.

  “Only if you do the same.”

  “Deal.”

  They disentangled only long enough to remove their shirts.

  As his shirt cleared his head, Owen reached for her. He nuzzled his nose into the curve of her neck, which made her nipples pebble. “Your skin is so soft. So, so soft.”

  She squeezed her thighs together as the throb became harder to ignore.

  He ran a finger down her neck to her chest, stopping at the front clasp to her bra. “Can we lose this, too?”

  “Why not?”

  His eyes lit up with boyish glee that made her giggle. He was so cute and so damned sexy, especially when he looked at her as if he wanted to have his wicked way with her. As he released the front clasp and pushed the cups aside, he said, “Do you suppose Stephanie has told the whole island that she caught us making out?”

  “Maybe not the whole island. I’m sure she told Grant and Grace and probably Evan.”

  “We’ll be in for it,” he said as he kissed the slope of one breast while cupping the other.

  “Do we care?”

  “I sure as hell don’t. Do you?”

  “No, not really. . .”

  He raised his head to make eye contact. “What?”

  “I wonder if people will think I’m kind of slutty.”

  His face went slack with shock. “What? What the heck do you mean by that?”

  “I married someone else in May. I’m pregnant with his baby but making out with you in October. It all happened kind of fast.”

  “It didn’t feel fast to me.” He rolled her extra-sensitive nipples between his fingers, drawing a gasp of pleasure from her. “It felt like pure torture, wanting you for weeks and weeks while having to keep my hands to myself.”

  Damn if that didn’t make her blush again. Laura hated being the source of gossip. As Judge Frank McCarthy’s daughter, she’d gone out of her way to lead an exemplary life and to stay below the radar so nothing she did would ever embarrass her father. Until her husband’s post-marriage dating escapades, she’d never given anyone cause to gossip about her. “Still, people might talk.”

  “I don’t think they will,” Owen said. “The people who matter know what happened with your husband, and our friends know we’ve been hanging out for a while now.”

  “I suppose you’re right.”

  “No one who really knows you would ever think you’re slutty.”

  She buried her fingers in his hair and tugged gently but insistently, bringing his attention back to her breasts and tilting her hips to press against his erection. “Maybe I want you to think I am.”

  All the air seemed to leave him in one big exhale. “Jesus,” he muttered. “You never cease to surprise me. Please, by all means, be as slutty as you want with me. You’ll never hear me object.”

  Laura laughed, thrilled with him and by him. Her laughter turned to moans when he zeroed in on her nipple, licking and sucking and rolling it between his teeth. Thanks to the pregnancy, her breasts were super sensitive, and the pressure between her legs continued to grow.

  He seemed to know what she needed without her having to tell him. Shifting so he was cradled between her legs, he pushed against her, simulating intercourse as he continued to worship her breasts.

  Even though he was driving her out of her mind, she still noticed he was careful to keep his weight off her abdomen. That he thought of her child, even in the midst of runaway passion, was just another reason to love him.

  She massaged her way from his shoulders to his waist, hesitating for a moment before she let her fingers wander inside his jeans.

  He sucked in a sharp deep breath. “God, Laura, I want you so bad.” Slowing the pace, he kept up the insistent press of his erection as he sucked hard on her nipple.

  The combination had her crying out as the orgasm hit her fast and furious, leaving her quivering, pulsating and panting afterward.

  “Wow,” he said reverently. “That didn’t take much.”

  Laura released an unsteady-sounding laugh. “I think it’s the pregnancy hormones. It’s not usually that easy.” Even though she was sort of embarrassed by her unbridled reaction, she forced her eyes up to meet his. “Or maybe it’s you and the way you make me feel.”

  “And how is that?”

  “Safe, comfortable, amused, frustrated—”

  His brows knitted. “Why frustrated?”

  “You’re not the only one who’s been trying to keep his hands to himself the last few weeks.”

  The grin that stretched across his face made her heart do that pitter-patter thing. “Is that so?”

  She nodded and reached up to frame his face with her hands. “I find you completely irresistible and ridiculously sexy.”

  “Oh. Well. . . wow. I like that.”

  “I wish we weren’t being so upstanding about the baby and telling Justin before we, you know. . .”

  He rested his head on her chest, still breathing harder than usual. “Believe me, I know. But it’s the right thing to do. I don’t want anything to mess up what we have.”

  Laura put her arms aroun

d him, hoping to keep him right there with her. “Neither do I. Friday will be here before we know it.”

  He shifted his body to the side but kept his head on her chest. “If I live that long.”

  Laura fell asleep with her fingers buried in his hair and a smile on her face.

  Grace finished brushing her teeth and took her long dark hair down from the ponytail she’d worn for work. As much as she loved the challenge of running the pharmacy she’d bought in September, her favorite part of each day occurred when she finally got to crawl into bed with Evan.

  It was ridiculous, really, how much time she spent thinking about him when she should’ve been thinking about work. Of course when she was doling out prescription drugs, her focus was always on what she was doing. The rest of the time, however, she found herself staring off into space thinking about him and, lately, worrying about him.

  The poor guy had been so anxious since he found out the album he’d spent nearly a year recording in Nashville was caught up in his record company’s bankruptcy proceedings. There was a chance that megastar Buddy Longstreet would succeed in acquiring Evan’s album from the bankrupt company, but that was a long shot, and waiting to hear the judge’s verdict was doing a number on Evan’s nerves.

  It made Grace sad to see him so unhappy, even if he went out of his way to hide his worries from her.

  He was already in bed, shirtless and propped against the pillows, staring up at the ceiling the way he often did these days. He’d lost some of his sparkle as the waiting dragged on for weeks, and Grace would do anything to help him get it back.

  She let her eyes wander over the muscular chest with the perfect amount of silky dark hair that played a starring role in her fantasies. As he did most nights, he’d showered and shaved before bed so his rough whiskers wouldn’t mark her skin when they made love. He’d unofficially moved in with her in the loft above the pharmacy, and she loved having him and his guitars, surfboard and size twelve sneakers underfoot.

  But watching him suffer was making her suffer, too. He was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice when she approached the bed—until she reached for the hem of her T-shirt and drew it up and over her head. That got his attention.

  Grace couldn’t get over how uninhibited she’d become since they’d been together. In the past, when she’d been extremely overweight, she’d hated being naked. Now she pranced around frequently in the all-together and had a man in her life who preferred her that way.

  Evan extended his arm, inviting her to snuggle up to him.

  Sometimes Grace still wanted to pinch herself because she got to sleep with him every night. She got to laugh and talk with him and make crazy love. The only things standing between her and total happiness were his unresolved career issues and her parents making noise about wanting to come visit. The thought of that filled Grace with anxiety, especially since she’d failed to mention she was seeing someone or that he was living with her.

  “Best part of the whole day,” Evan said with a sigh as she snuggled into his embrace.

  “I was just thinking the same thing. You’ve spoiled me forever for sleeping alone.”

  “That was my goal.”

  Grace left a trail of kisses on his chest as she made her way to his lips.

  “Who was on the phone?” he asked.

  “Stephanie. Apparently, she caught Owen and Laura in the middle of a big-time make-out session earlier.”

  “Well, it’s about damned time. They’ve been on simmer for weeks now. I wondered when they’d boil over.”

  “According to Stephanie, they’ve definitely reached boil.”

  “I’m glad for them. I want everyone to be as happy as we are.”

  She brushed the hair back from his forehead. “That’s sweet of you to say, but you haven’t seemed too happy lately.”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be a drag.”

  “You’re not. Not at all. I only wish the situation would be resolved one way or the other so you’re not stuck in this horrible purgatory.”

  “It’s weird—I’m not even sure anymore what I want to happen.”

  “What do you mean?”

  After a long pause, he said, “Whenever I think about the tour, I break into a cold sweat.”

  “Because of the stage fright.”

  “Yeah. It’s so screwed up. Here I am on the brink of everything I’ve ever wanted, and when I heard about the bankruptcy, my first thought was, maybe I won’t have to do the tour.”

  Grace propped her chin on his chest so she could see his face. “That’s your gut talking. If the idea of being on stage in a big venue makes you break into a cold sweat, perhaps you shouldn’t be doing it.”

  “Once I get past the initial panic, I love performing, but moving past it gets harder all the time.”

  “The bankruptcy could be a sign that you’re supposed to be doing something else.”

  “But what? I’ll have to do something soon. I don’t want to burn through my savings, and there’s not a lot I can do here, especially this time of year.”

  His words sent Grace’s stomach plummeting. Of course she knew he’d have to leave the island at some point, but she liked to think that point was way off in the future. “I can take care of things until you decide what you want to do.” Even though she’d sunk most of her money into the purchase of the pharmacy, she’d held some back in an emergency fund.

  “That’s very sweet of you, babe, but I’m not going to sponge off you anymore than I already am by crashing here.”

  “It’s not sponging. We’re in a committed relationship, aren’t we?”

  “You bet your ass we are.”

  She loved his possessiveness, even if she’d never tell him that. “If I take care of you now, you can take care of me later. What does it matter? We take care of each other.”

  “I love you for that, Grace. I really do, but I need to make a plan—soon. I can’t sit around and do nothing all winter.”

  “You’re not doing nothing. You’re writing songs—lots of them.”

  “That may or may not sell. I need something more solid than that.”

  “I have complete faith that you’ll figure it out.”

  “You have to say that,” he said with a small smile. “You love me.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  He curled a shank of her hair around his hand and gave a gentle tug to bring her close enough to kiss. “That’s the only thing that’s gotten me through these last couple of weeks. I hope you know that.”

  “We can get through anything as long as we have each other.”

  “I love you so much, Grace.” He kissed her again and then hugged her. “So damned much.”

  She closed her eyes tight against the now-familiar rush of emotion she experienced every time he professed his love. Wanting to take his mind off his troubles, Grace wiggled out of his embrace and kissed her way down the front of him.

  “Grace, babe, you don’t have to—” When she took him in hand and ran her tongue over the head of his cock, he sucked in a sharp deep breath.

  As she loved him with her hand, lips and tongue, she knew the second he stopped thinking about his career crisis and gave himself over to the pleasure.

  Chapter 8

  Joe Cantrell got out of bed and moved carefully so he wouldn’t disturb Janey, who had an hour yet before she needed to get up for class. She’d been exhausted lately, so much so that he was becoming concerned about her. In the kitchen, he started the coffee and took his cell phone off the charger, anxious to hear how his mother’s date had gone the night before. He opened the back door to let their menagerie of special-needs dogs out, and found his mother’s number on his list of favorites.

  Carolina Cantrell had been married at nineteen, a mother at twenty and a widow at twenty-seven. In all the years since Joe’s father died in a car accident when he was seven, Joe had never known her to date—until last night. She’d finally given in and let one of her friends fix her up on a blind date. His mother had been ridiculously nervous when he spoke to her yesterday afternoon, and Joe had been anxious all night thinking about her out with some strange guy.

  Her long-time friend Karen had done the fixing up, so at least it was with someone trustworthy. Or so he hoped. As the phone rang several times, visions of axe murderers danced in his head.

  She finally answered on the third ring. “Hi, honey.”

  “What took so long?” he growled as his heart rate settled down to normal.

  Her delicate laugh soothed and infuriated him. “Are you imagining axe murders and other horrors?”

  She’d always known him far too well. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  “Moi? Ridiculous?”

  “Fine. Whatever. I was worried. Call me crazy.”

  “You’re very sweet, but you have nothing to worry about. He was a perfectly nice man, and we had a perfectly nice time.”

  “Sounds boring as hell.”

  “It was.”

  Joe winced. “Sorry. Are you disappointed?”

  “Hardly. You know me. I couldn’t care less about all this foolishness. I had my great love. I’m not silly enough to expect lightning to strike twice.”

  “Mom. . . Come on. You’re only fifty-six. Don’t talk like that.”

  “I know exactly how old I am, Joseph. Plenty old enough to know better than to walk around with girlish dreams. I had that once before. If that’s all I ever get, it was more than enough.”

  Joe hated when she talked like her life was already over—or the best part of it, anyway. Losing his father in a car accident had so devastated her, they’d been forced to leave their home in New York City and move in with her parents on Gansett Island. His grandparents’ love had saved them both.

  “Let’s talk about something happier,” she said. “How’s Janey?”

  “She’s good. Tired though. School is kicking her ass this semester.”

  “That doesn’t sound like our Janey.”

  “I know. I’m kinda worried, actually. She’s sleeping every chance she gets.”

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