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

by Marie Force

  “It’ll fit, sweetheart.”

  “It’s kind of…”

  “Oh, please, for the love of God, please finish that thought.”

  “Big,” she said, swallowing hard.

  “I thought you didn’t have anything to compare it to?”

  “Don’t forget, I’m a nurse. It’s not like it’s the first one I’ve ever seen, so quit laughing!”

  “I can’t help it. You’re so damned cute.”

  “Cute… whatever. It’s absolutely insane that I’m doing this for the first time at my age, so quit laughing at me and just do it, will you?” She watched, aghast, as he seemed to get bigger before her eyes.

  “Have I mentioned that I dig bossy women? Especially in bed?”

  “N-no, I don’t think you mentioned that.”

  “Relax, honey,” he said on a low chuckle. “There’s no way in this world I’d hurt you after being given the most amazing honor of sharing your first time.”

  Katie sighed. Could he be any sweeter?

  “There, that’s better. Just relax and keep breathing.”

  Sure, she thought, keep breathing as he presses that great big penis against my untouched flesh. No problem…

  True to his word, he went slowly, pressing in and retreating, over and over, going a little farther each time. She waited for the expected stab of pain that never materialized.

  “So hot and so tight,” he whispered against her ear, setting off new goose bumps that miraculously merged into more tingles between her legs. “Feel good?”

  “Yeah,” she somehow managed to say. “Good” wasn’t the right word for how it felt. Amazing, incredible, overwhelming… Those were better words, but she’d have to wait until later, until she could speak again, to tell him that.

  “Katie…” He sounded tortured as he quickly withdrew from her.

  “What’s wrong?”

  With his forehead on her chest, he took a series of deep breaths. “Been awhile for me. I don’t want it to be over before it begins.”

  When she realized he was fighting to maintain control, she experienced a feeling of profound pleasure at knowing she was having the same effect on him that he was having on her. The pleasure was followed immediately by a swell of tenderness toward him. That he was willing to sacrifice his own needs to make her first time special told her she’d chosen the right man to share this moment with.

  He refocused his attention on her breasts, tugging first one nipple and then the other into the heat of his mouth.

  Combing her fingers through his hair, she kept him anchored to her chest even as she wanted to beg him to continue what he’d started. But she forced herself to be patient, to wait until he was ready to keep going even if he was driving her mad with what he was doing to her nipples.

  “Shane…”

  “Hmm?”

  “Please…” She lifted her hips, hoping he’d get the hint.

  He did, pushing into her almost completely this time, before stopping again. “God, Katie… I’m trying to go slow, but you’re so wet and hot.”

  “Don’t go slow. It feels so good.” She dug her fingertips into the muscles of his back, which seemed to trigger something in him as he picked up the pace.

  His lips came down on hers in a fierce, desperate kiss that was unlike any of their earlier kisses. This one was all tongue and teeth and passion.

  She was surrounded by him, overwhelmed by him—his scent, his chest hair brushing against her nipples, the tight pressure of him inside her. The sensations built on top of each other until she was at the point of exploding once again. Then he added his fingers between her legs and set her off as he surged into her, taking his own pleasure at the same time.

  “Whoa,” he said, his breathing choppy as he continued to pulse inside her. Without losing their connection, he rolled onto his side, taking her with him, raising her leg up and over his hip. His finger traced her smile. “Is it safe to assume that was okay for you?”

  “Oh yeah. Much better than okay. Incredible.” She opened her eyes and met his intense gaze.

  Shane cupped her cheek, caressing her with his thumb and making her feel adored as well as satisfied. “I’m really glad you waited for me.”

  “So am I.”

  Chapter 17

  Shane kissed her again, softly this time, the perfect kiss at the perfect moment that was only interrupted by the loud, sustained growl of his stomach. They broke apart, laughing. “Sorry about that.”

  “You have to be starving. You worked all day.”

  “I could eat, but this, right here, is way better than food.” He made his point by running his hand down her back to cup her bottom, pulling her in tighter against him.

  “No reason you can’t have both.”

  “So if I were to order us a pizza and go pick it up, you’d stay right here, nice and naked, waiting for me to get back?”

  “Would the pizza have pepperoni on it?”

  “That could most definitely be arranged.”

  “In that case, I could be convinced to stay here nice and naked until you get back.”

  “Excellent.” He kissed her and withdrew carefully, making sure to take the condom with him. “Be right back.” After a quick trip to the bathroom during which the water ran and the toilet flushed, he emerged, giving Katie a full, unobstructed view of the front of him. He had muscles on top of muscles and was tanned everywhere except from his waist to his mid-thighs.

  He produced a warm washcloth that he pressed between her legs, as if that was the most natural thing in the world for him to do.

  Katie wanted to die of mortification. “Wait. You don’t have to—”

  “You’re going to be sore.” His tone was matter-of-fact as he closed her legs around the warm compress. “This’ll help.”

  “Oh. Well. Okay.” As she took a greedy look at him, he hardened before her eyes.

  “Knock it off,” he said teasingly as he pulled on his clothes.

  “What? I’m just looking.”

  “That’s not all you’re doing.”

  “What else am I doing?”

  “You’re getting me all fired up again.”

  “How is that my fault?”

  He leaned over the bed and kissed her, looking fierce and amused and hot as hell. “I’ll tell you how it’s your fault when I get back.”

  “Don’t take too long. I might get bored here all by myself.” Katie wondered who this woman was who’d lost her virginity and become a flirt all in the same ten-minute period. Whoever she was, Katie liked her, and judging from his sexy grin, Shane liked her, too.

  “I’ll be back before you have time to get bored.”

  “We’ll see.”

  He was still grinning as he went out the door.

  Katie knew a moment of unease when she thought about which member of her family might see him leaving her room looking happy and satisfied. Oh well, she thought, if they were going to carry on a fling right there in the Sand & Surf, it wouldn’t take long for others to catch wind of it.

  A fling… The word made her giggle softly to herself. She was having a fling. She’d always found that word to be somewhat tawdry.

  Lying flat on her back, looking up at the ceiling, her body still tingling and throbbing from her first time, Katie decided there was a lot to be said for tawdry.

  Shane headed for the stairs, dialing the number for Mario’s as he went. After he’d ordered a large pepperoni pizza and a house salad, he kept the phone in his hand. Consumed with thoughts of Katie and what they’d just done, he nearly smacked into his sister in the lobby.

  “Where’re you off to in such a hurry?” Laura asked. “And I thought you were going out with Katie again tonight.”

  For a second, his mind went totally blank as he realized he should’ve planned for what he’d say if he ran into her. “We decided to stay in and watch a movie. I’m going to get a pizza.”

  “Oh.” She took a closer look at him. “Oh!”

  “What’
re you oh-ing about?”

  She took him by the arm and all but dragged him into the sitting room. “Did you sleep with her?”

  “None of your business.” Shane tried to wrench his arm free from her freakishly strong grip.

  “It is too my business! She’s Owen’s sister!”

  “Um, I know?”

  “So how can you say it’s none of my business?”

  “Because it is, in fact, none of your business. We’re both adults. We can do what we want.”

  “So you did do it with her.”

  “I never said that.”

  She looked at him with those shrewd blue eyes that had seen right through him since they were little kids. He never had been able to lie to her. “Your lips are swollen and you look all…” She waved her hand in front of his face. “Pleased with yourself. The signs are all there.”

  Shane laughed at her annoyed expression. “Aren’t you supposed to be on your honeymoon or something? Go find your husband and butt into his business and stay out of mine.”

  “My husband who happens to be her brother? Is that who you mean?”

  “Laura, come on. Don’t do this. We’re hanging out and having fun. Don’t blow it up into a bigger deal than it is.”

  “She means the world to him,” Laura said softly. “If you hurt her, it’ll hurt him—and me.”

  “I have no plans to hurt her. I like her—a lot. I thought you’d be thrilled to see me going out with someone else after everything.” He didn’t need to spell out what “everything” meant in this case. She certainly knew.

  “I am thrilled.”

  “You don’t look thrilled.”

  “I worry about Owen. He’s been through so much with his family, and he’s finally getting some peace now that we’re married, his dad is going to jail and his mom is happy with Charlie. I’d hate to see anything happen to mess with that.”

  “I’d hate that, too. He’s not just my brother-in-law, Laura. He’s also my friend. Do you honestly think I’m going to do anything to harm his sister? I saved her life, for crying out loud.”

  Shane’s phone dinged with a text. He took a quick look and saw it was from Mac.

  Going to the mainland for a few days. Hold down the fort for me. Will be in touch.

  “That’s odd.”

  “What is?”

  “Mac. He’s going to the mainland for a few days. I was just with him earlier, and he didn’t say anything about leaving.” Shane returned the text. Got it. Everything okay?

  No, but I’ll tell you about it when we get back.

  “Shit.” Shane shared the exchange with Laura. “What do you suppose that means?”

  “I don’t know, but it doesn’t sound good.”

  “He was headed to Maddie’s appointment at the clinic when he left me earlier.”

  “Oh God…” Laura took the phone out of his hand and began dialing.

  “Who’re you calling?”

  “Janey. She’ll know what’s up.” She paused before she said, “It’s not Shane. It’s Laura, and I’m with Shane. He just got a cryptic text from Mac. Do you know what’s going on?”

  Laura held the phone so Shane could hear their cousin as she said, “At Maddie’s appointment today, they couldn’t find the baby’s heartbeat.” Janey sounded like she’d been crying.

  Laura deflated before Shane’s eyes. “Oh no.”

  Shane put his arm around his sister, and she leaned into him, her hand curving naturally over her abdomen.

  “They’re going to the mainland because David didn’t want to take any chances on complications here,” Janey said. “They’re staying at your dad’s house in Providence tonight, and she’s having a procedure in the morning.”

  “God, poor Maddie,” Laura said, sniffling. “And Mac. They must be so upset.”

  “My mom said they were in pretty bad shape. She and my dad are staying at the house with the kids.”

  “Tell your mom to let me know if I can do anything to help. Anything at all.”

  “I will, thanks.”

  “I’ll check in with you tomorrow.” After ending the call, Laura handed the phone back to Shane and then hugged him. “Sorry to sob all over you.”

  “Any time,” he said, rubbing her back.

  That’s where Owen found them when he came downstairs, wearing only a pair of gym shorts and carrying the handheld baby monitor. “There you are. I was wondering why you didn’t come back up.” He took a second look. “Are you crying? What’s wrong?”

  Shane handed his sister over to her husband.

  “You tell him,” Laura said.

  Shane passed along the news they’d gotten about Mac and Maddie.

  “Oh God,” Owen said, putting his arms around Laura.

  “Sorry to be so emotional. It just hit me hard.”

  “Of course it did,” Owen said soothingly.

  “It must’ve been so shocking for them,” Shane said. “Mac was excited about the baby when I saw him earlier.”

  Their conversation was interrupted when several hotel guests came in through the main door, forcing Laura to wipe away her tears and be cheerful for her guests, who had questions.

  “I thought you were out with Katie tonight,” Owen said to Shane.

  “I am. I was on my way to get a pizza for us when I ran into Laura.”

  “So you’re not going out.”

  Shane called upon every ounce of self-control he possessed not to squirm under Owen’s intense glare. “We decided to hang here and watch a movie.” He was saved from further questioning when Laura rejoined them.

  She took hold of her husband’s hand. “I want to go to bed.”

  “That’s my cue to get the heck out of your honeymoon,” Shane said. “See you both in the morning.” He headed out the main door, feeling as if he’d made a narrow escape. Hopefully, Laura wouldn’t share her suspicions with Owen. Not that he was worried about what Owen might say. But he and Katie had a right to a modicum of privacy, despite where they were currently living.

  Maybe it was time to talk to Ned Saunders about a rental. Now that he knew Mac was counting on him to stay past the summer, Shane felt confident about putting down some roots on the island. The one thing stopping him from jumping on an immediate rental was the thought of moving away from Holden. Though they’d still live on the same small island, Shane liked having his nephew a few doors down the hallway from him.

  At Mario’s, his pizza wasn’t quite ready, so he took a seat at the bar and ordered a beer. He couldn’t stop thinking about Mac and Maddie and what they must be going through and how horribly devastated they must be. And then he thought of Katie, waiting naked in her bed for him to return. Fearful of embarrassing himself in public, he refrained from reliving every second of their earlier encounter. He’d have plenty of time to think about that later.

  Someone slid onto the stool next to him, and Shane realized it was Ned. “Speak of the devil. I was just thinking about you.”

  “Oh yeah? Whatcha thinkin’ ’bout?”

  “A possible rental.”

  “Stickin’ around, are ya?”

  “Starting to look that way.”

  Ned glanced at him with watery eyes. “Ya talk ta Mac tonight?”

  “Yeah,” Shane said with a sigh. “A short time ago. I feel awful for them.”

  “’Tis a terrible thing indeed. They were so excited ’bout that little one.”

  “Francine must be upset, too.”

  “Poor gal’s been cryin’ all afternoon. I offered ta pick up dinner.” He shrugged and sighed. “Feels bad ta not be able ta do nothing fer them.”

  “We can rally around them when they get home,” Shane said.

  “True.”

  One of the restaurant staff appeared with Shane’s pizza and salad. He tossed a twenty on the bar and gestured for the bartender to include Ned’s beer, too.

  Ned raised his bottle to Shane. “Thanks.”

  “Any time.”

  “Give me a call w
hen yer ready. I’ll set ya up with a good place not too far from that baby ya dote on.”

  Shane smiled at the older man. “You really are a mind reader, aren’t you?”

  “Nope. I just pay attention.”

  He squeezed Ned’s shoulder. “I’ll call you.”

  “Have a good night.”

  “You, too. Tell Francine we’re all thinking about her and Maddie.”

  “I’ll do that.”

  Pizza in hand, Shane walked the short distance back to the hotel, his mind spinning with thoughts of Mac and Maddie, of Katie and of Ned and the possibility of a rental close enough to town that he could still see Holden any time he wanted to. While his heart ached for Mac and Maddie, the rest of Shane’s life was looking more promising than it had in a long time.

  He had a job he enjoyed, working for a cousin he considered a close friend, and he had his sister and her family nearby. His dad was living on the island, and now there was the start of something promising with Katie. After years of slogging through the nightmare of Courtney’s addiction and their subsequent divorce, Shane felt like the sun was finally emerging from behind the clouds.

  Back at the hotel, he took the stairs two at a time, eager to get back to Katie. Would she still be naked in bed, or would she have gotten up and put on some clothes? He hoped she was still naked. The third-floor hallway was blessedly deserted as he made his way to her room, entering without knocking to find her exactly where he’d left her.

  She was propped up on one elbow. “I thought you forgot about me.”

  “No chance of that. I ran into Laura downstairs and was subjected to the third degree. Then I got an odd text from my cousin Mac about an unexpected trip to the mainland, which Laura naturally had to investigate further.”

  “Did you find out what’s up?”

  “Yeah.” Shane sighed as he put the pizza on the bedside table and sat on the edge of the bed. “It seems his wife is miscarrying, so they’ve gone to deal with that at a medical facility more equipped for it.”

  “That’s so sad. I’m sorry to hear it.”

  He caressed her arm and bent to kiss her cheek. “I can’t stop thinking about how excited he was earlier when he was on the way to meet her at the appointment.”