Desire After Dark: A Gansett Island Novel (7 page)

As the island came into view, he turned his full focus toward landing safely, relying on the runway lights to touch down in the dark. Slim couldn’t wait to get to her, to be with her, to kiss her some more, to… Damn, maybe he was more shackled than he’d thought.

He went through the methodical routine of securing his plane—speaking of shackles—by attaching the clips to the
metal rings built into the tarmac to ensure that the gusty winds expected over the weekend wouldn’t damage his livelihood.

The second he was in the cab of his truck, he sent Erin a text to find out where she was.

At Jenny’s
.
Are you back?

Just now. On my way.

See you soon.

Can’t wait.

He couldn’t wait either. Shackled had never felt so good.

“
C
heck out that big smile
,” Jenny said after Erin stashed her phone in the back pocket of her jeans and resumed chopping red peppers for Jenny’s veggie tray.

“What big smile?”

“The one that stretched across your face when you heard from your sexy pilot.”

“He’s not my sexy pilot,”
Erin said, beginning to feel uncomfortable with Jenny’s certainty that something would come of her friendship with Slim.

“Is he or is he not a sexy pilot?”

“He is.”

“Is he or is he not shacking up with you over the holidays?”

“Have you always been this much of an ass pain, or did it start when you were happily married?”

“She’s much more of a pain since she got
married,” Alex said as he came into the room, grinning at his wife.

“Listen to him,” Jenny said, scoffing. “I’m the best wife he’s ever had.”

“You know it, baby.” He hooked his arm around her from behind and kissed her neck until she giggled like a schoolgirl.

Erin was taken by surprise when her heart began to ache. By now, she ought to be used to seeing Jenny in love with
someone else. But until she’d come to the island over the summer, Alex had existed in the abstract for her, the new guy Jenny was seeing. Now he was a flesh-and-blood man who was obviously crazy about Jenny. Toby’s Jenny…

“Er?”

Erin looked up from the pulverized peppers to realize Jenny had been talking to her. “Sorry, I was spacing.”

Jenny sent her a dirty smile.

She thought Erin was thinking about Slim. That was for the best. The last thing Erin would ever want to do was crap on the happiness Jenny had waited so long to find. Toby, who’d been madly in love with Jenny, would tell Erin to get over herself and get on board, especially while she was a guest in Jenny and Alex’s beautiful new home.

Paul and Hope came in a few minutes later with Hope’s
son, Ethan, who was full of pre-Christmas excitement.

“I set you up with the Xbox in the bedroom,” Alex said to Ethan.

“Nice!”

“One hour and then it’s bedtime,” Hope called after her son.

“Mac and Maddie’s kids are sick, so they’re out tonight,” Jenny said. “But they invited everyone to their house on the twenty-sixth.”

“Sure, sounds fun,” Hope said.

“You guys never quit with the partying,” Erin said.

“That’s all there is to do around here this time of year,” Hope said.

“Need me to give you some pointers for passing the time, bro?” Alex asked, a cocky grin making his eyes gleam with mischief.

“Oh, sorry, honey,” Hope said, wincing. “I tossed him a softball, didn’t I?”

“And he hit it right out of the park.” Paul smiled
at Hope and put his arm around her. “You should know better by now.”

“I really should.”

“Alex’s dirty mind and mouth are the thing of legend,” Jenny said for Erin’s edification.

“You love my dirty mind, and you positively
adore
my dirty mouth.”

Jenny stuffed a roll in his mouth, making everyone laugh hysterically.

“I love you
so
much, Jenny.” Paul wiped laughter
tears from his eyes. “So,
so
much.”

“You love that I manage him for you,” Jenny said to her brother-in-law.

“Yes, I do.”

“Manage me, my ass,” Alex said around a mouthful of bread.

“Your ass is one of the best parts of you,” Jenny said to groans.

Jared and Lizzie James arrived with another man Erin hadn’t met before. They introduced him as Jared’s brother, Quinn.
Like Jared, he was blond, but unlike his brother, Quinn didn’t smile easily and was polite but quiet. Lizzie more than compensated, telling them how Quinn had come to see the building she and Jared had bought to house a rest home for the island’s elderly.

“What do you think of our fair island so far, Quinn?” Paul asked over cocktails.

“It’s, um, small.”

“You live in New York
City,” Lizzie said. “Anything would seem small to you after that.”

“There’s small and then there’s Gansett small,” Quinn said with a small grin.

Watching their back-and-forth, Erin could see how hard Lizzie was trying to convince her brother-in-law to embrace her project. She wanted him to be the staff physician at the new facility. While Quinn resembled his older brother in looks,
he had none of Jared’s easygoing charm or wit. Quinn was more buttoned down, somber.

Though intrigued by the James family dynamic as talk turned to holiday plans, Erin found herself watching the door, waiting and anticipating. Any minute now. God, she was like a silly teenage girl waiting for her boyfriend to arrive. Could she be any more ridiculous? Except, that was how she felt. Her skin
prickled with awareness of him, and he hadn’t even arrived yet. Knowing he was on his way had her heart beating faster. Her face felt warm, and she was probably flushed, giving away her secrets to the room full of friends.

Eager for a moment alone to get ahold of herself before he got there, she went into the kitchen for a glass of ice water.

Naturally, Jenny followed her and insisted
on getting the water for her.

Erin took a sip, the cold liquid soothing her parched throat.

“You going to be all right?” Jenny asked in a teasing tone.

“I don’t know. I’m all wound up inside over him, and I shouldn’t be. He’s here for a short visit, and then he’s going back to Florida for the rest of the winter. What can possibly come of it?”

“Erin… Really? You’re honestly
asking that? You’re not indentured to the island and the lighthouse. You could go
with
him.”

“I don’t know. Nothing has been decided.”

“You should go and see what happens. What do you have to lose? If it doesn’t work out, you can come back here for the summer.”

“I have everything to lose. I can’t… I don’t know if I’m ready for what this could be.”

Jenny left her perch
by the sink and crossed the room to where Erin leaned against the counter. She put her hands on Erin’s shoulders, forcing her to make eye contact. “I’ve been right where you are. When Alex and his ghastly lawn mower came roaring into my life, I wasn’t in any way prepared to contend with him and all the things he wanted from me. In fact, neither was he with everything that was going on with his
mom. But look at what we would’ve
missed
if we hadn’t found the courage to take a chance.”

Oh God
, Erin thought,
I’m going to cry
. She blinked furiously to keep the tears contained.

Jenny hugged her. “It’s so frightening to risk more than we can afford to lose. I get that. I get it better than anyone else ever could. But Toby would want us to be happy, Er. I have to believe that,
or I wouldn’t be able to get through the day.”

Clinging to Jenny and her wisdom, Erin nodded.

“If I can do it, so can you.”

Erin laughed and drew back from the woman who’d become her touchstone after they lost Toby. “I never would’ve survived without you.”

“Ditto. But we can do better than survive. We can
thrive
. And someday, after we’re done here, we’ll see him again.
I want him to be proud of me when that day comes.”

“So do I.” Erin took a deep breath, trying to pull herself together. “I admire you more than anyone. I hope you know that.”

“The feeling is definitely mutual. And… I think your guy is here.”

Erin was on the verge of reminding Jenny that he wasn’t her guy when Slim came into the kitchen and made a liar out of her. Her heart
nearly leapt from her chest at the sight of his handsome, smiling face as well as the windblown hair and the rugged leather jacket he wore. He was like a fantasy come to life, and his dark eyes drank her in.

“Is that Alex calling me?” Jenny asked, scooting from the kitchen to give them a moment alone.

“She’s nothing if not subtle,” he said.

“Always has been her strong suit.”

He came over to her, making her entire body go haywire in reaction to his nearness.
What. The. Hell
.

Unsure of what he expected, she looked up at him, trying to anticipate his next move. But when he merely hugged her, she sagged against him, breathing in the bewitching scent of man and leather and soap.

“Missed you,” he whispered, close enough to her ear to set off another
series of unprecedented responses that converged in an insistent throb of desire between her legs.

Dear God. What was it about this man? How did he reduce her to a quivering pile of
want
simply by walking into a room and hugging her?

When she came up for air, she realized her arms were inside his coat and wrapped around his waist. If this was how she reacted when he was gone for
a few hours, how would she feel when he left again to resume his winter life in Florida? She didn’t want to think about that, especially not while he was standing right in front of her, sizing her up with those sexy dark eyes that
saw
her a little too well for her liking.

“Did you miss me?”

“Did you go somewhere?”

His eyes glimmered with amusement, his smile transforming his
face from handsome to ridiculously sexy. “You hurt me with your nonchalance.”

“Yes, I missed you. Feel better now?”

“I’ve never felt better in my life.”

“
Never?
” she asked, relying on humor to hide her emotional reaction to his heartfelt words.

“Not that I can recall.”

With his fingers on her chin, he tipped her face up for a soft, sweet kiss that left her dizzy
and dying for more.

“To be continued,” he said, releasing her.

It was too much and not enough at the same time. How was that possible? All he had to do was walk into the room to put her on full alert. Her nipples were tight, her belly quivering, her palms sweaty, and the tingle between her legs had become a full-blown throb from one simple hug and kiss.

Nothing about him was
simple, especially the way she reacted to him. If he could turn her on so completely with nothing more than a hug and a kiss, what would happen later when they were alone again at the lighthouse? She needed a fan to cool her face and a stiff drink to calm her nerves.

Erin poured herself a vodka and soda on ice, hoping for some liquid courage to deal with a situation that was rapidly spinning
out of her control. She made the same drink for him, and they joined the others. Slim sat next to her on the sofa, his leg pressed tight against hers, his arm stretched out behind her.

While the others laughed and talked about the McCarthys’ anniversary party, plans for the upcoming holidays, Lizzie’s nursing home project and other island gossip, Erin tried to find the equilibrium that
had deserted her when Slim arrived. As exciting as it had been to be on the receiving end of his affection, it was still possible to stop this before it went any further. They hadn’t made each other any promises. They hadn’t done things that couldn’t be undone.

Yet.

If the heated make-out session earlier and her reaction to seeing him again after a few hours apart were any indication,
the status quo wouldn’t last much longer. This was happening, and she’d encouraged it by asking him to stay with her. She’d encouraged it with every hour she’d spent flirting by text, on the phone and FaceTime with him over the last few months.

But now that he was here, sitting right next to her and obviously wanting more of what they’d had earlier, she was scared to cross that invisible
line between flirty fun and seriously committed. With the exception of her family and a few close friends like Jenny, she’d made being noncommittal an art form, living her life on the surface without delving below to see what she might find.

The surface had worked fine for her. No one got hurt on the surface. Everything was simpler there, cleaner. This situation with him was getting complicated
and messy, and she already ached at the thought of him leaving. So what would it be like when he actually left and they were forced to go back to texts, phone calls and FaceTime to stay in touch? Would he want to stay in touch if they had a hot and heavy fling while he was here? Maybe a fling was all he wanted anyway.

This, right here, was why she avoided entanglements at all costs. So
how had she found herself firmly entangled in this enigmatic man?

It had happened the night he told her his real name. Nothing had been simple after hearing he shared a name with her beloved brother.

“Hey,” he said, nudging her with his shoulder. “Where’d you go?”

She emerged from her thoughts to find that Evan McCarthy and Grace Ryan had arrived with her friend Fiona, Evan’s
brother Adam and his fiancée, Abby Callahan.

“Nowhere,” she said in response to Slim’s inquiry.

“You’re not overthinking things by any chance, are you?”

“What? No. I’m not doing that.” Scalded by his insight, she tried to escape, mumbling something about helping Jenny in the kitchen.

He took her hand, stopping her. “You want to go?”

“I…” She wanted to go, and
she wanted to stay, to buy herself some time to figure out what was happening to her and how to get it under control while she still could.

He watched her with those knowing eyes that saw right through her bullshit and found the heart of her more easily than any man before him ever had. “Let’s go.”

“I, um, Jenny…”

“She’ll understand.”

And she would. Erin had no doubt
about that. “Okay.”

They made their excuses to Jenny, who was far too pleased about the development for Erin’s liking.

“Call me in the morning and tell me everything,” Jenny said as she hugged her. “Take notes so you don’t forget anything.”

“Stop it.”

“You stop it.”

“What am I doing?”

“Other than freaking out?”

“I’m not doing that.”

“No?”

Erin could fool some people but not Jenny. Never Jenny. “Maybe a little.”

“It’s going to be okay. I promise.”

“You can’t know that for certain.”

“None of us can, but one thing I know for certain is that a life half lived is no life at all.”

And what, really, could Erin say to that?