Meant for Love (15 page)

She licked and nibbled his eight-pack until his laughter morphed into a groan and the pressure of his fingers in her hair became almost painful. That was when she decided to have mercy on him and ran her tongue over the rigid length of his arousal.

He released a sharp gasp that became yet another groan. “
Jenny
.”

She lifted her head to meet his gaze. “Yes?”

“For Christ’s sake, don’t
stop
.”

“Then be quiet and let me concentrate.”

“Yes, please concentrate. You wouldn’t want to miss anything.”

He was really quite irreverent but also enormously entertaining. “Shhh.” This was said against his straining shaft. She wrapped her hand around the base and squeezed. How could he be so hard after coming the way he had—twice? As she stroked him, she ran her tongue over the tip, dipping into the slit and then under to tease the sensitive skin below the head.

“Oh my fucking
God
, that’s good.”

Jenny held back a laugh as she took him into her mouth while keeping a firm grip on the base. This was another thing she hadn’t done since she’d lost Toby, and she hoped she remembered how. She didn’t want to think about Toby right now, not when Alex was so vibrant and alive under her, begging her with the subtle movement of his hips to take him deeper.

She opened her mouth wider and let him slide toward her throat as she cupped his balls.

He fisted handfuls of her hair and arched his back, swearing softly under his breath as she licked and sucked and applied gentle pressure to his most sensitive area.
 

Her lips were stretched almost to the point of pain as he got impossibly harder.
 

“
Stop
,” he cried.
 

She knew he was warning her that he was on the brink, so she gave him a taste of his own medicine and backed off, leaving him sweating and panting for the release she’d denied him.

He fell back to the mattress and released a harsh laugh as he continued to breathe heavily and throb in her hand. “So mean.”

“Revenge is a bitch, and so am I,” Jenny teased, continuing to stroke him with her tongue.

“No, you’re not,” he said, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear and running his finger over her cheek. “However, I wouldn’t be opposed to some more of that.”

With only her lips touching him, she said, “Hmmm, let me think about that.”

He startled from the electric connection of her vibrating lips. “You’re out to kill me, aren’t you?”

“Most definitely not.”

He gave her a curious look that quickly became something else entirely when she took him into her mouth, lashing him with her tongue as she applied gentle suction. His entire body trembled and his grip on her hair tightened.

“Jenny…” he said on a long sigh as his back arched. “
Jenny
.” The second time he said her name more urgently, which was the only warning she got before he came in her mouth. “God
damn
.”

She wiped her hand across her tingling lips.

“Come here.” He held out his arms to her and brought her to lie on top of him. “That was incredible.
You’re
incredible.”

“Good to know I haven’t forgotten how to do that,” she said and instantly regretted the telling statement.

“You’ve definitely not forgotten. You made me crazy, but I suspect that was your goal.”

“Turnabout is fair play.” She loved the way he held her. She loved the way he smelled of soap and clean sweat and salt water. She loved a lot of things about the way she felt when she was with him. Despite all this love she was feeling, she reminded herself what this was about—and what it wasn’t.

There was no reason that she could think of why a woman her age couldn’t have a hot summer affair that was all about sex. People did it all the time, right? Just because she’d never done it didn’t mean she couldn’t start now with something new and different. She’d certainly had enough of the status quo. Maybe a hot summer affair was just what she needed to shake things up before she moved on to a more significant relationship.
 

“I can almost hear you thinking,” he said as he ran his fingers through her hair, making her scalp tingle along with her lips. He tapped a finger on her forehead. “What goes on in there?”

“Nothing much. You’ve managed to fry most of my brain cells tonight.”

“You fried most of mine, too.”

As his chest hair tickled her nose, Jenny smiled. It was good to know they were equally affected by what had transpired between them.

“Could I ask you something?”

“Sure,” she said tentatively.

“You said it’s been a long time since you did this, which leads me to wonder why a gorgeous, sexy woman like yourself would choose to live alone in a lighthouse.”

Her brain was stuck on the words “gorgeous, sexy woman.”
 

“Living in this lighthouse, on this island, has been very good for me, believe it or not.”

“Have you ever been married?”

The question as well as his curiosity took her by surprise. “No. You?”

“Nope. Engaged?”

Jenny closed her eyes tight. “Once.”

“What happened?”

“It… He, um…”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me. We’ve all got stuff we’d rather not talk about.”

While she was relieved that he wasn’t going to push her for answers, she suddenly wanted to know what he’d rather not talk about. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to tell him about Toby, but she knew how that story changed things. It made people look at her differently, and she didn’t want Alex looking at her differently. Not yet anyway. If this continued, eventually he’d ask again and she’d have to tell him. But for now, she liked the fact that he didn’t know about her awful tragedy.

“Are you roasting with me on top of you?” she asked.

“Not too bad.”

As much as she didn’t want to move, it was way too hot to stay pressed together sharing body heat. “How do you feel about a very cold shower?”

“That sounds like heaven.” He released her, and Jenny stood, acutely aware of her nudity, which was rather foolish in light of what they’d done together.
 

She bit back a groan when her already sore muscles protested the movement.
Tomorrow—or I guess it’s today now—will be fun
. With him following her, she went into the adjoining bathroom, where the small shower stall had just enough space for both of them. Jenny turned on the water, set it to cool and retrieved towels from under the sink.
 

“This place is so awesome,” Alex said as he took in the bathroom.

“It’s got everything I need along with the most amazing view.”

Standing pressed together in the shower, they rinsed off salt water, sand and sex, taking turns washing each other. He even massaged shampoo into her hair. His tenderness was somehow harder to process than the raw erotic side he’d shown her earlier.

“I should go,” he said when they were clean, dry and wrapped up in towels.

“You don’t have to go yet. Unless you want to.”

“I don’t really want to.” He ran his fingers down her arm, took her hand and led her back to bed.

“We should change the sheets. They’re all sandy and gross.” She crossed the room to the trunk where she kept extra linens and retrieved clean sheets.

“Did you paint that?” he asked of the painting of her view propped on an easel.
 

“Yes, that’s my masterpiece.”

He took a closer look. “It’s really good.”

“Thanks. Maybe someday I’ll actually finish it.”

Working together, they changed the sheets.
 

When the bed was made, he came over to her side and tugged at the towel she’d knotted above her breasts. “It’s too hot to sleep in anything other than the altogether.”

She let him remove her towel and watched as he dropped his into a pile on the floor next to hers. “As long as you know we’re not getting these clean sheets dirty.”

Laughing, he followed her into bed. “That sounds like a challenge.”

“It’s not.”

He turned on his side to face her. “You’re pretty far away over there.”

She turned on her side. “Better?”

“Still too far away.”

She slid a bit closer. “It’s too hot for much more than this.”

He placed a hand on her hip over the sheet. “Is it too hot for this?”

“I suppose that would be okay.”

Lifting himself on one arm, he leaned in to kiss her softly. “I had a really, really good time tonight after a really,
really
shitty day. Thank you for that.”

She caressed his face, running her thumb over the stubble on his jaw. “I had a really good time, too.”

Alex smiled and kissed her again before he settled on the pillow next to hers. “Are you sure it’s okay if I stay? You won’t get in lighthouse-keeper trouble or anything?”

“It’s fine,” she said with a chuckle.

“I should go home, but my brother is there, and I’m so damned comfortable here.”

“Relax and get some sleep while you can.”

He brought their joined hands to his chest, where Jenny could feel the strong, steady beat of his heart. Long after he fell asleep, she was awake thinking about how much she liked him and how strangely connected she felt to him despite her plans to keep her emotional distance from a man who’d initially seemed all wrong for her.

The more time she spent with him, the more she began to suspect he could actually be all right for her.

Chapter 9

Evan and Owen played the last notes of “Ring of Fire,” played in homage to the heat, and stepped back from the microphones to guzzle the bottled water they’d been drinking all night.
 

Grace was glad to see Evan taking his own advice about hydrating between beers.

“Damn, it’s a hot one on Gansett,” Owen said to cheers from the crowd. “We’ve got a special treat for you tonight. As you know, my buddy Evan is the owner of the new Island Breeze recording studio right here on Gansett. He’s recorded the first single on the Island Breeze label, and he’s going to debut it here tonight. How lucky are we?”

More cheers from the crowd at the Tiki Bar.

“Oh and Grace,” Owen said, “you’re going to want to come up here, if you would.”

It took a second for Owen’s request to sink in. She glanced left at Laura and right at Stephanie.
 

“Go,” Steph said, giving her a push. “He’s waiting for you.”

Evan nodded at her, gesturing for her to come to him.

Grace’s heart beat hard and fast as she stood and walked on wobbly legs to the stage.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Owen said, “let’s have a round of applause for Evan’s fiancée, Grace Ryan.”

The hooting and hollering from the table full of friends and family as well as everyone else in the bar had Grace burning with embarrassment. She hated being the center of attention, which her fiancé certainly knew.
 

Owen took her hand and helped her up the stairs.
 

“I’ll get you for this,” she said under her breath.

“He made me do it,” Owen said as he went down the stairs, leaving Grace alone on stage with Evan.

“Isn’t she gorgeous?” Evan asked, setting off another round of cheers and whistles.

“You’re a dead man,” she hissed at him.

As if he didn’t have a care in the world, Evan tossed his head back and laughed. “Have a seat in my office, baby.”
 

When she was settled on the stool Owen had abandoned, Grace folded her hands and tried to ignore the sensation of sweat rolling down her back. So much for the cool shower she’d enjoyed after Evan left earlier.

“I’ve been saving this for a special occasion.” As he spoke into the microphone, he never took his eyes off her. “We met right here just over a year ago, and my lady and I have been making some wedding plans, so I’d say this counts as a special occasion, wouldn’t you?”

More cheers and whistles. She really was going to have to kill him for embarrassing her this way. And then he started to strum his guitar, and everything faded away except for him and the music and the words and the love as he sang “My Amazing Grace” to her. They might’ve been completely alone for the way he focused entirely on her.

My amazing Grace, how sweet she is,

She took a wretch and made him a man

When I was lost, she was there

When I was blind, she led me home

’Twas Grace who taught me how to love

And Grace who took away my fear

How precious is my darling Grace

She gives me hope to carry on

Amazing Grace, how lucky I am

To be the guy she loves