Chapter 20 #3
Her fingers dug into his shoulders, holding on for dear life as she rode the waves of her own climax, clutching him with tight internal muscles that had his eyes rolling back in his head from the sheer, unbelievable pleasure of it.
Nothing had ever been like this, he realized as he floated back to earth to find her shivering beneath him.
“Cold?”
“Sort of.”
Reluctantly, Dan withdrew from her, reached for his coat on the floor and wrapped it around her. “Better?”
“Yes, thanks. There’s a beach towel under the pilot seat if you want to grab that, too.”
Dan retrieved the towel and stretched out next to her, covering them both with it. “Come here,” he said gruffly, needing her close to him after what they’d shared.
She turned toward him, her eyes wider than usual and her hair tangled.
He put an arm around her and smoothed her hair back from her face. “You promised you wouldn’t hate me.”
“I don’t.”
“Or yourself.”
“I never promised that.”
“Kara—”
“It’s okay,” she said with a small laugh. “I’m remarkably okay.”
He buried his face in her hair and breathed in her sweet scent. “I have another condom.”
“Is that right?”
“Mmm.” This was said against her neck and punctuated with a stroke of his tongue that made her tremble. “Should I get it?”
“How about we continue this back at my place, where it’s quite a bit warmer and the bed is significantly softer?”
Dan couldn’t believe she was inviting him into her bed. After months of mad, crazy crush, he wanted to pinch himself. “You won’t change your mind between here and there?”
She brushed a lock of his hair off his forehead, a gesture that made his heart stagger. “I won’t change my mind.”
“And you won’t go out with Robert?”
She stared at him, and then she laughed—a deep husky laugh that fired him up all over again. “I won’t go out with Robert.”
Relief flooded through him. “Then I’ll share my other condom with you.”
“You’re just too good to me.”
“I completely agree.”
Joe woke to his favorite sight—his gorgeous wife looking at him with those big blue eyes that usually gave away her every thought.
Today, however, her eyes were closed off and shuttered.
A ripple of anxiety traveled down his backbone.
“What’re you thinking about over there?” He rested a hand on her belly and was greeted with a thump from within that made him smile.
“You.”
“What about me?”
She bit her bottom lip, a sure sign that something was on her mind. “Your mom has something she needs to talk to you about.”
Joe immediately went cold with fear. “Is she sick?”
“No, baby.” She caressed his cheek. “Nothing like that. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
He released a deep breath. “What is it? Do you know?”
“Yes, she talked to me about it, but it’s something you should hear from her.”
“You’re freaking me out, Janey.”
“I know. I don’t mean to. I wanted you to be prepared, but I’m messing it all up.”
“Prepared for what?”
“Your mom… She loves you so much.”
“I know that. I’ve always known that. Sometimes I’ve worried that she loves me too much.”
“What do you mean?”
“She sacrificed her own life to make sure I had everything I needed.”
Janey reached for his hand and held on tightly. “I want you to remember you said that. When she tells you what she needs you to know, remember that.”
“As long as she isn’t sick or worse, I can handle whatever she throws at me.”
“Remember that, too.”
He wished she’d just tell him, but he understood that she was unwilling to betray a confidence. Since the love his mother and wife had for each other made him happy, he wouldn’t expect Janey to tell him something that clearly needed to come from his mother.
Joe gave Janey’s hand a final squeeze and got up to shower. As he ran a razor over his face, he reviewed the last few days, wondering if he’d missed something. All he could recall was her unusual reaction to hearing that Seamus had given his notice.
Was she concerned about the business? Did she know something about it that he didn’t know?
He went out of his way to make sure she was never burdened by the business they co-owned, but he’d been away from the island a long time.
Maybe something had happened and she’d waited until he was home to clue him in.
When he emerged from the shower, Janey was standing in front of the bedroom mirror, securing her hair into a ponytail.
She looked so fresh and pretty—and round—that Joe took a moment to hug her from behind.
He pressed a kiss to her neck and made her shiver.
Here in his arms was everything he’d ever wanted but never dreamed he’d have.
She turned and slid her arms around his waist, above the towel he’d knotted at his hips. Her lips were soft on his chest as she laid a trail of kisses that ended at his lips. “I love you love you,” she whispered.
“Me too. So much.”
“Please listen to your mom with an open mind and an open heart.”
“I will. Of course I will.” He didn’t want to be annoyed that she thought he’d approach his mother any other way, but it did bother him that she was so concerned about him being unreasonable.
“Joe—”
“Let’s get this over with. You’ve got my stomach in knots.” He pulled on shorts and a T-shirt, sliding his feet into flip-flops. As he left the bedroom and headed for the kitchen, he was aware of Janey following him.