Chapter 18
Long after the rest of his family was asleep, Mac was still awake, thinking and rethinking everything they’d done to prepare for the storm and hoping it had been enough.
Would the plywood covering the massive plate-glass windows at the Wayfarer hold?
Would his parents’ home withstand the brutal wind and rain, exposed as it was at the top of the hill above North Harbor?
And were Joe, Seamus and their crews safe at sea on the ferries?
He’d spoken to Janey again before bed, and she was nearly delirious with worry, but who could blame her? Even knowing Joe and Seamus were far to the east of the storm, they were still a long way from home during a huge storm targeting an island where everyone else she loved was stranded.
If they lost power, how long would it be out? Did they have enough gas for the generators? Had he done everything he could to care for his family, home and businesses? What if there was an emergency on the island that they couldn’t handle with the resources available?
This storm was reminiscent of Tropical Storm Hailey, which their daughter was named for.
She’d arrived in the middle of the storm when the island’s only doctor had been on the mainland.
Thank God David Lawrence had been home at the time.
He’d saved Hailey’s life when she was born blue and unresponsive.
Mac shuddered as he thought of that night and the sheer terror of realizing Maddie was in labor on a remote island in the middle of a storm. Thank God she wasn’t pregnant for this one, but plenty of other people they cared about were—Stephanie, Abby, Grace, Tiffany, Kara, Daisy…
His stomach churned as he pondered the million-and-one things that could go wrong during a storm of this magnitude and whether their tiny island community would be able to cope with the fallout.
“Why are you awake?” Maddie asked. “Did something happen?”
“Nothing other than a hurricane.”
“Is everything all right?”
“So far.” Mac turned toward her and put his arm around her waist. “Go back to sleep, love.” She’d been so tired since the twins arrived. He wanted her to sleep while she could.
“It sounds pretty bad.” Maddie burrowed into his chest. “I’m scared.”
He tightened his grip on her shoulder. “Don’t be. Nothing to worry about.”
“How do you know that?”
“I just do.” He told her what she needed to hear even though his anxiety was through the roof as the storm got louder and closer.
“I keep thinking about Joe and Seamus and the others out at sea during this…”
“They’re fine. They’re well east of it by now.”
“I’m sick just thinking about what they must’ve gone through.”
“They did the right thing getting the boats out of here.”
“Tell that to Janey and Carolina. They’re both senseless with worry. I was texting with them earlier. I didn’t even know what to say.”
“Everyone is doing what they can to minimize the damage.” The day before yesterday, he’d helped Kara take her launches out of the water and stash them inland, where they’d be protected.
They’d pulled his father’s boats out of the water.
They’d boarded up everything they could.
Food, water and fuel had been stockpiled some time ago, in anticipation of a hurricane or blizzard.
“Then why are you buzzing with anxiety?”
“Am I?”
“You are.”
Most of the time, he loved that she knew him better than anyone. At times like this, however, he wished he could better hide his worries from her. “I’m thinking about whether we did everything we could to protect lives, homes, businesses.”
“Mac, you did everything and then some. Because of you, the island had enough plywood for everyone who needed it. You installed all those whole-home generators for most of our loved ones. You ordered an entire fuel truck for storm prep. What more could you have done?”
“I don’t know what I don’t know.”
She placed her hand on his face and urged him to look at her. “You did more than anyone to make sure the island was as ready as it could be. You’ve worked twenty hours a day for a week to get us ready.”
“I just hope it was enough.”
“It was more than enough. The rest is out of your hands. Believe it or not, there’re some things that even the mighty Mac McCarthy can’t control.”
“I don’t like that.”
“Believe me,” she said on a laugh, “I know.” Maddie pushed herself up on an elbow. “Do I need to bring out the big guns to relax you?
“What would these big guns you speak of entail?”
“It would go something like this…” She leaned over to kiss the center of his bare chest and then moved down to trace the outline of his ab muscles with her tongue, heading down until she was nuzzling his hard cock through the boxer briefs he’d worn to bed. “Are you relaxing yet?”
“Does that feel relaxed?” he asked.
“Not at all, so let’s see what we can do about that, shall we?”
“Maddie… You don’t have to…” All the air left his body in one exhale as she bared his cock and took it into her mouth.
“What were you saying?” she asked.
“Not a thing.”
Chuckling, she took him in again, adding some tongue this time, which brought him to the brink of release in a matter of seconds. After a complicated pregnancy and the arrival of the twins, they’d barely had time for a kiss every day, let alone anything like… Oh damn. “Maddie, honey… Wait.”
“Don’t wanna wait.”
The combination of lips, tongue and suction, coupled with her hand tight around the base, was all it took to take him right over the edge. “Holy shit,” he said when he could speak again.
“Do you feel better?”
“Hell yes, I feel better.”
“I want you relaxed so you can get some sleep.”
“Mission accomplished. How about I return the favor?”
“You don’t have to.”
“What if I want to?”
“Oh, um, well… If you must.”
Grinning, Mac said, “Oh, I must. I absolutely must.” He moved so he was kneeling between her legs and ran his hands up over her calves and thighs, taking her nightgown up as he went. “Are you still sore, love?”
“Not like I was.”
“My baby mama is such a Wonder Woman.”
“Right,” she said with a laugh. “That’s me. Wonder Woman.”
“You’re my Wonder Woman.”
“I’m one big stretch mark, and I’ll never get my waist back and—”
He stopped her rant when he ran his tongue over her most sensitive flesh. “Don’t talk shit about my wife. You know I don’t like that.” When he had her attention, he sucked on her clit, running his tongue back and forth as he reached up to pinch her nipple.
She gasped and raised her hips, silently asking for more, which he was happy to give her.
He pushed two fingers into her, moving carefully so he wouldn’t hurt her in any way. “Okay?”
“Mmm, yes, very okay. Don’t stop.”
“Not gonna ever stop.” He teased her and stroked her until she was thrashing and arching and moaning almost louder than the storm. And then she broke, her internal muscles clutching his fingers so tightly that his cock was hard again like he hadn’t just come.
“Maaaaaaac.”
Best sound ever was his name uttered on her long gasp of pleasure.
He had to give her credit. He was no longer thinking or worrying about the storm. “Do you think we could do more?” Her six-week appointment was that coming week, so they were close enough as far as he was concerned. But it wasn’t up to him.
“We can try.”
Mac moved up to align their bodies. “Tell me to stop if it hurts.”
“You’ll be the first to know.”
As he started to push into her, she froze. “Mac! Condom.”
“I’m snipped.”
“You’re not getting that thing anywhere near the promised land ungloved until we’re sure it took.” His appointment to test whether the vasectomy worked was in two weeks.
“That thing is offended.”
“Too bad. Glove up or no nookie.”
Groaning, he pulled back and went into the bathroom to get a condom, rolling it on as he returned to the bed. “After everything we went through getting snipped, my boys and I would like to formally register our objection to the condom.”
“So noted.” She held out her arms to him. “Go slow, okay?”
“Tell me if anything hurts. I don’t ever want to hurt you.”
“I think it’ll be okay.”
“Will Victoria be able to tell that we jumped the gun?” he asked of her midwife.
“No,” she said, laughing. “It’s not like something grows back.”
“Ew, don’t be gross.”
“I’m not!”
“You know I have a weak stomach when it comes to girl things.”
“Are you going to talk or act?”
“I’m definitely going to act.” He went as slowly as he possibly could as he began to enter her in the tiniest possible increments. “Okay?”
“Uh-huh.”
Mac could tell she was tenser than usual, probably anticipating pain that hopefully wouldn’t materialize. “There’re no words to tell you how much I’ve missed this.” It’d been months since they were able to do anything.
“Me, too.”
“This might be quick.”
“Even though I took the edge off?”
“Even though. As much as I love that, there’s nothing better than this.”
“No, there isn’t.” She held him close as he moved slowly and carefully.
“Still okay down there?”
“Still okay. If you want to go a little faster, I think it’s fine.”
Her words sparked a fire in him, but he was still cautious, even as he went up on his arms and picked up the pace a bit. “Touch yourself,” he whispered. “I want to watch you come.”
She bit her lip and reached down to caress herself as he watched and tried to wait for her to get there before she shredded his self-control. A few minutes later, he felt the telltale signs of her impending release and held off until the last possible second so they could do it together.
“So hot,” he whispered in her ear as they came down from the incredible high.
“Yes, you are.”
“You’re the hottest mommy in the whole wide world, and I love you endlessly.”
“I love you infinitely.”
“I love you unendingly,” he said.
“Limitlessly.”
“Unceasingly.”
“Perpetually.”
“I can’t think of another way to say forever.”
She squeezed him tightly, and he finally relaxed for the first time in days. If they had each other, everything would be fine.
He’d make sure of it.