Desire After Dark: A Gansett Island Novel Read Free Page A

“dark” side of love and marriage, and if a happier bunch of bastards had ever lived, Slim hadn’t yet met them.
    And now here he was, inordinately delighted by an invitation from the emotionally remote but incredibly sexy, beautiful lighthouse keeper who wanted him to stay with her for the next twelve days. The lighthouse was charmingbut tiny, with a bedroom, a small bathroom, a galley kitchen and a cozy living room. It had some of the best views of anywhere on the scenic island. But the one thing it didn’t have was a second bedroom.
    As he combed his hair and cleaned up the bathroom, he couldn’t wait to see what bedtime might bring. Would he be spending another night on her comfortable sofa, or would he get to sleepwith her? The thought of sleeping with her again, of holding and kissing her, not to mention the many other possibilities, had his skin tingling with anticipation. Though he’d studiously avoided commitment and anything that smacked of a relationship, he’d found himself craving more of this particular woman after spending time with her last fall.
    Now that he was finally here, in her home,where she seemed to want him as much as he wanted to be there, he didn’t care what they did—or didn’t do. Knowing he had twelve long, cold winter days to snuggle in with her was the best Christmas gift he’d ever received.
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    D ressed in jeans and a sweater , Slim came down the stairs to find the table set with blue plates with white anchors in the middle of them. Erin was in the kitchen,wearing an apron, and he had the highly inappropriate thought that he’d like to see her in only the apron sometime. He forced that thought from his head so he wouldn’t have to deal with an embarrassing situation.
    “Something smells good.” His stomach let out a loud growl to make his point.
    “Don’t get too excited. It’s just pancakes and sausage.”
    “Too late. I’m excited.”
    “Clearly it doesn’t take much to get you excited.”
    “That’s not true at all. It takes a lot. Like a gorgeous woman making me a delicious breakfast while wearing a sexy apron. What’s not exciting about that?” He helped himself to another cup of coffee and topped off her mug, too.
    “How do you know it’s going to be delicious?”
    “Because you made it.” He kissed her cheek andleft her to finish cooking, because what he really wanted to do was kiss her senseless. There’d be time for that later, after she lost the wariness that remained in her expression when she looked at him. Was she wondering if he was sincere in his interest in her? How could she still be wondering about that after all the hours they’d spent talking over the last few months?
    He’d never spentthat much time talking to any woman without sex as part of the equation. But how could she know that lengthy conversations weren’t part of his regular routine? He’d have to find a way to let her know that nothing about their “friendship,” or whatever you wanted to call it, was regular or routine for him.
    The breakfast was, in fact, delicious, and he scored more points by offering to dothe dishes while she showered. As he worked, he noticed the family photos on the refrigerator, zeroing in on the smiling dark-haired young man who looked so much like Erin, right down to the dimple in his cheek and the devilish look in his eyes. He had to be Toby, and seeing a picture of him for the first time, Slim ached for her loss.
    She came down the spiral stairs a short time laterwith her hair in a ponytail, wearing a red wool sweater adorned with white snowflakes, and faded jeans, looking far more like a college co-ed than a thirty-eight-year-old woman. He’d been shocked when she’d once referred to herself as an old lady because she was in her late thirties. Before she told him her age, he would’ve guessed thirty at most. He was thirty-nine and amazed to be having genuinefeelings for a woman for the first time since high school.
    “Ready?” he asked,