The wind interrupted him with a loud gust that rattled the windows like an invader raging to get in. The timing of it made them both jump.
Chrissie wiped the tears off her face with the heel of her hand. “You’re saying he kicked me out to set me free?”
“Possibly.”
“I always thought he did it because I wasn’t good enough for Yatesville anymore. I was a big disappointment.”
“I don’t think so.” His steady certainty felt like a lifeline.
“And then he left me all of this to suck me back in?”
“To do whatever you want,” he corrected. “He’s clear about that.”
Chrissie wiped away another tear. The hurricane lantern trembled in a gust that snuck in through a window crack. The shadows it cast looked almost alive.
“Okay, you’ve now witnessed me having multiple emotional meltdowns,” she said. “I swear I’m not usually like this.”
“I don’t mind.”
“You don’t have to say that. I get it. I’m a mess, as usual. Thanks for telling me your theory. It helps to think that maybe he banished me out of love. That helps a lot. I have to think about that some more.” Chrissie gazed wistfully around the space. “But I wish I knew what to do next. It would be a lot easier to think about selling Yatesville if not for this lighthouse. And the house. And even the greenhouse, and the—”
He laughed as she threw up her hands in comical frustration. “Maybe you don’t want to sell it at all.”
“Yes. No. Sometimes I want to get it done as quick as possible. Sometimes I get nostalgic. Sometimes I’m bursting with ideas about it. Then I kick myself for being a fool.” She sighed and rested her elbows back on the fully inflated air mattress. “I’m usually pretty good at making decisions. I make a lot of bad ones, but at least I make them.”
He knew that self-deprecating tone; he still didn’t like it. “What ideas have you had?”
“It doesn’t matter. I can’t afford any of them. I don’t have any savings. I’ve been rebuilding ever since Dustin fucked me over. My Mediguard pay helps but it’s not enough for everything this place needs.” She laughed a little. “I’d probably be better off if the wind just blew it all down. It turns out Gramps actually did pay for insurance, so that’s something.”
“But why do you have to do it all alone?” He took a Nutter Butter cookie from the plastic tray and bit into it.
“What do you mean?”
“Maybe you could find some people here in Lost Harbor who’d be interested in partnering with you.”
“Is that an offer?”
He nearly choked on the crumbs of his cookie. “Um, no. Sorry if I misled—”
She laughed and poked him in the shoulder. “Just teasing. Wow, you should see the look on your face. I know you have a brilliant career of your own and would have no interest in a random assortment of half-finished buildings.”
“You’re wrong. I am interested. I find all this interesting.” He slid his glasses back up his nose and looked around at the angular room. “The lighthouse, the property, Lost Harbor, all of it. But mostly you. I find you interesting. Endlessly so. That’s why I’m very curious about these ideas you’ve had.”
She eyed him cautiously, as if she wasn’t entirely sure she could trust him.
“I won’t recruit anyone,” he assured her. “No more real estate agents showing up out of the blue.”
“No, it’s not that. I trust you. But all of these ideas are just little flashes so far. Nothing’s fleshed out.”
He leaned toward her, unable to stop himself, and touched her cheek with his thumb. “You had a crumb there,” he explained, his voice tighter than normal. “So you really do trust me?”
She cocked her head, a soft smile playing across her lips. “I really do. And if you know anything about me, you probably know I don’t trust easily. So give yourself a pat on the back. Or the backside. Actually, I can do that part. It’s better naked, of course.”
They smiled at each other in perfect understanding.
He had no idea how or why his ordinary, workaholic life had brought him to this point. But it had. And he didn’t ever want to go back. He wanted her in his life forever.
Something twisted in his heart, and truth stared him in the face, clearer than an MRI. He loved Chrissie. With all her mess and her chaos and her so-called flaws—he loved her.
“What are you thinking?” she asked him, eyes wide with questions. “You haven’t even heard my ideas yet and you already look worried.”
The wail of the wind rose and fell around them.
“I’m not worried. I’m—”
He couldn’t say it. He’d never told a woman that he loved her. Had he told anyone? His family didn’t go in for that kind of sentiment. It wasn’t their way. But the words were welling up in his heart like an ocean swell, and they terrified him.
Chrissie had never given any hint that she felt more deeply about him than “flirting.” She was dealing with so much right now. Would he overwhelm her if he told her how he felt? Would she tell him to forget it? Toss him out into the storm?
Instead of saying anything, he set aside the can of Pringles and crawled toward her. He nudged her back onto the air mattress. The gleam in her eyes told him that this, at least, was perfectly welcome.
Together, they rolled onto the mattress, which sagged and squished under their combined weight. Chrissie burst out laughing. “So much for sleeping tonight.”
“Who needs sleep?” As an onslaught of sleet battered the windows, he eased himself off the mattress. “It’s too loud anyway.”
Crouching between her legs, he unsnapped her pants and opened them to reveal the tender skin of her lower belly and a glimpse of her underwear. Sunshine yellow, this time. He ran his hands down her legs, squeezing lightly through the thick fleece fabric.
“What are you doing?” She propped herself on her elbows, even though the mattress pulled at her like quicksand. “I thought you wanted to hear all my fantastic and unachievable ideas.”
“I do.” He kissed the sensitive skin just above her curls. “All of them. But I’m having trouble keeping my hands off you.” He twisted one finger through her curls and tugged lightly. “Do you want me to stop? Please say no.”
She laughed softly. “I do love it when a man begs. You may continue,” she said graciously.
Her breath hitched as he slid her pants lower down her thighs. He’d spent the past weeks learning everything he could about her. Hands-on learning, or in this case, mouth-on. He knew she went absolutely wild when he stroked her clit with his tongue. Which worked out great because he found the taste of her electrifying. All it took was inhaling the scent of her and he went hard as a hammer. And that first touch of his tongue on her soft folds sent him into a kind of fugue state.
He found her nub and circled it with his tongue, a slow exploration that made it swell and harden. Her thighs trembled, another sure sign that she was getting turned on.
But he knew another thing about Chrissie. She liked to be surprised. Nothing made her pupils dilate and her face flush as much as a sudden unpredictable shift.
So when he’d feasted on her until she was writhing and uttering that little moan that said so much…he flipped her over onto her stomach and covered her with his body. To replace his mouth, he slid his hand around her to her front and planted it between her legs.
“I want to fuck you like a freight train,” he growled in her ear. Dirty talk, that was another thing she liked. “I want my cock deep inside you and I want to fuck you until you scream.”
She tilted the angle of her hips to give him better access. Her breaths came in harsh pants. “Do it,” she urged him. “I want that hard, hot cock. Feels so fucking good.”
Okay, so maybe the dirty talk worked for him too. His erection swelled with every naughty word.
What about those other words? Why could he say “cock” and “fuck” but not “I love you”?
Don’t worry about that now. He slipped on a condom and probed her entrance with his hand, already feeling how slippery she was. He put one finger inside her, then another, exploring until he found the spot he wanted, the one that made her whistle like a winter gale. He worked her with his hand at first, until she arched and cried out—there it was, his favorite song—then drove inside her, hard and fast.
He only got in a few strokes before she turned the tables on him and rolled them both over. She climbed on top, moving her hips in the rhythm they’d already set. She ripped her top off—a black cashmere sweater, with thermal tee underneath. Her black sheer bra cupped her breasts together, but couldn’t hide the glorious swell of her nipples.
He reached for them but she brushed his hands away. Teasing, taunting, she brought her own hands to her breasts and pinched herself through the bra. As he watched in painful fascination, she squeezed her own nipples into darkened peaks rising through the fabric. She tilted her head, her hair tumbling wildly down her back. The sight of her fondling her own breasts was so erotic and free that his cock pulsed with the first early warning of an orgasm.
“I’m…I can’t…” He muttered. “I can’t hold out. Come with me, Chrissie. Pinch those nipples. I wish I could come all over your breasts. Come on, harder. Now.”
They came together in a riotous tangle of limbs and hot spurts of juice and muttered swear words. “Fuck,” he gritted as the orgasm ripped through him. “God, Chrissie.”
She was still moaning as she slumped over him. He brought his hands to her breasts and lifted his head to kiss them, one by one. Damp sweat beaded in her cleavage. Stars danced in his vision. The sounds of the storm came back into his awareness, and he realized he’d forgotten everything except Chrissie.
As the fog of his orgasm cleared, he reconstructed the last few moments.
“I didn’t mean that,” he gasped.
“Hm? Mean what?” Her dark blue eyes, hazy from satisfaction, drifted to meet his.
“That part about coming all over your breasts. I got carried away in the moment.”
Her lips curved in a very feminine smile. “No apology necessary. I barely heard it. Even if I had, I wouldn’t have believed it. It’s so…not you.”
“Not me? What do you mean?” As she rolled off him, he lifted himself on his elbows and began removing his condom.
“That would be too messy for you.” Shooting him a teasing smile, she felt around for her thermal shirt.
Without answering that, he rolled the condom off his penis and stood up to look for a paper towel or something else to wrap it in.
“I’m the messy one and I always will be,” she explained. She pulled on her shirt and freed her hair from under it.
“I told you before that I can handle mess.” He found a roll of toilet paper and ripped off a piece for the condom. But when he looked around for a trash can, he spotted nothing of the kind. “Is there a place for garbage?”
She let out a hoot of laughter. “I love how you’re proving my point in real time. Here, use this.” She pulled out the plastic tray of Nutter Butter cookies and handed him the empty package.
“That’s ridiculous. I’m not proving any point by wanting to dispose of my condom.” He dropped it in and tossed the bag aside. “I can prove the opposite.”
“You can? How?” She was on her knees now so she could get her pants properly snapped.
“Because…” A burst of wind sent the hanging lantern into a shuddering spiral. “I’m able to overlook your messiness and…well, love you in spite of it.”