Summer on Lovers' Island (Jewell Cove 3)

He was glad to have her back. They’d have to talk sometime about what had happened, but for now it was good just to see her.

“So,” he asked, calling to her over the top of the sound of the motor and the waves, “where to, madam?”

She got up from her seat and stood next to him, the wind blowing her hair off her face as she turned her face up to the sky. Damn, she was something. Soft where a woman needed to be soft but strong, too.

When she lowered her head and looked down into his eyes, he already knew what she was going to say.

“Take me to Lovers’ Island.”

The trip seemed to take ten times as long as he would have liked. Once she’d said the words, it didn’t matter that they were out on open water traveling fifty miles an hour. Tension tightened between them, taut with anticipation and possibility. He knew what she meant by asking to go there, and smart or not, he was willing to go along.

They skimmed over the waves and the shape of the island appeared, hazy at first and then clearer until he could see the outline of the dock, the view of it almost like a type of foreplay. Lizzie came over, slid onto his lap so that he had to look over her shoulder to see where he was going. She twined her fingers through the hair over his right ear and his breath shuddered through him. She was killing him here.…

Afraid of keeping up the speed when he was so distracted, he throttled down until they were barely moving. Particularly when Lizzie leaned forward and was scraping her teeth down the side of his neck.

He cursed under his breath and gripped the wheel for dear life.

“I can’t dock like this,” he growled, “and I don’t want to start drifting and risk you getting sick. Three minutes, Liz. Three and I’ll have us there.”

She sucked his earlobe into her mouth and his eyes rolled back into his head. Lizzie Howard was going to be the end of him; he was sure of it.

“Three minutes,” she whispered, and he ached with the feel of her hips pressed against his. “Three minutes and one second and I start taking my clothes off.”

Holy hell.

She slid off his lap and back to her seat while he pushed the throttle. The boat hit the tops of the crests, skimming over the tops until he had to slow down to approach the dock. Even then he was more reckless than usual, coming in hot and without his usual care. “Make sure we don’t bump,” he commanded, and she obeyed, leaning over her side and keeping the side of the boat off the dock. He looked at his watch. Two minutes and thirty-five seconds. He’d gotten here with time to spare. Not that her clothes weren’t going to come off … they were. But not here. Not yet.

He took precious seconds to reach into a storage bin and grab an emergency blanket. It was dull and slightly musty smelling, but he doubted either of them cared at this moment. Lizzie was already out of the boat waiting for him, and with his heart racing he hopped out, took her hand, and led her up the wharf to the path.

There was only one place to be right now. And that was at the very top of the island. At the top of the world, with the sea all around them and not another soul for miles and miles. God, he felt about eighteen again, and full of testosterone and invincibility and the rash innocence that he was untouchable by consequence. But just in case he was wrong, he dropped his hand to his back pocket briefly, making sure his wallet was still there. He’d taken three condoms with him the night he’d been at Lizzie’s, and they’d used two. There was still one left.

At the summit they stopped. Up until this second, neither of them had spoken. It had been all about the urgency. But now, with them face-to-face, the moment had arrived. Josh unfolded the blanket and spread it out on the thin grass, not caring too much if it was even or not. “Go ahead,” he said, his voice rough with impatience and desire. “Your three minutes are up.”

Her eyes sparked as she reached for the hem of her shirt and pulled it over her head.

He swallowed tightly, clenching his hands at his sides. He would not be a barbarian. He’d remain in complete control. Even if the rest of his damned brain went into a complete meltdown.

Next went the bra, dropped on the corner of the blanket. Her pal

e breasts were exposed to the sun and he longed to touch them, kiss them. Was dying to just lose himself inside her. And still he waited.

Her jeans were more of a struggle because they were tight, but being the efficient type, she skimmed her panties down with them so that when she stepped free of the denim she was completely naked. There was something so basic, so elemental, about being naked in nature that felt Garden of Eden–ish to him. And still, he waited. Waited for her to say the words. Besides, despite the uncomfortableness of the situation, he was enjoying, savoring, the moment. The sight of her, the freedom of it, the confidence. Damn, she was beautiful.

“What are you waiting for?” she asked.

There it was. He stripped off his T-shirt and tossed it on top of her pile of clothing. Then he reached for his wallet, took out the condom, and tossed it to her, then unbuttoned his shorts, slipped both them and his underwear off, and they joined the other articles. Now he and Lizzie were both stark naked with no sound but the waves on the rocks below and the wind whistling through the grass and shrubs.

The only two people in the world, with everything left behind them.

Josh stepped forward and took her in his arms, reveling in the feel of her skin pressed against his—breasts, pelvis, thighs, toes. Her arms looped around his neck as they kissed, long and deep.

“I wasn’t sure you wanted this again,” he uttered, filling his hand with her breast, watching with pleasure as she tipped her head back.

“Wanting it was never the problem,” she replied, the last word coming out on a sweet breath.

Their coming together was urgent and yet not rushed. Josh lost himself in the feel of her surrounding him, made sure she reached her own measure of satisfaction before letting himself go. Gulls screamed overhead, Lizzie’s cries echoing on the wind with them, and Josh covered her mouth with his as he found his own release. Nothing had ever been this wild, this sweet, this satisfying. His heart pounded and his ribs rose and fell with his breathing as he braced himself on his elbows and looked down into her face.

He was falling in love with her. He hadn’t wanted to, and God knew she didn’t want that from him, either. But it was there just the same. When they were together something just clicked into place. He’d thought he’d be able to keep it light. Noncommittal. But he really should have known better. He wasn’t built that way. It went beyond attraction. It went beyond their differences—those were still there and they’d be foolish to ignore them. But deep down, right in the heart of things, he understood her. And he got the feeling that she understood him, too.