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With excruciating care, he caressed every part of me, managing to bring me to the edge before softening the intensity and bringing me back down. It was at once crazy making and amazing, and I could barely breathe.
Just when I’d reached the point of possible death and dismemberment, he reached over to grab a box from his nightstand. I took advantage of his distraction to slide my hand down the front of his jeans, his hardness barely contained by the fabric. He gasped and I giggled.
“So, you were prepared?” I whispered.
“Always.”
“Um…”
“Well, not always, but I did go to the mainland to meet some other ex-army guys a few months ago. Most of them hooked up, and I met a lady who was nice, but I guess I just wasn’t interested.” He removed his jeans and boxers to stretch out next to me, his eyes back on mine. “Since I got back here, I could only think about one woman. Before she even returned.”
“You think it was meant to be?” My heart thudded in my ears, and my soul grappled with the enormity of it all.
“Iknowit was meant to be.” He kissed me again, deep and tender. When I responded with the same level of emotion, he edged his way on top of me, but braced himself on his arms. I clung to him, and he pushed inside, slow at first, but building with fire and passion. I met his movements thrust after thrust, everything tightening in tension as I teetered on the edge. I gasped when the tense ball of energy inside exploded and sent tendrils of pleasure to every nerve ending in my body. Noah followed with a shudder a moment later, breathing hard. He slid to the side, gathered me against him, and kissed the crown of my head. “See? We fit perfectly.”
“Remind me to drop your teacher a line to thank her.”
Noah’s laugh followed me into a light, but well satiated sleep.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Good evening fellow islanders. I hope this evening finds you warm, cozy and with someone you love, or at the very least, tolerate.Only a few weeks until the fat, jolly elf makes his appearance, so naturally, we have to have our annual tree lighting. We don’t want the old guy to fly right past us. Jay Patterson has volunteered to do some tree wrangling, with backup support from Dean Kilcommons of Dani Whiting and Salty’z fame. Just kidding, dude. We all know you made a name for yourself when you tried to swim over to the hermit’s island before getting scared out of the water by some whales. Of course, your secret is safe with me and all 900 or so people on the island. Oh, and before I forget, there have been rumors of a possible talent show along with the lighting. I’ll have to check with one of the old timers on the plotting of that one. But, hey, if you’ve got a special talent, whether it’s balancing a glass on your big toe, or vocalizing like a lovesick Steller’s Jay, bring it on. We all want to know, so we can point and laugh. With you, not at you, of course. Just kidding. I respect anyone who can put themselves in the spotlight without any support from mother’s little helper. Anyway, stay tuned for the time and date. I’ll let you know when I know…
The DJ followed his announcements with “Brave” from Sara Bareilles.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Gram sat across from me, half-moon glasses propped on the end of her nose. “I want the truth, Klahanie.”
I knew my smile looked smug, even as I sipped my coffee. All our bungalows were full until tomorrow, so my work at the moment had lessened. Gram still took care of the books, and Sunny, more or less, took care of the meals, with my chipping in as needed. Most of the time she didn’t want me underfoot.
“Did you sic an old widower on me?”
“Define ‘sic.’” In fairness, it was Noah who had come outright and asked if Mr. Chapman wanted to date Gram, but I guess I’d been the one to suggest he go speak to her.
“You know I don’t have time, or energy, for a gentleman acquaintance.”
I took a nibble of one of Sunny’s vanilla rolls. We sat in the guest dining room, sun pouring in and hugging us with the illusion of warmth on a day that hadn’t even hit 40 degrees. “So, you like him, huh?”
She sipped her own drink—cocoa with a drizzle of peppermint syrup. A heavy sigh escaped and she shook her head in apparent befuddled surprise. “Honey, he’s delightful. He knocked on the door, took off his hat, and requested a chat over a cup of tea.”
“And how is that a bad thing?”
“I’m 72.”
“And so is he, at least. Probably older.”
Gram dropped her gaze to her own half-finished roll. When she looked up again, I was horrified to see tears in her eyes. I rose, but she waved me back to my seat. “I’m okay, sweetie. I’ve just been thinking about your grandfather a lot lately. He was the love of my life. I will straight out tell you that. He was everything I ever wanted.”
I settled back into my chair, coffee and roll forgotten. He’d died a couple years before I was born, and she didn’t often speak about him. I’d always wondered why, and now looking at her torn expression, I thought I’d figured it out.
“Harrison was my perfect match. Sure, we could finish one another’s sentences, and predict thoughts and reactions, but it was beyond that. Something so deep and true, it felt fictional. This is real life. No one has that kind of relationship, I mean, the type that indicates a true soul mate. At least, that’s what I used to think. I didn’t realize what it was when I had it.”
I reached out and rested my hand on hers, squeezing it when she turned her palm to mine.
“He used to tell me how we were meant to be, and I would always tell him he was being silly and ask him to pass the syrup.” Her brow furrowed, and she stared past me and out the window to survey what she and my grandfather had built. “And then, one day he was gone. He got up, went out to feed the animals, and never came back inside.”
“I’m so sorry, Gram. I’m sure he knew you loved him.”
