“You just got even wetter.”

Carolina wanted to die on the spot. She was so far out of her league with this man who wasn’t afraid to lay it all on the line, to say what he thought and how he felt. Nothing had prepared her for him or the way he made her feel by taking her hard and fast on the kitchen table in the middle of the day.

His fingers kneaded her bottom as he drove into her, making her cry out from the impact and the overwhelming sensations he drew from her body every time they were together.

“Yes, love, tell me you love it as much as I do.” He flexed his hips. “Tell me.”

“Yes, yes, I love it.”

He reached around to stroke the hard bundle of nerves that throbbed for him as he continued to pump into her. “Tell me you love me.”

“I love you, Seamus. I love you.” The words were no sooner out of her mouth then she was coming hard and crying out from the sheer joy of being loved by him.

“I love you, too,” he said, as he pushed into her one last time and let go with a cry of completion. After a long pause, he added, “More than anything.” He rested on top of her, breathing hard and pulsing with aftershocks. Keeping his arms around her, he was careful not to rest too heavily upon her.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“For what, love?”

“For making you feel like I was ashamed to be seen with you in town. I’m not ashamed. It’s… It’s all so new. I need some time to get used to it.”

He withdrew from her and helped her to stand, steadying her when her legs wobbled under her. “You take all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Promise?”

With his arms around her, he touched his lips to her forehead. “Ah, love, where would I go when everything I want is right here?”

Carolina relaxed against him and closed her eyes, filled with the certainty that while others might not understand what she was doing with him, she could no longer picture a life without him.

Now if she could just get through dinner with the McCarthys, she’d be well on her way to starting that five-alarm Gansett scandal that Linda predicted. May as well get it over with, because she had no plans to let him go.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Adam stashed his stuff in his old room and then left the house to walk down the hill to the marina in search of his dad and Mac. The first one he saw, though, was Luke Harris, co-owner of the marina and a longtime friend.

“Look at what the cat drug in from the big city,” Luke joked as he hugged Adam. “Good to see you, man.”