Fool for Love (6 page)

She smoothed his hair back from his
forehead and combed her fingers through the thick strands. "Can I ask you
something?"

He continued to tease her nipples.
"Anything."

"Why me?"

"Ah, Janey, I don't know. I've asked
myself that very question a million times. I don't even recall a time when it
wasn't
you. I see you, and I want you. Not just like this," he added, gently
squeezing her breasts. "I want you in my life, in my home, sleeping next
to me. I just want
you
."

Taken aback by his intensity, Janey wished
she could give him even a fraction of what he so willingly gave to her. "I
need some time."

"I'm not going anywhere."

Janey told herself she should get up and
leave him while she still could, but it felt so good to be held in his strong
arms, to be surrounded by his overwhelming love. Had David ever made her feel
so treasured? Not that she could recall. "I should go back to bed."

"Take me with you."

They had this final night together before
she returned to the disaster the rest of her life had become. He knew where
they stood, that she had miles to go before she could consider anything more
with him, and he wanted her anyway.

Janey got up and held out a hand to him.

He linked his fingers with hers and let
her tug him up from the sofa. Holding hands, they walked through moonlit rooms
to his bedroom.

Janey turned and wrapped her arms around
him, pressing delicate kisses to his chest.

As if they had all the time in the world
and not just, perhaps, this one night, Joe slowly undressed her, worshiping
every inch of her fevered skin before he guided her onto the bed. He brought
her to the edge of the mattress and kept his own feet on the floor as he
entered her.

Janey floated on a cloud of sensation so
exquisite and so devastating that she had no choice but to give herself over to
him and let him take her where she'd never been before.

He bent to lave at her nipple and sent her
soaring. She cried out, clutching his head to her chest as her body trembled
with aftershocks. "Joe," she sighed. "God. What're you doing to
me?"

"Loving you the way I've wanted to
for so long." As his hips kept up a steady pace, Janey realized he wasn't
done with her yet. "The way I want to forever."

While he made sweet love to her, Janey
closed her eyes tight and tried to shut off the thoughts spiraling through her
mind. But her best efforts couldn't stop one persistent realization from
pressing to the forefront: it had taken just two days in the arms of her
brother's best friend to make her wonder if she'd spent thirteen years with the
wrong man.

Joe didn't sleep at all during that long night. He didn't want to miss a second
of the simple joy of having Janey warm and soft and cuddled up to him. As she
slept, he caressed her back and buried his nose in her fragrant hair.
Committing each detail to memory, he had no idea when or if he'd ever get to
hold her this way again. That thought sent a jolt of panic straight through
him. After having her with him like this, how was he supposed to go back to a
life that didn't include her? How was he supposed to go back to sleeping alone?

He tortured himself with questions. Had he
done enough to show her how he felt about her? Had he made a mistake by telling
her he'd been in love with her for years? Would he regret not giving her more
time to recover from David's deception before stepping into the void? Over and
over he replayed every minute they'd spent together since he rescued her on the
highway. Over and over he came to the same conclusion: he had no regrets. Maybe
the timing hadn't been ideal for her, but at least she'd leave here later today
knowing exactly how he felt and what he wanted from her.

"Are you awake?" she whispered.

Instantly aroused by the sound of her
voice, Joe wondered how it was possible that one tiny dynamo of a woman could
have such an overwhelming effect on him. "Yeah."

"How come?"

"Couldn't sleep."

"Everything okay?"

"Everything's perfect." He
kissed her forehead and then her lips. "Except that you have to go home
tonight."

"We knew I'd have to face it all
eventually."

"You could stay, you know. As long as
you want to." In fact, forever would work just fine for him.

"I have to get back to work."

"You could call in sick and spend the
holiday here." His heart filled with irrational hope. They'd just be
prolonging the inevitable, but he'd have more time to show her what he already
knew—they were meant to be together.

Janey surprised him when she raised
herself up and started trailing kisses on his chest and then his belly.
"That's a very tempting offer."

"And one you should consider very
carefully before saying no."

She smiled at him and wrapped her hand
around his throbbing erection.

Joe gasped and vowed right in that moment
that no matter how long it took for Janey to see the light, he was done with
other women in the meantime. He could never be with anyone else after her.

Bending her head, she dragged her tongue
back and forth over his penis.

Joe clutched her hair and held on for dear
life. If she was trying to kill him, she was doing it one stroke of her tongue
at a time. He decided, as she drew him into the warmth of her mouth, that it
was a hell of a way to go. "Janey. Oh, God.
Janey
."

He kept his eyes open, watching her,
wanting to absorb every detail as she loved him with her mouth. Despite the
erotic visual, he managed to keep a firm grip on his control for several
sexually charged minutes until she dragged a fingernail lightly over his balls,
sending him over the edge. "Jesus," he muttered when he could finally
speak again.

Kissing her way up, Janey rested her head
on his chest. "I take it you liked that."

"Yeah," he said, gathering her
in close to him. "You could say that."

"I can't stay, Joe. As much as I'd
like to."

"I know." He decided to
celebrate the half victory—at least she wanted to stay.

"We've got all day though," she
said with a small smile, ever the optimist.

His heart skipped a crazy beat. "And
what would you like to do?"

"This," she said as she kissed
him. "Just this."

From his vantage point on the bridge, Joe looked down at Janey on the bow. She
leaned against the rail lost in thought, the cool sea breeze blowing through
the blonde hair he'd shampooed in the shower earlier. He could only imagine her
thoughts as she headed for home. Exhausted from the sleepless night, his body
ached in a number of unique places thanks to a day of erotic pleasure.

After those amazing hours with her, he was
more certain than ever that his life would never be complete without her by his
side. But now he had to take a step back and let her do what she needed to do.
Until she worked things out in her heart and mind, he could only wait and hope
and pray that she'd come to the same conclusion he'd reached years ago.

His cell phone rang, jarring him out of
his pensive thoughts. With a few words to the captain, Joe stepped outside the wheelhouse,
extinguished the first clove cigarette he'd had in days and took the call from
Mac.

"Hey, man," Mac said.
"Where are you?"

"On the boat."

"Is Janey with you?"

Joe's eyes were riveted to her. Even
though he wasn't working this trip, he'd insisted on seeing her home.
"Uh-huh."

"David's looking for her. He tried
her cell a bunch of times, but I guess it was off, so he called my mother. Of
course she told him she thought Janey was with him. Now she's all up in arms
about where Janey has been the last few days." Joe wondered if it was also
possible that David had figured out what Janey might've witnessed in his
apartment.

He suppressed a groan. The last thing
Janey would want was Linda McCarthy all over her about what had happened during
her eventful trip to the mainland. "Do me a favor," Joe said.
"Don't let your mom swoop down on her tonight. Janey is kinda fragile
right now."

"I'll do what I can, but you know how
my mother can be."

"Which is exactly why she's the last
thing Janey needs tonight."

"I hear ya. I'll talk to her."

"Are you meeting the boat?"

"Yep."

"Mac…"

"Yeah?"

Joe cleared the huge lump of emotion that
lodged in his throat. "Take good care of her, will you?"

"You know I will."

"Thanks." He hated the idea of
turning her over to anyone else, even her doting older brother.

"Everything all right?"

"Everything's fine," Joe said
with forced cheer. As much as he'd love to unload on his best friend, he
couldn't. Not about this. Not if he wanted to live through the night. Mac would
assume Joe had taken advantage of his sister at her lowest moment, and Joe
couldn't deny that if the roles had been reversed, he'd probably see it the
same way. He and Janey knew how it had happened, which was all that mattered.

"We'll see you at the party?"
Mac asked.

Joe's heart did a small happy dance at the
reminder that he'd see Janey later in the week at the Fourth of July cookout
Mac and Maddie were hosting at their new house. "I'll be there."

"Thanks for everything," Mac
said.

"It was my pleasure." Surely
that had to be the understatement of the century, Joe thought as he ended the
call and took the metal stairs to the lower deck. Approaching Janey, he noticed
tears on her cheeks that could probably be blamed only in part on the brisk sea
breeze. It pained him to think that her time with him might've added to her
torment.

"Hey." He squeezed her shoulder
and ran a hand down her back, aware of the watchful eyes of his employees. The
second to last thing she needed was to be the brunt of the island's vicious gossip
machine.

"Hi." Her wan smile said it all.

They stood together at the rail, watching
the bluffs on the island's northern coast emerge from the fog.

Joe took a deep breath and told her about
Mac's call.

Janey winced. "I can't believe David
called my mother. That's
just
what I need."

"I guess he was worried when he
couldn't reach you."

Her snort was loaded with sarcasm.
"Should I feel honored he cares enough to worry?"

"You'll have to talk to him at some
point."

"Not until I'm good and ready."

"I'm sure your mother told him you'd
gone to surprise him. He may have figured out why you disappeared."

"Good. Let him wonder."

At some point in the last few days, her
disappointment had turned to anger. Joe supposed that was healthy, but he
wouldn't be satisfied until she'd officially ended it with David. He didn't
expect her longtime fiancé to go without a fight and couldn't bear the idea of
him causing her any more pain than he already had.

As the ferry steamed toward South Harbor,
Joe wanted to stop time, to go back to this morning when he'd held her naked in
his arms, to when they'd had a whole day to spend in bed together. A tremendous
sense of foreboding came over him as they got closer to the island. He wanted
to howl and rage and grab hold of her and never let her go.

"Janey."

She looked up at him with those bottomless
blue eyes, and he lost the words he'd been prepared to say. All he could do was
stare at her and drink her in.

Mindless of the prying eyes that
surrounded them, she dropped her head to his chest and rested her hands on his
hips. "I never would've survived this without you."

Joe ached. How could he tell her he'd
never survive the rest of his life without
her
? He couldn't. It would be
so unfair to add to her burden.

He drew her into his embrace. "You
know where I am. You know how I feel. You know what I want."

He felt her nod.

"No time limit, no statute of
limitations, no pressure."

She looked up at him again, slaying him
with the array of emotions that danced across her expressive face. "Thank
you."

Gratitude was the least of what he wanted
from her, but being the needy fool he was, he took what he could get. He kissed
her forehead, and even though it cost him more than he could bear, he let her
go.

With Joe's steady presence giving her courage, Janey
stepped off the ferry onto Gansett Island. She immediately noticed her brother
pacing back and forth, filled with restless energy.

He looked up, saw them coming and rushed
over, stopping short in front of them, his hands opening and closing into
fists.

Janey smiled at his restraint and
uncertainty. No doubt he wanted to toss her over his shoulder, carry her off
and hide her away until he'd disposed of David's dead body. She put him out of
his misery by reaching for him.