Desire After Dark: A Gansett Island Novel

T
his ebook is licensed
for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you
would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. To obtain permission to excerpt portions of the text, please contact the author at
[email protected]
.

All characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’s imagination.

marieforce.com

T
he best way to
stay in touch is to subscribe to my newsletter.
Go to
marieforce.com
and subscribe in the box on the top of the screen that asks for your name and email. If you don’t hear from me regularly, please check your spam filter and set up your email to allow my
messages through to you so you never miss a new book, a chance to win great prizes or a possible appearance in your area. 

S
ubscribe
to my new blog
to hear the latest and greatest news, including giveaways and other great prizes. Go to the
blog
and enter your email address on the upper right-hand side.

V
iew the McCarthy Family Tree
here.

View the list of Who’s Who on Gansett Island here.

S
ometimes we have
to go back to go forward, and that is the case with
Desire After Dark
, which picks up the Gansett Island timeline the day after Big Mac and Linda’s anniversary party in
Celebration After Dark
. In that book, Slim Jackson came home to Gansett for his friends’ party—and to pick up
where he left off the previous autumn with Erin Barton, the island’s new lighthouse keeper.

Desire After Dark
covers the weeks between the anniversary party and Evan and Grace’s destination wedding. You’ll see a few things that were mentioned in
Celebration
from differing points of view. The next book,
Light After Dark
, featuring Big Mac’s daughter, Mallory Vaughn, will jump forward to
the spring and the long-awaited arrival of the Lawry twins, among other exciting events on Gansett Island.

I know I say this same thing every time, but I can’t believe we’re at book 15 with Gansett and still going strong, with no end in sight. I’ve got lots of ideas for upcoming books, and I thank my faithful readers for continuing to support the Gansett Island Series five years after
Maid for Love
debuted.

When you’re finished reading
Desire After Dark
, join the
Reader Group
where you’ll be eligible for release week giveaways and other fun things! Remember that spoilers are allowed and encouraged in the reader group, so don’t join until after you read. At the end of the book, read about other release week giveaways, including a weekend for two at my Beachcomber Cottage
in Rhode Island, which includes airfare, rental car, dinner with me and my local team and a welcome basket with signed books and swag. This is available ONLY during release week, May 23-28, so read and enter before the deadline!

Thank you, as always, to my amazing behind-the-scenes team, led by my majordomo, Chief Operating Officer Julie Cupp, CMP, along with Lisa Cafferty, CPA, Holly Sullivan,
Isabel Sullivan, Nikki Colquhoun, Cheryl Serra, Ashley Lopez and Courtney Lopes. I couldn’t do what I do without their support and hard work, as well as that of my husband, Dan, who runs the home front while I write. Thank you to my fantastic editorial team of Linda Ingmanson and Joyce Lamb as well as my beta readers Anne Woodall, Kara Conrad, Ronlyn Howe and Holly Sullivan. Big thanks to
Sarah Spate Morrison, family nurse practitioner, for keeping me straight on medical details and for not telling her mom that she gets to read the books early.

Most of all, thank you to my extraordinarily supportive readers, who make everything possible. I appreciate you more than you’ll ever know.

xoxo

Marie

O
n the morning
after Slim Jackson came home to Gansett Island, Erin Barton awoke to the scents of his cologne and starch on the dress shirt he’d worn to the McCarthys’ anniversary party. At some point, he’d discarded the suit coat he’d been wearing when he arrived.

She didn’t remember falling
asleep with him on the sofa, or how they’d ended up snuggled together under a blanket. His chest made for a comfortable pillow, and his arms around her had kept her from tumbling off the sofa during the night. The last thing she recalled was kissing him—soft, flirty kisses that hadn’t gone much beyond lips stroking lips, with the promise of more to come.

The thought of that promise had
her skin tingling with awareness of the man sleeping next to her. After they’d connected last fall, he’d left the island to work in Florida during the off-season. She’d been counting the days until she could see him again, which wasn’t something she did very often. In fact, she couldn’t recall the last time she’d looked forward to seeing any man.

Before he arrived last night, she’d tried
to prepare herself for disappointment. Maybe the connection they’d forged months ago in person and maintained through texts and phone calls and FaceTime chats would’ve waned in the many weeks they’d spent apart. But it took only a few minutes in his magnetic presence to know the opposite was true.

Their connection was alive and well, and they had twelve days together to explore where it
might lead. Though she’d enjoyed their many entertaining conversations over the last few months, Erin didn’t know where she wanted their “flirtation” to lead. She hadn’t been seriously involved with a man in years and wasn’t sure she had what it took to be in a relationship anymore—or if she even wanted a serious entanglement at this point in her life.

The last man she’d been serious about
had been during law school, before she lost her twin brother in the 9/11 attacks on New York City, and her carefully crafted life fell apart in the aftermath of unimaginable loss. By the time she came up for air, the man she’d once planned to marry was long gone, not that she could blame him. The poor guy had tried, Lord knows he’d tried, but there had been no consoling her.

Thinking about
those dark days was never a good idea, especially today when she had something far more positive to focus on. She moved carefully to disentangle herself from Slim’s embrace, hoping he would sleep awhile longer. He’d been tired last night from the long day in the air, flying from Florida to Rhode Island for the McCarthys’ party—and to see her.

Erin went upstairs to make herself presentable.
She also couldn’t recall the last time she’d spent the night with a man. It had been a while, long before she moved to Gansett Island hoping to jumpstart her stalled life.

If the first few months on Gansett were any indication, the move had been a good one. Thanks to her close friend, the former lighthouse keeper, Jenny Wilks—now Jenny Martinez—Erin had been introduced to an amazing group
of new friends. And she’d met Tobias Fitzgerald “Slim” Jackson Junior, the sweet, sexy pilot who’d come to her rescue after she sprained her ankle on a dark island road last September.

Thinking about that night made her feel giddy and breathless, which was silly, really. At thirty-eight, she was far too old for such foolishness. Regardless, he’d charmed his way into her life that night.
He’d been dropping in regularly ever since, mostly via phone, text and FaceTime, until last night when he showed up in person, sparking more of that giddiness that seemed to happen any time he was around.

He’d met her parents at Jenny’s wedding in October, and they’d immediately adored him and tuned in to the crackling attraction between them. That had been a great night, capped off by
a magical good-night kiss when he brought her home. But then he’d left the island for three months to work in Florida, and Erin had been surprised by how much she’d missed him.

He’d been a terrible flirt from that first night. Thinking about what he’d said to her the second night could still make her shiver all these months later. After she’d agreed to have dinner with him—once she was
off the crutches—he’d stated his intentions rather boldly.

“I’m also persistent. If you’re going to make me wait until the crutches are gone, I guess I’ll have to come by to visit every day and make a pest of myself so you don’t forget about me.”

“You’re going to drive me crazy, aren’t you?”

“Baby, that’s the very least of what I want to do with you.”

Thinking about
that now made her smile. In addition to his sexy good looks, she loved how easygoing he was, how funny and confident. She loved calling him out when he got too cocky, and he made her laugh—a lot.

The thing she found most attractive about him, however, was his kindness, especially during the days leading up to Jenny’s wedding. He’d understood how difficult it was for Erin to see her beloved
brother’s fiancée marry another man, even though she was thrilled for Jenny and Alex. Slim had provided the kind of support she would’ve expected from a longtime friend rather than a new one, and he’d helped to get her through what might’ve been a crisis otherwise. No matter what else happened between them, she’d always be thankful to him for that.

She took her hair out of the messy bun
it had been in last night and brushed it until it fell in soft waves past her shoulders. After brushing her teeth and putting on a bra under her T-shirt, Erin crept down the stairs, taking a subtle glance at the handsome man still sleeping on her sofa, before continuing on to the kitchen to make coffee. While she waited for the coffee to percolate, she gazed at the collage of family pictures on the
fridge, zeroing in on Toby’s smiling face. He’d be gone fifteen years later this year, but to her it might’ve been fifteen minutes. She missed him desperately, even after all this time.

It had taken a while, a couple of years, actually, for her to realize she would simply never get over losing him. So she’d stopped trying, which had freed up the emotional energy she’d spent railing at the
circumstances under which he died. She smiled back at him now, thankful for the photos, the memories, the reminders that he’d once existed and had been closer to her than anyone, other than Jenny, of course.

Though the photos were displayed in a tidy arrangement, Erin straightened them as she did every morning, in a pattern of left to right. Left side first. Always. Keeping up that ritual
and many others was the only way to prevent further catastrophe, or so she told herself. Her obsessive routine was interrupted when an arm slid around her from behind and whiskers scraped against her neck.

“Morning.”

A shiver of sensation traveled down her backbone. “Morning.”

“You forgot to kick me out last night.”

“So I did. You were tired after flying all day. I
didn’t have the heart to kick you out.”

“That’s awfully nice of you to say since you haven’t even let me buy you dinner yet.”

Erin gave his belly a playful poke with her elbow. “I’m beginning to think this dinner date is never going to happen.”

“Oh, it’s happening. Tonight, in fact.”

“I have plans tonight.” She poured two cups of coffee. “How do you like it?”

“Black is good.”

With his hands on her hips, he turned her to face him. “What are these plans of which you speak?”

She handed him the mug and looked up at him, dazzled by his gorgeous face, the warm brown eyes, the sleep-ruffled hair, the scruff on his jaw and the lips that had kissed her so tenderly the night before. “Alex and Jenny are having everyone over.”

“Then we’ll do
dinner tomorrow night, yes?”

“Sure, but I’ll believe it when I see it.” Erin loved to goad him, something she’d never felt comfortable doing with other men. But Slim was nothing if not comfortable to be around.

His eyes lit up with amusement as he took a drink of coffee. “I believe you’re underestimating me.”

“Would I do that?”

“Yes, I believe you would. But that’s
okay. I do my best work when the expectations are low.” He wrapped a strand of her hair around his finger. “Your hair has gotten long since the fall.”

“I decided to grow it out. You’ve seen that on FaceTime.”

Shaking his head, he said, “You always have it up.” He ran his fingers through the long strands. “I like it.”

“Thanks,” she said, unnerved by the intense way he looked
at her.

“I need to head over to my place and see about getting the water turned on and firing up Big Bertha, the temperamental furnace that takes three hours to warm up.”

“Oh, well… Um, you could stay here if it’s easier than opening up your place.” The words were out of her mouth before she could take the time to consider what she was offering.

A raised brow was his only
immediate response. While she held her breath, waiting to hear what he would say, he took another sip of coffee.

“Unless you’d rather—”

He laid his index finger over her lips. “I’d rather be wherever you are, but I don’t want to impose.”

“It’s no imposition. I have hot water and heat and everything you’d need.”

“You left out one very important feature of your lovely
offer.”

“What?” she asked, genuinely confused.

He touched his lips to hers. “
You’re
here, and since you’re offering twelve days of all Erin, all the time, I gratefully accept your kind offer.”

“Do I need to spell out what I’m offering and what I’m
not
offering?”

Smiling down at her, he said, “No need. We’ll go with the flow and see what transpires.”

Erin laid
her hand on his chest, feeling the strong beat of his heart. “It’s been a long time since I’ve done anything like this.”

Covering her hand with his, he quirked that sexy eyebrow again. “Like what?”

“This. You, me, us. Hours on the phone, looking forward to seeing someone,
dating
.”

“You make that sound like a dirty word.”

“It has been for me.”

“Well, you haven’t
had the supreme pleasure of dating Tobias Fitzgerald Jackson Junior. He’s in a whole other league from all other men you’ve had the misfortune of knowing.”

Erin rolled her eyes. “And he speaks of himself in the third person, because that’s
so
attractive.”

A rakish grin lit up his face. “You know it, baby.” He put his coffee cup on the counter. “I’m going to grab my bag out of the
car and then borrow your shower, if you don’t mind.”

“A daily shower is part of the lighthouse bed-and-breakfast package.”

“Oh yum, what’s for breakfast?”

Erin groaned. “Aw,
jeez
, I walked right into that one, didn’t I?”

“You don’t have to cook,” he said, chuckling at her comment. “I could take you out somewhere.”

“No need. I have stuff here. I’ll scrounge up
something edible.”

“You sure about this, sweetheart? If you’re having second thoughts about your spontaneous offer, I can get out of your hair for now and come back later. Totally up to you.”

Erin
loved
that he called her sweetheart and appreciated that he’d given her an out, but she didn’t want out. She wanted him to stay. She wanted to spend every minute of the next twelve days
with
him, not waiting for him to come back. That didn’t mean she wasn’t scared senseless of how attached to him she might be when it came time for him to leave again.

“I’m not having second thoughts about you staying,” she said.

“Then what?” He touched the furrow between her brows that she hadn’t realized was there.

“I’m concerned about what happens when the twelve days are
up.”

“That’s easy. You come back to Florida with me and hang out for the rest of the winter.”

Erin wondered if her shock registered on her face. “I’m not going to Florida with you.”

“Why not? What’ve you got to do here that would be more fun than hanging out in the warm sunshine with me?”

Nothing. There was nothing here that would be better than spending the rest of
the winter with him in Florida. But she couldn’t do that. “I do have a life here, you know, and a job.”

“That takes five minutes a day, and Jenny could do it for you since the landscaping business is shut down for the winter.”

“They’re not completely shut down. They’re still plowing snow and selling Christmas trees.”

“She would do it for you, Erin. You know she would.”

Yes, Jenny would do it for her, but running the lighthouse wasn’t the only reason she couldn’t go.

But before she could fall down that particular rabbit hole, he came to her rescue once again. “Let’s not worry about that today when we have so many better things to do, such as getting a tree for this place. It’s four days before Christmas. Where’s your tree?”

“I didn’t bother
to get one.” Since her brother died, she hadn’t bothered with a lot of things that used to bring her joy. A tree always seemed like more trouble than it was worth.

“We need to rectify that immediately. We can’t very well spend the holidays together and not get a tree. I have needs that must be met.”

The double meaning wasn’t lost on her. “Is that right?”

“Absolutely! It’s
Christmas
. That means we have to bake and cook and wrap presents. Lots to do and not a lot of time left to do it before the big day.” He was still talking as he headed down the stairs. “Be right back!”

Erin watched him go, oddly elated by his overabundance of Christmas spirit when that would normally annoy her. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d given a crap about the holidays. Well,
that wasn’t entirely true. The holidays were one of many things she’d stopped giving a crap about after her brother was cruelly murdered along with three thousand other innocent souls.

Erin couldn’t help but wonder what a lighthearted, happy-go-lucky man like Slim would think of the darkness that dwelled inside her. What would he think when he found out that she hadn’t stepped foot on an
airplane in nearly fifteen years and, if she had her way, never would again? There were a lot of things about her that would probably be a huge turnoff to a guy like Slim, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy this interlude with him while it lasted and then pick up her regular life already in progress after he left.