Page 20 of The Island in Bramble Bay
The little motorboat was moored in the boathouse when he got back to the island. He instantly felt bad that Maggie had arrived before he was back and worried that she might be mad with him, used as he had been to Jessica’s high expectations of him and the almost constant look of disappointment on her face.
He headed towards the house and could see Maggie lying on a lounger on the deck. Her eyes were closed and she didn’t stir even when he was crouched next to her, about to take her hand.
‘Are you sleeping?’ he said softly. Maggie smiled, her eyes still closed, looking so beautiful that all he could do was lower his lips to hers and kiss her. As soon as he saw her, he realised that she didn’t mind that he hadn’t been there and a wave of relief washed over him.
‘I was just snoozing,’ she replied between kisses. ‘Where’ve you been?’
‘I sailed out to Old Harry. It’s the perfect day. I wish I’d waited and taken you with me.’ He would next time, he could just picture Maggie on the deck of his boat, the wind whipping her hair. ‘You could have gone inside, the door was open.’
‘Well, it feels a bit weird when you’re not here.’
‘Mi casa e tu casa, as they say.’ Their kisses became more urgent. ‘Have we got time to go inside?’
Maggie pulled away and swept his hair from his forehead as she gazed into his eyes.
‘It depends whether you want to be late because then you might miss your turn with the doctor and I hear your boss won’t let you back to work until the stitches are out.’
‘Okay, let’s take a rain check on going inside and just get going. Do you want me to drop you back at Bramble Island on the way?’ He was hoping she’d say no. He wanted her to go with him to the doctor but he didn’t want to have to ask her.
‘I don’t mind coming to keep you company, I mean, I have the morning off.’
Perfect.
17
THERE WAS ENOUGH of the morning left for a stop at Maggie’s cottage before she had to go back to work. They both knew what was going to happen; they’d been waiting for weeks, and it was an unspoken understanding between them that it would be their first port of call after Charlie’s visit to the doctor.
Maggie led the way upstairs. She felt nervous even though it was all she’d been thinking about since the first night she’d spent at Charlie’s house and she had spent most of the time since then imagining what it would be like.
They stood in Maggie’s tiny bedroom, just inches apart. Charlie grinned at her then leaned in and kissed her. She was used to his kisses by now, but this one was full of intent and passion that conveyed exactly how he was feeling. Maggie gave herself up to him, the feelings that had been brewing within her finally able to soar. The firmness of his body, the way he was holding her, with his hands on her back. His thumb moved inside her bra, rubbing the side of her breast as his mouth explored hers, moving to nip at her neck, his stubble scratching her skin in an oddly erotic way. He undid her bra then lay her down on the bed and began kissing her breasts as she lost her fingers in his hair, torn between pleasure and pain as he gently pulled on her nipples with his teeth. She grabbed at the back of his t-shirt and pulled it over his head, forcing him to stop for a second so he could discard it. As he knelt above her, she popped the top button on his jeans, wanting him, all of him. She couldn’t wait another second to feel him inside her. Without breaking eye contact, they both pulled off their jeans and underwear and she finally saw him at his glorious best. He leant her back down, pinned her arms above her head with a tanned, toned forearm while his other hand instinctively knew exactly what she wanted from him. His thumb was a very good second best to what she had been waiting for and drove her to the limits of ecstasy. She felt for his erection and took it firmly in her hand, eliciting a low moan of pleasure from him, until he finally gave himself to her, just in time for them both to reach a heady orgasm together, clinging to each other as they both experienced something amazing that cemented everything they felt for each other.
Afterwards, Maggie couldn’t help but have a huge grin on her face. She was lying next to Charlie in her normal-sized bed in her tiny cottage in the middle of the day. She turned to look at him, his features were relaxed and his mouth turned up at the corners; the hint of a smile even though he was dozing. The moment they had been waiting for had been worth every second of the past two weeks of that wait.
She didn’t think she’d ever felt such an attraction to anyone before, certainly not with Ben. She thought now that it had been too easy to fall into a relationship with him, convenient rather than anything else and that was no reason to be with someone. With Charlie, it seemed as if they had always been part of each other. Yes, they were still getting to know each other but at the same time, Maggie felt so comfortable with him that it was as if they’d been together for years. She wondered, worried perhaps, whether that feeling would fade and they’d end up too familiar with no excitement left at all. Like it had been with her and Ben.
Maggie concentrated on Charlie’s eyes, wondering if she could get him to wake up by the power of her mind.
He opened one eye and Maggie had to stifle a shriek – it had worked.
‘I’m not asleep, I can feel you looking at me. It’s weird.’
‘It’s not weird, it’s loving.’ She snuggled into his side and he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to him. ‘I need to go to work.’
‘You don’t, I thought you had the day off.’
‘I had the morning off and it’s the afternoon now.’ She reluctantly pulled herself up, leaning on her elbow. ‘You can stay here if you want.’
‘No way,’ he said, springing into life and jumping out of bed. ‘I’ve waited two weeks to get back to Bramble Island and now you’re leaving, I can get back to my trees.’ He grinned and leaned down to kiss her.
‘Fair enough but remember what the doctor said.’
‘Don’t worry, I can get Josh to do all the heavy stuff.’ He winked as he pulled his jeans on. ‘Man, I am so glad to be back. And not just because of the trees.’
She sat back and watched him dress even though she should have been doing the same thing, she just couldn’t take her eyes off his body. His muscles were well-defined and Maggie watched them rippling across his arms and shoulders wishing there was time for her to drag him back into bed but instead she waited until he was dressed before she got up herself. There wasn’t quite enough room for both of them to do that at the same time.
‘Will you call into the office before you leave?’
‘Of course. Then we’ll come back here so you can get ready because I’m cooking dinner tonight. And you’ll need an overnight bag.’ He pushed his hair off his forehead and took Maggie, still naked, in his arms and kissed her again. ‘Maggie, honey, I just can’t get enough of you.’
