“Fuck. What you do to me,” Brick groaned, his sweat-soaked skin slapping against her with each thrust of his hips. “I’ll never be the same.”
Neither would she. He’d ruined her. And she’d ruined him. But all that mattered was this beautiful, brutal moment of surrender and domination.
She squeezed around him, unable to respond in any other way, and felt triumphant when he went rigid behind her, inside her.
“Remi.” Her name. Always her name.
The first burst exploded inside her, hot and thick. And then he was pulling out of her, grunting his way through the orgasm with violent strokes of his fist. Wrenching, scalding spurts coated her behind, her back, her thighs.
He’d branded her inside and out, and she felt possessed. Adored. Protected.
37
They spent the better part of a week having sex, showering off the sex they’d had, and then having shower sex.
Remi was in twin, perpetual states of full-body soreness and bliss.
They’d spent every night together and most of their waking moments as well. When Brick was working, she was painting.
With Spencer gone, they’d explored kitchen counter sex, bent over the dining room table sex, and lots and lots of oral sex in front of the fireplace. Brick’s tongue was just as talented as the rest of his spectacular body.
Since they’d been naked for almost an entire week, they hadn’t made any public appearances together. Remi hadn’t seen her parents, which meant she also hadn’t discussed the Brick or Warren situations with her mother. A plus in her mind.
But Kimber also hadn’t called or texted. And since everyone on the damn island knew she and Brick had finally knocked boots, there were only two conclusions Remi could draw. Her sister was either still really pissed at her or she was embarrassed.
While it was a pleasant respite chock full o’ orgasms, she knew she couldn’t keep avoiding her family. Not on an island this small. And if she and Kimber were going to repair what was left of the bridge to their sisterhood, it was going to have to be Remi’s doing.
With Brick working the lunch shift at the Tiki Tavern, Remi decided it was time to pay her sister another visit. Preferably on neutral ground.
Fortunately, thanks to Mackinac Visits online calendar, she knew exactly where Kimber would be.
Remi straightened her shoulders, pasted a bright smile on her face, and tried not to look like a woman who had spent most of the previous night being ravaged.
The door opened, and one brown eye peered out. “What’re you selling?” a wheezy voice demanded.
“Makeup, food storage, and sex toys,” Remi said, holding up the plate of fresh chocolate chip cheesecake bites.
The man harrumphed and threw open the door. Lars Hyne was only two inches taller than Remi. He’d lost an eye in a boating accident twenty years ago and had relished the pirate appeal the eye patch gave him.
“Lars, when are you gonna stop torturing our visitors?” A lithe Alaskan woman with an edgy pixie cut and purple highlights crossed her arms over her chest behind him.
“Hi, Kirima,” Remi called back.
“Come on in,” Lars beckoned, snatching the plate of goodies out of her grasp.
The Hyne home was an eclectic timeline of their life together. World travelers in the spring and summer, the Hynes perversely called Mackinac home all winter long. The living room’s large jade floor tiles were covered here and there with thick woven rugs that somehow both clashed and matched. The walls were painted a deep shade of peacock blue. Treasures from their travels crowded shelves, crammed in between books, photos, and plants.
The eat-in kitchen was just as colorful and chaotic. The cabinets were white, but they’d gone with a fiery orange and yellow backsplash of hand-painted tiles from Mexico.
At the turquoise and glass dining table was Kimber, a steaming mug of tea and a half-finished puzzle in front of her.
“You’re officially allowed to join us if you’re sharing that cheesecake,” Kirima said.
“I just so happened to make extra,” Remi said as Lars ripped the plastic wrap off the top.
Kimber was avoiding her gaze. Which was fine. Remi would wear her down. It was what she did.
“I saw my sister was visiting and thought I’d pop in and say hello. I haven’t seen you two in a couple of winters,” Remi said, accepting the teacup Kiri pushed on her.
“What goes with cheesecake?” Lars grumbled as he perused their wine rack.
“Anything that involves a cork,” Remi predicted.
“Kimber, any objections to starting happy hour early?” Kiri asked as she dug out the wine glasses.
“No objections here,” she answered, slipping a puzzle piece in place and still avoiding Remi’s gaze.
Being in good health, the Hynes weren’t on the original welfare checklist, but they’d liked the idea of a little extra company during the long winter and had signed up to be both visitors and visited.
Lars opened a bottle of red and poured, the cheery tinkle of wine glasses filling the room.
“Kimber was just telling us about Ian’s idea for a phone app for playdates,” Kiri said, catching Remi up to speed.
“And I just introduced Hadley to the Sweet Valley Twins series,” Kimber said. “She read the first ten in a weekend.”
“I can’t believe how fast they’re growing up,” Remi admitted. “It seems like just yesterday they were crawling around in your living room, and Kyle was using his law books as blockades.”
Kimber finally looked her in the eye. “That was both another lifetime ago and also yesterday.”
“I remember when you girls were a few centuries younger,” Kiri began. “Do you remember the trouble you two got into when you caught Remi cutting her hair before kindergarten picture day and you cut yours to match?”
Remi winced. “I forgot all about that,” she confessed.
“Mom was not happy,” Kimber reminisced with a faint smile.
“Speaking of, I heard you two are still in trouble,” Lars teased.
“It’s time the world faced it. The Ford sisters are never going to be good at coloring in the lines,” Remi said, raising her glass.
“I’ll drink to that,” Lars chuckled.
“And how’s that husband of yours?” Kiri asked. “Seems like he’s off-island more than he is on this winter.”
Kimber toyed with the stem of her glass. “He’s fine. Busy with work. He caught a few cases that required a lot of extra time. But he’s enjoying it.”
There was a flat, resigned quality to her tone that had Remi’s sisterly radar activating.
Kiri rested her elbows on the table and picked up a puzzle piece. “Remi, how about you? What brought you back to town?”
“Think Brick will put a ring on it?” Lars asked, pulling up a chair.
She choked on a mouthful of a full-bodied merlot. Coughing and sputtering, she reached for a cheesecake bite to wash it down.
“I was missing my family,” she said, stuffing a bite of cheesecake into her mouth. “Thought I’d take a few weeks of vacation and have a nice long visit.”
“And put a smile on Brick’s face,” Kiri said, fitting the piece into place.