Island Home Read Online Free

to scorch through the thin fabric of her dress.
    Tears pricked her eyes as she opened herself to him, accepted whatever he had to give her. She melted against him and the long, slow burn of arousal took hold as his tongue slipped inside her mouth and slid sinuously against hers.
    When he finally pulled away, both of their breathing was labored. He dropped his hands and took a step back as if she was poisonous, and his face twisted in a painful grimace before the anger came back.
    “Go home, Jess. Scratch your itch somewhere else.”
    Her head was spinning and she still wasn’t sure what had just happened, only that she wanted it again. But his words hit her like a bucket of cold water.
    “I’m home,” she finally managed to say. “You’re going to have to deal with it. And you know nothing about my wants or desires.”
    “All I know is fact.” Luke ran his fingers through his hair. “I know that nothing on this island mattered to you enough that you wanted to stay. And I know you’re back now for whatever reason, wanting to take the only thing I’ll ever love again. So excuse me if I don’t feel like throwing you a welcome home party.”
    Jessie felt the hot spark of anger sizzle deep in her belly. “There’s love and then there’s love . I guess I’m glad you finally found something that mattered enough to fight for.”
    “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Luke’s arms crossed over his chest and his scowl was harsh enough to etch glass.
    “It means mind your own damn business.”
    She pushed away from the counter and slipped back under the pass-through, heading toward the lone suitcase she’d brought with her. Her other belongings had been delayed on the mainland because of the storm.
    Maybe she was wasting her time hoping for forgiveness or that he might understand the hell she’d gone through when she’d finally made the decision to leave once and for all. She could have just told him the truth and what had happened, but a part of her was still ashamed that she’d experienced it at all. No one had known, not her teachers going through school or her friends. Not Luke when he’d become her lover. They hadn’t noticed and she’d been too afraid of her father to tell. Maybe some part of her still held that fear, even though old Jesse was buried six-feet under in the cemetery.
    The tears that threatened to fall were blinked away by the time she turned back to face him. Luke wasn’t the same as he’d been when she’d know him before, and gone was any trace of the gentleness or caring that had once been as natural as breathing.
    “I’ve got some things to work out this morning.” Like figuring out where the hell she was going to sleep. She’d be damned if she stepped foot back inside the house that brought her nothing but bad memories. “I’ll be back before the dinner shift and you can go over anything I need to know.”
    “I’ll be here.” His smile was harsh. “Just like I always am. The question is, will you have the courage to show up and face everyone again?”
    *     *     *
    Luke made himself look down at the list in front of him so he wouldn’t have to watch her walk away. He was too afraid he’d beg her to come back.
    He never should have kissed her. He could still taste her on his lips, feel her pressed against him. It was a taste that he’d never be able to shake from his system. Not even if he bedded a hundred women—a thousand.
    A rumble of thunder boomed loud enough to shake the floor and he cursed as he remembered he hadn’t seen another golf cart when he’d pulled up. Which meant she’d made the walk from the ferry to the bar, and was now forced to trudge the half-mile hike to old Jesse’s place in the pouring rain. Not even he was a big enough asshole to let her walk through the rain and wind carrying a suitcase.
    “Dammit.”
    He rubbed his hand through his hair again and hopped over the bar. She wouldn’t be very far down the road, so he’d