Page 86 of Electric Kiss

“I love you, Daisy Hill,” Nate said.

He flicked the clasp on her bra, then moved his hands to cup her naked breasts.

“And I love…”

Nate kissed her before she could moan too loudly as he pinched her nipples. She broke away, dropped her hands under her skirts, unbuckled his belt, and popped the button on his jeans.

He looked over his shoulder at the tall, ornately carved library door.

“Two can play your game,” she whispered as she kissed him. “The door is locked, and I slid the bolt across. Even if someone comes with a key, they aren’t getting in.”

Nate lifted his hips so she could pull his jeans down, and then she pushed her panties to the side. In moments he was sheathed inside her.

His favourite place in the world. And she’d just said she wanted kids.

Chapter Thirty

Imelda

Late February brought warmer days, but still, the nights were chilly. It had been three months since she’d dumped the boxes for her children to sort through and begin preparations for running Copper Island. Christmas and New Year had been about celebrations. Isobel’s first Christmas, and as a family, they were all together for the first time in nearly thirty years.

Imelda had cried so hard on Christmas night. Grateful she’d found the courage to come back. Everyone had squashed into her parents’ house on Boxing Day to eat leftover turkey and gorge on sweets. It was handy her father was a butcher.

Luke was getting frustrated that he couldn’t marry Freya immediately and threw glances at Daisy and Nate across the table at family dinner time. Daisy was pregnant, and so was Erica. Heidi was far along and showing proudly, whichadded to his exasperation of being last to marry and father a child.

Imelda found great joy living in the fifth cottage beside her children. They were raising families, and she would be a part of that.

She was wrapped up warm under a fleecy blanket, reading a book mid-afternoon, when an alarm sounded on her phone. It was their version of a bat signal.

Imelda sighed heavily, closed the paperback she was reading and tossed it onto the glass-topped coffee table. She swung her legs from the sofa cushions and placed them carefully and slowly on the floor. It was her way of buying time to settle the anger brewing.

The alarm was Bailey’s notification that Cynthia was on her way.

Clutching the edge of the cushions, she bowed her head, closing her eyes. Then she swung her head to look across the lawns. Striding across was a spritely Cynthia. Even at eighty-one, she showed no signs of fatigue.

When Cynthia was near enough that it was no coincidence where she was heading, Imelda stood up and shed the fleece blanket and draped it over the back of the outdoor sofa. The winter sun had some heat, but it didn’t stop the shiver when Imelda focused on Freddie’s sister.

Imelda didn’t consider herself violent, but she could cheerfully throttle the woman. Cynthia’s pinched face came nearer. Shrewd eyes narrowed in on her, but Imelda resisted the urge to flee.

Her children would protect her, and God love them. All eight of them were striding out onto the lawn behind Cynthia to play an impromptu game of frisbee.

“Cynthia,” Imelda said, frostier than she intended.

“Imelda. You’re back.”

“We both know you knew the moment I stepped foot on Copper Island months ago,” Imelda replied, coming to the opening of her patio and stepping onto the path.

She didn’t want Cynthia in her home.

A tabby kitten pushed between Imelda’s ankles, looked up at Cynthia and hissed. Imelda suppressed the urge to laugh. The kitten was Daisy and Nate’s new pet, but the cat seemed to prefer Imelda’s home.

Cynthia glared at the creature and then looked back at Imelda’s face.

“I was a little shocked that they did not invite me to Daisy’s wedding,” Cynthia replied, then cleared her throat.

Imelda laughed humourlessly, which drew the attention of her children. When she stopped, they kept throwing the frisbee around. Most times, it landed on the floor as they were busy looking her way.

“You’re shocked? Shocked? You’re shocked that she doesn’t want you at her wedding after being locked in a room with no food for two days? Christ, you are a piece of work.”

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