Meant for Love by Marie Force Read Free Book Online

care if I take the bike out for a ride?” he asked Paul. After the recent walk-about, one of them had to be home with their mom, which was why they rarely made social plans for after work.
    “I’ve got six weeks’ worth of accounting to catch up on, which should take me every night this week and well into next, so go right ahead. I’ll be here.”
    “Do you need help with the accounting?” It wasn’t lost on Alex that his brother had shouldered a heavier portion of the burden for many months before he finally asked Alex to come home to help him.
    “Nah, I’ve got it figured out, and it would take too long to show you the system. Easier to do it myself.”
    “You sure you don’t care if I go?”
    “I don’t care, Al. I’ve got Sam Adams and the Red Sox to keep me company. Who could ask for anything more than that?”
    The lighthearted statement contained far more truth than Paul had intended. Here they were, fairly good-looking guys in their mid-thirties with no sign of a wife or children for either of them, and no hope of such things when they couldn’t make a single move without considering their mother’s welfare first.  
    Yeah , Alex thought, as he went out to the barn where he kept the Harley he’d brought home from DC with him, the Martinez brothers made for very attractive marriage material.
    He’d expected to be married by now, maybe even have a couple of kids, too. But life hadn’t worked out the way he’d planned, and who knew when he’d have time to think about a family of his own? He’d probably be too old and too bitter by the time he was able to go there.
    Doctors had told them their mother could live for decades in her current condition. After losing his father so young, Alex was in no rush to live without his mom, but he couldn’t visualize a future that didn’t involve her daily care. What woman in her right mind would want to be a part of that?
    “You’re so fucking depressing to be around,” he said to himself, taking advantage of the opportunity to swear to his heart’s content. “Who’d want you anyway?”  
    Jenny had wanted him. The thought popped into his head so suddenly it nearly took his breath away and made his cock surge inside his shorts. He hadn’t felt anything close to desire in so long he’d wondered if the old guy still worked. Today he’d discovered that everything worked perfectly, and God help him, but he wanted more of her.  
    He had no good reason to return to the lighthouse, and yet he could think of no good reason not to. Leaving the driveway, he pulled onto the main road, traveling in the opposite direction from the Southeast Light. The roar of the bike beneath him and the rush of the air through his hair made him glad he’d left the helmet at home. While he’d never ridden the bike without one in DC, he rarely bothered with the helmet here. Maybe that was stupid, but he felt safe here in a way he didn’t anywhere else.
    And it was too damned hot for the helmet. He rode out to the bluffs and back through town, making two complete circles of the island that took him past the Southeast Light twice. On the third circle, he turned the bike into the dirt road that led to the light and drove the bike around the locked gate. As he did that, he wondered if the roar of the bike would make her mad enough to throw something at him.
    He chuckled, remembering her outrage and the splatter of a tomato connecting with his back. That had definitely been a first. He’d never made a woman mad enough to throw things at him, but he’d also never behaved quite so spontaneously with a woman before either. The last time he’d kissed a woman he barely knew had to have been in college, but that didn’t count, did it?
    Still pondering that question, he roared to a stop outside the lighthouse, which was dark and sealed up for the night. The only light was provided by the full moon that gave the entire place a yellow glow.  
    Great… Would he get the one-day award for