Jillian took a timid step back toward the tent. If he’d been bit, she’d have to save him. Maybe suck the poison out of his bite wound? She’d seen that on TV once.

While she was in the midst of contemplating her options, Gabe came out of the tent, holding the snake in his hand. She shrieked a second time. “What are you doing? Put it down!”

From what she could see, he had the snake’s neck pinched between his fingers, keeping it from biting him. He jogged down the shoreline and tossed it somewhere into the brush. She watched him come back toward her. Grabbing her hand, he tried to lead her back inside the tent, but she yanked back.

“I’m not going back in there! There was a snake!”

“And now it’s gone. You saw me get rid of it.”

They were yelling at each other to be heard over the rain.

“I hate snakes! You said there was nothing dangerous out here.”

“It wasn’t poisonous.” He wrapped his arms around her waist. “You’re getting soaked. Come on, we have to take shelter.”

She couldn’t move, though. She’d rather be wet than go back in that dark space. What if there were more? “No.”

“Jillian.”

“No.” She was panicking and acting completely irrational, but she was deathly afraid of snakes. She couldn’t get her legs to move.

Then Gabe’s hand was back around her neck, and he was kissing her. Her body melted, her mind shut off, and her heart fluttered like a caged bird against her ribs. A moment later, she found herself back inside the dry tent and underneath Gabe, who didn’t stop kissing her this time. And she didn’t mind one bit. She felt him hard against her, and her body responded.

“Do you want me to stop?” he asked.

Hell, no. “I will kill you if you stop right now,” she teased.

“Little Miss Tough Girl.” He covered her mouth with his again.

She clung to his muscled back, pulling his body flush to hers. He felt good, so good. “I want you,” she whispered, meaning it. It wasn’t like he was a stranger. She knew Gabe, had known him most of her life. She trusted him, wanted him.

He pulled back and looked at her. “I, uh, would love to oblige. But I don’t have a condom.”

Her body wilted against the floor of the tent. Of course he didn’t. Why would he have one on a deserted island in the middle of a storm?

“That doesn’t mean we can’t explore.” He trailed kisses down from her ear to her neck to one of her breasts. Pushing her bra up with his hand, he covered her nipple with his wet, hot mouth.

Jillian writhed restlessly as his other hand slid up her thigh. Then he pulled the fabric of her panties to the side, and his fingers explored further. She moaned with the touch, wishing this foreplay could lead to more. Knowing this was all they were allowed to do was hot too, though. One of his fingers sank inside her, and she clung to him, completely absorbed in the sensations racking her body.

“It feels so good.”

“Yeah, it does,” he agreed.

She opened her eyes to look at him. “But I haven’t even touched you yet.”

“Doesn’t matter. Making you feel good feels good to me.”

Her ex had certainly never had that attitude.

She moaned and closed her eyes again, letting Gabe do whatever he wanted.

---

An eternity later, she and Gabe lay side by side in the tent. The rain had calmed to a slow drizzle, tapping rhythmically on the nylon roof. The wind was still whooshing around them.

“My phone is dying,” he said, glancing at the screen.

“What time is it?”

“Just after midnight.”

She snuggled into his chest. For warmth, of course. But also because he’d just touched her entire body, inch by inch, and it’d been incredibly intimate. She hadn’t kept her hands to herself either. Closing her eyes, she listened to the sound of his heartbeat, letting it lull her to sleep. This nightmare she’d found herself in had turned into a dream somehow, and she wasn’t ready to wake just yet. Reality beckoned back in Blushing Bay, and she had no idea what to do with her new reality.

“Jillian?”

“Hmmm?” she asked, half-asleep.

“When we get home, I want to take you out on a date.”

She cracked her eyes open. “What?”

“A date. I want to take you out to dinner.”

“Or you just want to finish what we couldn’t finish here tonight.” She lifted her head to look at him.

“No. It’s not that. I mean, yeah, that would be nice. I’m not going to lie.” He grinned. “But I like you. And I think I’m growing on you a little bit, so…”

She swallowed painfully. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. I’m leaving Blushing Bay when we get back, Gabe. I have a life in Asheboro, and a job I need to get back to as soon as possible. Dating doesn’t make sense for my life right now.”

Gabe understood the sting of rejection now. It was a stupid idea anyhow. Kimberly knew and liked Jillian, and dating women in his niece’s life was against one of his rules.

So, yeah, bad idea. But it still left him feeling deflated.

Jillian’s breathing had slowed as she lay on his chest, using him as a pillow. He didn’t mind. The rain had stopped, and the wind had calmed considerably. The storm was finally passing. Once the sun started creeping back up, they’d load inside the boat and head home. This was far from his first rescue mission, but it was definitely his favorite. And from now on, he decided, he would have a condom or two in his emergency just-in-case kit.

Jillian stirred against him. He tightened his grip, wanting to keep her as warm as possible. He felt protective over her. That had started when they were kids. He’d steered more than one of his buddies away from Jillian too. He wished he could’ve protected her from her ex. What kind of jerk-off husband would’ve left her feeling lonely? Some people were blind to what was right in front of them. Jillian was beautiful. Smart. Funny.

And still off-limits. To him, at least.

---

He awoke the next morning at the sound of birds tweeting excitedly. No doubt a lot of food sources had gotten stirred up in last night’s storm.

Feelings had gotten stirred up too.

He glanced down at Jillian as she lay against his chest and was suddenly aware of his morning wood. Not an uncommon occurrence, but it was poking straight up, and if he didn’t move, it’d be the first thing she saw when her eyes opened.

“Well, good morning to you too,” she said, a teasing tone in her voice.

Gabe closed his eyes for a millisecond. “Sorry.” He shifted out from underneath her. “I’m going to go relieve myself now that the rain has stopped.” He stepped out of the tent and headed down the island, feeling like Adam walking naked on a little piece of paradise.

His Eve was inside the tent. Except she was also the forbidden fruit he’d probably be fantasizing about for the rest of his life now.

After taking care of business, he returned to find the tent empty. He guessed Jillian had gone to use the bathroom somewhere too. Hopefully, their little slithering friend was long gone by now, because he wasn’t sure Jillian would survive another run-in with a snake.

“Okay. So, what’s for breakfast?” she asked, walking toward him in a pink lace bra and matching panties.

It was like a Victoria’s Secret model had come to life right off the page. It’d been dark last night, so he’d only felt her curves. Now his eyes were free to feast.

“Um, I have some jerky and water. We can grab a real meal once we’re back on the mainland.” Pulling his gaze away, he headed to the tent to grab his cell phone and the supplies. They’d eat and then load the boat and ride back to Blushing Bay.

“My cell phone is dead,” he said, returning to sit beside her on the sand a moment later.

She looked up with concern. “Oh no.”

“It’s fine. We’ll just let everyone know we’re okay in person.” He winked at her. “How’s your head?” he asked, narrowing his gaze on the small lump on her temple.

“Fine. No headache at all.”

“Good.” He started pulling out the emergency food items.

Jillian turned her attention to the water lapping up on shore. “It’s gorgeous out here. A night on an island sounds like a vacation.” She grabbed the piece of beef jerky he offered.

“But last night was far from.” He bit at the jerky’s end and chewed.

“In hindsight, it wasn’t the worst.”

“So you enjoy freezing your butt off in the pouring rain and being terrorized by snakes?”

She laughed. “Yeah, I guess it was pretty awful.”

“Good company, though.”

She nodded, meeting his gaze. “Definitely. So, have you decided what you’re going to do when you get back? About Kimberly’s dad?”

“No. What do you think I should do?”

Jillian chewed thoughtfully. “I think you should put the decision in Lorelai’s hands. You’ve been her overprotective big brother since we were kids, and that’s great. But she’s an adult, and it’s her life. So, I think she should be the one to decide what to do.”

Gabe blinked. He hadn’t even considered that option. But Jillian was right. Lorelai should be the one to make this decision, even if Todd had contacted him instead. Lorelai was an adult. She was levelheaded and smart. She’d do the right thing, whatever that was. “You sure you’re not a therapist yourself?”

Jillian scoffed. “After all the time and money I’ve spent this past year in a shrink’s office, I should have a psych degree on my wall.”

“What about you? What are you going to do?” he asked then.

“What do you mean?”

“You said you’re leaving town.”

“Oh, right. Well, I have to get back to work.” A light dimmed in her green eyes when she said it. She wasn’t excited about the prospect. “I’m due back tomorrow morning, actually.”

“I know you said no to dinner, but can I at least buy you lunch before you go?”

She frowned. “It’s a long drive. I should probably shower and get started as soon as we get back.”

“Ouch. Rejected twice,” he said playfully. “Is this revenge for our teen years?”

She laughed out loud. “It does feel kind of good to knock you off your throne. A form of therapy in itself.”

“I know something else that would feel good,” he said, lowering his voice and setting his food down. He removed the remainder of her jerky from her hand too. “Why shower later when we can go skinny-dipping right now?”

Her smile dropped. “Are you serious?”

“If being on this island is all the time I get to spend with you, then yeah. I’m dead serious.” He leaned forward and kissed her mouth softly. It was hot and tasted salty from breakfast. “You chicken?” he asked, nipping at her bottom lip.

She swatted him, then stood and dropped those lace garments he’d been admiring since last night. Smooth, creamy skin made his mouth water. “Last one in…” she called behind her, splashing into the water as the sun beat down on them. No trace of last night’s storm in sight.

Gabe shot up and went after her, his morning wood fully back and ready for action. He’d probably have a case of blue balls for a month, but it’d be totally worth it.

Jillian whipped her arm over the water’s surface, sending water flying over his chest and shoulders as she ran.

“Oh, you’re so going to get it!” he called, needing his hands on her body. They might be limited in what they could do out here, but he planned on pushing those limits as far as he could.

When he finally reached her, he pulled her to him, cupping her bare bottom in one hand. His other hand found her breast and squeezed softly. Then he picked her up, pulling her groin to his as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He kissed her as she rocked against him. What he wouldn’t give to be inside her.

But if she wasn’t staying in town, then it was for the best he couldn’t. There was no such thing as sex without strings. Feelings were always in play, and he didn’t want to hurt Jillian or cause a setback on her road to finding love again. Because she would. Some lucky bastard would win her heart one day. Part of him wished he could have a shot at doing that.

“God, this reminds me of high school,” he groaned. “Doing everything but.”

She moaned as he kissed along the curve of her neck. “I didn’t really make out in high school.”

“What? That’s crazy.”

“I didn’t even get my first kiss until I was seventeen. I was a book nerd, remember?”

He chuckled. “I wish I would’ve been the one to kiss you.” And it’d been all he could do not to kiss her that day when she’d tried on one of Lorelai’s skimpy bikinis and had come into his room and shut the door behind her. She had been bumbling and stuttering, but he’d gotten the message loud and clear. She’d liked him, and even then, he’d liked her too.

“I need you in the tent,” he gritted out. “So my hands can be free to touch you. All of you.”

“Yes,” she said, not rejecting him this time. Good, because being shot down by her right now just might kill him.

Jillian’s heart lowered a notch with each bump of the boat along the water toward the mainland. The island didn’t have all the luxuries of home, but it did have the luxury of escaping reality for a short time. It was everything she’d been looking for when she’d come to Blushing Bay. An escape that no book or therapist or pill could ever offer.

Her gaze rested on Gabe as he drove. He had on mirrored sunglasses and a ball cap, and a full five-o’clock shadow sexifying his face. Even with only one contact lens in, she could see that.

The boat slowed as they headed toward the loading dock of the Sawyer Water Recreation and Sports Center.

“Why so glum?” he asked as he wrapped a rope around one of the pilings. “You are T-minus ten minutes until you have fresh, dry clothes.”

She shifted in her partially dry sundress from last night. “Mmm. That does sound nice.” What didn’t sound nice was saying goodbye to him. They’d bonded over the last twelve hours, and her teenage crush had become something deeper.

He reached a hand to hers. “Maybe next time you come to visit—”

She shook her head. “We need closure, Gabe. Keeping things open just confuses everything. What if you want to date someone? Or I do? It just gets messy. What happened on the island stays on the island. That’s how it has to be.” She offered a wobbly smile. It was the only reasonable option. Neither of them could move forward unless they said goodbye today. And she needed to move forward.

“Okay.” He helped her step off the boat and onto the pier, then followed her up.

“You guys made it,” Jonathan said, jogging toward them. “I still have a job, right?”

Gabe chuckled. “For the moment. Thanks for holding down the fort while I was gone.”

“Your sister has already called three times, dude. You should probably call her before she sends out a search party.”

Gabe was amazed Lorelai hadn’t already. “I will. First I need to take this one home.” He wrapped an arm around Jillian.

“That’s okay. I can drive myself.”

“You can’t half see, Little Miss Tough Girl.”

She rolled her eyes, secretly loving his nickname for her. “I have glasses in my car.” Wearing glasses always made her feel like that book nerd she’d been in school.

“Well, I’ll at least walk you to your car.” He took her hand and led her to the parking area. “I probably shouldn’t even kiss you goodbye, right?” he asked as they stood beside her driver’s side door.

She looked up at him and gave her head a slight shake, even as her heart sped up at the prospect. “Probably not.”

“I’ve lost count of how many times you’ve rejected me in the last few hours, but I think we’re more than even now.”

She playfully punched his stomach. “Fair is fair.”

Catching her hand and holding it against him, he gave a gentle tug. “Heck, I’m going to take my chances and kiss you anyway,” he said. Then he pulled her in and brushed his mouth to hers in a sweet kiss that melted her knees to butter. “Goodbye, Jillian.”

“Goodbye.” Breathless, rattled, and more than a little confused, she climbed into her car and closed the door. Then she drove away before she could change her mind.