Free Time for Love , The McCarthys of Gansett Island, Book 9 by Marie Force

about why she was so annoyed with him.  
    Then she remembered that he’d spanked her—twice—and she pushed harder on his chest. “You’re not getting off that easily.”
    He nuzzled her neck. “I’ll get you off, too, love. Don’t worry.”
    “ Seamus! You’re not funny!”
    “Yes, I am, and you’re all done cleaning and cooking and preparing. Whatever will be will be. She’s just a person like you and me.”
    “She’s your mother .”
    “I’m painfully aware of that, and if you’ll recall, I told you it was a bad idea to invite her here, because I was afraid of this very thing.”
    “What very thing?”
    “That you’d turn into someone I don’t even recognize getting ready for her.”
    “So you don’t love me anymore? Good, then we can call off this whole thing and—”
    He kissed her again, backing her up to the tent and pushing her through the flaps without missing a beat with his lips or tongue. Somehow she ended up on her back, lying on a cushy air mattress that easily absorbed the weight of both of them as he came down on top of her, still kissing her.  
    “Don’t ever, ever, ever say I don’t love you anymore,” he said, punctuating the words with more kisses. “Ever, ever .”
    “You spanked me.”
    “And I quite liked it. Let’s see if you liked it, too.” He reached under her skirt, pushed her panties aside and pressed his fingers into her dampness. “Mmm, looks like you weren’t as put out as you pretended to be.”
    “I was too put out, and if you do that again, I’ll never put out again.” As she spoke, she let her legs fall open, encouraging his gentle caress.  
    He slid his other hand under her to cup her buttock. “I may have to take my chances, because I rather liked spanking you.”
    “ Seamus! You can’t just do this stuff and think you’re going to get away with it.”
    “Seems to me,” he said, pressing his fingers into her and finding the spot deep inside that made her go wild every time, “I’ve already gotten away with it.”
    She pulled his hair—hard—and the bastard only laughed as he drove her to a quick, powerful orgasm.  
    “I love you more than life itself, Carolina. That’s what my mum is going to see when she gets here. She’s not going to notice the dust or all the so-called imperfections. She’s only going to see the love.”
    Carolina’s brain was scrambled from the orgasm and the press of his fingers between her legs. “You don’t think she’ll notice that I’m old enough to be your mother?”
    “Nah. She’s going to take one look at you and know exactly why I love you.”
    “Sure, she is.”
    “Am I going to have to spank you again, love?”
    “You might have to, because I’m not at all convinced that everything is going to be just fine and dandy the way you are.”
    He squeezed her cheek with his big, work-calloused hand. “If I see you acting all nutty while she’s here, I’ll bring you out here and spank your bottom until it’s pink and rosy, and then I’ll fu—”
    “ Seamus! ”
    He shook with silent laughter. “You’ve been warned, love.”  
    *

Janey and Joe took advantage of his full day off to invite her parents to lunch for a conversation they’d been putting off for quite some time. She’d yet to speak directly to either of them about her plans to take a year off from veterinary school to devote to motherhood. It had been weighing on her, so Joe had encouraged her to invite them over to clear the air.
    Her parents had been so excited to see her pursuing her long-delayed dream of attending veterinary school and had even insisted on footing the bill for tuition. Janey felt like a wimp for avoiding the subject with them in the weeks since she’d decided to take a year off to spend at home on Gansett with the baby.  
    The idea of trekking back to Ohio for another year of school a week after giving birth had depressed her to the point that others began to notice. When Joe finally urged her to share