Free Slow Hand by Bonnie Edwards

treetops of their private cove.
    Jared pleased himself by running his fingers through her drying hair. Teri was everything he wanted. She was funny, playful and loved to experiment. And she was brave.
    He chuckled.
    She lifted her face to look at him. “What?”
    “You should have seen the wild look on your face when you threw your shoes overboard. What a rebel.” He’d bet a month’s worth of charters that she’d never done anything so rebellious before in her life.
    “I’ve never thought of myself as a rebel. But it felt good. Those shoes cost a small fortune, and I ran all over Manhattan before I found them.”
    He chuckled and tucked her head under his chin. He cuddled her close.
    “Do you feel the hum? It’s still here, but softer.” She ran her hand down his chest, trailing sparks under his skin.
    “Yes, softer, like a gentle current through my veins. Strangest damn thing.”
    “But I like it. It’s warm and comfortable.”
    “Now it is because we just came. But after a while it seems to build up to a higher charge.” He wasn’t sure if this thing ever fully went away. He made a mental note to check with his brother. Maybe after a decade or so things would calm down.
    She nodded. “You make me feel alive in a way I’ve never experienced.”
    The MacKay curse affected the women in the same way, then. He ran his thumb from her wrist to her elbow. “Feel the trail?”
    “Yes.” She sighed, flung a leg over his. He felt the curls at the apex of her thighs against his hip. She was snugged in tight.
    “I’m trying to process this whole thing,” she said softly. “I’ve never even had a one night stand and here I am, fucking my brains out with a man I’ll never see again.”
    “Feeling guilty?” He tilted her head with a fingertip so he could see her eyes.
    “That’s why I’m processing. I don’t feel guilty and that surprises me.” She looked away again but he’d already seen what he wanted to see. She was being more open and more giving of herself all the time.
    “I’m a small town girl,” she said, “solid, mid-west roots. So it’s weird that instead of feeling guilt, I feel as if this is exactly right.”
    “So if you’re not originally from New York, where did you grow up?”
    “Kansas, definitely small town. I went to New York after college and fell into a great job, but it’s really high pressure. I work for a morning show as a production assistant. There’s a promotion looming and I’ve been working my butt off to get it. I think I’m in the lead. That’s why I only booked a week off work for the wedding.”
    “And if you get the promotion, will you have more time to bake?”
    “No.” She frowned. “And now that I’m single again, I won’t be able to move into a bigger place, either. My life’s going to be even more frantic than before. Frantic but better.”
    “Better how?”
    She tilted her head, gave him an odd expression and said, “Obviously you haven’t spent a lot of time with someone who makes you feel inadequate.”
    “Why choose him?”
    She shrugged. “He had all the qualifications. My family approved the marriage, almost making up for my decision to desert them. He’s a lawyer, automatically putting him in the ‘good catch’ category.”
    Jared wondered what category a Caribbean gypsy would fall into and decided it would be “worst catch”.
    “So throwing your shoes into the drink wasn’t your first rebellion.”
    She went still. “For the most part, I’ve lived quietly. Never wanted to make waves or worry people. Except for the move to New York, I’ve pretty much gone along with what everyone thinks is best for me.”
    “So when this lawyer showed up, the family felt you’d been saved from your own foolishness?”
    “Ah! You know my parents.”
    “Most folks want their daughters secure rather than free. A big time New York lawyer could provide a measure of security.”
    “I have four locks on my apartment door and they were my