Free Impulse (Isola dei Sogni) by Raven McAllan Page B

wiggled his eyebrows and the silly gesture lightened the atmosphere.
    Mia sniggered and climbed into his lap. His cock wasn't listening to him. She wriggled.
    "Ah, well," Dylan said in a rueful tone. "Sometimes my will isn't strong enough to sway my body."
    She smiled and then sighed as he put his arms round her waist. "Well, try, or I'll wriggle and you'll . . . enough said. Change of subject. I need this. Just hold me and let me spill it all. Right?" Mia took a deep breath. "When Meryl was three, mum and dad died in a car crash. I was engaged to a guy I thought walked on water. I trusted him with, well, with everything. Ha, talk about young, silly, and gullible. We'd bought a house, or so I thought. Got a joint account, or so I thought."
    His hands tightened on her waist.
    "Yup, you've got it. I thought wrong. When he realized I intended to look after Meryl, he took off. And I discovered that joint was no such thing. The bastard had fooled me. I was so bloody stupid, and signed where he said, and believed him when he said I needn't. I trusted him you see. Green or what? Everything was in his name. He'd fooled me and mum and dad. They thought he was a lovely man. Ha. Yeah, right. It was lucky the house was left jointly to Meryl and me, and all tied up tight. They'd made their will long before he came onto the scene and thank god they hadn't changed the terms. It was lucky we hadn't actually married, and he couldn't get his sticky little mitts on it. I cut my losses, sold it, and bought something smaller for us, and well, I got on with it. Yeah, it wasn't easy, and shit, at times I wondered why I bothered. But I did it. No benefits, no handouts, just me. And here we are."
    She looked up at Dylan. The expression on his face made her want to cry.
    "Who is he? I'll have him strung up and you can throw rotten fish at him."
    The image made her laugh. "He's the rotten fish. No, it's all well over and done with. And let's face it, not everyone wants a ready-made family, do they? And to be honest, better then than later. Meryl and I got on well, and things worked fine. I had the odd affair." She felt her face warm. "And well, you know, I, er, got on with stuff."
    Dylan raised one eyebrow. Damn, I wish he wouldn't do that, it makes me drool.
    "Stuff?"
    "Yes, stuff," Mia said. "Use your imagination. Or look, surely you can just do that and spare my embarrassment?"
    Dylan nuzzled her neck. "I want you to tell me. If I look, how will we know if you meant to share?"
    He has a point. Mia realized how much she appreciated his honor. She took a deep breath and swallowed. His touch and his warm breath on her skin gave her a cosseted feeling. I could get used to this.
    "Okay. I had a few lovers, not many, and decided I'd never let my heart get involved with anyone ever again. Other people talked about their dreams and fantasies, and I told myself it was stupid. No point in them. Then Meryl got involved with a guy who dropped her without any reason. She was distraught, and then she swore he was nothing to her, and she was upset for being taken in by a pretty face. I'm not sure I'd call him pretty myself, but there you are. I thought she'd gotten over him; now, I'm not so sure. This trip was sprung on me. She'd gotten the chance for us to have a week on a dream island with some friends, and I'd love it. She said no way was I going to chicken out, and even if all I did was sit and read for the week, I was coming." Mia giggled. "Well, I've done that all right. Meryl said I needed to live a bit and climb out of my rut. There's climbing and jumping, and by god, I've jumped without a parachute."
    A clit-tightening tingle danced down her spine, and Mia felt her thighs dampen when Dylan moved his hand to caress the curve of her breast.
    "Do you mind? Are you still sacred of flying with me?" His voice was even. Too level, Mia decided, to be natural. He was trying hard to show he wasn't worried, but she'd bet if she could read his mind she'd know