Sexy In A Bottle: A More Than Men Novella Read Online Free

certain beer w as the best cure for motion sickness, but who was she to judge? "What about tomorrow?"
    " I probably won’t go out at all tomorrow. That nor’easter blowing through is supposed to be the biggest of the season. I figure I’ll stay in and repair some of my traps. It will probably be a couple of days before I get out that way. Did you need something?"
    " Well, not exactly." How could she explain that a naked guy had washed up on her island and insisted he was magical? "I’ve picked up a castaway."
    " What?" Valerie could hear Benny move to a quieter part of the bar. "Like a person?"
    " Yes, a man. I found him on the rocks this afternoon. He’s okay, not hurt, but I worry he might’ve hit his head. He seems to be a little confused about who he is or how he got here."
    " Are you worried about being alone with him?"
    " Not really. I’m more worried that he needs a doctor to look at him. He’s said some pretty wonky things."
    " Damn," Benny swore. "My boat can’t take those waters or I’d be out there in an hour. Can you call the guard to get him?"
    " I don’t want to waste their time if I don’t have to. If you were still out and could swing by to get him, that was a different matter."
    " You’ll be stuck with him for at least two days. I don’t like it," Benny grumbled. "Do you still have the shotgun I left there?"
    " Yes, I do." Valerie had thought it was a little ridiculous at the time, but Benny insisted on her having protection being out here alone. She wasn’t certain who was going to get her. The majority of the wildlife stayed in the water or in the sky. Most ships couldn’t get close enough to the island for people to get to her. But she’d taken it. It couldn’t hurt. At the moment it was in her bedroom, propped beside the headboard.
    " Make sure it’s where you can get to it. Get the ammo out and keep it nearby. Make sure the chamber’s loaded. Tonight, push your dresser in front of the door so he can’t get into your room."
    " Okay."
    " And if you feel at all scared, call the coast guard. I don’t care what the weather is like. Your safety is a priority."
    " They’re better utilized saving other people, Benny."
    " Other people?" Benny said, his voice cracking with irritation. "You mean ones without a ticking time bomb in their chests?"
    This wasn’t the first time they’d had a discussion along this vein. "If you could save only one of two drowning people and you knew one would live a long life and the other could drop dead at any time, wouldn’t you pick the one that would live?"
    " I don’t care who’s in the water, Val, I’d save you. Despite the fact that you’ve holed yourself up on that island, people don’t care about you or worry about you any less. It just makes everyone feel more helpless."
    " Everyone but me, Benny. It feels like the right thing for me."
    " Fine, we won’t have this argument again. But I want you to check in with me tonight before bed, and in the morning when you get up."
    " Yes, Father."
    " I mean it. If I don’t get a call from you every eight hours, I’ll call the coast guard myself."
    Benny was a good guy. A friend she’d known since the second grade. He’d always been there for her, just as she’d been there for him. They’d both weathered some rough years with her health problems and his wife dying. Crystal’s death had been sudden and unexpected, hitting both of them hard. She hydroplaned her car into a massive concrete power pole only a year into their marriage. Not two months later, the doctors found the fatal, inoperable aneurism in Valerie’s heart. Valerie and Benny had never been anything more than good friends, but his protective side had tripled where she was concerned after he lost Crystal.
    Valerie had come to the island to die. Her doctor had told her to avoid excitement and stress, so it seemed a logical choice to live out here in solitude and peace. And when the time came, perhaps it wouldn’t hurt as badly for those