by Holly Jaymes
I found the strip of condoms I’d brought out some time during the night, rolled one on, and then slipped inside her luscious body.
She sighed. “Good morning to you too.”
I watched her beautiful face as I pushed up and up until she flew over into orgasm. Only then did I let myself go with her. This would be an excellent addition to my morning routine.
“It’s time to get up,” I said once we caught our breaths.
She snuggled against me, closing her eyes. “It’s still early.”
“Come on, Hope. Let’s greet the day.”
Her eyes peeked open. “You’re serious.”
I grinned down on her. “Yep. Come on.”
She moaned and groaned, but finally, she and Duke and I were outside. The area around the house was a mess with twigs and branches torn off the trees in the storm littering the yard. The ground was still wet, but the sun shone over everything, living up to the saying, the calm after the storm.
“I’m not running,” she said as I took her hand and led her to a trail that I hoped wouldn’t be too muddy.
“I know.”
She glanced up at me. “You’re wearing a shirt.”
“I’m not running,” I said.
She just looked at me.
I laughed and slipped my shirt over my head. “Better?”
She smiled as her eyes raked over my chest. “Much.” She reached out, running a hand over my chest and dragging it lower.
I gripped her wrist to stop her from reaching my dick, much to his dismay.
“Why can’t we just exercise inside?” she asked.
“We can, later.” I took her hand. “Come on.”
We walked along the path as Duke scouted for whatever the storm blew in.
“It’s muddy,” Hope said.
I looked down at her shoes. They were sneakers but not the kind designed for the rugged outdoors. “Don’t you have hiking shoes?”
She pursed her lips. “Do I look like an outdoor person?”
I stopped and stared at her. “You came to the mountains.”
“I came to work in the fresh air, not backpack. Besides, most outdoor wear for women isn’t that cute.”
I shook my head. “It’s not something that requires high fashion.”
She mimicked me, putting her hands on her hips. “Did you like my bra and panties last night?”
The pretty white lace and how her nipples strained the fabric flashed in my mind, making my dick take notice. “Yes.”
“Most people don’t see that. Underwear is worn under clothes.”
“Right,” I agreed.
“And yet it’s pretty. That’s because women feel pretty in lacy, feminine things. At least I do, even if no one sees it. There’s no reason not to feel pretty while roughing it.”
I laughed. “I never thought of it like that.” I looked down at my bare chest. “So why can’t I wear something handsome?”
She made a ffttt sound. “There’s nothing you can wear that is more handsome than those tattoos.”
I grinned, feeling ridiculously pleased by that comment. I took her hand again and led her up the path.
“You know, morning walks in nature boost creativity,” I said.
“Oh?”
“You’ll be able to work on your business with new energy and ideas.” I pulled her to a clearing and pointed.
She gasped as she looked out over the view of the valley, the sun’s rays slowly bringing life to it. “It’s beautiful.”
“Like you,” I said, bringing her hand to my lips and kissing it.
She smiled up at me with such sweetness. My heart clenched as I wished we could have this moment forever. I pushed it away. I couldn’t have Hope, and there was no such thing as forever. Even my parents, who were very happy in their marriage, didn’t get forever.
We walked on a bit, and I realized that I couldn’t have forever, but I could have whatever time she gave me. I could even help her with her project as I knew a few things about starting and running a business.
“If you needed any help in your business plan, I can offer what I know,” I said. “Not just tech stuff, although I could help with that.”
She looked up at me. “I do have a lot of questions, but I don’t want to bother your routine.”
I grinned at her. “I like it when you bother me.”
She blushed, and it was so fucking adorable.
“I don’t know about fashion,” I admitted. “But I could offer tips on financing or marketing. Or I could just be a sounding board.”
“Thank you, Mitch. I might take you up on that. Speaking of which, I should probably get started soon.”
I nodded, even though I wasn’t nearly ready to be done with our walk. I guided her back to the house.
“I’m going to clean up and get to work,” she said.
“Duke and I are going for a run. Then we’ll make you breakfast. The coffee should already be brewed as I set that up before we left.”
She stared up at me in gratitude. “Thank you, Mitch. For everything.”
“My pleasure, Hope.”
I watched as she sauntered down the breezeway to her room. I’d already checked the circuits to make sure the electricity was back on and working properly. But I’d nearly flipped the ones to the extension off so I’d have an excuse to keep her in the main house with me.
I laughed at himself. “I’m hopeless, Duke, did you know that?”
Duke barked.
“But you love me anyway, isn’t that nice.” I patted Duke. We headed out, and I did another short loop. When I got back, I gave Duke his breakfast. Then I got to work making Hope, and I breakfast. It felt so normal and domestic. I’d had those feelings before and they’d completely blown up in my face. I reminded myself that Hope was here for a few weeks and then would be off making her way in the fashion world. We’d have our fling, and I’d milk it for all it was worth. But then she’d be gone, which eliminated any risk to my heart.
As I pulled out the ingredients to make pancakes, I realized this situation was ideal. I could have Hope now, exhausting my long-suffering need for her. When we were done, my interest would be satisfied, Parker would never know, and we could both go on with our lives.
Book 3: Chapter 7—No Strings Attached
No Strings Attached
Hope
I didn’t mind waking up at the break of dawn with Mitch’s hands on me, his body moving in mine. But I wasn’t one to get up and exercise, especially outside. I had to admit, though, Mitch was right. The mountain air, fresh from a night of rain, awakened my senses and filled me with possibilities. One was to design cuter outdoor wear for women. I knew that clothes for rugged women came in feminine colors, but none seemed particularly pretty. What would it hurt to have a little style or lace?
I took a shower, wishing Mitch was there to wash my back. I was relieved that he didn’t have regret over what we did last night, several times. I was still Parker’s sister, so I wondered what had changed. Perhaps it was because Parker wasn’t around now, as he had been at the graduation party. Maybe it was that we were older. What Parker wanted or didn’t want shouldn’t matter when it came my or Mitch’s sex life.
Or maybe it was because I was here for a short time. We could have a fling, and when my month was up, it would be done. Maybe by then, my fascination with him would have run its course. That would be nice since it would make it easier to move on to new relationships. Over the last nine years, I’d dated some, but none of them held my interest, not like Mitch.
I wondered what it was about him. It’s not like we had a ton in common, except of course my brother. Mitch was tall, dark, and athletic. I was lean, fair, and girlie. When I’d known him before, he’d seemed more relaxed and open than now, and it made me wonder what had happened in his life that led him to hide in the woods. I remembered the scowl he had when I teased him about being a player like his brother Will, or the bitterness when he said of living in the mountains, “It be
ats the cliché of the insufferable marriage.”
I remembered Parker saying something about a woman and Mitch, but I hadn’t been paying attention to the details. Now, I wanted to know, although I suspected it was an off-limits topic.
I finished in the shower, got dressed, and then made my way back to the kitchen, following the scent of pancakes.
“Do you always have such big breakfasts?” I asked.
“We burned a lot of calories last night. We need to refuel,” he said with a waggle of his brows that made my insides flare with heat.
He handed me a plate with pancakes. “Trudy’s jam is on the table, or there’s syrup if you prefer.”
“Homemade jam sounds wonderful.” I wasn’t much of a breakfast eater, but now that he mentioned it, I was hungry likely from all the exertion the night before.
He sat across from me. “So what are your plans for today?”
“I think I’ll sketch a bit, and then I need to work on my business plan. I’m currently trying to do a SWOT analysis.” I cocked my head to the side. “Did you do that when you started your business?”
He laughed. “I was a nineteen-year-old hacker. No. But when I started to make money, I did get with a business professor and hired someone to help me. So eventually, I had a full-fledged business plan.”
“Do you miss your business?”
He stiffened slightly. “No.” But then his head seesawed. “Maybe a little. But I do some consulting and freelance projects, so I’m not completely out.”
I bit my lip, not sure if I wanted to ruin the morning by asking a question that I was afraid would upset him. “What changed your mind about going public? Why did you sell instead?”
His jaw tensed, and he sat back in his chair. “I’m sure Parker told you the whole sordid story.”
I shook my head. “No. I think he may have hinted that someone who worked for you or maybe a woman did something. He never gave me details.” At least I didn’t think so. Now I felt bad for working so hard to keep Mitch out of my life.
He scooped jam on to his pancakes. “That’s about it.”
“What?” Held my coffee mug in both hands, giving him my full attention.
“Someone who worked for me and a woman.” He shoved a large fork of pancake into his mouth.
“Instead of stuffing your face and nearly choking, you could just tell me it’s none of my business,” I said, putting my coffee down and cutting my own pancakes.
He swallowed his food and sipped his juice. “I don’t like to talk about it.”
“Okay.” I studied him. “You seem different now. Still kind. I can see you’ve won the town over. But it’s like the spark is gone. Like a dark cloud hangs over you.”
He shrugged. “I thought I was fairly entertaining last night.”
“I’m not explaining myself very well, I guess. I enjoyed our day and night. You were charming. It just feels like you’re hiding up here. Whatever those people did, hurt you, and I’m sorry about that.”
“I’m not hiding. I like my life here. But I won’t deny they made me grow up and realize that real life is filled with assholes.”
As if he knew his master’s difficult emotions, Duke trotted over and put his head in Mitch’s lap.
“Have you been betrayed?” Mitch asked me, petting Duke, as he pushed his plate back. I hoped I hadn’t ruined his appetite.
“Betrayed. I don’t think so, but I’ve been hurt.”
He turned away for a moment and swore, indicating he knew I was talking about him.
“I understand why you did what you did, though,” I said.
“If I’d made you feel betrayed, or hurt to your core, I’m sorry, Hope.”
Hurt to my core? I shook my head. “I’ve been bitter, but not to my core. If I was, I wouldn’t be here.”
He nodded.
“They hurt you to your core?” I dared to ask.
He took another sip of juice, and for a minute I thought he wasn’t going to answer. “Greg was my right-hand man and a good friend. I was the tech smarts, and he was the business. It was my company, but I paid him well for his expertise. When I went public, he was going to get a significant share of the stock.” He blew out a breath. “At the time, I remembered feeling like my life was coasting along pretty well. I had a multi-million-dollar business and…” He looked at me. “A fiancé.”
Surprise rocked through me. “You planned to get married?” How had I not heard that?
“Her name was Gwen. She was smart, successful in her own career. We’d dated for a long time,” he said.
“You wanted to spend your life with her.”
He shrugged. “It just seemed like the thing to do. I was doing all the necessary prep to take the company public. Life was ticking along. At least I thought so.” He shook his head. “Then one day I found Greg fucking Gwen in my bed.”
“Oh…wow.”
“I’d taken a business trip and had finished sooner than I thought, so I decided to come home early. I didn’t call because I thought I’d surprise her. But the surprise was on me.” He dug the heels of his hands in his eye sockets like he wanted to get rid of the image of his fiancé and business partner out of his head.
“She’s an idiot.”
He looked at me. “You’re biased.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m wrong. I know they hurt you, but thank goodness you found out before you married.”
He nodded. “Or given him a significant part of my company.”
I leaned forward. “When you sold the company, they got nothing, right?” It seemed like the best revenge.
“He got a pink slip. She got to keep the ring.”
I reached across the table and put my hand over his. “I’m sorry, Mitch.”
“As they say, shit happens.”
“Did Parker know about this?” I asked.
“I told him.” He looked down in a way that made me think there was more to the story.
“But what?” I prodded.
He inhaled a breath. “A part of me wondered if he knew before, about Gwen. I think he would have told me.”
“Of course he would. Why would you think otherwise?”
He shrugged. “He didn’t seem surprised when I told him about it.” He shook his head and waved his hand. “You’re right, he would have said something. I’m not sure he liked her, and it was probably relief I noted.” He clapped his hands together. “But you’re here to plan your business. What do you need from me?” Apparently, he wanted to change the subject.
I sat back. “Nothing. I just need to actually get to work.”
“I’ll do the dishes and give you some time.” He stood.
“Let me do them, Mitch. I need to earn my keep.” I smiled, wanting to bring the happier Mitch back.
“We’ll do them together.”
When we finished, I went to my room and hunkered down. I opened my sketchbook and began to draw ideas for fashionable, yet functional outdoor wear and accessories, such as hats and scarves. I’d need to research the best fabrics that were pretty, yet durable and served their purpose, whether that was to keep warm or dry.
“Hope?” I heard Mitch’s voice as he approached. “Earth to Hope.”
I looked at my watch. It was just past noon. I’d gotten several hours of sketching done, but no business planning.
“How’s the work going,” he asked.
I held up a sketch. “What do you think?”
He studied my ideas. “You’re right, you can look fashionable in the mountains.”
I grinned pleased that he saw my vision. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I have something I want to show you if you can take a minute.”
“Sure.” I was ready for a break.
“Follow me.”
I followed him back to the main house and down another hall to a staircase. “Up here.”
At the top of the stairs was a large open room with windows all along one side where bright light filled the room. Against a
wall, there were several artists canvases, some painted on, and others blank. Near the window as a large desk that looked like something an artistic or cartoonist would use. Next to the artist’s desk was a long table, and another long table was against the short wall.
“What is this?” I asked.
“It started as a gym until I built the other one. During my art phase, I painted, but now I thought you might want to use it. It has light for your sketching. If you need to make samples, you could put a sewing machine on one of the other tables. It didn’t appear you brought one, so I’ve arranged for one to be sent up. You’ll need to order the fabric though.”
Warmth flowed through me that he’d think of all this. Gwen was a royal idiot for letting a man like Mitch go.
“You don’t need this space?” I walked over to the artist table. There were pencils and pens already there.
“I haven’t used it in over a year. It’s yours while you’re here, if you want it.”
“Mitch, it’s perfect.” I walked up to him and without thinking of the wisdom what I was doing, I flung my arms around him, kissing him hard.
He groaned, and his arms came around me. “I like how you say thank you.” Even so, he stepped back slightly, and I saw concern in his eyes. “There’s something else, and I’m not sure what you’ll think.”
Feeling a little exposed at having been so open with my feelings, I stepped back too.
“I enjoyed last night. A lot.”
“Me too,” I said, wondering where this was going.
“I’d like to do it again.”
I simply stared at him, waiting for him to say what he had to say.
“The thing is, Hope, I’m not someone to get attached to. I can’t do that again.”
I knew what he was telling me, and it made me sad for him. Mitch was a man who deserved love and a happily ever after. Gwen stole that from him.
He blew out a breath. “I feel like I’m going to come off as a fucking douche, but what I’m saying is that while you’re here, I’d like it if you stayed in the main house. Using this room and at night, and using my room. With me.”
