She shrugged. “Busy. Checking in on the diner and Big Mama throughout the day, working half a shift, and other stuff.” Another shrug, like she was trying too hard to brush it all off.
“What other stuff? Big Mama said something about your business?” I hadn’t heard anything about Hope having another job, never mind another business on the side. “I didn’t know you had a business.”
“How would you?” There was nothing off about her tone but the question itself had me feeling uneasy. “Anyway, it’s nothing you’d be interested in. On the rocks or neat?”
“Rocks.” It was another distraction I allowed as my head spun, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. I had a plan for the night, one that started and ended with seduction, but Hope had me off my game.
Hope raised her glass with a small smile. “To starting over.”
That sounded promising so I lifted my glass and touched it to hers. “To starting over.” Before I could say more, the oven timer sounded and she hurried away. I tried not to take it personally that Hope kept so much distance between us. The table and now the counter, and judging by the place settings, dinner would be between us.
Two drinks later, Hope and I were both all smiles and laughing over some shared memory or another. Maybe it was the bourbon or maybe it was the roast with maple-glazed vegetables or maybe it was the creamy mashed potatoes. It was very likely the woman across from me, smiling and laughing as she swiped a finger through her potatoes with a moan. “Not to toot my own horn, but dang that was delicious.”
She was charming as hell too. How had I not noticed that before? “Toot away, sweetheart. It was damn good. Both servings.” I patted my belly for emphasis and pushed my plate away. I couldn’t eat another bite, not if I wanted to seduce Hope before she kicked me out.
And I did.
Bad.
She stood, still smiling, and reached for the bottle, tipping more into both glasses. “This meal was the least I could do for all the times you dropped by with dinner. A meal I don’t have to cook is very hard to resist.”
Dropped by for dinner. That was exactly what I’d done but still her words took me aback. I thought she looked forward to seeing me but was it just the allure of food and sex? Or was it me? “Look, Hope, I’m—”
She cut me off with a wave of her hand. “I don’t need you to apologize. I don’t eat out a lot because I can’t afford it so it was a nice treat.”
A nice treat. Another lukewarm sentiment that pissed me off. “I remember it being a hell of a lot more than nice.”
Her smile was soft. Sweet. “That part was nice too, Will. You know that.”
“It wouldn’t kill you to say it once in a while.”
She laughed outright at that. Head tossed back with her hand against her chest, Hope let out a loud, hearty laugh. “I’m sure your ego can do without another voice in the chorus.”
That was what it always came back to—my past. “You want me to apologize for my past, Hope?”
“You wouldn’t even if I did so it doesn’t matter.” Hope shook her head and finished off another shot of bourbon before she stood again, green eyes slightly glazed but focused on me. “So do you want to do this break-up thing now or after the goodbye sex?”
Goodbye sex? “Are you drunk?”
Her face twisted into a pout I shouldn’t have found adorable, but I did. “No. Tipsy maybe but in charge of decision making and faculties. See?” She touched her fingertips to her nose a few times as proof. “Why?”
“We just drank to starting over. As in you and me are starting over.” I hadn’t imagined it, had I? Maybe I was the drunk one.
She shook her head again. “Starting over after being naked together. As people who know each other and travel in the same circles.” Exasperation rolled off her shoulders as she reached behind her neck and pulled the pale pink ribbon until the dress began to fall, revealing inch upon inch of pale, creamy flesh.
How in the hell was I supposed to resist her when she stood there wearing such a tiny scrap of lingerie that she might have well have been naked? No, it was better that she wasn’t because my cock pressed against the zipper and my fingers itched to tear those delicate scraps off her. In an instant, I was in front of her, sliding my hands over her bare shoulders and down her arms. “This thing is driving me crazy.” It was a blush-pink creation that left little to the imagination, yet all it showed were her dark pink nipples and the shadows of her pussy.
“Before or after,” she whispered and tilted her neck back to give me better access.
She smelled good and with Hope here in my arms, I had the best chance of changing her mind. “After. Definitely after.” There might have been a flicker of disappointment or maybe it was relief in her eyes, but my own were already falling to the rise and fall of her tits, playing peekaboo with the sheer material. “I need you, Hope.”
Hope
I shouldn’t have felt disappointed that Will hadn’t even given a token protest about this being goodbye sex, but I did feel it. Down to my bones and, more importantly, in my heart. But that was besides the point because I’d dressed carefully for tonight, making sure I looked put together but not enough for a date. And certainly not a date with a guy like Will. Underneath though, I’d dressed for goodbye sex because I was under no illusions about what this was.
No matter what Will said, I was determined to have one last night with Will before we went back to living separate lives. Before we went back to avoiding each other.
I was in one of my favorite places—Will’s arms. He lifted me and carried me into the living room, kneeling on the plush carpeting so he could lay me out like delicate fabric. He stood back and stared at me for a long time, taking in every detail that was on display, which was pretty much everything, even with the sheer fabric still covering my most sensitive parts. “Fuck, you are beautiful.” His words came out on a tortured groan half-filled with awe as his hands skated over my body, starting small fires everywhere he touched.
My body moved on its own, arching into Will’s touch because I craved it, heart and body. “Yes, Will.”
He looked up with a sexy, sultry smile on his face and licked his lips. “I love it when you moan my name. Say it again,” he demanded and swirled his tongue around my hard nipple, again and again, until his name slipped out on a moan.
“Will, yes.”
As a reward, he kissed my mouth so tenderly, I clung to him when he tried to pull away, taking his sweet lips with him. But then his lips touched my skin all over and all thoughts of anything other than Will and what was happening in my cottage, fled. He was all I felt as his lips pressed against the underside of my breasts before his tongue traced the same path, back and forth he did it until I trembled and let out a shaky breath. “So sweet.”
A laugh escaped. After an hour of cooking and another of drinking, I was sure it was more like salted caramel. “Don’t start lying to me now, Will.”
“Never.” His gaze slammed into mine, serious as hell and filled with a determination I didn’t understand so I closed my eyes and soaked up every sensation that skittered over my skin. Will made his way down my body, settling his mouth over the exact spot I needed him, sending my body jerking off the bed.
“Oh, Will!”
“Yeah. More of that.” A deep, growly laugh escaped him and tugged a smile across my lips as I arched into him, further and further, while his lips, teeth, and tongue did wonderfully wicked things to me. Those deep growls vibrated through my thighs and up my spine, yanking an orgasm out of me with the force of an army.
“Yes! Will, yes!” Over and over his name fell from my lips as his tongue licked me, sucked me, and nibbled my clit to prolong the pleasure. “Oh, fuck yes!”
He pulled away with a slick smile and crawled up my body. “Ready to taste how sweet you are?”
Yes, please. “Maybe.” It wasn’t something I’d ever thought about doing, much less wanting but with Will’s lips, thick and lush and pillowy, glistening with evidence of my arou
sal, I did want. “Let me taste.”
Will drew closer but he did it slow enough to tease me. To tantalize. To draw out my desire to the point that my hands trembled as they cupped his face, and I got snared by his silver gaze. It was dark and intense, like a Texas storm moving quickly across the land, and just like those crazy weather adventurers, I couldn’t look away. “Hope.” His voice was controlled fire and I leaned up with my tongue out, swiping it across his bottom lips.
“Not bad.” It wasn’t. It was sweet and salty and musky but there was something else—man sweat and a heat that I knew was all Will. My tongue swept across his top lip to savor the taste before I traced a path outlining his mouth until I tasted every version of me and Will together. “Not bad at all.”
“Tease,” he growled and gripped my hips, moving his own between my thighs, letting his rough hands scrape up the soft skin of my inner thigh.
“You like it,” I accused with a small smile because the heat in his eyes said it was true. When my fingertips grazed the head of his cock, he hissed out a breath and pushed me onto the bed.
“I like it too much to be gentle, Hope.” I appreciated the heads up but it wasn’t necessary.
I knew what this was. “Who asked for gentle?” Just to drive the point home, I licked his chin, scooping up the last lingering hint of us mixed together. Blended. Bonded.
Wishful thinking again and I shook that shit right off, squeezing my eyes tight so I could savor the feel of Will slipping between my folds until he was buried so deep, his balls rested against me. “Fuck, Hope. Babe you’re fucking wet.”
I always was where Will was concerned and that was probably how I found myself in the unenviable position of being in love with the idiot. The amazing sex hadn’t helped matters at all and even now, the way he called me babe had my silly heart standing up and straining to get closer, hoping against all evidence that he wanted more than he actually did.
So I kept my eyes closed, blocking out the sight of his handsome face strained with pleasure. I couldn’t see the way his jaw clenched when he was close and not want to lick it, not want to tease him until he lost all signs of control. With my eyes closed, I didn’t have to see him and picture the future I thought, foolishly, we might have one day when he was done playing the field. Instead, I took in the way he smelled, earthy and masculine, and the way it blended with my own scent to form something totally unique. The way his skin felt under my hands, soft and smooth in some places, scarred from childhood in others. My favorite places were those with thick short hair that sent a tiny jolt of electricity through me when I rubbed against it.
“Look at me, Hope.”
I kept my eyes closed, letting the deep rumble of his voice dance over me, pebbling my nipples and my skin.
“Hope. Open up.” There was a hint of a smile in his voice and that would be lethal so I dug my heels into his fine backside and sent him deeper with a groan. “Fuck.” I smiled because I knew he felt how close I was to exploding. “Hope.”
His thumb slid between us and rubbed rapid circles on my clit and it only made me keep my eyes shut tight. Then, the jerk, pinched my clit between his fingers and my body sawed off the bed and my gaze slammed into his.
Dark and intense. Amused. Smug. And something else that had to be some kind of hallucination brought on from too many orgasms. “There are those beautiful green eyes. I love the way they darken when you’re about to come.”
I couldn’t look away from the sight of his body, sculpted and scarred and tattooed, pumping into mine with the ferocity of an enemy and the intensity of a lover. He looked as gorgeous as he ever had, and if I ignored that look that was half affectionate and half in love, I could pretend this goodbye wasn’t gonna break my heart wide open.
Will
Sitting inside the diner surrounding by friends and still my thoughts turned to Hope. Specifically, to the last night we’d spent together. Two days had passed since that last night and it was painfully obvious now that it had well and truly been goodbye. Hope hadn’t called. She hadn’t texted. And she sure as hell wasn’t taking advantage of my presence in the diner to send me flirty, come-hither looks.
She gave me nothing.
Not one damn inkling that this was hard for her. That she’d changed her mind. Nothing.
And here I was pining after her. Like a lovesick fool.
And that just pissed me off something fierce. “Where the hell is Nina anyway? She called this meeting and doesn’t show up?” I was a grouchy bastard and I refused to apologize for it because we’d all been there: twisted up, down, and all around by the so-called fairer sex.
“I’ve been here since before you showed up so check the attitude or I’ll tell you all about the joys of nausea.” Her keen gaze narrowed in on each of us seated around the booth, including Nate, Jase, Walker, and Derek Cahill. Yet another Hometown Heroes meeting where we’d get roped into more activities under the guise of helping the community.
“No thanks,” Nate rushed in and shoved an elbow into my side. “Will is having women trouble. Ignore him.”
“That’s a first.” I ignored her sarcastic tone and kept my gaze focused on the chipped edge of the round table that had been that way for as long as anyone could remember. “Must be one of the signs of the apocalypse if Will can get a woman to make a bad decision. Oh well, are we ready to get down to business?”
“Been waiting on you to finish your bathroom antics,” I added just to piss her off. It was a bit of an open secret that Nina and Preston were expecting but the stubborn woman hadn’t said a thing to anyone yet. Ma and her friends were going crazy with speculation.
“Wait no more, oh grouchy one. I have a few of you down for the pet adoption at the end of next week and now I need a few volunteers for the Tulip Community Theater.” Silence filled the booth and we all looked at each other, eager to see who would be crazy enough to spend their free time around a bunch of theater weirdoes. “Don’t all volunteer at once, guys.” The table stayed silent and I watched as Nina went from annoyed to angry. It took about seven and a half seconds. “Okay, boys, you want to make this difficult? Because I can do that. I can call up Betty Kemp and Helen Landon and all of their friends, and have them decide what kinds of activities you all do. Pretty sure shirtless house painting would be at the top of the list.”
“I’m trying to plan a wedding,” Ry insisted by way of an excuse.
“I just don’t wanna,” Nate grumbled, earning another glare from Nina. “What? I’m just being honest.”
“Unacceptable!” Nina smacked her hands on the table, making the rolls of silverware jump, drawing more than a few eyes from the other diners. “Somebody better volunteer now or I swear to make your lives a living hell. And not a Tulip living hell, a real life living hell.”
Movement from behind Nina caught my eye or maybe it was the flash of pink headed our way. Hope’s hair was several inches shorter and much spikier now, and her bangs were longer, pinker, and more elaborate than when I last saw her. She stopped beside Nina and put a hand to her shoulder. “Keep it down. You’re making a scene. And stay calm. Or else.”
Realizing her stress might be bad for the baby she refused to admit she was carrying, Nina nodded slowly and sucked down several deep breaths which she let out slowly. “Right. Thanks, Hope.”
“No problem. Cheeseburger waffle?”
“With bacon,” Nina added with a small smile which Hope returned.
“Coming right up. Anyone else ordering?” Her gaze bounced from man to man, signs of relief at each “no” she received.
Until she came to me. I waited until those big green eyes rested on me before giving an answer. “A large coffee and whatever pie is on special today.” No one could beat Big Mama’s pie and no day was complete without a thick slice.
“Blackberry,” she said quietly as she scribbled on her leather pad before she walked away without a single look back. Stubborn woman.
I should’ve been more careful. Should have shown mo
re discretion in watching Hope flounce away, a noticeable swing in her hips that I couldn’t look away from even if my life depended on it. But Nina, of course, had noticed. “Hope is helping design some of the costumes with Mikki. If that matters to you at all.” Then the evil woman shrugged like she hadn’t just dropped a bomb that gave me the perfect excuse to get close to Hope. She’d done it in front of the men most likely to mock me until the end of time.
“Fine,” I groaned. “Count me in.” There was no point denying it, at least not to these guys. Or Nina, who seemed to have insider information.
“Sucker,” Nate snickered below his breath and I flipped him the bird. “The truth hurts, man.”
“But revenge is so damn sweet.” I swung my gaze to Nina. “Nate is very good with his hands, or so he keeps telling us. I guess it’s time he put his money where his muscles are. Right?”
Nina’s face lit up and she nodded quickly, already jotting Nate’s name down without his agreement. “Excellent point, Will. Now let’s talk about the Summer Nights Festival. Any volunteers?”
I let my attention wander to the pink-haired pixie currently flitting about the diner like a modern-day Tinkerbell, fulfilling food and drink wishes and doing it with a smile. Hope had the ability to make everyone feel important when she was around, smiling at old men and listening to their stories of lost love and battle prowess.
Even that ugly diner uniform did nothing to dim the light I was only now becoming aware of. How had I missed it? That flicker of soft light that surrounded her everywhere she went, no matter what she did. I noticed it now and, dammit, I couldn’t look away.
“Okay, here we are. Grilled bacon cheeseburger waffle with onion rings for Nina. Pie and coffee for Will. Anything else?” I had to give Hope credit—she did a damn good job pretending that I was invisible, avoiding my gaze and going out of her way to make sure even our fingertips didn’t brush when I accepted the pie.
“Thanks, Hope.” I flashed my best smile, the one I knew made her blush all the way down to her toes.
Undesired: A Best Friend’s Brother Romance Page 7
