“Harder,” she pleaded, dropping her head back against the door as he rocked into her, going deeper with every glorious stroke.
“Hell yeah,” he groaned, his voice rough, deep. “Come for me, Hope. Then I’m gonna take you to my bed and see how many more times I can make you come.”
Before she was ready, Hope splintered, her body shattering as her orgasm ripped her to shreds, all thanks to that dark promise. She cried out his name, digging her nails into his shoulders. And when her body somehow floated back to one piece, she tucked her face into his neck and held on while Jared carried her to his bedroom.
AFTER STRIPPING HER dress and panties from her, Jared took his time removing his own clothes, enjoying the sight of Hope naked in his bed. No other woman had ever been in this bed. He’d never brought another woman back to this house. He’d never wanted to. Too much of a risk, he guessed. Introducing women to Derrick was a recipe for disaster, considering he didn’t anticipate them being around for long.
Until Hope.
It should’ve freaked him out to have her meet Derrick, but it hadn’t. He’d been intrigued by the way she responded, a radiant smile on her face as she spoke to him. She’d seemed both in awe and terrified.
Jared didn’t want to think too long about what that might mean.
Instead of thinking, he crawled onto the bed after retrieving another condom, having tossed the first one because they’d been so rough. He wasn’t taking any chances with Hope. If and when they ever moved in a direction to talk about kids, they’d worry about that then.
Not that he was thinking about a future with Hope, definitely not kids. They hadn’t gotten that far. Or had they? The idea concerned him a little because it didn’t bother him. Thinking about Hope pregnant with his child … his heart rate sped up, but not from fear. That in itself was frightening.
He quickly shook off the thought.
Since she hadn’t mentioned being on the pill, he wasn’t going to ask. It was safer this way anyway. Not only from a physical perspective but from an emotional one as well. If and when he took Hope without a barrier between them…
Heaven help him, he couldn’t even think about that now. He wouldn’t last another minute.
“You know what I want right now?” Hope asked, her eyes opening to look up at him.
He shook his head, meeting her turquoise gaze.
“I want you inside me,” she whispered. “And I want to feel you … nice and slow.”
Jared had no problem with nice and slow. That worked for him.
Leaning over her, he took her hands in one of his and pinned them above her head. He guided himself into the warmth of her body, leaned forward, and slid home. She was silky hot, her skin so smooth against his. He could do this forever and a day and never tire of it.
“Like that?” he whispered, brushing his lips against hers.
“Just like that.”
Her hands clutched his, and he propped himself on his elbows, his free hand joining the other, linking their fingers together as he ever so slowly made love to her. He pushed deep inside, retreated slowly. Hot and slick, Hope’s pussy clasped his cock. It was so damn good he had to think about math problems for a moment, unwilling to come too soon.
“Jared.”
He loved the way she whispered his name. Pressing his lips to hers, he kissed her softly, then turned his head slightly, needing to deepen the kiss while he continued to move in and out of her. Air became scarce, the temperature in the room ticking up one degree, then another as they generated more and more body heat.
Christ.
This woman seemed to be made for him. Specifically for him. They moved together in a rhythm that was unbelievably sexy, deeply erotic. Every single time their bodies came together … it was powerful, overwhelming, amazing. He could come up with a million adjectives, and none of them could come close to describing how abso-fucking-lutely amazing this was.
“Hope…” He pulled back, staring down into her face. “You’re so beautiful… You steal my breath.”
He felt her muscles flex as she shifted, her knees clasping his hips. He sank in deeper before retreating. Nice and slow wasn’t working so well anymore. His body was humming.
“Ahh, yeah, Hope. Do that again.”
At his urging, her inner muscles tightened, squeezing his dick as her body sheathed him.
“Your pussy feels so good. So tight…” His body was coated with a fine sheen of perspiration as he continued to penetrate her, deeper, harder. Jared tried to maintain a relatively slow rhythm, but it was becoming more difficult with every passing second.
Hope bit his bottom lip, a gentle nip with her teeth, but it was enough to make his body jerk, driving him into her harder than before.
She inhaled sharply, then sighed. “That… Do that… Need more.”
Jared released her hands and leveraged himself up over her, still staring down into her face as he rocked his hips faster this time.
“Hope… Fuck, baby… You undo me.”
The cry that escaped her was followed by her fingernails raking down his back. The erotically painful sting sent him soaring, her orgasm triggering his own.
Chapter Twenty-One
HOPE REALIZED SHE wasn’t in her own bed as soon as she opened her eyes.
The sunlight spilled in through the blinds, illuminating the room, letting her know this was not her bed, not her pillow, not her… It was then she realized what she’d done.
Turning her head, she found the bed beside her empty. She instinctively grabbed for the sheet, pulling it up over her nakedness. Lifting her head slightly, Hope gave the room a cursory look. Nope. No devastatingly handsome cowboys standing around.
“Oh, shit,” she muttered, keeping her voice low. “Oh, my God.”
Reality was like a fist to the chest. She’d gone and done what she’d promised herself she wouldn’t. She’d spent the night with Jared.
Not that she hadn’t done that already. The making love until her brain was fuzzy, then falling asleep completely sated wasn’t the problem. The problem was that this was his house. The house he lived in with his son. Jared had told her that he would be picking Derrick up last night, which meant…
Somewhere on the other side of that closed bedroom door were a four-year-old and his father.
“Double shit.”
Sitting up, Hope glanced down at the floor, trying to find her clothes. She found them neatly laid out on the dresser. Her dress and her panties anyway. She remembered she’d lost her shoes sometime in the first thirty seconds they’d walked in Jared’s front door. Last night.
Straining to hear, Hope slipped out of bed and tiptoed over to the dresser, snatching her clothes and pulling them to her chest. She didn’t want to make a sound, didn’t want Jared or—God forbid—his little boy to come into the room. Derrick was still young; he probably wouldn’t know what was going on, but surely Jared didn’t make a habit of bringing women back to his place.
Hope practically ran into the bathroom, closing the door softly behind her. Within two minutes, she had managed to use the restroom, wash her hands, brush her teeth with her finger and some of Jared’s minty toothpaste, finger-comb her hair, and get dressed. Now came the hard part. How in the world was she supposed to sneak out the front door without either of them seeing her? There were two windows in his bedroom, but she’d probably make a lot of noise if she tried to go out that way. She glanced up at the small window above the shower. It didn’t open, and even if it did, she wasn’t small enough to get out of it. Hell, Derrick wasn’t small enough to get out of it.
Taking a deep breath—
Hope shrieked when a knock sounded on the bathroom door. Instinct kicked in, and she slammed her hand over her mouth, trying to catch her breath.
“Hope? You okay in there?”
Her heart was beating a million miles a
minute. “Yeah. I’m … uh… I’ll be out in a minute.”
Jared didn’t respond, but she didn’t hear him move away from the door, either. Which meant he was probably waiting for her to emerge from his bathroom.
Knowing she had no choice—locking herself in would seem incredibly weird—she took one last look at herself in the mirror, then reached for the doorknob. When she opened the door, she found Jared standing there, one hand propped on the doorjamb, a smile on his incredibly handsome face.
“Mornin’,” he greeted.
“What time is it?” she asked, praying it was still early and that his son was still asleep.
“Seven.”
Oh, thank God. At least she hadn’t missed too many of her chores. As it was, she still had to drive the half hour it would take to get back to Embers Ridge, then she had to change. It would be closer to eight thirty before she could actually get started.
Shit. Her sisters were going to give her hell for this.
Hope met Jared’s eyes, trying not to look terrified. “I’m so sorry. I must’ve fallen asleep.”
“Don’t apologize to me,” he said, dropping his hand from the frame and pulling her into him. “I’m not complainin’.”
“But Derrick…”
“He’s none the wiser, I promise. He’s still asleep. I just went to check on him. I was”—his smile held a devious curve to it—“gonna wake you up.”
Heat flared inside her, but Hope ignored it. She would not be seduced by this man this morning. As it was, she shouldn’t even be here.
“I have to get home,” she told him, trying not to sound as though she was ready to run out the door. Which she definitely was. “I’ve got chores.”
Jared nodded, then pressed his lips to hers. Hope thought he was going for sweet, but the kiss quickly morphed into something much hotter. She laughed, realizing how quickly he’d pulled her under his spell.
“I really do have to go,” she told him.
“I want to see you this week. I’ll come out to the ranch.”
Hope nodded. She would like that. “Oh, wait. Shit. I don’t know if this week’s good. Gracie’s bachelorette party is next Saturday. There’s still a lot of planning to do.”
She could see the disappointment in his eyes. Oddly enough, that made her feel good. She liked that he really did want to see her.
“But let me see what I can do,” she told him as she leaned in and kissed him again. “But first, I really do need to go.”
Jared’s fingers slid into her hair, cupping the back of her head. She thought he was going to devour her, but he didn’t. He just stood there, staring into her eyes as though he was trying to figure her out. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to read her mind—if she was lucky—she smiled.
“Thank you for last night. It was interesting.”
“The resort?” he asked, grinning. “Or what happened after?”
“Both.”
His smile seemed less forced then. “Call me when you get back to the ranch. I want to know you made it safely.”
God, this man was too good to be true.
She nodded, then managed to disentangle herself from his clutches, although as soon as she was away from him, she suddenly wished his arms were still around her.
Not wanting to tempt fate, Hope made a beeline for the front door, grabbing her shoes and her purse, which were both on the table by the front door, before smiling back at Jared and hurrying out of the house.
The good thing was, Derrick hadn’t known she was there. A little boy wasn’t going to spend the day asking his daddy questions about the strange woman in his bed. Unfortunately, as Hope was pulling out onto the main road, she was wondering what it would’ve been like to wake up to both of them. To have Derrick running into the room, telling them he was hungry. The cute little-boy giggle making them laugh before they followed him into the kitchen to have breakfast. Together.
She hated herself for wanting to get attached. She knew better.
And yet she couldn’t seem to stop herself from thinking about it.
JARED STOOD IN his living room, staring at the front door after Hope left for probably a good ten minutes. He wasn’t actually seeing anything, merely caught up in his own head, remembering last night, how he’d felt when Hope had fallen asleep in his bed.
She’d asked why he hadn’t woken her up. Truth was, he hadn’t wanted to. He’d wanted her to sleep there with him, to allow him to hold her through the night. So when she’d first fallen asleep, he risked leaving for the few minutes it took to go pick up Derrick. His boy had been sound asleep on the couch at Kaleb’s, while Kaleb and Zoey were continuing to watch How to Train Your Dragon 2. The boys had passed out a short time before, but they had gotten caught up in the animated film, apparently. It happened. Jared knew. He’d watched more than his fair share of kid movies while Derrick slept soundly beside him.
After he’d tucked Derrick into his own bed, Jared had slipped back into bed with Hope, extremely grateful she hadn’t disappeared on him while he’d been gone. Sleep had come quickly, her curled up beside him.
And when he’d woken this morning, seeing her there beside him…
He’d wanted.
Not only sex, either.
He’d wanted a million things that he knew he shouldn’t want. Especially from a woman who had told him that a relationship couldn’t be had.
Even now, as he stared at the door, he wished she was still there. Wished they would be having breakfast together with Derrick.
“Dad! Can I watch Paw Patrow? Pwease!”
Jared pulled himself from his reverie, glancing over at Derrick, who was carrying his blanket into the living room.
“You hungry, big man?”
“Yep.”
“What would you like?” Jared asked, grabbing the remote and turning on the television.
“Marshmawows.” Derrick looked up over his shoulder at Jared, grinning. “Pwease.”
Jared laughed, then ruffled Derrick’s hair before heading to the kitchen to get his boy breakfast. In their house, marshmallows meant Lucky Charms. He put on a pot of coffee, grabbed the cereal and a bowl, then went to the fridge for milk. He glanced at the expiration date. Still good. Thank God. He remembered the last time he’d let the milk expire and Derrick wanted cereal. No milk for the cereal was the equivalent of DEFCON 1 in his house.
After setting Derrick up with his breakfast on the coffee table, Jared poured himself some coffee, grabbed his iPad, and went to sit with his son. He didn’t pay attention to what was on the television, his brain still drifting back to memories of last night.
He’d made love to Hope.
Made love.
That wasn’t a term that was popular in his vocabulary. Never had been. And last night… He was fairly certain that he’d never before felt what he’d felt when he was with Hope.
Not that he thought she felt the same. He could tell she was trying to keep her distance, wanting to keep this casual, the way they’d agreed in the beginning. Easier said than done, in his opinion.
Pulling up his email on his iPad, Jared skimmed it. Of course he was looking for another email from Sable, even though he didn’t want to. He figured it was the lesser of two evils. The worst possible thing would be for Sable to show up on his doorstep, insisting she be able to see Derrick. As it was, he didn’t know what she was planning to do next. He only knew that he had an appointment with a lawyer on Monday afternoon. It was merely a precaution on Jared’s part. He still doubted Sable intended to take him to court, but in the event she really had changed in two years and wasn’t simply making idle threats, he intended to be ready. He had to cover his ass because no one—no one—was going to take his son from him. Nor was he going to give Sable another fucking penny.
He wished he could simply make it all go away, but he knew that wasn’t possible.
Paying the woman off would probably buy him some silence where she was concerned, but he knew that would only last so long. Obviously, it hadn’t worked the first time. She was back asking for more.
His phone chirped from the counter.
“I’w get it!” Derrick launched to his feet, ran to the kitchen, retrieved Jared’s cell phone, then tossed it his way, laughing.
I made it home.
Jared typed a quick message back. I want to see you again this week. Let me know if you have time.
I promise, I will. And thanks again … for last night.
Jared grinned, surprised that Hope had actually responded with anything more than that she would look into it. He expected her to freak out a little. He’d seen it in her eyes when she opened the bathroom door. Something had spooked her, but he wasn’t quite sure what it was.
He typed his response: My pleasure.
And it definitely was his pleasure.
One he hoped to bestow on her again in the very, very near future.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“I THOUGHT I might find you out here,” her father said when he joined Hope on the back porch.
“I’m here,” she replied, glancing over to see Jan following not far behind him. “What are you two kids up to tonight?”
Her father smiled, then adjusted one of the rocking chairs so that Jan could sit down. When she did, he took the one on the other side of her, turning it so he could see both of them and still look out over the ranch.
“Just hanging out,” Jan said sweetly. “You look lost in thought.”
She had been. It was a wonder she’d gotten anything done these past few days. Ever since she left Jared’s house on Sunday, she’d spent more time thinking about him than anything else.
“What’s weighin’ on your mind, kiddo?” her father questioned.
Hope shook her head, continuing to gaze out at the twilight. “Not much.”
Jerry chuckled. “I’m thinkin’ that was her way of deflecting. What d’ya think, honey?”
Jared (Coyote Ridge) (Volume 2) Page 17
