“I’m not sure Hope has ever been hidden, Harris,” Devon handed her the wine.
“Rumor has it I’m the mystery woman, Devon,” Hope told him, sipping the wine with a soft sigh. “That’s very good, thank you. I think we simply value our privacy.”
“You’re involved in an extremely high profile project, Hope,” Miriam patted her arm lightly. “But I do understand the need to keep the world at bay. People tend to ask invasive, prying questions when it comes to money.”
“I know the very last thing I’d be doing with it is donating it,” announced a sultry feminine laugh. “I believe a year on the coast of France would do for starters.”
“Hilary Wilson,” Miriam looked from one woman to the other.
“Hello,” Hope said with a smile. “If you don’t like donating, why are you here? I thought this was for the hospice…”
“Hilary’s husband is the philanthropic in the family, Hope,” Miriam confided with a chuckle.
“Oh…I see…I suppose it’s lucky that Devon and I both believe in what we’re doing.”
“Oh, be honest, Hope,” the tall redhead tipped her glass a little. “Doesn’t it bother you just a little to just give away all that money?”
“It isn’t mine,” Hope answered simply. “I work at the Narrows and we earn a nice income,” she hoped her words were accurate, casting a crooked glance at Devon for a little insight.
“We’re not much into exotic vacations, Hilary,” Devon said simply, his palm resting lightly at the rise of her behind. “I for one am glad Eric doesn’t share your views. We need all the participation we can garner.”
“I’m relieved the business association has finally backed down on their idiot claims that the hotel shouldn’t be used for a hospice,” Miriam shook her head. “It continues to confound me that people believe things will simply happen out of thin air without participation and involvement by normal people.”
Hope listened to the conversations, wandered around the room with Devon and ate the delicious food until it was almost midnight. They were seated at a round table with Miriam and her husband when she laid her head on his shoulder.
“Devon…I have some money…can I donate it?” She looked at him curiously.
“I…of course, Hope…” Devon didn’t want to say the wrong thing.
“Well, you said the project was a little short…” She sat up with a little yawn. “Do you have your phone?” She watched him pull it from an inside pocket and hand it to her.
Devon watched her fingers move over the slide out keyboard. Screens flashing past until he recognized the logo of a very large local credit union. Slim fingers moved quickly over the log-in screen until she had what she wanted up. She handed it back to him with a half shrug.
“You can have that for your project. I think it’s the perfect use for it,” she drained the water from her glass and sighed. She was staring out the window, unaware of the myriad of expressions his face was traveling through.
Miriam and Harris both laughed at the younger man.
“Devon, you’re looking a little pale,” Miriam teased.
“I…” Devon looked from the amount to the woman at his side for the tenth time but neither of them had changed. “Hope…” then he realized they weren’t alone. “I think we’ll be going. Good night, Miriam…Harris…I’ll be in touch.”
“A pleasure meeting you, Hope.”
“Bye…good night…” Hope frowned at the hand gripping her arm and leading her to the elevator. “I am a little tired. But it was a nice evening. Most of your friends are very good…caring…”
“Hope, where the hell did this money come from?” Devon finally let the words free when they were in the elevator.
Hope sighed. “That…I’d rather not talk about tonight. Please.”
“Hope…” Devon looked one more time from the account she had opened for him to meet her eyes. Something deep inside told him not to push right now. He snapped it closed and slid it into his pocket. “Alright. When you’re ready.”
“Thank you,” she turned away to stare at the reflective steel of the elevator, inhaling deeply when the doors slid wide. “I’m not sure you explained what tonight was for, Devon.”
“The party? A fund raiser basically…people who know people who might want to be involved in the project,” he took the shawl from her hands and draped it around her shoulders. “I’m one of the main principals…so I drift around the room convincing others to donate to the cause, essentially.”
“Well, I feel convinced,” she said with a smile up at him. “You’re very good. What’s a main principal?”
“I’m responsible for the idea and two thirds of the financing so far and I’m thinking I had an inside track with you,” he told her with a laugh, leaning in and kissing her as they waited by the door for their car to come from the parking area. They stood holding hands, facing one another and lost in the kiss when the car arrived. Devon raised his head, glimpsing the bright lights reflected in her eyes as he guided her to the car.
Hope didn’t remember sliding into the car and barely remembered to breathe once he stopped kissing her. She looked out the window while they were waiting in traffic in front of the hotel, her cheeks flushed pink at the knowing smiles from people who had been watching them.
“Hope?” Devon worried at her silence. More worried because of the look he’d seen in her eyes when he asked about the money. Fear. He’d do whatever he had to for that not to be in her eyes again, he decided, taking up her palm and kissing the soft center. She turned to face him and slid into his arms, her head on his shoulder.
“I had a wonderful time tonight, Devon. I like Miriam…she’s fun,” Hope told him with a little laugh.
“She lost her daughter a year ago to cancer,” he told her. “Careful…she might be adopting you,” he brushed her forehead with his lips. “She’s a good person. Her and Harris have been good friends for awhile. I met them at one of Maggie’s art shows.”
“Oh…then they really were surprised that you suddenly appear with a wife,” Hope sighed. “I did feel like a princess,” she laughed softly, lifting her head and meeting his eyes, her lips whispering over his. “And you make a very nice prince, Devon Alexander.”
Devon thought he was ready for her kiss, prepared for the soft, tentative hunger lying just beneath the surface. Her palm caressed gently over his cheek, onto his jaw and then to his shirt. He wasn’t aware that she’d slipped a button free until he felt her fingers stroking over his chest. Her fingers slid free, gently tugging on the end of his tie and freeing the buttons.
Hope listened to the low growl in his chest, his fingers wrapping tightly around hers until she met his gaze.
“I am not exiting this car half dressed,” he whispered raggedly, moaning inside when she giggled and kissed his collarbone.
“You smell good,” she whispered, sidling closer so there was no space between them. Her tongue drew a slow line over his throat to his ear. “Very sexy…”
Devon gripped her shoulders and peered into those wide, teasing eyes just as the lights of the house came into view. He moved his mouth next to her ear.
“Do you have any idea how much I want you right now, Hope?” He felt her hand slide over the front of his slacks and down the hard length of his cock. He swore the thing jumped eagerly for her touch.
“Hmm…makes a girl feel powerful…” she returned cheekily, sitting back and folding her hands primly on her lap. “I’ll behave, Devon.”
Hope was out of the car, entering the house quickly while Devon spoke to the driver and settled the fee. She went to the study, smiling brightly at Jackie.
“How was the ball, princess?” She asked, stretching and nudging Matt, sleeping in the chair with a little girl curled up on his lap.
“Fun…I met so many people tonight,” Hope said easily. “Thanks for your help,” she carefully accepted the curled, mewing little bundle from a drowsy Matt, holding her against her as she went up the stairs. “S
ee you tomorrow.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Hope settled Mina into her bed, wrapping her in her blankets and tucking her bear close to her head. She went to her bedroom, draping the shawl on a hanger and stepping from her shoes, laying them reverently in the bottom shelf on the special dresses side of her closet. She had the dress hanging neatly before going into the bathroom, striping and slipping into the tee shirt he’d given her that first night they met.
Devon met those dark, teasing eyes as she stepped from inside the bathroom. He felt vastly over dressed at the moment, his gaze sweeping from the painted red toes crossing over one another to the soft, dark hair she’d set free.
Hope felt only a moment of doubt inside her stomach as it fluttered. She stepped forward and put her hands on the buttons she’d begun opening in the back seat of the car.
“I think you’ve a few too many clothes on…” She told him, blinking up at him when he took both her hands in his. “Devon?”
“My room…you won’t laugh if I’m nervous, will you?” He asked softly, walking with her along the hall to the larger bedroom.
“I’m nervous, too…I think we’ll manage…” She whispered, climbing onto the bed and sitting in the middle, watching him. She laid on her stomach, sideways on the bed and rested her chin in her palms until he went into the bathroom to finish undressing when he noticed her staring.
Hope moved to the head of the bed and rolled to her back, staring at the ceiling when she heard him enter the room, dimming the lights and slowing the ceiling fan before sliding to lie beside her. She felt the fabric of the pajama bottoms he wore against her thigh.
“Do you think it’s like riding a bike,” Devon whispered against her shoulder, his palm on her thigh and moving beneath the tee shirt, groaning softly when he realized there was nothing beneath it but Hope.
“I’m going to pretend we’re teenagers after the prom,” she returned, turning to face him and twine her arms around his neck. She liked the golden amber sparkling behind his lashes and the soft smile that slowly faded as their lips met. Once…and again until both were lost in the sensations, the exploring and heated game designed to arouse.
The softest scent of perfume wafted into his senses when his mouth moved over her throat, nipping lightly to be rewarded with a gasp, her hands tightening at the back of his head. He leaned back only long enough to tug the shirt out of the way before pulling her over him and tangling his hands in the silken hair for more kissing. His body groaned with life as she rotated and pressed her hips demandingly against him.
Devon tipped her to the side, his palm up to brush the strands of hair from her face before kissing over her throat and lower. His hand cupped the full mound of one breast, fingers tracing a slow circle over the beaded nipple responding to his touch and then to his tongue and teeth.
Their hips arched toward one another, her body shivering at the sensations racing through her. Hope put her hand on his hip, sliding her palm inside the pajamas, she pushed them slowly lower. A sweet surge of power mingled with the electric pulses inside her when his teeth nipped her breast as she stroked her palm over him. She let the softness slide through her closed hand, stroking and learning the hard shape of him. She drew one finger down his length, gentle warm fingers caressing to his very base.
He thought he’d lose it in her hand as he suckled and aroused the pert handful. He broke the kiss long enough to shove the pants down his legs, kicking them aside before letting his palm glide up her thigh to the hot, damp center. He knew there wouldn’t be much time left for them this first time. Devon slid one finger along the swollen path, dipping into the moisture and dragging it over the hooded nub. Her hand suddenly clenched tighter, making him groan aloud.
Devon felt her body move against his hand and slid a damp finger inside her, his body hardened even as his mind groaned. He added another finger, gently stretching and probing as his thumb continued to stroke and arouse her. He could hear her whispering his name, her hands tight against his head at her breast.
He reached behind him, fumbling with the packet that fell to the bed. Devon lifted himself to his elbow, his mouth covering hers for a long, breathless kiss as he sheathed himself before returning to stroke her lower body back to the peak. He used his fingers to tease her, arouse her and was rewarded when her body suddenly surged against him. He moved quickly between her knees, pressing forward with a painstaking slowness that had him gritting his teeth.
Hope felt the strong muscles clenching, felt the bright burst of pleasure flood every cell in her body. Her hips pushed for more, pushed against him as he slowly entered her. Her body clenched down tightly, a shudder racing through her as the tremors captivated her senses. He pulled gently on her hips but she rotated them testingly to the side and then to the other side, mewing softly at the new pleasures.
“Devon…god that feels so very good…” Hope lifted one of her legs, letting her foot rest at his hip, his body filled hers, stretching it to accept him as he moved against her.
The fading ripples grabbed at him now and then as he moved within her, the taut, heated core caressing him and driving his control to its edge. Devon held her hips flat, refusing her the movements she wanted to take. It was bad enough she was manipulating the muscles inside. He met the fire filled eyes with a low, husky groan, letting his palms move to her behind, lifting her and tilting her a little for his thrust.
Hope felt his fingers gripping her; she felt his body moving, a hard rhythm that had her breath catching. One hand moved from her behind to stroke that aroused nub between her thighs and she was lost to the explosion that took her, had her gripping the blankets beneath her seconds before she pulled one over her face to muffle the erupting scream.
Devon realized immediately that he didn’t stand a chance. He leaned into her for a final, hard thrust before he was biting his lip to keep from shouting, his groans filled with masculine release. He felt his arms shaking from the effort to hold himself up, his head back to draw in deep drafts of air. He looked down to see her chest moving so she hadn’t smothered herself beneath the blankets.
Hope protested when she felt him withdraw, her elbows shoved behind her and the blanket falling to drape itself over her chest. She pulled her thighs tightly together, mewing at the soft tremors that faded when she twisted just right, rolling to her stomach and breathing into the mattress.
Devon entered the room to see those very taut buttocks clenched and her face once more buried in the blankets. He tried untangling a few and finally just gave up for the moment and slid over next to her. His hand naturally fell on her upturned behind with a gentle squeeze. A memory so soon in his thoughts that his body gave a lurch of prime approval.
“Hope?”
“Yes?” Came the muffled response and then a long sigh before she lifted her head, peering at him through the disheveled dark waves. “That’s the best dessert ever,” she whispered contentedly, letting him shift her to her side so they could see one another.
“About that,” Devon began carefully, uncertain about broaching the topic. “Have you had boyfriends before?”
“I have lots of friends who are boys…” But she knew that wasn’t his question. “You aren’t really asking that…are you?” She pulled her lip between her teeth when he shook his head slightly. “The sex thing…it’s mostly new…but I have a very high learning curve,” she told him with a cheeky grin, laughing when he pressed her to the bed, both of them surfacing breathless a long couple minutes later. “You are a really good kisser…” She told him, dragging her tongue over his lip before nipping at his teasingly.
“I was thinking that same thing about you…” Devon breathed against her mouth, urging her to play again, his palm sliding between them to cup her breast possessively. He rubbed his palm over the budding nipple, teasing the rippling flesh with his fingers as they kissed. “You were made for me, Hope…so responsive…I can smell your arousal and get hard…or you tease me with those playful eyes and I’m a goner�
��”
Hope pressed her hips against his growing erection, lifting one leg and draping it over his waist.
“I think it’s your fault,” she said a long time later, curled against him in the darkness.
“I think I’ll accept the blame,” he said, the hint of a smile in his voice.
“Well…there wouldn’t be an arousal if you weren’t so sexy,” she whispered, yawning and snuggling closer with a sigh. “It’s those amber eyes…they glow in the dark, you know…” she breathed deeply and let sleep wave over her like a soft summer tide.
Devon woke at four, he wasn’t sure why. But checked on Mina after visiting the bathroom and sighing heavily when he ran his palm over the curving back and behind beneath the blankets. Hope turned to him, drowsy and warm, her hands pressing over his chest and mouth seeking his in the night. He felt like he was in heaven when her body opened for him, responded to him and exploded from his touch.
There wasn’t any light outside yet when the little voice called out, streaking instantly to her sleep filled mind.
“Hope!”
Hope raised herself up, blowing a puff of air to get the hair from her face.
“Oh god…Mina…” she made a move when she felt the palm on her shoulder.
“I’ll get her…you stay right there,” Devon hurriedly pushed his legs into his pajamas and tossed the tee shirt to Hope.
“Hope’s sleepin’ in your bed?” Came the drowsy question punctuated by a little yawn.
“Hmm…is that okay?” Devon dropped her down, watching the little girl move easily into the open arms and snuggle down.
“Yep…you got a bigger bed,” she said simply.
“My daughter the real estate mogul,” he murmured, pulling the blankets and letting sleep claim them all again.
Hope felt the stirrings of the little girl several hours later, accustomed to her sounds and movement.
“Hey…you’re squishing me…” Came the bubbly voice, small hands up and shoving on her father’s chest.
WindSwept Narrows: #13 Charity, Faith & Hope Page 21
