“Hope?”
I jumped at the sound of Mitch’s voice.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.” He leaned against the doorjamb, looking like the Mitch I knew nine years ago in faded jeans, a black t-shirt, and sexy smile.
“I didn’t hear you coming.”
“Eddie called and said the part needed to fix your car has to be ordered. It will be a few days to get in and so probably a week that you’ll be without a car,” he said.
Just when I was starting to feel like I was getting into the groove of my retreat, reality kicked in.
“You’re welcome to drive my SUV if you need it,” he added.
“I can’t put you out like that. What will you drive?”
“I got my bike,” he grinned and again, it reminded of the young Mitch I once knew.
“You still have that?”
“Yep. Ole Bessy and I go everywhere together.”
I snorted.
“In fact, I was going to take her down to the Foodie Festival. I told Eddie I’d visit his wife’s exhibit. Want to come?”
I quirked a brow. “On your bike?”
“Yeah. It’ll be fun. There’s nothing like feeling the wind on your face.”
I really shouldn’t. I had work to do. I looked at my watch and discovered it was just past lunchtime. I’d been sketching for hours.
“Maybe another time,” he said straightening from the wall.
As he started to turn, I called out. “I want to come.” I tried not to think of those words in a sexual context.
He grinned at me. “I’ll meet you out front.”
I started to slip on ballet flats, but then thought sneakers would be better for riding on a motorcycle. I found a white leather pair in my suitcase. I also grabbed my jean jacket since I was going to be on a motorcycle. I checked myself in the mirror. I had on tan cropped pants, a white sleeveless blouse, white sneakers, and a jean jacket. To add a little color, I tied a floral square scarf around my neck.
I grabbed my purse and rushed out front. Mitch straddled a black motorcycle. He’d put on a leather jacket, and the total package made my mouth water.
He held out a hand. “Just climb on. There are footrests there.”
I got on behind him, holding on at his waist as he put the bike in gear and pulled out of his long drive.
The ride was loud, but he was right about the wind. I felt like I was flying. Once, I wrapped my arms around him when I worried I might fall off during a sharp turn. He did it a few more times, and I wondered if he was doing it on purpose to get me to hold him closer.
We arrived at a park that had rows and rows of vendors, and a band playing in a gazebo. The area was filled with people eating and drinking.
“Wow, there’s a lot of people for a Monday,” I noted.
“What until the weekend. It will be packed.” Mitch held his hand out to the side to help me off and then dismounted after me.
I pulled the helmet off. “Do I have helmet hair?”
He laughed. “Just shake it out.” He ran his fingers through his short-cropped hair.
I shook my head and ran my fingers through the strands. When I looked to him to ask if it was better, his eyes were piercing as they gazed at me.
He reached out and pushed an errant strand back. “You always were the most beautiful woman in the room.”
“We’re outside,” I said a bit breathlessly.
“Are we?”
My insides went all soft. While my head told me not to get caught up in Mitch’s sexiness or enchanting words, my body was ready to get naked.
“Come on,” he said, holding his arm out to guide me where to go.
We wove through the rows of vendors, tasting a variety of foods and snacks until we reached a tent with a sign that said Trudy Goode Food.
“Mitch!” the plump woman a few years older than me behind the table said. “Eddie said you’d be by.” She eyed me standing next to him. “Something about a friend having car trouble.”
He blushed slightly. “Trudy this is Hope Caldwell, She’s Parker’s sister and a longtime friend of mine.”
“How do you do?” Trudy’s smile practically reached her ears.
“I’m very well, thank you.” I scanned her table filled with jams and other preserves.
“I know you’re here for some jam, Mitch, but I’ve got some of those chocolate chunk cookies you like.”
Mitch grinned. “Just for me?”
“Don’t you know it.” She winked.
“Do you have any happy sally?” he asked.
Trudy gave him a sly grin. “Now Mitch, I’m a law-abiding citizen.” She looked to the right, then left, and then at me.
“She’s alright. I’ll vouch for her,” Mitch said, putting an arm around my shoulder.
“Let me get you your cookies,” she said, turning and getting something out of a bin at the back of her tent area.
“What’s happy sally?” I asked. Whatever it was, it was likely illegal. Did Mitch smoke pot? Do drugs?
She handed him a lunch-sized paper sack.
“What do I owe you,” he asked, pulling out his wallet.
“You know your money is no good with me.” She waved his money away.
Mitch rolled her eyes. “Trudy, you can’t keep giving me food.”
Trudy looked at me. “Mitch here got our technical issues all cleared up for both me and my husband’s business. Now those scammer bastards won’t mess with us.”
“Let me at least pay you for the booze,” Mitch said.
Booze?
“Shh, you wanna get me arrested?” She held out her hand. “Five bucks.”
“Here’s twenty. I don’t have anything smaller.”
She rolled her eyes. “How is it some woman hasn’t married you up yet, Mitch?” She looked at me. “You should take him, honey. They don’t get much better than Mitch.”
“I once stuck a snake in her wading pool,” he told Trudy. “She knows she can do better than me.”
I laughed. “I totally forgot about that.” Then I frowned. “You were mean.”
He shrugged. “It was Parker’s idea. I did it so he wouldn’t get in trouble from your parents.”
We toured the rest of the vendors and eventually took a seat on a park bench to eat kielbasa sausage, waffle fries, and various fried treats.
“Vendor food is the best,” I said.
“Especially in the south. Do you suppose there’s anything a southerner wouldn’t batter and fry?” He studied the deep-fried peanut butter cup he’d bought out of curiosity.
“Nope.”
He popped the sweet treat into his mouth.
“Well?” I asked.
“I like fried batter and peanut butter cups, but I don’t know that I need them together.”
I laughed.
He nodded toward the horizon. “Storm is coming.”
I looked to where he’d indicated. Black clouds made a stark line against the blue that was still above us. In the distance, a lightning bolt shot from the clouds to the ground. “Oh, it’s dark.”
“We should head back.”
The food hadn’t quite settled as we took the quick ride back up to Mitch’s place. My stomach wished he’d gone slower, but the wind was picking up and fat drops of rain were just starting to fall when we arrived back.
I rushed inside while he put his bike away. He came back in with Duke at his feet, and I realized I didn’t know what he did with the dog when he was gone.
“He has his own place off the garage,” Mitch said when I asked.
“Mitch, thank you so much for this afternoon. I haven’t had that much fun in a long time.”
He frowned. “That’s unfortunate.”
“Yes, well, not all of us have a life of leisure. Speaking of which, I’d like to put in a little more work.”
“Absolutely. Duke and I have some rough-housing to do.”
I laughed and wished I could stay to watch. I went back to my room, and this
time, pulled out my computer to work on my business plan.
When the lightning started, I unplugged my computer just in case there was a surge. I had several hours of battery life, and I could recharge later. I was able to put in another hour of work but was constantly distracted by the howling wind and the way the trees bowed. The rain seemed to be falling sideways, and it sounded like the lighting was right on top of us.
A huge boom shook the house, and all the lights went off. I waited for them to come back on, but when they didn’t, I powered off my computer.
“Hey, Hope?” Mitch called as he made his way through the enclosed breezeway to my room.
“Yeah?” I picked up my phone and turned on the flashlight app.
“Listen, why don’t you come to the main house. This structure is good, but if a tree falls on the breezeway that could be a problem.”
“Ah, okay.”
“I don’t know if you noticed, but the storm is still picking up steam. It will be better to be away from the windows.”
Summer storms usually blew through quickly, but this one appeared to want to hang around. I wondered if I should bring something with me, but in the end, I simply followed him back to the main house.
“You don’t have a generator?” I asked.
“I don’t.”
“What about if the power goes out in the winter?”
“I’ve got a fireplace.”
Leave it to men to rough it. But as I looked to the living area, I noted he’d started a fire in the large fireplace.
“I know it’s not cold now, but it lights up the room, and we can make s’mores.” He pointed to his coffee table where he had graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows. With it all, there was a mason jar with a clear liquid.
Mitch grinned. “That’s happy sally.”
“That’s moonshine, isn’t it?”
“Yes. How about it? A picnic?”
“There’s nothing else to do.” I caught his gaze and electricity raced between us, and my body responded with, there is one other thing you could do.
I sat with Mitch in front of the fire. He roasted us some marshmallows and then poured small glasses of the moonshine.
“You should probably eat something first. This stuff can be used as paint remover in a clinch.”
“Did you always break the rules growing up?”
He shrugged. “Some things are too fun to miss out on.”
With my marshmallows sufficiently roasted, I put a chocolate slab on a graham cracker, put one marshmallow on it, and then squished it between another graham cracker.
I took a bite and moaned. “Delicious.”
“I told you I could cook.” Mitch made his own s’more.
I sighed as I sat back against his couch and watched the fire dance in the large stone hearth, taking another bite of the s’more and chasing it with the moonshine. The burn as it went down made my eyes water.
“That was a pretty big sigh. You okay over there?” Mitch asked. He had a smudge of chocolate at the corner of his mouth, and I had the urge to lick it off.
“This is nice. I don’t think I’ve been this relaxed in a long time.” I stretched my legs out and crossed my ankles as I sipped the moonshine. This time, I coughed as the liquid burned down my throat.
“You alight?”
“Yeah. You’re right about the paint.”
He laughed but cocked his head. “Are you alright, otherwise?”
I looked into the fire again wondering if I should share about my family woes. “Has Parker told you anything about my dad?”
“Nothing significant. Is he okay?” Worry tinged his voice.
“He’s not sick if that’s what you’re asking.” I looked at Mitch. “His business is failing. Will probably fail.”
“Jesus. Why? How?”
“Bad choices. That’s what’s allowed me to finally do my own thing. He can’t really afford me.”
“Can I help?”
I was sure billionaire Mitch could help my father and barely make a dent in his coffers, but my father had his pride. I suspected Parker did too and was the reason why he hadn’t told Mitch anything.
“They’re taking care of it. He’s going to retire, just with a lot less than they’d planned.” I drank the rest of the moonshine in a gulp.
“Wow.”
I didn’t know if he was impressed with my downing the hundred-proof drink or my parents’ situation. He poured me a little bit more.
“It’s funny. Many of their friends don’t keep in touch anymore. I guess because they’re not rich anymore. It's true about hardship, letting you know who your friends really are.” I sipped again, beginning to feel the buzz of the booze in my head.
Mitch laughed. “Your family was the only one that didn’t care about that stuff. If they did, I wouldn’t be friends with Parker.”
“True. Still, it’s sad. I feel bad for them.”
Mitch scooted next to me and used his finger to wipe the corner of my mouth. “You’ve got chocolate.”
“So, do you.” I looked at him. He was close enough to feel the heat of his body.
He wiped his mouth with his thumb. “S’mores are messy but worth it.”
“I thought about licking it off you.” The minute it was out of my mouth, I froze, not having wanted to be so obvious.
His eyes flashed with heat. “I thought the same thing with you.”
I swallowed. We sat, our gazes holding like two deer with our eyes caught in the headlights.
I don’t know how long we were there, but finally, I asked. “Do you really think of us on the river when you…you know?”
“Sometimes.” His gaze moved to my mouth and lingered.
“Sometimes you think of someone else?” I hated her whoever she was.
His gaze returned to my eyes. “No. It’s usually you, just not always at the river.” He licked his lips. “I have a great memory and a vivid imagination.”
My insides were on fire. “Oh?”
He nodded. “How about you, Hope? Do you think of me when you touch yourself?”
“I don’t really do that.”
His head tilted. “Why? You don’t like orgasms?”
I was going to have one just from the way he was looking at me. “I do like them.”
“Did you like it when I gave you one?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
He pushed my hair back from my face. “Was it your first time when we were at the river?”
I inhaled a breath, wondering about the wisdom of sharing so much. “Yes.”
His breath hitched, and some sort of emotion swam in his eyes. “I wish I knew.”
“Why? You probably would have stopped and then felt worse than you already did.”
He smiled. “I would have felt worse, but honey, I couldn’t have stopped unless you told me to.”
“What about now?” I was done bantering and dancing around this insane desire.
“I just need a sign, Hope, and then I won’t stop unless you want me too.”
“Well, then.” I gripped the front of his t-shirt and pulled him to me, plastering my lips to his.
He groaned, wrapping his arms around me and maneuvering me under him. “Tell me you’re sure, Hope.”
“You’re the one that needs to be sure, Mitch.”
“I’m fucking sure.”
Mitch—The Calm After the Storm
Mitch
Nothing had changed. Hope was still Parker’s sister. I was still going to feel like an asshole for betraying him by sleeping with her. But at this moment, I didn’t give a fuck. The sweetest, most beautiful woman I knew was in my arms, wanting me to touch her. It would be the perfect end to a perfect day.
She was under me, and I could feel every delectable curve of her body pressed against mine. The only problem was all these clothes. I kissed her, slipping my tongue inside her mouth to fully taste her sweetness, while my fingers undid the buttons of her blouse.
I dragged my hand down h
er chest and over her belly to feel her soft skin, as my lips trailed down her neck and along her collarbone.
Her hands slipped under my shirt, drawing it up my back. In a quick move, I yanked it over my head and off. Her hands were on me, and it was like heaven. They woke more than my libido. I felt alive for the first time in longer than I could remember.
“This is new,” she said, tracing a hand over the dove tattoo imprinted on my chest. “Is this for your dad?”
“Yes.” To be honest, my dick was too hard and needy to chitchat during sex. “All my brothers have one. To keep my dad close, you know?”
“I’m so sorry, Mitch.” Her eyes were soft. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.”
“You wouldn’t have liked me then,” I said and then kissed her again. I didn’t want to go back to that time when my world imploded. Losing my father had been the final blow that ripped my faith in love from underneath me. Had he lived, he’d have been there to help me through the other betrayals. Not that my mother and brothers hadn’t helped. But the lies and deceit, and then losing my father, I hadn’t been able to cope.
“Yes, I would,” she said, reaching between us to undo my jeans. “I like you now too.”
“I have to see you.” I didn’t want to rush her, but I was feeling desperate. “I have to touch you.” Our hands were a flurry of activity as one by one our clothes were shed and finally…finally, she was laid out under me in all her natural beauty.
I drew my hand down her chest, cupping one tit, marveling at its plump beauty. I leaned over, drawing her sweet, hard nipple into my mouth. Her body arched like she was offering herself to me.
Her fingers thread through my hair. “Mitch.”
I loved hearing my name from her lips. “Tell me what you like, Hope.”
“Just touch me.”
I could do that. I used my hands and lips to rediscover every inch of her body. I’d regretted betraying my friend nine years ago, but I’d also regretted not tasting every inch of her when I’d had the chance. This time, I wouldn’t squander the opportunity. I kissed my way down over her belly, and to the blonde nest of curls between her thighs. Not all women liked a man going down on them. I hoped to hell Hope wasn’t one of those women because I had to taste her.
Her Mountain Hero Page 5
