Hope sat back on her chair. “There was a time when I would have gone all out to destroy the person who was responsible for the life I had. Then I discovered that it was my own mother. And I wanted to hurt her until I realized that at the end of the day, the responsibility for the life I had going on, was mine.”
“That’s what I’m trying to say. She has a damn bright future ahead of her. Why ruin it?”
“Maybe she didn’t have a Jared in her life to kick her ass into respectability. Or a fantastic therapist like I did.” She sighed. “You know, I always suspected that Bob’s wife knew what was going on, yet she said nothing about it. Growing up with such people for parents could not have been easy.”
Rusty laughed in disbelief. “I can’t believe you’re actually making a case for her.”
“I know, it’s crazy right?” she asked with a grimace.
“Yep. Crazy. And damn sweet.”
She looked at him in surprise, then scowled. “I’m not a soft touch.”
“No, you’re not. But you have incredible empathy.” And that was the woman he was beginning to fall for. The one who had the unique ability to place herself in another’s shoes and feel what that person felt, even at risk to herself.
He was starting to think that the reason why Hope held herself emotionally aloof was because she cared too much. It was the only way she knew to protect herself from getting hurt.
Before long, they got to the large compound that housed Silver Shield Headquarters. Rusty drove to the security gate and wound down. He placed his palms face down on the fingerprint scanner. Next he looked up into the camera. The new iris scanner had been installed as part of the increased security after the headquarters was attacked several months ago by members of the Chicago mafia.
Once his details were verified, the barrier gate swung open and he drove into the compound. The driveway extended all the way to the back, which had the swimming pool, tennis and basketball courts as well as the guest houses that he and Ryan were using..
He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Ryan’s truck was missing from the carport. He was not ready to answer any awkward questions, which were bound to come for the main reason that he’d never brought a woman to his pad before. At least, not since he moved in here. And though technically, Hope was a client, it didn’t mean he wouldn’t have to take a lot of ribbing from Ryan.
He parked the car and walked over to Hope’s side to open the door. She cast him a questioning glance as she stepped out of the car.
“I’ll only be a few minutes, but I will be more comfortable if you came inside,” he explained.
She nodded and waited for him to lead the way. Rusty opened the door. Inside the house, he gestured to the sofa in the living room. “Please have a seat.” The sofa and the bean bag chair were the only real furniture in the room, that and a large center table.
She smiled when she saw the large flat screen TV, almost the exact replica of the one in her house.
“Guess we do have some things in common,” she said, pointing to the TV as she shrugged out of her coat.
“Oh that, I use it mostly for gaming,” he said with a shrug.
“What else would one use it for?” she asked.
They exchanged a smile and Rusty’s heart warmed. “Just give me a few minutes to get my stuff.”
“Sure.”
“Can I get you anything? A drink maybe?”
“No, I’m good.” She kicked off her shoes and curled up on the sofa, looking very much at home.
Rusty stood for a moment, strangely reluctant to have her out of his sight.
“Go on, Rusty. I’ll be right here,” she said without looking at him.
“Okay, fine.” He turned and walked into the bedroom, taking off his coat as he went.
He quickly gathered up the extra clothes he needed and stuffed them into a duffel bag. As he moved around his room, he thought back to the quarrel he’d had with Hope. He tried to imagine how he would have felt if she’d hacked into his military records and his heart froze. He would have been devastated. It wasn’t like he had anything to hide…okay, so maybe he did. But he was going to tell her, he just wasn’t ready to do that just yet. He did not want to give her any excuse to call off what they had. It was not that he did not trust her, he did. But he wanted to be sure that she was not going to bail on him before he shared his past with her.
He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. It should not be this complicated. But Hope meant more to him than any woman he’d dated, so it was complicated. She was not just someone he wanted to have an affair with, even if he had recurring dreams about her. She was someone he could consider the long term with, and he’d never considered it with anyone.
“I need to tell her,” he murmured. And it needed to be soon before she found out herself.
He walked back to the living room and found her in a half-sitting position, with her head on the arm rest. She lifted her head when he walked in.
“Are you done?”
“Almost,” he said. Then walked to where she was seated and lifted her up.
“Hey! What are you doing?”
He sat down on the seat and settled her on his lap. “This is much better,” he said with a wicked grin.
She held herself straight for a beat, then with a sigh, she melted against him and rested her head on his chest.
“This is actually nice,” she murmured in a voice that sounded drowsy.
Rusty wrapped his arms around her and rested his cheek on her head. Her arms went round his middle. It felt so right, like she belonged there, in his arms.
“I wanted to say I’m sorry, Hope,” he said quietly.
She tried to lift her head, but he gently pressed it back onto his chest.
“What’s up?” she asked.
“I should never have gone through your records without your permission,” he admitted.
He felt her sigh. “I really wish you had not done that, Russ,” she said in a gentle voice. “But, I do understand why you did it.”
“I know you don’t totally trust me, and doing that behind your back probably didn’t help things, did it?”
She sat up then and he didn’t try stopping her. “It’s not about you, I just have trouble trusting people.”
“And I get that. I get that I have to earn your trust and I promise I’ll do just that.”
She met his gaze and held it. He saw a vulnerability in their depths that pulled him in. He also saw her fear and knew that he would have to work hard to earn her trust. But he had a feeling it would be more than worth the effort.
She reached out and cupped his face with a hand. “Thank you.”
He felt her touch deep in his soul and suddenly, he could not go another moment without kissing her. He closed the gap between them and took her lips in a kiss that came from deep inside him. He felt her sigh and then her arms went around him.
Chapter Twenty-One
As soon as his lips touched hers, Hope felt like a fire had been ignited inside her body. She pressed closer, so that she could take the kiss deeper. She ran her hands through his hair and fingered the hair at his nape. She loved the way Rusty kissed, as though he could not get enough of her. And that was so damn sexy.
She arched her back as she tried to get closer. His tongue stroked hers, stoking the licks of flame into a full blown fire. She felt him swell beneath her and moaned deep in her throat as her lower abdomen grew heavy with desire.
Being in Rusty’s arms was more than she had ever experienced. It was not just about how quickly she was turned on; it was much more than that. For the first time in her life, she felt totally accepted. Not judged. And she wanted to let him know how she felt. She slipped her hands beneath his shirt and ran them over his hard chest. Her thumbs brushed against his nubs and he groaned. She leaned forward and slowly traced her mouth over the area where her hands had traveled. She took her time savoring the way he tasted and felt. Her hands moved to his shoulders and she pulled his shirt o
ver his head.
Next, her lips went around his nipple and she sucked hard. The response was immediate. She felt him tremble beneath her touch.
“Oh shit,” he groaned.
She moved to the other nipple, then slipped a hand down to rub on his erection. As impossible as it seemed, she felt him grow even larger beneath her hands. As she touched him and watched him respond to her touch, something was happening to Hope. She was getting even more turned on. Her breasts felt heavy and she was becoming restless. She needed his hands on her.
As though he read her mind, Rusty’s hands went to cup her backside. He lifted her and pulled her closer so that her core was positioned right on his bulging erection.
“Ohh!” Hope moaned as molten lava flowed through her. She felt her center get drenched and closed her eyes as a haze of lust engulfed her.
She moved restlessly against him, each movement triggering tiny bursts of pleasure. She reached down and fumbled with his zipper. She desperately needed to feel him, and the fabric between them was not cutting it.
“I need…” she gasped. She did not know what was happening to her. She had never felt this desperate for someone before.
“I know, baby. I know.” Rusty sounded almost as desperate as she did.
They wrestled frantically with his jeans. She pushed up to her knees to give him space to lower both his pants and his boxers. His penis sprung out and Hope gasped when she saw what he had between his legs.
“Oh wow!” she breathed at the sheer size of him.
She licked her lips in anticipation, then scooted back so she could wrap her hands around him. He felt like silk wrapped around iron. Running her hands over him was so sexy. She ran a hand from the base of his manhood to the tip. There was a bead of precum. She scooped it up with her thumb and rubbed it around the head of his erection.
By then, Rusty was already groaning and panting.
She was wearing a woolen dress. Rusty raised it up to her waist. He reached for her panties, then pushing it aside with his thumb, he slipped a finger into her.
“Ohhh…” she moaned. Her hands flew to his shoulder so she could keep from falling over.
“Shit! You are so damn wet,” he groaned.
Hope moaned and ground on his finger. It felt so good, but she wanted more. When he slipped a second finger into her core, she gasped and moaned at the intense pleasure that flooded her.
“More, Russ. More!” she said, frantically riding his hand.
Rusty withdrew his fingers and Hope almost cried in frustration.
“Just a second, sweetheart,” he murmured in a hoarse voice. He lifted her dress right over her head and unclipped her bra. Her breasts sprung free.
Rusty stared at her generous breasts in awe. “You are so damn gorgeous,” he said.
Hope smiled. For once, she was not self-conscious about her large boobs. And when she brushed his palms over them, she was even more grateful for being so endowed. Rusty captured one of the pink peaks in his mouth and gently sucked on it. He ran his tongue over the dark areole, sending tingling sensations down her spine. Then he closed his lips around the hard nub and tugged.
“Ahhh!” Hope felt the pull right down to her core and she bucked against him. She was so close to the edge, it was crazy. When he moved to the second nipple, she could not stop the orgasm that hit her suddenly. She cried out as she crested.
As she came down, she heard him tear open a condom package.
“I’m so sorry, Hope, but I have to have you now,” Rusty said in a strained voice.
Hearing the restrained passion in his voice ignited hers and suddenly she needed to feel him inside. She opened her eyes to slits and watched him slip on the rubber. Then she lifted herself up and positioned her core at the tip of his erection. Very gently, she lowered herself down till just the head of his erection was inside her.
Rusty clenched his hands into fists and placed them on the sofa. They were both panting with the effort.
“Are you trying to kill me?” he asked, panting.
Hope thought she would probably die first from the exquisite pleasure. Then she could not take it anymore and she brought down her full weight until he was buried inside her to the hilt. He filled her so completely and she felt the walls of her vagina expand to accommodate him. The feeling was sublime.
They both groaned at the pleasure that washed over them.
She lifted herself up again till just the head of his erection was inside her, then brought herself down again. It was slow torture.
“I’m sorry, Hope,” Russ said through clenched teeth as he took hold of her. “So sorry, but we’re taking this up a notch.”
Then he lifted her up and brought her down, increasing the tempo. He met her halfway, thrusting hard into her with an intensity that almost made her yell. Hope bit down hard on her lips as she rode him with a frenzy that hauled her up, took her to a steep cliff and then flung her over the edge.
“Oh my god, Rusty…yes!” She threw her head back and screamed as she came spiraling down and shattered into a million pieces.
Rusty bucked upward, thrusting deep into her several times. He let out a yell as he climaxed. Feeling his seed pumping into her released several sensations, sending her on another climax.
They ended up in the bedroom eventually. Hope lost count of how many times they made love. At one point, he had her flat on her back with her legs spread eagle, while his tongue lapped her up until she screamed his name over and over. Then he pounded into her with a frenzy that was equal to hers.
Afterward, Hope dozed off out of sheer exhaustion. But she was woken up by warm sensations all over her body. She opened her eyes to find Rusty kissing her all over.
“Haven’t you had enough?” she murmured as her body came awake.
“I can’t get enough of you, Hope,” he said as he nuzzled her neck. “It’s crazy.” He met her eyes and her breath caught at what she saw there. He looked at her like he really saw her, the person she was deep down inside.
She reached up and ran a hand gently over his hair, then the side of his face. “I feel the same way too,” she whispered before closing the gap and kissing him.
This time when they made love, it was slow and gentle and so beautiful. They had their hands entwined. The feelings their love-making evoked in Hope were so intense, she shut her eyes and wrapped her legs around him.
“Look at me, Hope,” Rusty said gruffly as he moved inside her.
Hope opened her eyes to a slit and almost drowned in the emotion flooding his eyes.
“I want to look deep into your eyes when you come for me.”
And just like that, she gasped, clenched around him, and screamed as a climax hit her.
**
Rusty lay with Hope cradled in his arms. So this was what it meant to make love to someone? He hadn’t believed there was a difference, but this had been different. He already knew that he did not want to be like this with any other person, ever. The thought startled him, then scared him, but he faced it bravely. He was falling in love with this woman and it was not as scary as he thought it would be. When she looked at him with a smile in her eyes, he felt like he was soaring.
The need to tell her about the way he left the army was suddenly a pressing one. For the first time, he felt real fear. This time, the stakes were higher. Would she believe him?
He turned to watch her as she slept. She looked so peaceful. He gently withdrew his arm from under her head. When he was sure she was not going to wake up, he stood up, pulled on a pair of pants and walked to the window.
He thought back to the day he’d left the army. It was the most humiliating experience of his life. He had never felt such shame and betrayal in his life. And he had to bring it all out and share with Hope. It would change the way she saw him and that thought alone made his chest ache. But it was the only thing to do. As soon as she got up, he would tell her.
Just then he felt her arms wrap around his waist. She pressed her body to his back and
he felt her breath tickle his bare back.
“I didn’t hear you get up,” he said.
She pressed a kiss to his back. “I was missing you.”
Rusty’s heart clenched. He dropped his hands to her arms and ran a gentle caress over them. His heart was heavy.
“Is everything okay?” Hope asked.
He heard the uncertainty in her voice and cursed inwardly. He turned around and drew her to him.
“Everything is fine, sweetheart,” he said, leaning down to kiss her.
She went on tiptoes and kissed him back thoroughly, then drew back.
“Okay. Something is obviously wrong. You’d better tell me what it is.” She led him to the bed then sat down at the edge and gently pulled him down beside her.
Rusty gazed at her. She was looking at him now like she cared about him. He wondered how long that would last once he told her.
“Russ,” she cupped his face with her palm. He was getting addicted to her touch. “Do you regret making love with me?”
“What? Hell no!” How could she even think that?
She smiled briefly. “I didn’t think so. Whatever it is can’t be that bad. I know you’re a good person and I really like you. Nothing’s going to change that. So just go on and tell me what’s wrong.”
She could say that because she did not know what happened. But she was right, he needed to tell her.
“I left the army because I was given a dishonorable discharge,” he said.
Hope’s eyes clouded over. “Whatever it is, I don’t believe you did it,” she stated.
Rusty felt his heart begin to beat rapidly. “How…how can you say that? You don’t even know what happened.”
“I know you, Rusty. You are an honorable man.”
He saw in her eyes that she meant exactly what she’d said. She believed in him. He had no idea what he’d done to deserve her unwavering belief…hell, he knew he had not done anything in particular. He grabbed her and kissed her. “Thank you,” he breathed.
“You don’t have to tell me.”
“I want to.” He took a deep breath and went back to that day, years ago when he stood before the military judge at the General Court Martial, pleading his innocence. It had not done any good then. “I was found guilty of sexually assaulting a female officer.”
Silver Shield Security Box Set Page 92
