“I can think of some ways to warm you up, Hope.” His voice had gone deep, cajoling. She’d rarely seen him without his ever-present Stetson on his head, but now his golden-brown hair curled over the tops of his ears and brushed his eyebrows. It was messy and overly long, as though James just hadn’t wanted to be bothered with a haircut. It was shaggy, and Hope thought he looked utterly perfect.
“Don’t.” But even as she said the words, her hands found their way to his shoulders as though her body wanted something her mind knew was a spectacularly bad idea.
“Why not?” He hovered over her, his chest nearly touching hers. She could feel her nipples tightening.
“You don’t like me.” The words made sense. They were logical and sound. Her hands curled around the muscles of his shoulders.
His blue eyes flared. “Is that what you think?”
She wasn’t an idiot. She pulled her hands back. She wasn’t going to play his fool. “James, I asked you out once and you practically turned green and ran. Don’t pretend you’ve changed your mind.”
He shook his head, his body still far, far too close for her comfort. “No. I haven’t changed my mind, but my circumstances have changed. Hope, baby, you’re not like the other women I’ve dated. You’re not just looking for a good time.”
“You don’t know that.” He’d never asked her what she wanted. A good time would have been nice. Maybe. Any time would have been better than the utterly loneliness of the last eight years. She’d never fooled herself that James would want her for the long term. She’d just wanted the solace of another body holding hers.
Who was she kidding? She could have gotten that if she wanted it. For the last year, she’d stayed away from men altogether, with the singular exception of James. She only wanted James. The only other man who had sparked her deep interest was Noah.
Yeah, she wasn’t very smart.
“I do know that. And if you’re telling yourself that we could spend a night in bed and get up and walk away in the morning, then you are an idiot. Hope, I feel a connection to you, and that scares the crap out of me. I don’t know if I want it. My parents had it, and it destroyed them when it was broken. After my mom died, it didn’t take long at all for both of my fathers to follow her. I don’t know if I want to love someone like that.”
Her heart seized a little at the very idea that James could really care for her. But if it wasn’t something he wanted, then it couldn’t work out. And she needed to move on. Despite what Nate had said, and perhaps because of all the wonderful people who had shown up to check on her, she needed to leave Bliss. Even if Christian’s former followers hadn’t caught up to her, it was only a matter of time before someone did. It could be the Followers of the Light or the law, but sooner or later Hope’s time was going to be up.
“James, I’m not asking you to love me.” She wouldn’t. Loving her was a bad idea.
And still he leaned closer. He was so close their noses touched. “Well, lately I’ve been thinking that I should just find someone I like. I’m not getting any younger, girl. And neither are you.”
It was a horrible reason to date someone. Hope felt her indignation rise like a tidal wave. No way was she going to be his convenience. She opened her mouth to tell him he could take his like for her and go straight to hell when he pressed his lips to hers. In a single heartbeat, all her righteous anger turned to lust. James stopped trying to hold his weight off her and sank, his big body covering hers, pressing her into the mattress. His lips played, his tongue seduced.
This wasn’t a soft opening volley. It was a full-on assault, and Hope felt everything feminine in her respond. James dominated her mouth. His tongue found hers and glided over and around, his lips fused to hers. His chest nestled against her breasts, and his legs gently pressed at her knees. Before she knew it, her legs were splayed wide, and he’d made a place for himself at the center of her body. As he kissed her, she could feel his cock pushing against her pussy, lengthening and hardening. His hips moved as though they were dancing, but the only music Hope could hear was the mingled sounds of their breath and the soft moan that was forced from her throat.
So good. He felt so good. She could let him take over, and she would feel so much better. It wouldn’t be like the other times. This time would be different. She wouldn’t strive and work and not find satisfaction. James ground against her as he started to kiss her neck, and already she could feel a little pleasure. Warm. Her pussy was warm, and she was already wet. She could feel her folds moistening. She wanted to move against him. She didn’t want to lie there. She wanted to sink her nails into the skin of his back and force him to shove his cock inside her pussy.
She didn’t recognize herself, and that felt good, too.
“James.” His name was a breathy plea coming out of her mouth.
“Yeah, baby. Yes. I knew it could be like this.” His lips turned up in a sensual smile as his hand claimed her breast. “Let’s get you out of these clothes, and we can have a real good time.”
She froze. A real good time. Good-time girl. That was what she’d been before Nate had found her. She’d been a good time—except she hadn’t had one. She’d been looking for a way to obliterate herself, and she’d used booze and sex to try to do it.
“Hope?” James had stopped, his body going still on top of hers. His baby blues were wide with concern.
“I thought she was supposed to be resting, not getting pawed by her host.”
Hope pushed at James. Noah’s harsh words saved her from complete embarrassment. He stood looking into the room, his eyes on his brother’s back. Butch sat beside his master, his massive tail thumping as though he just didn’t get the whole simmering tension between the humans.
James stared at her for a moment even as she pushed at him. It was as though he needed her to realize he was stronger, and he’d stop the encounter when he decided to. “I’ll let this go, Hope. But not forever.”
He pressed his lips swiftly to hers before she could protest and then he was up and off her, leaving her feeling very much alone. She’d been warm with James on top of her, but now she felt the chill.
“You take a little nap, Hope. I’m going to see if I can manage to herd these people out of here.” James turned back when he reached the doorway, his eyes carefully avoiding Noah’s, but seeking hers out. “We’ll talk at dinner.”
That sounded ominous. “I might need to rest.”
She might need to run, but, damn it, she didn’t have a car.
“Then I will come back and carry you to the dinner table. We eat at six, and I will be watching everything you eat. Doc made me responsible for you, and he’s not the only one. Logan asked me to look out for you, too. I take those promises damn seriously, Hope. We’re going to talk about what’s bothering you, and we’re going to talk about what we, and I do mean we, are going to do about it. I’ll see you at six, and if I find out you’re trying to leave this ranch, I won’t hesitate to put you over my knee.”
With that, he turned and left. That was the second time in twenty minutes that he’d threaten to spank her and the second time all of her girl parts had responded to the totally off-the-wall, outrageously insulting threat by softening and practically purring.
She hated to do it, but she looked up at Noah. He had to think she was some kind of slut. Surely he’d figured out that she wasn’t his brother’s girl, but she’d been caught wrapping her arms around his neck and panting. She steeled herself to meet his judgment, but there was a little smile on his face as he looked at her.