Bound to Hope: A Forbidden Romance (The Hope Series Book 2) Page 11

  “I missed you, too.” Her lips are right back against mine.

  As I move us to the bedroom, she shimmies out of her coat, letting it fall into the floor. I place her softly on her back and crawl up her body, but it’s not long before she rolls us over.

  “It’s my turn to have my way with you,” she says as she pulls her shirt over her head while straddling me.

  The next thing I know, her hands and mouth are touching every spot of my body, and we’re both completely naked. She lowers her lips around my hard cock, and I think I’m going to explode. I can’t help but watch as she takes me deeper and deeper into her beautiful mouth. I have to tighten up every muscle in my body to hold back the release that’s begging to be set free.

  “Hope, if you don’t start riding my dick soon, I’m going to flip that pretty ass over and pound into you until you can’t fucking walk,” I grit out.

  She releases me and sits up, giving me a teasing smile with her swollen lips. Her eyes stay locked on mine as she crawls her way up my body, positioning me right where I need to be. She slowly lowers herself, only sliding in the tip. She’s still wearing that fucking smile and biting her lip.

  I growl. “Don’t toy with me, angel.” Grabbing ahold of her hips, I thrust upward, filling her completely.

  She lets out a gasp followed closely by a breathy moan. Her eyes fall closed, and her head dips back. As her hands find mine and our fingers intertwine, she raises my hands above my head. Her lips find mine as she moves up and down my length. I roll my hips from beneath her, making her call out my name. Every time I hear my name slip from her lips in ecstasy, I fall for her all over again. I’m lost in her, happy to never find my way out.

  As time passes, we work toward building our perfect wedding. I stay busy at the shop, and Hope keeps busy with work. When we finally come together in the evenings, we can’t pull ourselves away from one another. I can’t wait to be bound to Hope in every possible way.

  We have a morning routine of showering together, getting dressed for work, and sitting at the island, drinking coffee while talking about our plans for the day. When the time comes to leave, we kiss at the door and go our separate ways. When I get to the shop, Vanessa already has the door unlocked. She’s behind the counter with a cup of coffee, going through the mail.

  “Good morning,” I say, walking past her toward my office.

  “Oh, Holden,” she says, standing.

  “Yeah?” I turn to face her.

  “That Barry guy you’re building a bike for, he called and said he’s going to stop by to see its progress.”

  I roll my eyes. “Great, let me know when he arrives.” I spin around and go straight to my office.

  As I’m going through my e-mail, my phone rings. I pick it up and look at the number, unsure of who it is.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello, Holden. This is Dr. Patterson, Jane’s phycologist. Do you have a moment to talk?”

  “Sure, Dr. Patterson. What’s up?” I run my hand through my hair, nervous as to why I’m getting this call.

  “Well, you see, you’re listed as an emergency contact on Jane’s forms…”

  “Oh, no. Is she okay? Did she try something?”

  “No, not at all. I’m sorry for giving you a fright. But I’m calling because I’m a little concerned. Jane’s been having a tough time since she came back from New York a few months ago.”

  “Okay. But I don’t see how this involves me,” I say, slightly annoyed that I divorced this woman years ago, but I’m still caught up in her web.

  “I haven’t seen Jane in weeks. She won’t answer her phone or return my calls. I’m a little worried.”

  “I see. Is it possible she’s just been seeing someone else?”

  “It could be possible, but the thing is, Jane’s been appointed to me by the courts since that last bit of trouble she got into.”

  “Trouble? What trouble?” As far as I’d known, Jane has been completely fine.

  “I can’t say, I’m sorry. But I am worried she’s stopped taking her medications. If you see or hear from her, could you please have her call me?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Thank you for letting me know. Goodbye.” I hang up the phone and lean back, wondering what Jane has gotten herself into. But I don’t have time to wonder for long. Vanessa’s voice comes over the loud speaker. “Holden, your guest is here.”

  I hold down the button. “Thank you. Send him back, please.”

  I put away some of the papers on my desk and stand just as he’s walking into my office, holding out his hand. “Holden, good seeing you again.”

  I shake his hand. “Are you wanting to check out your bike? It’s almost done.”

  He smiles. “I’d love to.”

  I lead him out of my office and back to my work station. Without much fanfare, I grab ahold of the white cover I have thrown over it and pull it off, revealing a chrome and black bike.

  His jaw drops as he walks circles around it. “This is amazing! Just what I wanted.”

  I cross my arms over my chest and lean back. “Glad you like it.”

  “It really is something.” He looks at me. “You do good work. When will it be ready?”

  I shrug. “As soon as it’s paid for.”

  He seems taken back. “I’ve already paid.”

  I shake my head and stand, walking around the bike the same way he did. “I thought you might say that, but as it turns out, harassing my fiancée makes the price go up. Trying to buy her like one of my bikes?” I tsk him.

  He lets out a nervous laugh. “Is that what she said? That’s not exactly right.”

  “Really? Well, why don’t you tell me in your own words what happened?”

  “I was just offering her a compliment. She really is quite beautiful.”

  “I know how beautiful she is. But there’s a difference in complimenting her and trying to buy her, not that I’d expect someone like you to know the difference.”

  He scoffs. “Someone like me?” He raises an eyebrow. “You’re just like me,” he says with a laugh.

  “I’m nothing like you.”

  “We do have one thing in common.” He narrows his eyes at me. “We both have a hard-on for that sexy little —”

  He doesn’t get another word out because I end his sentence with a punch to the jaw.

  He rubs his face and squares his shoulders. “I’ll let you have that one, but if you lay another finger on me, I’ll sue you so fucking hard your head will spin.”

  I laugh. “Leave your final payment at the counter and send someone to pick up this bike you’re never going to ride, or I’ll put it on the showroom floor and sell it out from under you.”

  He looks me up and down, sizing me up, before turning and walking through the swinging door.

  I walk back into my office and sit at my desk. Leaning back, I rub my head with my eyes closed. Dealing with that asshole has given me a headache.

  A soft knock sounds on my door, and I open my eyes to see Hope standing in the doorway. Just seeing her makes me smile. “Hi, angel. What are you doing here?”

  She smiles and walks in, shutting the door behind her. “I thought I’d drop by to see how you were doing?”

  I laugh. “About to get sued for punching Barry in the face. How was your day?”

  She walks over to me and drops to her knees. “My day sucked. It made me want to be close to you.” Her hands to get work on freeing me from my jeans.

  “Angel,” I threaten.

  She bats her eyes at me before sucking me into her mouth. I inhale deeply as my hips lift off the chair. My hands wrap around the arms of my chair, trying to control myself. “Hope, I won’t last long this way.”

  “That’s okay, this is just for you,” she says, before going back to sucking me.

  It’s not long before I’m losing myself the way I always do when I’m with her.

  Chapter 15

  Hope

&
nbsp; As we sit on the couch with a fire burning in the fireplace, we look over another bridal magazine. I feel like I’ve read it all before.

  I scoff. “Can’t they come up with anything new? I’ve looked at like twenty of these things, and they’re all the same.”

  Holden laughs. “We could always go with the Taco Bell wedding,” he jokes.

  I roll my eyes. “I love me some Taco Bell, but no way.”

  “We need to decide soon, Hope. The date is getting closer and closer.”

  I close the magazine and drop it on the table. “I know, it’s just…”

  He places his hand in mine. “What is it, angel?”

  I rest my head against the back of the couch, and our eyes lock. “I just feel like having a big wedding isn’t for me. I mean, neither of us has a lot of family or friends to invite. Why make such a fuss and waste all that money?”

  He kisses the top of my hand. “Nobody said we had to have a big wedding, Hope. I’ll do this any way you want it. I’m just looking forward to being with you forever.” His blue-green eyes sparkle with honesty. “Hell, we could hop a plane to Vegas right now if you wanted.”

  I pick up my head to look at him, trying to determine if he’s serious. “Really? Would you do that?”

  “Of course. Is that what you want?”

  “I don’t want to go right this minute, but yeah, that’d be great. I never was one to dream of weddings. It would cut out a lot of the stress I’ve been feeling about it.”

  He bites his lower lip and looks like he’s thinking about something. “If you want to elope, I’ll be right there with you, but I have to ask. This isn’t some way of hiding it — hiding me, is it?”

  My brows draw together. “Hiding you? No, why would you think that? My parents already know. Who’s there to hide from?”

  He shrugs one shoulder. “I don’t know. It’s just you’ve wanted to put this off for so long, and now, you’ve decided on eloping? It seems sudden.”

  I place my hand on his jaw. “I love you, Holden. I want to be with you — spend the rest of my life with you. I’m not embarrassed about you, our love, or our past. I just want you, not some big, fancy wedding.”

  He sits upright and pulls me into his lap. “That’s the same thing I want. Just you. And I’ll take you however I can get you.” His lips land firmly on mine.

  “Mom, Holden and I are going to get married in Vegas,” I tell her over the phone as I walk around, picking up our mess from the night before. I grab the wedding magazine and toss it into the trash with a smile.

  “What? Why in the world would you do that?”

  I pour myself another cup of coffee and sit at the island in the kitchen. “I just don’t want some fancy wedding. It’s not worth the stress or the money it would cost. Neither of us has a large family or a lot of friends to attend anyway. I only want you, Dad, and Brad there.”

  “Brad? Who in the hell is Brad?” She takes a sharp breath. “Oh my God, Hope! This isn’t some kind of sharing thing, is it?”

  I can’t help but to laugh. “No, Mom. Brad is my best friend — my very gay, best friend.”

  She releases the breath she’s been holding. “Thank God,” she breathes out in relief.

  I giggle at her. How could she even think such a thing? Yes, I’m marrying a man that’s twice my age, but it’s not some kind of group relationship.

  “Is the date the same?”

  “Yes, Holden and I are going to take care of everything. We’re buying the plane tickets and paying for the hotel rooms. You won’t have to worry about a thing. Unless you can’t keep Daddy out of the casinos, that is.”

  “That sounds wonderful, Hope. Thank you for including us in this. I know we were hard to accept it, but I can see how much you two love one another. Your father is even starting to speak of him as if he is actually alive,” she says with a laugh.

  “I’m so happy and relieved he’s coming to terms with this.”

  I’m taking a sip of my coffee when she asks, “When can I expect a grandbaby?”

  The coffee spews from my mouth, spraying all over the countertop. “What?”

  “I’m getting old, Hope. I’d like to be able to spoil my grandchild before I go senile.”

  I shake my head. “I’m not sure if I want kids, Mom.”

  “Why?” she asks in a tone that tells me she’s angry and confused about my answer.

  “Well, I’m not ready to settle down yet. And Holden, he’s a little old to be having children, wouldn’t you say?”

  “Oh, Hope! Men can have children well into old age!” she scorns me.

  “I know he can, but I don’t know if he will want to lose sleep and chase around a baby when he’s pushing fifty.”

  “Are you telling me that by marrying this man, you’re giving up your right to have children?” She sounds completely appalled.

  “No, not at all. He’s more than willing to give me children if that’s what I want. I’m just not sure I want to. I want to live my life for me.”

  She takes a deep breath. “Think about it, sweetheart. You’re too young to have made your mind up about this already.”

  I roll my eyes. “I’ll think about it, but don’t get your hopes up. I’ll talk to you later, Mom. Love you.”

  “Love you too,” she says and hangs up.

  Using a towel, I sop up my coffee mess and sit back down, thinking over what she said. Is there a chance I’ll want kids one day? Right now, I just want to focus on marrying the man I love and establishing ourselves. I want to advance in my career. Do all the things I want to do.

  Actually, I need to figure out what it is I want to do. I still haven’t told Holden about that kiss with Scott. Since I’ve been back at work, the kiss and that night haven’t been brought back up. Scott doesn’t go out of his way to talk to me either. I already feel like I’m on thin ice, though. Maybe I should quit and open my own studio. So far, I haven’t had to sign that contract either. Either way, I need to tell Holden. I can’t enter a marriage with him with secrets between us.

  I’m so confused about what to do with my life. I know I want Holden, but kids? A career? I’m completely lost in my thoughts when he walks in. He sets two bags on the island in front of me and presses a kiss to my head.

  “Did you enjoy your day off?” he asks, opening the cabinet and getting out two plates.

  “Yeah, it was nice. How was work?”

  “It was great. Hey, listen,” he takes out some silverware and hands me a fork and a knife. “I was wondering if you would come down to the shop and take some pictures of the custom bikes I’ve built so I can build a website.”

  “I’d love to,” I say with a smile.

  He smiles back while handing over the plate that he’s made for me. “Thank you, angel.”

  “You’re welcome.” I take a sip of the glass of wine he poured me. “I talked to Mom today. I told her about Vegas.”

  “And?” he asks, looking at me from under his dark lashes.

  “She’s happy to be included.”

  He takes his spot beside me. “Good.”

  I nod before taking a bit of my orange chicken. “She’s also giving me shit about grandchildren.”

  He chews his food and swallows. “What did you tell her about that?”

  I shrug while poking around at my food. “That I didn’t know. I haven’t even thought about it. We’ve been busy trying to figure out the wedding. I’ve been busy with work and so have you.”

  He places his hand on mine. “It doesn’t have to be decided right now, Hope. You know I’m always willing to give you whatever you want.”

  His words make my heart flutter in my chest. “I know. Which brings me to the next thing I need to talk about.”

  “What?” he asks, completely unprepared for what I’m about to tell him.

  I take a deep breath. “You remember when I had to shoot that wedding?”

  He nods while chewing.

  “Well, Scott and I were shooting the reception
together — you know, trying to make sure we got every important aspect of the wedding.”

  Again, he nods.

  “We we’re having a good time when things started to wrap up. We ate cake, danced, and drank wine.”

  Now, he freezes.

  “He walked me to my room and he kissed me.”

  “What?” he yells, pushing his plate away.

  “I stopped it immediately,” I promise him.

  He finishes off his glass of wine. “Are you telling me that your boss made a move on you and you didn’t tell me? And not only that, but you’re still working there?”

  I bite my lower lip and think it over. “I was going to tell you!”

  “When?” He stands and pours himself another glass.

  “I left early to come home. I was going to tell you the minute I walked in the door, but we were on one another the second I stepped foot in here. Then afterward, you were so happy that I didn’t want to ruin that. I thought I could see Scott and put things into prospective for him. He hasn’t even looked at me since that weekend.”

  “I can’t believe you kept this from me.” He leans against the cabinet and rubs his brow.

  I stand and walk up to him. “I’m sorry. I know I should’ve told you. But he was drunk, and it was a mistake. I just didn’t want you to kill him.” I let out a nervous laugh.

  He reaches out and pulls me against his chest, placing one hand on my cheek. “You’re mine, angel.” His lips land passionately on mine, and his tongue forces its way inside. This kiss is hard but slow, letting me know I belong to him and only him.

  His hand drops from my face as he picks me up against him. His lips never leave mine as he turns us around, pressing my back against the fridge.

  He breaks the kiss but doesn’t pull away. “If another man ever fucking touches you again, I will kill him,” he says, moving back in.

  Chapter 16

  Holden