Bound to Hope: A Forbidden Romance (The Hope Series Book 2) Read online

  When I look back up at her, her eyes squint like she’s sizing me up.

  Biting the inside of my cheek, I try to hold in my laughter as I position myself for my next shot.

  I make two more balls before I finally miss one, allowing Hope to take her shot.

  She saunters around the pool table, looking for a clear shot. When she bends down, I get the perfect view down her shirt. I have to shake the dirty thoughts from my head, because I need to keep my head in the game. No way can I let her win this one. There’s too much at stake.

  We go back and forth, taking our shots. We’re neck and neck. I’m starting to get nervous. She’s much better than I anticipated.

  Leaning down to take my shot, out of the corner of my eye I see a man approach Hope. I don’t think much about it at first, but then I see her shake her head and walk away. Still, I don’t mind other men talking to her. I’m not that controlling. I line up my next shot but miss because he follows her over to where she’s waiting.

  I stand quickly and walk up to them, putting my arm around her and pulling her closer to my side like some possessive asshole.

  “There a problem here?” I look down at her.

  “No, is it my turn?”

  I nod and release her to take her shot, and then look back at the dick that’s still standing in front of me.

  “She’s with you?” The surprise in his voice is damn near offensive — like I couldn’t ever get someone like her.

  “That’s right. Got a problem?”

  He looks me up and down before shaking his head. “No, no problem.” He backs away.

  I turn to Hope, and she’s standing there smiling. When I look down at the pool table, I find no eight-ball. She’s won. Fuck my life, she is going to be the death of me.

  I can’t hold back my laughter when I see how happy she is with herself though. Quickly, I put my stick down and walk up to her, pulling her to me. I stare into her eyes with my hand cupping her cheek. “You’re a pain in my ass, you know that?”

  She giggles and nods, making me chuckle. I lower my lips to hers. Then I deepen the kiss, wanting to put on a bit of a show for the douchebag that’s still watching my girl. When I pull away, I glance back at the guy. He’s still watching while throwing back another shot.

  “Want to dance?” I ask her.

  “A reason to get close to you? You know I do.” She places her stick on the pool table and takes my hand, tugging me over to the dance floor.

  I pull her to me and wrap my arms around her waist. As we move, I keep my hands low, partially on her back and partially on her ass. Her arms snake around my neck, and her fingers toy with my hair. Just a simple touch from her makes everything else fall away. Her heat, her smell—it all drives me fucking crazy. I feel like a fucking teenager again, not an almost fifty-year-old man.

  “We’re going to have so much fun tonight,” she whispers.

  I pull back slightly, so I can see the mischief on her face. “Tonight?”

  She nods with her wicked smile still in place. “Tonight.”

  My head falls back, so I’m looking up at the ceiling, and I let out a groan. “I think we need to renegotiate the terms.”

  “Oh, no. I want you to watch while I play with everything that belongs to you.”

  “You know how I feel about sharing.”

  “I know. That’s why you’ll be tied up. Can’t have you taking your favorite toys back, now can we?”

  I open my mouth, but before any words can come out, I get shoved. I recover and spin around to see what the fuck’s going on, and to my surprise, it’s the same asshole from earlier.

  “Oh, I’m sorry man. I didn’t see you there.” He tosses his dark hair away from his face.

  “Fuck off and get out of here before I drag you out and beat your ass.”

  He laughs. “Yeah, okay.” He looks over at Hope. “What are you doing with this grandpa anyway? I think I could make you much happier.” He offers up a smile and a wink.

  “Look at her again, and it’ll be the last fucking thing you see before you’re taken out of here on a stretcher.”

  He steps up to me. “Is that so? You might want to be careful before I break your hip and steal that piece of fine-ass pussy right out from under you.”

  That’s the last thing he says, because the next thing I do is swing.

  Chapter 5

  Hope

  Holden swings and connects with the man’s jaw. The cracking sound is loud enough I can hear it even standing as far away as I am, over the music and the crowd.

  The guy falls, and it feels like time freezes. Is he getting back up? After he took a hit like that? I’ve seen guys stay down for less.

  The crowd goes crazy. They all scream and cheer and circle around us. I’m being pushed and pulled every which way from the group of men trying to get in on the action.

  Holden doesn’t take his eyes off the man on the floor. He stands, his chest heaving from adrenaline, waiting to see if he gets up.

  “Hey!” another man screams.

  Holden turns toward the voice, and the second he does, the man pulls back his fist and lands a hit to Holden’s stomach. He doubles over in pain. I scream and lunge toward him, but someone catches me mid-air. A strong arm wraps around my stomach, pulling me back, despite my kicking and screaming.

  “Holden!” I scream.

  Somehow over the noise of the bar, he hears me. He looks up and his eyes lock on mine. I watch as the expression on his face changes from the pain from being sucker-punched, to one of rage because another man’s hands are on me.

  He jumps up intending on marching over to me, but he’s stopped by two more men. I can’t see anything. The men in front of him are too big, and I’m being dragged outside. Where is this man taking me?

  I start pounding on his back for him to release me. He finally places me on my feet, outside on the sidewalk.

  “Stay put,” he tells me with a point of his fat, tattooed finger.

  “Fuck you. My fiancé is in there getting jumped by a group of thugs.” I try to push past him, but he grabs me and pins me to the side of a big truck. His nose is practically touching mine. He licks his thick lips. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay right here. He should’ve thought about that before laying a finger on my boy.”

  “Your boy?” I look him up and down and notice he’s wearing the same black, leather vest.

  They’re a biker gang.

  Fuck. We’re in so much trouble.

  How can I get out of this? The man that has me pinned to the side of a truck easily outweighs me by a hundred pounds. He’s a good two feet taller than me too. There’s no way I could beat him in a fight. I’d be like an annoying fly if anything.

  “Let me go,” I demand.

  “You should’ve come with us when you had the chance. Now I’m afraid your fiancé in there will be killed, and you’ll be taken anyway. This all could have been much easier.”

  I raise my knee and land a solid hit to his balls. Automatically, he releases me. I shove him away and rush back toward the door. Probably not a smart move since his gang members probably run this place, but I have to find Holden. Before I can make it inside, he comes running out.

  I freeze and cover my mouth with my hands. His lip is busted, and he has a small cut on his forehead, but he doesn’t look nearly as bad as I thought he would.

  “You’re okay,” I breathe out before rushing into his arms.

  “I’m fine, angel. Where’s the man that touched you?” His eyes glance around the parking lot.

  “I took care of him,” I say as I pull him in the direction of his Jeep.

  I grab the first-aid kit and sit it on the bar. Then I take the barstool next to Holden and turn to face him. “Let me see.”

  “I’m fine,” he says, standing and grabbing a bottle of whiskey from the cabinet. I watch as he unscrews the cap and takes a drink directly from the bottle.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “What�
�s wrong?” he asks with venom in his voice.

  I take a deep breath. “I know you aren’t happy about the fight, but we’re here. We’re okay and together.”

  He leans against the counter. “I almost lost you tonight. When I saw that man pulling you out of the bar, and I couldn’t get to you, I snapped.”

  I stand and walk over to him. I wrap my arms around his waist and rest my head against his chest. “You didn’t almost lose me. I can take care of myself.”

  “I know you can, Hope.”

  “That’s not all that’s bothering you, is it?”

  He draws in a deep breath, before he swallows down another drink. “It just pisses me off the way people see us, you know?”

  I lean back so I can see his face. It’s etched with pain and anger.

  “I don’t care how other people see us. I never have.”

  He breaks out of my hold and starts pacing. “I know you haven’t. I just wish it didn’t get to me so much. I wish I was more like you. But I see the looks we get on the street. And you can’t say it doesn’t bother you when we go out to eat and they think I’m your father.” He crashes down into a lounge chair in the living room.

  “That’s ridiculous. Anyone who thinks you’re my father is blind.” I begin walking toward him. “All they have to do is look at us and they can see how in love we are.” I take my place on his lap, straddling him.

  My fingers comb through his hair. “I don’t want you listening to anyone. All you need to know about us, is that I have never loved another person the way I love you. You’re all I want. My body craves your touch. My heart yearns for yours to be beating next to it.”

  He looks up at me with a painful expression. “I just don’t want you to wake up in twenty years and wonder why you’re still with this old man. When you’re forty, I’ll be sixty.”

  I smile and nod. “I can do math, Holden. And I bet even at sixty-years-old, younger men still won’t have a thing on you.” I press my lips against his. They are stiff at first, but within a second, they soften and mold with my own.

  He breaks the kiss. “If the day ever comes that you decide you don’t want me anymore, please let me know. I won’t fight you. I’ll let you go. I’ll do anything as long as you’re happy.”

  “Stop talking like that, Holden.” I stand and start removing my clothes. “You know nobody will ever compare to you.” When I’m completely stripped of my clothing, I remove his blood-stained shirt and unfasten his jeans. He lifts his hips just enough to slide them down his muscular thighs. Then I take my place back on top of him, sliding down his hard length.

  He rests his head against the back of the chair, and his lips part. I slip up and down his cock slowly and watch as he takes me in. His Adam’s apple bobs, then his jaw flexes. His brows draw together, and his eyes become hooded with passion.

  I hold his hands in mine and put them on my breasts. “Can you feel the way my body and heart respond to you?” I slide him back out, only to push him deep inside me. “Nobody else could ever do this to me. You’re it for me, so get used to it.”

  I’ve changed my outfit at least three times for this dinner with Jane. I don’t know why, but I want to look classy and sophisticated. Maybe in hopes she won’t see the seventeen-year-old she knew, but the twenty-six-year-old woman I am.

  “You look beautiful,” Holden says as he comes up behind me, pressing a kiss to my neck.

  I turn around and see him tying his tie. I shoo his hands away and finish it for him.

  “I’m nervous.”

  “Why are you nervous?”

  I straighten his tie and run my hand along it. “I don’t know. I just want her to see me as an adult, you know? Not just some kid who doesn’t know what she’s doing.”

  His hands catch my wrists, and he steps forward, causing me to step back. He presses his body against mine, pinning to me to closet door. “She’s going to see whatever she wants to see. Didn’t you just tell me last night not to listen to what anyone else has to say about us?”

  I smile at hearing my own words used against me. “This is different. This is a person who’ll always be in our lives, not a complete stranger at a bar.”

  He lowers his lips to my jaw. “She won’t always be in our lives if you don’t want her there.”

  “What do you want?” I ask, closing my eyes to enjoy his kisses.

  He pulls back, and my eyes pop open to see his. “I want you. Nothing else.”

  I don’t reply. I can’t. I love the way he loves me and how sure he is about us.

  We walk into the restaurant, hand-in-hand. Jane is already at a table. The hostess leads us over to her, and to my surprise, she’s sitting at a two-person booth.

  “Oh, Hope. I’m so sorry, I must have forgotten to change the reservation,” she says when she sees me.

  Holden turns to the hostess and slips her some cash. “Can we please get a bigger table?”

  The woman takes the cash. “Of course, right this way.”

  I smile up at him as I wrap my arm around his, and we follow behind the hostess to our new table.

  We’re taken to a four-person table, and the woman takes one chair away. Holden pulls out my chair, and I sit. That’s when I get a full view of Jane. She’s wearing a tight, red, lace dress. Her face is painted with bright red lipstick, heavy blush, and dark eyeliner. I’ve never seen her like this. It makes me wonder if she went a little overboard because she knew I’d be here.

  “Thank you,” I tell Holden as he slides my chair forward.

  He smiles down on me and doesn’t pull his eyes from mine as he pulls out the chair for Jane. She gushes like it’s a big deal, but even then, he doesn’t break our connection.

  He finally takes his place at the table, next to me and across from Jane.

  She looks only at him. “So, Holden, tell me what’s been going on in your life since the last time we did this. Based on that cut, it doesn’t look like you’re staying out of trouble.”

  He lets out a small laugh. “That’s nothing,” he says, blowing off her remark about his wound. “But I haven’t been up to much. Just working at the new shop. It’s doing really well. I’m getting more sales than I can handle. I think I’m going to have to look into hiring a few guys to help me out if it stays this busy.”

  “That’s wonderful. I always told you that you could do more than just repairs and oil changes.” She’s wearing a wide smile that makes me gag. She’s so fake. I remember hearing her bitching to my mom about Holden’s job. She hated when he came home covered in oil and grease. She made him change his clothes in the garage for God’s sake. Not to mention the many times I overheard her asking my dad if he could get Holden a job. She never supported his dreams.

  Holden knows she’s as full of shit as I do, but he doesn’t point it out. Instead, he smiles and nods. “What’s been going on with you?”

  She leans back and smiles, like she’s glad she’s finally allowed to gush about herself. “So much has changed since we last saw one another. Where to start?” She pushes her dark hair away from her face.

  “I’ve been working as a secretary in a law firm. I met a man who was going through a divorce, and we’ve been seeing one another. He’s a lovely man. I really think the two of you would get along.”

  “You should’ve brought him along. I’d love to meet him,” Holden says. He leans back and places his hand on my thigh. Jane sees the movement, even though he didn’t look away from her, and she shoots me with a dirty look. Quickly though, she catches herself and realizes she’s ruined her plan of pretending like I’m not here. She rights her face, and the fake smile goes back in place. “I asked him to come along, but he’s busy with work. Plus, we’ve only been seeing one another a couple months. It’s still early in the relationship.”

  Holden looks at me and smiles, squeezing my thigh.

  “Where’s that waiter?” Jane asks, looking around like she’s uncomfortable.

  “I’m sure he’ll be here soon,” Holden rep
lies, still looking at me.

  I can tell Jane is getting jealous. Her lips press into a tight line, and she keeps messing with her hair and looking around nervously. It’s obvious she planned on this being her uninterrupted alone time with him, and here I am, ruining it for her.

  She adjusts her dress and turns her attention back to Holden. “Well, we’ve talked about what we’ve both been up to over the past year. What do you hope to achieve in the coming year? Last year you told me about wanting to put in extra time at your new shop, and it looks like you succeeded at making yet another successful business.”

  Finally, he turns to look at her. A smile tips his lips as he thinks it over. “I’m praying that Hope here decides on a wedding date.” He brings his eyes back to mine, and I smile lovingly at him. Then I look at Jane in time to see her eyes flash angrily at me.

  “Oh, Hope hasn’t picked a date yet?” Her smile is back in place like she’s been handed all the ammo she needs, and she’s locked and loaded. “Is there a reason you’ve been putting it off, Hope? Not getting cold feet already, surely?”

  It’s really the first time she’s acknowledged me — of course it’s something snarky. I place my hand on Holden’s, which is still firmly on my thigh and rub it. “Not at all. We’ve only been engaged for one day! This one just can’t wait any longer.” I turn to him with my fake smile still in place. “Maybe we should elope.”

  She scoffs. “Eloping is so trashy. I mean, really, who’d want to do that? Have some tacky Las Vegas wedding? How are your parents taking the news, Hope?”

  The waiter appears and steals her attention away from me. Thank God.

  The rest of the dinner goes in about the same fashion. Holden brings me into the conversation whenever he can, but I stick to one-word replies. I’m not trying to give her any more firepower than she already has.

  When we leave the restaurant, Jane picks up her bag from concierge. Holden being the gentlemen he is, takes the bag and puts it in the back of the Jeep. I open the front door to climb inside, but Jane stops me.