I stood on the porch with a bottle of wine in my hands. I was about to knock when I heard Elvis again, but this time it was “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”

I’d spent the past several hours investigating the fire in the cafeteria, then helping clean up in the aftermath. It had been caused by faulty wiring in one of the large ovens.

It had only been a few hours since I’d seen Hope, since she’d agreed to be my girlfriend, but it had felt like years.

Before I could knock, she opened the front door. “Missed you.”

I opened the screen door and walked in. “Ditto. I was just listening to the music and feeling like the luckiest son of a bitch on the planet.”

Hope smiled, her face reflecting pure joy. She was so damn easy to please.

I followed her into the house and handed her the wine.

“Come on. We can open this and grab some glasses from the kitchen,” she said.

I glanced around the house as we walked through the front hallway to the kitchen. “No George?”

She shook her head. “Auntie Ada took him to the movies. Then they’re going to stay at her place. She’s hosting a sleepover with George, Scott, and her niece, Clara.”

My eyebrows rose as I considered the night Ada was going to have. “Remind me to buy her two bottles of wine tomorrow. Or maybe I’ll just offer her combat pay.”

Hope laughed. I hadn’t been in the house three minutes and I was already overwhelmed with the need to touch her.

I took the wine from her and placed it on the counter. Then I grasped her hand and tugged her close, twirling her around the room in time with the music.

Hope never missed a beat, her arms wrapping around my neck as we swayed. She lifted her face to me and I was a goner.

Bending my head, I kissed her. It was long and deep, full of the passion I’d been forced to hold back on the playground.

“Hope,” I murmured against her lips.

She lowered her head slightly, her forehead pressed to my mouth. “I almost ruined everything,” she whispered.

Obviously, there was still some residual guilt lingering.

“No. Lauren almost ruined everything. The woman is a shit stirrer, spoiled and entitled. She might know what the word no means, but she’d never understood how it applies to her. I should have spotted her game. God knows I’ve been on the receiving end of her manipulations for years.”

“The two of you really never dated?” she asked.

I shook my head.

“She was like a woman scorned all afternoon after you set her straight.”

“She’s had the world handed to her on a silver platter since the day she was born. I’m pretty sure I was the first thing she ever wanted that she didn’t get.”

Hope looked up at me and gave me a smile I couldn’t quite interpret.

“What’s that grin about?”

She lifted one shoulder. “I’ve never been the girl who got the guy.”

I narrowed my eyes. “One attempt can hardly be interpreted as a failing track record.”

“I guess not. I’m sorry I painted you with the same brush as Alan. That was wrong of me.”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “It wasn’t. Before you came to town, I was more like Alan than I care to admit.”

“I find that so hard to believe. I mean…I kept hearing all the gossip, but when we were together, you were so different from the man everyone else was describing.”

The song ended, so we stopped dancing. While I wanted to keep holding her—hell, I wanted to do a lot more than just dance—I decided this was a good time to clear the air. And then, God willing, we’d move forward from here.

Together.

Forever.

Hope turned, intent on opening the wine, but I stopped her, clasping her hand and leading her to the kitchen table where we both sat down.

She looked at me curiously. “No wine?”

“In a minute. I want to get everything out in the open here, so you know exactly where I’m coming from. Maybe if I’d said some of these things earlier, you wouldn’t have been so susceptible to Lauren’s lies.”

She sighed. “Yeah.” Hope pointed to her forehead. “Pretty sure I have the word sucker tattooed up there.”

I grinned, leaning forward to kiss the brow she was pointing to. “Nope. That’s what I’m saying. Until I met you, I was the good time guy, hanging out at the bars with my friends, hooking up with women, while always keeping one eye on the exit. The second things took a serious turn, I got the hell out.”

“Why? It’s obvious you’re great with kids and I think you’ll make an amazing husband one day too.”

I was touched by her belief in me. “You know my family’s story. I wasn’t much older than George when my parents split up. After that, it was a revolving door in terms of stepmoms and my mom’s boyfriends. She’d start dating all these guys and…I was just like George in a lot of ways. A tomboy with too much energy to spend. Her boyfriends would use me to try to win her over. Playing catch, buying me toys and ice cream, taking me to ball games.”

“How do you know it was all just an act?” Hope asked. “How do you know they didn’t really care about you?”

“Because the second she dumped them, they dumped me.”

Her eyes softened. “So today, at the school, when George said…”

“Everything George said nearly killed me. I’ve been paying extra attention to him at tee-ball practice, hoping that would be enough, but…” I swallowed heavily.

“You can always be a part of his life. I won’t keep the two of you apart, even if…”

Her words faded away.

I leaned back and crossed my arms. “Even if?”

She shrugged, refusing to finish the sentence, when she saw my face.

“Smart girl.” I reached out and took her hand. “We’re not borrowing that trouble because it’ll never happen.”

Hope had the prettiest smile I’d ever seen.

“What’s for dinner?” I asked.

She glanced toward the fridge. “I have a couple of steaks marinating.”

“Anything cooking already?”

She shook her head. “I was just going to throw those on the grill and toss a salad together.”

“Good.” I stood up, not relinquishing her hand. “We’ll have all that for dessert.”

“Dessert?” she asked with a laugh, not needing a response from me when I led her straight to her bedroom.

“I’m finished running,” I said to her, realizing there was one last promise to make. “I was serious about what I said earlier. I want to be with you. Always.”

Her eyes shone with happy tears. “I want that too.”

“Good. Now take off that blouse.”

Whatever shyness Hope might have felt with me at the beginning was long gone. She unbuttoned the blouse, her bra following.

I cupped her breasts, plumping the flesh, pinching her hard nipples. “You’re so beautiful,” I murmured, kissing her as I touched her.

She tugged my shirttail free of my jeans, her hands sliding beneath to stroke my chest. “So are you,” she said, as she ran her fingertips over my pecs so lightly it almost tickled.

Releasing her breasts, I lowered my hands to strip off her jeans. While I could tell she’d showered after school, there was still the faintest scent of smoke in her hair, blending with the strawberry of her shampoo. It was a strange, yet tantalizing combination.

Once she was naked, I took a step away, wanting to steal an unobstructed look at her. The night we’d spent together was chiseled on my brain. And my heart.

It had been everything and I’d longed for this moment every single second since.

A million nights in her bed wouldn’t be enough for me.

Hope glanced at my jeans, lifting her eyebrows in a “get on with it” way.

I shed them without haste, sucking in a sharp breath when she wrapped her hands around me, caressing me from root to tip. I let her make the journey up and back half a dozen times before I gripped her wrists and pulled her hands away.

“Jake,” she started, but I shook my head.

“When I come, sweetheart, I’m going to be buried deep between those pretty legs of yours.”

She shivered, the reaction pure arousal. “I want you inside me now.”

I chuckled. “Always in such a hurry. Go lie on the bed. We’re going to get there.” And then, because I was ornery, I added, “Eventually.”

She didn’t miss the last word, but I didn’t give her time to argue about it. We walked toward her bed and I pressed my hand on her shoulder, urging her to sit.

Kneeling in front of her, I tugged her ass to the edge of the mattress and pushed her legs apart. “Lie back, Miss Conner,” I teased. “I’m going to be very naughty.”

Hope’s laugh was breathless and short-lived as she fell to her back the second I took her clit between my teeth. Her hands were in my hair within seconds, clinging to it as I slid my tongue along her slit.

“God,” Hope cried. “I love…” I held my breath until she found the strength to finish. I was disappointed when she added, “The way you do that.”

I’d spent a lifetime running from the words I love you. Love was the trigger, the thing that kept me trying to escape, but now, I wanted them, needed them from her.

Patience had never been one of my strong suits.

I licked her again, then sucked her clit into my mouth, pulling on it roughly. That little hot button never failed to push Hope to the brink and beyond. Her hips gyrated wildly, so I gripped them firmly, holding her still as I continued to feast on her sweet pussy.

“Jake, please.” While they weren’t exactly the three little words I was hoping for, they were definitely a close second. I loved the sound of my name on her lips, combined with that plea for release.

“Mmmm?” I hummed against her, pretending to misunderstand her desire.

“I need you.”

Lifting my head, I waited until her eyes found mine. Then I gave her a self-satisfied smirk. “Tough.”

She narrowed her eyes, but I wasn’t swayed. I was going to taste her first orgasm. I drove my tongue inside her, her back arching almost violently in response. Hope’s reactions were so natural, so unrestrained. She gave me everything she had. It was a heady thing, something the alpha inside of me wanted to exploit, to take advantage of.

I pressed my tongue in and out of her wet pussy as her head thrashed from side to side, my name her breathless mantra.

“Jake. Jake. Jake.”

I fucked her with my tongue, and when she was right there, on the edge, I ran my thumb over her clit, pushing her off.

She jerked, her fists closing around my hair, pulling it so hard, my scalp burned. I’d be lucky if the wildcat didn’t pull out every strand.

It would be worth it.

The taste of her was still on my lips when her orgasm waned and I lifted my head. Her pretty cheeks were flushed red, her breasts rising and falling rapidly as she sought to catch her breath.

“Ready for round two?”

She hadn’t caught her breath yet, hadn’t fully landed. It didn’t matter. There was a tiny part of me that wanted vengeance for that morning after. Waking up in an empty bed, searching for her, longing for her.

This time I was going to bind her to me, not with physical bonds, but with stronger ones. I was going to tie her here with the knowledge that I was the only one who could fulfill her every fantasy, satisfy her every desire.

It was time to unleash the beasts—hers and mine.

Driving two fingers inside her, I curled them, finding her G-spot on the first stroke.

“Fuck,” Hope cried out loudly. Her hands had lowered, clenching the bedspread, tugging on it as I pressed my fingers deeper before withdrawing them completely.

She hadn’t expected me to stop. I could see that from her confused expression.

“Promise me,” I said, my voice husky with painful need.

“Anything,” she replied breathlessly.

In a different state of mind, I might have smiled at her quick acquiescence. But right now, the memory of her leaving me alone and avoiding me for nearly two weeks was too strong.

“No more running.”

“No more,” she agreed.

“If something upsets you, you stick around and we talk it out.”

“Absolutely.”

I believed her. Yet there was a part of me that needed something stronger than just her words. That vow was going to be solidified…with punishment and seduction.

I stood, flipping her to her stomach with a strong hand on her upper arm. Hope started to lift up, but I placed the flat of my hand in the center of her back. With the other, I spanked her, several firm slaps that ensured she wouldn’t forget the promise she’d just made.

“You’re mine,” I said, caressing the heated flesh of her ass. I’d never felt this unfamiliar need to possess a woman. It was strong, almost overpowering.

God help sweet Hope because I was going to be a jealous boyfriend. That was a new emotion for me as well.

“Yours,” she whispered. “I’m yours.”

“Open your legs.”

Her thighs parted and I drove my fingers back inside—three this time—fucking her with them from behind, pounding them in deep and hard.

She came within seconds, and I drew the orgasm out, kept it firing as I refused to slow my pace, to give her time to recover. Her body shook as if she’d just received an electrical shock. She continued to plead—for me to stop, to keep going, to take her with my cock.

The kindergarten teacher knew all the bad words and she let them fly.

“Fuck me,” she yelled. “Please, Jake. I need you inside me. Take me. Hard.”

I wiggled my fingers. “I am inside you.” I knew what she meant, but I wanted to hear her say cock again.

“No,” she cried out. “Your cock. I want your big cock. I need you to fill me up, fuck me so hard it hurts. I…God…please, Jake.”

I’d never gotten a better invitation.

“Roll over,” I commanded. “And move to the middle of the bed. This time I’m going to see your face when I slide inside you.”

Hope wasted no time getting into position, lifting her arms and drawing me over her. I kissed her, letting her taste her own arousal, still lingering on my lips. Our tongues touched. Hope’s hands wrapped around my dick, guiding me to her opening.

There was no hesitation on her part. Not the slightest bit.

I pressed the head of my cock inside as she shifted her position, lifting her knees to ease my path. I threw them over my shoulders to open her even more. She was completely at my mercy. Mine.

Our eyes met. I’m not sure what she saw in my face, but I realized I’d given the last fear away.

She cupped my face with a soft hand. “I don’t want slow and easy.”

My chest tightened at the thought of taking her the way I’d always dreamed of, longed for.

“And I want it all,” she added.

With every single lover in the past, I’d taken care, given the woman plenty of time to adjust to my girth, my length, even as I longed for hard and fast.

“Hope,” I whispered.

She placed a finger over my lips. “Are you going to give me what I want?”

I grinned. My kitten had claws.

“Or should I find someone else to—”

That was as far as she got with her taunt before I slammed inside her. Hope Connor was mine.

She screamed, but I took her at her word, gave her what she said she wanted because—God help me—it was what I wanted too. She urged me on, begging for everything I had.

I thrusted roughly as Hope’s fingernails scored my shoulders, scratching the skin. I was going to feel that tomorrow.

Then I realized she was going to be sore as well. Neither of us was giving the other an ounce of reprieve. We were claiming, possessing, taking, giving.

Hope’s hips lifted to meet me, her palms flat on the headboard above her head. She was using that placement not just for purchase, but as a way to move herself toward me to capture even more on every inward thrust.

She came once, but I wasn’t quite there. I couldn’t be. This was everything I’d ever wanted and I wasn’t about to let it end.

Her next orgasm was a mere second behind the first, but this time, I lost my battle to hold on. Her inner muscles clenched tightly around my dick and I filled her with my come.

No condom.

I figured it was a testament to just how deeply I’d fallen when I realized how disappointed I was that she was on the pill. Funny how getting her pregnant was a goal, not a fear.

I remained inside her as we slowly came down, both of us gasping for air. Then, reluctantly, I slid out of her wet heat, watching her face as I did so. My wits were starting to return now that I wasn’t blinded by that haze of sexual longing.

“Hope,” I said, praying I hadn’t hurt her, as I fell to the mattress next to her. “Sweetheart.”

“I love you,” she said.

My heart nearly exploded, too full of happiness to hold it all. “I love you too.”

She twisted on the bed, wrapping her arm around my waist, nuzzling close. “How long do you need to recover?”

I leaned back until I could see her face. “What?”

“I have a five-year-old son, Jake. We need to take advantage of times like this, when we can be as loud as we want to. How long,” she asked, her hand stroking my dick in a way that was pure minx, “until we can do it again?”

I placed my hand over hers, applying more pressure as the two of us stroked it together. “You keep that up and it won’t be long at all.”

Her smile was a lethal combination of sweet and sexy and totally Hope.

“Good. I have a fire inside me,” she murmured.

I chuckled at her joke when she squeezed my dick tighter.

“Lucky for you, I have a big hose.”