I’d just finished buttoning my shirt when I heard a knock on the door. A glance at the clock on my nightstand said it was six on the dot.

Scarlett had called this morning to ask me a question about the tee-ball schedule and she’d mentioned that George and Scott were having a sleepover tonight. Dear old stepmom didn’t realize she’d made my day.

Hope was childless for the entire night and I intended to put that time to good use.

I’d jacked off in the shower while I was getting ready, hoping that would take the edge off.

I wasn’t having sex with Hope tonight.

I’d repeated those words to myself no less than twelve thousand times today.

Every minute I spent with her convinced me more and more that she was something special. Which meant I had to proceed with caution.

We were still too early in the game for me to show her what lived beneath my belt. So until I was certain she felt the same way about me, I would have to move slowly, seduce her in degrees until she wanted me badly enough, she wouldn’t run away when she saw…the big hose.

I walked down the hallway to the front door. My apartment was small, occupying about two-thirds of the second floor of the station. Across the hall from my entrance was a large storage area with most of the fire equipment and the top half of the pole I’d invited Hope to slide down the first day we’d met.

A pole she was looking at when I opened the door. “Change your mind?”

She turned around, shaking her head quickly. “Nope. I’m good.”

I stepped back so she could walk in and enjoyed the look of delight on her face when she spotted my dinner setup.

“A picnic?”

I’d pushed back the furniture in the living room and spread out a blanket. Then I’d borrowed my mom’s picnic basket to add to the effect. It looked pretty inviting, if I did say so myself.

“I considered walking with you to the park with this whole setup, but I didn’t want us to get arrested for public indecency. There’s no way I’m keeping my hands off you while we eat.”

That sweet blush that turned me on heated her cheeks.

“Jake,” she started.

“We’re in private, per your deal.” It had bothered me when she’d asked me not to kiss her or hold her hand in public. Then I’d considered everything Hope had likely heard about me from the town gossips. She hadn’t dated since George was born and she was being careful. The more I thought about that, the more I respected it.

I wished my parents had been a little—okay, a lot—more circumspect when bringing their revolving door of lovers through my childhood homes. While Dad had more wives, my mom had done her fair share of dating after the divorce, auditioning quite a few “uncles” before deciding Harold could support her the way she wanted—with a new car every few years and diamonds for Christmas.

Hope was being careful with George’s feelings and I liked that. Liked that she was such a good mom.

“And since there’s no one here…” I pressed her back against the door and kissed her the way I’d wanted to ever since the other night on her couch. It was a long, deep, hot kiss, our tongues touching, tasting, as my hands explored under her shirt.

Hope twisted her head briefly to catch her breath. “You don’t waste any time, do you?”

“Life’s too short not to reach out and grab what you want.” I lived by those words, always had. Until her, what I’d wanted had always been merely physical, sexual.

Now I wanted a hell of a lot more.

My fingers grazed her nipples. Even covered by the lace of her bra I could tell they were hard. “You know, I was thinking…”

“Oh, yeah?” Her hands were wrapped around my neck, the position lifting her shirt just enough to give me a peek at her trim waist.

“I think we should do this picnic topless.”

She laughed, thinking I was joking.

I wasn’t.

“Jake. I’m not going to sit here and eat…” She paused.

“Fried chicken,” I supplied.

“Without a shirt on.”

“Your bra is going too.”

She shook her head. “I can’t do that.”

“Why not?” I asked, perfectly aware that all of this was new to Hope. Her sexual experiences were shockingly few. But I’d been on the receiving end of too many heated looks from her not to know she was more than ready to expand on her knowledge.

She lifted one shoulder. “Because it’s light in here. You’d see,” she sighed, “too much.”

I gave her a wink. “That’s kind of the point.” Then I recalled the other night on the couch. The room had been dark, the only light provided by the TV. And even with that, we’d hidden all the naked parts under a blanket.

“I, um…” Hope ran her hand absentmindedly over her stomach.

“What’s holding you back?”

“I have stretch marks. And a scar. C-section.” She gave me a rueful grin as she pointed to herself. “Narrow hips.”

So she was self-conscious, more than shy. I could work with that.

I reached for the buttons on my shirt, slipping them one by one as she watched. “You’re not the only one with scars and you won’t be the only one without a shirt on.”

She bit her lower lip, her gaze glued to my chest as I continued popping buttons free. Once I was done, I slid the cotton over my shoulders and dropped the shirt to the floor.

“Wow,” she mouthed.

I worked out. Probably more than I needed to. There was a makeshift gym in a back room of the station. Lifting weights made me better at my job. Some of the equipment as well as the force it took to control the hoses required a certain level of strength.

I was the only full-time firefighter in Bootlick, Kansas. Even so, it wasn’t like I was seeing a lot of action—not even when I considered the times I ran EMT calls—so I killed a lot of down time working out.

And while I wasn’t proud of it, I had just enough vanity that I liked her response to seeing me shirtless.

“You can touch it,” I teased.

Hope rolled her eyes at me in a way I found adorable. I’d never been with a woman who got my sense of humor. I liked making Hope laugh as much as I liked turning her on.

She reached out and ran her fingers in a triangle pattern—from nipple to nipple then down to my navel. “I don’t see any scars,” she said at last, her voice breathy, hungry.

My shirt was staying off the rest of the night.

I turned my back to her, glancing over my right shoulder to point out the scar. “I was clearcutting some burned trees after a fire. One of the smaller ones fell when I was cutting down a big one. A branch caught me. Twenty-seven stitches.”

Hope ran her fingers over the scar. “Looks like it was a painful cut.”

I shrugged. “They gave me some pretty good drugs at the hospital. Happened a few years ago, so it’s fading.”

I was touched when she leaned forward, ran her fingers over it, then placed a kiss on it. I could imagine her doing the same whenever George got a boo-boo.

I twisted back around. “I showed you mine.”

Hope blew out a shaky breath, but didn’t resist when I lifted her shirt and pulled it off. She was wearing a sexy red lacy bra—one I hoped she’d put on just for me. Her hands flew up to cover herself, so I grasped her wrists tugging them down.

“No fair hiding.”

Her blush wasn’t just limited to her face. The pink started creeping down her neck, even tinging the tops of her breasts.

“You’re beautiful, Hope.” I’d told other women that in the past, too many to count, but none of them held a candle to Hope.

“I bet you say that to all the girls.”

Of course, she called me on it. She had a way of reminding both of us of my reputation—well-earned—as a playboy. I was starting to wonder if some of her comments were more for her, than for me. Sometimes it felt like she was trying to find a way to either push me away or discover a means of resisting me herself.

I didn’t have a leg to stand on in that argument, so I changed the subject. “I don’t see a scar.”

She shifted back a few inches, then tugged the top of her jeans down, lower than I would have thought she’d be willing to do. There, at the base of her stomach, was a thin, pink horizontal line. “Mine’s fading too,” she said. “Just not as fast as I’d like.”

I reached out and ran my finger over it, just as she’d done with my scar. She shivered lightly.

I moved closer, placing my lips against her ear as I whispered, “I’ll kiss it later.”

My promise provoked a breathy laugh from her. “Should we eat?”

Hope was trying to distract me with food.

“We will. As soon as you’re topless.”

She frowned. “I am.”

I ran my finger under one strap of her bra. “Pretty as this is, it’s gotta go, sweetheart.”

She raised her hands again, cupping her breasts to hide them.

“Can’t suck on those sweet nipples of yours if I can’t get to them.” And then, because I was starting to understand Hope and what made her tick, I laid down a more playful card. “Chicken?”

Her eyes narrowed and her hands lowered. “No.”

“Good.” I reached around her with one hand and unsnapped her bra with an accomplished flick.

“I don’t want to think about how quickly you just did that.”

I chuckled. “Probably best if you don’t.”

Her hands had returned to the bra, holding the lace in place.

“Put your hands down by your side, Hope. I want to see you.”

Her hands were trembling slightly, but she did as I asked, no longer resisting as I slid the lace away, dropping the bra to the floor to join our shirts.

“Damn,” I muttered. Hope’s tits were full, firm, with big brown nipples. “Sweetheart, I…”

I didn’t waste the breath warning her before I lowered my head and took one of her tight nipples into my mouth, sucking hard.

Her hands flew to my hair. “Jake,” she cried. “God, that feels so good.”

I drew on that nipple a few more times before turning to give the other the same attention. Then I lifted my head and kissed her again. I couldn’t get enough of her. Her soft cries, her hands running through my hair, and then the sweet, innocent way she lowered them and touched my chest—as if she wanted to dig her nails in.

I couldn’t get enough of her, but this was going too fast. I had a game plan for tonight and if I wasn’t careful I’d fuck it up within the first ten minutes. I forced myself to step away. Hope tried to follow me, clinging to my shoulders.

“The chicken is going to be cold,” I said, my voice husky. I never lost control with a woman, but I’d never felt a pull this hard.

Hope took several deep breaths, nodding, though I could see she was struggling as much as I was to get her desires under control. “Okay.”

I took her hand and led her to the blanket. We both sat down and some of Hope’s self-consciousness returned as she tried to shield her breasts with one arm.

“Leave your hands down, Hope, or I’ll tie them behind your back.”

She grinned, the threat bouncing off her—even though I noticed she lowered her arm. “That might make it hard for me to eat.”

I shook my head. “I’d feed you. Actually, I might feed you anyway.”

She gave me a heated look that said the idea of that appealed to her. I tucked that information away for later.

Reaching into the basket, I pulled out the bucket of chicken.

“I thought you were cooking for me.”

I put a paper plate in front of both of us, placing a leg and breast on both. “Trust me. The Colonel does chicken a lot better than I do.” I continued pulling out the little tubs of slaw and beans I’d picked up at KFC. Then I cracked open a couple of Coronas, even adding the limes I’d remembered to slice up earlier.

“Classy,” she teased.

Her eyes widened when I pulled out a box of biscuits and fries. “Oh my God. This is a feast, Jake. It’s way too much food for just the two of us.”

I shrugged. “It’ll taste just as good as leftovers and I have a feeling we’re going to work up an appetite later. Might need a midnight snack.”

“Midnight, huh?”

I nodded. “Yep.”

“That’s kind of late.”

“Won’t matter. You’re spending the night. I happen to know George is having a sleepover with Scott.”

“I didn’t pack my toothbrush. Or pajamas.”

I reached out, unable to resist, and ran my finger over the top of one of her tits, giving the nipple a quick pinch. “You’re not going to need pajamas. Did you remember to bring your vibrator?”

The way she snuck a quick glance at the purse she’d dropped by the door was all the answer I needed. “Good girl.”

She laughed and the two of us dug into the food. I was delighted to discover she was as big a fan of a bucket of chicken as I was. As we ate, we both indulged in lingering touches and coleslaw-flavored kisses.

“I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I’ve had KFC. Whenever we do the fast food splurge, George wants Happy Meals.” She crinkled her nose letting me know her opinion of that.

“I’ll bring a bucket by one day and we can show him the error of his ways.”

“Sounds like an awesome plan,” she said, and I liked how easily she agreed to another date.

Once we’d finished eating, Hope helped me pack up what was left and put it in the fridge.

“Want a tour of my apartment?” I asked.

“The whole place? Or just your bedroom?” She ran her hand over my chest, placing a kiss on one of my pecs letting me know which tour she preferred.

“Dammit, sweetheart. You make it really hard for me to take things slow.”

She gave me a look that said slow was the last thing on her mind. “You’re the one who insisted on a topless picnic.”

“Touché. Grab that purse of yours. We’re moving this party to the bedroom.”

I tried not to laugh at how quickly she retrieved her purse.

“In a hurry?” I teased.

“Jake, it’s been six years. What do you think?”

I wasn’t sure how to reply to that. I knew exactly what she wanted from me. Hell, I suspected it was my reputation that got my foot in the door. Hope was ready to expand her sexual repertoire and who better to reinitiate her than the town bad boy. Problem was…she didn’t know exactly who—and what—she was inviting to her bed. She wasn’t ready for that.

And then there was the second—and even bigger—problem. I couldn’t risk revealing myself to her until I was sure she’d stick around. I really liked Hope…liked her enough that I’d jerk myself off as many nights as it took until I could convince her that she and I should try to make a go of it. That we’d make a pretty good couple.

Jesus. I’d never once met a woman who actually had me thinking about a relationship without panicking and looking for the exit.

I led her straight to my bedroom, leaning on the doorframe as she walked around, taking everything in.

As she pointed to the family pictures I had scattered around the room in frames, I told who was who and how they were related. The Garrett tribe was a pretty big one—my mom one of four kids, Dad one of six. I had countless aunts, uncles, and cousins scattered around Kansas and beyond, and both sets of grandparents were alive and kicking.

Hope marveled at all of that. She was an only child and it sounded as if neither of her parents was particularly close to their siblings. And she only had one grandmother still living, though she only saw her a couple of times a year.

Finally, she looked at the bed, then back at me.

“Take off your jeans,” I said.

She clearly hadn’t expected to do that herself. I crossed my arms, waiting patiently.

“What about yours?” she asked, a hint of challenge in her tone.

I shook my head. “Later.” Much, much later. “You first.”

She bit her lower lip and I tried not to smile at how cute it was when she went shy on me. I stayed far, far away from virgins as a rule—for good reason.

When I continued to wait without moving toward her, she unfastened the button and slid the zipper down. She shimmied the panties down along with the denim, not wasting any time. Once she’d kicked off her shoes and the pants, she stood there, her eyes not quite meeting mine.

At least she wasn’t trying to cover herself up anymore.

Progress.

“Hope. Look at me.”

Her gaze lifted and I smiled. “You’re perfect.”

She rolled her eyes in disbelief. “Your turn?”

“Not yet.” I walked toward her, pulling her into my arms when I reached her, the two of us kissing like we hadn’t seen each other in a thousand years. After a few minutes, I backed her toward the bed, gently pressing her down onto the mattress.

I’d gotten smart tonight, opting to wear jeans that were a size bigger than my norm. I hoped it would conceal my hard-on without strangling it.

I moved her to the center of the bed, liking the way her red hair looked, lying across my pillow. Caging her beneath me, I resumed the kiss.

Hope’s shyness melted away as she ran her hands over my chest, my shoulders. I placed one knee between her legs, letting the denim rub against her. She was hot and ready, her body gyrating against my leg, seeking more friction, pleasure.

When her hands started to drift lower, I grasped her wrists and lifted them to the pillow next to her head. I had a surprise for her. One she’d like. One that would keep her roving hands away from my cock.

I reached beneath the pillow where her head rested and pulled out a pair of velvet-lined cuffs.

“Jake,” she whispered.

I ran the short chain around one of the rungs in my headboard, then I clasped her wrists together with the cuffs.

I liked the way she shuddered, the way her eyes drifted closed. When she opened them, I saw desire laced with the tiniest bit of uncertainty.

“Here, feel this,” I said, showing her that she wasn’t truly trapped. With her hands cuffed together this way, it was simple for her to unfasten the latch, to free her wrists. “Once you get to know me better, we’re getting the real deal and your freedom will come when I decide, but this is all still new. If you get scared, if it’s too much for you, just hit that latch and shake them off. Okay?”

The smile she graced me with was full of trust. I savored it, drank it in. She was easy to please, which made me want to do it even more.

She left the cuffs fastened around her wrists, her chest rising and falling rapidly as I moved lower. I stopped briefly, taking a few moments to suck on her nipples, then I slid farther down.

Hope jerked when I opened her with my thumbs on each side of her pussy, parting it so that I had unobstructed access to her clit. I sucked it into my mouth the same way I had her nipples.

I kept my arms over her thighs, holding her ass tight to the mattress as I nibbled, licked, and sucked.

Hope cried out my name several times, peppering it with a few “oh my Gods” and “holy shits.”

I glanced up and grinned when she said, “Please, please. I need you.”

It took a few seconds before she realized I’d stopped. Her eyes opened slowly, our gazes connecting.

“Begging?” I teased.

She sighed. “Dammit. Yes.”

“Don’t stop,” I urged, hedging my bets and making sure I got my way by slipping two fingers inside her. She was soaking wet, nearly dripping with her arousal. Hope Connor was damn good for the ego.

“Oh my God. Jake, I can’t take it. Too good,” she said as I slid my fingers in and out, slowly, curving them until I found the sweet spot inside that had her keening like a cat in heat.

Within sixty seconds, her vocabulary had shrunk to just one word that she repeated over and over. “Please.”

I kept sliding in and out, stroking her G-spot. The first orgasm was coming this way and it didn’t take Hope long to figure out the same thing.

“Jake,” she cried. “Oh God, I think…I’m coming.”

I rubbed her clit with my thumb, recalling how that set her off like a bottle rocket the other night on the couch. It worked again.

She came roughly, her body shaking as she said my name. I liked the sound of it on her lips, but I wasn’t going to be satisfied until she was screaming it.

I slowed the thrusting of my fingers as her climax waned. Once it had passed, I pulled them out completely.

“Not bad for the first one.”

She frowned. “First?”

“Oh, sweetheart. You’ve got at least three more of those ahead of you tonight.”

She smiled weakly. “I’ll be dead by morning.”

I kissed the tip of her nose. “I’m a trained EMT. No worries.”

“Take off your pants,” she said again. The woman was tenacious.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” I said, my next means of distraction would hopefully make her forget all about my damn jeans. Hell, if I did it right, she’d forget her own name.

“What?”

I glanced to where she’d laid her purse by my bedroom door. “Mind if I grab it? Seeing as how you’re tied up at the moment.”

“I hardly think the vibrator is necessary. You’re pretty damn good with your fingers and mouth. I can’t even begin to imagine how good it’s going to be with the real deal.” Her eyes drifted to my jeans. My cock was thick and hard and too fucking ready to roll. I shifted, sitting with my back to her on the edge of the bed, hoping she hadn’t caught sight of the outline of it.

Rising, I crossed the room to her purse. The vibrator was on top, making me think she’d thrown it in at the last minute. I wondered if she’d debated bringing it at all.

It was my turn to frown when I pulled it from the bag. “Jesus,” I murmured.

I glanced up at Hope, who was beautifully naked and handcuffed to my bed. That was a sight I was going to see in my dreams until the day I died.

She gave me a sheepish grin. “Everything okay?”

I held the vibrator up. “You couldn’t find a bigger one?”

My question seemed to amuse her and she started laughing. “I was in a pretty desperate state when I went online for that.”

“Used it yet?”

She shook her head. “No.”

I sighed, torn between laughing and—God—maybe even crying. Hope had bought the biggest vibrator I’d ever seen, but it still wasn’t as big as me. If she couldn’t take this…

I pushed that thought away.

“Batteries in it?”

She nodded.

“Give me two seconds.” I walked to the bathroom and washed it off, then I looked at myself in the mirror. I wasn’t sure how Hope couldn’t see my pained expression. I wanted to fuck her more than I wanted my next breath. I glanced at the vibrator again.

“Here goes everything,” I muttered to my reflection.

When I walked back into my bedroom, my chest tightened at the sight of Hope, lying there, waiting for me, her body flushed from her first orgasm.

I placed one knee on the bed next to her. “This is a pretty ambitious toy to start with.”

“I’ve always been an overachiever.”

I bent down to kiss her, then lay down next to her. Switching the speed on low, I raised myself up on my elbow. “Open your legs, Hope.”

She didn’t hesitate. What she lacked in experience, she more than made up for in enthusiasm.

I pressed the tip of the toy to her clit and she jerked, gasped. “Holy shit. I don’t think I can take another one of those orgasms. Seriously, Jake. I’m still quivery inside from the last one.”

“Tough,” I whispered, pressing my lips against the shell of her ear as I touched her with the vibrator again. “I’m nowhere near finished with you.”

She was prepared this time, but that didn’t mean her reaction wasn’t just as intense. The third time I touched her clit, I held the vibrator in place. Within seconds, Hope was lifting her hips toward it. She needed it inside her.

“Jake.”

I sat up by her hip, wanting an unobstructed view of her face and her pussy as I introduced her to the toy. Placing the head inside her, I paused. It stretched her more than my fingers, but she didn’t wince, didn’t ask me to stop.

“How do you want it, Hope?” I asked.

Her brows furrowed, confused by my question. “What?”

“Slow and deep?” I pushed the vibrator in a couple more inches.

“God,” she breathed. “Yes.”

I pulled it out a little bit, then pushed in deeper. Hope’s upward thrust gained her another inch. I worked it inside with a slow in and out motion. She was wet, which helped it glide in. It was nearly halfway when she started to tremble.

“Hope?”

“So good,” she whispered. “So fucking good.”

“You haven’t heard your other option,” I murmured.

Her eyes opened. “Other option?”

“Slow and deep or…fast and hard?” I punctuated that question with a quick thrust that had her crying out, not in pain, but in pleasure.

“Shit. That. God, I want that.”

The vibrator was sliding in and out a good eight inches, but she didn’t complain. Jesus. Far from it. She kept begging me for more, pleading with me to go faster, harder.

Within a few minutes, she came, loudly, but I didn’t stop. I was too enthralled, too fascinated, too determined to push her limits. I had to know.

Had to…

Have her.

I increased the speed on the toy, taking it to high, even as she screamed and shuddered and pleaded. Moving, I knelt between her legs, running my free hand over her inner thigh as I continued to pound the vibrator inside her. Her hips were thrusting toward me, greedily claiming another inch, as she came again.

She was out of control, her hands still bound above her head. I should have unfastened them before starting this. She’d been bound too long.

“Jake.” She said my name with a long shudder as the third orgasm waned. “Please,” she whispered, and I saw it.

She winced.

I’d gone too far. Pushed her too hard.

I slowly withdrew the toy, turning it off and dropping it to the mattress next to us before crawling over her, kissing her.

It took everything I had not to strip off my jeans and slide into her. I wanted to take her the same way she’d just taken the vibrator. To pound deep, fast, hard. To lose myself in her.

But I couldn’t. I’d seen that wince of pain.

I kissed her gently, trying to apologize with my lips, rather than my words. I wasn’t sure I could say anything that would make any sense to her.

“Jake,” she said, turning her head. I heard a gentle snick, then felt her hands on my face. “Jake,” she repeated. “Take your pants off. I want you.”

Her words took me by surprise. And not in a good way. “What? No.”

“Why not?” She hadn’t expected me to reject her. I’d just taken her too hard with that fucking toy. There was no way she was ready for me. God, I wasn’t sure she’d ever be ready. She was so tight, so innocent.

“Not tonight,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm, soothing. In truth, I was coming apart inside.

There was an animal, clawing to get out, ready to shove off his pants and take her. Claim her.

“Yes. Tonight.”

She tried to reach for the button on my jeans. I moved away rapidly, rising from the bed.

“Come back.” She reached for me, sitting up as I stepped farther away from her. “I don’t understand. Did I do something wrong?”

Jesus. She’d done everything right. Too right.

“Hope. I need you to listen to me. To understand that I’m doing this for you.”

“You’re saying no for me?” I heard the tinge of anger in her voice, but I couldn’t respond to it, couldn’t back down.

“Yes. You’re practically a virgin and I just…dammit…I just took you too hard with that toy. Harder than I should have. There’s a good chance you’ll be sore tomorrow and—”

“I don’t care. It didn’t hurt. And please, for the love of God, stop throwing that virgin thing in my face. I’m a grown woman. I know what I want, what I like. What I need.”

“No.”

“Don’t say no,” she urged. “Please, Jake.”

“Not tonight. Trust me that this is the right thing.” I could see she wasn’t finished arguing. Not by a longshot. But I was hurting and too close to the edge. If I stayed in this room, there was a chance I’d give her exactly what she was asking for. And I couldn’t do that. Couldn’t risk freaking her out or scaring her.

“Give me a minute.” It was the coward’s way out, but I took it anyway. I left the room and headed straight for the bathroom. Locking the door, I unfastened my jeans and took my dick in my hand, stroking it with a firm, hard grip, pumping it as fast as I’d thrust that vibrator inside her. I closed my eyes and pretended I was inside her tight pussy, pounding deep.

I grunted, my climax coming fast. Then I took a few minutes to calm down, steady my breathing.

Washing my hands and splashing cold water in my face, I refastened my jeans and unlocked the door. I hadn’t been gone more than ten minutes.

It had been too long.

Hope was gone.