Two hours later, Gage woke to his grumbling stomach. He could feel Hope’s long hair splayed across his chest and moved to stroke it blindly, his lips curving upward at the memory of their afternoon. Her hand, which was resting on his chest, began to stroke back and forth lightly as her low humming vibrated over his heart.

“I can’t believe you’re hungry again.” It came out slurred, followed by a little giggle as his stomach responded in kind.

“It’s your fault.”

“My fault?” She lifted her head and looked up at him under sleepy lashes.

“Yeah, your fault.” He twisted and quickly flipped her so she was lying underneath him, looking up at him. “All this extra-curricular activity.”

He gave her a cocky grin before grabbing her lip in a bite, his eyebrows rising seductively as he let go and slid his tongue over the small indentation his teeth left. “Luckily, you look delicious enough to eat.”

Her tongue darted out to meet his, coaxing it to come out and play. He swooped his tongue out further, exploring her open mouth before fusing his lips around hers. She reached her arms up to grasp his nape, her awakened body surging against his. He imprisoned her, his arms locking tightly around her, his stomach grumbling loudly in protest between them.

Hope giggled through their kiss until she finally had to break away as they both laughed loudly. “Good lord, man. I better feed you before you starve to death!”

He looked down at his stomach, feigning anger. “Yep, I guess he’s not going to wait.”

She moved to climb out of the bed, pulling a blanket off the bottom of the bed to wrap around her body. “We can have dessert later.” A sexy smile spread over her glowing face as she raised her eyebrows suggestively.

“Sounds good to me.” He rose from the bed and, after finding his jeans, slid them on, sans boxers, leaving them unbuttoned as he moved toward her. He tugged her into his arms, engulfing her in a tight hug, and placed a kiss on her head before releasing her and stepping back. “Do you want to shower? I can go down and cook something for us.”

She beamed up at him. “Do you know how much I love that you can cook? Because I hate it.”

He couldn’t resist pecking a kiss on her nose, enamored at how adorable she looked wrapped up in the soft yellow blanket, cheeks flushed, lips kiss-swollen and red. “It’s the least I can do.”

Stepping out of his arms, Hope asked, “Do you want to shower? I can get you some more clothes from Tommy’s room if you want.” He looked at her curiously, and she realized she had never actually told him her brother’s name. “Tommy, my brother?”

He nodded, a look of relief washing over his face. Had he actually just gotten a little jealous at the mention of another man? “I’m good. I like having your smell on me.” He grinned wickedly as her skin heated. “Are you in the mood for anything in particular?”

She shook her head. “Surprise me,” she told him, padding toward the door leading to the bathroom.

Thirty minutes later, dressed in a pair of black leggings and a light blue flowy shirt, she swept down the stairs to find Gage in the kitchen stirring a frying pan full of vegetables and chicken, with a pot of rice boiling on another burner. “That smells scrumptious!”

The food did smell delicious, but what she really noticed was that he was still only wearing jeans. At least he had buttoned them up, but it didn’t stop her eyes from sneaking another look at the trail of short, curly hair that ran right down the middle of that beautiful V between his hips. That damn V was going to do her in. She literally had to stop herself from walking over to him to trail her hands down his chiseled abs and over the grooves again.

She looked up to find him watching her, her face heating as a cocky grin spread across his face. “See something you like, Angel?”

“Sorry! I know I keep staring!” This time she didn’t stop herself and walked up to him, placing her hands on his chest and running them down over his washboard stomach. When she reached the grooves, she stopped and took a quick step back, sucking a breath in. “You’re just so damn perfect.”

She looked up to see him looking at her with a surprised expression on his face. “Seriously. I mean, I know I haven’t had many visitors, but still, this isn’t something you get to see every day.”

He laughed out loud at her confession. “Guess I’ll keep you away from my Marine brothers then cause we all pretty much look like this. It’s what happens when they make you run ten miles a day and feed you shit during deployment.”

“I don’t need any other Marine. I’m quite happy with you for now.”

He put the wooden spoon down beside the stove and reached out to pull her back to him. She happily let herself be wrapped up in his strong arms. “Good, because I’m quite happy with you for now, too.”

He stroked a thumb across her mouth before brushing his lips against hers in a chaste kiss and leaned toward her ear, brushing her damp hair over her shoulder, whispering, “You’re pretty damn near perfect, too.”

Her blue eyes rose up to look into his green ones, and they stared at each other in silence for a moment before he steps away reluctantly, stating huskily, “The stir-fry is going to burn.”

“Yes!” She scurried around him and stood on the other side of the island. “What can I do to help?”

“I just need a couple of plates. I’ll serve it right from here if that’s okay with you?” He shut the burners off and grabbed a fork to fluff the rice. “Everything’s ready.”

She glided gracefully through the kitchen she’d grown up in to a cabinet and reached up to pull down a plate for each of them. As she turned to hand him the plates, she noticed him watching, her cheeks flushing a light pink.

“Here ya go.” She handed him the plates. “Do you want something to drink?”

“I put a bottle of white in the fridge to chill a while ago. Do you feel like wine?”

She laughed. “I always feel like wine.” She moved to a different cabinet and grabbed two glasses and got the wine out of the fridge.

He turned, grabbing the wine from her, and set it on the counter, popping the cork out in three twists. She held the glasses out as he poured. It was as if they had rehearsed the scene a hundred times, yet it was only the second meal they had cooked together. Hope marveled at how easy and natural things were between them.

They spent the next half hour eating casually and sharing conversation about nothing and everything. When they were full, they both worked to wash and dry the dishes, putting them all away in their place, until the kitchen was once again back in order.

“Now what?” He raised his eyebrows and grinned mischievously. “I think I remember you saying something about dessert?”

Laughing, she reached up on her tip-toes and gave him a quick peck on the lips. “Later. I really should go take a look around the property and make sure the storm didn’t do any other damage last night.” Her gaze strayed to the window and focused on the woods beyond.

“Okay, sure. I wasn’t sure if Walter had already done that.”

She shook her head. “He said, other than the downed tree along the driveway, he didn’t notice anything, but I should probably look.”

“I’ll come with you. You never know when you’re going to need a big, strong man around again.” He gave her a cocky grin, puffed up his chest, and pointed at his stomach. “Especially one with abs like this!”

She slapped her hand to her forehead, groaning. “I’m never going to live that down, am I?”

He chuckled. “Not if I can help it.” He ran a hand down his stomach and gave her a sexy smile. “I should probably wear a shirt out in the wild, however. Wouldn’t want to tempt anyone else we might run into.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” She turned and started walking toward the stairs. “Let me grab you something long-sleeved from Tommy’s room. I’m sure it’s getting cooler now.”

“Perfect, thanks.” He followed behind her but turned before the stairs. “Can you grab my shoes up there, too, please? I’m going to get one of my cameras to bring out with us.”

“You got it,” she called back as she climbed the stairs.

Fifteen minutes later, they were outside walking around the perimeter of the house, checking for any loose wires or downed limbs. After completing a full circle and finding everything in order, she suggested they head down to the lake and check on the dock and boats.

“You have boats? As in more than one?” he asked in surprise.

“No. I mean, yes, but not really.” As they approached the lake, she pointed to a larger boat that was suspended in a lift next to the dock. “That’s the only real motor boat we have, but Tommy’s the only one who ever uses it.” Then she pointed to a sailboat that was moored to the long dock and smiled wide. “That’s mine. It’s a twenty-six-foot Fantail. It has a small electrical motor, but I only use that to get it in and out of the dock. We also have a canoe and some kayaks.”

He looked at her, his brows raised. “Seriously? You have your own sailboat?”

She shrugged. “It’s a big lake. My dad gave it to me a few years ago as a birthday present.”

“Ah, yes, that’s right.” A bit of an edge seemed to creep into his voice. “I forgot you’re a daddy’s girl.”

She stopped short and turned to him. “What is that supposed to mean?”

His hand swept out to the sailboat. “You know, a hundred-thousand-dollar truck sitting in your driveway, and what, a fifty-thousand-dollar sailboat on your dock, both courtesy of daddy. Just says something.”

“Says what?” Hope’s hands hit her hips, and her chin jutted out in defiance. She wasn’t going to tell him it was actually an eighty-thousand-dollar sailboat.

Gage shook his head, obviously realizing he was being an asshole, and took a step closer to her. Cupping her cheek, he blew out a long breath. “It says that you have a father who must love you very much. Sorry if I over-stepped.”

She glared at him, her lips scrunched up tight, her mind in overdrive. He slid his thumb down her cheek and over her lips, then leaned in slowly, tentatively feathering his lips over hers. She relaxed a fraction, but a frown still marred her usual smile. He brushed another soft kiss against her lips, this time leaning his forehead against hers. “Seriously, Hope, I’m sorry. It’s my own stupid shit and has nothing to do with you.”

She pulled back from his hold and stomped her foot, crossing her arms at the same time. “I’ll have you know I work really hard. Everything isn’t handed to me on a silver platter.”

He chuckled even though she was trying to be stern, finally nodding his head in compliance. “I’m sure you work very hard.”

“Then why are you laughing at me!” She stomped her little foot again.

“Because you look so goddamn cute when you’re angry.” He smiled wide, and she gasped when he tugged her rigid form up against his, wrapping his arms around her in a hug. “Come here, you feisty little thing.”

She looked up at him, trying unsuccessfully to suppress the smile that was trying to break free as she growled out, “You haven’t even seen feisty yet, Mister!”

“Oh, this is quite feisty enough, thank you very much!” He bent and kissed her. She quickly let her smile fall back in place and could feel the surge of relief as it washed through him. “So, you sail?”

“Yeah, I sail,” she replied sardonically. “Come on. I’ll show her to you.” She started walking toward the dock again and motioned for him to follow.

He slipped his camera off his shoulder, removing the lens cap, and turned it on as he walked. Hope was standing on the dock, the sun streaming around her as she looked out over the lake. He snapped a few shots without even thinking, capturing her serene beauty. She turned to him, and he caught each change in her expression as he continued clicking.

“Oh my God! Gage, stop!” She threw her hand up to block her face, cheeks flaming red at the attention. “I’m so not one of your models!”

He lowered the camera away from his face to stare at her in dismay. “First of all, you’re more stunning than any model I’ve ever shot. And you better get used to getting your picture taken if you’re hanging out with me. I tend to have a camera in my hand most of the time.”

“Yuck! I hate getting my photo taken. I always look awful!” She shook her head in disgust.

“I find that hard to believe, but here.” He walked up to stand beside her on the dock. “Look at these.” He held the camera up and clicked a button to bring the last picture he took of her up on the viewer. “See? Stunning.”

He watched as she absorbed the picture and turned to look at him wide-eyed. “How did you do that? I look… well, I actually look pretty damn cute in that picture!”

“Because I’m amazing.” He laughed as she rolled her eyes at his response. “No, really. You can ask anyone. I am. I’m amazing. It wasn’t easy to capture your ugly mug and make it look this good.”

Her eyes grew wide, and she reached out and slapped him playfully on the arm. “Oh, you are just awful, aren’t you?”

“Oh, I think you know by now just how awful I am.” He winked playfully at her and walked to go stand next to the sailboat. “So, this is your baby, huh?”

She moved to stand next to him and nodded her head. “Yep. She’s got some great lines. It’s getting too late to take her out now, though, but maybe tomorrow.”

“I would love to do that.” He looked over at her, screwing his face up in mock-embarrassment. “Now, it’s your turn not to laugh, but I’ve actually never been sailing before.”

“Wait, what?” She stared at him in astonishment. “But you’re a Marine!”

“Yeah, I mean, I’ve been on boats, all kinds of them, but never a sailboat. Don’t forget, I grew up in land-locked Pennsylvania!”

“Oh, then we are most definitely going out while you’re here. You are going to love it. Once you feel the power of the wind, you’ll be hooked.”

“It’s a deal. I’d love to go out.” He looked over at the small sandy beach beyond the dock and nodded at the canoe resting on the grass where it met the sand. “Wanna take that out for a little while instead?”

She smiled and nodded her head. “Absolutely!” She turned and looked back toward the house. “I think the oars are under the deck. I’ll go up and grab them if you want to get the canoe in the water.”

“You got it.” He paused and looked down at his camera. “Are you going to flip me, or is it safe to bring this with us?”

“I’m not going to flip us! No way, no how am I going in that water!” She shook her head firmly. “You can definitely bring the camera.”

“Awesome.” He smiled and started toward the canoe as she made her way up to the deck. He set the camera down on a tree stump before moving to flip the canoe and drag it to the water’s edge. She was back in another minute carrying the oars and two life preservers.

“Do we need those?” He pointed at the orange vests. “I can swim.”

“Yeah, me too, but you need one for each person in the boat.” She walked up and set one on the seat of the canoe and smiled at him. “You have a nice cushion to sit on now.”

He shook his head, chuckling low before grabbing the camera and slinging it around his neck. “Hop in. I’ll push us out.”

She did as he requested, placing an oar at the back of the canoe for him as she stepped in and made her way up to the front bench and sat down. She gripped onto each side of the canoe to brace herself as he began pushing the canoe into the water and then stepped in.

“And we’re off!” he called cheerfully as he sat down, the canoe rocking slightly, as he used his oar to push them completely off the shore.