Chapter 13

After finally making love to her face-to-face, J.T. let her sleep for a few hours. He’d clearly tuckered the poor girl out, a fact he planned to throw in her face tomorrow. Well, after they succeeded at her parents’. He didn’t want to super stress her out.

He’d watched her sleep for a long time. God. He had it bad. And what the hell was wrong with him, taking her from behind for their first time ever?

So romantic. She was lucky he hadn’t pegged her ass and followed with an I love you. He snorted, but the thought of the l-word had him choking back panic, for real. J.T. had never been so close to a woman before. Oh, not physically. But emotionally.

He felt so in tune with Hope in so many ways. They had a lot in common. And he liked the fact that she was honest enough with herself to realize how immature it was to want to trick her mother. Yet she was doing it anyway to prove a point. Tenacious? Um, yeah.

Sexy, fun, adorable?

Yep.

She rolled toward him in her sleep, and he drew her closer to his chest, tucking her in tight.

That funny ache in his heart returned. He stroked her hair, loving the feel of her in his arms. Fuck, but he’d never had such deep feelings for a woman before. Not romantic feelings, at least. He loved his sister, his cousin, his aunt. He loved his dad’s Sophie too. Like a mom. But the need to protect, to care for, to help Hope was like a goddamn prime directive. He couldn’t ignore it, and he kind of wanted to.

Fucking—no, making love—to Hope had been better than anything he’d imagined. She fit him to perfection. His second orgasm had been even better than the first. Not as desperate, and he’d watched her come when he did, the two of them staring into each other’s eyes.

Romantic as shit.

He closed his eyes and groaned.

And that’s when he felt clever little hands cupping his dick and reminding him that he had a naked and willing woman in his arms.

“Hope,” he whispered. A glance at the clock on his bed showed two a.m. They’d both be tired tomorrow, but he could handle a fuzzy Friday. He had a bit of touching up today and some sketching appointments with clients. Nothing major.

She nuzzled his chest and kept stroking him with her hands. Her fingers moved down, soon cupping his balls, and he moaned and spread his legs wider, easing onto his back and taking her with him, now resting her on top of him.

“Hmm. Tasty,” she said with a throaty chuckle. But instead of kissing him on the mouth, she proceeded to kiss a trail down his body, ending at his cock.

“Hope.” He tugged her by the shoulder. “Turn around, baby.”

She didn’t listen and started licking him. Her lips tugged at his cockhead before slipping over his shaft, taking him in her mouth.

He groaned her name and surged deeper, not meaning to, but his body had a will of its own. “So good. Oh yeah. Eat me up, Sexy.”

She moaned and sucked, caressing his sac while she did. And his arousal grew fast and furious.

“Hope, turn around. Let’s see who comes first, huh? Winner gives the loser a massage tomorrow. Winner’s choice.”

She pulled away to grin up at him. “You’re on. Think I can swallow another mouthful before you do?”

“I can’t wait.”

He helped her turn, and then her pussy was in his face, her mouth over him once more, and he buried his mouth in heaven.

He licked and sucked, nibbled on her tight clit and prayed he had the strength to last. He’d already come twice a few hours ago. He’d had a long day and should have been tired. But she energized him, was all he could think. Because his cock was as hard as it had ever been, his balls tight and needing a release.

The thought of coming down her throat was enough to get him really going, and he increased his attention to her honeyed sex. She tasted damn good. J.T. knew a woman’s body. He’d made getting to know it an art form. But he’d never had anything so fine as Hope Donnigan. Curvy, soft, yet toned in all the right places.

He loved the tiny moans she made as she neared completion. Loved the sweetness of her responses, the lack of artifice in her affection. Because every kiss and caress had meaning with Hope. None of this damn fake relationship was casual.

And the thought of having enough of her trust to go skin to skin helped get him to the edge. Especially when the sly woman used her teeth on that sensitive part of him, just under his cockhead.

He lapped her up and added a finger, pumping inside her with faster movements, his end too near to ignore.

He moaned a warning, unable to stop thrusting up while she bore down with those ripe lips. He ground her pussy against his mouth, trying to get more of her, to get deeper inside her.

He had half a mind to yank her off him and come up inside that hot pussy.

And he lost it. He cried out as he came in great bursts of pleasure, nearly blacking out as he drew her clit in his mouth while he came down her throat.

Then she was there with him, flooding him with an intense orgasm that seized around his finger like a vise.

Hope pulled away and keened, the waves of repletion now ripples as she eased into a euphoric glow. She turned around, still on top of him, and kissed him.

He tasted himself on her mouth and thought it the sexiest thing.

“I taste me on our lips,” she said, as if reading his mind and mirroring the sentiment. “I like it.”

“Not as much as I do. Your pussy is fine, baby. So damn sweet.”

She blushed prettily. “Is this where I say I think you were right? It is nine inches. I measured.”

He laughed. “Told you.”

“Yep. Hung like an elephant. I think you bruised my throat.” She paused. “We should do it again until I get it right.”

And right there. He stumbled again, one step closer to losing his mind and falling in love.

* * *

No amount of telling herself to relax worked. Standing with J.T. on her parents’ doorstep, Hope tried to squash the bundle of nerves taking root inside her.

“Easy. We’re not facing a firing squad,” J.T. teased and rubbed her back.

She glanced at the flowers in his hand. “I’m still not sure that’s a good idea.”

“What? Coming as myself and trying to make nice instead of wearing a bandana and an eye patch, and smoking some weed to show them how badass I really am?”

“Not funny.”

He laughed. “It is. Can you see me dressing all gangster—minus the eye patch, ’cause that’s just stupid—and throwing down with your mom?”

She grinned. “Okay, that is funny. But I’d still bet odds my mom would pin you before you could say ‘uncle.’”

“Nah. I’m king when it comes to wrestling.” He leaned closer and whispered, “Like I pinned you early this morning. Remember?”

She blushed, recalling all too well their sexual marathon. Still unsure if sleeping with J.T. would end up being the biggest mistake of her life or the best sexual experience ever, she turned to tell him to behave and froze, caught by the strange look on his face. Not sexual or teasing, but intense…longing?

She cupped his cheek, trying to see what he didn’t say.

The door opened. “Ahem.”

She turned to see her father standing there.

Hope blushed and dropped her hand. “Oh, ah, hey, Dad.” She leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. “This is my friend, J.T.”

“Hello.” Her father held out a hand, and J.T. shook it.

They stood nearly at eye-level, with her father a tiny bit taller but not nearly as broad. Dressed conservatively in a short-sleeved collared shirt and jeans, J.T. exposed enough muscle to be impressive. But then, she found him impressive with or without clothes.

Crap. I have got to stop thinking about stuff like that and get my head on straight.

“I know you,” her father said as their hands parted. “J.T. Webster? Del’s brother?”

“Yep.” J.T. smiled.

“That’s right. We met you at the wedding.” He shot Hope an amused look. “Come on in. You have to meet my wife.”

“Oh, joy,” she muttered as they followed him inside.

“Hope, be nice,” her father counseled.

J.T. smirked at her. “Yeah, be nice, or else.”

“Or else what?” Landon barked.

“Well?” Gavin said.

Terrific. Her brothers. Just what she didn’t need.

She turned to see Landon, Gavin, and Theo—who had yet to speak, his mouth stuffed with food—watching her.

“Oh goody, the gang’s all here,” she deadpanned.

J.T. coughed but didn’t manage to hide all his laughter. “These are for your wife.” He held the flowers to her dad.

“That’s nice of you. Hey, Linda. Hope and her boyfriend are here.”

The word boyfriend gave Hope a start, but she hid it well. She still felt boneless from their time together. Which is good, she told herself. That will make us seem more real. She sure the heck felt like they had something going. Last night had been a turning point. Even J.T. was acting differently. He’d picked her up from work earlier and had planted a long, lingering kiss on her that started a slow burn that had yet to fade.

And the proprietary hand on her back, the arm around her shoulders, or like now, the hand holding hers as he held flowers out to her approaching mother. All gestures of shared intimacy and possession. But was he acting or being real? And why did it bother her so much to think he only played the part she’d assigned him?

Linda studied him, then slowly looked down to their joined hands. “So you’re the boyfriend?”

He nodded. “And you’re the mother.” He mirrored her inspection. “Man, you sure are pretty.”

Linda blinked, accepted the flowers with polite thanks, and turned without saying anything more.

“She’ll put them in water and be right back.” Van rocked back on his heels, and Hope had the feeling he was amused. “So you and my daughter are dating, hmm?”

“That’s fascinating,” Landon said. He stood next to their father, his arms crossed, wearing an attitude to match his USMC Proud T-shirt. The ex-Marine major could be a bulldog when he wanted answers. And he clearly wanted to shove his big nose in her business.

As did Gavin, the second oldest. Dark-haired whereas Landon was blond, he took more after their father in looks and disposition. He smiled but didn’t seem as friendly as she might have expected. “J.T. I haven’t seen you since the wedding.”

“Can you believe my sister has been a Mrs. for over two solid months now? How crazy is that?” He squeezed Hope’s hand. “Hell, I remember when she used to get me to braid her hair for her.” He shook his head. “And we played fix the scooter with her plastic tools. Ah, the good old days.”

Theo came up behind Hope and squeezed her in a hug that lifted her off her feet.

“Theo.”

“Hi, big sis.” He set her down and grinned. “Hi, J.T.”

“Hey, Theo.” J.T. smiled. “How’s the flower shop treating you?”

“Good. I’m getting better tips. Since I quit the coffee shop, I have more time to look for a better second job.”

Van frowned. “You quit the coffee shop?”

“Ah, can we talk about this later?”

Gavin sighed. “He broke up with his girlfriend, and it got awkward. There. No need for a convo later.”

“Gavin.” Theo glared.

“What? It was supposed to be a secret?”

Hope turned to J.T. “How did you know he worked at a flower shop?”

“I ran into Theo one day while I was picking up flowers for—”

“One of your many girlfriends?” Landon interrupted, playing the role of protective big brother.

J.T. answered, “I have a stable of about five of them, and I rotate roses and lilies to keep my women straight.” He snorted. “No, dumbass. They were for my dad for Sophie. It was supposed to be a surprise.”

Landon scowled. “Dumbass?”

“I don’t have girlfriends. I have one girlfriend, and you’re looking at her.” J.T. scowled back, not at all intimidated by her brother. She wondered if they went toe-to-toe, who’d win. They looked evenly matched. For all that her brothers excelled in the Marine Corps and taught self-defense, J.T. had a wealth of knowledge he’d learned on the streets growing up.

Hope grinned. “Ha. That’s what you get.”

Gavin and Theo chuckled, and Gavin said, “Told you so.”

“Told him what?” Hope wanted to know.

Linda returned, the flowers now in a vase she set on the coffee table. “Dinner is ready if you’d all sit at the table.”

Her parents set the food out while the rest of them sat down. Hope sat at the other end of the dining table, across from her father, who took the head chair. Her mother sat on one side of him, while Hope’s older brothers sat on the other side. J.T. sat sandwiched between Hope and Theo, who sat next to Linda. With any luck, their current buffers would provide a bit of ease from the tension she could sense growing once more.

Landon and Linda kept staring at J.T., then looking at Hope, as if waiting for something. She didn’t know what. Theo kept his head down, ready to shovel in the food, she was sure. And Gavin and her father joked about the gym where Gavin worked.

“So you think I’m getting puny, is that it, boy?” her father asked.

“Sorry, Dad. But yeah. Come down to Jameson’s, and I’ll work on bulking you back up.” Gavin, a trainer at the popular Jameson’s Gym, was the go-to man for everyone serious about health and training. Hope loved that he’d lost that wounded look he’d come back to the States with. After too many years fighting overseas in the military, Gavin had seen and done a lot to wound his soul. But now he’d settled, found love, and thought more about the future than the past. Zoe was good for him. And speaking of which…

“Hey, Gavin. Where’s Zoe?”

“She and Ava are having a movie night. It was some chick flick I had no urge to see.”

Well, at least Hope didn’t have to deal with Ava’s discerning gaze, because Dr. Ava would no doubt see through Hope’s calm facade to the confused woman afraid of falling for her pretend boyfriend.

Who had no problem with his appetite.

J.T. tucked into the food her parents passed around. “You guys eat like this all the time? Because, wow. What a spread.”

Linda looked down her nose at him.

Oh, goody. It was on.

“Really? You don’t seem like a small man who’s missed too many meals. Are you telling us you don’t eat?”

J.T. smiled at her. “Well, with all my kids underfoot, I try to make sure they’re fed before I get my plate. And you know, what with me in and out of jail all the time, I gotta see to the young’uns first.”

Hope sighed. He wasn’t sticking to the plan. His boasts were nothing so much as screaming they were lies. If he kept it up, Linda would never believe their carefully constructed story. Then Hope wouldn’t be able to rub her nose it in afterward when they told the truth about J.T. being a decent, no-drama human being.

Her father wore a huge grin. He apparently wasn’t buying any of J.T.’s nonsense. Gavin rolled his eyes, and Theo ate and laughed, another lost cause. But Landon, like their mother, seemed poised to pounce.

Then Landon ruined it by laughing. “You’re so full of shit. Young’funs? Buddy, I know for a fact you’re not a hick, and you sure as shit weren’t raised down South.”

Linda glared. “Landon, watch your mouth.”

“Yeah,” Hope said, hating to agree with her mother, but Landon was killing the mood before she’d gotten a chance to scam everyone.

“Oh, please.” Linda huffed. “I know ‘your man,’ Hope. He’s no more your boyfriend than he’s a prison escapee. And I highly doubt Liam lets his son wander the country impregnating women left and right.”

J.T. choked on his water. “You know my dad?”

“We’ve met. He is dating my sister.” Linda shook her head. “I knew you were lying, Hope. But pulling poor J.T. into your scheme is beneath you.”

“I’ll tell you exactly what’s beneath me. Or whom, I should probably say,” she started, losing all sense.

* * *

“God, no,” Theo sputtered.

“Stop. I can’t hear this. I’ll need even more therapy to be right again,” Gavin whined.

Landon grimaced.

J.T. squeezed her hand under the table and took charge before her parents could get a word in. “Linda, you’ll have to forgive us. Hope was annoyed with you and told you about us before we were ready. It was my fault, really.”

“I don’t—”

He talked over his girlfriend, knowing Hope would be annoyed, but he just couldn’t go along with her scheme. Too many of the Donnigans knew his father, and J.T. had socialized with Landon and Theo a few times as well. Just in passing, but they’d know he didn’t possess a poor reputation at all, unless it had to do with being a little too popular with the ladies.

“Hope is smart, funny, and beautiful. She doesn’t need any help snagging a man. She’s got great taste—she has me.”

The others laughed, though Landon didn’t seem too pleased, and Hope’s mom still looked unconvinced. A glance at Hope showed her thoughtful instead of annoyed, so maybe he had a shot at getting home tonight unscathed.

He forked more steak into his mouth, wondering if he could keep Van when this was all over, because damn, the man could cook.

“Just to be clear.” Linda enunciated each word. “You have not been in prison recently. You don’t have a litter of children by different mothers, and you aren’t a tattoo artist.”

“No jail.” Recently, she’d said. “I don’t have any kids.” That I know of. “But I do own the best studio in the city. Tull Paint & Body is my place.”

“And they’re amazing.” Hope nodded. “You should see some of the artwork they do. Oh my gosh. J.T. is so talented.”

He flushed, wondering why the compliment had gone to his head when Hope was no doubt just gushing to screw with her mom.

“I thought about getting a tattoo,” Theo said. “But Mom would have a hissy.”

“Why?” J.T. asked Linda.

She ticked off each finger. “Infection. Scarring. It’s permanent.”

“Well now, that’s all dependent on where you get your work done.”

“And it’s not something a professional would have on his or her body.”

J.T. shook his head. “Not so. At least, not anymore. I know it used to be that having a tattoo pretty much meant you’d done jail time or were in a gang, but that was years ago.” More like decades. “You’d be surprised at the variety of my clients. And they’re not all men. A ton of women are getting tattoos as well. I just did a full sleeve on a woman who owns a small up-and-coming IT firm. It’s beautiful, vines and flowers and lots of color. She wanted something that said growth but was techy, so I used her logo too. It’s really cool,” he said to Hope, excited about the project all over again.

“I would have gotten one years ago,” Gavin added. “But I knew Mom would lose it, so I didn’t.”

“Well, I never wanted one,” Landon grumbled.

Hope said in a loud whisper, “He doesn’t like needles.”

J.T. tried not to laugh at Landon’s annoyance. The guys’ dad had no compunction about hiding it though.

Amused, Van said, “Well, I for one am a fan of the arts. When I learned just who was dating my daughter, I looked at your website.”

Linda frowned. “You did?”

Wait. Who had told her father about J.T.? He shouldn’t have known J.T.’s name before she arrived.

“Yes. And for what he charges for his work, I don’t think you can call him a hobbyist or an amateur. What he does is nothing short of inventive. Do you do all your own work, or do you sometimes do art that clients bring to you?”

“We have portrait artists in the studio. Most of my clients have their own ideas that I put into an actual image.” He described his process and out of the corner of his eye saw Hope nodding, encouraging.

He clasped her hand on top of the table, then let her go when Theo nudged him with a new platter of roasted vegetables.

Linda remained quiet while Van and Hope’s brothers asked him questions about his job and his associations with the people who hung out at Ray’s. Apparently the guys had gone there a while ago to kick ass. Greg, Hope’s ex, had gotten a tough talking-to.

“So you’re really dating my daughter?” Linda asked as they were having dessert.

“Yes, I am.” He couldn’t look away from his plate. “This is some serious carrot cake.” He stared at the thing in awe. “It has, like, five layers.”

Van gave a bashful shrug. “Six, actually. I like to bake.”

“Dad’s the man in the kitchen.” Gavin smiled. “I’m supposed to take a piece of anything left over home to Zoe. She ordered me to.”

“Anything for Zoe,” Van agreed.

“And Ava,” Landon added.

“Her too.”

“I don’t understand.” Linda seemed puzzled.

“What?” Hope asked, belligerent.

J.T. had sensed the discord under all the polite and not-so-polite chatter, but Hope hadn’t been overly antagonistic. And frankly, her mother had been quiet but pleasant. He didn’t see why Hope should be so aggravated with the woman. So she was protective of her only daughter? Liam acted like a wounded bear whenever Del had a hiccup, and she was meaner than half the guys he knew…on a good day.

“My daughter has a history of dating men clearly beneath her. She bragged about you being poor and basically bad dating material.”

“Note the word poor,” Hope repeated. “So yeah, I gave him some other bad character traits. To teach you a lesson, Mom. You can’t judge a person just because they’ve had a hard history. And you really shouldn’t judge a person for not being wealthy.”

“Ah, I’m not exactly poor, I—”

“Please, Hope. J.T. is obviously good-looking. He’s got character, a nice enough family. But he tattoos people for a living. He’s not what you need.”

“How dare you presume to know what I need? I’m not Linda Junior, Mom. I’m Hope, and I have my own wants and needs.”

“What say we adjourn to the living room and let them talk it out?” Van suggested to J.T.

J.T. grabbed his plate and followed Van out of the room, doing his best to ignore the yelling. Her brothers joined them, obviously intelligent enough to realize it wouldn’t be smart to get between mother and daughter.

“Do they always get along so well?” J.T. asked wryly.

Van sighed. “Lately, yes. My wife is a sweet woman, but”—he glared at his sons choking on Attila the Mom, ballbuster, and yeah, right—“she has high standards she thinks her children should meet. She’s always been harder on Hope than the boys for some reason. She nags from a place of love, but Hope has always felt as if she has to measure up. She doesn’t.”

“No, she doesn’t.” He felt for her. Some of the things her mother had said, and was still saying, had to hurt. Hope wasn’t a loser for not meeting her potential. And she sure the hell had a great life, despite not making the money her mother thought she should. “Hope is a smart woman with different goals. I think she’d be happy if her mother could just let her be.”

The others stared at him.

“What? Was I supposed to ignore the fact her mom is totally cutting her down? And it has nothing to do with me.”

“It never did.” Van smiled.

“Why are you so happy?”

“Because I like you. You’re the first decent guy my daughter has brought home in a long time.”

“Yeah, about that,” Landon said, stepping closer to J.T.

J.T. kept his cool, though Landon was no one he’d choose to take on, if he had his way. And certainly not with Gavin so close behind him.

“What’s the deal with the flowers and attention from her secret admirer at the office? You and Cam were kind of unclear on the message you guys sent us.”

“What’s that?” Van frowned. “Someone’s been bothering Hope?”

J.T. wished Hope had told her family what was going on. Still, the night wasn’t a total loss. At least no one had tried to pound him for dating their precious sister yet.

“And don’t think we’re not going to talk about what you’re getting up to with my sister,” Landon added in a growl.

Hell.