“But you never had a choice. Choose me,” he demanded roughly, his liquid blue eyes molten with emotion.
“I wouldn’t choose anyone else,” she told him gently as she lifted her hand to stroke his whiskered jaw.
“Thank f**k!” He picked her up by the waist and spun her around. “No more talk of leaving me. Ever,” he insisted bossily.
“Never,” she replied with a happy laugh as she found her footing on the ground again, happy that he had his dominance back again. She had hated seeing Jason vulnerable. If she had her choice, she’d let him try to boss her around for a lifetime. Not that she’d let him, of course. But she preferred to see Jason bold compared to the naked fear she’d seen in his eyes a few moments ago. But God, how that openness had touched her soul. Jason Sutherland wasn’t the kind of man who let anybody see his weaknesses. However, he cared enough to show them to her.
“Come with me.” He clasped her hand in his and pulled her along behind him. They plowed through the pines until he finally stopped and turned to her. “I need to be inside you, Hope.”
She wanted him, too, and she understood what he was feeling. Her core clenched with the need to have him move inside her, giving her assurance that they weren’t parting. It was a need that went deeper than physical pleasure, a validation of their agreement to stay together. “Yes.” Her body craved to be joined to his.
“You’re mine now,” Jason said covetously and backed her up against the large trunk of a tall pine. He joined their hands, twined their fingers together and pinned them over her head as he took her mouth with breathtaking swiftness.
Hope gave way to him immediately, opened her mouth to let him plunder, and moaned against his kiss. Her body fired red-hot as she melted into his hard, muscular form, just as needy as him to feel them joined. She met his tongue, tangled it with hers, and let him claim her just as surely as she claimed him.
She came away from the embrace panting. “Now, Jason. I can’t wait this time.” He didn’t need to tease her body. Her core was already saturated, hungry and needy to be filled. “Please.”
Jason made short work of her jeans, lowering them to her knees while he opened the front of his own denims. “We don’t have the mirror, Hope. I—”
“Oh, Jason.” Her heart clenched as she saw the hesitant look on his face. “I haven’t needed that mirror since the beginning, although it was pretty hot. I know the feel of you, your scent, and your touch. I’m never going to freak out on you again.”
Whirling around, she braced her hands on the trunk of the tree. “Fuck me, Jason. Take me before I die of frustration,” she begged, completely unfamiliar with this position, but so desperate for him she didn’t care how he took her, as long as he did.
His hands palmed the cheeks of her ass and stroked over them with reverence. “Jesus, Hope. You’re so damn beautiful.” One hand moved between her thighs, and he let out a low hiss as he was greeted by nothing except wet heat. “You’re so hot, sweetheart. I can’t wait either.”
Hope dropped her head in relief as Jason impaled her, sunk so deep inside her sheath that she cried out his name. “Jason.”
“It’s me, sweetheart. It will always be me,” he reassured her possessively.
Pulling himself almost completely out of her channel, he thrust back in and grasped her hips to keep her steady. Hope squirmed, pushed back against him; she needed more. “Please, Jason. Don’t make me wait.”
Her pleading tone inflamed him. He started to move; his c**k stroked in and out of her saturated pu**y powerfully, forcefully. Hope met his every thrust, moved back against him and their skin audibly slapped together from the strength of his movements. “Yes. Harder,” she pleaded, needing Jason to give her everything he had.
Moving one hand from her hips, he slid it down her belly and between her thighs, opened her folds until he found her clit. “Come for me, baby. I’m not going to last long,” he grunted. His finger stroked blissfully hard over the pulsating bud.
Hope trembled, the feel of him filling her over and over again and the rough stimulation to her clit making her come undone. She splintered, fell apart as her powerful climax took control of her body, crashed over her in waves, and continued on as Jason pummeled into her and found his own release with a strangled groan. “Hope.” Her name tore from his lips and he entered her one more time, going as deeply as possible as he spilled himself into her womb. Still inside her as they shuddered against each other, he wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her neck. “My sweet Hope,” he said, claiming her aloud.
Hope wasn’t sure how long they stayed that way, joined together, basking in the bliss they’d just shared and the intimacy of their positions. Jason finally moved, pulled her up and covered her again, and fastened her jeans before he did up his own. As he pulled her against him, he buried his face in her hair and held her so tightly she could barely breathe, but Hope wasn’t about to complain. He felt way too good, and she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and stroked his upper back in soothing motions, the two of them completely lost in each other.
Chapter 12
Jason was out of time.
He gripped the steering wheel of the SUV a little tighter, his whole body tense. After their agreement to stay together yesterday, regret had churned in his gut, guilt almost eating him alive.
I have to tell her.
He’d never once thought about trying to get away with not telling her he’d set up this whole sham of a marriage. After he started everything out wrong, he wanted to make the situation right. Problem was, he wasn’t quite sure how to do it, and he couldn’t bear the thought of Hope leaving him.
She deserves the truth.
Hope had lied, but it was nothing that personally impacted his life, or so she thought. Plus, she had come clean about everything to him. The secret he kept was personal, and she could very well end up hating his guts for doing it. Hell, he hated himself for it.
She’s staying with me. I have exactly what I want.
But really, he didn’t. Fuck! He’d spent most of his life without a single damn insecurity. Even when he’d taken over his father’s company and discovered it was nearly broke, he’d believed that he could fix the problem. Now, he couldn’t go two seconds without thinking about Hope: how she’d react to learning that he’d actually orchestrated their marriage, whether she was happy, whether she’d get hurt or if she was sad.