Pure Bliss

Chapter Ten

By the time James drove up, Hope knew more about Sasquatch than any woman should know. The “squatchers” were nice enough, if utterly obsessed.

“You know from a biological standpoint, it’s really hard to believe that there’s a whole species of superpredator out there and the only real evidence we have is a video filmed in the sixties and some prints.”

Hope slapped at Noah’s arm. “Stop baiting them.”

Noah’s green eyes rolled. “Well, I do have a doctorate. Do they have doctorates?”

“Look, Doc, I dropped out of college to squatch. I am an expert on the big guy. He’s real, and just because you don’t believe in him doesn’t mean he won’t take your head off one day,” Trey, the leader of this intrepid group of squatchers, said. He was a thin man who obviously didn’t believe in a razor. Unfortunately, unlike his favored mythical beast, Trey didn’t grow a beard well. It was kind of in patches across his face.

“I have a master’s in philosophy,” a bright-eyed girl who couldn’t be more than twenty-two said. Like her brethren, she could be mistaken for a really sweet-looking homeless person.

“I graduated with a degree in English,” another young man admitted. “It was this or work at fast food. I don’t really like hydrogenated oils.”

“And you, Dr. Bennett, need to keep an open mind,” Nell said, giving him a little frown. She was in her element, holding court in front of her little tent. She’d invited the Bigfoot hunters to give her bread a try and then plied them all with her organic apple cider. They had been sitting around for an hour talking about mythical creatures. Noah had sat on the ground beside Hope, a mug of cider in his hand. It hadn’t been too long until he’d managed to get his head in her lap, an arm wrapped possessively around her legs.

It occurred to Hope that this whole festival thing was like a temporary commune for supernatural geeks. She bet a whole bunch of these people had Star Trek costumes somewhere in their closets.

“And you’re all wrong. Sasquatch isn’t from this plane. He probably wandered in from another plane. My own mother fell through a door from her plane. She was a faery, but she really liked it here.” Nell sat back in her chair, knitting as she spoke.

Henry merely looked on indulgently as his wife explained her native origins.

Trey leaned over, his voice low. “That lady is crazy, but she makes really good bread.”

James honked his horn.

Hope stood, forcing Noah to stand as well. They said good-bye and started to walk toward the truck.

“At least he doesn’t have a gun.” Noah walked beside her. He tried to reach down and hold her hand.

That seemed like waving a red flag in front of a bull. She took a step away. “Noah, we should talk. When we get back, I think we need to talk about what’s going on between us.”

And she would have to decide just how much to tell them about her past. In the hours she’d spent with Nell and Henry and Rachel, she’d decided that she would have to tell them about her problem with alcohol. It wasn’t fair to hide it from them if she was going to have even a short, meaningless relationship with one of them.

“Damn straight we’re going to talk. I told you I wasn’t going to hide this.” Noah kept walking beside her. She could see the tight line of his jaw.

James got out and walked around the truck, opening the passenger side door for her.

“Are you going to make me walk back to the ranch?” Noah asked.

James simply closed the door behind Hope and walked right past his brother to the driver’s side.

“James, you can’t make him walk. This is ridiculous.” Hope started to open the door, but the lock clicked into place. “Damn it, James.”

James gunned the engine. “He knows what to do.”

There was a thump, and when Hope looked back, Noah was in the truck bed. He tapped on the glass. Hope reached back and slid the small window open.

Noah pressed his face in. “Jamie, I swear to god, if you kill me, I will haunt your ass for the rest of time.”

James grinned as he took off, proving his truck had a serious engine.

“Asshole!” Noah screamed, his hand clutching the window, his body sliding as the truck moved.

“You’re trying to hurt him,” Hope accused.

“Nah, he’s had worse. He was the worst truck surfer in the county. Max really did damn near kill him that time he stopped because there was a bunny in the road. Saved the bunny, nearly decapitated Noah.”

“I was younger then and way stupider,” Noah yelled. He seemed to have found his balance. He’d managed to sit back up.

“Well, you were younger.” James stopped at the stop sign, gleefully applying the brakes.

“Can we talk about this?” Hope asked. “I don’t want to come between the two of you.”

She did. She really, really did, but not like this.

“We’ll talk, baby. We’ll talk when we get to the ranch,” James replied.

“Don’t trust him, Hope,” Noah interjected. “That’s his ‘I got a plan’ voice. His previous plans included bow hunting a bear, setting off fireworks as a way of getting the herd to move, and don’t forget tractor wars. Who ended up in the hospital every damn time you had a plan, Jamie?”

“I can’t help it that I was faster than you.”

“Well, you weren’t this time, were you, brother?”

James gunned it, his foot hitting the floor.

Hope crossed her arms across her chest and thought about calling Doc Burke. He carried a tranquilizer gun with his med kit. She’d like to shoot them both. James slammed on the brakes as the light turned yellow, and a small bit of white fabric flew past the windshield.

“Oh, my god. Were those my panties?” Hope asked, horror dawning.

The Farley brothers were standing in front of the Trading Post, their arms filled with bags of stuff they were probably planning to use in an attempt to bring about the apocalypse. But they were way more fascinated by the pair of feminine delicates that landed in one of the bags.

Noah talked really fast, his hand reaching toward her. “Hope, I am so sorry. They came loose, and when I grabbed them, my asshole sibling-killing brother stopped at a yellow goddamn light. It’s Jamie’s fault.”

“You kept her panties?” James nearly yelled.

One of the Farley brothers, Bobby, she suspected, held up the underwear like it was a foreign object meant for study.

“She’s not allowed to wear panties. I took them into custody,” Noah explained as though stealing underwear was an everyday affair.

James took off before the light turned green, his tires squealing. Noah’s hand was back to gripping the windowsill.

Hope had had enough. “James Glen, you will slow this truck down, and you will obey all traffic laws or I swear to god I will get out of this truck the next time I can and nothing you do will force me back in.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of her,” Noah said, his face pressed against the glass.

“You stop, too. When we get home, we’re going to have a civilized discussion.”

“When we get home, it’s my turn.” James turned toward the valley.

A sudden silence descended.

“What do you mean by ‘your turn’?” Hope asked after James’s words sank in. He couldn’t possibly mean what she thought he meant.

“He thinks he can do better than me. That’s what he means,” Noah said through the window.

Now that James seemed to be taking her threats seriously, Noah was able to get on his knees and try to inject himself into the cab.

“Do you two think this is some sort of competition?” Hope asked.

She didn’t know whether to be horrified or a little aroused. She was kind of both. Now that she’d actually reached a real honest-to-goodness, man-given orgasm, she was wondering if she could manage another. The idea that she could have them both played around the edges of her mind.

“I think that you can’t make an informed decision without letting us both try.” James never looked at her, simply stared at the road ahead.

She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t just have sex with James because he wanted a turn. And Noah was going to throw a fit.

Except he wasn’t. He was staring at his brother. “You got to watch me. I should get to watch.”

“Feel free.”

“Well, it’s good to know how much it meant to you, Noah.” There was her answer. She was just a toy they would use and discard. She was a ploy in their little competition, and the minute they were fine again, she would most likely be told it was over. “Drop me off at the Movie Motel. I’ll call Lucy, and she can come get me.”

James blew right by the motel.

Frustration threatened to swamp her. “I meant what I said. I am not going to be used like this. I will call Cam when we get to the G, and he will come get me. Do you really want to deal with the law?”

James’s hands had a death grip on the steering wheel. “Tell me you don’t want me and I’ll turn the truck around and take you and Noah wherever you want to go. Maybe in a couple of years I’ll be able to think about letting Noah back in the house, but you can’t expect me to stay in the same house while the two of you sleep together.”

“She wasn’t saying that, Jamie,” Noah said, his voice much smoother than Hope would have expected. “She’s just pissed off that you weren’t romantic. I was romantic.”

“You were not romantic. You didn’t even take your damn pants off.” James slapped at the steering wheel. “Where do you want to go, Hope?”

She stopped and realized she was missing something. Why was Noah trying to soothe his brother? Why did James look like he was holding on for dear life? There was a tightness to his eyes. He got that when he was upset. She’d been around him enough to know that.

What was happening? Was she the bone they would tear up in their effort to hurt each other? Or the little bit of glue that might, just might, hold them together? Was Noah offering her up because he didn’t care about what happened to her? Or because he thought it wouldn’t work without James?

What if James had told her the truth? What if he’d stayed away because he had thought he had nothing to offer her? What if a relationship with her had only seemed possible because his brother had returned? James could complain about Noah all he liked, but according to everyone in town, they had been close once before and likely would be again.

Henry’s words made sense. Deep down, they both only knew one way of life. They wanted what their parents had had. They wanted a woman to share and a brother to rely on.

Could she be that woman? Maybe not, but could she live for the rest of her life knowing she hadn’t even tried?

“I haven’t heard an answer.” James stopped the truck before the entrance to the ranch. There was a huge wrought-iron arch that covered the road. The Circle G. Established 1898.

The Glens had been in Bliss before there had even been a Bliss. Generations had held this land and passed it down to James. His parents had passed this land down along with their legacy of love and companionship. Now he was fighting his instincts. What if she could show him it was all right to have what his parents had? Could she bring him back to the life he’d hoped for?

She took full hold of her courage. She wasn’t some wilting flower. She’d done a lot of things she wasn’t proud of. This wouldn’t be one of them.

“Noah is right. You got to watch. So should he.” If Noah was there, it would almost be like he was with them.

She watched James swallow, his breath slow and methodical as though he was steeling himself.

“Then he should get ready because I don’t intend to toss you against the wall and get my rocks off. And I don’t want you to call me Sir. My name is James. You can shout it when you come.”

James was back to his overly confident self. She stared at him while he made the long drive to the house. He wasn’t as hard as his exterior might suggest, and he wasn’t as distant. But he had his pride. James’s pride was a mighty thing since it seemed it was the only thing he had left.

She would have to break through it if they were going to have a chance at anything beyond a little sex.

And she wanted more.

Noah’s hand came through the tiny window, awkwardly patting her shoulder. When she looked up, there was encouragement in his green eyes.

The first man she’d slept with in a year and a half was silently promising that everything would be okay if she would just sleep with his brother. She wasn’t so sure, but she knew one thing.

It would change everything.

Christian had watched her all day—from a safe distance, of course. It was easy with all the tents and booths going up in what appeared to be a huge park. He’d been able to watch from the safety of a psychic’s booth. Then he’d had his tarot cards read, and all the while he’d been watching her. Charlatans, every one of them. And he should know. He’d been a “preacher” for ten years, and he didn’t even believe in God, much less that he was embodied in nature.

Hope was still beautiful. She couldn’t hide her radiant innocence. He could still remember how it felt to lie on top of her and fill her. She’d been an obedient girl, as she should have been. Unlike the whores he’d known, she had been a virgin and so shy that first night.

When he closed his eyes, he could see her pale skin and the way her hands had shaken. Careful. He’d had to be so careful with her. Unlike the other women in his group. They had been whores who had given themselves to him in degrading ways. Oh, they had served their purposes. He’d used them, and when he’d been done, he’d prostituted them out. Women like that were good for a quick fuck or a quick buck.

“Can I help you?”

Christian focused on the woman in front of him. She was obviously Hope’s friend since Hope had spent the afternoon sitting with her and talking. Her laughter had been a soft wind through the grounds. “I was just prowling around. The festival isn’t supposed to start until tomorrow, but I see it’s already going strong.”

The woman with straight brown hair smiled, her whole face alight. She was actually quite beautiful. “I’m afraid most of these people don’t believe in schedules. You know Sasquatches don’t have timepieces.”

He smiled his most charming smile. Here was another sweet, innocent little lamb. He liked his lamb rare. “I’m Chris. I would love some of that cider if you have some left.”

“Hello, I’m Nell.” She reached behind her and grabbed a cup. With a practiced hand, she poured a measure of cider into a mug. “Here you go. If you like, you can take the mug with you. Just leave it at one of the other shops. Everyone knows to send them back this way. I can’t do disposables, I’m afraid.”

Christian practically salivated. The little idiot spoke a language he knew well. “I admire you for that, Nell. I travel across the country trying to educate people about the cost of our disposable society. I like your setup here. It’s very earth friendly.”

Her brown eyes lit up. She was a true believer. “Everything is reusable. I lose a few mugs every year, but you would be surprised at how many people bring them back. People are inherently good.”

He wasn’t, but he knew some who were. And lucky for him, they usually proved to be the ones with no protections. If he had time, he would think about charming the lady. She was older than his usual, but then Hope wasn’t sixteen anymore, and he was still obsessed with her. Perhaps he was maturing. Alas, he had a wife to reclaim. And his own almost murder to avenge. He wasn’t sure if he intended to make love to Hope or bury her.

Maybe both.

He shook his head and tried to flush a little. “I have to ask you something embarrassing.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh, you can ask me anything, I’m very open.”

“There was a woman here earlier.” He made sure to stutter a little, happy with the sympathetic gleam in her eyes. “She was so lovely. She was a brunette wearing a skirt and a button-down. Look, I don’t want to come off as some creepy stalker…”

“Then don’t.” A man came out of the tent, his eyes hard behind what looked to be relatively thick glasses.

“Henry, don’t be rude,” Nell admonished.

“Never, my love.” But the man didn’t take his eyes off Christian. He stood there like a Bohemian guard watching over a prize.

Nell winked at Henry and turned back to Christian. “Don’t mind him. He wouldn’t hurt a fly. He just likes to play jealous sometimes.”

It seemed this little innocent wasn’t so unprotected. Though the man wasn’t the tallest man or bulky, there was strength in his frame. But the eyes were what gave him away. He might have his wife fooled, but somewhere in the past this Henry had hurt far more than a fly. Christian would bet Henry hadn’t always been a peddler of apple cider.

“It’s all right,” Christian said, taking a step back.

“I have to admit, sometimes his caveman tendencies come in handy. But you were talking about Hope,” Nell began.

“Her name is Hope? That’s lovely.” He’d always loved her name. It was the perfect name for the child bride of a preacher who made his way in the world by suckering in the hopeless.

“Oh, Hope is wonderful,” Nell said and then laughed a bit. “But I’m afraid you’re a little late.”

“Late?”

“Uhm, she’s taken. She might not know it, but her men do.”

Christian’s brain caught on that one simple noun. “Men?”

“Yeah, welcome to Bliss. We’re pretty tolerant. We have some very happy polyamorous trios. Just trios though. If you want something really crazy like a six-way, you have to go to Wilde, but I’ve heard it’s lovely there this time of year.”

Christian prayed the smile he gave Nell didn’t hint at what he was feeling inside. Fury rolled in his gut. He’d seen that man sitting at Hope’s feet, her fingers patting his head. He hadn’t thought much about it. Hope had always been a very tactile person. She’d always hugged her friends and held hands.

What if Hope had been doing something she shouldn’t? He’d been so sure she wouldn’t even look at another man. She’d been in his thrall. Hope would have done anything for him. She’d looked at him like he was the sun in the sky. The truth of the matter was she hadn’t seemed to like sex. It was one of the things he’d found attractive about her. She was a lady. He would never have married a whore.

Perhaps sometimes ladies turned into whores.

“You really liked her, huh?” Nell asked, her face lined with sympathy.

He had a sudden vision of slitting little Nell’s throat. He could do it easily. She would be a soft, sweet gazelle in a lion’s jaws. She wouldn’t have time to scream before his knife cut through her throat and started spilling her blood on the ground. That would make him happy. That would calm his beast. She looked enough like Hope that he could pretend Nell was her.

Christian took a deep breath. He wasn’t going to do that. Well, not now anyway. He had to keep his eyes on the prize. Eight years and he’d just about put his group back together. He had everything in place. He was ready to start a new website and to begin building his followers. It had taken the millions he’d fleeced out of his previous followers to clean up the mess Hope had left when she’d started that fire, but he’d built himself back up over the years he’d been in hiding.

And he’d fucking done it for her while she was finding another man.

Christian shrugged. “She just reminded me of someone I knew. My wife.”

“I am so sorry. Did you lose her?”

Yes, he’d lost her. He’d lost her to her own feminine weakness. Without a strong man around to keep her in line, she’d given in to her proclivities. “She died eight years ago in a fire.”

“That’s terrible.”

What was even worse was that her body had lived on even after her soul had given in to darkness. Christian’s brain was reeling. He’d never thought for a single second that she wouldn’t be at his side when he reemerged like a phoenix rising from the ashes. She would be with him. One way or another, but perhaps the time had come to change tactics. He’d come here to watch her, to find out just how easy it would be to convince her to come with him, to forgive him for not hiding his masculine tempers.

He knew he’d made mistakes, but never had he allowed another woman into his heart.

“Thank you for your time, Miss Nell.”

“Mrs. Flanders.” The man named Henry corrected him with a flat tone.

Nell rolled her eyes and giggled a bit. “He’s so possessive.”

Any real man was. No real man would allow his property to be violated.

Christian nodded, left the mug, and walked off. It was time to move this plan forward. He pulled out his cell phone. He wasn’t an idiot. He had men in place. He was never without his followers. He explained what he wanted and then turned back toward the town.

It was time to talk to the sheriff.

James had to force his hands to stop shaking. Control. He was in control. He had to be.

Hope had said yes. Well, not yes, exactly, but she’d assented. Now if only he’d managed to keep Noah out of it everything would be perfect, but the little bastard had managed to insert himself into the situation.

It had been a natural thing once. Before they had slept with their first woman, an adventurous college student from Boulder on spring break, he and Noah had made a game plan. They had sat up the night before deciding who would handle what and how to bring her the most pleasure they could. They’d been invited to spend four days in her bed before she’d gone back to school.

They’d shared almost every woman until Ally had come along and started playing her games with Noah.

He wasn’t sharing Hope. James was going to show Hope that he was the man for her, and his brother could go to hell. If Noah wanted to watch his own downfall, then that just made him more of a masochist than James ever dreamed.

James pulled the truck up in front of the guesthouse.

“We’re not going home?” Hope asked.

James put the truck in park, and it shuddered as Noah hopped out of the bed. James unbuckled his seat belt and tried not to think about how much he liked the way she said the word home. “Trev has a room set up.”

Noah opened Hope’s door. “Trev McNamara, the ex-number one pick in the draft, has a playroom?”

“He’s a man of many talents.” James inwardly cursed. He should have been faster. He should have been the one to help Hope out.

Hope took Noah’s hand and let him help her out of the truck. “Trev used to play football? Nate said something about ESPN.”

It took all James had not to groan a little. Hope was going to need an education in way more than BDSM. “Baby, you don’t want much TV, do you? Trev was the quarterback for the San Antonio Bandits. He was considered the best QB in the last decade but…”

“He got involved with drugs.” Hope’s eyes trailed toward the house.

“So you have heard the story?”

Hope’s whole body seemed to sag a little. “More times than you know.”

“We don’t have to play here if you don’t want to.” Why was this so hard? He was smooth as glass with women, but now he felt like an idiot. He had no idea how to handle Hope, not really. He thought she would be submissive when it came to sex, but she damn straight wasn’t out of bed. She was prickly and too smart. He thought she saw straight through him, but she was opaque, something he could almost understand, but her truth was elusive.

She turned her face up, her hand skimming his cheek. “You like Trev, right? It doesn’t bother you that he had a problem?”

James was deeply confused. “No. I think the world of him. And if you want to judge him for his past…”

She put a hand on his lips, stopping him from talking. “I think what he’s managed to do is amazing. I admire him greatly.”

Thank god. For a minute he thought he’d been wrong about her. Hope had always seemed like a woman who wouldn’t judge those around her for their pasts. “I do, too. I trust him. Hell, he’s my partner.”

She went on her tiptoes. She hesitated for the briefest of moments before brushing her lips across his. “I would love to play with you, but you’ll have to be patient. Everything I know comes from eavesdropping on Jen and Rachel and Callie.”

“Hey, I taught you a little something.” Noah had taken a step back, his face closed off.

Hope laughed a little. “Sweetie, you threw me against a wall. I did learn to call you Sir, and that sex can be way more than I thought it was, but I didn’t get a lesson in being a sub. That’s what it’s called, right?”

She was interested. That was all he could ask for. “Yes, baby. There’s a Dominant partner and a submissive partner. The Dominant partner is responsible for the submissive’s safety and pleasure. Noah is way out of the game if he thinks that taking care of you includes screwing you against a wall where everyone in town can hear you.”

“She needed it.” Noah stepped up now, his face flushed. “You weren’t there at the beginning. You don’t know. She was panicking, and I couldn’t get her to talk.”

So Noah thought fucking her would solve all her problems?

Hope stepped between the two of them. “Stop. You two need to stop, or I’ll walk out of here.”

She meant it. It was right there in the stubborn way she held her jaw. She put herself right between him and Noah, her petite, five-foot-three-inch body tiny compared to theirs. She had a hand on both of their chests as though she could actually stop them if they decided to throw down.

“I don’t want to fight.” Noah sighed, and his hand went over hers as though keeping it over his heart.

Fuck. It was obvious that his brother was in deep. But James couldn’t let it go. He knew damn well he should, but the thought of not knowing what it felt like to sink into Hope McLean’s softness, to hear her calling out his name the way she’d called Noah’s, wouldn’t let him go.

“We’re not going to fight,” James promised. “But we are going to have a serious discussion about topping from the bottom.”

Hope’s lips curved up. “See, that sounds like fun.”

“Oh, she’s going to get in so much trouble,” a new voice said.

James looked up and noticed that at some point, Bo had walked out onto the porch. The guesthouse already had a new coat of paint and now boasted a cozy porch swing. James had seen Bo and Trev sitting there in the late afternoon after work was done for the day. They would sit and swing with Beth in between them, each man holding her hand or touching her hair.

“Trev is still dealing with the new guys. He asked me to show you around.” Bo tilted his blond head toward the door. “Unless you’re going to fight first.”

Hope dropped her hands and walked up the steps. “No fighting. But it is weird that we get a guide.”

Bo laughed. “Oh, honey, you haven’t seen weird yet. Look, I love my partner, and I’ve gotten used to play, but these fellas take all this stuff very seriously.”

“Protocol,” Noah said.

Bo pointed. “See, they use all sorts of big words, but it all comes down to the fact that they really like spanking a pretty ass and they’re control freaks. So come on in. The dungeon’s wide open.”

God, he was going to have to talk to Trev about his partner’s sarcasm. James followed Bo up the steps with Noah following behind him.

“Do you even remember how to behave in a dungeon?” James asked. Noah had been vanilla for years. He couldn’t see it any other way. Ally wouldn’t have allowed him to top her. No way.

“I’ve gone to a dungeon at least twice a week for the last three years. I probably know more than you now.”

He stopped his brother before they got to the hall that led to the dungeon. He was completely floored by the admission. “You cheated?”

He shouldn’t be shocked. He knew he shouldn’t. From what little he’d heard, Ally had given Noah hell and had several lovers. Still. He was shocked. His brother had always been adamant. When they were dating a girl, Noah never even looked at another woman. The thought of Noah cheating hurt.

Noah shook his head. “No. I haven’t touched another woman with my cock until earlier today. And I only did that because I care about Hope. Hell, man, I think I’m falling for her. I took vows. Just because Ally didn’t honor hers didn’t give me a free pass to let mine go. About two years in, I knew how fucked up my marriage was. I found a club. I became friends with the owner, and he let me work a couple of nights a week as a Dom. I never got off. I took care of subs. It was the only thing that made me feel needed.”

How hard had it been for Noah? James forced the question away. That wasn’t his problem. Noah had made his bed. But James couldn’t help the fact that his heart hurt a little at the thought of Noah all alone in the city. Noah’s words really penetrated, leaving James with another question. “You knew two years in but it was another three before you came home.”

“Yeah,” Noah admitted, his voice low.

Noah couldn’t have been too lonely if he was willing to spend three years in hell. If he had been willing to stay away until the money had finally dried up. “I’m letting you watch because Hope wants it, but you better obey the rules, brother.”

Noah’s face shut down, but he followed James down the hall.

Hope’s eyes were wide, and there was a little bit of fear in her stance when James entered the McNamara dungeon. Trev had done a damn fine job turning what used to be an office and spare bedroom into a Dom’s little pleasure palace. The Berber carpet had been replaced with gleaming hardwoods and the walls painted a decadent, rich red. There was a large St. Andrews Cross adorning the wall. It accompanied a spanking bench, a padded sawhorse, and in the middle of it all, a huge bed.

The fact that everything came in singles told James a lot. Beth was the sub. Bo was not. He’d wondered because Bo tended to defer to Trev’s authority, but it seemed he probably topped Beth in the bedroom.

Hope would have had two Masters if Noah hadn’t been such an asshole.

He had to get that out of his head. Noah was talking to Hope, and here James was thinking about how mad he was at his brother.

“Don’t let this place fool you, Hope. There’s nothing but pleasure for you here,” Noah was saying, his voice soothing her.

And that was James’s damn job. He hadn’t even kissed her yet, and his brother was already pushing him out. James took Hope’s hand and gently pulled her to him. He sighed as he put his arms around her and smoothed back her hair. “I think you’re going to like this, baby, but if you’re scared, we can go back to the house and sit and have a nice dinner and then we’ll go to bed and I’ll treat you like a lady.”

She shivered. “Don’t. I’m a woman, and I would rather be treated that way.”

What the hell had he done? She tried to pull away, but he had the worst feeling that if he didn’t take control she would and everything would be over. He hardened his voice. “I’ll treat you like a sub. Now calm down, Hope. In this room, you obey me or you say no and this is over. Bo, does Trev keep paraphernalia for guests?”

Bo’s face went blank. “Are you talking about toys?”

He’d been trying to be discreet. “Yeah. Sometimes Doms keep a small supply of toys for visitors.”

Bo grinned and opened a panel. The custom-made door slid open. “Beth got cheeky. She’s been having fun with this room.”

He heard Hope gasp at the wall of perversion Bo had uncovered. There was a neat assortment of floggers, whips, paddles, spreader bars, and restraints of all types. There were handcuffs and long lengths of rope. There was a whole row of various types of lube.

“I take back everything I said about Trev,” Noah said, his eyes wide. “He’s a perfect addition.”

“He’s a complete pervert is what he is. You want it, he probably has it in various colors, shapes, and sizes. Oh, and he told me to tell you that he has a whole training set of plugs still in their boxes,” Bo explained.

James was deeply grateful for his partner’s years of formal training. James’s training had been rather informal. He’d gone to clubs with Stef, Max, and Rye over the years. Stef had taught him a lot, allowing James and Noah to practice on his own submissives before he’d finally settled down with Jennifer. But Trev had actually been a full-time Dom for several years.

“What does he mean by ‘plug’?” Hope had turned her face up to his, looking at him like he would protect her.

She didn’t realize she needed protection from him. His cock tightened at the soft, sweet look on her face. “Anal plugs, baby.”

“He keeps boxes of anal plugs for guests?” Hope asked.

Bo shrugged. “Apparently it’s the BDSM equivalent of a party favor.”

Hope shuddered a little. “I think I might prefer the little things you blow on and they make noise.”

Oh, she would be blowing on something, and James was definitely going to make a little noise. “Thank you, Bo. We can take it from here.”

Bo smiled. “You’re going to be all right, Hope. If you have any questions later, you just talk to Beth. She’s going to be really excited about having another girl around the place.”

He gave them a little salute and then shut the door behind him.

“Clothes off, Hope.”

Begin as you mean to go. He was in control. He was in charge.

And she was practically shaking she was so nervous. He sighed and hauled her close. He hadn’t kissed her. He needed to get his head in this damn game. He softened as he looked down at her. “Do you know how long I’ve wanted to kiss you, baby? That one taste wasn’t enough. I want to kiss you again and again.”

Her anxiety seemed to flee in favor of an awed wonder. “You really want to kiss me, James?”

He thought about rubbing his rock-hard cock all over her so she couldn’t doubt it, but decided on a sweeter approach. Words. Women liked words. “I wanted to kiss you the first time I saw you. You were sitting with Logan and you turned your face up to me, and all I could see were big eyes and the softest lips. I love how the bottom one plumps out when you’re thinking. I always want to suck at it and kiss you until you can’t breathe.”

She leaned into him a little. “James, are you serious? Because I couldn’t handle it if you weren’t.”

Serious? He was seriously in trouble, but he couldn’t find the will to back out. He had used all the words he was going to for now. He leaned forward and kissed her the way he’d wanted to that first day. She’d been sitting on the bench next to Logan, the afternoon sun hitting her hair. Logan had been talking about some game he was playing online, but James had been watching Hope wondering where Logan had found her.

James pressed his lips to hers and tilted her head back. She opened underneath him, her mouth ceding control to him. His tongue surged in. That first day had scared the crap out of him because she wasn’t his type, but he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her.

Now he knew. All the other women hadn’t been his type. He only had one type. Hope.

Her arms wound around his neck, and she clung to him. Her soft tongue played against his.

If he didn’t take control soon, he would do exactly what Noah had done. He would toss up her skirts and throw her against the first surface he could find and sink his cock in. He wouldn’t even have to dispense with her panties. They were probably being studied by the Farley boys at this very minute. He broke off the kiss.

“I want you, Hope. I want you so bad it hurts, but we do this my way. Now take off your clothes.” His voice was breathless, but she seemed to respond properly this time.

Her face flushed, and her hands went to the buttons of her shirt. Her voice was shaky as she spoke. “I don’t see what the two of you have against these clothes.”

“She’s damn sarcastic, James. I already spanked her once today for that mouth of hers.” Noah leaned against the wall, staying as far away as he possibly could.

“Is that right?” James wished he’d seen that. “Did Noah spank you?”

Her shirt hung open, leaving a tantalizing line of skin on display. He could see the curves of her breasts against the cups of her plain white bra.

“Yes.” The word came out on a breathy little sigh.

Well, his brother had gotten further with her than James had thought. “Did it scare you?”

She was here, so he was betting on a no.

“I liked it.”

And he liked honesty. He touched the half-moon at the top of her breastbone and then let his finger trail down. He toyed with the front clasp of her bra. “Did it get you hot?”

She nodded. “It did.”

“Thank you, baby. It means a lot to me that you’re honest. That’s what this is all about.”

A cloud passed over her face, but she turned her eyes down and shrugged out of her shirt. James flicked the clasp of her bra open and pushed the straps off.

Hope might be petite, but she had curves. Pretty curves. Curves that made his dick throb. She had perfectly perky nipples. They tightened under his gaze. Her skin was a lovely shade of cream with dustings of freckles here and there. Later he would explore every inch of her, kissing each little spot and marking her as his. But for now he wanted to see more.

“Get rid of the skirt, baby.”

She took a deep breath before pushing the skirt off her hips.

“God, Hope, you’re beautiful.” James couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was damn near perfect. Her hourglass figure was made for a man’s hands. While she was short, she wasn’t tiny. She had hips he wanted to grip and shapely legs that would look good wrapped around his waist. “Turn around.”

She turned on shaky feet.

Her ass was glorious. Round and juicy. Yeah, he would be using one of those plugs on her. James pulled her hair out of her ponytail, and soft brown hair fell like a waterfall over her shoulders. She was beautiful, and she hid it behind dowdy clothes and a boring hairdo. But it wouldn’t matter now. She could wear whatever the hell she wanted. He would see her like this. He would see her with soft skin and sexy curves and those dark eyes that kicked him in the gut. She could gain or lose weight. She could wear sexy clothes or a potato sack. She could get old and gray, and he would see her like this.

“Face me.”

Hope turned back. She was biting that sexy lower lip of hers. She pushed her glasses up. Damn, he even thought those were cute. “Do you really think I’m okay, James?”

“Hope, I think you’re gorgeous. Look what you’re doing to me.” His cock was just about to push through his jeans. She smiled, a shy little thing that made him understand something about Hope. She didn’t think she was beautiful. He would use every tool he had to make sure Hope came out of this experience knowing that she was the sexiest woman in the world. He pointed to his brother. “Noah’s not any better. Look at that damn thing in his jeans. Though he’s not going to get a damn bit of relief for his.”

He didn’t want to remind her that Noah was even here, but she needed to know how beautiful she was.

Noah grinned and pointed toward his erection like a game show hostess showing off a brand-new car. He was dippy and stupid and dumb-ass, and James felt his heart twist because Noah was acting like the brother he remembered. Noah had been a goofball. A brilliant mind with a goofy, funny soul. Hope was bringing him back.

Again. Not his problem. This wasn’t about Noah. This was about him and Hope. And it was time to get started. “Eyes on me, Hope.”

She turned obediently, but he could see that his play had worked. She was far more confident than before.

“I want you to take my clothes off, baby.”

Her breath hitched.

“Your reply should be a ‘yes, James.’”

“Yes, James.” No hesitation now. She moved forward, and her hands were on his shirt. She smoothed it down before moving to the pearl snaps. Carefully, she unsnapped the buttons one by one. It was torture. He could feel those small hands moving down his torso. She pulled the shirt free of his jeans. “Can I touch you? I don’t know how this works.”

“This is for fun, baby. It’s a way of life for Trev and Beth and Bo, but this is just fun for us. If you’re not tied up and we haven’t agreed on a scene, then you can touch me all you want.”

She closed her eyes and placed both hands on his chest. He was pretty sure she could feel his heart pounding. He held still, letting her explore him. She ran her palms over his pecs and down to his abs, those small fingers making him shake on the inside.

“You’re killing me, baby. Finish what you started. Undress me.”

“I wouldn’t want to kill you.” The shy girl seemed to be gone, and a playful siren was in her place. Yeah, she was going to give him hell, and he would enjoy every minute.

She undid the buckle of his belt. She dropped to her knees, and he couldn’t help but hiss a little as she undid his fly and brought down the zipper. She unwrapped him like she was unwrapping a Christmas package. She licked her lips as his cock bounced free.

It was definitely time to start taking control, or she would unman him.

“That’s enough, Hope. Let’s start this little scene of ours.”

She frowned, but sat back on her heels.

James kicked out of his boots and got out of his jeans and boxers, deeply grateful to be free of the confines.

“Have you ever been tied up, baby?” He needed to assess just how little she knew. Hope seemed so innocent.

“No.”

He was deeply grateful. He wanted to be the first. He wanted to introduce her to how much fun it could be. “I want to tie you up. I want to restrain you so I have total control over your body. I don’t want to do this for me, although I will enjoy it deeply. I want to do it to bring you pleasure. If it scares you or makes you upset, then it isn’t doing what it’s supposed to. Do you understand?”

She nodded.

“Hope, I want a verbal answer.” He would have to ease her into play. He might not be a full-time Dom like Trev, but when they were playing, he wanted respect.

“Yes, James.”

“Good. Then put your hands behind your back, lace the fingers together.”

She caught her breath but did as she was asked. She was beautiful sitting there, her breasts thrust out, her chest rising and falling with each breath. James walked to the wall Beth had so cleverly hidden and pulled out some thin rope made of jute. Trev, it seemed, was a practitioner of Shibari, or as James liked to call it, the fine art of tying up a lady.

He caught sight of his brother staring at Hope like he wanted to get to his knees and worship her. But it was James’s turn. He wasn’t going to call his brother in. He wasn’t going to have Noah hold her wrists as he bound her. He wasn’t going to have her suck his cock while his brother worked a plug in her ass.

He wasn’t going to do any of that.

He forced himself to get to his knees and bind her hands behind her back. He wrapped the rope around her wrists, forming a bowline knot. He tied it off, testing it to make sure it couldn’t cut off her circulation, and then leaned back, admiring the arch of her back and how it flowed to the globes of her ass.

“Spread your knees a little more, baby.”

Hope pressed her knees out. The dimples above her ass deepened. James couldn’t help but run his hand down the length of her spine. “Have you ever had a cock in your ass, Hope?”

She was quiet for a moment and then a hesitant, “Yes.”

He was a bit surprised, but he didn’t know everything about her. She was twenty-seven years old. She wasn’t a kid. “Did you like it?”

Her hair shook. “It hurt.”

“It’s not supposed to. How long did you wear a plug?”

“I didn’t. It…was a mistake.”

There it was. A tiny shake of her shoulders. She got upset when she talked about certain things, and this seemed to be one of them. Hope’s past was starting to be a mystery he had to solve. Someone had hurt her. The thought made him want to find that someone and beat him to death, but he needed to deal with Hope. “I want to play with you today. I want to show you that it doesn’t have to hurt.”

“Had many cocks shoved up your ass, James?”

He stifled a laugh. She was a smart-ass, and she’d just given him a very good reason to put his hands on her ass. “No sarcasm, Hope. Lean forward. Put your ass in the air.”

“I already got a spanking today.” Her bottom lip quivered sweetly.

“Well, you’re getting another one because you didn’t learn your lesson. It’s a count of twenty right now. Would you like to make it thirty?”

She huffed a little and leaned forward, her ass on perfect display.

“Well, hell, baby, Noah didn’t even leave a mark.”

“I was trying to be careful with her,” Noah said, his voice a low growl.

“Well, now, there’s careful and then there’s perfection.” James pulled his hand back and smacked that gorgeous ass.

Hope whimpered as her flesh flushed to a nice shade of pink. James struck three times in rapid succession, varying the strength of his hand.

“This is what we call an erotic spanking, baby. And before you ask me, yes, I have had this done to me. Noah and I met a very nice Dominatrix who taught us a few tricks, but she used the other one as an example. Oddly enough, I think we were better at the techniques we had applied to us. I took the spanking, and I’m awfully good at giving them.” He went in for another round, the sound of his hand on her flesh filling the room, accompanied with her breathy little cries. “This spanking should heighten your arousal. The pain blends with heat until you can’t tell the two apart and everything is just a sensual experience.”

He struck the center of her ass. There was a fine sheen to her backside as he continued on, but he could smell the sweet scent of her arousal starting to flow. She’d stopped tensing at each blow as he hit seventeen and eighteen. She relaxed down and took the last two with a breathy sigh.

Later, he could introduce her to the pleasure of a single tail. Hope was perfect.

“What was Noah good at?” The question came out on a sensual little huff.

James snorted. He couldn’t help it. “You want to tell her?”

Noah was as red as Hope’s ass. “I…well, I…I lost at cards and I…I’m really good at anal sex.”

Hope’s laughter filled the dungeon. James joined in.

Different. It was so damn different than his other experiences. Hope made him laugh. The sound of her laughing made him feel buoyant and young.

“What Noah doesn’t know, baby, is that I cheated at cards. There was no way I was taking that plug.” James grinned at Noah’s offended gasp. “But if you want me to try it, I will. I’m a little older and a lot more open.”

“It sounds like Noah’s the one who’s more open.”

God, he was crazy about her smart mouth. He leaned over and kissed the cheeks of her ass. “Let’s see how open we can get you. Stay in this position.”

He got to his feet and found the offered plug set. As Bo had said, they were neat, clean, and sterilized for use. Trev was a perfect host. He thought briefly about the ginger lube but decided he wanted to keep his head on his body. Later. A simple water-based lube would work today. And a small plug. He didn’t want to scare her. He needed to make her like this. Noah might be better at anal than he was, but it couldn’t be by much. He loved the way a perky little asshole opened to take his cock. Sharing that with Hope would be so good.

He got back to his knees, well aware that Noah was looking on, his face back to being grim and dark. He wanted to be involved. Well, he should have damn well thought about that before he’d fucked Hope earlier.

James gently pulled apart the cheeks of her ass. Damn, that was pretty. Her asshole was pink and looked tighter than any fist. She was small, and he would have to be careful.

“I’m going to use some lube first, and then we’ll settle this little plug in. Are you all right, Hope?”

“I’m a little nervous,” she admitted.

But she was still aroused. He let his hand slide down to her pussy. She was soaking wet. Every inch of that pussy was swollen and wanting. He split her labia, pulling the petals aside and delving into her cunt with a single finger. Heat surrounded him. She was blazing hot. Whatever anxiety she had, she still wanted him. He slid the pad of his finger over her clit. Pleasure. That was what she needed. A little starter orgasm would make everything easier.

“Relax.” He made it an order. He was starting to understand her.

Hope’s shoulders lost their tension. Her eyes closed, and her knees spread a little wider.

That was what he wanted. Trust. He worked his thumb into her cunt, allowing two fingers to slide over her clit. Cream coated his fingers. So fucking wet. She started to move, to try to take him deeper.

He smacked her already-sensitive ass. “You stay still. Take what I give you.”

“It’s hard. It feels so good.”

“Has you taking control worked before?” He would bet his life the answer to that would be no.

“No,” she murmured. “Nothing worked until this morning.”

Noah wouldn’t have allowed her to control the sex. He might have been Ally’s lapdog, but he seemed to want more from Hope. Noah seemed a bit harder than before.

“Then you do as I tell you, and I promise I won’t stop until you’re satisfied. I’ll give you what you need.”

She stilled beneath him.

James went to work. He pressed his thumb in, rotating and opening her up. He caught her clit between his two fingers and pressed, pinching at it as he hooked his thumb and rubbed her G-spot.

Hope’s mouth opened, and a little cry let James know he’d hit the perfect spot. Her body shuddered as she rode out the orgasm. Arousal poured out of her, coating his hand and permeating the air. Her scent was like a drug, making his cock jump.

How long was he going to be able to hold out?

When the shudders stopped, he pulled his hand out and, without a single self-conscious thought, licked his fingers, tasting her for the first time. Tangy and sweet. Like Hope herself. He sucked her cream off his fingers.

“You taste like heaven, baby. I can’t wait to get my tongue on you.”

Her little sigh told him she was interested in that prospect. But he had something to do first.

“This is going to be a little cold at first.” He dribbled the lube right over her asshole. She whimpered a little. Those sounds she made were killing him. How would she sound when he had her on a cross counting out lashes in that sweet Southern voice of hers?

He picked up the small plug and fitted it to her asshole. The small puckered hole was closed, but he knew it wouldn’t stay that way. He rimmed her with the plug, opening her in tiny increments. He could see his cock there. When he fucked her ass, he would take it slow, and he would watch as his cock sank in, disappearing into the hot recess of her ass. He would push in until his balls caressed her flesh, and then he would watch as he pulled out. He would watch that same asshole that had tried to keep him out, fight to keep him in. He would watch and memorize every moment. It would be a beautiful thing, the ultimate trust.

He pressed in, the plug finally gaining ground. Hope moaned, her ass twitching.

“Almost there, baby.”

“It feels weird.” A fine shiver went across Hope’s skin.

“But it doesn’t hurt, does it?”

“No,” she admitted. Her voice was tight. “It’s odd, but it doesn’t hurt. I don’t know. But don’t stop.”

He wasn’t about to stop. He slid the plug home, seating it deep in her ass. He looked at it for a minute. The flat base was neatly pressed between the cheeks of her ass.

His cock throbbed. She was absolutely perfect. Never in all his thoughts about her had he imagined he would get her in a dungeon. He’d thought about fucking her and cuddling her and sharing a life with her, but not this. When he’d thought about getting married, he’d figured he would have to give up this part of his life, but now he wondered why.

His wife should know all of him. His wife should love all of him. If Hope could accept him, the dark and the light, maybe they could be happy. Maybe they could be more.

He helped her to her knees, her eyes slightly dreamy. He’d given her that. A whole fucking year wasted because he’d thought he had nothing to offer her. This. He could offer her this.

He leaned forward and kissed her, a sweet brushing of lips, ignoring the desperate calls of his cock. He took a moment to hold her, her bound arms forcing her nipples out to poke at his chest.

“Are you all right, baby?”

There was a soft little smile on her face. “I’m lovely. James, you said I tasted good.”

He kissed her again, opening her mouth under his and letting her taste herself on his tongue. “You taste like heaven, baby.”

Her nose nuzzled his. “I want to taste you, James. Please.”

He got to his knees, his cock finally taking over. She’d asked so sweetly. He wasn’t about to refuse her.