She hit the ground with bruising force, but that was nothing compared to the embarrassment making her wish the dirt would just part and suck her under. Stupid rookie mistake. You know better than to run around over uneven ground. But then, her common sense had always had the nasty habit of taking a backseat when Daniel was around.
Strong hands grabbed her under her armpits and pulled her to her feet. “Christ, Hope, what the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Daniel patted her down, brushing the dirt from her shoulders and sides and chest. He froze when his hands touched her breasts, and the heat of her blush from her embarrassment turned into something else entirely. She swallowed hard, taking a deep breath that pressed her against his palms more firmly. The fabric of her shirt was thin enough that she could feel the calluses on his palms, and her nipples budded from the contact, her body going soft and warm as if she was some twisted sort of Pavlov’s dog and Daniel was her bell.
When he spoke again, his voice was deeper. “Are you hurt?”
Not in the way you mean. “I don’t think so.” Her knee throbbed like the dickens, but she wasn’t about to admit that to him. And, to be fair, it hurt the majority of the time to one degree or another. But admitting that meant he might stop touching her. She leaned into him and licked her lips, her gaze dropping to his mouth. “Danny…”
“When you look at me like that, I forget all the reasons I promised to leave you alone.”
Why the hell would he promise to leave her alone? That was the stupidest thing she’d ever heard. She clenched her teeth together to keep from telling him so and ruining the moment. There would be plenty of time to rip Daniel a new one…later. “Then don’t.” She grabbed the front of his T-shirt and pulled him against her, stretching up to kiss him. He resisted for a grand total of one second.
And then he took control.
Daniel brought his hand up to yank her ponytail holder out and tangle in her hair, simultaneously picking her up and backing them up against the house. And then he was there, his body pinning her in place, his thigh wedging between her legs, providing a delicious pressure against where she felt most empty. He took possession of her mouth, his tongue teasing her lips open and stroking against hers in a way that had to be designed to make the top of her head explode.
He used his grip on her hair to tilt her head back and kiss down her neck. “If I was a better man, I’d leave you alone.”
She didn’t have words to respond, not with him tracing her nipple through her shirt with his thumb. Hope moaned and pulled him closer, trying to think clearly enough to know what to say—or not to say—that would ensure this didn’t stop. Then his free hand slid beneath her shirt and she forgot about talking at all.
“No goddamn bra.” He cupped her breast, his calluses creating delicious friction against her nipple. “What the hell were you thinking, showing up here with no bra?”
This, at least, she knew how to deal with, even if she was out of practice. Hope lifted her chin and met his gaze, half sure she was imagining the possessive look she found there. “I’m not wearing panties, either.”
“What. The. Fuck?” Immediately, he fisted the fabric of her skirt, lifting it high against her thighs and sliding his hand between her legs. “Christ, darling, you really know how to send a man to his knees.” He cupped her, his fingers sliding through her wetness but not penetrating her. It felt so good, but not nearly good enough, all at the same time. “But then, you always did.”
At their feet, Ollie yipped, breaking the spell. Daniel exhaled a harsh breath. “This is a mistake.”
It was. She knew that, and she didn’t care. This would never happen again, and knowing that made her feel totally and completely out of control. Here in this moment, nothing seemed real but them, and she wasn’t ready for it to end. Not yet. She covered his hand with her own, holding him in place. “Danny, please.” She licked her lips. “Please don’t stop.”
…
Daniel couldn’t deny her if he wanted to—and he sure as fuck didn’t want to. He ignored the pup at his feet and pushed a finger into her, watching her face. She clenched around him, her inhaled breath the sweetest thing he’d ever heard. He pumped gently, feeling anything but, trying to remember to take it slow. She was hot and tight and already drenched, her breasts rising and falling with each exhale.
“Danny…” She cupped him through his jeans. “Now.”
This was so damn wrong. It had never been like this with them. Hot beyond belief, yes. But not quick, not rushed, not harsh in any way. But harsh was the only thing Daniel knew anymore.
He kept pumping, spreading her with his fingers while he used his free hand to undo his jeans. His cock sprang free, and it took everything he had to pause. “Hold on, darling.” He grabbed his wallet out of his back pocket, riffling through it for the condom he’d put there…at some point. He hesitated. “Damn, it’s been—”
“I don’t care. Put it on.” She kissed him, reaching between them to stroke him once, twice, a third time, until he had to get the fucking condom on or he was going to come in her hand. If he was going to get one more shot at being inside Hope Moore, he wasn’t going to ruin it.
He tore open the condom wrapper with his teeth, refusing to stop touching her, though he had to let go for a second to roll the damn thing on. It took too long, but he had both hands free when he was done, and she’d kept her skirt lifted for him. Good girl. He stepped into her, pressing her against the wall. It struck him again that this was twelve different kinds of wrong to be doing her against the wall of his best friend’s house, but he was too far gone to care.
Hope kissed him, hopping up and putting her legs around his waist, and that was that. He adjusted his angle and pushed into her, his entire body shaking at the feeling of her pussy clamped so tightly around him. “Jesus, darling. I’d convinced myself I’d imagined how good you feel.” He cupped her ass, lifting her up and slamming her down onto his cock.
I missed this. I missed you.
Even in the throes, he couldn’t say it aloud. She wasn’t staying, and he had no business throwing their past in her face. Stop thinking and just enjoy this, damn it. He kissed her, giving himself over to the feel of her thighs squeezing his hips, her nails digging into the back of his neck, the breathy little moans that she made in the back of her throat. All too soon, her body tightened around him, her pussy milking him as she came with a soft cry. Daniel tried to hold on, to prolong it, to keep going, but it was too good. He pinned her against the wall and pounded into her, urged on by the building pressure in his balls. He came with a curse that damn near buckled his knees and caught himself against the rough wood.
Long seconds ticked past, their breathing slowly returning to something resembling normal. He ran a hand over her ass and down her thigh, pausing when the skin changed just above her knee, becoming rough and almost twisted.
Hope jumped like he’d electrocuted her. “Oh, God.” She shimmied until he set her on her feet, quickly stepping away from him and adjusting her clothing.
He hated that, though he didn’t blame her. He couldn’t get the feeling of that scarred skin out of his head, and the knowledge that he’d been the one responsible sat heavy in his chest. He took a step back and went to get rid of the condom.
Daniel knew something was wrong the second he touched his cock. He pulled the condom off—the ripped condom. “Oh, shit.”
Chapter Four
What the hell did I just do?
Hope stared at the broken condom and suddenly the night was closing in on her and she couldn’t catch a full breath. Oh, no. Oh my God. She tried to think past the rushing in her ears, but the panic cresting inside her made it all but impossible. “I’m on birth control.” Sort of. The truth was that she’d just gotten a prescription last week and started them today—well, technically yesterday. It shouldn’t have happened like this.
It shouldn’t have happened at all.
There was no excuse for the stupidity of what she’d just done. She
looked around wildly, half expecting a brilliant solution to materialize in front of her. There was nothing but the stars and the field around the house, both so painfully familiar and yet completely different. It was all different. All wrong.
She never should have followed Daniel through the backyard, but she’d been so blind, so sure she could fix everything like she always did. “I have to go.”
“Hope…” Daniel sighed. “Yeah, you should. Let me give you a ride.”
That was the last thing she needed. Even with all evidence pointing to her having no common sense when it came to this man, it was like she was eighteen again, rushing headfirst into every situation, heedless of the danger. She’d just more than proven that she couldn’t trust herself to keep control, which meant she needed to stay away from him in situations like this.
Situations like what? We’re at a party at his cousin’s house and ten feet from half a dozen other people. It’s not like I followed him home.
Ollie chose that moment to start barking, and they both spun around as Adam walked around the side of the house. He stopped short when he caught sight of them, and even in the shadows, Hope could see the way his gaze jumped between them, his eyes widening for half a second before he got control of himself. “You two okay out here?”
“Fine.”
Adam and Daniel stared at each other in a way she’d never seen before, almost calculating. Like there was a line they were on opposite sides of. Hope didn’t like that. She didn’t like that one bit. They were best friends—had been since they were kids. She refused to be something that came between them. She smoothed back her hair, belatedly realizing her hair tie had disappeared into the darkness. Damn. “We’re good. I was just coming back inside to find Jules. I’m kind of tired and I want to head to the bed-and-breakfast.”
“Hope—”
Adam stepped forward, angling so he stood between her and Daniel. “I’ll give you a ride. I’ve got the keys to Jules’s truck.”
“Perfect.” She honestly didn’t care who was behind the wheel as long as she was putting some distance between herself and Daniel. She needed to think, and it was impossible to do that with her body still beating in time with the pleasure he’d brought her and his presence overwhelming her while he was just standing there.