“I didn’t know.” How could it be gone?
James shrugged. “You wouldn’t. You would have to have called or given a damn in order to know. Trev, do we have a feed shipment tomorrow?”
Noah sat back, his appetite gone. The conversation flowed around him, but he simply sat there. The cabin was gone. His brother was further away than ever.
It had been a mistake to come back. He should have found a job in some other town and started over.
“Give him a little time.” Hope smiled at him, her voice low as Trev and James and Bo discussed the feed shipment.
“I don’t know if there’s enough time in the world,” Noah replied in a whisper. He’d really hurt his brother. He hadn’t meant to. James seemed harder than before, but then it appeared life had kicked him in the crotch more than once since he’d left. Noah had thought he’d had the rougher road, but James’s hadn’t been easy.
“He’ll come around. You’re his brother.” Hope patted his hand.
And James noticed that. His gaze sharpened on the spot where Hope’s hand touched his. James frowned, his fork suspended in midair.
Noah smiled warmly at Hope, well aware that his brother was watching their every move. “Thanks, Hope. I’m looking forward to our date tomorrow.”
“Date?” James ground the word out.
Hope’s gorgeous eyes rolled. “He’s taking me to see Long-Haired Roger so I can find out how much I owe in order to get my car back. It’s not a date.”
“We’re having lunch afterwards.” He knew he was stabbing his brother in the back, but it was the only attention he could get. And once he had Hope in his arms, maybe he could find a way to ease James into the relationship. He knew damn straight that if James got her first, Noah would be left in the damn cold, and he didn’t want that to happen. He felt a connection to Hope. For the first time in forever, his brain and his dick were on the same page.
“Only because you guilted me into it,” Hope complained.
He shrugged. He was fine with that. He’d been guilted into many things himself. It was sometimes the way the world worked. He’d listened in a bit earlier to the talk in the living room. It was obvious she was in some kind of trouble. She needed someone to look after her. Noah couldn’t see why that shouldn’t be him. James hadn’t claimed her. She was alone by her own admission. She might actually need him. She might be the only fucking person in the world who needed him.
“I’ll take you,” James pronounced.
Trev, Beth, and Bo watched, their heads going back and forth as though they were watching a tennis match. Or a fight between two dogs over a bone. He wasn’t giving up his bone.
“She already agreed to go with me,” Noah said, willing to fight.
“You two stop.” Hope slapped at the table. “Both of you. You are acting like toddlers. I don’t know what is going on here, but you’re brothers. Don’t you talk, James. I know he left, but he’s back. And you, stop baiting him. Do you want to start a fight? I am not Rachel. I will not throw my body between the two of you and proceed to allow you to molest me. I will get a hose, and hose you both down. Do you understand?”
James’s eyes dropped to his plate, but there was the faintest hint of a grin on his face. “Yes, ma’am.”
Hope turned to him, a stern expression on her face. She was in charge. For now.
“Yes, ma’am.” Noah didn’t try to hide his smile. She was pretty when she was mad. And she could obviously handle unruly men.
“Excellent.” She sighed and picked up her iced tea. “Then we can finish a pleasant meal.”
She began to talk to Beth, but Noah just watched her. He was well aware his brother was doing the same damn thing.
Hope sat up in bed when the door opened. Long lines of moonlight transformed the little guest room, washing it with silvery light, making the whole space romantic and surreal.
When had she changed into a white gown? She was sure she’d gone to bed wearing a T-shirt and pajama bottoms, but the silky white gown felt right on her skin. It was luxurious, like she was wrapped in a soft cloud. She pushed the quilt back. The early-September air was already cold at night, but she was a little hot. She kicked the covers away, aware of the way the change in temperature caused her body to react. Her nipples tightened, and a little thrill of gooseflesh raced along her skin. Aware. She was so aware of her body. She stretched, feeling a little like a cat waking up from a nap, and that was when she felt his eyes on her.
James.
James stood in the doorway, his long, lean body wearing nothing but a pair of jeans. The moonlight caressed his flesh like an admiring lover. His chest was perfect despite the scars there. No amount of silvery scars could take away from how perfectly cut his torso was. His shoulders were broad, sculpted by an artistic hand. His arms were muscular but not bulky. He was a cowboy god. Sin walking on two legs.
“James? What are you doing here?” Hope asked. Was that throaty voice really her own? She knew she should cover herself, but she couldn’t quite make her hands work.
“I wanted to make sure you were okay.” He stalked into the room. His voice was a deep, velvety caress. He stood over her, his blue eyes staring down. “Do you have everything you need?”
Nope. Not even close. She needed him. She held a hand out.
His smiled warmed her. “I want you, Hope.”
Music to her ears. How long had she wanted to hear that from him? But she was leaving. “I can’t stay in Bliss.”
His handsome face tightened. “I’ll take whatever time we have. Come on, girl. Don’t keep me waiting.”
He’d kept her waiting, but she didn’t want payback. She wanted him. Years she’d gone without wanting anyone. She’d wanted solace. She’d wanted to disappear. She’d wanted to forget. But she hadn’t wanted a person for who they were, for their beauty and body and soul. James Glen was a man-whore. She knew it, but he was also honest and forthright and a gentleman. He was smart and funny, and he made her heart pound.
Her hands went to the silky straps of her gown, gently pushing them down. She showed him her breasts, praying he wouldn’t reject her. He’d been with so many beautiful women. What if he didn’t want her once he’d really seen her?
His eyes went to her chest, a sensual smile playing on his lips. His golden-brown hair fell forward. He was almost never without his hat, but the shaggy hair made him look younger, freer than he normally looked.
She caught her breath as his fingers came up to play with her nipples. The buds tightened, and her arousal started to flow.
He palmed her breasts and leaned forward, his mouth close to hers. “Tell me you want me.”
Oh, so much. She was drugged with desire. “I want you, James.”
He brushed their lips together, a little caress that left her wanting so much more. He stood back up. “Then show me everything. I want to see you. I want to see the hips I’ll hold, the legs that will wrap around me, and I definitely want to see the pussy I finally get to fuck. Show me, Hope.”
His words were fuel for her movement. With a languid sigh, she got to her knees and let the gown slip off her body. It seemed to almost evaporate, as though it knew it was no longer needed. She knelt there, naked before James Glen.
He studied her for a long moment, his eyes caressing her. She let her insecurity go. She breathed and let the moment last. Finally, his hand came out. The tips of his fingers barely touched the notch of her collarbone. She was sure he could feel her pulse pounding. He let his fingers float along her skin, skimming between her breasts, down her belly, across her navel. He stopped just shy of her mound.
“Are you wet?” His voice sounded like it came from all directions. It filled the room until it was all she could hear.
Her pussy flooded with moisture. It was his to command. “Yes.”