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.