by Amber Lynn
“You are way too good to me, Jason. I guess we should probably go put an offer on the house before someone steals it out from under us and we have to rent the backyard from someone else.”
“I’m hoping that a cash offer will speed things up. We’ll still have to wait for the inspections and surveys and such on top of the paperwork, but I think we’ll be able to start christening all the rooms by the end of the month.”
Hope laughed and pushed him back into the house. Jason scooped up the forgotten black box that still had the wedding band portion of the set waiting for the day it could join the engagement ring. It was hard leaving the house knowing it would soon be theirs. They’d already started their life together in it and Jason couldn’t wait to see how happy they could make the home.
There was a chance he’d even call his mom and ask her if they had that brown cookie jar somewhere. The house had new stainless steel appliances in the kitchen and the top of the fridge looked like a perfect place for the memento.
Chapter Twenty-two
“You know what helps me when I’m stressed?” Jason’s deep voice asked from across the bed.
Hope had just gotten out of the shower and was on the edge of the bed with a big white fluffy towel wrapped around her body as she used another towel to dry her hair. The shower was supposed to relax her, which was why Jason hadn’t been invited. He’d wanted to join her, but Hope wanted to try to prove she could calm herself down without the need of his touch.
It hadn’t worked. Nothing could make being in New York not stressful. From the moment their plane touched down, Hope had been waiting for Kate to jump out and do something. The nightmares Hope had leading up to the trip included them being kidnapped, drugged and forced into some kind of sex party Kate planned to reiterate her idea that being monogamous was stupid.
Those thoughts kept cropping up, sending Hope into cold sweats. She hadn’t shared all of her fears with Jason, but he knew before she showed physical symptoms that something was wrong. He was magic that way.
Since he’d asked a question, pondering a kidnapping she had dreamed up and letting her mind wander to how great Jason was needed to wait. It was hard to think clearly, but she had to if she wanted to get through the game the next day and get back on the plane.
“I have a feeling you aren’t going to suggest I strap on some pads, jump into one of your jerseys and head to the arena so I can see how hard I can shoot a puck.”
Hope glanced over her shoulder as she replied so she saw the second Jason started picturing her in the get up. The hint of lust wanting to jump out of his eyes was something she saw a lot of when they were together.
Tossing the towel in her hand to the floor, she stood up and turned so she could face Jason. Hope was joking about relieving stress by playing hockey, even though that was a technique Jason used. They were alone in a fancy hotel room with more pillows than she’d ever seen in her life on top of the crisp white comforter that had greeted them. Most of the pillows were gone, because Hope didn’t see a need for little square pillows, but there were still two thick ones on each side of the bed.
There were other things fancy about the room, the tub with jets for one, but Hope had focused on the bed. She knew that’s where Jason would try to focus things and she wasn’t disappointed. If the kidnapping didn’t happen, maybe they’d spend some time in the tub, since it looked big enough for two, but there was still the if factor in play there.
“You know how hard it is for me to be in a room with you fully clothed. Can you imagine what’s going through my mind right now picturing you in that outfit? If either of us were exhibitionists, I’d say we grab some gear and go break into the arena. We’re going to need all the ice we can get to cool me down.”
Hope smiled and raised her arms up so she could undo the towel tucked in at her chest. The shower hadn’t worked, but she was willing to give Jason’s alternative a try. Judging by the way his right hand had potentially unconsciously moved to his crotch to start rubbing himself through his jeans, he was more than ready to give it a try.
“Why don’t you undo your pants and show me just how hard it is?”
It felt kind of cheesy to say that. Hope had graduated big time from their first time together with not knowing what to do or say. She’d been worried the first few times they had sex that she’d do or say something wrong, but Jason never seemed to mind. He made that perfectly clear when he followed directions and unbuttoned, then unzipped his pants. Knowing they’d eventually come all the way off anyway, he went ahead and lifted his hips off the bed so he could slide them and his boxers down his legs and throw them off to the floor on his side of the bed.
Hope felt her heart pick up a step like it always did when she saw his lower extremity jutting out, calling to her. The dark veins lining it looked mad, even with Jason’s hand immediately moving to stroke it, a fruitless effort to calm them down.
With her second towel deposited on the ground, Hope licked her lips and crawled on the bed over to her fiancé. She loved thinking about him in that sense. It felt a little like a dream, but it was a good one.
“Mr. Miller, I’m not a doctor, but I think you’ve got a bit of a problem there.”
She tried to sound serious, but the smile spreading across her face didn’t match her tone. It didn’t help matters that she was saying the words totally naked. Jason still had a blue t-shirt on, but it was clear that it was only a matter of time before it came off.
“And what exactly do you think we should do about it, soon-to-be Mrs. Miller?”
Jason was better about sounding like he meant business. They hadn’t really discussed the option of role-playing, but her earlier tease about her dressing up like a hockey player had her wondering if he’d like to play doctor.
“Well,” Hope replied as she licked her lips again, a little slower this time. “I think you should let my tongue investigate the problem. I think it’s a good judge when it comes to this type of issue.”
She was already to his side and had stopped for a second to watch the tempo of his hand movements. They were slow and measured, telling her he was trying to keep as calm as he could. Leaning down, she blew softly on the tip of him. Hope didn’t miss his hand squeezing tighter, or his intake of breath.
“If that’s what you think is best, maybe a minute or two of your tongue lashing would be okay. I’m a little wound up, though, so don’t be surprised if I pull you off kind of quick.”
His words weren’t even all out of his mouth before Hope leaned down and ran her tongue along the bottom edge of him. The curse that came out of his mouth made her chuckle as she opened her mouth wide and swallowed him. She was still new at the whole concept of oral sex, even though she felt like an old pro when it came to the somewhat more traditional version of sex.
Her jaw didn’t exactly appreciate having a large object shoved in it, but Hope didn’t care. She did her best to keep her teeth out of the action as she swirled her tongue as much as she could up the shaft on her way to the top.
“That’s going to be enough of that.”
Jason’s hands were on Hope’s shoulders, pushing her away from him. If she was still insecure, she would’ve thought she did something wrong, but she knew the rebuff wasn’t really a rebuff.
He growled and pushed her on her back as he made quick work of getting rid of his shirt. It was easy to tell how excited he was because he’d barely leaned down to kiss her before he thrust inside of her. Since they were in a hotel, Hope briefly thought about trying to be quiet. Jason’s tongue inside of her mouth cut down some of her scream, but not a lot.
From their very first time together, their bodies connected on a molecular level. Hope had waited to tell Jason she loved him, but what happened when they came together had been screaming their love long before either of them said it. At one time it had scared her, but that was only because she didn’t understand it.
The motions they knew so well easily took over as every thrust of Jason’s body was me
t with welcoming arms. It was easy to forget about the troubles lurking out in the world. When they were together, it was just them.
Hope gripped the edges of the soft comforter underneath her that contrasted with the hard body above her. She wanted it to last longer to try to keep her mind off Kate, but the second Jason took charge, things were quickly on their way to an end. It would undoubtedly be a satisfying end, but Hope was hopeful that Jason could be convinced another round was in order.
Her body stopped thrusting as it tensed and pushed into Jason. His body sped up for a second before he too froze in place. Their eyes were locked together, telling Hope without words just how much he loved her. They always did that, whether they were naked or not.
Throughout it all, their lips had remained locked, but once they got close, tongue involvement turned into more of frantic pecking. Jason tended to grimace a little when he found his completion, so it worked out well if their tongues weren’t locked when that happened.
“Um,” Jason said as he straightened up a little to put some distance between their bodies.
Hope laughed. It wasn’t the reaction she wanted after sex, but she knew where the thought was coming from.
“I take it that it just dawned on you that your inability to sit back and enjoy a blow job means you’re inside me and there isn’t a condom between us.”
Hope had let the thought register the second he entered her, but it didn’t make her push him away. With how often they found themselves locked together, she’d done a lot of calculating when it came to her cycle, so she liked to think she knew when it was time to insist he put a condom on. They were in a time when things were okay to play a little on the dangerous side.
“You’re not telling me to pull out.”
He looked a little skeptical. It was their first time without a condom, so Hope wasn’t sure what he had to be skeptical about.
“I’m not pregnant,” she said quickly to make sure he wasn’t thinking along those lines.
“I didn’t think you were. I’m more concerned that you may have visited a doctor. I thought you weren’t going to get on birth control.”
They’d had a long conversation about that and had come to the agreement that they wanted to start a family soon. Hope was still in the corner of waiting until after the wedding so people wouldn’t talk, but she was okay with them having a baby in the next year.
“I didn’t go to the doctor. I just think we’re safe.”
“Really? Does that mean I don’t have to use the box of condoms I brought?”
The mischievous look in Jason’s eyes told Hope he was going to do everything he could to keep her mind off other things. She loved that about him.
“You got the one pass, don’t push it. That means eventually you’re going to have to pull out.”
Hope didn’t mind that he lingered inside of her. He always did. She was sure a part of him was hoping if he stayed long enough his sperm would prove itself tougher than latex.
“Yeah, well, maybe I want to stay locked like this forever.”
A playful punch to the shoulder was the reply Jason got for the comment. Hope couldn’t argue with him, but their sex life was already pretty intense.
“I haven’t heard you talking about retirement, so maybe you should wait a few more years to make me your sex slave. Why don’t we go get cleaned up and ready for round two?”
Even though she’d just taken a shower, Hope thought it was a good idea to rinse herself out a little. It was a new feeling with the result of their lovemaking inside of her rather than in a condom, and it wasn’t a bad feeling. It was just probably smart to start fresh before they continued the night.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have signed that extension.”
Jason leaned down and gave Hope a long kiss as he slowly inched out of her. He was turning soft, but she still felt him brush every inch of her on the way out.
“You’d hate hanging up your skates before your body said it’s time. Can you turn on the TV, so maybe my screams can be explained if someone comes pounding on the door later?”
Hope winked at Jason as she tried to right herself. She felt weird about things leaking out onto the bed, so she rolled off the bed as she squeezed her thighs together. After spending so much time with Jason, she’d developed strong thigh muscles that she often squeezed around him like a vice.
“I’m sure it’s not going to help, but if it makes you feel better, I’ll see if I can find something with a lot of police sirens.”
Since there were spare pillows in a chair close to her, Hope picked one up and threw it at Jason, who’d remained on the bed and was propped up on one elbow as he looked at her. He deserved another pillow, but he’d reached over and turned the television on. The sound was turned down, but an image caught Hope's eye.
“Turn that up.”
Hope walked closer to the large television on a dresser. She wanted to make sure her eyes weren’t deceiving her.
Getting closer to the screen didn’t change what she saw. A very angry looking Kate was being led out of a huge house in handcuffs. Hope looked back at Jason, wondering if it was his old house.
His eyes were focused on the television. The flush from the recent round of sex was fading from his face as he watched his ex-wife get loaded in the back of a police car. Hope turned back around to hopefully get some insight from the news.
“We’re live at the scene of a situation we’re still trying to make sense of. Officers were called here to 14783 Richmond Drive about an hour ago. From what we understand after talking to neighbors, this is the home of prominent lawyer Lonnie Price and his wife, Hannah. About twenty minutes ago a woman was taken out of the house on a stretcher. We do not have confirmation of who the woman is, but we know the woman being taken into custody is Kate Miller.”
A man rushing out of the house stopped the female reporter from saying anything else. It was easy to tell he’d been crying as light reflected off his face.
“Mr. Price,” the reporter called.
Other voices echoed around it, all trying to get the man’s attention. His focus was on the ground, but he looked up at the people when one of them moved closer to him.
“I’m on the way to the hospital to be with my wife. Let me through.”
“Don’t forget to tell them how you knocked me up and promised to leave that cow of a wife, but then got cold feet.”
Kate wasn’t on the screen at first, but as soon as her voice rang out, the camera turned in her direction. She was struggling with the cops as they tried to get her in the car.
“That’s right. The oh so honorable Lonnie Price was sleeping around and when I came to tell his little innocent wife, she attacked me. It’s her own fault she got her brains beat in. You spineless coward couldn’t even keep me from killing her.”
“She’s still alive, you lunatic,” Lonnie yelled back.
The camera remained on Kate and her struggles. Hope wondered what the silence from Jason meant. It wasn’t like she was saying anything, but she wasn’t the one with the long history with the woman being arrested on TV.
“Oh, they got her breathing again for now, but we both know with a dent that big in her head that she’s probably not going to pull through, and it’s your fault. All you had to do was tell her you wanted to raise our baby. You think calling me a liar was a good move now? Do you?”
“Get out of my way. I’m going to the hospital.”
The camera wasn’t sure where to turn. It wanted to stay with Kate, but flashed a hand pushing the camera away. It was the last scene Hope saw before the television screen went dark.
She hadn’t realized Jason had gotten up until he wrapped his arms around her only seconds later. Her body fell into his as she took a deep breath.
“Did I really just see that?” Hope asked.
It didn’t seem possible that she’d fallen asleep and dreamt the soap opera playing out on the television, but she wasn’t sure. It was a better dream than the kidnapping one she’d
had.
Jason hummed for a second. “Yeah, that just happened. I’m guessing Price won’t serve as her lawyer like he did in our divorce.”
Hope thought she heard humor in the response. Her head was so clouded that she wasn’t ready to laugh about her rival’s problems. There were unknowns swimming around in her thoughts that needed to be answered.
“What does it mean for us?”
Jason spun Hope around so they faced each other. Before he said anything, he leaned down and kissed Hope quickly on the lips.
“Other than me calling my lawyer tomorrow morning to see if this will speed up the divorce papers finding their way back to us, this has nothing to do with us. It’s an end to the biggest mistake I made in my life.”
“You aren’t worried she’s going to get out and come after us?”
What Hope had seen made her think her kidnapping dream wasn’t that farfetched. She’d only imagined what Kate could be capable of, and she was afraid she’d underestimated the woman.
“From what I saw, she just admitted she killed a woman, when the woman may not be dead yet. I’m pretty sure she’s got some bigger problems than messing with us. They’re not going to let her out.”
Jason sounded certain, but Hope remained a little worried. She was pretty sure he was right about Kate not evading custody for the near future, but the woman was cunning and seemed to land on her feet.
“So, tomorrow is just going to be another normal game.”
Hope had worried a little that Kate would show up at the hotel and storm in, but it was at the arena she was really worried about a confrontation. The idea of a big crowd limiting Kate’s reach hadn’t done a lot of soothe those fears.
“No,” Jason said shaking his head. “Tomorrow isn’t just another game. It’s a day closer to the moment you become my wife, which I think we should start celebrating immediately.”
Before Hope could come up with a response, Jason’s hands moved from her back down to her butt as he lifted her up. She wrapped her hands around his neck and let out some shaky laughter. He seemed to be happy moving on, which they’d tried to do even when Kate wanted to get in their way. At least for the time being, the other woman wasn’t going to stand in their way of happiness, and that was enough for Hope.