Hope Is Love

by Hubbard, Sylvia

  “I’ll still want her, Ethan." He tried to explain what he felt for her without giving too much away. "It's not even physical anymore with her, Ethan. It feels so right to be with Hope and I feel right when I'm with her. Hell, we haven't even had sex yet."

  "Shut the fuck up!" Ethan exclaimed. "You're holding back on purpose?"

  Bashfully, James said, "I didn't want to overwhelmed her and the time never seemed right despite how I felt. You wouldn’t understand.”

  “I think I know what it means to want a woman above all else, James, but I think my worry is with her than with you. I know you won’t care, but I don’t think it’s morally right to involve a woman with you not being yourself.”

  “I’m as much as myself as I’m going to be and I think I know what I want. Let me deal with my consequences, Ethan. FUCK! Another light?!” He slammed his fist against the window and winced as a crack appeared.

  * * *

  “Someone’s downstairs,” Cleo said coming into the room.

  Jona had been staring in the mirror for about thirty minutes straight. Seeing herself so clean and her hair down her back, dark brown and shimmering like the pictures she’d seen on the models on the billboards or sides of buses.

  Nicole had ordered a dentist to come and clean her teeth and Jona couldn’t stop staring at the sparkle that came to her lips. Her skin seemed to shine and she just couldn’t believe what spa treatment could do.

  “Who’s downstairs?” she questioned Cleo.

  “I don’t know. Ms. Nicole asked me to send you down urgently to the front room.”

  Jona’s heart raced because James could have returned. She started out the room, but Cleo insisted she put on some low salmon pumps to match the salmon silk dress that had been delivered shortly after her shower.

  Running down the stairs, she ran into the front room where Nicole was standing in front of Detective Sheriff Heart again.

  “Jona,” Nicole said. “You remember Detective Heart? He has some more questions.”

  Jona stopped at the doorway gripping the wood in disappointment.

  “Amazing what a little soap can do?” Sheriff Heart said, looking her up and down.

  Nicole ushered Jona further in the room and said, “I’m going to leave you two alone, but the Detective has promised to be on his best behavior Jona and if you feel uncomfortable please don’t hesitate to ask for me.”

  “She’ll be fine, Nicole,” Sheriff growled.

  “I’ll trust Jona to tell me that, not you. A man who just got his heart broken is never a safe bet around other women.” Nicole winked at Jona in assurance and left the room, closing the door behind her.

  Jona sat down and calmed her breathing. “I’ve answered all your questions. What else could you have to ask me?”

  “What else?” Sheriff questioned. “What about the fact that we found a bullet in the alley that you said James was shot in and blood in the dumpster you told us he was left in.”

  “Oh now you believe me?” she asked incredulously. “Now you think I have something worthy to say to you after you treated me the way you did.”

  “I just need to know more information about this Chelsea. I want to find out who she is just as much as this family does and I won’t rest until I find her.”

  “I told you I don’t know who she is,” Jona said. “I have no idea about James’ life before I met him. You’re going to have to ask him?”

  “He doesn’t remember shit, Jona,” Sheriff responded. “I questioned him up and down at the hospital and he can’t remember anything that has happened.”

  “Did you check with his assistant? Maybe she has a calendar or schedule of who he was meeting?”

  Sheriff shook his head and ran a frustrated hand over his head. “She would only block out the time for his affairs. She said he usually gave his women special names that only he knew. She never asked but she gave me a list of suspects. I’ve been seeing married women since last night that he slept with and all of them had alibis on the day of his disappearance.”

  “And you’ve asked all the women he’s interacted with?”

  “Just the ones he was sleeping with. The conversation you told us clearly indicates this Chelsea was getting payoff money to someone to hide the fact she was sleeping with James. A bank teller over heard a phone conversation he had when he went to withdraw the money to meet them for a payoff in Downtown Detroit and to collect some proof from someone. Yet, we found no notes, photos or anything else to prove he was being blackmailed for anything. Whom else could it have been?”

  She thought about her pencil case and looked away. “I don’t know.”

  He handed her his card. “You think of anyone, you’ll call me. Even if it’s collect, call the cell phone immediately. And I need you to stay with the Black’s until we find this killer.”

  “Why? You have all the information that you need from me. It’s wrong of you to force me to stay.” If he continued to question her no matter what she said, Jona knew she would eventually lead him to Monica. This would mean everything she held valuable would be gone and her life would be over. Her father had given her responsibility of something very precious and she was not going to let anyone take it from her. Not this detective and certainly not James. Jona could not walk away from her past to be in a future with nothing.

  Sheriff's obsidian eyes narrowed very close and then opened as if he had looked through her soul and then came back to reality. "You don't know this family like I know this family. Things aren't always what they seem so why don't you just think real hard about what happened that day you found him and make sure your facts are true."

  She was confused about what he was saying. "What are you talking about?"

  “If you don’t stay I’ll put your ass in jail where you can enjoy the luxury of a cold slab until I get what I want,” Sheriff threatened. “Now you’ll stay with the Blacks until I find the killer or your man’s memory kicks in and he can point them out.”

  She put her head down in defeat, but only to hide her deceit. The pencil case was more important than anything.

  The doors to the front room burst open and James entered, but stopped in his tracks as he saw Sheriff and then looked at Jona, but then looked at Sheriff again.

  “I’m sorry, I thought Nicole said you were in here torturing Hope, but I see I was wrong.”

  “I wasn’t in here torturing anyone, James. I was only explaining to Ms. Crump that I needed her to stay.”

  “Then who is this?” James asked.

  Jona stood up. “James, it’s me.”

  James blinked several time as if clearing up his vision and then he even rubbed his gorgeous green eyes as he came to the realization he was staring at the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

  This was his Hope. This was his.

  Chapter 21

  James seemed to leap over twenty feet in one step to get over to Hope and pull her in his arms. “You’re beautiful,” he said breathlessly not caring about anyone in the room, except the exquisiteness holding his eyes.

  She couldn’t help to blush feeling his heart racing under her palm as his body molded against hers and then his lips dipped down to capture hers. Seeing him groomed and in a very expensive suit caught her off guard as well since she really hadn't looked at him for long until this moment. The gleam in his eyes threw her for a loop and if Jona wanted to hold back anything, those green eyes of his knocked down any resistance.

  Jona forgot everything in his arms and luxuriated in the deceptively soft lips of James. It was just like Christmas night when they laid on her pallet and he showed her things. Immediately she thought about what he had done to her and wanted those feelings again.

  James didn’t stop with the kisses though. She felt his hands move to her backside and gripped her tighter against him as his hands dipped down lifting one thigh and the other cupped her lower cheek tightly. Jona’s heart triple flipped as James groaned vibrated all over her.

  She wanted to giggle an
d scream at the same time overwhelmed by his passion for her.

  His mouth had the power to create a wanton for something she never thought she would desire. He didn't just kiss her in one way; James found fifty different ways to manipulate his mouth over hers and she was enthralled with the way his lips could make her own mouth feel. When she reciprocated by moving her arms around his neck, James passion increased and she could feel his hardened yearning for her pressed against her stomach.

  Briefly she wondered how it would feel to have his lips on other parts of her body.

  “I could kiss you for days,” he said after reluctantly tearing his lips from hers.

  The detective rudely cleared his throat. "I'm still here," he said behind James.

  Jona was about to look past him, but James tenderly held her chin and forced her to look up into his green mischievous filled eyes.

  "She'll talk to you tomorrow, Investigator Sheriff," James ordered not even bothering to look behind him at Sheriff Heart.

  A door slammed sharply and James smiled. "He's just jealous Hope. Got dumped for ignoring his girl and taking it out on everyone," James explained.

  She quickly looked around the room. The annoying detective was gone and the doors to the room were closed again. They were alone and she relaxed completely. “Do they know what we’re doing?”

  “Who fucking cares,” James growled. “You look and smell delicious, Hope.” He dipped down to kiss her again, but reluctantly Jona stopped him putting pressure on his chest.

  If she didn't stop him, he'd have her forgetting her own name.

  “You didn’t come all the way back here because you missed me, did you James?" she asked surprised. "I thought you would have so much to do as you tried to remember your old life.”

  “I don’t care about my old life, Hope. You’re my new life and that’s all that matters.” He quickly dipped down to kiss her all the while backing her against the high table nearby.

  Being in James arms and having his mouth on hers was like the first taste of cotton candy - Sweet, illicit and salacious. She found herself pulling away her wall of emotions as his hand came around to tear away her stockings between her legs and then push his hand between her legs, past her panties.

  Hope blushed because she was freshly waxed and he gently caressed her womanhood. Now she understood why women took care of their bodies so well because with a man like James around, there could be no telling what he would touch.

  And Jona wanted him to touch her. Remembering Christmas night vividly, she had fully taken James attitude of not caring where they were in exchange for the gratification he could possibly give her.

  Between his hands and his mouth, she was confused as to what to concentrate on, because both felt gloriously wonderful to feel.

  His finger delicately circled her lower lips and he groaned. "Hope you're so wet," he whispered, as he planted kisses on her cheek, neck and suckled down to her chest. Somehow her dress had become undone in the back as he continued to manipulate his hand between her legs. Jona could feel everything and this scared her, yet empowered her at the same time.

  When his finger slowly entered her with a small circular motion, Jona gasped and then bit her lip not believing how her body's tingles intensified and she couldn't catch her breath. She didn't even know if she was standing up or if he was holding her as he leaned her slightly back to kiss down her neck. Briefly she opened her eyes to look down at his head to see where he was going and had the pleasure of seeing him latch upon her dark brown nipple suckling her breast into his mouth with a look of so much need on his face.

  The visual was just too much too take with the feeling and Jona gripped him tight gyrating her body against his hand feeling an explosion about to happen inside of her.

  She should have been scared, she should have stopped him, but her body defied whatever she wanted and dove in the pool of passion encouraging him with moans and soft whispers of his name.

  Somehow James had maneuvered them so she leaned against a table and he was standing between her legs hunched over, but then she felt his body go lower as his warm mouth switched over and attacked the other nipple.

  Jona never thought she could desire any man's mouth on her body so wantonly, but she knew if James decided to stop right now, she would scream to the heavens.

  "Am I supposed to feel like I'm about to fly?" she asked out loud. "And what the hell are you doing down there with your hands, James?"

  James chuckled and moved back up to her mouth with those wonderful kisses. His hand was still flickering something inside and outside of Jona that she didn't even know was down there, but sent vibrating shockwaves through her body.

  "Your innocence is refreshing, Hope. I cannot believe a man has never introduced you to pleasure."

  "What pleasure?" she asked a lot scared, but too damn curious for her own good.

  A wicked look flashed over those eyes. "I could show you a little, but you've got to promise not to stop me."

  Why did she feel like Lucifer had just offered her the keys to hell? This might be her last time unless she figured out how to get her case back by tonight. Accepting his offer was too hard to resist, but the fear was still very evident inside of her.

  Yet, curiosity was eating her away as Jona bit her lip unsure if she should accept. "Will it hurt?"

  "I promise, Hope, I'll never hurt you," he said doing something with his hand to make Jona's body tense and emit a breathless groan, making her dig her fingers into his arms.

  She couldn't even see straight at that moment as she panted her consent. "Yes, James.. Yes...Where are you...James!" She gripped the table as she looked down to see James had moved so quickly to kneeling in front of her and replaced his hands with his mouth.

  Shock didn't last but two seconds before the overwhelming need to scream for pure joy filled her and Jona didn't care as his mouth voraciously licked from front to back. The table she leaned on was a blessing because Jona's legs were useless vibrating so hard she had to place one hand on his shoulder.

  Realizing the initial culprit was his tongue causing the illicit yet beautiful sensations, Jona wanted to kiss him more. She didn't know if she was coming or going and the worst part was that she didn't care. "James," she cried. "Your... Your brother... people can...."

  Trying to reason with him was useless since her brain wouldn't put her lips together to form the words, but her body really didn't care. Her body just wanted James to never stop his oral caress as she felt another explosion about to occur and this one was more intense than the first.

  Jona was positive if she was dying this was the best death anyone could ever receive. Higher and higher she felt her conscious rise to a plateau that she saw stars and felt the very earth disappear, lifting her into a heaven she could have never imagine. Tears had started to run down her face and if her eyes went back inside her skull anymore, she knew they would never come back to normal, but she still didn't care.

  James mouth laved Jona's essence as if this was his last drop of life and renewed him to continue; giving her more and more and Jona knew he was going to take her to a greater level than ever before.

  With his hands firmly gripping around her waist to almost hold her up, James' oral onslaught gave Jona a new sense of life and a new take on pleasure. She was glad he held on to her because her legs were useless and even as he came back up her body retracing his path to calm her down, Jona still couldn't stand straight.

  Before he could speak, she rewarded his wonderful mouth with a passionate kiss, tasting her essence on his lips and adoring the sensuality as he returned her passion earnestly.

  He moved away slightly from the kiss, leaving her breathless and said determinedly, "Hope, I want to make love to you."

  She shivered in fear and excitement.

  Tenderly he kissed her cheek. "I know you've suffered in the past, but I want to show you how much pleasure you can have with a man."

  "There's more?" she asked baffled.

  Ja
mes chuckled and she was rewarded with another kiss. "Much more, but I need you to give yourself to me. I need you to place your trust in me, mind..." He kissed her forehead, "...body..." he kissed her neck, "... and soul." He kissed her lips in his special way that made her whole body flutter with desire.

  Jona was positive the man's mouth could make a nun forget her vows.

  When he finally moved away yet again to wait for her response, she could barely think straight and had to force herself to remember what he'd ask her because she just wanted to say yes to anything.

  Before she could answer him, there was a soft knock on the door.

  James sighed in disappointment and released Jona to go over to the door. "Who is it?" he asked impatiently.

  "It's your brother and I think you've had enough reunion time with the girl. Get a damn room!"

  "Ethan!" Nicole said behind her husband exasperated.

  James cracked the door, glaring at his brother for the interruption.

  "Your car is here. I think you should take the young lady out for a breath of fresh air, but with assurance she won't run away," Ethan continued. "Afterwards, I must request your return for an important business dinner by six tonight."

  "She's not going to run off," James said assuredly. "And we'll try, if we're not too busy."

  "Good." Ethan let James close the door.

  By the time James returned to her, Jona had composed herself.

  "He's right," James said grudgingly. "And knowing your feelings toward sex, it was wrong-"

  She put a finger over his lips. "No it wasn't James." Blushing, she admitted, "I enjoyed you."

  James pulled her back in his arms and kissed her hard and passionately for just a moment. "Go upstairs and freshen up. I'll meet you at the front door in five, because if I follow you up, I might forget I'm trying to be a good man."

  Teasingly, she said, "You shouldn't start now."

  She was promptly turned to the door and smacked on the butt. "Go, woman," he grumbled.

  Jona bit her to suppress the giggle she wanted to let loose, but didn't. Getting back up to her room, she saw her hair was out of place only a little and she washed up hurriedly, changed her stockings and underwear Nicole had delivered to the room shortly after the make over. When she arrived downstairs, Nicole was standing there holding a brand new coat out for Jona.