He slides his hands into his pockets and takes a deep breath. “Normally, I’d say no, but I know this is going to work out great. We can put it off a bit if you’d like. Say, maybe three months? That should be enough to get you settled around here.”
I smile. “That sounds great. Thank you.” I shake his hand. “I just have so much going on right now, it doesn’t feel right tying myself down at the moment.”
Something about his facial expression changes. “I hope this job won’t interfere.”
Is he offended?
“I really want this job, Scott. It’s just that I’m sort of planning a wedding, and it doesn’t feel right signing this contract until I know what’s going to be happening in this life I’m starting.”
“You’re engaged?”
I nod. “He proposed at the opening you came to. Didn’t you see?”
“I must have missed it.” He shakes his head. “Listen, I’ll get these pictures uploaded and sent over. I’ll let you know which one she chooses. You can go ahead and take off if you’d like.”
“Okay. See you tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow,” he agrees.
Walking out of the studio, I feel happy and at peace. I think I did really well for my first day, and it leaves me excited to see what else I’ll be doing. I can’t wait to go home and celebrate with Holden.
I stop by my apartment to grab a few things before heading over to Holden’s. When I get inside, I find Brad moving about the kitchen.
“Hey, how’d your first day on the job go?” he asks, stirring a pot with a glass of wine in his hand.
“It was amazing.” I walk around the island and place my arms on top to lean against it. “I got to shoot Victoria Young!” I gush.
He drops the spoon onto the stove with a loud clank before he spins around. “Are you kidding me?”
I beam and shake my head. “Can you believe it? My picture may be her new album cover!”
His eyes go wide. “Oh my God. This new album is going to be epic! What did you set up? How’s it going to look?”
“Well, I don’t know anything for sure until she chooses which one she likes, but I set her up on a white backdrop. She’s wearing this gorgeous white gown and she’s covered in diamonds and gold chains with a bottle of champagne behind her. She really seemed to like it!”
He sighs dramatically. “Why didn’t I pick photography instead of sculptures?” He rolls his eyes and goes back to whatever he’s cooking. “Oh, and don’t feel pressured from me to sign that contact just to catch up on things around here,” he says over his shoulder.
“What?” How would he even know about that?
He taps the spoon off on the pot and turns back toward me. “Holden stopped by this morning and paid you up — not that I was even worried about it.”
“He paid you?” I ask, feeling my blood pressure rise.
“I mean, I wasn’t even going to take it, but then he wrote out the check for five grand, and well —”
“Five grand? I owe you seven-hundred dollars!”
“I know, and I told him that, but he insisted. He said he didn’t want you stressing about paying it back and putting in your half of the rent every month. That you already had enough going on, and I agreed.”
I shake my head. “I can’t believe this.” I push away from the island and march to my room. Anger washes over me as I pace back and forth across the floor. Why would he do something like that? I just told him this morning I didn’t want him paying my way. I want to take care of things myself. I would’ve only needed one paycheck to pay Brad the seven-hundred dollars back, and now I owe Holden five grand? And the worst part is, I know he won’t accept it when I try to pay him back for it.
I pull my phone out of my back pocket and quickly type out a message.
Me: How could you go and pay off Brad after what we talked about this morning?
I toss the phone on my bed while my pacing continues. All the while, I try calming myself down. What Holden did is sweet, and I know he only did it to help me, but it feels like a betrayal. I thought he understood how important supporting myself means to me.
I wait for my phone to chime with his response, but it’s been ten minutes and so far, nothing. A knock at my door draws me away from willing my phone to explode. I let out a breath and walk across the floor to open the door. I expect to see Brad on the other side, but it’s Holden.
“Can I come in?” he asks, standing on the other side with his hands in the pockets of his leather motorcycle jacket.
A sigh escapes me as I roll my eyes, but I open the door further for him to slip inside.
He steps inside, walks in a few feet, and then turns to face me. “Look, before you start yelling at me, let me explain.” I can tell he’s riddled with nerves. Is he afraid of losing me?
I don’t say anything, but I sit on the edge of my bed, looking up at him for his explanation.
“I know how you feel about me paying things for you, but just give me this one. You’re already stressed about the shit Jane pulled. We still have your parents to talk to. We have a wedding to plan. And you just started this new job. I don’t want you worrying about how you’re going to pay rent. If you don’t like this job, or your boss, I don’t want you to feel like you have to ride it out. I promise I won’t buy you your own studio or anything major. I just wanted to take a little stress and worry off you.”
The corner of my mouth pulls up on its own as I move to stand in front of him. “Are you worried about what I’m going to say?”
His head dips forward and he rubs his brows with his right hand. “Yeah, I understand why you’d be angry. Trust me, I’d be angry if someone did something like this, but what I need for you to understand is that I did it out of love. I didn’t go behind your back to betray you. I just want to take care of you.” He reaches out, taking my hand, still completely unsure.
I look down at our clasped hands and squeeze. “I get it. I do. But I need you to understand that I want to be independent. I don’t want you cleaning up my messes.”
He cups my cheek and looks into my eyes. “But I want to clean up your messes.”
I place my hand over his to keep it against my cheek. “I don’t want your money. All I want is you.”
He slowly leans in, pressing his lips against mine. They’re soft and smooth, yet strong all at the same time. His tongue finds its way into my mouth. The taste and smell of him has my heart pounding already.
“What’s mine is yours, angel.” He starts walking me backward, toward the bed. His strong arms wrap around me before lowering me to the bed softly. His lips begin trailing down my neck, and they feel so good I almost forget what we were talking about.
I shake the fog from my head that forms when he touches me. “Promise me that we’ll talk about these things first.”
He pulls back to look me in the eye. “I promise.” His lips touch mine quickly before he pulls away again. “But I also promise to take care of you in any way I can, even if you won’t like it.” His eyes darken, and it makes every muscle in my body tense with excitement.
I’m not sure what that means, but I don’t care. Right now, all I care about is feeling him against me. It’s not like he murdered someone — he just helped me out. That’s something I need to get used to. These last three years, I haven’t had anyone but Brad. I’m not used to being able to trust another person. I haven’t had anybody to rely on. Starting now, Holden will be my rock to lean against.
Chapter 8
Holden
After Hope leaves for her first day at work, I turn off the coffee pot and head out the door. I intend on going straight to the shop, but I end up driving over to her apartment instead. I knock on the door, and Brad opens.
“She’s not here, man. I thought she was with you,” he says with sleep obvious on his face.
“Actually, I’m here to see you. Got a minute?”
He looks behind him quickly before turning back to me. Does he have someone sleeping over?
“Yeah, come in,” he says, opening the door wider.
I step into the kitchen, and he sets about pouring us both a cup of coffee. I’ve already had three cups, and I’m jittery as fuck, but I take what’s offered.
“So, what’s going on?” Brad asks, sitting down at the island with his cup in hand.
I pull out the barstool across from him and take a sip of my coffee. It’s bitter with no cream and sugar, but I force it down. “Hope mentioned to me this morning that she owed you a little money for rent. I want to settle that up for her.”
He lets out a nervous laugh. “I don’t know, Holden. I mean, I know Hope, and I find it hard to believe she’d send you over here for something like this.” He runs his hand through his messy brown hair.
I shake my head. “She doesn’t know that I’m here — not that I’m keeping it a secret or anything. I’ll tell her… or you can.” I motion toward him with a wave of my hand.
“I can’t take your money, man. She’d kill me.”
I let out a long, drawn out breath. “Look, I think we both agree she has enough going on right now. We just had to deal with my ex, we have her parents to reach out to, and for some reason, she’s worried about the expense of the wedding and paying you back. She’s willing to trap herself in this job before she even knows if she’ll like it. I just want to take some stress off her.” I pull out my checkbook. “Five thousand should keep her covered a while, right?” I look up at him as I’m filling out the check.
“Five grand? She doesn’t owe me anything close to that.” His eyes are wide. Starving artist and all.
“She told me what she owes you, but this should keep her paid up for at least the next year.” I stand and slide the check over to him.
He picks it up, thinking it over.
“Thanks for the coffee.” I turn and walk out before he can change his mind.
I get to work a little late, but there aren’t any clients waiting on me. As I sit behind my desk, I look at the detailed list of work I have for the day. I really need to hire a crew.
Picking up the phone, I call my other shop, the one I left for Jack run.
He answers on the third ring. “Holden’s,” he answers.
“Hey, Jack. It’s Holden.”
“Hey, man. What’s going on?” The desk chair squeaks over the line as he sits down behind the desk that used to be mine.
“Not too much. How busy are you guys around there?”
“As busy as we’ve always been,” he replies.
“What do you say to making the trip up and helping me push some of these bikes out? All expenses paid.”
“Seriously? I’d love to!”
I smile to myself. I miss Jack. I hired him fresh out of high school because he reminded me so much of Dean. But Dean wasn’t into motorcycles, and I needed someone to take under my wing. “Great. I’ll get online and buy your plane ticket now. I’ll try to get you out first thing in the morning.”
“Fuck yeah! I’ll get a schedule drawn up to keep the guys busy. How long are you going to hold me hostage?”
I laugh. “At least a week.”
“Sounds great, man. I’ll leave Ronny in charge. Maybe the place won’t burn down then.”
I agree with him, Ronny would be my pick too. “I’ll text you the information in a bit,” I tell him as I’m already clicking around on the computer.
“See ya tomorrow.”
I hear the click of the phone hanging up, and I let mine fall to my desk to finish buying his plane ticket.
Once everything’s taken care of for Jack, I get to work.
While this shop is mostly for custom built bikes, I still pick up a few small repair jobs too. I like the work, and it keeps money rolling in. By the time I lock up, I’m tired and covered in grease, but I’m looking forward to seeing Hope. I’m curious how her first day on the job went.
I head home and jump in the shower. When I get out, I have a text message and by reading it, I can tell she’s pissed about me giving the money to Brad.
I type out, I’m just trying to help, then delete it. I try again with, I’m coming over, but then delete it too and just get up to go. I’m afraid if she knows I’m coming over, she won’t let me in. Better to surprise her and see how mad she really is.
Anger radiates from her eyes when I enter her room, but I can tell she isn’t as mad as she wants to be. When Hope gets mad, her lips draw into a tight line, and her brows pull together. But at the moment, her face is completely at ease. I know how hard she wants to make it in this world on her own, but there’s nothing wrong with accepting a little help. Fuck, I’ll let her pay back every cent if she wants to.
I kiss her, and she doesn’t fight me. She lets me take her down to the bed where I press my body against hers. She’s soft and conforms to my chest as it presses her into the mattress. A little gasp slips out of her lips, and she wraps her thighs around my hips. That’s when I know I’m off the hook.
She pushes against my chest, and I break the kiss, pulling back only a few inches. “What’s the matter, angel?”
A wicked gleam lights up her eyes as a smile forms. “I believe you owe me something.”
My face wrinkles up as I try to remember what I owe her. Then I remember: the bet.
“Fuck. Are you serious?”
She nods as she pushes me back.
I get up on my knees and look down on her. “Okay, go ahead.”
“Oh no. I want you to strip.” She stands and walks over to the door, locking it. She spins around to face me and starts pulling off clothes.
I get to my feet and remove my own before lying back on the bed. She’s stripped down to only her white lace bra and panties. As she tugs the tie in her hair, it comes cascading down around her.
My eyes follow her every move. I watch as she walks closer to me and sits down at my side on the edge of the bed. She opens the drawer on the bedside table and pulls out two scarfs before looking at me seductively.
“Oh, come on.”
She takes my hand and holds it to the headboard while wrapping it around my wrist. “You didn’t think I’d actually leave you free to take back your favorite toy, now did you?”
A puff of air leaves me. “Oh, I’ll take it back alright,” I threaten.
Her eyebrow arches. “You think so?” She stands and moves around the bed, repeating the process with my other hand.
I nod. “No way are these thin pieces of fabric going to stop me from getting to you.”
She takes a few pillows and props them up against the footboard between my legs. Then she removes the remaining clothing on her body. She crawls up onto the bed, resting her back against the pillows between my legs.
“I want you to watch as I play with everything you want to touch,” she says, parting her legs before me. Each of her feet are on the outside of my knees, giving me the perfect view of her. Her eyes lock on mine as she wets her lips, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth before releasing it. Her hands go to her breasts, and she squeezes them firmly causing bits of naked flesh to form between her fingers. Already I’m panting, and my dick becomes hard.
Her fingers find her hard nipples, and she lets out a moan as she rolls them between her fingers. I can’t pull my eyes away from her chest. It rises and falls quickly as her hands massage her tits. I pull against the scarfs holding me captive, but I stop when I hear the fabric start to pop from the pressure.
She hears it too, and it causes her to smile. “Already starting to give in, huh?”
I shake my head, wanting to take her but wanting to enjoy the show a little longer. “Nope. I’m not jealous yet.”
“Let’s see what we can do to change that.” Her left hand stays on her breast, but her right hand begins its decent down her toned stomach to the junction between her parted thighs. Her fingers spread her folds, and I get a flash of pink that’s already glistening.
As she rubs against her bundle of nerves, her breathing picks up, and she lets out a soft whim
per. I’m painfully hard from watching her play with herself. I lick my lips because they feel so dry. My control is slipping away little by little. With every rise of her chest, with every gasp, with every quiver, I pull harder and harder on my restraints.
Her fingers start working more quickly, and her eyes flutter closed. Her back arches as she calls out my name. Finally, I can take no more. She’s mine. Her release is mine, and I’m not going to let her have it that easily.
Quickly, I jerk my hands forward, and the thin scarfs rip, releasing me. I move faster than she can process. She doesn’t even know I’m free until I’m jerking her hand away and sliding deeply inside. My hands grip her ass, and her thighs wrap around my hips.
“God, I thought you’d never give in,” she pants out as I thrust inside her over and over.
“You’re in so much trouble, angel.” I slide back inside her. “I’m paying you back for that one.”
“With earth-shattering orgasms?”
I take her hands in mine and pin them against the footboard. “You’ll have to wait and see what this fucked up mind of mine can come up with.” I press my mouth to hers and kiss her thoroughly while spending the next two hours buried deeply inside her.
“So how was your first day on the job?” I ask her as we both pull our clothes back on.
“It was amazing,” she says before she goes on to tell me all about it.
I listen to her recounting and tell her about my day as we pick up some dinner and head back to my apartment. We eat, cuddle on the couch, and take a shower. As we’re climbing into bed, I tell her I’ll have to leave early in the morning to pick up Jack from the airport.
She’s excited to see him again. She and Dean went to school with him, but he was a few years older. He was always around for our BBQ’s — the three of them became close friends.
“Is he staying here? We should take him out to dinner.”
“Good idea. We’ll get him drunk. That way when he falls asleep, I can make you scream as loud as I want.” I pull her against my chest.
Bound to Hope: A Forbidden Romance (The Hope Series Book 2) Page 6