“Oh, you will.”
Bono’s Hope
Forever Midnight MC#3
“The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, is in its loyalty to each other.”
– Mario Puzo
Prologue
“Hey, don’t work too late,” Sarah said as she powered down her computer and stood, grabbing her bag. “You’ll make us all look bad.”
I smiled and picked up the files from my desk to wave at her. “You have no worries there. As soon as I’ve finished logging these, I’m outta here.” Damn right, I was. Bono had taken the afternoon off work to have his tattoo finished and I was itching to see the results. Besides, I had one week left working at Ashley Park Accountancy before I started college full-time. I liked my boss, but I wasn’t about to do more work than I had to. If these numbers didn’t need to be ready for first thing in the morning, I wouldn’t be staying now.
Sarah laughed and waved goodbye, and I settled down to stare at the numbers on the papers in front of me and the spreadsheet on my monitor. I might as well have been banging my head against the wall for all the good it was doing. Whenever I tried to focus and finish the work, I found my mind drifting to Bono and how he’d looked when I saw him this morning. He wore a simple, skin-tight black T-shirt that clung to his body like a second skin, highlighting every bulge in his chest and arms. What I’d give the trace those muscles with my tongue right now.
I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat, trying to ignore the wetness flooding my panties before casting a glance around the office. Empty. Thank fuck. I might be leaving, but I didn’t need a thousand questions on why I couldn’t get the big cheesy grin from my face. Just thinking of the reason for that grin had my core throbbing all over again.
I slapped the palm of my hand against my forehead and told myself to focus. The sooner I was finished here, the sooner I could get home to that hulk of a man and do whatever the hell I wanted with him. And I wanted to do a lot.
“You’re still here,” Kate Ashley, my boss, said, making me jump from my seat and bang my knee against the desk. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You didn’t... I mean, you surprised me. I didn’t realize anyone was still here.”
“Neither did I.” Kate glanced around the empty office and turned off a few of the strip lights that illuminated vacant desks. “It looks like we’re the last ones. Are you planning on staying all night?”
I laughed. “Not at all. I just have to finish typing up the Daniels figures and then I’m off. I shouldn’t be more than half an hour, tops.”
“I shouldn’t be much longer myself. Are you headed out the front door?” I nodded in response. “In that case, I’ll close up the back when I go out, and you remember to lock up the front, okay?”
“Will do.”
“Great.” She looked at the remaining lights. “Don’t forget to switch everything off when you leave,” she said.
“Not a problem. Have a great night, Kate.”
“You too, Hope. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Kate left and I lifted the papers from my desk to bury my face in them for a few seconds while berating myself.
“Right.” I placed them firmly on the desk, took a deep breath, and sat up straight. “Let’s get this done.”
Ten minutes later and I had made some progress, but my mind couldn’t focus on anything other than Bono. I looked at the ring on my finger. A stunning white gold solitaire twist diamond ring. 18ct. It cost more than Bono should have spent, but he said I was worth it.
Maybe the reason I couldn’t focus was that I knew just how lucky I was to have met him. We’d both grown up in the system and bounced from foster home to foster home. But fate brought us together at fifteen when we landed in the same home together. Now we had an apartment of our own, and Bono had a good job and wanted to support me through college. Life just couldn’t get any better than this. It was more than I ever thought possible, growing up the way I did.
Bono was perfection in a muscle wrapped bundle of deliciousness, and he was all mine. As soon as I got home, I would push him up against the wall and demand that he fuck me.
A door clicked shut down the hall and more lights went off. I sighed. Great! Now I was the only one stuck working late.
“Finish this and you can go home,” I reminded myself.
A few minutes later, a soft knock came from the front door. When it opened, my heart jumped into my throat, and I realized that I hadn’t shut it. A million thoughts swam through my mind. Another benefit of growing up in the system: I knew how to fight. I also knew it was better to hide and get the hell out of there instead of trying. I debated the possibility of running out the back but knew Kate would have locked up and I wouldn’t be able to get out. A better option would be hiding under my desk, but better still would be hiding in the stationery cupboard only a few feet away. I stood, but my feet froze, and my worry turned to relief when Bono called my name.
“Hope,” he called a second time.
“At my desk,” I said. “What are you doing here?”
Bono emerged through the door by the reception area, and crossed the office, moving toward me with a sexy smile on his face. My first instinct was to rush towards him. And I was never inclined to fight my first instincts. I ran as if I hadn’t seen him in a year and flung myself into his arms. My heart raced and every part of me wanted to kiss and devour him. To feel the power of those strong, tight muscles against my body. I claimed his lips so thoroughly, I left no doubt in his mind that he was mine. Always mine.
I clung to his muscular shoulders and continued that kiss until my core throbbed with need and I feared my legs would fall from beneath me.
“I missed you too,” Bono said when we finally pulled apart.
“What are you doing here?”
“I noticed your car outside when I passed and wanted to check in and see why you were still working.”
I growled and rested my head against his chest before glancing back at my desk. “I have some paperwork to finish up,” I said.
Bono took my hand and walked me back to my desk. “Anything I can help with?” he asked.
“No. It’s not difficult. Just mind-numbing, and I’m having trouble focus...” I bit my lip and turned to face him. “Actually,” I said, stepping closer. “There is something you can do to help.”
My heart pounded and my core throbbed. I glanced around the empty office. Fuck it, I thought. Instead of letting go of Bono’s hand, I held tighter and walked backward, pulling him toward the stationery cupboard a few feet to the left of my desk. I opened the door all the way and backed in, flicking on the light. Bono raised an eyebrow. He knew what I wanted. He stepped through the door and kicked it shut.
“Are you sure?” he asked, though a cheeky grin played at the edge of his lips. “This is your place of work.”
Fuck, yes!
“Soon to be my ex-place-of-work,” I answered, my eyes focused on his. “No-one else is here.” I pulled his leather jacket off and tossed it to the ground. I noted the bandage on the top of his arm, covering his completed tattoo, but resisted pulling it off to look. There would be plenty of time for that later.
Bono pushed his body tight against mine. His tongue probed my mouth. I backed up further. Heat filled my entire body, and my core tingled. I wanted him so badly, I thought I’d burst before he had the chance to touch me.
I reached beneath my skirt and removed my panties. Within seconds, my hands were on his belt buckle and I was licking my lips in anticipation of freeing his bulging cock.
“We have to be quick,” I whispered and nibbled his earlobe.
He laughed. “Then you’d better come quick.” His breath was like molten fire against my neck. His teeth scraped along my throat. He pushed my shirt to the side, and they continued to the hollow of my shoulder.
“Not a problem,” I said, breathless.
My fingers fumbled to undo the last fastening on his jeans. His cock sprun
g free, huge and as hard as rock. Without hesitating, Bono pushed his hand between my legs and brushed his fingers up my thigh, before stroking them along my wet folds.
“You’re all ready for me,” he said.
“I’ve been waiting for this all day,” I answered.
“A gentleman should never keep a lady waiting.”
My heart sped up as he pulled me down to the floor on top of him. He gripped my hips and lifted me in place with the head of his cock at my entrance. He pulled down roughly and I cried out as he filled me with one stroke. Even though I was on top, Bono used the muscles in his strong arms and guided the actions, owning me, and taking me hard and deep.
Blackness filled my vision as my orgasm hit. I cried out. Sheer bliss rocked through me. My core tightened around his cock, milking out his climax as he came alongside me.
“Oh fuck,” Bono said. “You are fucking incredible.”
“Oh, fuck is exactly right,” I answered. Delirious with pleasure, I wilted against his chest.
After a moment, I chuckled softly. “This was supposed to get you out of my system so I could finish work,” I said.
Bono put on a mock sad face. “You wanted me out of your system?”
“Only for half an hour or so.” I stood and found my panties, sliding them on. They would be sopping, but I could deal with that at home. I sighed with a slight pang of regret as Bono fastened his jeans and his cock disappeared. “You’d better go, or I’ll be here all night.”
“Are you sure there’s nothing I can help you with?”
I smiled and brushed my lips against his before sighing again. “There’s plenty you can help me with as soon as we’re back home,” I said.
Bono rested his forehead against mine. “I’m yours to command.”
“Actually, tonight, I think I might be yours.”
Bono grabbed my bottom and squeezed, pulling me in tighter to him so that I could feel his cock hardening again.
I slapped him on his bottom. “Home,” I commanded. “And grab a pizza for us to share later.”
“I thought I was the one who was going to do the commanding,” he said.
“You will.”
Bono laughed and we left the stationery cupboard. He lingered for a while, reluctant to leave me alone, but I insisted, and he eventually agreed to go.
“Ham, mushroom, and pineapple,” I called after him.
He turned and scrunched his face at me. Having pineapple on a pizza was a long-running topic for debate the world over and our household was no different. “It’s like a party in my mouth,” I called before he ducked through the door.
“I’ll show you a party in your mouth,” he countered.
“Command and it shall be done.”
“Then I command, ham, mushrooms, and no pineapple.”
“Just go,” I said before adding that we could settle for pineapple on just half.
I went back to work with a smile on my face, for much the same reason it was earlier. But, at least, I had been sated for twenty minutes or so, and I could finally focus and finish.
Not five minutes later, the faint squeak of the back door, barely audible above my breathing, sounded in my ears. I held my breath.
Fuck!
I hadn’t heard it earlier. I’d only noted Kate’s office door. I glanced overhead. When I thought she’d left, Kate must have just been switching off the lights in the corridor.
Fuck! I thought again.
If she heard me and Bono... Then what? She’d fire me? I shook my head. Probably not. But still... how could I face her in the morning?
I took deep breaths and tried to steady my pulse. What’s done is done. If Kate hadn’t felt the need to mention anything tonight when we were alone, it was doubtful she would say anything tomorrow. Maybe, I’d get a little talk about my conduct on my last day.
Only when footsteps sounded in the corridor and I heard another door did I question whether it was Kate at all. They seemed to be coming nearer, not moving further away. And if it was the back door I heard, wouldn’t that have been Kate finally leaving?
I’d left the front door unlocked, and that now had me wondering if that meant the back door was in a similar state.
I tried not to worry, told myself it was nothing, but the unease flowing through my veins and making my skin crawl told me otherwise.
Not wanting to risk a beep when shutting down my computer, I switched off my monitor to remove its light. I grabbed my phone and pushed my bag way under my desk out of sight. The footsteps had stopped. I glanced at the stationery cupboard door.
A nagging voice inside my head told me I was being stupid, but my palms grew slick.
I punched 911 into my smartphone and hovered my finger over the dial button. But hesitated in pushing it.
I rubbed my forehead. This is so stupid. I took a deep breath and decided the best thing to do was sneak to the corridor and take a look.
I inched forward, keeping my finger over the dial button. As I passed the last desk, nearest the door, I grabbed a pair of scissors and held them ready as a weapon.
The door to the corridor was wide open. I stood against the wall to the side for a second, steadying my nerves. Then peeked around. I let out a huff of relief when, through the window in her door, I saw Kate sitting at her desk, typing away with headphones on. I was about to step into the corridor when someone shifted in another office five doors down. I jerked back out of view, being as quiet as possible. The faint squeak of the door opposite the one where I’d noted movement greeted me, and I wondered if whoever was there was giving the rooms a sweep to make sure they were empty before moving on. If we were lucky, maybe they’d take the equipment from those rooms and not see a need to move further into the building. Though I doubted that would be the case.
Kate. Oh shit. I had to alert her.
I decided to try and draw whoever it was into the main office. Maybe, if I hid and they came in here, I could quickly dive through to Kate and we could get out of the building while calling for help.
I glanced at the 911 undialed on my phone and switched to text messaging before quickly firing off a distress message to the police.
I then moved and hid under the desk I’d taken the scissors from. Doing a mental run-through of the room, I placed Stuart’s desk as the furthest away from where I hid. Drawing the intruder there would give me the best option for getting through to Kate.
I dialed Stuart’s number, and even though I knew it was coming, jumped when the phone rang, filling the otherwise silent office with noise.
I stared at the door, held my breath, and willed the intruder to take the bait and walk through to investigate.
Kate’s shocked scream and the gunshot that followed greeted me instead.
Without thinking, I rushed from under the desk toward Kate’s office, but froze in the corridor doorway when through her window, I saw a man walk to her side of the desk and point a gun down at the floor. Kate was nowhere to be seen. I knew she had to be lying on the floor, and that there was nothing I could do for her.
With tears in my eyes, and sobbing gasps rising in my throat, I lifted my smartphone, turned the video on, and zoomed in to film inside Kate’s office. Just in time to see the man fire two shots at the ground. I tried not to cry out, to fall to the floor in shock. Instead, I darted back into the office and retook my hiding place under the desk.
When the man appeared in the doorway, I held my one hand tight over my mouth and prayed he couldn’t hear the beating of my heart, but kept the smartphone in my other trained on the door, even while I knew that if he caught me, it would be for nothing.
When he turned and left, and I heard the back door close moments later, I remained where I was, too afraid to move. But the idea that I could still do something to help Kate eventually drove me out. I glanced at my phone and realized I was still filming. Only three minutes and twenty-three seconds had passed since I’d first started recording, but it felt like a lifetime. I kept filming and edged cau
tiously to Kate’s office on legs that barely supported me.
My pulse raced and my stomach wanted to turn itself inside out. I entered Kate’s office and moved behind her desk. I dropped my phone and fell to my knees at the sight that greeted me.
Kate’s lifeless body was crumpled in a heap on the cold gray carpeted floor of her office. Blood pooled around her head and covered her chest.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered.
I just sat there staring. Afraid to move. Afraid to breathe.
Only when I gasped did I notice the smell of smoke in the air. I didn’t want to leave Kate, but the building filled with smoke so quickly, I had no choice. I grabbed my phone and darted out the front door, dialing the police as I did so, even though the sound of sirens could be heard in the distance.
Ten years later.
Chapter One
Hope
“Not gonna happen,” I said, knowing that I sounded like a petulant child. “There is absolutely no way on Earth I would ever let you set me up on another blind date. Not again.”
“Not gonna happen,” I said, knowing that I sounded like a petulant child. “There is absolutely no way on Earth I would ever let you set me up on another blind date. Not again.”
“Apart from the fact you’re lonely and need somebody in your life.” Danielle was meant to be my best friend. She knew where I stood on dates and on men. It frustrated the hell out of me that every few months she got it into her mind that I needed someone.
I rubbed at the ache forming in my head and glared at her.
“Look,” she said. “I know the last two blind dates weren’t exactly stellar—” she matched my glare for one of her own “— but I think that’s more down to you than the men I set you up with.”
“Yeah, right,” I said.
“Do you really want to spend the rest of your life alone?” Danielle asked, ignoring the sarcasm in my voice. “Come on, Hope, seriously. What have you got to lose?”
Forever Midnight MC Collection: Books 1-3 Page 27