SCARRED HERO
HOPE FORD
CONTENTS
1. Cole 2. Hope 3. Cole 4. Cole 5. Hope 6. Cole 7. Cole 8. Cole Epilogue Free Books JOIN ME! About the Author
1
COLE
WHY DID I let them talk me into this? I look around the dingy bar and the only thing that’s nice about it is the fact that it’s dark. Not completely dark, but dark enough. My brothers, the men I served with in Iraq, are on leave and they’ve talked me into coming out with them. For the last year, the only places I’ve gone are the store and doctor appointments. I try to avoid anything else. The mangled flesh on my face is not pretty, and even at the grocery store I often still end up scaring some random kid. My buddies, already with a few drinks in them, have gone over to play pool. Not me. I’m staying at the table, nursing the beer that the pretty waitress brought me an hour ago. My eyes scan the crowd and, just like the last hundred times, I look at her. She’s a pretty woman. Long blond hair pulled into a ponytail. She has large breasts and thick thighs, just the way I like them. In the past, I would have already made a play on her. Not these days, though. Now I try to avoid any interaction at all. I served in the military for twelve years. I always knew it’s what I wanted to do, defend my country. I started fresh out of high school and even after everything that happened, it’s still the best thing I’ve ever done in my life. I just never thought it would end like this. Subconsciously, my hand goes
to the mangled skin on the side of my face. I know exactly what I look like, even without looking in a mirror. I have every piece of marred skin memorized. But even though I’ve been through hell and back, I still miss the days of being in the service. Now I work from home doing security consulting. It’s nothing like the adventurous days of my past. “You sure I can’t get you another one?” the waitress asks me. “That has to be warm.” She’s smiling at me and there’s an innocence in her eyes. I can see the instant she notices my face. Usually, I turn away from people, but not her. I noticed her the second I walked into the door. She’s not my usual type, not that I really have a type anymore. But there’s definitely something about her. She’s breathtaking. Maybe it’s because I know I want her, and I just want to get it over with. She’ll see my face, look disgusted, and then walk away. The anticipation will be over. I won’t have to worry about what she’s going to think when she sees me. I stare back at her and wait for it – the look of repulsion, pity, and sometimes even fear. But she just keeps smiling, and it takes me by surprise. “I’m Hope. What’s your name?” she asks. “Co–“ I clear my throat. “Cole.” She sits down in the chair next to me, and I scoot backwards, not wanting to touch her. I’m barely hanging on right now, and I know if I feel any part of her softness against me, I won’t be able to contain myself. She looks taken aback for a minute but recovers quickly. “Cole. I like that. So why do you not look happy to be here?” I shrug my shoulders and look over at my friends laughing and having a good time and then back at her. “The bar scene’s not really my thing. My friends seemed to think I needed a night out, though.”
Does she notice that my voice sounds gravely? I don’t talk a lot, and with the noise in the bar, I’m surprised she can hear me at all. She looks back at my friends, and when she does, my heart starts to race. It’s my own fault she’s looking at them, but I don’t want her eyes anywhere but on me. Just the thought makes me panic. Usually, I don’t want anyone to look at me. But her I do. She turns back to me and tilts her head to the side. “So do you?” My forehead creases in confusion. “Do I what?” She smirks at me, almost like she knows what I’m thinking about and what she does to me. “Need a night out, silly?” I laugh then. It’s deep and strange-sounding to me, because I can’t remember the last time I did it. But I don’t think anyone’s ever called me silly. Or at least they never would have tried. I’m six foot three and pure muscle. I barely smile, let alone laugh. But this little wisp of a thing called me silly. She’s laughing with me but stops suddenly when a man hollers across the bar. “Get your ass back to work, Hope.” She looks his way with disgust on her face and then back at me. The smile is gone from her face, and I clench the table, about to get up. I love her smile, and anyone that would take that away from her will have to answer to me. When I get up, she does too. She must know what I’m about to do, because she shakes her head at me. She’s close, her hot body pressed against me, and I swear I can almost feel her puckered nipples grazing my belly. She’s so much shorter than me, at least a foot, and she has to hold her head backwards to look up at me, but she also fits against me just right.
“Trust me, he’s not worth it,” she says. When she finally smiles again, I start to relax. She reaches her hand out and pats me on the chest. “I’ll bring you another beer.” I watch her ass shimmy as she walks away, and I sit back down to hide the growing bulge in my jeans. I turn my chair to the side so I can watch her, because now I don’t want to let her out of my sight.
2
HOPE
I SAW him the minute he walked in the door. All of them, he and his friends, are handsome, but for some reason Cole stood out to me. I lean over the bar, wiping down the counter and watching as they talked and drank their beers. He’s more reserved, and he seems quiet. When I worked up the nerve to go talk to him, it made my day that he smiled at me. I don’t know which of us was more surprised by it, but I do know that he’s absolutely breathtaking. I can tell by the way he holds himself he’s self-conscious of his scars. But I don’t know why. Even with them, he’s something else. I would have spent more time with him if Mack hadn’t hollered for me. My boss has been on me lately. Probably because I turned him down when he asked me out last week. I wait on a few customers, but I keep glancing toward Cole. He’s turned his chair and now every time I try to steal a glimpse of him, he’s looking at me and doesn’t seem to care that I know he’s watching me. I can imagine how red my face is and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t putting in an extra shake when I walk by him. The crowd picks up and I stay busy for a while. But I still don’t miss it. There’s a group of women that sit down at the table next to Cole. They’re staring at him, and I see the exact time they notice his face. They make a big deal of pointing it
out to each other and one of them must have said something, because they all laugh. Cole notices; I can tell by the way his back straightens and his jaw tightens. He turns his chair back the way it was with his back to me and stares across the room. People are asking for drinks left and right, and I’m filling them as fast as I can. I keep trying to get Cole’s attention, but he never looks my way again. The skanks are still at it, staring at Cole, and as soon as I have a free second, I fill a frosty mug with beer and carry it over to him. I set the beer in front of him, but he doesn’t look up at me. He nods his head with a muttered thanks. The three women are all watching us, and I can’t take it anymore. I want him looking at me. I want his smile back. “Hey,” I say to him. Finally, he leans back in his chair and looks up at me. I don’t know what I am thinking. I’ve never done this before in my life, but I fall into his lap, looping my arms around his neck. He doesn’t have a choice; his hands go to my waist and hips, gripping on to me. I look right into his eyes. “Those women are stupid. You know that, right?” Surprise lights up his eyes. “I know that. I don’t care what they think about me.” I turn my head to the side. “Okay, so why’d you turn your chair away from me?” I’ve always been known as the person that tells it like it is. Subtlety is not my strong point. His arms tighten on me. “Honestly?” I nod at him. “Absolutely.” “For a second there, when you were talking to me, I forgot about my face.” He tips his head to the table of women. “They reminded me.”
I look over my shoulder at our obvious audience. The women act like they’re watching a soap opera, wondering what’s going to happen next. Because I can’t resist, I turn back to Cole and do the unthinkable. I lift my hand and caress the marred skin of his cheek. I can feel his body sti en underneath me and not in a good way. I’m sure no one touches him there. But I can’t go another second without doing it. Reaching in, I whisper to him, “I think you have a beautiful face.” And then I touch my lips softly to his cheek. I feel his chest expand as he sucks in a breath, but I don’t move. I kiss him softly until I feel him move his hands up my sides, across my shoulders and then the nape of my neck. He pulls back from me, but I still don’t move. I’m hypnotized by the look on his face. There’s wonder, desire, and maybe even a little fear. When he just keeps looking at me, I wonder if I pushed too far. I wiggle in his lap and start to get up, but he breathily tells me, “Stay.” I freeze until he looks at my lips, and his words free me. “Can I kiss you, Hope?” I nod, licking my lips, waiting for his touch. When he leans in, I meet him halfway, and the moment our lips touch, I feel a pull in my lower belly. I lean in closer, breathing him in. His kiss is savage. It’s like he hasn’t had any air to breathe, and now I’m his lifeline. He takes everything I give, and when his tongue plunges into my mouth, a moan escapes me. I rub my legs together, wanting to ease the friction between my legs. His hands go to my hips to still me, and a guttural groan leaves his mouth as he pulls away from me. We’re both breathing raggedly, and I lean my forehead against his, unable to do anything else. Only then does the music and the noise fill my head. For a second, I forgot where I was.
“I don’t pay you to whore around,” Mack, my boss, says from somewhere behind me. Cole’s hold on me tightens, and his face morphs in front of me. The desire that was in his eyes only moments ago turns to rage. He stands up with me still in his arms and moves me behind him. His buddies, who must have seen it all, are now standing next to me. Cole starts to walk toward Mack, and Mack is so stupid he just stands there and smirks. I reach out for Cole to stop him, but one of his friends puts his hand on my shoulder. I look back at him, and he’s shaking his head. “No, let him go. He needs to do this.” I want to argue with him, but there’s something in his face that tells me I shouldn’t. Finally, I nod helplessly and turn back to Cole as he approaches my boss. Cole towers over him, and I can’t hear what he’s saying, but I can tell he’s mad. I can’t see Mack, not until he’s backing away and slithers behind the bar. The usually mouthy man is quiet, subdued now. Cole turns back to me and his friends. They are all clapping him on the back and while one has his attention, I ask the man that stopped me, “What did I miss?” His big beefy hand touches my shoulder again. “You’re the first person we’ve seen him show any emotion for in over a year. He’s back.” His smile is contagious, and I smile back at him. Not just for Cole, but the fact that he has friends like this that obviously care about him. The man’s face falls instantly, and he drops his hand from my shoulder. I want to question him until I feel Cole’s chest at my back and he’s pulling me against him. I turn in his arms and smile up at him. “You want to get out of here?” Surprise fills his face, but he nods his head immediately. “I have to get my purse,” I tell him, patting my hand across
his hard chest. I start to walk away from him, but he grabs on to my hand, lacing our fingers together. He waves at his friends, and they’re all smiles as they tell us goodbye. He walks me over to the bar, and I grab my purse from the back. I don’t even tell Mack I’m leaving. If I worked anywhere else, I would probably be out of a job for just leaving like this. But not here. Mack can’t seem to keep employees. Sure, he’ll give me a hard time when I show up at my next shift. But he won’t fire me. As we walk toward the exit, I wave at the women that were at the table next to Cole. Now, instead of laughter and disgust, I see longing on their faces. He stops when we get next to what I assume is his truck and I ask him, “What did you say to my boss?” He shrugs his shoulders, opening the door. Then he picks me up and sets me in the seat. He’s pulling the seatbelt around me, and when it snaps, he says, “I told him I’d bury him if he talked about you like that again.” I start to laugh but stop suddenly. He’s not joking. I see the sincerity on his face. He means it. He would actually bury him for the way he talked to me. I swallow, overcome with the span of emotions tonight has held. I cup his jaw, brushing my thumb across his cheek. I’d go home with this man in an instant. He’s the complete package, a real man. But I also don’t want him to think I’m easy. “So where do you want to go?” He seems to think about it before his eyes light up. “I know just the place.”
3
COLE
SHE DESERVES to be taken to a fancy restaurant. She deserves to be showed o . But I can’t make myself do it. I’ve avoided most public places for a year now and can’t just show up at a restaurant tonight. It about killed me walking into the dingy bar; I couldn’t imagine a brightly lit restaurant. No thanks. I walk around to the driver’s side of my truck, get in, and pull out my phone. “Do you like Italian?” “Yum. Yes,” she says, smiling at me. “What would you like?” I question her. She looks at the phone and then back up at me. I don’t know how to explain to her that I can’t take her to a restaurant. I can’t do that to her because I know all the stares we would get. I may not be comfortable with it, so I know I don’t want to subject her to it. I’m about to tell her when she just smiles at me. “Uh, I’ll have whatever you’re having.” I type out a text, hit send, and then put my phone away. I drive us down the block and ask her about herself. She tells me about how she’s going to school to become a nurse. I find out that she’s an only child and she still lives at home with her mom and dad. She’s embarrassed about it, I can tell. “I’m twenty-five years old, so I know I should be on my own
by now, but I’m trying to pay o school as I go and it’s easier to save money this way.” “It’s a smart plan actually,” I tell her, wanting to reassure her and not wanting her to be embarrassed about it, not around me. “What about you?” She asks me about my time in the service, and I tell her about it. I don’t even ask her how she knows I was in the military. It’s pretty obvious by looking at my friends and me we are military. I of course don’t tell her all of it. She doesn’t want to know all the horrendous things I’ve witnessed. But I tell her about my brothers, the ones that dragged me out to the bar tonight. “They’re a good group of guys. I’m lucky to have them in my life. When I didn’t get to go back, well, let’s just say they helped me through it.” This isn’t first date talk. I know it’s not. And I don’t know why I’m unloading all of this on her. “I was in for twelve years before… I was injured.” She’s silent for a long time, and I fight with not looking at her. I never talk about my injuries, and I don’t want to burden her with that now. Why can’t I be the happy-golucky guy of my past? Why have I let this take over my life? I loosen my tight grip on the steering wheel as I park in the back alley of Mama’s Pizzeria. I see Mama, as she tells everyone to call her, peak out at me and come bustling out with a bag of food in her hand and her husband Mario trailing behind her. I roll down my window to greet the couple that’s been married for twenty years. Mama is on a mission, it seems, almost running up to my window. Mario is waving his hands around. “I’m sorry, Cole. You ordered for two and Mama had to come and see who you had with you,” he exclaims, rolling his eyes behind Mama’s back but smiling lovingly at her too.
My face heats, and I don’t dare look over at Hope. Right now, she’s probably wondering what she’s gotten herself into. I guess it’s a big deal that I’m not eating alone. “Mama, this is Hope. Hope, these are my friends, Mario and Mama,” I tell her. She leans across me to hang her hand out the window to shake both their hands, and she stays like that while Mama commits to an insanely long amount of small talk. I could tell them we have to go, but with Hope leaning across my chest, her pert body touching mine, her scent filling my nostrils—well, I could stay like this forever, it seems. I become aware when I see that Mama, Mario, and Hope are all staring at me as if they’re waiting for me to respond. Hope winks at me knowingly before turning back to the couple. “Well, Mama, we just met tonight, but I’m going to beg him to bring me around again sometime. This food smells so yummy!” We say our goodbyes, and Hope gets back in her seat, taking the food with her. She’s so soft and sweet, my complete opposite, but I look past it as she takes a deep breath and inhales the scent of the food. “My God, this smells so good, Cole. I’ve never eaten from here before. And how sweet are Mama and Mario? Man, you can tell he loves her. Did you see how he was looking at her? I wonder how long they’ve been married?” “Twenty years,” I tell her. “Oh my gosh, that’s amazing. Twenty years, and he still looks at her like that.” She’s sitting wide eyed, with her hands across her heart like she just witnessed a miracle firsthand. And right now, with her in the seat next to me, smiling and happy to be with me, I know exactly what she’s feeling.
Hope SOME PEOPLE SAY I’m too much. I’m too loud. I’m too expressive. I’m too happy. But that’s who I am. And instead of Cole looking at me like I’m crazy or like he wishes I’d tone it down, he’s looking at me with something like awe right now. “Mama and Mario are good people. But you’re right. He definitely loves her. He acts like he’s the boss, but everyone jokes around that he’ll do anything she wants.” I squeeze his arm excitedly. “That’s so perfect. I just love seeing people in love like that. You don’t see things like that anymore.” His arm flexes under my hand, and he rests it on the console between us, but I don’t let go. I hold on to him while he pulls out of the parking lot, deciding that if he doesn’t want me touching him, he’s going to have to tell me. He drives two streets over and then pulls down a long dirt road, stopping in a pasture. “Where are we?” Instead of answering, he tells me, “Wait right there.” I watch as he gets out of the truck and walks to my side, opening the door and helping me down. I ignore the feel of his body as I slide down it and as soon as my feet touch the ground, I’m backing away. If I don’t, I’ll completely and utterly embarrass myself. I can’t even think about how much I’m attracted to him. I’m sure it would show all over my face. With his hand at the small of my back, he leads me to the back of the truck and then pulls the tailgate down. He reaches for me, easily lifting me up into the bed of the truck. I draw my legs up and wait as he goes and grabs the food and comes back. He starts to unpack it, and I just watch him because I don’t want to look away. I could care less about how his scars look. But it seems that everything he does, he tries to fix it to
where I don’t have to look at them. Even the way he set me up on the truck bed, I won’t be able to see the scarred side of his face when he sits next to me. Does he not know how handsome he looks? As we eat, I can’t remember ever feeling this relaxed with someone I just met. We talk about my schooling and why I want to be a nurse. I can tell he empathizes with the fact that I want to help people. I moan and groan with every bite I take of the chicken parmesan he ordered. It is so good. Halfway through the meal, I look up with my mouth full, and I’m laughing at something I just said. He’s staring at me with a smile on his face, and I flush red from head to toe. I chew my food and am barely able to swallow it before I set my Styrofoam plate down, realizing that I’ve made a pig of myself. He laughs, picking up my plate and handing it back to me. “Oh no, you’re eating that.” “Why? So you can see what a pig I make of myself when there’s good food involved?” I ask him. He shakes his head but doesn’t look away, his eyes smoldering in the starlit sky. “No. Because I like watching you eat. I like the noises you make.” He shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t know, I just like you.” “I like you too,” I tell him honestly. Am I supposed to play hard to get or mysterious? I don’t know. All I do know is Cole makes me feel things I’ve never felt before, and I don’t want to hold back from him. I take another bite of my food and set the plate down again and take a drink of water. I lean toward him, so close I’m almost cross-eyed looking at him. “So if you like me, does that mean you’re going to kiss me again?” He doesn’t even hesitate. He touches his lips to mine, and I swear that one simple touch sends goosebumps through my whole body. He pulls me easily into his lap until I’m
cradled there, never letting go of my mouth. All I can do is lie there, against his warm hard body that makes me feel safer than I’ve ever felt, as I take his plunging tongue into my mouth. Who knows how long we stay just like this, but it isn’t long enough.
4
COLE
ALL NIGHT, all I could think about was Hope. She’s the one bright spot of the last year. Fuck, my whole life. She’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a woman. She’s smart, beautiful, and fun. After only one night, I can see having a future with her. And that’s saying a lot considering the last year I’ve barely been able to think about anything except my past. After making out with her in the bed of my truck for an hour, I knew I had to get her home. She had the blood rushing through my veins, and it was either take her home or take her in the back of my truck. And I know she deserves better. Fuck, she deserves better than anything I could give her. When I dropped her o at her car at the bar, I followed her to her house to make sure she made it home okay. She seemed shocked when I asked her if it was okay for me to follow her, but I couldn’t help it. There’s something about her. I needed to know she made it home safe. I parked at the end of the driveway she pulled into. Her parents’ house is huge and in a high dollar neighborhood. Yet another reason I shouldn’t be with her. I sco at myself. I just met the girl, I shouldn’t even be thinking about a future with us together. I didn’t want to pull in and wake up her parents. She’d barely
stopped before she was jumping out of the car and racing toward my truck. She was smiling the whole way, and I swear it was like she was afraid I was going to drive o before I talked to her. I put the truck into park and hopped out, walking around to meet her. “So tomorrow? You’ll pick me up here for our date?” I looked uneasily up at the open gate for her driveway, the expansive lawn, and the I’ll never be able to a ord anything like it house. I knew I should call it quits now, before this all gets out of hand. But when I looked down into her face, I caught myself nodding and reaching for her. “Tomorrow. I’ll pick you up here at five.” I kissed her again, briefly this time, because I was still smoldering from our kiss at the open field and then at the bar when I took her to her car. I stood there and watched her walk all the way into her house before my feet would finally budge. “What? You giving up already?” my friend Patton asks as he walks by me. I shake my head as if I’ve been in a trance. I look around the gym as a man drops a weight in the corner and then back to Patton. “No, I’m not giving up. Fuck, man, if I was going to give up, I’d have done that a long time ago.” Patton looks at me strangely. “What’s going on with you?” I knew Patton would figure there’s something going on. He’s the closest thing I have to a brother, and he knows me better than anyone. And if there’s even a slight change in my demeanor, he’s going to notice it. I have no doubt. And there’s no way that meeting Hope hasn’t changed me. Hell, it’s turned my world upside down. She’s got me wanting things that I never dreamed possible. I shrug my shoulders. “I met a woman last night.”
He smiles and sets down the dumbbells he was about to raise over his head. He sits on the bench next to me. “Who is she?” “The guys dragged me out last night to a bar. She’s the bartender.” “Did you get her number?” he asks. I shrug, thinking back. Hell, I didn’t even get her number. “No, but I’m taking her out again tonight.” “Again? Did you go out with her last night?” His eyes are wide open staring back at me. I know he’s probably as surprised as I am. I stand up and start to curl the twenty-five-pound weights in my hands. “Yeah, we grabbed something to eat and then I took her to the point.” “That’s awesome, Prince. I can’t wait to meet her.” He grunts as he picks up the weights he set down and starts lifting them again. We lift in silence for a while, and only the sound of a few grunts from the other men in the room and of feet pounding on a treadmill fill the space. I can’t help but think about Hope. She’s already taken over every thought I’ve had, but I’m still unsettled about it. Am I ready to get into a relationship? Especially when I’ve thought all this time that there’s no one that would want me. My physical injuries have been fixed. The five surgeries that I’ve had on my legs, arm, and face are behind me. I can finally walk without a limp thanks to the almost year of therapy that I’ve had. And even though I’ll always have the scars, I know they don’t even compare to the scars on the inside. I lost a good friend, a brother that last day overseas. We were setting up a perimeter and were at the wrong place at the wrong time. The bomb that went o took Jason’s life, took both legs from Jeremy, and of the three of us, I was the least injured. Yeah, I have scars that I’ll have to look at every day, but I’m still
alive and still have all my body parts. I won’t lie and say that there is not a little bit of me that feels guilty for that. In the last year, I’ve had every emotion. At one point, I even wished it was me that died that day. Jason had a wife and two daughters. He should have been the one to live. And Jeremy is one of the best guys I know. He was the leader to us all, always keeping us together and united. But he’s struggling now. Still trying to navigate this new life. A part of me wonders how I can be so happy when my friends have lost so much. “Have you talked to Jeremy lately?” Patton asks, interrupting my thoughts. “No. Not in a few weeks. I need to call him,” I tell him. “Don’t bother. He won’t answer his phone. I talked to Peggy yesterday and she says she doesn’t know what to do with him. He just lies in bed all day. She said it’s killing the kids to see him like that.” Again, I can feel bile rising in my throat. I should be helping Jeremy and being there for him. Instead, I’m going crazy over some girl. We finish working out, and I no sooner get into my car than I pick up the phone and dial Jeremy’s number. After three rings, it goes to voicemail. I hang up and dial Peggy’s number. She answers on the second ring. “Cole?” she asks. And I swear I can hear the relief in her voice. “Hey, honey, I tried calling Jeremy but he’s not answering. Y’all doing okay?” As soon as the words are out, I hold my breath. I can feel it in my gut that something is really wrong. She lets out a soft sigh, and her voice is filled with emotion. “No, we’re not. I’m sorry, Cole. He told me not to call you all, but I don’t know what to do. He’s telling me to leave him and take the kids with me. He’s still in therapy,
but he thinks he’s useless to us now and we’re better o without him.” She starts to cry, and I can hear her sni e on the phone. “Hey, it’s going to be okay. I’m going to come over, okay?” “No, it’s fine. There’s no talking to him when he’s like this. Plus, we’re over an hour away. I don’t want you wasting your time.” “It’s not wasting my time. I owe Jeremy. He always looked out for me. For all of us. I’m going to go home and shower, make one stop, and then I’ll be on my way.” I know how desperate she is when she doesn’t try to refuse me again. She sni s one more time. “Okay. Thanks, Cole.” Driving home, all I can think about is Hope. I’m going to have to break our date. I shower quickly, and because I know I can’t just not show up, I drive across town to her house. I’m almost two hours early for our date, but I figure I can at least put a note on her door if no one is home. I knock on her front door and stand back. I can hear footsteps in the house and a gasp as the door is opened. On the other side is a woman around my age. She’s a little older than Hope maybe. Funny, she never told me she had a sister. The woman looks shocked, and instantly I realize that I have forgotten about my scars. I’m sure they’re even more glaringly obvious in the bright light of the day. Dread fills my stomach, because this will be the first time Hope has seen me in the light. That is if she’s here. “Hello. Is Hope home?” The woman is rude and stares at my scars openly with disgust. “Uh, and who are you?” “Cole Prince. I have a date with Hope.” The woman looks at me in horror. “Uh, I don’t… uh,” she stutters.
I hear steps behind the woman and then Hope’s singsong voice. “Kacey, is there someone at the door?” Hope comes to stand beside the woman, and automatically I determine they are not sisters. They look nothing alike. Even now, Hope is smiling and happy, and the other woman is staring at me with a severe look on her face. “Hey! You’re early.” She smiles up at me. I look between the woman and Hope. “Yeah, I’m sorry…” Hope looks at the woman. “It’s fine. Kacey, you can go now.” The other woman moves away from the door, muttering to Hope, “Your dad is not going to like this.” Hope ignores her and walks out onto the porch, shutting the door behind her. “That’s my stepmom. Sorry,” she apologizes. I shake my head. Stepmom? I try to remember our conversation about her family last night, and I know she mentioned her mom wasn’t in the picture anymore, but she never mentioned a stepmom. “It’s fine. I know I scare some people. It is what it is.” I trail o , remembering her stepmom’s thoughts on what her dad is going to think of me. “So I didn’t have your number. But I need to cancel tonight.” Hope looks up at me wide-eyed, and I can see the hurt in her deep blue eyes. Fuck! Instinct tells me to put my arms around her, and last night I probably would’ve. But now, in the light of the day with her stepmom probably inside calling her dad telling him there’s a freak here to pick up his daughter… well, it changes things. “Yeah, uh, my friend and his wife are in a bad place right now and I need to go see them… but I didn’t want to just not show up.” She’s watching me closely, and I know I’m acting weird. Last night was so romantic and the chemistry was spot on. Today is real life. It’s ugly and scarred, and I should have
figured last night was too good to be true. Why was I thinking I could have a normal life? “Tell me about your friend,” she says. It’s not a request. She seems genuinely interested. “We were in the army together. Jeremy was sort of the leader of our squadron. He was hit by the same bomb that did this.” I point at my face. “He’s married. Older. Has two teenage kids and a wife.” She puts her hands on her hips. “Go on.” I throw my hands up, frustrated, because I hate telling this story. Because this story could almost be my own. I shove my hands through my hair and start pacing back and forth on the porch. “I don’t know. He won’t talk to anyone. His wife is upset because he’s pushing her away, telling her to find someone else. He, fuck, I don’t know. I guess he doesn’t feel like a man anymore because he’s hurt and can’t do stu like he used to. I don’t know.” “What do you think?” she asks me. I stop my pacing and stare at her, confused. “What do you mean what do I think?” “Do you think she’s better o without him?” “No!” I say instantly. “I saw them before all this. They love each other. It’s the real deal. If anything, I think they need each other more than ever now.” She opens her front door and walks in as I stand there with my mouth open. What is she doing? I wait only a few seconds before she reappears with her purse over her shoulder. “I’m going with you.” I hold my hands up to stop her. “No. You can’t do that.” Again, she looks hurt. Fuck, I’ve hurt her twice in the last ten minutes. I need to stop. “What I mean is, this shit is ugly, Hope. Hell, I can’t take you on a second date to do this.”
She reaches for me then, her hand sliding around the back of my neck and forcing me down until our faces are only inches away from each other. “While you’re with Jeremy, his wife will need someone to talk to too. Let me go. I want to do this. I want to be with you.” And then she kisses me. It’s a light touch of our lips, but it holds a promise of what’s to come. I know I should leave her here and go and handle this. But maybe she’s right. Maybe Peggy does need someone to talk to. With her smiling up at me, with hope in her eyes, I know I can’t tell her no. I clench my eyes tightly, stopping the thoughts in my head of actually having a future with this woman and nod my head. “Let’s go.” She kisses me again before grabbing my hand and walking with me to the truck.
5
HOPE
THE CLOSER WE GET, the more nervous Cole is. We are almost there, and he’s barely said a word, making me wonder if I made the right decision in coming here. But listening to the way he talked about his friend and how he doesn’t think he deserves his wife’s love, well, it makes me see Cole and maybe what he’s feeling. He said himself he hasn’t dated since his accident. He’s self-conscious of his scars. But when he said he knew his friend and wife belonged together, I knew I wanted to be here with him. We’ve known each other less than twenty-four hours, but I can’t stop thinking about our future. I look over at him and his white knuckles clutching the steering wheel. Man, if he knew what I was thinking he’d probably run for the hills. I bet he thought, maybe even hoped he would get lucky tonight. For all I know, that could be all he wants. If he knew I was thinking about a future with him, he’d probably freak out. He definitely wouldn’t have let me come with him. “If you’d rather I stayed in the car, I will,” I tell him, breaking the silence. He seems to think about it and finally tells me with a glance in my direction, “No, I think I’d like you to come in. I think you’re right. Peggy was really upset on the phone, and she might need someone to talk to.” He pauses for a second,
chancing another glance at me. “That is, if you’re still all right with it.” Because I can’t go another second without touching him, I reach over and put my hand on top of his on the console between us. “I’m good with it.” He turns his arm around until his palm is up, and he wraps my hand in his. I smile over at him as he looks at our intertwined hands. His is dark and scarred, with traces of gunpowder embedded in his skin. Mine is innocent and clean in comparison. In so many ways we are so di erent. But I’ve never felt any safer or more cared for as his thumb strokes across mine soothingly. He pulls into a cute little subdivision with houses that all look alike. He parks on the street in front of a brick house with flowers on each side of the walkway and an American flag waving on a post. All the potted plants, the beautiful flowers, the welcome sign, all of it, makes you happy just looking at it. But my heart stutters in my chest, knowing what pain is happening inside. Cole walks around the truck and helps me down. I grab his hand and walk with him to the front door. Peggy is a pretty woman in her late thirties or early forties. She seems genuinely happy to see Cole and surprised to see me. “I brought my friend with me. I hope that’s okay. Peggy, this is Hope,” he tells her. We’re following Peggy through her house and stop in the kitchen. “Absolutely it’s okay. Hope, it’s so nice to meet you. We can have some tea and sit on the back porch. Cole, Jeremy is out in the garage if you want to go see him.” Cole looks at me questioningly, and I nod my head, assuring him I’m fine. I can’t help but watch him walk away, appreciating the way his butt looks in his blue jeans.
I blush when I realize that Peggy caught me ogling him. But we both have a good laugh over it. I follow her out to the porch, and we sit in rocking chairs looking out at her backyard. Like the front, there are flowers everywhere. ‘I love all your flowers.” She smiles, taking a sip of her tea. “Thank you. When Jeremy went in the service I started gardening. It sort of helps me deal with stress.” She laughs then, pointing out at all the flowers taking over the majority of her yard. “You can tell I’ve been stressed a lot.” I ask her about her kids and learn that she and Jeremy have fifteen-year-old twins, a boy and a girl. They both play sports; their son plays baseball, and the daughter plays basketball. We talk for what seems like hours about nothing and everything. She of course asks about me and Cole. When I tell her that this is our second date, she seems openly surprised. “And he brought you here? To deal with this?” I laugh then. “Oh, he didn’t want to. But when he told me about you and Jeremy, I wanted to come. I wanted to meet you, but I don’t know how to explain it. It’s obvious that Cole’s hid himself from the world because of his scars…” “Scars! That man is gorgeous. No one cares about those scars,” she hu s, and automatically I like her more than I already did. “I agree. He seems to think I care about his scars, but I barely even notice them.” I’ve always been the type to put it out there. Some people appreciate that, and some people don’t. “I’m sorry about your husband’s injuries. Cole told me a little about it on the way here.” She stops rocking for a second and then starts again. “Yeah, I was just happy to have him home alive. I didn’t care about his injuries; all I cared about was having my husband
back. But he’s determined that the kids and I would be better o without him.” She shrugs her shoulders easily, like it’s no big deal. But I can tell it’s a huge weight she’s carrying on her shoulders. “Cole said that in the army, Jeremy took care of his whole group—squadron, I think he called it. I imagine that he was the same way here, with his family. Always taking care of you all. And I guess with his injuries, he thinks he can’t do that anymore.” Peggy hu s, “Stupid man. I don’t need him to take care of me. We just need him here with us. We can take care of ourselves.” I lean up in my rocker and cover her hand that is gripping the side of her chair. I hold on to her, wanting her to hear my words when I say them to her. “I know that. We women can take care of ourselves. There’s no doubt about it. Especially if he’s been gone a long time, you’ve had to take care of everything. But maybe—and tell me if I’ve overstepping because quite frankly we just met.” I laugh softly. “But maybe Jeremy needs to take care of you. He needs to know that he is needed, and you can’t do this without him.” Her face softens at my words, and it’s like a light bulb goes o in her head. She’s staring back at me for the longest time, and I’m worried that I did indeed go too far. What do I know? I’m just an outsider looking in. A lone tear rolls down her cheek, and before I know it, the floodgates have opened. I stand up, pulling the other woman into my arms. She cries, sobs wracking through her whole body as she holds on to me like a lifeline. I don’t say anything. I don’t want to tell her it’s going to be all right and everything will work out. I don’t have any idea if that is true. So I just hold her and let her cry. Obviously, this has been bottled up inside her for a while now, and she’s held it back. I hold on to her and let her get it all out. I clench my eyes
shut because I can feel the hurt and anger she’s held on to for who knows how long. A movement in the corner has me raising my head, and I’m looking straight into Cole’s eyes. Concern is written on his face, and I lift my lips into a half smile, wanting to reassure him in some way. It’s obvious how much Jeremy and his wife mean to him, and like him, I want them to be all right. He watches us for the longest time, his gaze unreadable. Only when Peggy starts to pull from my arms does he go back in the door he was standing at. “I’m so sorry, Hope. You have to think I’m crazy. Goodness.” She pulls a tissue from her pocket and wipes her eyes and nose. “You just met me, and I’m crying on you like a baby. I won’t be surprised if you never want to come back here again.” I know she’s embarrassed. I know already what a strong woman she is, and she probably never lets go like that. “There’s no reason to be sorry. Sometimes it’s good to let it out. I’ll let you repay the favor to me sometime.” She nods her head and falls back into her chair. I set easily down beside her and start to rock again. We talk more about her kids and about how I want to be a nurse. Time slips away from us as our new friendship builds over tea, flowers, and trying to solve the world’s problems.
6
COLE
“EVERYTHING OKAY INSIDE?” Jeremy asks me as I walk into the garage with two soft drinks. We’ve already talked for awhile, and I can tell he doesn’t want me here. He’s mad at the world, it seems, but I don’t care. I’m not leaving here until we have a discussion, and he realizes what he’s doing to his family. Cheap talk is over and done with. I shrug my shoulders, not knowing what the right thing to say is. Do I tell him that his wife is falling apart inside? Do I tell him that he’s pushing away the woman that he’s sworn to love for the rest of his life? “Peggy’s crying.” I tell him softly, handing him his drink. He takes a deep breath and lets it out loudly. “I’m destroying her, Cole. Fuck, she deserves better than this,” he says, waving his hand at the wheelchair he’s in. Jeremy lost both legs from the knees down. For a man that has always been so active and independent, I understand how he must feel. I stare at the can in my hand and try to think of things from his perspective. I can’t tell him what he’s feeling is a bunch of shit. If I was in his place, I’d probably feel the same way. Hell, I don’t want to saddle a woman with me because she’d have to look at my ugly mug for the rest of my life. But
it’s di erent with Cole and Peggy. They were together way before any of this happened. I know it’s going to piss him o , but I say it anyway. “What if Peggy was in some sort of accident and she lost both her legs? Would you leave her?” He grinds his teeth together. “Fuck you, man. I’d never leave her. And you can forget the psycho-babble bullshit. I know what you’re doing.” “What if she pushed you away? Wanted you with another woman. One that could walk and fuckin’ dance. That could do anything.” He just stares at me, refusing to answer. “I’m being serious. What if another woman came in here wanting your love and she had all those things? Would you go to her? Would you take your kids and have them call her Mom from then on?” His hands grip the sides of the wheelchair. “Fuck you, Prince. You know I wouldn’t. I love my wife. And my kids have a mother.” “Okay. Now you have the bum legs.” He throws his arms up. “I have no legs!” I sit down until we’re at eye level, and I lean toward him, my arms on my knees. “Right. You have no legs and you’re pushing your wife out the door. You want her to find someone else. You want your kids to call someone else Dad.” His face is red, and I can tell he’s about to blow. “You want to give up on the last twenty years of your life together, after you promised her forever, because you are hurt and don’t know how to be a man right now. Fuck, man, I know it sucks. I know better than anyone everything you sacrificed. But I can’t stand by and watch you sacrifice this.” I stand up, towering over him and point inside the house. “Peggy loves you and will love you no matter what. You’re killing her by pushing her away like this, and the only reason I’m not
whupping your ass right now is because even though you’re a dumbass she’d still come in here and be mad at ME for wiping the floor with you even though we all know you deserve it right now.” Jeremy is just staring at me, and the defensive look on his face, even though it’s still there, has softened a little. He doesn’t say anything, and I get it. Jeremy is a badass, always has been. And he’s not one to talk about emotions and shit like this. Fuck, none of us are. “Please, try, Jeremy. I can’t stand by and watch another man take your family because I’m telling you, you push her away, someone is going to snag her up. Will you be able to live with yourself after that?” He seems lost in thought, so I sit back down and drink my now lukewarm soda. Neither one of us are much for talking right now, so I sit back in my chair and we watch the night go by in Jeremy’s neighborhood. There’s people outside working in their yards, kids skateboarding and riding bikes —the whole world is going on without anyone realizing the heartache that is happening in this house. Jeremy interrupts my thoughts. “You done analyzing me?” he asks with a grunt. I nod my head, knowing that I need to keep my mouth shut now. I’ve said what I’ve come to say. The rest is up to him. “Go get the girls. I want to meet this woman that’s got you acting like some kind of emotional pussy now.” I shake my head, laughing at him, but do as he asks. Hope and Peggy come out and sit with us, Hope beside me and Peggy beside Jeremy. Hope has obviously won over both of my friends because we’re all laughing at the stories she’s telling of working at the bar. At one point, Hope pauses for a minute, and her hand goes to her chest. I’ve only had my eyes on her since she’s come out here, so I look where she’s looking and it appears Jeremy has reached over to hold
Peggy’s hand, and she’s smiling at him. The way they’re looking at each other fucking makes me want to put my hand to my chest as well. Maybe Jeremy’s right: I am an emotional pussy now. I look over at Hope, and she’s now staring at me knowingly, and fuck, I want to kiss her so bad right now. We stay just a little longer before I tell them we have to get on the road. When we leave, I promise Peggy that I’ll bring Hope back, right after I promise her that I’m not going to fuck this up. We drive just down the block, and Hope’s voice fills the cab of my truck. “I like your friends.” “They liked you,” I tell her instantly, reaching for her hand on her lap. She grabs on to me easily, threading her fingers with mine. She holds my hand on her thigh as her other arm wraps around mine. “Do you think they’re going to be okay?” she asks quietly. If she’d asked me that earlier, on the ride here, I would’ve told her I didn’t know. I know how bad all of this can fuck with your mind, thinking you’re not worthy. But now, seeing Jeremy and Peggy together, I hold on to hope that they can work it out. “I think they will be.” She sighs with contentment. “I know I should be telling you how sorry I am that our second date was spent like this, but I can’t. I’m glad you came. I think Peggy needed someone to talk to. She seemed a lot less stressed when we left than when we got there.” She leans toward me, her breasts grazing my arm. “She did, didn’t she? She is so nice. I really do like her.” We talk for the next hour about everything and nothing. My phone dings with a text. “Can you check that?” I ask her, handing it to her. “It’s from Jeremy. You sure you want me to read it?” she asks. “Sure.”
She opens the messaging app and starts to read. “Thanks for coming by. I’m going to do better. And thank Hope. My wife is smiling for the first time in a long time. Don’t fuck this up, buddy. She’s the real deal.” Hope stops reading and excitedly asks me, “So that’s good right? That sounds like they’re going to work on it. Right?” Her excitement is contagious, and I laugh with her. “Yes, it sounds really promising. And he’s right, you know?” “What do you mean?” I squeeze her thigh. “You are the real deal. I don’t want to fuck this up, Hope.” She lays my phone on the console and grabs on to my hand again. “Well, keep up the sweet talk and you won’t,” she dares me. I’m calm and cool on the outside, but inside I’m sweating bullets. I know me. I know what an asshole I’ve been the last year, and the chances are that I’m going to fuck this up. I have to do whatever I can not to do just that. As soon as we get into the city limits, I start to dread it, knowing this night is about to be over. It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask her if she wants to go get something to eat, or hell, if she just wants me to park somewhere so we can talk some more. When I get to the only red light in town, I turn to her, still not sure what to say. She releases my hand and reaches for me, cupping my jaw. “So are you taking me home with you?” I blink twice, wondering if I’m sure I heard what I thought I heard. “Do you want to go home with me?” She doesn’t even hesitate. “More than anything.”
7
COLE
THE WHOLE RIDE to my house, I keep waiting to see if she’s going to change her mind. I should warn her because I’m pretty sure once I have her, I won’t be able to let her go. Is she only wanting one night? Because she’s already infiltrated my mind and my heart, and now my body is reacting to her like a man that hasn’t eaten in a month. As soon as I pull into the driveway and park, I’m jumping out to go help her down. I lift her easily from the seat, and I can’t resist any longer. I let her body slide down mine, and as soon as her lips are within range, I kiss her. This kiss is nothing like the one last night or earlier tonight. This one is raw and leaves me wanting more. Her legs circle my hips and her arms go around my neck. Kicking the door closed, I walk her up the path to the front door. I struggle with unlocking the door and pushing it open, but I refuse to put her down. I walk her to my bedroom, saving the grand tour for later. When I walk into room, she drops her legs, and I set her feet on the floor next to the bed. She reaches for the buttons of my shirt, but I wrap my hands around hers to stop her. Her eyes, filled with heat, look up at me. I hold her hand against my chest. “You should probably know that this”—I point to the side of my face—“is not the only place I have scarring.”
She reaches up and brushes her hand lightly across my cheek. Her gaze is intense, and she nods her head. “Okay, so should I tell you now that I’m not perfect either? I have stretch marks and…” I sco . “It’s not the same.” She shrugs her shoulders and starts to undress. All I can do is stare at her and wait for her to peel o each piece of clothing. With every bare piece of skin I see, the blood rages even stronger through my veins. She’s watching me, almost like she’s wanting to know what I think. “You’re beautiful, Hope. The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” It’s her turn to sco , but when she drops her panties to the floor and she’s standing before me without a stitch of clothing on, I want to drop to my knees and thank whoever or whatever brought her to me last night. Her body is perfection. Her softly rounded belly, curvy hips, large breasts… she’s everything a man could want. And she’s mine. At least for tonight. The thought that one night is all this is burns through my chest. I rub my palm against my heart as if I’m trying to soothe the pain. I’m speechless, staring at her, and I can’t help shifting my stance, cupping my cock in my pants with my hand and adjusting myself. She follows my movements, and her eyes spark with the knowledge of what she’s doing to me. She puts her hand up on her hip. “We doing this or what?” I smirk at her sassiness but nod at her, and she reaches for me. I still her hands again, but she shakes her head this time. “I want you, Cole. I want you more than anything. Please, let me do this.” Taking a deep breath, I release my hold on her fingers, and she goes to work unbuttoning my shirt. I can’t look at
her, knowing I won’t be able to stand seeing disgust in her face. She tugs my shirt from my pants and pushes it o my shoulders. It drops to the floor, and immediately her hands are all over me. She’s caressing my scarred skin, and everywhere her fingers go, her mouth follows. I can’t think straight with her lips on me. She kisses down my belly and works the button of my jeans with her fingers. She pulls my underwear down in one quick swoop and my cock, hard and heavy, juts straight out. As I step out of my pants, she cups me, my erection pulsing in her hand. Almost instantly, her mouth is on me and she’s licking the tip of my engorged penis. My whole body trembles as she takes me in her mouth. She strokes me once, twice and the third time, I’m pulling her o of me and pushing her onto the bed. As soon as she lands, she’s up on her elbows, licking her wet, pu y lips. I lie down on top of her and kiss her lips, moving down her body, tweaking each of her taut nipples with my lips. Then down her curvy belly until I’m nestled between her thighs. I take a deep breath, inhaling her desire. Her soft, musky scent fills my nostrils, igniting a need deep inside me. I have to have her. I have to taste her. With her legs hanging over my shoulders, I dip my head and lick along her swollen, wet slit. She shivers in pleasure, and her hips start to shake. I put my arm across her hips, holding her to the bed, and then I tunnel my tongue deep inside her. She’s pushing against me, but I’m holding her steady. Her scent is all over me, and it nearly pushes me over the edge as precum spills onto the sheets. I circle my tongue around her swollen clit until she grabs the back of my head. Only then do I release my hold on her hips, and she gyrates her hips, fucking me in the face. She’s thrashing across the bed, gripping the sheets and pulling at them, but I don’t stop. I can’t. Not until I feel her
crest over the edge, and a climax surges through her. I keep licking her, taking everything she’s willing to give. When she finally starts to come down, I can’t hold back any longer. I raise up on my knees and position myself between her legs. Gripping her hips, I raise her body, lining her up at my hard swollen cock. I look up at her face, and she looks out of it, so far gone I’m questioning if I should continue or not. “Hope, you with me?” She looks at me through hooded eyes. She smiles sleepily and then holds her arms out. I lean into her and her hand slips between us to grip my hard shaft. Pleasure shoots through me and a moan escapes me. She smirks. “You with me, Cole?” She moves her hips, swiping my hard cock along her wet core. “Take me.” Without another thought, I plunge deep inside her.
Hope HE FILLS me completely in one thrust, and my pussy squeezes him. He’s a huge man, but he fits me perfectly. His big body over top of me has me feeling protected and treasured. He’s controlled and gentle in his thrusts, as if he’s going to break me. I plant my feet on the bed and raise my hips to meet him, and an out-of-control hunger rages inside me. My already sensitive pussy is now on the verge of climax again. “You won’t break me. I need you to fuck me, Cole,” I demand, and he pistons his hips as I match his rhythm. I can feel his dick throbbing inside me, and I clamp down on him. A guttural groan from deep within his chest fills the room. I’m writhing
beneath him, and I thrust up against him until my toes curl, and I’m screaming my release. He clamps on to my hips, holding me still while he shoots rope after rope of hot cum deep inside me. My whole body is tingling when he falls and pins me to the bed. His heaviness is comforting, and I wrap my legs around him to hold him to me. Our breathing is ragged, and exhaustion fills my body, but I’ve never been happier in all my life. There’s a little voice in the back of my mind that says that he thinks of this as a one-night stand, but I push the thought away quickly. No matter how much time I have with him, I don’t want to ruin it with what ifs.
8
COLE
SHE PASSED OUT, and her soft snores fill the room. I cleaned us both up and then gave her one of my old T-shirts to wear. She could barely keep her eyes open for it. I lay next to her for hours, but the longing to have her again had me moving out of the bed to the chair across the room. But still, I can’t take my eyes o her. I’ve had one-night stands, but I’m willing to bet my life on the fact that this is more than that. We may have just met, but already I can tell our connection is deep. When she wakes up, will she want to leave? How can I keep her? All these thoughts are going through my head, and when the sun comes up, I’m still sitting here, longing for her, waiting for her to wake up. When she wakes and starts to stretch with a smile already on her face, my heart calms a little. When she notices me sitting across the room, her smile drops. She looks at the empty space beside her and then back to me. “Did I hog the bed?” Shaking my head, I get up and move to sit beside her. My cock is already hard, and I should be embarrassed, but I’m not. I’ve been hard for her all night. She looks at the tent of my shorts and tries to hide her smile.
I shrug my shoulders. “It’s been like that all night.” With the blanket around her hips and her hair tousled, she looks even more beautiful this morning. When I don’t immediately answer her, she reaches for me. “Well, Cole, if it’s been like that all night then why did I sleep alone?” I tell her honestly, “I wanted you again, but you were sleeping so deep, I didn’t want to wake you.” “So you moved to the chair?” she asks in confusion. I stroke the stubble of my chin and smile at her. “I didn’t trust myself next to you.” My answer must make her happy, because she leans toward me and kisses my chest. With her cheeks flushed, she says softly to me, “I’m up now. Let me freshen up and then we can”—she clears her throat—“uh, you know.” I watch as she slides o the bed and pads o toward the bathroom. She still has on my T-shirt, and seeing her in it gives me all kinds of ideas. When she comes back out, I stand up to meet her, unable to hold back anymore. “You look good wearing my name,” I tell her. She looks puzzled, so I tug on my shirt that she’s wearing, pulling it over her head and holding it out for her. She looks at it and back up at me. “Prince? Your last name is Prince?” I nod, pulling her against me. She rests her chin on my chest, looking up at me. “Well, it suits you.” I laugh, because we both know the truth. “I’m no prince. More like a beast.” She wraps her arms around my neck and threads her fingers through the hair at the nape of my neck. “You’re MY prince.”
Her words gut me, and I have to clear my throat before I can agree… because I’ll be her everything if she’ll let me. “Yeah, yeah I am.”
EPILOGUE
HOPE
One Year Later I CAN HEAR his voice on the baby monitor, telling Cole Junior to pipe down because they didn’t want to wake Momma. Just hearing the way he talks to our son softly makes me smile. CJ is only a month old and still isn’t sleeping through the night. Usually, Cole gets up and brings him to me to be fed. When they never come, I slide out of bed and pad across the hall to the nursery. Leaning against the door frame, I watch my two men. Cole has our son lying against his chest as he pats his back. A year ago, if someone had told me I would be married and a momma within a year, I would have told them they were crazy. But that’s what I am, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. When CJ falls back to sleep, Cole lays him back down in the crib. He walks over to me, not surprised to see me standing in the doorway. Seeing my handsome husband without his shirt on still causes butterflies in my belly. “I was waiting for you.” His arms go around me, and he kisses me deeply on the lips. When he pulls away, he whispers to me while leading
me back to our bedroom, “He wasn’t hungry, so I changed him and put him back to sleep.” I tilt my head to the side and look at him in awe. He’s the absolute best father and husband. He puts all of our needs before his own. I can’t stand it anymore, and when we get to the bed, I run my hand across his chest. “So we’re up. Now what should we do?” He grabs my hair, pulling my head back gently before kissing my neck. His hot breath caresses my skin and hearing him murmur, “I have a few ideas” sends trembles down my body. Shivering in his arms, I hold on to him tightly. “I’m game.” I can feel his lips turn up into a smile against my skin. “Oh, I know you are, Mrs. Prince.” I pull back to look into his eyes. “I love you, Mr. Prince.” “I love you too, baby.” THE END
FREE BOOKS
Want FREE books? Go to www.authorhopeford.com/freebies
JOIN ME!
JOIN MY NEWSLETTER & READERS GROUP For Up To Date Information on New Releases, Specials, and More JOIN MY NEWSLETTER
JOIN MY PRIVATE FACEBOOK GROUP!
CLICK HERE TO JOIN MY READERS GROUP ON FACEBOOK A place to talk about Hope Ford's books! Find out about new releases, giveaways, get exclusive content, see covers before anyone else and more! Find Hope Ford at www.authorhopeford.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Bestselling short romance author Hope Ford writes short, steamy, sweet romances. She loves tattooed, alpha men, instant love stories, and ALWAYS happily ever afters. She has over 80 books and they are all available on Amazon. FOLLOW ME – Click on the link or below to follow Hope Ford on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Goodreads, and more!