“My friends, whom I’d known for years, put their social standing before me. It hurt, Sandie, the way they turned two-faced on me. My parents, not as much because they’d always been social snobs.”
“I guess I can see why you might hold back. But remember, Julie stayed away from Jackson, and then held back from him almost too long. They wouldn’t be as happy as they are now if she hadn’t confronted her past and brought it out in the open.”
“Miles and I don’t have a history to hold us together the way they did,” Hope reminded her. The other couple’s bond went back to childhood and had remained strong despite their six-year separation.
“No, but I think you’re selling him short by not trusting he would stand by you. Hell, he teaches people to defend themselves in any way they can, which is all you did.”
That was all I did. Hope repeated that all the way home, and off and on for the next two days. Receiving her new best friend’s unquestioning support went a long way toward bolstering her courage. Even though both Miles and Sensei McCallum emphasized running as soon as you freed yourself from an attacker, they also taught them to use whatever means necessary to save themselves. It wasn’t the struggle for her life that resulted in the gunshot that killed Craig she worried he wouldn’t understand, but the reason for Craig’s rage at her in the first place. She refused to make excuses for herself for getting and staying engaged to a man she didn’t love. Her growing dissatisfaction with her looming future was what had ultimately led Hope to agreeing to that night out. Actions may have consequences, such as Craig getting shot when he attacked her, but so did certain inactions, for which she remained the guilty party.
Like Craig, Miles deserved to know the truth about her, and as she waited for him to arrive to pick her up for the overnight engagement party cruise, she vowed to explain how she got her scar the next time he asked her. If nothing else, maybe she’d learn what trauma befell him that had resulted in his marred cheek.
“She’s fitting in nicely.” Sean joined Miles at the rail and nodded toward Hope where she was playing shuffleboard with Sandie, Krista and his guest, Leigh.
Miles didn’t need his friend pointing out the obvious. Hope got into the swing of things almost as soon as they took off from the marina over an hour ago. She hadn’t balked when he’d stripped her swimsuit top off and had given him a puzzled frown when he let her keep her swimsuit bottoms on. He liked to keep her guessing. “Yes. It’s helped being friends with Sandie first.”
Sean chuckled. “So, Sandie has been good for both Zach and you.”
Miles’ lips twitched. “Yeah, I guess you could say that. Still can’t believe he’s tying the knot already.”
“I’ve got to admit, that one took me by surprise. Dax, not so much.”
“That’s because you’re the only one of us who knew what was going on with him and Krista.”
Sean shook his head, his grey gaze sweeping over to the barbeque where Dax, Zach and the Carlsons were responsible for the tantalizing aroma of grilled steaks permeating the air on the upper tier as they bobbed on the calm water. “I only knew a short time before all of you. He can be as close-mouthed as you.” He returned his assessing eyes to Miles. “Have you told Hope about your parents yet?”
“No,” Miles answered, his tone clipped.
“Look, I don’t want to pry…”
Miles snorted, and a genuine grin split his face. “Since when?”
“Okay, maybe I do,” Sean admitted with easy candor. “But, you’ve got the same look on your face when you’re watching Hope as both Zach and Dax, and now Jackson, when they’re eyeing their girls. Take a page out of their books and don’t wait too long to clear the air between you two.” Miles frowned, and Sean held up his hands. “All done with the unsolicited advice. Let’s go have some fun.”
Miles watched Sean join the guys at the grill then was drawn to the peal of Hope’s laughter. Bending at the waist, her full breasts dangling then swaying as she pushed the shuffleboard cue stick and sent her disc sliding into a ten-point slot, she shot up with a grin of success and high-fived Krista. He never knew she had a competitive streak, and watching her play was almost as enjoyable as watching her come apart. Almost. The urge to hear another kind of exultant cry from her propelled him across the deck. Snatching a brownie out of the tray sitting on one of the tables without breaking his stride, he took a huge bite, indulging one hunger as he reached for Hope to settle another craving.
“You won. How about a reward?” Grasping her elbow, he took the stick from her and handed it to Krista without taking his eyes off Hope’s flushed face.
“A brownie?” Hope asked, eying his treat with longing.
“No way. This is mine.” Spinning her around, he placed her hands on the rail. “Bend over and don’t let go.” He loved the way she obeyed immediately, her small, indrawn breath of surprise and anticipation and the way she automatically shifted her feet apart without having to be told. Miles shoved another bite of the rich, decadent dessert into his mouth as he delved inside the front of her swimsuit bottoms. With a deep, three-fingered thrust into her slick sheath, he brought her to her toes with a sharp cry. “Steaks are about done, so be quick.”
“Okay,” she returned in a breathless tone right before her damp muscles contracted around his fingers and her cry of release spilled out across the wide expanse of blue ocean in front of them.
“Damn, Hope, that was almost as good as my brownie.” Helping her upright, he spun her back around, kissed her long and deep, then swatted her ass. “Come on, I’m hungry.”
Shaking her head at his playful mood, Hope followed him over to the table and wasn’t surprised when he yanked her down on his lap. The take-charge way he had bent her over the rail then brought her to a quick climax while calmly eating a brownie had been a freaking turn-on she still shuddered in pleasure from. Troy and Trevor sat across from them, their date nestled between them looking as comfortable with her full nudity as Hope now felt going topless in front of everyone. Had she known how much fun it could be parading around outdoors naked, with the light ocean breeze caressing her warm skin and the appreciative looks from several men stoking her inner heat, she might have succumbed to Miles’ interest a lot sooner.
Miles piled one plate with food then handed her a fork. “We’ll share. Dig in.”
Shifting against his hard thighs, she was much more interested in the bulge poking her butt than eating, but figured she’d need the calories for later. She hadn’t been with the whole group since Jackson’s fundraiser for his animal shelter a few weeks ago, and that had not been a play party. She marveled at the ease with which everyone took the decadence going on around them, the smiles of encouragement, open displays of interests and underlying respect from all the guys. They liked their sex raunchy and kinky, but it was obvious they held the women in high esteem, even when they had them draped over their laps for a punishing spanking. The combination of strict dominance and genuine caring was a heady duo, and Hope knew she’d fallen under Miles’ spell as surely as Sandie had under Zach’s.
“Any dates planned yet?” Troy asked when the last of the group, Dax and Krista, joined them. The table would have been crowded with the seven men and six women if most of the women weren’t perched on the guys’ laps.
“We’re planning a small ceremony, in about a month.” Dax glanced across the table toward Zach. “What’re your plans? Want to make it a double?”
Zach shrugged. “Whatever Sandie wants.”
“Since when?” Sandie asked with a raised brow of disbelief.
“Hey, I’ve told you, I’m only the boss during sex.”
“You keep telling me that, then turn all cranky when I do something, like get a job,” she reminded him. Zach shoved a forkful of potato salad in her mouth.
“It’s fine with me, if you want to make it a double,” Krista said. “As long as it’s low-key.”
“Low-key is good. I second that,” Miles put in.
“In case y
ou haven’t figured it out yet, Hope, Miles doesn’t like to be around crowds, present company excluded,” Jackson told her.
“I’m not big on crowds either,” Hope admitted, much preferring smaller groups like today’s to the large parties she and her friends in Atlanta used to throw. Of course, she wasn’t sitting around half naked at those parties like now.