Hope Ignites
Page 12
Des just sat there, stunned into silence for a few seconds while she absorbed what Logan had told her. “God, Logan, I’m so sorry. How long ago did your father die?”
“When I was twenty-two. Reid, my youngest brother, had just turned eighteen. She probably would have left as soon as my dad died, but Reid wasn’t of age yet. And she hadn’t gotten her hooks all the way into her new husband yet. But she’d been mentally and emotionally gone for years before that, so her physically leaving didn’t much matter to us anyway.”
“And you haven’t heard from your mother in all these years?”
“No.”
“Well, what the hell is wrong with that woman? She has three children and she just . . . abandoned them?”
“Yeah.”
“That sucks.”
Logan just shrugged.
Des couldn’t sit still on her side of the truck. She was furious on Logan’s behalf. Mothers didn’t just up and leave their children. It simply wasn’t done. Okay, so maybe it did happen, but what the hell was wrong with Logan’s mother? Did she not have a maternal bone in her body?
“So, she didn’t like the ranch. Couldn’t she have moved to Hope? Or into Tulsa? That way she would have still been near you and your brothers.”
“She didn’t like small-city living. She wanted to be in a big city, and Clyde—that’s her new husband—offered that to her. She was out the door in a hurry, and never once looked back.”
“Sonofabitch.” If she had been within distance of Logan’s mother, she would’ve slapped her. Hard. She reached across the truck and laid her hand on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry she did that to you and your brothers.”
“I was over it—and her—a long time ago. Don’t feel sorry for me.”
“Clearly, I have no reason to feel sorry for you. You’re better off without her. And you have Martha, who is obviously a fine mother figure and a more fit role model than your mother ever was. But I’m pissed, Logan. No woman should abandon her children. I’d like to smack your mother and maybe tear a few strands of her hair out.”
That got a quirk of a smile out of him.
He pulled onto the property and headed down the dark roads. Here, there were no lights from the city. She was glad he knew where he was going because she couldn’t see anything but the headlights from the truck. It wasn’t like there were streetlights out here on these roads, and other than the main house and barns, which they’d passed, there was . . . nothing.
She turned to him. “Take me out to one of those ponds or lakes you mentioned earlier.”
He slowed down so he could glance her way. “What?”
“You know, those places you used to take girls when you wanted to be alone.”
She saw him let out a breath, then he shook his head. “Not a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“You know why not.”
“So, are you just not into me, Logan, or are you afraid of what might happen if you and I are alone together?”
“We’re alone right now.”
She shot him a look. “And you’re evading the question.”
“What was the question again?”
“Never mind.” She shifted in her seat, deciding all men were assholes, and she was giving up on this one. Clearly, he wasn’t interested. “Just take me back to the set.”
LOGAN SHOULD HAVE breathed a sigh of relief that Des had finally quit pushing about getting him alone.
Though for some reason he still felt unsettled, and then for some stupid reason he took a left at the fork in the road instead of the right turn he should have made that would have led them back to her movie location.
And before he knew it, he’d stopped the truck in front of his favorite part of the ranch—the cabin and lake house.
“Where are we?” Des asked, already opening the truck door and sliding out.
He got out, too, and followed her. It was late, and it was still so damn hot you could feel it every time you drew a breath. But at least the bugs went away at night, as long as there were no lights. And here, it was as dark as it could get.
“I come here to go fishing, and whenever I want to get away.”
She turned to face him. “So, this is where you used to bring your women?”
“Girls. I brought girls here. I bring women to the house.”
Des took a few steps forward, closing the distance between them. He could smell her shampoo, her skin, and everything he wanted, but shouldn’t.
“And what does that make me, Logan?”
“Trouble.”
He couldn’t see her eyes here in the dark, but he felt her, could swear he heard her heart beating. Or maybe that was his. He’d never been shy about women—or about sex. He always made sure both sides knew what they were getting into. And he never made any promises, so there’d be no regrets later.
He wasn’t a promises kind of guy, and not a forever kind of guy, either. He’d seen the havoc created when a woman hated the life he lived, and he’d never bring that down on a woman. Or on himself. So, sex? Hell yeah. Relationships, or, God forbid, love? Not for him. He’d never go through the hell his father had.
He knew the kind of women to choose.
Des, on the other hand, was the wrong kind of woman because he didn’t know a damn thing about her, or what she wanted.
“If I’m trouble, what are you doing here with me?” she finally asked.
“Damned if I know. Showing you the lake, I guess.”
“Come on, Logan. I think you know what you want. And what I want.”
“Why?” he asked.
“Why what?”
“Why do you want this?”
She cocked her head to the side. “Do you really want me to spell it out for you?”
“Maybe.”
He caught her smile. “I thought it was women who needed all the sweet talking and reassurances.”
“And you don’t?”
“No. I just want to have sex with you.” She moved in closer, their bodies brushing against each other. “I think you’re very attractive, and there’s something about you that gets to me, in a moody, brooding-cowboy kind of way.”
He was an honorable man, and he had resistance down to an art form, but there was only so much he could take. And Des was hot, she smelled good, and she’d damn well spelled out for him what she wanted—and what she didn’t.
He’d be a damned fool to walk away from that.
And he was no fool.
He wrapped his arm around her and jerked her against him. “You sure this is what you want?”
She tilted her head back. “Yes.”
“Okay, then.”
He cupped the back of her head and brought his mouth to hers.
Chapter 7
DES’S WORLD EXPLODED as soon as Logan’s mouth met hers.
He wasn’t gentle. There was no finesse in this kiss, no artful, choreographed slow exploration. There was just a hungry passion of melding lips and searching tongues. It was what she’d expected, what she’d craved from him, and oh, damn, was it powerful.
And when he cupped her butt and lifted her in his arms, she felt the dizzying heights of nirvana like she’d never felt before. His strides were quick and sure, his mouth still fixed on hers as he walked. She had no idea where he was taking her, and she sure as hell didn’t care, because his hands were on her butt and her br**sts were smashed against his chest.
When she heard him walking up the steps, she pulled her mouth from his. “Where are we going?”
“Into the cabin.”
“And here I thought we were going skinny-dipping.”
“Too many mosquitoes. Besides, there’s a bed in here.”
“What? No roughing it and getting na**d out on the ground?”
“I don’t like mosquito bites on my dick.”
She laughed. He kicked the door shut and released her, but kept his arm wound very possessively around her. She slid down every delicious hard-muscled inch of his body, listening to the rough sound of his breathing. In the dark like this, she couldn’t make out his features, but she could hear every sound he made, from his labored breathing to his groans when she cupped the center of his universe in her hand.
“Des.”
“Yeah.”
“I like your hands on me.”
That’s what she’d waited so long to hear—that he actually liked something.
She intended to rock his ever-loving world tonight.
She dropped to her knees and started to undo his belt. “Then you’re really going to like my mouth on you.”
Logan hadn’t expected this. Or maybe he had, and that’s what had held him back because he sure as hell knew he was going to get a handful of wild woman when he took on Des.
And now, she was on her knees, unzipping his jeans and taking out his cock, putting her hands on him and blowing his world apart as she took charge.
Not that he minded a woman taking charge, especially as it related to his dick. But he wanted . . .
Hell, as he looked down at her, and she tilted her head back and offered up a saucy grin, he didn’t know what the hell he wanted. Only that she not stop.
And when she put her mouth on him, he tilted his head back and closed his eyes, concentrating only on the sensation, the way the heat and wetness of her mouth and tongue surrounded him.
She made him shudder, made his knees weak. And she was damned relentless, so if he didn’t put a stop to this now, he was going to show her just how long it had been for him.
“Damn, woman. You drive me crazy.” He reached for her, pulling her up and taking that incredible mouth of hers in a hard kiss, unable to get enough of her. She moaned against his lips and he drove his tongue inside, licking against hers.
She reached down and grasped hold of him, and he nearly lost it as her smooth, soft hands surrounded him and began to stroke. She was like a demanding wildcat, and it was time he took control. He pulled her ponytail holder out and threaded his fingers into the thick softness of her hair, then wound it around his hand and tugged her head back so he could lick along her neck.
He thought he’d distract her from the stranglehold she had on his cock. Instead, she tightened her hold, gripping him tighter, stroking him deeper.
“Des, stop.”
She let go and lifted her head to stare at him. “Why?”
“Because you’re too damn good at that, and I don’t want to come before I’m inside you.”
Her lips curved in a sexy little smile he wanted to kiss right off her face. “Well . . . good to know.” She wrapped her hand around the nape of his neck and drew his mouth toward hers.
She was demanding, and he liked that she wasn’t shy at all. He scooped her up and carried her to the bedroom, depositing her onto the bed. She slipped off her tennis shoes and popped the button of her jeans, while he toed off his boots and shrugged out of his jeans.
He liked watching her undress, the way she shimmied out of those tight jeans she wore, leaving her in just her shirt and underwear. And then she made quick work of her top, which left her wearing only her matching very sexy black bra and panties.
He took off his socks, pulled off his shirt and dropped his boxer briefs, then climbed onto the bed, pushing her onto the mattress.
“Hey, I’m not na**d yet,” she said as he loomed over her.
“I know.” He bent and pressed a kiss to the swell of her breast, his lips lingering over the softness of her skin. Then he went lower, grasping the material of her bra into his mouth, taking her nipple with it.
“Oh,” she said, arching into his mouth. “This would be so much better if we took my bra off.”
He ignored her, sucking the material—and her nipple—into his mouth. He nibbled with his teeth, a little harder than he normally would if there hadn’t been the barrier of satin and lace.
Des moaned, and cursed.
“Dammit, Logan.”
His name floated out as a whisper as she grabbed his head and pulled it up.
“Yeah.”
“Let’s get this bra off. I want your mouth on me. On my skin, sucking my nipples.”
Again, that blatant honesty of hers that seared him, that made him desperate to possess her in the most primal of ways.
He lifted her only long enough to undo the clasp on her bra. He pulled the straps down her shoulders—with her help, since she seemed to be in a big damn hurry to get the bra off.
God, she was beautiful. With only moonlight streaming in from the window of the cabin, her skin shone a pale silver glow, her ni**les dark against the light of her skin. Her br**sts were small, and as he cupped them in his hands, his thumbs brushing over the peaks, she lifted into his touch.
“Yes. That’s exactly what I wanted.”
He leaned over her and took her nipple into his mouth. She was like silk, and seemed so fragile, so small next to him. He tried to be gentle, but that’s not what she wanted.
“More,” she whispered, her tone breathless as he grasped her breast in his hand and deepened the draw of her nipple between his lips. Her answering moan was his gratification. Passion made him slip his hand behind her back and use his teeth to tease her.
“Oh, God, Logan. Do that again.”
Her ni**les were sensitive, and that rocketed him to new heights. He was hard, heavy, and ached to be inside her. But he loved the feel of her skin, the way her ni**les beaded and tightened inside his mouth. He loved the way she writhed against him with every flick of his tongue across the taut buds. And when he laid her down flat on the bed and kissed his way along her ribs, making his way down her very tight stomach, she leaned up on her elbows to watch him.
“When I was twenty-two. Reid, my youngest brother, had just turned eighteen. She probably would have left as soon as my dad died, but Reid wasn’t of age yet. And she hadn’t gotten her hooks all the way into her new husband yet. But she’d been mentally and emotionally gone for years before that, so her physically leaving didn’t much matter to us anyway.”
“And you haven’t heard from your mother in all these years?”
“No.”
“Well, what the hell is wrong with that woman? She has three children and she just . . . abandoned them?”
“Yeah.”
“That sucks.”
Logan just shrugged.
Des couldn’t sit still on her side of the truck. She was furious on Logan’s behalf. Mothers didn’t just up and leave their children. It simply wasn’t done. Okay, so maybe it did happen, but what the hell was wrong with Logan’s mother? Did she not have a maternal bone in her body?
“So, she didn’t like the ranch. Couldn’t she have moved to Hope? Or into Tulsa? That way she would have still been near you and your brothers.”
“She didn’t like small-city living. She wanted to be in a big city, and Clyde—that’s her new husband—offered that to her. She was out the door in a hurry, and never once looked back.”
“Sonofabitch.” If she had been within distance of Logan’s mother, she would’ve slapped her. Hard. She reached across the truck and laid her hand on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry she did that to you and your brothers.”
“I was over it—and her—a long time ago. Don’t feel sorry for me.”
“Clearly, I have no reason to feel sorry for you. You’re better off without her. And you have Martha, who is obviously a fine mother figure and a more fit role model than your mother ever was. But I’m pissed, Logan. No woman should abandon her children. I’d like to smack your mother and maybe tear a few strands of her hair out.”
That got a quirk of a smile out of him.
He pulled onto the property and headed down the dark roads. Here, there were no lights from the city. She was glad he knew where he was going because she couldn’t see anything but the headlights from the truck. It wasn’t like there were streetlights out here on these roads, and other than the main house and barns, which they’d passed, there was . . . nothing.
She turned to him. “Take me out to one of those ponds or lakes you mentioned earlier.”
He slowed down so he could glance her way. “What?”
“You know, those places you used to take girls when you wanted to be alone.”
She saw him let out a breath, then he shook his head. “Not a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“You know why not.”
“So, are you just not into me, Logan, or are you afraid of what might happen if you and I are alone together?”
“We’re alone right now.”
She shot him a look. “And you’re evading the question.”
“What was the question again?”
“Never mind.” She shifted in her seat, deciding all men were assholes, and she was giving up on this one. Clearly, he wasn’t interested. “Just take me back to the set.”
LOGAN SHOULD HAVE breathed a sigh of relief that Des had finally quit pushing about getting him alone.
Though for some reason he still felt unsettled, and then for some stupid reason he took a left at the fork in the road instead of the right turn he should have made that would have led them back to her movie location.
And before he knew it, he’d stopped the truck in front of his favorite part of the ranch—the cabin and lake house.
“Where are we?” Des asked, already opening the truck door and sliding out.
He got out, too, and followed her. It was late, and it was still so damn hot you could feel it every time you drew a breath. But at least the bugs went away at night, as long as there were no lights. And here, it was as dark as it could get.
“I come here to go fishing, and whenever I want to get away.”
She turned to face him. “So, this is where you used to bring your women?”
“Girls. I brought girls here. I bring women to the house.”
Des took a few steps forward, closing the distance between them. He could smell her shampoo, her skin, and everything he wanted, but shouldn’t.
“And what does that make me, Logan?”
“Trouble.”
He couldn’t see her eyes here in the dark, but he felt her, could swear he heard her heart beating. Or maybe that was his. He’d never been shy about women—or about sex. He always made sure both sides knew what they were getting into. And he never made any promises, so there’d be no regrets later.
He wasn’t a promises kind of guy, and not a forever kind of guy, either. He’d seen the havoc created when a woman hated the life he lived, and he’d never bring that down on a woman. Or on himself. So, sex? Hell yeah. Relationships, or, God forbid, love? Not for him. He’d never go through the hell his father had.
He knew the kind of women to choose.
Des, on the other hand, was the wrong kind of woman because he didn’t know a damn thing about her, or what she wanted.
“If I’m trouble, what are you doing here with me?” she finally asked.
“Damned if I know. Showing you the lake, I guess.”
“Come on, Logan. I think you know what you want. And what I want.”
“Why?” he asked.
“Why what?”
“Why do you want this?”
She cocked her head to the side. “Do you really want me to spell it out for you?”
“Maybe.”
He caught her smile. “I thought it was women who needed all the sweet talking and reassurances.”
“And you don’t?”
“No. I just want to have sex with you.” She moved in closer, their bodies brushing against each other. “I think you’re very attractive, and there’s something about you that gets to me, in a moody, brooding-cowboy kind of way.”
He was an honorable man, and he had resistance down to an art form, but there was only so much he could take. And Des was hot, she smelled good, and she’d damn well spelled out for him what she wanted—and what she didn’t.
He’d be a damned fool to walk away from that.
And he was no fool.
He wrapped his arm around her and jerked her against him. “You sure this is what you want?”
She tilted her head back. “Yes.”
“Okay, then.”
He cupped the back of her head and brought his mouth to hers.
Chapter 7
DES’S WORLD EXPLODED as soon as Logan’s mouth met hers.
He wasn’t gentle. There was no finesse in this kiss, no artful, choreographed slow exploration. There was just a hungry passion of melding lips and searching tongues. It was what she’d expected, what she’d craved from him, and oh, damn, was it powerful.
And when he cupped her butt and lifted her in his arms, she felt the dizzying heights of nirvana like she’d never felt before. His strides were quick and sure, his mouth still fixed on hers as he walked. She had no idea where he was taking her, and she sure as hell didn’t care, because his hands were on her butt and her br**sts were smashed against his chest.
When she heard him walking up the steps, she pulled her mouth from his. “Where are we going?”
“Into the cabin.”
“And here I thought we were going skinny-dipping.”
“Too many mosquitoes. Besides, there’s a bed in here.”
“What? No roughing it and getting na**d out on the ground?”
“I don’t like mosquito bites on my dick.”
She laughed. He kicked the door shut and released her, but kept his arm wound very possessively around her. She slid down every delicious hard-muscled inch of his body, listening to the rough sound of his breathing. In the dark like this, she couldn’t make out his features, but she could hear every sound he made, from his labored breathing to his groans when she cupped the center of his universe in her hand.
“Des.”
“Yeah.”
“I like your hands on me.”
That’s what she’d waited so long to hear—that he actually liked something.
She intended to rock his ever-loving world tonight.
She dropped to her knees and started to undo his belt. “Then you’re really going to like my mouth on you.”
Logan hadn’t expected this. Or maybe he had, and that’s what had held him back because he sure as hell knew he was going to get a handful of wild woman when he took on Des.
And now, she was on her knees, unzipping his jeans and taking out his cock, putting her hands on him and blowing his world apart as she took charge.
Not that he minded a woman taking charge, especially as it related to his dick. But he wanted . . .
Hell, as he looked down at her, and she tilted her head back and offered up a saucy grin, he didn’t know what the hell he wanted. Only that she not stop.
And when she put her mouth on him, he tilted his head back and closed his eyes, concentrating only on the sensation, the way the heat and wetness of her mouth and tongue surrounded him.
She made him shudder, made his knees weak. And she was damned relentless, so if he didn’t put a stop to this now, he was going to show her just how long it had been for him.
“Damn, woman. You drive me crazy.” He reached for her, pulling her up and taking that incredible mouth of hers in a hard kiss, unable to get enough of her. She moaned against his lips and he drove his tongue inside, licking against hers.
She reached down and grasped hold of him, and he nearly lost it as her smooth, soft hands surrounded him and began to stroke. She was like a demanding wildcat, and it was time he took control. He pulled her ponytail holder out and threaded his fingers into the thick softness of her hair, then wound it around his hand and tugged her head back so he could lick along her neck.
He thought he’d distract her from the stranglehold she had on his cock. Instead, she tightened her hold, gripping him tighter, stroking him deeper.
“Des, stop.”
She let go and lifted her head to stare at him. “Why?”
“Because you’re too damn good at that, and I don’t want to come before I’m inside you.”
Her lips curved in a sexy little smile he wanted to kiss right off her face. “Well . . . good to know.” She wrapped her hand around the nape of his neck and drew his mouth toward hers.
She was demanding, and he liked that she wasn’t shy at all. He scooped her up and carried her to the bedroom, depositing her onto the bed. She slipped off her tennis shoes and popped the button of her jeans, while he toed off his boots and shrugged out of his jeans.
He liked watching her undress, the way she shimmied out of those tight jeans she wore, leaving her in just her shirt and underwear. And then she made quick work of her top, which left her wearing only her matching very sexy black bra and panties.
He took off his socks, pulled off his shirt and dropped his boxer briefs, then climbed onto the bed, pushing her onto the mattress.
“Hey, I’m not na**d yet,” she said as he loomed over her.
“I know.” He bent and pressed a kiss to the swell of her breast, his lips lingering over the softness of her skin. Then he went lower, grasping the material of her bra into his mouth, taking her nipple with it.
“Oh,” she said, arching into his mouth. “This would be so much better if we took my bra off.”
He ignored her, sucking the material—and her nipple—into his mouth. He nibbled with his teeth, a little harder than he normally would if there hadn’t been the barrier of satin and lace.
Des moaned, and cursed.
“Dammit, Logan.”
His name floated out as a whisper as she grabbed his head and pulled it up.
“Yeah.”
“Let’s get this bra off. I want your mouth on me. On my skin, sucking my nipples.”
Again, that blatant honesty of hers that seared him, that made him desperate to possess her in the most primal of ways.
He lifted her only long enough to undo the clasp on her bra. He pulled the straps down her shoulders—with her help, since she seemed to be in a big damn hurry to get the bra off.
God, she was beautiful. With only moonlight streaming in from the window of the cabin, her skin shone a pale silver glow, her ni**les dark against the light of her skin. Her br**sts were small, and as he cupped them in his hands, his thumbs brushing over the peaks, she lifted into his touch.
“Yes. That’s exactly what I wanted.”
He leaned over her and took her nipple into his mouth. She was like silk, and seemed so fragile, so small next to him. He tried to be gentle, but that’s not what she wanted.
“More,” she whispered, her tone breathless as he grasped her breast in his hand and deepened the draw of her nipple between his lips. Her answering moan was his gratification. Passion made him slip his hand behind her back and use his teeth to tease her.
“Oh, God, Logan. Do that again.”
Her ni**les were sensitive, and that rocketed him to new heights. He was hard, heavy, and ached to be inside her. But he loved the feel of her skin, the way her ni**les beaded and tightened inside his mouth. He loved the way she writhed against him with every flick of his tongue across the taut buds. And when he laid her down flat on the bed and kissed his way along her ribs, making his way down her very tight stomach, she leaned up on her elbows to watch him.
