STORY EXCERPT

Hopeful made her way home from the bus stop. Her feet and back hurt from walking most of the day. She’d broken a heel and her stockings had a hole in them. Things couldn’t possibly get worse.

She strode by an electronics store window and stared at her reflection. Was that really her with her hair standing up in all directions, her shirt half untucked, and listing to one side because of her one broken heel?

Squinting her eyes, she took a better look and her shoulders sagged. Yep. That was her all right. No wonder none of the potential employers she visited had wanted to give her the time of day.

Tears burned her eyes and the back of her throat as she stood and stared at herself, speechless. No wonder her husband left her for a younger woman. How long had she looked so bad? Was it just because she’d been out in the unforgiving heat all day or was it because she really was over the hill like her ex-husband had said?

It wasn’t fair! Why did men dump their wives for younger women as they got older? Why was it okay for a man to get old, while a woman couldn’t just age gracefully? For some reason, a woman never aged gracefully. Someone always tagged them with the over-the-hill label.

Turning away from the window, her eyes filled with unshed tears, Hopeful Ackerman headed home. She was well on her way to rock bottom, and there was nowhere else to go but farther down.

It had just started to rain when she rounded the corner of her street. What else could go wrong? Staring down at the sidewalk in front of her to keep the raindrops out of her eyes, she started to run…or tried to, anyway. It was difficult with her broken heel. Preoccupied, tears blurred her vision as she ran and she didn’t see the long, jean-clad legs and cowboy boots until she plowed right into the man they belonged to.

Looking up and up and up, Hope swallowed thickly. Before her stood the most handsome man she had ever seen. In his late twenties to early thirties, he wore his blond hair cut to what appeared to be a military cut, though not a high and tight like her brother had worn before he lost his life in Iraq.

Moss-green eyes stared down at her as though he thought he was dreaming, or maybe having a nightmare, considering how she looked. Large hands gently held her shoulders, thumbs stroking almost absently over her collarbone as he stared down into her eyes.

At that moment, everything else seemed to fall away. It didn’t matter that she stood on the sidewalk still a quarter of a mile from her apartment with the cold rain pouring down over her. It didn’t matter that the water drenched her hair, plastering it to her head until she was certain she must look like a drowned rat.

All that mattered in that moment was that she felt caught in a snare. The heat from his gaze warmed her in the cold downpour. Her panties grew damp with more than rainwater as she nervously licked her lips.

Hope couldn’t look away. She tried, but something about the man held her immobilized. It could have been the way his hands tightened on her shoulders, holding her in place. It also could have been the way he started to draw her near him before he seemed to come to his senses and let her go.

“Excuse me, Miss…”

Hope knew he was fishing, but she didn’t give a damn. It had been a long time since a man flirted with her and an even longer since one as handsome as this one even looked her way with anything even resembling interest.

“Hope,” she said, unsure as to why she was standing here in the rain telling him anything about herself in the first place. She should have pulled from his grip and run for her apartment before she did something stupid, like jump his bones, but she couldn’t for some reason. It must have been the shock of seeing another incredibly handsome man standing just behind him. Hope had always been a sucker for tall men with dark hair and blue eyes. Backing away, she almost cried when he backed up too, but she was nothing if not a realist. What would a man like him want from her anyway?

“Does Hope have a last name that’s as beautiful as her first?”

Holy cow! Not only was the devil tall, dark, and handsome, but he was a charmer to boot. Hope shook her head. “Not hardly. Ackerman is my ex-husband’s name. I haven’t gotten around to changing it back to my maiden name.” In truth, she wasn’t sure she wanted to go through the hassle.

It didn’t seem possible, but the two men seemed to get better looking when they smiled. Hope swallowed thickly. Why did those smiles look more predatory than humorous?

“Ex-husband?” The blond’s smile got bigger as he held out his hand. “I’m Braxton and this is my best friend, Joran. It’s good to meet a friendly face.”

She wasn’t sure why, but his smile reminded her of Little Red Riding Hood. Maybe it was his strangely pronounced incisors and inordinately large smile. Oh, what a big smile you have, Braxton.

“It’s nice to meet you two as well. Are you new in the neighborhood?”

They shook their heads, their faces still split with their strange, wolfish grins. After a moment, they glanced at each other, their expressions becoming intense, and they moved to flank her. “No, beautiful Hope. We came here for you.”

Fearing that they had something nefarious in mind, Hope jerked free and tried to run to her apartment building. She heard an odd humming sound come from behind her just before everything went black.

ADULT EXCERPT

After another hour of sharing a horse with Braxton, Hope was almost ready to scream. Every sway of the horse set her on edge. Every time he stumbled or hopped over a gully had her groin pressed tighter against Braxton’s hard length.

She wanted to turn around, to watch where they were going, but Braxton didn’t seem inclined to let her go and she was tired of arguing. If he wanted to hold her like this and torture them both, she would help him.

With a secret smile she hid against his chest, Hope snuggled closer, lifted her legs and wrapped them around him. If they insisted on playing this game, Hope was determined to play it to the max.

Braxton groaned when the heat of her nether parts rested against his cock. She almost giggled when it throbbed beneath her until he leaned forward to whisper in her ear.

“You’re playing with fire, baby.”

His words sent shivers through her. When was the last time anyone had called her baby in such a sexy tone of voice? Hope wasn’t sure anyone ever had. Bob certainly hadn’t. Her ex’s voice had been more whiney than sexy at any given time. The thought made her frown. Why hadn’t she noticed that before?

Deciding to take a giant leap, Hope leaned forward and pulled his earlobe into her mouth. “I’m counting on it,” she whispered in his ear. If they really wanted to share her, they could start right now as far as she was concerned. It wasn’t as though she could get pregnant. However, the thought of disease scared her, and she didn’t think they would own up to the fact that they were human and agree to use a condom.

With the decidedly strange direction her life had gone over the last few hours, Hope resolved herself to the fact that, for whatever reason, these two hot men had kidnapped her. They could make things pleasant for her or unpleasant. Since she couldn’t stop herself from imagining them all in bed together, she hoped they meant to make things pleasant. Who knows? She might just enjoy herself. How many times had she lain in bed, alone, wishing for some handsome man to sweep her off her feet since Bob left? Here she was with two. She was living the fantasy. What was wrong with grabbing onto the proverbial brass ring for once?

She closed her eyes with a sigh, finally giving in to the impulse to be spontaneous for once in her life. Just this once she wouldn’t be Hopeful Ackerman, prude. Just this once, she would step up and do the wild thing. Literally.

Braxton groaned when she stuck her tongue in his ear. She smiled, thinking of all the ways she could drive him wild before they reached town and before he could find a place where they could be alone.

Her eyes widened then closed when he reached beneath her skirt to press his thumb against her clit. Arrows of delight shot straight to her womb. Her nipples drew tighter as they rubbed against his hard chest and she bit her lip, reaching for her second orgasm on horseback today.

One thing was certain, if they weren’t as old as they claimed, they had the patience of men who were ancient when it came to self-gratification. As far as she knew, neither of them had a release yet today and now, she thought as she screamed against Braxton’s muscular chest, she’d had two in the last couple of hours. On horseback no less!

After her second release of the day, Hope reached between them and freed Braxton from the confines of his jeans. She didn’t know what she planned. She only knew she had the most urgent need to give as good as she got.

Wrapping her fist around his hard shaft, she moved her hand up and down its smooth length. This was what had been missing in her life. This spontaneity. Bob never would have made her come outside. Hell, she could barely get him to do it in the bedroom.

“I shouldn’t do this.” Braxton closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. “Hell, two of my friends have just been murdered and all I can think of is how long will it be before I can sheathe myself within your tight cunt.”

Hope moaned as he breathed the words in her ear. She loved it when a man talked dirty to her as they made love. Something about it turned her on more than she’d thought possible. It was another first. A small giggle escaped when she thought of that.

“What’s so funny, love?”

“I just realized something.” She moaned when Braxton stuck his tongue in her ear. “I have had more sexual firsts in the last few hours than I had in my entire marriage.” She shivered when his expert lips trailed from her ear to move down over her throat. “I suppose that should have told me something, but how can you miss what you have never had?”

“There are going to be a lot of firsts with us, baby.” Braxton grasped her by the waist, picked her up, and brought her breast to his greedy mouth.

Hope gasped. She wrapped her arms around his neck, cupped the back of his head and held him to her. It wasn’t until he reached between them, broke the scrap of material between her legs, and lowered her down over his massive hard-on, that she realized what he’d had in mind.