Chapter Thirteen
Hope woke up alone in Gage’s bed, feeling around, but the cool sheets told her all she needed to know.
He’d left. When she looked at the clock next to the bed, she understood why.
The sun had risen high in the sky. She’d practically slept the entire morning away.
Hope stretched her body out like never before.
A groan slipped past her lips as each limb ached from the new experience.
“Oh my goodness,” she sighed, rolling onto her stomach and giving one more good stretch. “Stop being lazy,” she added to her personal pep talk. then climbed out of bed wearing nothing but her birthday suit, feeling like a woman and so much more.
A smile crept over her face, and she stayed there as she dressed in her clothes from last night. She reached for the door handle to slink back into her room just in case anyone else entered the house, but she came up upon a broad chest.
“You’re up,” Gage growled, picking her up around the waist and kissing her hard.
“So are you, it seems.” Her pussy ground against his Wranglers and his throbbing cock.
He thrust his hand into her hair and crushed his lips against her soft ones.
She gasped, parting them so invitingly. With a growl, he pulled back, lifted his shirt, and tossed it into the hamper next to the closet door.
He unbuckled his belt, leaving it hanging as he unbuttoned his jeans.
Hope’s eyes widened as she watched the way his thick, yet nimble fingers worked his zipper.
“That I am, but it’s going to have to wait. I need a shower, and Alex is on his way here. It seems they have a plan to nab your father.” Why did he have to intrude on her newfound happiness? Couldn’t she just have one day of this without him?
She had no interest in talking about that low-life father of hers. He’d taken enough of her happiness, and Gage gave it all back in spades. She only had time for him and making him happy. Hope’s eyes raked over his sweaty chest while her tongue swiped over her lips. “Wow, you look so sexy.”
He grabbed her close and grunted out his longing. “You do too, baby. I want to spend all day inside of you, but we really have to take care of this bastard or he won’t let up.” She closed her eyes and shook her head.
Her eyes met his and she whispered, “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too.” He grunted as he enjoyed the way she touched him. It might have been new to her, but she had been an extremely quick learner. Her mouth brushed the column of his throat.
Unashamed, she cupped his cock through his jeans, stroking it painstakingly slow. “Do we have time for a shower together?”
“We do, but then we have to take this seriously. Do you promise?” he grunted through the painful need.
“Yes,” she answered, nodding her head while biting down on her bottom lip.
He carried her into the bathroom while trying his best because his cock was so stiff and awkward against open jeans that were slowly sliding down his hips.
When he set her on the large two-sink vanity, he turned on the shower to let it get to the right temperature and slid his pants off. “Let’s get naked.”
She took off her top, revealing her large breasts and Gage’s eyes went wide. He might have enjoyed them yesterday, but in the light of day they were just as beautiful. “You’re so perfect.”
As soon as they were both naked, Gage leaned forward and kissed Hope hard, lining his cock up with her entrance and thrusting inside. “Ugh,” Gage grunted.
“Gage,” she gasped, clutching onto his shoulders. “Gage,” she called out again.
“Yes, baby?”
“We’re not in the shower.” Hope giggled.
“Oops. Let me fix that.” He scooped her up with his cock deep inside her and carried his little woman into the shower. The spray hit his back as he pinned her to the wall. “So fucking sexy. What a great idea.”
“Yes, it is. Fuck me, Gage.” He pumped harder into her tight pussy until they both shouted out their release. “Oh, Gage.”
“I love hearing my name from your lips.” Her mouth crushed his as she ground out the rest of her orgasm on his still hard shaft, every drop of him emptying out into her womb.
Getting her pregnant had crossed his mind from the moment he met her, and he did a hell of a job trying in the last twelve hours, but he wasn’t finished yet.
The family name would start over in a new light.
Their foreheads pressed together. The water sprayed over them as they panted, attempting to catch their breaths; the sound filling the stall as they laughed lightly between kisses. “We should wash up.”
“Yes, we should.” They didn’t move, though. He held her close as the water pelted their skin.
His phone pinged, alerting him that a vehicle passed the sensors.
“Shit.” He pulled out of her, setting her on her feet before stepping out of the shower and grabbing his phone from the pocket of his jeans.
“It’s Alex’s truck. They’re on their way.
Sorry to cut this short, baby.” He fired off a message to Alex that he was in the shower and would be down in ten.
“I’ll be ready shortly. Get your naked ass washed up before you leave. We don’t need anyone knowing you were too busy working me out to focus,” Hope said with a giggle as she rubbed a soapy washcloth over her soft skin.
Gage’s eyes were laser focused on her movements to remember he had to move. She splashed him with some water in the face and that shook him out of the lustful haze. “Damn, I can’t keep my head on straight with you around—especially naked.”
“Well, hurry up, cowboy.” She stepped out, taking a towel from him and wrapping it around her body. “I’m going to sneak into my bedroom and dress a little more appropriately for company.”
Ten minutes later, Gage rushed down to get the door while Hope prepared for the upcoming takedown of the man who made her life hell.
****
“So what’s this plan of yours?” Gage asked, holding Hope’s hand in his. He trusted his friend, but his love for Hope overruled the confidence he had in Alex.
“Actually, it’s Hope’s plan.” They both raised a brow until Alex clarified himself. “She wanted to call him. We have him feeling vulnerable and angry, and from what we learned, he’s ready to be pushed over the edge.”
“What do you mean? Who is your informant?” Hope had to know who would snitch on her father. Not that she believed they had. A part of her worried that it had been a ruse to get her. The thought of never seeing Gage again made her cling even tighter to his side.
“John Nowicki.”
She pushed away from Gage and shook her head, jabbing Alex in the chest. “Wait, he’s one of the guys looking for me. It’s not smart to trust him.”
Gage pulled her back and wrapped his arms around her. “I’m not going to let anyone harm you, Hope. Never.” He kissed her temple and added, “You’re mine, and I’m never letting go.”
He put his hands up and tried to reason with his friend and Hope who he came to see as a special person.
“Listen. I know Nowicki is a piece of shit, and I wouldn’t normally trust this fuck with a penny let alone with my life, but he’s reached a breaking point.
He’s led us to the body of Jimmy Donato. ”
“What? Body? The bastard’s dead?” A slow smile crept over her face. Jimmy had always been the one she hated. Alex explained what John had shared about Jimmy’s death and the failure to bring Hope to them.
“Wait! I’m not letting him get anywhere near her. I don’t want him trying to kidnap her and deliver her to Cummings or Navarro.” Gage tightened his arms around her until he heard a little squeak come from her pretty lips. “I’m sorry, baby,” he whispered as he loosened his hold.
Alex stared at the two, knowing that Gage would do anything to protect his woman.
As a man in love, Alex knew that look exceptionally well.
Patting his friend’s shoulder, he said, “Don’t freak out, Gage.
I’m not going to let him even see her. All we need is for her to give him a call like she suggested.
We have enough to arrest him, but we could use a little more. ”
“I don’t want her location given away.”
“Come on. You doubt us in this day and age? We’ll make it look like the call’s pinging off India or New York. It’s up to Hope how she wants to egg him on.”
“Good.”
“We’ll get everything set up. When the men are close to making an arrest, we’ll let you call. Do you want to rehearse the call?” Alex offered.
“No. I want it to come off naturally. I have so much I want to say to him that I’m afraid I’ll snap.
” Her back straightened as she stared at the men with a newfound strength she that radiated through her eyes.
A smile tipped at the edge of her lips as she lifted one brow with the confidence of someone with power behind her.
She cracked her knuckles, ready for an imaginary fist fight.
Both men noticed the instant shift and read it for what it was.
“Luckily we’re doing this over the phone, eh? ”
Gage sensed the hint of fear she let slip and rubbed her arms. “Yes. I’d kill the bastard if I saw him face to face.” She leaned into him for that extra bit of strength to make it through. He was her rock.
“My men will set up in the dining room. Is that okay with you?” Alex asked Gage.
“Yes, that works for me. Do what you need to get rid of this fucker,” Gage stated while rubbing Hope’s arms. “Come on, Hope. Let me feed you.” Gage held her hand and escorted her Both of them had worked up a serious appetite for the day.
Twenty minutes later, they were eating their cold-cut sandwiches and sipping on some freshly made sweet tea when Bill entered the house. “Sorry, Gage. I don’t mean to interrupt, but the bull broke through the fence.”
“Shit. I’ll be back. I knew we should have fixed that small section before I came back in.” He’d left it alone because he wanted to check on Hope, and then Alex called him about the setup so he’d completely forgotten about it. He needed to remember that ranching didn’t have shortcuts.
Alex walked into the kitchen, stealing a glass of tea for himself. “We’ll be here. Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to her.”
“Thanks.” Gage grabbed Hope, lifting her from her seat with one hand around her waist, the other around the nape of her neck, and kissed her roughly before pulling away and walking out of the house.
Breathless, she stared in the direction of Gage’s exit from the kitchen.
Hope had fallen hard and fast for her rescuer, and it scared her.
She could lose him so easily if he got tired of the nonsense or if her father or Navarro got ahold of him.
Would Navarro lose interest now that she gave away her virginity?
She sure as hell prayed that he’d drop his plans for her.
She refused to be with anyone else. Gage was it for her.
“Hope, are you okay?” Alex asked.
“I’m fine. Sorry. He’s distracting.” She smiled at Alex.
“Ha. It reminds me of the day he met you. We had to repeat our questions to him because he’d been thinking about the woman walking around the Market.”
“Ah, yes—when he thought I was stalking him.”
“Now we know that’s not the truth.” He tried to stop himself from laughing, but slowly his lips twisted up into a grin that evolved until he couldn’t hold back any longer. “Sorry,” he choked out, laughing. “I don’t know why I find that so funny.” He took another minute to get himself under control.
“I don’t see shit funny about this,” an officer said as he entered the house with a tool kit.
“Relax, Austin.”
“Whatever. I want both of these bastards long gone, but murder is illegal. So I take this shit seriously. We have to stay focused.” Hope’s eyes widened at his frustration. He had a real grudge against these guys, but she felt it was extremely personal for him.
“Hope, this is Detective Austin Brody—he’s with the FBI in San Antonio. Human trafficking is a federal offense. Where do you want me to set up?”
The whole situation was serious to her, but that didn’t mean she had to hold back her one source of happiness—Gage.
“We’ll take it down the hall.” Alex led the way, while Hope decided to make some coffee.
An hour later, Gage returned. Immediately, he hunted down Hope. He pushed the kitchen door open and startled Hope. She dropped the bowl full of chocolate onto the floor.
“I’m sorry, baby.” He bent down and scooped up the bowl while she grabbed a dish towel to clean up the mess on the gorgeous flooring. Once they had all of it picked up, and she asked, “How are you?”
“Could have done better, but we went with what I have for repairs. I’ll have to get more supplies tomorrow. You’re doing great, it seems.”
“We haven’t gotten started yet. I was trying to bake a cake when you came in. I needed to work with my hands or something. I don’t know how many times I’ve run them through my hair, waiting for them to be ready for me.”
“Don’t be nervous. You’re going to do just fine.”
Alex came back into the room. “Hey, we’re heading out. Our team will be listening in on the call. Once we’re in place, we’ll contact you. You can do this, Hope.”
Savage and two other officers left the house to join the SWAT team for the arrest. Alex had no intention of missing the look on Cummings’s face.
An hour later…
“Okay. We’re set up, Ms. Cummings. We’re setting your location to New York City.”
Hope rubbed her hands together. “Game on.”