Page 23 of Losing Hope

“Uh-oh.”

“What?” Alarm crossed her features.

“Guess that makes me the rebound guy.” He laughed lightly.

“Oh, no! Is that what you are? I thought I was just using you for sex for the weekend…” Her eyes danced with laughter, her cheeks turning pink at her own admission.

“It’s okay, Hope.” He looked down and then back up at her, all the laughter gone from his eyes, before speaking quietly. “I don’t mind being your rebound guy. I’ll be whatever you need me tobe.”

She wasspeechless for several minutes, absorbing his words and what they meant before responding, her heart hammering in her chest at the realization that she was starting to feel something for him. “You are exactly what I needed, Gage. Exactly. The best visitor I’ve ever had and the only one in a long, long time I’ve wanted tostay.”

He smiled then, wide and open, the corners around his green eyes crinkling. “I’ll stay as long as youwant.”

Their eyes locked, and an unspoken understanding about what might be happening between them swept over the moment. He finally broke their connection by looking up at thesky.

“The sun’s going to be setting soon. We should start heading back.” He moved to put the camera back around his neck and reached for hisoar.

“You never answered my question,” she remembered outloud.

“What question?”

“Have you ever been married?” She found that she really wanted, no, needed to know the answer.

He looked her in the eye again, a serious expression on his face. “Nope. When I mate, it’ll be forlife.”

“Isn’t that what we all wishfor?”

“Wishing has nothing to do with it.” He started rowing even though she was still turned toward him. “I believe, when you make a commitment to someone, one as big as marriage, it’s done knowing it will be forever. For better or worse, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer. Not just for however long you feel like it. Forever.”

Her eyebrows shot up as her mouth shifted in surprise. “Not very many people believe in forever anymore.”

“I do. I think, when you find the right person, forever won’t be long enough.” His gaze locked onto hers, his green eyes burning with intensity.

Hope shivered. Whether it be from the surge of blood racing to her heart, or from the chill starting to claim the air, she couldn’t be sure, but she broke their connection by spinning around in her seat and grabbing heroar.

Attempting to lighten the conversation, she tried joking as she started rowing. “Have I ended up with the last true romantic?”

Sensing things had turned a little too serious, he joked back. “Nah, don’t worry. I’m just visiting.”

Thirty minutes later, with the sun starting to set in the west, the canoe slid back onto the beach. Gage jumped out and pushed the boat further up in the sand and then put his hand out to help her out of the canoe.

When her skin met his, an electrical current charged through her as if lightning had struck, sparking a flame of desire within her. Her eyes flew up to his and were met with a dark, hungry look on hisface.

His hand drifted to behind her neck, seizing on, pulling her to him possessively, and he crushed his lips to hers. She clutched onto his shirt, the heat of his kiss melting her body into his. His hand on her neck kept her lips fused to his as their tongues dueled fiercely, their heated breaths mixing and becoming one. They were both moaning and grinding their bodies into each other, desire erasing reasoned thoughts.

He dropped his hands to her waist and lifted her up, urging her to wrap her legs around him as he started walking toward the dock. Reaching its edge, he placed her down and moved his hands to the waist of her jeans and began working the button. Her hands flew to his and began frantically mimicking his actions. Their breaths came out in pants of desperation as they each yanked off their pants, kicking their shoes off so they could remove them completely. Not a single word was said, but one look between them spoke volumes.

As soon as Hope’s pants were free, he hoisted her back onto the dock and, moving between her legs, lined his hard cock up to her core, pushing into her in one hard thrust. Her hips surged forward into his, burying his cock completely in her heat. A deep groan rumbled from Gage as his balls bottomed out against her ass as he pushed deeper.

She mewled her pleasure, grabbing onto his ass, urging him to rock back and forth against her. This felt more desperate than the other times they’d had sex. It was like a reminder to them both that this was supposed to be a weekend of fooling around and not one where they started to fall for one another.

“Yes! Like that, Gage.” She pushed into him forcefully. “Harder! Let me feelyou!”

He plunged his throbbing cock as hard and deep as he could, slamming into her body with force, and she could feel him tense as his own body starting to climb toward release. Hope’s body began to tighten around him, and her eyes fluttered shut as her climax claimedher.

“I’m going to come, Hope,” he grunted out between thrusts.

“Yes! Yes! Come! I’m coming, too!” And then they both exploded, clutching each other tightly as her body convulsed again and again around his cock as he released inside of her, his hot seed seeping around them as the sun sank in the horizon.

---