Page 9 of Losing Hope

“I was born and raised in Pennsylvania. Joined the Marines right out of high school and did two tours. I moved around a lot when I gotout.”

“You were a Marine?” she asked in shock.

“I am a Marine.” He raised his glass to her in salute. “Once a Marine, always a Marine.”

“Wow. I’m impressed. I think I may know only one other person that’s served in the military. God, that makes me sound like a snob, doesn’t it?” Her cheeks flushed pink in embarrassment.

He laughed. “No, not really. I mean, I guess it depends on how and where you grew up. I live in the Village now, in Greenwich. I like the vibe in the city, and it’s a great place for mywork.”

Hope uncurled her legs, stretching them out across the couch, almost touching his legs. He put his wine glass down on the table and absently picked up one of her feet and starting massagingit.

Her head rolled back against the couch as a loud groan escaped her lips. “Oh my God, do you know how good that feels?”

He chuckled and continued rubbing the bottom of her foot, doing magical things with his fingers. “I think I’ve got anidea.”

“Anyway, I grew up in a small mill town, and unless you wanted to end up working at the mill, or were lucky enough to be able to get out of town to go to college, you signed up for the military. I always thought I was a tough guy, so, of course, I had to pick the Marines.” He placed her foot down gently, picked up the other one, and started rubbing thatone.

“Thought you were a tough guy?” she questioned between low moans of pleasure.

“Spend a few years in combat…” He was quiet for a minute, reflecting. “You find out pretty quickly that, no matter how tough you are, shitty things happen. I saw most of it from behind a lens but plenty through a scope, as well, and more than a few of my friendsdied.”

She pulled her foot out of his hand and, leaning forward, placed her hands over his, looking him in the eyes. “I’m sorry, truly. I can’t even imagine.”

They stared quietlyat each other for a minute. Hope ran her eyes over his features, taking him in now that he was completely dry and she was feeling a little bolder from thewine.

His hair, a medium chocolate color now that it was dry, was long, at just above his shoulders, and a bit shaggy, but it had some curl to it. He kept it brushed back away from his face, which was more rugged in nature due to the few days of scruff he sported. It caused the green of his eyes to stand out in contrast to the rest of his face. His top lip was more defined and fuller than his bottom lip, but they fit his face perfectly. He took a sip from his glass, and his tongue darted out to lick some wine off his bottom lip. She wondered if his lips were as soft as they looked. He looked up at her then and noticed she was watching him, and his mouth cocked slightly to the right in agrin.

Gage leaned forward and, pulling his hand from hers, brushed hair that had fallen forward over her face back behind her shoulders. He cupped the side of her face, swiping his thumb down her cheek and over her lips. She relished the tender feel of his hands cupping her jaw and leaned into his touch. Opening her mouth slightly, she traced his thumb with her tongue, closing her eyes at the salty taste. He moved his hand to grasp her lightly behind the head, pulling her in and sweeping his lips across hers, barely grazingthem.

Hope moved closer to him and pressed her lips more firmly against his, telling him with her lips that she wanted more. He took his other hand and, reaching around her waist, pulled her even closer, never breaking contact with her mouth. She moaned in acceptance and pleasure.

She wrapped one hand around the back of his neck, running her fingers through his hair, holding it tightly, while the other grabbed the front of his t-shirt, bunching it in her fist. His tongue pushed against the seam of her lips, and she parted them for him, their kiss intensifying. Gage pulled her closer still, so she threw her leg over him as she slid against him, and his hand lowered down her back and pushed her core againsthis.

Hope moaned, low and guttural, as she felt his erection press against her, and instead of pulling away, rocked her hips into him. Just his kisses were making her feel more than any man had in the last five years.

Gage groaned at her rocking motions, his lips leaving hers and roving down her neck, hot and wet. Licking and then biting and sucking. She let her head fall back as she felt every nerve ending come alive, her nipples hardening, her core throbbing and wet. She had both hands wrapped around his broad back and started to pull up on the back of his t-shirt to get itoff.

“Off,” Hope mumbled. “I want to feel yourskin.”

He let go of her long enough to pull it over his head, throwing it on the floor next to the couch. Her hands were immediately gliding over his bare back, feeling the smoothness of Gage’s skin but also the strength in the muscles covering him. His lips found their way back to her neck, kissing her lower, unbuttoning her shirt, and then moving lower still until she felt him suck her taut nipple into his mouth. Hope moaned at the intense pleasure, as he licked and then bit lightly, suckling the rigid peak, causing her to jerk against his hardened length. He groaned in approval and shifted his body so Hope was positioned perfectly against his ragingcock.

“Do you want me to stop?” he asked, breathing heavily. He looked up at her, his face as flushed as hers surelywas.

“Don’t you dare,” was all she replied before slamming her mouth back to his, running her hands over his toned arms and then skimming her fingers through the light hair spattering his chest. This time, she moved her lips down his neck, slowly nipping and sucking as she trailed her tongue down his stomach. Once she reached the band of his sweatpants, she slipped off his lap and knelt on her knees in front of him. She pulled at the string holding up his sweatpants and started to push them down over his hips. He lifted his hips, allowing her to strip him naked.

She leaned back and looked at him, admiring every physical detail. Hope could see that the tattoo over his heart said Faith in beautiful cursive. A girl or a reminder to himself? When she brought her hand up and began tracing her fingertips over the tattooed script, Gage’s entire body tensed up and he frowned. He took her hand lightly then and brought it to his mouth where he kissed each of her fingers, sucking the tips slowly into his mouth. She felt her body quiver as he traced his way across her palm, over her wrist, and down her arm, pulling her to him as he did. When she was close enough, Hope braced her hands on his strong shoulders as he unbuttoned the rest of her shirt and pushed it back to slide down herarms.

Gage pulled her up onto her knees and then pushed her yoga pants down over her hips. She reached for them then and pushed the pants the rest of the way down her legs as he threaded his hand through her long, golden hair and around the back of her head, pulling her mouth to his again.

Hope climbed back on him, their kiss becoming more heated. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her flat stomach to his solid one and slid her wet core up against his cock, rocking back and forth. He groaned into her mouth, grabbed one of her pert breasts with one hand, a handful of her hair with the other, and pulled her head back before biting her neck, kissing her roughly.

He kissed his way up to her ear and whispered one last warning, “Are you sure aboutthis?”

She thrust her hips and met his hardened length with her wet and heated entrance, sliding slowly up and down. She let out a pleasure-filled moan as her head fell back in desire. “Does it feel like I’msure?”

“Holy shit, woman. You’re going to kill me,” he drawled as he pulled her head up so that he could look her in theeye.

“No, not kill you, just fuck you.” She kissed him hard and, moving her hips, slid his hard cock up and into her slick core. She gasped as her body adjusted to his size, her walls clenching around him and then relaxing as she pushed down and seated herself fully on him. No more words were needed. Their bodies did the talking as they held on to each other and felt every push, pull, and slide until they both came undone. When they were finished, Hope found herself wrapped in Gage’s arms on the couch. She pulled a blanket over them, and they held each other as they both fell into a contented sleep.

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