Page 8 of Hope in his Darkness
Soon this will all be a memory. I will have my own apartment far, far away from my father and Oklahoma. Although thinking of leaving Oklahoma for some reason makes me even sadder. I shake those thoughts out of my head as I pull off my shoes and climb into the backseat. Reaching through to the front seat, I hit the lock button for the doors and try to snuggle in for sleep. Unfortunately, when I close my eyes, all I see is Brody’s angry eyes staring back at me. What is it about this man that I can’t seem to get away from, even in my sleep?
I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I know, I’m jumping awake to someone banging on my window. Blinking a few times to get my bearings, I look out the window to see Clay standing there looking none too pleased. I quickly scramble to unlock the doors and crawl out of the backseat to find him standing there glaring back and forth between my car and me. He’s going to fire me. I just know it; I need to beg forgiveness and pray he’ll give it. Before I can say a word, his voice booms over me, “What the hell is this?” My fight or flight instinct kicks in and I try to make a mad dash around him, but I forget I don’t have shoes on and I more or less hobble away from him.
“Hope, wait, I didn’t mean to scare you. Shit! Please come back. I’m not mad at you. Cole!” I keep moving, slowly, but I keep moving. The gravel from the parking lot digs into the bottom of my feet. When I look back, Clay is just standing there making no move to follow me. He’s not chasing me, even though it wouldn’t take much to catch me in my current shoeless state. I figure out why when I’m suddenly stopped by what feels like a Mack truck. When I look up, Cole is holding me loosely in his arms.
Chapter Five
Brody
After leaving the bar, I can feel my skin getting tighter. It is painful trying to control my beast around Hope. Her scent, her smile, her fucking body, it all makes him wild. All right, fine, it made me wild, not just my beast. I barely make it back home and out of my truck before the asshole rips through my skin. He was pissed I refused to claim Hope, well he can fuck right off. Just because fate brought her into our lives didn’t mean I would forget about Georgia.
Hours later, I finally make it back to the house dirty, sweaty, and butt-ass naked thanks to the asshole shredding my clothes when he shifted. Walking in the front door, I’m hit by Hope’s scent. Her scent shouldn’t be here though, only Georgia’s scent should be here, I must be imagining things. Shaking my head, I make my way to the kitchen to grab a beer. Something feels off, but I can’t put my finger on it as I reach for the fridge door cracking it open, the inside light coming on. A scream pierces the silence from behind me, followed by the sound of glass shattering. Whirling around I come face to face with the last person I expected to see in my home.
I stalk towards her, completely forgetting I want to stay far away from her and I’m naked. I’m briefly aware of my father and brother running down the steps into the kitchen. Hope just stands there gawking at me. Her hands firmly cover her eyes, but I can see her peeking between them and can’t help but smirk. She’s kind of adorable trying to shield her eyes while simultaneously sneaking a peek at me. Shaking that thought out of my head, I get my head back on straight.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I growl out, standing with my hands on my hips, daring her to look at me. It’s a show of dominance, is what I tell myself, but the truth is I want her to look her fill. I want her to picture me while she plays with herself later, which, based on the smell of arousal emanating from her, I would say is a definite possibility. The smell of her arousal fuels my own and my cock begins to harden. Fuck!
“You’re, you’re naked. I can see your corn and biscuits, right there on full display. Don’t you have any clothes to put on?” She continues to cover her eyes, without really covering her eyes. I blink at her like an owl as I try to decipher what the hell she actually just said.
“Did you just call my cock and balls, corn and biscuits? What are you, five? Next, you’ll be calling it a who-who, or a wingwang, maybe a dingaling.” She frowns at me as I start to laugh which only makes my dick twitch even more.
“Ohmigod, put that thing away, it's growing! Clay, you said I was safe here!” She screeches as she turns her back to me shaking. Her scent changes to fear and I regret confronting her almost instantly. I don’t want her to fear me, I just don’t want to claim her.
“Brody, go put some damn clothes on, you’re scaring the poor girl. She’s been through enough without you showing her that thing dangling between your legs. Come on, Hope I’ll show you to your room. I got the bed and everything ready for you.” I watch dumbfounded as my father leads her out of the kitchen, past my brother, who is glaring at me, and up the stairs. As soon as she’s up the stairs, I march toward my brother, poking him in the chest.
“What the hell is she doing here?” I growl at him. He pushes me back, growling in return.
“She is here because she was sleeping in her car in the parking lot so she wouldn’t have to go home.” Why the hell was she sleeping in her car? Was she homeless? Was that why she needed the job so badly? I need to know. I need to protect her. I need to take care of her. Woah, no. No, I did not need to do any of those things. She was not mine to take care of or to protect.
‘MINE’My animal growls at me. Fuck you, asshole, fate does not get to tell me whom to love. Georgia is who I love, not some nobody homeless chick who just walked into the bar. He huffs in response.
“Why the hell is she sleeping in her car?” Cole shakes his head, pursing his lips.
“Nope, you want to know what kind of hell she’s been living with, you ask her yourself.” Cole spins on his heels and takes the stairs two at a time. I stand there listening as he talks gently to Hope, jealousy surging through my body.
Suddenly, I realize what bedroom they put her in and my blood boils. Running up the stairs, I head for the room I’ve avoided since I got home. Her room, the one that her smell still lingers in, and they put Hope in there. That’s not where she belongs, that’s where Georgia belongs, that’s always been Georgia’s room. They can’t replace her; I won’t let them.
