Page 33 of Chasing Hope

Almost on the verge of falling asleep, Hope jolted awake as her mobile phone buzzed with a mail notification. Hope dragged her eyes open. On reading the name of the sender, a warm feeling diffused in her chest. A smile touched her mouth as her eyes flitted over the screen.

MM - SOS. I really screwed up. How can I make it up to a woman who means the world to me? I’m asking ‘cause you're a woman, of course, and you would have better insight on what can work to get me back in her good graces.

Hope’s heart gave a funny twirl. Naturally, Ethan was discussing making up to his grandma. Sure, Ethan had treated them to a fabulous lunch that day. Despite that, by the end of it Martha seemed a little forlorn.

Hope - You two-timing me MM? When I mentioned we could have a threesome I was clearly joking.Hope released a short laugh. Their emails had grown frequent over the last week and they had moved beyond the boundaries of work.

MM - Dammit! So that offer wasn’t for real? I had a great thing planned for the three of us by the docks at our secret place :(

Hope grinned; he was playing along. Pleased that she was able to divert his mind, Hope typed out a quick reply. He was far too serious all the bloody time. When he joked and flirted with her, he altogether seemed like a different person.

All things considered, Hope was a fan. Even though she couldn’t express it to Ethan, she was blown away by his efforts as a hero. Furthermore, she never expected that Ethan would bend his duteous principles. His power and aura, both dangerous and transfixing. She was knee-deep in a superhero fixation.

Hope - You know what? I’ve anyways surpassed the norms of common sense and involved myself with a ghost. While I’m at it, I may as well go all out and do something crazy that I’ve never done before. MM I’m soo in, let me know when, I already know where. I plan to wear this sheer black lingerie that I picked up especially for our first time. Tough luck you can’t see it in the dark.

God, this was so much fun! A huge grin remained fixed on her face.

Surprise. Surprise.

Ethan was the reason for her great mood. Truth be told, messing with him before had never been this much fun. The whole situation reminded her that people could carry off a lie with such ease and flair. Not that she was proud of her deception. But he, too, was playing by an act. A strange twinge of hurt crept up on her. After all, they had shared; did he not trust her enough to disclose his secret to her? And why would he? It wasn’t like they were chummy pals. Speaking about chummy pals, Hope could bet her left kidney that Aarav was in on Ethan’s secret. The man had to confide in someone, right?

MM - What you wearing now?

Stunned, Hope’s eyes flew wide. This conversation somersaulted in no time. A kooky idea plundered her mind. Goosebumps crystallised over her warm skin. Daring herself to follow through, she took a deep breath.

Tugging off her headband she glided her fingers through her short hair, messing it up for a sexy look. She rose out of the bubbles, making sure to give him a hint of the swell of her breasts. Water droplets covered her flushed skin like soft kisses. A spark of boldness scurried up her spine. Glorifying the photo with a seductive pout, she snapped a selfie. Her heart drummed in her chest as she hit send.

Silence enveloped her. She waited with bated breath. She had swung too far in the opposite direction. Instead of hating to see him, she now longed to see him. She clamped her thighs together at her reminiscences of the way his strong body pressed hers into breathless submission. And how his mouth moved over hers like they were the best possible fit.

They were anything but that.

This was wrong, so so wrong.

But to Hope, nothing had ever felt this right. A sigh tore from her chest. Great. Now she was thinking in riddles.

Breaking the silence, the soundtrack ofGame of Thronesresounded in the bathroom. Startled, Hope yelped and half-jumped out of the tub. In her haste to answer the call, her hands fumbled. The phone fell from her hand and deep dived into the water.

‘Fuck,’ Hope screeched and dunked in to retrieve her phone. She bounced back up, spurting out bubbles from her mouth like a cartoon character. ‘Dammit.’ Her slippery fingers skidded over the screen. She’d paid through her nose for the phone. It had better work.

‘Ethan.’

‘Hope.’

They spoke at the same time. Both sounded breathless like they had just trekked the Himalayas. Hope clutched the phone tightly. Compared to the coquette she played minutes ago, she was now a frothing disaster. She shoved the hair away from her eyes, blew out a rattled breath and waited for Ethan to speak up.

Ethan cleared his throat. His voice sounded forcibly formal. ‘What you doing?’ He mumbled a curse, regretting his opening line. Hope cupped her mouth to squelch her laugh. The scoundrel knew exactly what she was doing.

‘I’m working on my report submissions for tomorrow.’ Ethan scoffed. Hope’s cheek hurt with the extent of her grinning. ‘And while I’m at it, your thoughts were the only thing keeping me company.’ She lowered her voice seductively.

The silence on the other end stretched long. Hope only half-wished he’d cave in. She enjoyed this playful exchange. Truth be told, never in her wildest dreams did she imagine she would get off on her vibrator thinking about Ethan fucking her mindless. Because that's how she expected sex would be with Ethan. Wild and exhilarating. Breathing laboriously, Hope jammed her eyes closed and dropped her head on the bathtub pillow.

‘Hope…’ Ethan’s husky voice rippled over her flesh, causing her lady parts to tingle. Aroused, she sank into the moment. These feelings were exotic, imposing… and stupid. Hope's eyes sprang open and her heart boomed like a thunderclap exploding in the night sky. Unintentionally her hands had pussyfooted dangerously close to pleasing herself.

Pussyfooted? Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

Hope shook her head hard enough to put herself in a coma. This whole drama would soon punch her in the face. Ethan did a lot more throat clearing. ‘I’m sorry to disturb you while you're’ – he gave an awkward pause – ‘working, but I need to ask a huge favour from you.’

Hope pressed her hand to her heart. ‘Yeah, shoot.’ She winced as she sounded short-winded.

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