Gaining Hope (4 page)

Tommy and Shawn sat at the galley table drinking coffee. They had just left Hope sleeping in the bed. Though they had both desired to stay with her, to hold and watch over her, they both knew that they had to talk before things went much further. One moment of passion and it was inconceivable to contemplate not having her with them every day from then on. She completed the relationship they shared with one another. She seemed to accept them both and revel in the physical aspect as much as they did.

“Your wife?” It was Tommy who finally spoke. “Jesus Christ, man. Could you have thought of anything other than that? And how the hell did we marry her last week under the stars in Ireland?” He shook his head in disbelief.

“It just popped out of my mouth. I didn’t plan to say it. But you didn’t see her arguing with me now did you? She was just as enthralled by the idea as we both were.” Shawn glanced at Tommy and dared him to deny it. “She wants us just as much as we want her. And damn it, I will protect her from whatever comes this way.”

“You know that I will too,” Tommy admitted. “I could very easily fall in love with her. But I think that we really need to talk to her when she wakes up. We have to find out exactly what we are up against. We have to know what she believes that she needs saving from.”

“I agree,” Shawn replied glancing into his coffee cup at the lukewarm remains inside. “But just so you know. If she needs it, I will protect her in every way I can.”

Tommy caught Shawn’s eyes and nodded. “Agreed. We’ll protect her no matter what she’s hiding from.”

Shawn stood from the table and took his cup to the sink to rinse it. “I’ll start dinner while you go up top and check the radar. Maybe we should head a little further out to sea.”

“I’ve got us pretty far out and the anchor is dropped. We’ll be fine. I’ll check again to be sure that nothing else has drifted our way.”

“Good. I’m sure that she’ll be hungry when she wakes up.” Shawn opened the cabinet and began to rummage through their freshly stocked supplies.

“And then we talk?” Tommy inquired.

“And then we talk.” Shawn agreed.

Hope awoke to the tempting smell of syrup and bacon. She lifted her eyes and saw that Shawn was standing just inside the doorway with a tray laden with food. She could see the stack of pancakes and the bacon on a saucer beside it. Her stomach growled as if on cue and she sat up on the bed as he began to cross the room towards her.

“I see that you’re awake. Hungry?” He asked, turning the tray so that he could place it across her legs.

“Starved,” she smiled up at him. Shawn bent down and took her lips with a soft tender kiss that somehow felt perfect…and right. “What was that for?” she asked him.

“Does there have to be a reason?” He lifted his hand and stroked his fingers through her hair gently while she tried to focus on her food. “How are you feeling now that you’ve rested?”

“Fine,” she replied. “Even better when I fill up on this wonderful smelling food.”

She was a little self conscious at first, with Shawn watching avidly while she tried to take dainty bites. But after the first few minutes hunger took over and she just enjoyed the feast. Crisp bacon, perfectly shaped pancakes with just the right amount of syrup and fluffy scrambled eggs all brought to light just how long it had been since she had eaten. When the last bite disappeared she leant back and gave a sigh. A deep chuckle brought her eyes back up and a blush stained her cheeks.

“There’s more if you’re still hungry,” Shawn told her with a big grin.

“I’m sorry,” Hope said as the embarrassment overtook her. “I don’t usually eat like that.”

“I love it. Nothing more arousing than a woman with a healthy appetite.” His grin deepened along with the colour of her blush. “Makes a man wonder what else might make her that hungry.”

Hope’s gaze dropped down to his jean clad crotch and there was no disguising the bulge there. Her eyes flew back up to his and she could see the desire smouldering there. He wanted her again. And she wanted him just as much. He eased the tray off her lap and placed it over on the floor an arm’s length from the bed.

“I want you again Hope. I want to feel you wrapped around my cock squeezing me, taking me deep and hard. I want to feel your pussy, your mouth, your ass. I want to know you in every way imaginable.” The truth of his words was right there in his eyes. He meant what he was saying and that fact both awed and enticed her.

“Are you telling me that as your wife we’ve never done all of that?” She meant the question to be coy, to continue with the game that they had both started earlier. But he shook his head and placed a finger on her lips to stop her.

“No more lies. No more pretending.” He tipped her head up so that she was caught by his gaze and he refused to release her. “We both know that we’ve never met before. We both know that there was no marriage in Ireland. As much as I wish that it was true, that you were mine in every way imaginable, you’re not.”

He caressed her face with his fingertips, tracing the hollows of her cheeks, the curve of her jaw, skimming over her lips. She closed her eyes and let herself enjoy the feel of his fingers, the light touch on her skin. “I wish that as well. I wish it more than you could ever know.”

“Why did you hide out here Hope? What are you running from?” Shawn spoke softly to her, as if afraid that his questions might send her running again. This time from him.

“Yes, I’d like to know the answers to those questions as well,” Tommy spoke as he entered the room and moved to join them on the bed. He approached the other side and lounged beside Hope, pulling her easily into the curve of his arm as if he had been doing it for years. “Who are you running from?”

“It’s a long story,” Hope began but stopped when both men just shook their heads at her.

“We’ve got all the time in the world.” Tommy assured her, leaning in to place a kiss on her temple.

Shawn remained sitting beside her on the bed but he took one of her hands in both of his and held it tight, willing his strength into her. “Tell us what you can.”

“I was engaged to be married,” Hope began and both men snarled at the first sentence. Hope smiled and shook her head. “Not by choice but to a friend of my father’s.”

“How old is this fiancée?” Shawn demanded.

“Late fifties,” she answered and stopped as both men cried out in outrage.

“What the hell was your dad thinking of letting you marry a guy that old?” Tommy hollered.

“No fucking way,” was all that Shawn muttered, his face suddenly hard with anger.

“I’m not sure of all of the details but my older sister Faith was supposed to marry him. She fell in love with someone else and escaped the day before the wedding. With her gone, it fell to me to marry him on my twenty-first birthday.” She looked up at them and shook her head vigorously. “But there was no way that I could go through with it.” Hope shuddered and Tommy pulled her tighter against him. “So the first chance I got, I ran. I thought that if I could make it to a boat then I could hide away until it was far enough out at sea that they couldn’t possibly turn back.”

“And what did you think would happen then?” Shawn was really angry now. “What if you found yourself on a boat with someone who decided to rape you? Or even worse, kill you and dump your body at sea? What the hell were you thinking Hope?”

“I spent the entire day here checking out the boats. I watched and I watched. I saw the little old lady on this boat and I thought that she looked sympathetic. So I decided to hide out here. I had no idea that this boat belonged to you two.” Hope glanced back and forth between them.

“Exactly my point. You had no idea what you were getting into. We could have been deranged perverts or serial killers or something.” Shawn was definitely not calming down which only served to piss Hope off.

“I see your point. I could have found myself trapped with two sexual deviants who might try to convince me that they were married to me,” she glared heatedly at Shawn. “All under the guise of stripping me naked and fucking me senseless. Glad that I didn’t find myself in that situation.” Shawn glared right back at her until they were both startled by Tommy’s robust laughter.

“Damn, I’ve never seen anyone get under Shawn’s skin like that. You two were made for each other. Something definitely brought you together.” Tommy smiled at them both.

“Us together,” Shawn relented enough to say. “The three of us.” He looked at Hope as if seeking her agreement that it was a threesome.

She glanced between the two men that she was coming to know so intimately and found that she couldn’t deny the truth. Something truly had pulled her towards this boat and these two men. “Yes, the three of us. It was as if something kept telling me to come to this boat, that I would find what I was searching for here.”

“And what was that?” Tommy asked softly. “What were you searching for?”

The first words that came out of her mouth were, “A way out. A new beginning. A chance to find love and not be stuck in a marriage that I never wanted.”

“I think I know what brought you here.” Tommy jumped up from the bed and bounded out the door. He was back in a flash with a bottle, a piece of old paper and a gorgeous necklace draped over his fingers. “Read this,” he urged as he handed her the paper.

“Oh, hell,” Shawn muttered but didn’t try to take the paper from her.

It was a beautiful poem about true love and the hand of fate. It tugged at her heartstrings and made her believe for the moment that anything was possible.

“It’s beautiful,” she said. “Where did you get it?”

“We found it,” Tommy told her holding up the bottle. “Both the note and the necklace were in this bottle floating in the water.”

“Why would someone do that?” Hope wondered out loud.

“You read the note.” Shawn stated. “It is found by those who have found true love, or are close to finding it.” His gaze caught hers and she found herself afraid of what the future might hold, of what he might be implying.

She glanced down at the note in her hand. “It says, ‘so take this token and wear it true, destiny awaits with love for you.’ So doesn’t that mean that you have to wear it?”

Shawn laughed and Tommy shook his head before speaking. “Yeah, Shawn. I think that it is just your colour and size. It will look great on you.”

Shawn smiled and reached for the gorgeous necklace. He was still amazed that the silver had no tarnish on it. Perhaps someone else had discovered the bottle just before them and cleaned it up. Or perhaps the blessing bestowed on it kept it from tarnishing, much like true love. Either way it was one of the most exquisite pieces that he had ever seen. And it wasn’t just the Irishman in him that appreciated the touch of home in the Connemara Marble. It was easy to see that it had been crafted with love in mind and he wondered if the original owner had made it himself. Maybe someday they could research and find out where the piece originated from. He would have to be sure to photograph both the necklace and the note later. For the moment he knew exactly what he wanted to do.

Reaching forward he slid the necklace around Hope’s neck and with Tommy’s help fastened it so that it hung between her breasts. It looked perfect nestled there. Like it was meant to rest there for a moment.

“Wow,” Hope glanced down at the jewellery. “It is beautiful.” She reached her hand up and touched it reverently. “And warm. I didn’t think that it would be this warm.”

Both men reached out to touch the stone that had indeed warmed in the brief time that it had been placed on Hope. It was like it was showing that it was happy, that they had done well.

“It was meant to grace you,” Tommy whispered and leant close to place a soft slow kiss on her lips.

“For us,” she whispered, the uncertainty in her voice making it a question instead of a statement.

“Definitely for us,” Shawn answered and leaning in, took her mouth not with softness but with hunger and ferocity. As if he needed to taste her, to consume her. His much larger frame dwarfed her and soon she was on her back on the bed. Tommy must have moved the pillows to help Shawn. “I know that we’ve only just met. I know that this will sound crazy, but I really believe that everything happens for a reason. And I believe that the bottle and you, and the two of us all meeting up at the same time is no coincidence. I believe that there is something bigger at work here than just us. Call it God, fate, destiny, whatever you need to. But, Hope, I feel like I’ve been waiting for you to come into my life.” He glanced over at Tommy and added, “Our lives.”

“I sat on the beach, half hidden behind the storage shed and looked at every boat in the harbour. I sat and I watched. But for some reason my attention was always drawn back to this one. Even when I thought it belonged to someone else I couldn’t take my eyes off it. It was as if something was telling me that this was where I was meant to find the help I needed.” She reached one hand up to cup Shawn’s face and used the other to reach out for Tommy’s hand and lace their fingers together. “So, yes, I believe the same thing. I’ve never felt this comfortable this quickly with anyone. Yet with you and Tommy, I feel like I’ve come home.”

“Home,” Tommy repeated and his eyes glowed like warm pools of gold.

“No matter what comes this way,” Shawn reclaimed her attention with his urgent tone of voice. “I want you to know that I…”