Getting Lucky (19 page)

“Say what words?”

“I’m here for you, I love you, you’re amazing, I’m happy you’re happy,” Hope said. She flashed back to that morning with TJ’s dad when the men had embraced and he’d told his dad he was the best man TJ knew. That had obviously been an unusual thing for both of them.

“I, um…” Delaney pondered that. “I don’t know if anyone specifically says that to TJ. But he knows it.”

“And does anyone go out of their way to want him around when things are good?” she went on. “Or does everyone play into his belief that the only time he can show
his
love is when someone is in trouble?”

Delaney’s eyes widened. Hope didn’t worry about it. They were all supposed to think that she was strange. If ranting about how they should be treating TJ was strange, then it would go right along with the plan.

“I should warn you,” Delaney said. “TJ doesn’t do drama.”

Hope studied Delaney’s eyes. “What do you mean?”

“Well, that’s not exactly true,” Delaney hedged. “He does. With his family. Like with me and the boys—there’s been some drama. A trip to the ER, for instance. And he’s there for anything we need. There’s drama with Dan and Jo and Peyton,” she went on. “And with his brothers and friends and…”

“Michelle,” Hope filled in when Delaney hesitated.

Delaney nodded.

Hope couldn’t get off the thought of Dan and Jo and Peyton, though. Clearly, TJ was closer to them and more involved with them than she’d initially assumed.

“So now with women, he avoids it at all costs,” Delaney said. “The minute one of them has a fight with her best friend or her dog gets sick, he’s out of there.”

Yeah, that didn’t surprise her. He’d warned her about the monkeys. “Seems like he overreacts.”

Delaney laughed. “I agree. And I’m sure the women agree.”

Hope was still thinking about all of that when they heard the front screen door open and Tucker and TJ’s voices.

Delaney reached out and grabbed Hope’s hand, lowering her voice. “With your mom just passing away and everything, don’t be too hurt if TJ pulls back. He’s trying to protect himself. I know it isn’t really fair, but if you need someone to talk to, you can come to me. I don’t want you to get hurt trying to lean on him.”

Hope squeezed Delaney’s hand. That was really sweet of her, and Hope would love to talk with Delaney more about both of their losses. But not because she
couldn’t
lean on TJ.

Because she
wouldn’t
.

She wasn’t much of a leaner in the first place, and she understood that was the last thing TJ needed.

She had a better plan for him than dumping family drama on him. She didn’t know anything about family drama anyway. Melody had been her only family, and she had been the complete opposite of needy and melodramatic. Eccentric and different, definitely, but not dramatic.

Hope had set out in her mother’s car with her mother’s camper, determined to get in touch with things that had made Melody who she was. Having a magical summer fling in Sapphire Falls seemed the perfect way to connect to her mother, and now she knew it would give TJ something he needed too—some no-strings-attached fun with a woman who would appreciate him, who would care for him, make him laugh, and give him some memories that would last a lifetime.

Tucker and TJ stepped into the kitchen and Delaney rose.

“So the bakery tomorrow morning for tea,” she said to Hope as if they’d simply been making plans for the next day.

“Can’t wait.” Hope remembered the oil and pulled the jar from her pocket. “This is for you.” She handed it to Delaney. “Rub just a dab into each of your temples and at the base of your head tonight before you go to sleep. It should help you fall asleep easier and stay asleep and will bring sweet dreams.”

Tucker and Delaney left and TJ stood looking at her from the doorway.

“Sweet dreams? Oil can do that?”

Hope shrugged and gave him a smile. “If she anticipates good dreams, the chances of having them are better.”

“So the oil really has nothing to do with it.”

Hope stood. “It won’t hurt. And it
will
help her fall asleep faster.” She moved and pointed to the chair. “I have some for you too.”

“Some sweet dreams?”

She tipped her head. “I can work on that too.”

He looked at the chair. “What did you have in mind?”

They were alone in the house. They had the whole place to themselves. And she had decided to have a fling with him. The things she had in mind would probably shock him. Instead of giving him that list, however, she said, “Sit. I’m going to work on your shoulder.”

She pulled another jar from her other pocket. He eyed it suspiciously but took a seat.

“Need your shirt off.” She opened the jar and set it on the table.

She’d given Delaney a mixture of peppermint, lavender and sweet almond oil for her stress and tension, but for TJ she’d used some of her favorite whipped coconut oil and added marjoram for his muscle pain. The whipped oil was more like a lotion and her fingers tingled with the thought of rubbing over those firm muscles again. Yes, she’d massaged his shoulder earlier to help give him some pain relief, but touching him was definitely something she didn’t mind repeating.

TJ kept his eyes on hers as he lifted his shirt, breaking eye contact only when he tugged it over his head.

“Here.” She stepped forward and unhooked the strap on his shoulder sling. “You don’t need this anymore.”

He didn’t say anything, but she felt the need to explain anyway. “You’re well past the time needed for tissue healing. The longer you keep it immobile due to pain, the stiffer it’s going to get.” She slid the brace off his arm and tossed it onto the table.

TJ finished taking his shirt off, and Hope felt her heart rate pick up. He was gorgeous. His skin was golden from the sun, smooth but for the scars and the soft fan of hair over his pecs and stomach. He also seemed to put off an incredible amount of heat. Or maybe that was her. Either way, standing close to his bare skin made the temperature of the air around them climb.

She dipped two fingers in the cream and rubbed it between her hands, warming it and lubricating her palms and fingers. She moved behind him into the best position for acupressure on some key points and put her hands on him. Not able to see his face, she couldn’t read his reaction other than to note that his body tensed when she touched him. She hoped it was good tension.

Hope stroked her hands over both of his shoulders and up and down his neck several times, gradually increasing her pressure. Slowly, she moved until both hands were on his sore shoulder. She stroked over the firm muscles, closing her eyes and feeling the tissues underneath.

Yeah, he generated a lot of heat.

She worked over the entire surface of his shoulder blade and down into his deltoid before returning to the top of his shoulder, where most of the tightness was, and settling on a couple of acupressure sites she knew would release some tension.

His head dropped forward and she heard a low groan. Hope fought to keep her hands on his skin. Sure, in her mind she’d decided that a fun summer fling could be what they both needed—a lot. But touching him, feeling his body heat soak into her hands, feeling his torso move as air flowed in and out of his lungs, feeling his muscles softening under her touch and then feeling and hearing that sound of pleasure from him, was overwhelming her.

She wanted to absorb him, wrap herself around him, press against every inch of him. She felt a hunger building unlike anything she’d ever felt before. And that made her want to pull her hands back and turn and run.

There had been something about TJ Bennett from the very first moment that had affected her. A pull, a draw, a sense that he had something she needed—and vice versa. Even growing up with Melody Daniels, where weird and wacky were everyday occurrences, hadn’t prepared Hope for meeting TJ and wanting
something
from him—something that went beyond sex and physical desire or simple like and attraction. It was something much more, something that she knew she’d never had, never even knew she wanted to have.

Rubbing his shoulder at the pond had been different than this. Maybe because while it had made his shoulder feel better, he’d really just been tolerating that. This was…giving him pleasure. And that pulled at something deep inside her. She wanted to do a lot more of it.

Then it occurred to her—the reason this was different for both of them… “It was the kiss!”

TJ’s head came up and he looked over his shoulder at her. “What?”

She’d said it out loud unintentionally, but that didn’t make it any less true. “At the pond we hadn’t kissed yet.”

Heat flared in his eyes. “I’m aware.”

She couldn’t smile in the face of that heat. She could barely breathe. “That’s why touching you then was different. Now, I touch you and all of that heat and awareness and desire shoot through me and—”

“Hope.” He held her gaze.

“Yes?” The breathlessness was very unlike her.

“Come here.”

She somehow understood what he meant. She stepped around in front of him. He put his hands on her hips, moving her between his knees as he spread them. “You said you’d let me take charge.”

She nodded.

“Seducing me isn’t letting me take charge.”

She gave him a half smile. “Am I seducing you?”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Aren’t you?”

Hope licked her lip and was thrilled to see his gaze follow the motion closely. “I think it could be fun.”

“I told you I don’t want any drama.”

“It wouldn’t be dramatic,” she said. “I promise. Just good, hot sex. Lots of it. But no costumes or toys or…whatever you’re worried about.”

He sighed, his expression pained. “That’s not exactly what I’m worried about.”

She tipped her head. “I’m guessing that you’ve had a lot of angry sex.”

He straightened on the chair and his fingers curled into her where he still held her hips. “Excuse me?”

“With Michelle. The sex was often after she’d gotten into trouble and she was either making it up to you or you were fighting and she used it to keep you from leaving.”

His jaw tightened. “You and Delaney got a lot of talking in.”

Hope hated the tension that was now emanating from him. Acting purely on instinct, she climbed onto his lap, straddling his thighs. She took his face in her hands.

“That’s not how sex has to be, TJ. It can be passionate, but it can be fun. It can be goofy and silly. It can be adventurous. But no matter what, it should make you feel good. It should make you happy. It should be about liking the other person and wanting to pleasure them, not about manipulating their emotions or paying some emotional debt or patching something that’s dysfunctional and painful.”

He sat staring at her. He still dug his fingers into her hips and was frowning, but she saw something else in his eyes—bewilderment. That was the best word for it. He was looking at her as if he didn’t know what to do with her. But also as if he
wanted
to do something.

“It’s not the
sex
that I’m worried will be dramatic, Sunshine.”

Sunshine. Hmm, she kind of liked that.

“
Nothing
will be dramatic,” she insisted.

He lifted one eyebrow. “Honey, you’re dripping in drama.”

Well, she clearly wasn’t dripping in pheromones. She was on the guy’s lap talking about sex and he was still holding back.

“I’m not,” she told him. “I’m one of the most straightforward people you’ll meet.”

“The whole reason you’re here is all about drama and emotions.”

“I changed my mind.” She ran her hand back and forth over his jaw. His evening scruff abraded her palm, sending tingles to other parts of her that wanted to rub against other parts of him.

“You changed your mind about what?”

“Why I’m here.”

“Nope.” He pulled away from her hands as he pushed her back on his thighs. “No way.”

To avoid getting dumped on her butt on the floor, Hope scrambled to get her feet down and stand. She propped her hands on her hips. “What?”

“I’m not doing this.” TJ got to his feet, towering over her. “You’re beautiful and sweet and you smell amazing and the way you helped Delaney and Tucker made me want you even more and I can’t stop looking at your earrings, but
I’m not doing this
. You need to focus on why you’re here.”

She blinked a few times. He thought she was beautiful and sweet and smelled good. That was all positive. She wasn’t sure what to make of the earring comment, but she couldn’t help her smile. “I’m focused. In fact, I’m
more
focused now.”

“On me.” He didn’t look pleased.

“Yes. On you.”

He sighed. “Stop it. You want to meet your dad.”

“Yes. I’ll meet Dan. I’ll talk to him, get to know him a little bit. But I don’t need him to know who I am or what I want. No drama, TJ. Nobody gets stirred up. Nothing has to change. Dan and I will have a cup of coffee and everything will be fine.”

“All so you can have sex with me?”

She thought about that. Then gave him a big smile. “Yes.”