Page 66 of Rocky Mountain Desire
Hope snuggled in tight. “I feel guilty. Or I would if I had the energy to feel anything right now.”
“Really?” Matt helped wet her hair, stroking his fingers over her scalp and working the shampoo into a lather. “Why guilt?”
Hope leaned her hip against his groin in answer. His cock was back up to full strength. “I thought we’d do something about that for you.”
He lifted her chin and unleashed his sexy smile on her. “Oh, you’ll be doing something about it soon enough. But if you want me to call the shots, I ain’t gonna always do what you expect.”
That was for sure. “I like that idea.”
His gaze dropped to her lips, his thumb rising to rub along her bottom lip. “I’m glad to hear it.”
He pressed his thumb between her lips, and Hope sucked, closing her mouth around the digit. She shivered as his eyes darkened, his body tightened.
It was hard to remember she’d started out early this morning dealing with her sister, and now? If the expression on Matt’s face was any indication, she wasn’t going to get much sleep for a while.
The day had definitely gotten better as it went along.
Chapter Nineteen
“Shove over,” Jaxi ordered, nudging past her cousins and Beth to plop down at Hope’s side. She leaned in close and lowered her volume, making it impossible for anyone else in the music-filled pool hall to overhear their discussion. “It took forever for the babies to settle. Now spill. What’s the latest?”
Hope double-checked no one was listening. Tamara and Karen, the oldest two of the Whiskey Creek Colemans, were deep in conversation with Beth. All the Coleman males in attendance for the semiregular Friday night clan get-together, a scattering of the older cousins and their friends, were gathered around the pool tables at the back of Traders Pub. The urge to tease Jaxi was too strong to resist. Hope played with the tab on her can of Coke and shrugged innocently. “There’s a great new valentine’s fabric in the shop I bet you could use as curtains for the girls’ room.”
Jaxi pulled a face and poked Hope in the arm. “That’s not what I’m talking about, and you know it.”
A second’s pause ensued as Hope considered what she wanted to talk about and what was easier to start ignoring. Just because Jaxi would keep things quiet didn’t mean every dirty detail had to be shared.
And there was no way she was making public any parts of the conversation she’d had with Matt regarding their sex lives, even though a week later that was probably the first thing that still popped to mind, crowding out the frustrations of dealing with her sister.
Hmm, positive thinking was working.
She hid her smile and answered. “If you’re wondering about Helen, I haven’t talked to her since last Thursday. I heard through the grapevine she’s sharing an apartment with an old friend.”
“She hasn’t called yet?”
“No. Although, she did stop in at the bank and ask a few questions. The manager contacted me to let me know that everything is still confidential—Helen’s name wasn’t on any of the access forms, and he simply turned her away.”
Jaxi whistled low. “Bet that pissed her off.”
Hope didn’t give a damn. “I mean it, Jaxi. She’s not getting her hands on anything I’ve worked so hard for.”
“You don’t owe her anything. Information or charity.” Jaxi leaned against her side comfortingly.
“But if she does call and try to be polite…” Hope took a swig of her Coke. There was still a ton simmering under the surface in terms of fear and anger. “I hope I’m mature enough to forgive her. It’s hard to overlook how much she’s hurt me, but she is family. She’s the only family I’ve got left.”
“Deal with that later. Wait and see what happens, okay? I hate that you’re tormenting yourself like this. Relax and try to forget her for a bit.”
Hope nodded, her gaze darting into the room and focusing on Matt. He sent the pool balls spinning before standing and laughing with his brothers. He glanced in her direction, and the way he stared made her heart leap unevenly—the slightly lopsided smile with one side of his mouth quirked up in the corner. As if he had all sorts of interesting ideas running through his brain when he looked at her.
“Relaxing, I can work on.” Hope gave Jaxi a quick squeeze before nudging her with a hip. “Let me out. I have some distracting to do.”
Jaxi moved over to the next table where more Coleman cousins sat shooting the breeze. Hope nonchalantly adjusted her T-shirt, tugging the neckline downward to strategically expose a bit more cleavage before pacing over to the pool tables.
Matt leaned over the pool table, his ass toward her as he bent forward. She was tempted to keep walking until she could slap both hands against his butt to enjoy his muscles flexing in the palms of her hands. Before she could make it all the way there, though, he’d taken his shot and turned, his grin widening as he caught a glimpse of her.
Hope let her hips swing a little extra as she approached.
“Oh, sweetheart. You keep moving like that and Matt’s gonna have a fight on his hands keeping you to himself.” Travis leaned a hip on the table, his gaze running over her body.
