“That means so much.” With a sappy smile, Charity picked up her purse. “Well. I should get going. I’m completely exhausted after my trip, but I had to see you or I knew I wouldn’t sleep at all tonight.”
“You have to go so soon?”
Expression softening, Charity said, “Tonight, I really am tired, and I didn’t mean to interrupt your plans with Mr. Hotness here.”
Lang laughed, taking the compliment in stride.
Full of uncertainty, Charity asked, “I hope you have time to visit more soon?”
Hope gave her a nod. “We’ll figure it out.”
“You are so amazing.” Digging in her purse, Charity located a card. “I have a new number, but give me a call, and I can be over in no time.” She hesitated, then asked, “Is your number different?”
“Oh, yeah, it is. I’ll text you so you have it, okay?”
Charity nodded. Her watery gaze shifted to Lang. “Take very good care of this one. She’s special.”
Lang drew Charity in for a hug, and Hope heard him say, “Believe me, I’m aware.”
* * *
Once Charity drove away, an uncomfortable silence settled around them. Lang kept his arm over Hope’s shoulders, so he felt how rigidly she still held herself.
He didn’t want to leave her, damn it. Not tonight. Maybe not ever. “Hope.” After turning her toward him, he lifted her chin. Her dark blue eyes were still liquid with emotion. He saw the faint tracks left on her cheeks from her tears and felt his heart wrenching. Leaning down, he kissed each cheek very gently. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Will you stay the night with me?”
Her blurted question hung out there, stealing his breath, making his brain scramble. Surely he’d misunderstood, right?
Yet she didn’t blink. In fact, she seemed incapable of blinking.
“Stay the night?” he repeated.
Three quick breaths later, she nodded—then promptly bit her lip. “Unless you don’t want to.”
“You mean...” It occurred to him that they were likely talking about two different things. His body had already leaped to lust-inspired conclusions. Knowing her as he did, he readjusted his thinking real fast. “You don’t want to be alone?”
Of course that was it. He drew her in against his chest, rested his jaw on the top of her head.
“Sure, honey, I can stay. I can camp out on the couch, okay?” He’d be close, but she wouldn’t feel uneasy about his nearness. He hoped. “It’s not a problem.”
“You want to sleep on the couch?”
Ah, hell. There his body went again. “I want to do whatever will make you feel better. Always.”
“You’re almost too nice.”
Was she laughing at him? Something in her tone made him think so. Lang set her back so he could see her face. “I care about you, Hope. You have to know that.”
“Yes, I do. I care about you, too...and I want you.”
Yeah, okay, no mistaking that one. “You mean...?”
She tucked back her hair and gave him a slight smile. “I can’t guarantee I won’t falter, but I really want you, Lang. Enough that I want to try.” She touched his jaw. “Would that be okay?”
His instinct was to crush her close, kiss her with all the hunger and need he’d kept under tight rein for so long. But they were standing in her driveway and she’d just had an emotional shock with an estranged sister.
The very last thing he would ever do was take advantage of her.
Her hand fell away and she took a step back. “You’re, um, thinking about it for so long, I’m starting to get nervous. Ivey swore to me that you’d be on board. If she was wrong, I think I’ll—”
Screw it. He hauled her in and kissed her—not the way he wanted to, but in the ways they’d indulged already. Hope enjoyed kissing, and God knew he loved everything about her.
“I’m on board,” he swore, once he came up for air. “I just don’t want to misstep and upset you.” Cupping her face, he said, “Promise me right now that you won’t hesitate to tell me if I do or say anything that makes you uncomfortable.”
Nodding, she breathed, “I promise.”
He rubbed his mouth, his thoughts bandying about as he tried to settle on a plan. He’d need to let Corbin know—which meant Ivey would know as well. Not much was private when those closest to them lived a short walk away and were family.
Another problem was that he only had one condom on him.
Given Hope’s past and everything she’d just gone through, who knew if he’d even need it? But if he did...
At least he had that covered. One wouldn’t be enough for him, but for her? Damn it, he was already getting half hard. Insane. He was thirty years old, not eighteen. Hope deserved more than raging gonads. She deserved a lot of consideration and finesse and—
Hope grinned. “Will you promise me something, too?”
“Yes.” He’d promise her anything. Hell, he’d do anything, as long as she was happy.
“Will you try not to worry?” She stepped into him, her arms tight around his waist. “I don’t want to be treated differently.”
“Sorry, honey, but you are different.” How could she not know that? “It’s not only what you’ve been through, but the way you and I click. I’ve known plenty of women through my life, but none that I wanted more than you. And I don’t just mean sex, okay? If you find you can’t after all, that’s okay. I still want to be with you.”
With her face tucked against his chest, she asked, “For how long, though?”
Was that her worry? That if they didn’t go to the next step soon, he’d lose interest? Determined to get things rolling, he turned her back toward the garage and started in. “For as long as it takes.” After pressing the button to close the garage door, he urged her to the stairs.
Breathless, Hope rushed to keep up. “I don’t want you to have to wait.”
He didn’t want her to have to wait. He wanted her to experience everything, to get all the joy out of life that was rightfully hers. “I’m a big boy. I can handle it.” At the top of the stairs, he kissed her again. “I just prefer to handle it with you.”
“Lang.” She hugged him again. “You make my head spin, and you make me feel things I didn’t know I could.”
“I hope you always feel that way.”