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Still, his father was beyond thrilled that Hope was back in the picture, and to make matters more complicated, they had Mia, a blessing, and his father wanted to make sure they got married very soon. A Christmas wedding.
Cole brewed Hope’s coffee just the way he remembered she liked it. He then poured some pancake mix into a mixing bowl and cracked an egg, added some other ingredients in a pan with cinnamon and began to make pancakes, nice and fluffy just the way he remembered she liked them.
He at least wanted to make her breakfast and maybe they could get to talk again while Mia was spending time with Aunt Maya and the rest of the family.
He needed this time with Hope especially if they were going to be married on Christmas, even for the sake of Mia, and for the sake of Cole’s dying father. But he was determined to have no more intimacy with her until after they tied the knot.
The memory of her sweet kiss was still on his mind. Cole’s groin reacted when he thought about the way Hope wrapped her lips around him, taking him inside her. Hope was more hungrily passionate than he'd remembered she was a few years ago.
Cole whipped up the batter making sure the cakes would be fluffy. He put the heat on low on the griddle, watching through the window as snow flurries fell outside. It seemed like a perfect holiday season day, except there was something missing.
He hated the fact that this was all a charade, a one-year marriage contract. He wished it was for real. But what else could he do right now?
Just then his cell phone buzzed and he reached in his pocket to answer it.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey, bro, it's me, Brandon."
"Did you get the information I asked for?"
“Well, good morning to you too, bro."
"I'm sorry, man, I'm just not myself this morning." He had mixed feelings about last night and in breaking their “take it slow” clause of their agreement. Cole was glad Brandon was on the case to find out if anyone was trying to hurt Hope. Nothing could ever change the protective feelings he had for Hope. He knew she must be in some kind of trouble and he wanted to guard her and make sure she was safe. He wanted to make it all right for her. Especially since she was the mother of his child. There was a strong possibility that Hope could be in danger without even realizing it, so of course he had to get his brother’s detective agency involved.
"I hear you, man. No worries. At least you've got Dad all excited, looking forward to this Christmas wedding. And hey, you really jumped the gun. At least you have a grandchild for him. He's been going crazy all week introducing Mia to everybody he knows. He even said he's going to rework his will and leave practically everything to her." Brandon laughed. "Faith and I’d better get going on this baby making, I guess. Or we’ll be left out of the excitement."
"Very funny, Brandon. But anyway, I really want to know what's going on with Hope. She means the world to me and she's the mother of my child."
"I hear you, Cole. But there is something about her father. You’re right about your suspicions regarding him. Apparently he threatened her about six or seven years ago."
"He threatened her? What do you mean by that?" Cole felt his blood heat to a boil as he poured the batter on to the sizzling pan on the stove to make the first batch of pancakes while his phone was wedged between his ear and shoulder.
"Well, Hope met this guy back in her homeland of Lendovia. The father didn't approve of him, and he could be quite an influential businessman, if you know what I mean, so he voiced his opinion loud and clear. Dear old dad forbade Hope to see him, and she still wanted to go out with him anyway. Well, somehow he got shipped off to the United States and Hope was devastated."
Cole didn’t say anything at first. He just felt guilt and jealousy wash over him at the same time. He knew Hope was straight with him about only being with him. But yet he was jealous she loved somebody before him. And this guy obviously let her down. Or at least her father let her down.
"What else?" Cole probed.
"Well, her father forced her off to Canada to take her studies and warned her she'd be watched. And during that time, he even told her that if she stepped out of line, there was no telling what would’ve happened to her."
"What?" Cole’s breathing became erratic, his pulses fired up. If anyone even thought about laying a finger on Hope, even her own father, there was no telling what he would do to that person.
"Yeah, her father’s quite ruthless. They weren't very close to begin with. And she sends him a text once in a while to let him know how she's doing. Of course, the detective agency he's got watching over her from a distance is also reporting to him. They were watching her from the time she was taking her classes and her exams. And even when she went to intern and then later work for you at the Belmont Hotels Corporation. He was actually quite pleased about that. I think his guys found out you two were dating. He was okay with that. Obviously because you're not an enemy in their land. There’s something going on back in her homeland between their two cultures. And there’s something about what her father said. He didn't want her to dishonor him or the family name by sleeping with the enemy. So as long as she was far away from that guy, he was okay with it."
"So that's why she's evasive with her father? And that's why she doesn’t want to have anything to do with him? But when I last spoke with him he said that he was sorry about how harshly he’d treated her in the past, and that he wanted to make amends with her. I'm really pissed off he would even have threatened her in the past. He had no right to do that."
Still, if Cole was being honest with himself, he was glad that they’d met and fell in love a few years ago. "But I know there's more to it,” Cole said. “Much more. And I will get down to the bottom of this. Just keep me posted on anything else new, okay?"
"I’ve gotcha, bro. And don't worry, family comes first. We’ll stick together no matter what. And Hope is family now. Nothing can or will happen to her."
"I know," he said in a low voice. Because if Cole could help it, nothing was going to happen to her. Even if they didn't end up in the traditional marriage he desired to have, he wanted nothing more than for Hope to be truly happy and safe. And he wanted his daughter Mia to have a real family. A mom and dad who loved her very much. Parents who would always be there for her, and support her every time.
“Anyway, you can relax about her old man. Word has it he’s a changed man. An incident or accident got him thinking. He’s as harmless as a pussycat now. He really misses Hope and wants to make amends.”
“Thanks for the update,” Cole said.
After Cole ended the phone call with Brandon, his mind kept going back on what poor Hope must've been going through in Lendovia, and how fearful she must have been. But her father seemed to approve of Cole, so what was the problem? She told him she loved him. And she’d been with no other man but him. It wasn't as if she'd given her virginity to the other guy. So what else was there? What else was she hiding from him?
As Cole finished the batch of pancakes, flipping them, he heard a movement behind him but even before that he caught the sweet scent of a flowery perfume—like the presence of an angel. And his insides melted. Oh boy, there went his defenses again.
He smiled; his eyes dreamy as Hope walked behind him and pressed her soft warm hands over his eyes.
"Guess who?" she cooed softly and so seductively.
He switched off the stove and turned around and looked lovingly into her eyes, penetrating her and capturing her beauty, savoring her. “I’d love to know who it is, if you let me know everything there is to know about you, baby." His voice was low and deep.
"Now that's not fair, Cole," she said playfully. "We've already been through this. I’ve told you everything there is to know. Please just trust me on this. Let's just enjoy this moment we’re having."
"But you know we're supposed to take it slowly as much as I really loved being with you last night. We were supposed to be open and honest about everything before we got… intimate again," he said in a low voice.
Hope looked into his eyes flirtatiously and he couldn't resist her again. He dropped the spatula on the countertop and wrapped his arms around her, as she looked so sexy and hot in her nightshirt with probably nothing underneath. Her long, slender, naked legs seemed to go on forever. He could imagine them being wrapped around his waist again as he pounded inside her and thrust his manhood inside her sweet heat over and over and over again.
"Mmm, I couldn't resist the delicious scent of the pancakes, Cole. But it was your scent that drew me here right now. You know I can't get enough of you. I love you with all my heart and soul, Cole."
"Oh, baby, what are you doing to me?” he murmured, his voice low and hoarse again. “I need to keep my distance from you. You and I both know we can both get emotionally hurt if we rush things again."
She moaned as he pressed his lips to the warm sensitive flesh on her neck, sucking and kissing and caressing her with his lips as she arched her neck and moaned with sweet delight.
The sound of her erotic moaning was turning him on again and he felt himself getting harder and harder by the second. He knew he just wasn't going to last without having her again soon. Thankfully everyone else in the house was asleep at that time of the morning and they were in their private kitchen near their suite. He slid one hand underneath her shirt, his nightshirt that she was wearing. And felt her smooth breast and her taut nipple underneath and stroked and teased her bud.
