“N-no. This, with you, I’ve never felt this need before.”
“Ditto,” Newman said, opening the rest of the buttons. He touched her through the silk of her panties.
Done talking, he slid his fingers inside and cupped her. Moving them between the wet folds, he then stroked her, making her moan again.
“I really need you inside me now, Newman.”
He kissed her, long and deep, then eased his fingers inside, and she shattered around them.
“Oh” was all she could manage.
“Oh, indeed.”
Stripping off her panties, he turned her to face the tree. “Do what you do best, sweetheart.”
“What’s that?”
“Hug trees.” Newman lowered his shorts, and then gripped her hips. Hope braced her hands on the bark, and he thrust into her from behind.
“Christ, you feel good!”
“So good,” she breathed. “Don’t stop.”
“Just about the dumbest thing you’ve ever said,” Newman gritted out. He could feel the pressure building inside him. He wanted to keep the rhythm slow, and make it last, but he couldn’t, the need was too great. He thrust again and again, and was rewarded with Hope spiraling out of control once more. He followed seconds later. Bracing his hands beside her, he drew in several deep breaths. He fixed his shorts, then eased her off the tree, and leaned against it before pulling her back into his arms. She didn’t resist, and it felt right standing here holding her.
“Why did you decide to tell people now about your birth?”
Newman rested his head on the trunk and thought about that.
“I mean, you kept that a secret for so long, why now?”
“Because it felt like the time was right.”
“Do you feel better for doing it?”
“Yes.” And he did. The dark secret he’d always been harboring no longer had the power over him that it once did. He’d spoken about it, and his friends had accepted it and moved on. Branna had called him last night to tell him she thought it just made him even more special.
“If I’m going to be a dad, I shouldn’t be ashamed of my own birth. What happens when our kid asks me about it? I have to be honest, right?”
“Right.” Hope nodded. “I told my mom today about the baby.”
“How was that for you?” Newman ran a hand down her hair, and the line of her back.
“Okay. She was good about it, actually.”
“Not about to lynch me then?”
“Strangely, no. The weird part came when I told her about the accusations from Casey.”
“Hope, we’ll fight those. The truth will come out.”
“I know, and I hope you’re right. But my mom gave me my dad’s business card, because he’s a criminal lawyer.”
“After all these years, she tells you about him now?”
“To be fair, we never really asked. Ryan and I just decided he didn’t want us, so we didn’t want him. When he tried to make contact, we said no.”
She told him about the conversation.
