Where There is Hope
Taos Wolven Mates Series - Book 2
By
Tianna Xander

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Hopeful made her way home from the bus stop. Her feet and back hurt from walking most of the day. She’d broken a heel and her stockings had a hole in them. Things couldn’t possibly get worse.

She strode by an electronics store window and stared at her reflection. Was that really her with her hair standing up in all directions, her shirt half untucked, and listing to one side because of her one broken heel? Squinting her eyes, she took a better look and her shoulders sagged. Yep. That was her all right. No wonder none of the potential employers she visited had wanted to give her the time of day.

Tears burned her eyes and the back of her throat as she stood and stared at herself, speechless. No wonder her husband left her for a younger woman. How long had she looked so bad? Was it just because she’d been out in the unforgiving heat all day or was it because she really was over the hill like her ex-husband had said?

It wasn’t fair! Why did men dump their wives for younger women as they got older? Why was it okay for a man to get old, while a woman couldn’t just age gracefully? For some reason, a woman never aged gracefully, someone always tagged them with the over-the-hill label.

Turning away from the window, her eyes filled with unshed tears, Hopeful Ackerman headed home. She was well on her way to rock bottom and there was nowhere else to go but farther down.

It had just started to rain when she rounded the corner of her street. What else could go wrong? Staring down at the sidewalk in front of her to keep the raindrops out of her eyes, she started to run…or tried to, anyway. It was difficult with her broken heel. Preoccupied, tears blurred her vision as she ran and she didn’t see the long, jean-clad legs and cowboy boots until she plowed right into the man they belonged to.

Looking up and up and up, Hope swallowed thickly. Before her stood the most handsome man she had ever seen. In his late twenties to early thirties, he wore his blond hair cut to what appeared to be a military cut, though not a Marine high and tight like her brother had worn before he lost his life in Iraq.

Moss-green eyes stared down at her as though he thought he was dreaming, or maybe having a nightmare, considering how she looked. Large hands gently held her shoulders, thumbs stroking almost absently over her collarbone as he stared down into her eyes.

At that moment, everything else seemed to fall away. It didn’t matter that she stood on the sidewalk still a quarter of a mile from her apartment with the cold rain pouring down over her. It didn’t matter that the water drenched her hair, plastering it to her head until she was certain she must look like a drowned rat.

All that mattered in that moment was that she felt caught in a snare. The heat from his gaze warmed her in the cold downpour. Her panties grew damp with more than rainwater as she nervously licked her lips.

Hope couldn’t look away. She tried, but something about the man held her immobilized. It could have been the way his hands tightened on her shoulders, holding her in place. It also could have been the way he started to draw her near him before he seemed to come to his senses and let her go.

“Excuse me, Miss…”

Hope knew he was fishing, but she didn’t give a damn. It had been a long time since a man flirted with her and even longer since one as handsome as this one even looked her way with anything even resembling interest.

“Hope,” she said, unsure as to why she was standing here in the rain telling him anything about herself in the first place. She should have pulled from his grip and ran for her apartment before she did something stupid, like jump his bones, but she couldn’t for some reason. It must have been the shock of seeing another incredibly handsome man standing just behind him. Hope had always been a sucker for tall men with dark hair and blue eyes. Backing away, she almost cried when he backed up too, but she was nothing if not a realist. What would a man like him want from her anyway?

“Does Hope have a last name that’s as beautiful as her first?”

Holy cow! Not only was the devil tall, dark and handsome, but he was a charmer to boot. Hope shook her head. “Not hardly. Ackerman is my ex-husband’s name. I haven’t gotten around to changing it back to my maiden name.” In truth, she wasn’t sure she wanted to go through the hassle.

It didn’t seem possible, but the two men seemed to get better looking when they smiled. Hope swallowed thickly. Why did those smiles look more predatory than humorous?

“Ex-husband?”The blond’s smile got bigger as he held out his hand. “I’m Braxton and this is my best friend, Joran. It’s good to meet a friendly face.”

She wasn’t sure why, but his smile reminded her of Little Red Riding Hood. Maybe it was his strangely pronounced incisors and inordinately large smile. Oh, what a big smile you have, Braxton.

“It’s nice to meet you two as well. Are you new in the neighborhood?”

They shook their heads, their faces still split with their strange, wolfish grins. After a moment, they glanced at each other, their expressions becoming intense, they moved to flank her. “No, beautiful Hope. We came here for you.”