Hope Burns

by Jaci Burton

  This was so much more intense than when they were younger. All she could remember from then was fast, furious passion, a frenzied need to be with each other. A manic coupling, then calm after. Back then, besides the desperate need to get in each other's pants, there'd also been a fear of getting caught, so they'd always been in a hurry.

  Now, they had all the time in the world to get to know each other's bodies again. She intended to savor every moment.

  Instinctively, she lifted into his touch, craving the need he elicited from her. She was primed and ready like a rocket for launch, and the barest touch could send her right off. It had been so long, and this was Carter, who even after all these years knew her body better than any man ever had.

  Surprisingly, he remembered how she liked to be touched, softly at first, and then a little harder as she got closer. How could he recall that after twelve years? As she shuddered and tightened he slid a finger inside her, and she exploded, crying out with an orgasm that left her shaken.

  "Yeah, I remember how that feels," he said, nuzzling her neck. "Feels so damn good to take you there again."

  And then he was there, his mouth covering hers, kissing her until all she could think about was feeling him inside her, connecting with him in a way she hadn't realized she'd missed so much until now.

  He pulled his lips from hers, stared down at her, and she wondered if he thought the same thing.

  When he rubbed his thumb across her bottom lip, and said, "I've missed you, Molly," tears pricked her eyes.

  She blinked back the waterworks. She didn't want to get emotional about this. It would only lead to heartbreak, and she'd never let Carter break her heart again. So instead, she smiled up at him. "I hope you have condoms."

  He grinned. "I definitely have condoms."

  "I mean, I'm on the pill. I take precautions. I'm not leaving it all up to you or anything, but we should be careful, you know?"

  He brushed his thumb over her jaw, his expression suddenly serious. "Yeah. I know."

  He reached into the nightstand and pulled out a box of condoms.

  Now she felt like she'd done something to break this magical spell that had been cast between them. The room felt colder. She felt colder. Bringing up the past--that big elephant in the room that seemed to wedge between them--would always be a barrier.

  She started to sit up, but Carter pushed her down. "Not so fast. I'm not letting you get away from me that easily."

  His body, so warm, was just what she needed.

  "Unless you need to pee or something. In which case, go ahead."

  She laughed, and his lightheartedness pushed away the last of her doubts. "No, I'm good."

  He swept his hand over her breast, teasing her nipple until it was hard, until she felt the sensation shoot right to her core.

  "Yeah, you definitely are."

  He took her nipple into his mouth, and she was once again lost in sensation, in his mouth and his hands until all she could focus on was the way he made her body feel. That's why she was here, the only reason she was here.

  Carter knew Molly had felt a moment of panic. He didn't know what had brought it on, and if he hadn't been able to take her out of that moment--if she'd wanted to leave right then, he would have no choice but to let her, because he didn't want a woman in his bed who didn't want to be there.

  But whatever second of doubt she had seemed to have disappeared, because she responded to his touch, arching against him, without words begging for what they both needed from each other.

  He couldn't wait any longer. He removed her panties, shed his boxer briefs, and grabbed a condom, then parted her legs, staring down at the woman she'd become, even more beautiful than the girl she'd once been.

  She looked up at him, her eyes glazed with passion, as he entered her.

  It felt like home, like this was where he'd always belonged. Inside her, skin to skin, her heart beating a fast rhythm as he moved within her.

  He didn't want to make too much of this, because where Molly was concerned, he knew it was a temporary thing. He planned to enjoy this moment, since it was likely to be a one-time occurrence.

  But damn, it was amazing to have her hands roaming down his arms, her nails raking over his skin as he lifted and thrust within her, to feel the way she tightened around him. Everything was familiar, but also like it was the first time he'd ever made love to this woman. He kissed her, and felt like he was being tossed around in a storm, the pleasure so great, the emotions almost more than he could handle. Carter wasn't an emotional kind of guy, but this was Molly, and to him, she'd always been his. At one time he'd wanted to give her everything, and at least, in this, he intended to.

  So when she lifted, he ground against her, enjoyed her quiver, and gave her all he had, caught up in every sound she made, every breath she took. Her expressions told him everything, her body even more. He grasped her hands and held tight to her, and when she released, he let go, the two of them shuddering together in one epic climax that left him shaking.

  He buried his face in her neck, breathing in her scent, wondering if this was going to be the last time she'd allow him to get this close.

  But she didn't seem in any hurry to push him away, and he sure as hell didn't want her to leave, so he rolled to the side and left only long enough to dispose of the condom. Then he was back, tugging her against him and pulling the covers over them both.

  For a while he held her, listening to her breathe, content that she was beside him and didn't feel the need to bolt. He wondered if she'd stay tonight.

  Finally, she tilted her head back and looked at him.

  "I hope you have some stamina, Carter, because it's been kind of a dry spell for me."

  Now that he hadn't expected. He arched a brow and lifted up on his elbow. "Is that right?"

  She smiled slyly. "That's right. And since you're a known quantity and I don't intend to have sex with any random strangers in Hope, I thought you might want to . . . offer your services."

  He laughed. "You want me to act as your stud while you're in town?"

  "Yes. That pretty much sums it up."

  "I'm kind of offended, Molly."

  "No, you're not. You're a man with a penis. You're thrilled about having no-strings sex with a woman you don't have to wine and dine and promise to marry at the end of it all."

  "You have a point. Though I never mind the wining and dining part."

  She shrugged. "That's negotiable. So . . . we have a deal?"

  "A deal for smokin'-hot sex? I'd be a total dumbass to say no."

  "You don't strike me as a total dumbass."

  Not quite the way he saw spending time with Molly, but she was right. He wasn't stupid, and he enjoyed having sex with her. If that was all she intended to offer, he was going to take it.

  At least it was a starting point.

  "It's a deal."

  "Good. I'll give you ten minutes recovery time, then I'll be ready for round two."

  "You're a hard taskmaster, Miss Burnett."

  She rolled over on her back and smiled. "You have no idea. We haven't even gotten started yet, Carter."

  Chapter 18

  THE LAST THING Molly expected to be doing was carving pumpkins. She thought herself long past the age, and she never did it anymore. If she was home on Halloween night, she'd pass out candy to the kids in whatever apartment complex she was living in. Otherwise, no decorations. And definitely no pumpkin carving.

  But her mom had insisted that there had to be pumpkins on the porch, so she'd gone to the store and now she stood at the kitchen counter, elbows deep in pumpkin guts.

  Her father was keeping Mom company in the living room, swearing he knew nothing about pumpkin carving and that was Mom's area of expertise. She figured that was his way of getting out of this torturous task.

  "Molly, have you gotten to the design part yet?" her mom hollered from the other room.

  "Uh, not yet. Still cleaning out the pumpkins, Mom." Maybe she could have a small
accident and dump both of these hideous things on the floor. Of course, knowing her mother, she'd just send Molly back to the store to buy two more.

  She pulled a handful of pumpkin seeds and gunk out of one.

  Ick.

  The doorbell rang. Great. Someone else to witness her misery. Maybe it was Emma and Molly could force her to help. She was at least a surgeon and could assist with the face carving.

  "That looks fun."

  She jerked her head up to see Carter leaning against the doorway, a smirk on his oh-so-handsome face.

  She hadn't seen him since that night they'd spent together a few days ago. He'd called her several times, and they'd texted, but her mom had a doctor appointment, and he'd had some issues with some of his Tulsa shops, so they hadn't reconnected.

  Not that she'd expected they'd see each other every day or anything. Or at all, for that matter.

  "Living the dream here."

  He laughed, pushed off the doorway, and came into the kitchen. "I can tell. In the Halloween spirit?"

  "No." She peeked around him to see her mom and dad were watching something on television. "Forced into it by my mother, who insisted on having carved pumpkins on the front porch for Halloween."

  "I see. So you'd rather not."

  "I'd rather not have my hands in all this goo."

  He rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. "I'll help."

  "You don't have to."

  "I don't mind. Remember, Halloween is my specialty."

  "Oh, right. I forgot. In that case, be my guest. There's another pumpkin over there to annihilate. Knives are on the counter."

  He grabbed a knife and the pumpkin and started to gut the inside while she finished hers. After she emptied the contents of her pumpkin, she washed her hands and watched as Carter efficiently dug out the contents of the one he was working on, sliding his hands inside to empty out all the stuff, not once grimacing at the slime like she had.

  "You're very brave."

  He laughed. "It doesn't bother me. Do you want to save the seeds?"

  She made a face, then shook her head. "No, thanks."

  "You should come over here and help me."

  "Oh, I've already done my own pumpkin. I'm happy to watch you."

  "Not your thing, huh?"

  She crossed her arms. "Not in the least. In fact, I'm super happy you showed up."

  He turned his head to the side and graced her with a sexy smile. "Glad to hear that."

  "Why did you show up?"

  "I wanted to drop off some paperwork about the town square project. There are a few decisions we need to make."

  "Okay."

  He lifted his hands, displaying trails of disgusting pumpkin goo. "Maybe after we're done here."

  She laughed. "Of course."

  Once he was done cleaning out his pumpkin, they spread newspaper on the table.

  "Do you have a design in mind for the face?" he asked.

  She gave her pumpkin the once-over. "I'm going for something silly. How about you?"

  "Mine's going to be scary."

  "I'm so not surprised."

  They got to work on carving, both of them concentrating on their individual pumpkin faces. Molly had to admit that, with Carter working next to her, this task wasn't as tedious as she'd thought it was going to be. He'd occasionally lift his head and smile at her from across the table, and her dad would pop in and check out what they were doing.

  This was . . . nice. And a little unexpected.

  She laid her knife down and stood, taking a step back to review her work.

  "I don't know about this," she said.

  Carter looked up. "What about it?"

  "I might have gone a little too far on the scary side, instead of funny."

  He got up, and came over, his shoulder brushing against hers as he got in front of her pumpkin. "That's really good, Molly."

  "You think so?"

  "Definitely."

  She'd wanted to do a funny, devilish look. Instead, her pumpkin looked demonic. Still, she'd had fun.

  "I guess it'll have to do," she said. "And the good news is, I'm finished."

  "Me, too."

  She walked over to his, her jaw dropping. "You did this freehand?"

  "Yeah."

  He had carved the Grim Reaper into his pumpkin. It was beautiful.

  "I'm so impressed, Carter. You're really artistic."

  He shrugged, then grabbed a paper towel to wipe his hands. "It was fun. I could have done better if I'd taken a little more time. I hope your mom likes it."

  "She's going to love it. Really love it. Let's show my parents."

  They carried the pumpkins into the living room.

  "Wow," her mother said. "These are so impressive. I love yours, Molly. It's so scary. And Carter, that's . . . wow. Did you use those stencil sets?"

  Molly shook her head. "Carter carved his freehand."

  "That's amazing, Carter," her dad said. "I didn't know you were that creative."

  He laughed. "Thanks. I've had a lot of practice over the years. I'm a big fan of Halloween."

  "So am I," her mom said. "Thank you for taking the time to do this. And Carter, especially you. I know you didn't come over to carve pumpkins tonight."

  "Trust me, it was my pleasure."

  "How about we light these babies up and see how they look?" Molly asked.

  Her mother smiled. "Oh, I'd love to see them."

  Molly went into the kitchen to grab two tea light candles. They set them in the bottom, got them lit, and her dad turned the lights out.

  "Oh, my," her mom said. "They're gorgeous."

  They were, especially Carter's. And seeing her mom so happy made Molly's heart soar.

  They set the pumpkins out on the front porch, then took a step back to admire their work.

  "They look good," Molly said.

  "Yeah, they do."

  She turned to him. "Thanks again for helping out. I would have hated doing both these pumpkins by myself."

  "There's no fun in doing it alone."

  "Do you have pumpkins on your porch?"

  "Of course."

  "Did you do them by yourself?"

  "Yeah."

  "Sorry. I would have gladly helped you."

  He laughed and put his arm around her. "Thanks, but I think you're lying."

  "You're right. I hated every minute of that mess. And speaking of mess, I need to go clean that up. Would you like some coffee?"

  "In other words, you're inviting me to come in and help you clean up pumpkin guts."

  "Darnit. My nefarious plan is spoiled. But yes, that's exactly it."

  "You're a hard sell, Burnett. But I'm game. After that, we can go over the paperwork."

  "Okay."

  They went back inside. Her mom was in her wheelchair, both she and her dad getting ready to head off to bed for the night. Molly offered to help get Mom situated in her bedroom, but Dad declined, saying he had it covered, so she and Carter said their good-nights, then went into the kitchen to clean up the pumpkin mess. Carter bagged all the remnants while Molly washed the knives, the kitchen table and counter. It was done in a matter of minutes, then she made coffee for both of them.

  They sat at the table and she opened the envelope containing the project papers so she could scan through them while they sipped their drinks.

  She scanned the revised blueprints. "What do you think about the landscaping in the park area?"

  He stood and came over to her, leaning over the table to point out a couple of areas. "I'm a little concerned about these. I think we should switch out some of the bushes for trees in this area, and put the bushes over here, plus some perennials in this spot. This is the southern exposure, so it makes more sense, plus it'll put the trees over on the west side to provide more shade in the hotter part of the summer."

  Molly looked at the plan now, then envisioned Carter's suggestion. She nodded. "I agree. Your way is better. Plus, if we move one of the benches under the trees, it's a
shady area for people to sit."

  He made some notes. "Good point. Let's bring that up at the next committee meeting on Tuesday."

  They discussed a few of the other agenda items. Carter had good insights, and great ideas. She liked talking with him about business. She could see why his auto shops were a success. He had an eye for details and was well organized. She wished she had been here to see him grow his business from the ground up.

  But she hadn't, because of circumstances that had directly involved him--circumstances she'd shoved to the back of her mind and refused to rehash. Not now when they were just starting to get along again.

  She was enjoying this time with him, probably because she knew it was temporary. As soon as her mother was back on her feet again, she was gone.

  Maybe that's why she was getting along so well with Carter. She could put him in this temporary slot where she didn't have to think about living in this town, seeing him every day, having a real relationship with him.

  They could just have fun, and this was all pretend. She could live with that, knowing that at some point it was all going to go away, because she was going to go away.

  "I guess I should head on out of here and let you get some sleep."

  She looked up from the documents she was stuffing back into the envelopes, then picked up her phone. "It's only ten o'clock, Carter."

  "Oh."

  She cocked a brow. "I had no idea you were the type to go to bed early on a school night."

  He laughed. "I think you of all people know me better than that."

  She closed the envelope and slid it across the table, then rolled the blueprints and slid the rubber band around them. "However, I understand you have to get to work early in the morning, so you're right. You probably need your beauty rest."

  He pinned her with a look. "Now you're baiting me."

  "Maybe."

  "Do you want to go out somewhere?"

  She shook her head. "Not really."

  She moved around the table and stopped in front of him, palming his chest. "I thought we'd hang out here for a bit."

  "I can do that. Do you want to watch a movie?"

  She had zero interest in watching a movie, but if it got him to hang out with her awhile longer, she was game. "Sure."

  They went into the living room and grabbed a seat on the sofa. She turned on the TV, surfing a bit.

  "That one."

  She turned to face him. "Still into horror movies, I see."