Hope Flames: Hope Book 1

by Jaci Burton

  As the haze of Luke’s voice reached her, Emma blinked against the harsh light that poured in through the open deck.

  “It’s morning already?” She rolled over on her stomach and pulled the pillow over her head.

  “Yup. And we’re burning daylight. Let’s get moving.”

  “I need coffee.”

  “Already made. I’ll meet you downstairs.”

  She groaned, but rolled out of bed. As she stood and stretched, she smiled at the unfamiliar soreness, remembering last night—the three times they’d made love last night. And each time, Luke had been a giving lover, making sure she was more than satisfied.

  “Delicious,” she whispered to herself. She went into the bathroom, brushed her teeth, and combed her hair. She found her swimsuit and threw on shorts and a tank top over it, forcing her eyes to focus as she made her way downstairs and into the kitchen. The smell of coffee was her savior.

  Luke had already poured her a cup.

  “You’re my hero,” she said as she took a sip of the dark brew.

  “I’ll bet you say that to all the guys who make you coffee in the morning.”

  “Yes, it’s a regular revolving door of hot men brewing me coffee.”

  He leaned against the counter, and she drank her fill of him. He wore a pair of blue-and-white board shorts and no shirt, and that delicious thought continued. He looked hot and tan, his abs washboard tight and sexy, his hair still sleep-tousled. The last thing on her mind this morning was water-skiing. She wanted to drag him back upstairs and have her way with him about five or six more times until maybe she got tired of him.

  “You keep looking at me like that, two things are gonna happen,” he said, giving her a very hot look over the rim of his coffee cup.

  “Yeah? What two things?”

  “One, I’m gonna get hard, and two, we’re never going to go water-skiing today.”

  Her lips curved. “And those are bad things?”

  “Not necessarily, but there’s plenty of time for those things later. Today I promised you I’d take you water-skiing.”

  With a sigh, she said, “I guess you’re right.” She looked around. “Where are the dogs?”

  “Out back. I already fed them.”

  “Don’t you sleep?”

  “I got plenty of sleep.”

  “As I recall, we didn’t sleep much last night.” She’d drifted off, but he’d awakened her in the middle of the night, hard, and stroking her breasts. She’d gone willingly into his arms. Just the memory of the two of them making love in the dark had her body quickening, wanting more.

  “You’re giving me that look again,” he said, arching a brow.

  “Am I? You know, we could put off that whole water-skiing thing.”

  “Temptress. I’m going to go check the gear. You’re dangerous to be around when you’re sleepy and sexy.”

  She grinned and went out back, finding the dogs playing nearby. Annie was fighting Daisy for a stick, though it appeared to Emma that Daisy was merely humoring her. Boomer sat on the sidelines like a spectator, above it all. Annie would growl and Daisy would hold on, clearly stronger than the pup, at least for now. Eventually Daisy got bored and dropped the stick. Annie ran off victorious.

  She brought the dogs inside and poured herself another cup of coffee.

  “How about some breakfast?” Luke asked as he came back inside.

  “Sounds great.”

  They put together eggs, bacon, and toast. Working with him in the kitchen was fun. Luke didn’t sit there and expect her to do the cooking for him. Instead, he made the bacon and toast while she cooked the eggs. And since they worked next to each other, he’d lean over and kiss or touch her, giving her chills—and ideas.

  They sat at the table and ate. It was very domestic, and quite romantic, as Luke poured juice and brought it over to her.

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  He kept smiling at her, and staring at her, giving her looks that distinctly reminded her of how he’d gazed at her when he was inside her last night. Very direct, with not-so-subtle meaning. Which meant she’d get hot and flustered, and she had no idea why they were going water-skiing when right now they could be upstairs in bed together.

  It wasn’t that long of a weekend, after all.

  But she understood he was trying to entertain her, no doubt afraid she’d get bored.

  Though she didn’t find sex with him boring at all.

  Wow. Wasn’t her mind on one thing and one thing only right now? Talk about the end of the sex drought.

  After they ate, they cleared the dishes and she went upstairs to grab her beach bag and slide into her flip-flops.

  “What about the dogs?” she asked after she came downstairs.

  “There’s a run over on the other side of the property. We can leave them outside for the day and not have to worry about them wandering off. Plenty of room in there, and since it’s a nice day and not too hot, they can be outside rather than stuck inside the house.”

  Luke led her over to the dog run, an oversized fenced-in area even larger than she had imagined. It was well shaded, with a large bowl he filled with water.

  She wouldn’t have to worry about the dogs. They were well secured and had plenty of room to play. And Luke was right—she knew they’d much prefer to be outside than to be stuck in the house. This way, Annie wouldn’t have to be crated.

  “This will be perfect,” she said.

  Once the dogs were secured, she and Luke climbed into the truck and took off. It wasn’t far to the ramp, so Luke gave her instructions on backing the truck down the ramp so he could get the boat in the water. They worked as a team, and before long he had the boat off the trailer. She pulled the truck and trailer forward, parked, then climbed onto the boat.

  “Hey, nice job. You didn’t even sink the truck,” Luke said with a wink.

  “Gee, thanks.”

  He backed the boat out and took it slow out of the shallows, then pushed the throttle. Emma held on as he sped past the lines of trees along the bank, wind slapping her ponytail across her back.

  The breeze was wonderful, the sun already promising a very hot day as they cruised along the tops of the waves. She settled in and enjoyed the view of the lake as Luke throttled down and they moved along at an easy pace. She finally took a seat and looked out the side as other boaters breezed by, some of them waving as they passed.

  She’d been working at a grueling pace for the past few months, before and ever since the clinic opened. To be able to relax like this was a small bit of nirvana.

  Luke finally pulled the boat to a stop in the middle of the lake.

  “Ready to ski?”

  She inched out of her seat. “I . . . guess so.”

  He smiled at her. “It’s not that hard. I’ll give you some instruction, and we’ll have you up in no time.”

  He took her to the back of the boat and got out a life jacket and the skis.

  “What about you?” she asked. “Won’t you get to ski?”

  “I’m fine. I’ve done it thousands of times. I really want you to do it today.”

  “I could drive the boat, and you can ski.”

  He cocked a brow. “Ever driven a boat?”

  “No.”

  “Then get your skis on and get out in the water. I’m driving, you’re skiing.”

  “Shouldn’t there be three people on the boat?”

  “What for?”

  “One to drive, one to ski, and the other to watch the skier.”

  He gave her a look. “Emma. I’ll have my eye on you the whole time.”

  “Then how will you be able to see where you’re going?”

  He laughed. “Trust me. I know what I’m doing here. Eyes in the back of my head, babe.”

  Dammit. She supposed she was out of excuses. Luke gave her a litany of instructions, told her how to squat down when he first got going until she felt herself balanced, to remember to hold on to the line, and
to let go if she fell.

  “I have all that.”

  “Then get in and have some fun.”

  She was dubious about the fun part, but she slid into the water and swam over to the skis, put them on, and grabbed the rope handle when Luke tossed it to her.

  “Point the tips of your skis toward the back of the boat,” he said. “And when you fall, raise your hand up so other boaters can see you. I’ll keep an eye out for you and come around.”

  “Sure.”

  “Have fun.” He grinned.

  “Yeah. If I even get up.”

  “You’re strong, Emma. And you’re coordinated. You’ll get up. Just remember what I told you.”

  “Okay.” She was utterly terrified, and hoped she wouldn’t embarrass him.

  He started up the engine and went slow. The rope had slack, so she sat there for a few seconds, her heart pounding the entire time as she tried to remember everything Luke had told her. As soon as the rope started to pull, she tensed, ready to get up.

  This was much faster than she anticipated. The rope pulled taut, and she promptly face-planted in the water.

  That went well.

  Luke came around right away, putting the boat back into position again.

  “I didn’t get up,” she said as he threw the rope to her.

  “You tilted forward, toward the rope. Don’t worry about it. It’s a natural instinct to do that. Just remember, lean back, away from the rope. And squat down a bit.”

  “I’ll try to remember that next time.”

  Except she did the same thing the next time, smacking the water with her face and body.

  “This is starting to hurt,” she said to Luke, who grinned at her as he tossed her the rope.

  “Your body or your ego?” he asked.

  “Uh, both.”

  “Don’t give up. Not everyone gets up on their first try.”

  “I suppose you did.”

  He didn’t say anything to that, which obviously meant he had. And if he could get up, so could she. She was coordinated. She’d taken dance and gymnastics as a kid. She could do this.

  With renewed determination, she pointed her skis, grabbed the rope handle, and when it started to pull, she leaned way back and made sure to keep her knees bent.

  She didn’t face-plant that time, and she actually got up to a squatting position as Luke propelled the boat forward.

  She was up! Exhilarated, she let out a squeal of joy, though it was short-lived because this skiing thing took a lot of concentration and a lot of muscle as the line tugged her forward. She was glad for all the Pilates and yoga classes Jane and Chelsea had forced her into taking over the past few months, because her core muscles were definitely getting a workout as she rode along the waves.

  She made it about five minutes before losing it on a high wave. Luke came around.

  “You did it.”

  “I did. Can I go again?”

  “Of course.”

  Determined to stay up longer this time, she got up easier than the last time and stayed up. She spent about an hour skiing, though she’d fall and then have to restart. But each time, she learned something new about how to ride through a wake or adjust her body.

  When she climbed back into the boat, her limbs felt like spaghetti, her arms and legs shaking from the effort.

  Luke handed her a towel. “You did really good.”

  “Thanks. It was so much fun, but oh my God, what an effort. Definitely not as easy as it looks.”

  “Yeah, it takes some practice, but you handled it great.”

  “Now why don’t you show me how to drive the boat so you can ski for a bit? Surely it’s not rocket science.”

  Luke waffled a little, and she kept arguing because she knew he really wanted to get out there in the water. He finally caved.

  “Okay. We’re in the deep part of the lake, so if you head along the straights,” he said pointing the way, “you shouldn’t hit anything.”

  “You have such confidence in me. Just tell me where not to go, and I’ll make sure to stay away from those places.”

  He dug out the lake map and showed her the shallows. She nodded and told him to get his life jacket on.

  “I can ski for a long time. I’ll just wave my hand when I’m done. If you feel like you don’t want to drive the boat anymore, just slow it down and I’ll drop. Then you can come alongside and pick me up.”

  She nodded, and he went in the water and got his ski on. Obviously he was an expert at this thing since he was going to do slalom, using only one ski for both feet.

  When he gave her the signal, she pushed the throttle and slowly got up to speed, keeping her eye on him. When he was up, she kept her focus mainly on the water and the other boaters, occasionally looking back to be sure Luke was still up and behind.

  He was right about staying up for a long time. He was a natural at water-skiing, and she enjoyed taking the occasional peek at him flying through the water, one hand on the rope, the other waving at her or other boaters as they rode past. When he finally let go of the rope and dropped ever so expertly into the water, she turned the boat around and came alongside him. He tossed his ski onto the boat and climbed back on board, shaking his wet hair at her.

  She laughed. “Enjoy yourself?”

  “Hell, yes. Thanks for driving.”

  “It was my pleasure. I liked handling the controls.”

  He pulled her into his arms and kissed her, his wet body doing nothing to cool down the raging heat his kiss had evoked within her.

  “You like being in control, huh?”

  She palmed his bare chest. “That wasn’t at all what I meant.”

  “So you like giving up control?”

  She pushed back. “And that wasn’t what I implied, either.”

  He laughed and grabbed the towel, then started up the boat again and drove them to a shady spot where he dropped the anchor.

  “How about some lunch?”

  “That sounds perfect. Water-skiing makes me hungry.”

  They’d made sandwiches and she’d cut up fruit that morning, so they ate and drank in the shade while the boat bobbed in the water. The waves had started to pick up as clouds began to thicken.

  “Rain might be moving in,” Luke said as they both watched the sky.

  “Should we head back?”

  “Probably. We don’t want to be caught out on the water in case there’s lightning or a downpour.”

  They finished lunch, packed up all the gear, and Luke made his way back to the boat dock. Once again, Emma hopped out of the boat and backed the truck and trailer down the ramp, while Luke pulled the boat onto the trailer. Once secured, Luke climbed into the truck and drove them back to the cabin.

  While Luke unpacked the truck and the boat, Emma went over to the run to release the dogs. By then the skies had darkened considerably and the wind was picking up, dirt and leaves blowing around on the ground. She was glad they’d made the decision to head back to the house.

  She let the dogs inside. Luke was in the kitchen.

  “Did you get everything unloaded?”

  “Yeah. Looks like a good storm coming in.”

  She nodded as she met him in the kitchen and opened the cooler to unpack the sodas and leftover food. “Yeah, it does. Does anything outside need to be secured?”

  “I’ll handle it.”

  “Okay. I’m going to head up to take a shower.”

  “I’ll do that myself after I finish outside.”

  Emma grabbed a quick shower and slipped into a cotton sundress, leaving her hair damp. Luke showed up just as she was finishing combing out her hair.

  “Wow, you look gorgeous.”

  She laughed. “My hair’s wet and I have no makeup on.”

  He kissed her shoulder. “I like you that way.”

  He was so . . . different from Vaughn, who’d preferred her dressed up, made-up, always perfect.

  She took a deep breath. “I’ll let you take your shower. I think I’
m going to make us some iced tea.”

  “Sounds good. I’ll be right down.”

  She brewed the tea, then poured it in the pitcher, adding ice. By the time she gathered up sugar and sliced lemons, Luke had reappeared in a pair of shorts and a sleeveless top, his hair still damp from his shower. He slipped his arms around her and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

  “You smell good.”

  She took a deep breath. “So do you. I made sweet tea. I can brew a pot of unsweetened if you’d rather have that.”

  “Bite your tongue. All tea should have sugar in it.”

  She grinned and poured two glasses of tea.

  Thunder had started rumbling outside. Emma glanced at the dogs, all three of them asleep in the living room, unaffected by the gathering storm.

  “They must have had an eventful day,” Emma said.

  “Lots to bark at outside. Protecting the homestead, you know.”

  They took their glasses outside and sat on the front porch. It was still warm, but windy, the limbs of the trees stretching back and forth, the waves of the lake kicking up powerful crests as the skies darkened further.

  “I’ve always loved storms,” Emma said. “The sound of thunder, the crack of lightning, and the smell of rain. God, I love the smell of rain.”

  “It’s a pain in the ass when I’m working, though. People don’t know how to drive in it.”

  She looked at him. “And you have to deal with a lot of accidents.”

  “Yeah. But days like today, when I’m off work, I love the rain, too. Being here where it’s quiet and all you have to deal with is nature, it’s perfect. When we were kids, my brothers and I would build forts in our rooms during thunderstorms and pretend we were mighty knights defending the castle during a siege.”

  She laughed. “Obviously you all had good imaginations.”

  “We had to do something. Three rambunctious boys forced inside due to weather? You can imagine the potential for destruction.”

  “You could have read books.”

  He cocked his head to the side and gave her a look. “Come on. I mean, books were fine later, when I was older. When we were young we wanted to be doing something, not reading about someone else doing something. Though my dad read to us. And would watch movies with us. That’s where we got the warrior and castle ideas.”