Hope Falls: Hearts Afire (Kindle Worlds Novella)

by Julie Prestsater

When they turned onto her mom’s street, he no longer thought about how much he wanted to touch his new best friend. He thought about meeting her family. It had seemed like a great idea hours ago to try and make Katie happy. He hadn’t stopped to consider that he’d have to meet her big brother in the process. Now, he was starting to second-guess his decision.

  He pulled into the driveway, parking next to another truck like his own. He knew instinctively that it belonged to her brother. It was something that he could laugh at inside. Maybe firefighters were as cliché as Katie had said they were. Well, not entirely. He was there. With her. And he had no intention of leaving her. Not any time soon. Or ever. She didn’t know that yet, but he would be filling her in on that detail as soon as he got the chance.

  As he rounded the truck to open her door, the front door to her mom’s house opened. An older woman was standing at the threshold, yelling, “Oh my goodness, is that really you, Katherine Marie?”

  Katie jumped out and into his arms as soon as she opened the door. She planted a quick peck on his lips and said, “Thank you, Casey,” before she ran up the walkway toward her mother. He pressed his fingertips to his lips. Did that just happen? Did she really kiss him? It was over before it started, and Casey felt ripped off. He didn’t even have the chance to enjoy it. Once again, Katie had shocked him speechless and motionless. At least they weren’t on a run, or he might have tripped over his own feet.

  He pushed aside his feelings, locked up the truck, and made his way toward Katie.

  She was wrapped up in her mother’s arms and they were both crying happy tears.

  “Hey, man.” A guy who matched him in height held out his hand to him. “You must be Casey. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Ryan.”

  It occurred to him that her brother knew who he was and heck if that didn’t put a smile on his already giddy face. “Great to meet you.”

  “Thanks for bringing her home.” Ryan wiped away a tear from his own eye. “This is quite the surprise.”

  “You’re welcome. I knew it meant a lot to her to see your mom. She was pretty freaked out.”

  “We all were, but you know how it goes. Once she got some sugar in her, she was just fine. She just needs to make sure to have a healthy snack before bed every night and everything should be fine.”

  Casey smiled, watching Katie and her mother rock back and forth like long-lost pals. “You and I both know how it works, but I wasn’t about to tell your sister that. She needed to see for herself that your mom was okay.”

  Ryan laughed. “You seem to know my sister pretty well.”

  Casey nodded. “I do.”

  “And you really care for her.”

  He nodded again. “I do.”

  “She’s been through a lot.”

  “I know.”

  “Don’t hurt her.”

  “I won’t.”

  Ryan didn’t say anything else. He held out his hand to Casey again, a silent understanding between two men.

  “Hey, what are you two whispering about over here?” Katie punched her brother in the gut and he gathered her in a headlock. “You’re going to mess up my hair!”

  Both Ryan and Casey said at the same time, “As if that’s possible.” The two of them laughed hysterically at Katie’s expense.

  “No fair.” She tried to punch Casey in the gut this time, but he caught her hand and held onto it, threading his fingers with hers. With her other hand, she held up a finger to his face. “We’re only here for a couple hours, Case. Don’t you go falling in love with my brother like all my other friends do.”

  He chuckled at her joking plea. “I’ll try not to.”

  “Ahem.” Katie’s mom pretended to cough. “What do I look like? Chopped liver?”

  “Oh my gosh, Mom. This is Casey.” She turned to him, tears quickly pooling in her eyes. “This is my mom Clara.”

  Casey let go of Katie’s hand and wrapped his arms around her mother. “It’s nice to meet you. It’s wonderful to see you’re feeling better.”

  She patted him on the back while she whispered in his ear. “It’s nice to see my baby so happy.”

  He whispered back, “I couldn’t agree more.” She squeezed him one more time before she let go. She reminded him of Mary. They both gave great mom hugs. When he returned, he was going to tell his stepmom just that. He knew it would make her smile.

  “What are you doing out here, Ryan?” A woman’s voice called out. “Are you kidding me? Katie!” A pretty redhead flew out of the door and tossed her arms around Katie. “You’re here. I missed you so much, bug!” The redhead and Katie talked as if they were the only two people there; only stopping to take a breath once they were done. Casey wasn’t sure what the hell they were talking about. When he looked over at Ryan, he was pretty sure he wasn’t the only one.

  Finally, Katie looked over at him with a smile. “Casey, this is Lizzy, my sister-in-law.”

  He held out his hand to her, but she smacked it away and gave him a hug. “We’re huggers, Casey. Ain’t that right, Ry?”

  Her husband chuckled with a shake of his head. “We’re also crazy, as you can see. Let’s go inside. There’s been enough commotion on this block for one day.”

  Now that the introductions were complete, they all headed inside. Ryan and Casey followed the women, who were back to being joined at the hip.

  Seeing the excitement register on Katie’s face was enough to wash away any reservations he had about meeting her family. She was beyond thrilled to be home.

  It had made him equal parts happy, confused, and terrified.

  If she was this happy to be home, how could she ever stay in Hope Falls?

  CHAPTER TEN

  KATIE

  Just as they had planned, Katie and Casey had stayed for dinner and then got back on the road. She had dreaded leaving, thinking it was going to kill her to say goodbye to her family, but to her surprise, she was okay. She glanced over at Casey, who was still refusing to share the driving duty with her, and she smiled. She was content.

  “What?” he said, looking over at her and then at the road. She didn’t say anything, but the smile stayed planted on her face. He reached toward her, running his hand down the back of her head to her neck. It wasn’t his usual tug on her ponytail. His hand slid toward her face and cupped her cheek. She covered his hand with hers, turned her head, and kissed his open palm.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  He interlocked their fingers. “You’re welcome.” He brought her hand to his lips and pressed them softly to her skin.

  Tingles spread throughout her body at his touch. She looked at their joined hands and smiled. This is what it felt like to hold Casey Palmer’s hand. It felt amazing, like her heart was on fire with giddiness, passion, and love all at the same time.

  When Katie arrived in the small town, she was dead set against getting involved again. To her, falling in love was synonymous with broken hearts and broken promises.

  But then, she met Casey. Nothing could have prepared her for what she felt for this man. Emotions—so many emotions that she couldn’t describe because he left her at a loss for words. She felt so much love for him that she could barely think.

  So, she just sat back, held his hand, and let her mind wander about what their future might hold.

  Somewhere between home and Hope Falls, Katie fell asleep. When she awoke, they were pulling onto the road to the B&B.

  “Oh my gosh, Casey. I’m so sorry. I slept through the whole trip.” Groggy, she wiped the sleep from her eyes and tried to focus on the time. It was almost three in the morning. “You’re not going to work, are you?”

  “Not until tomorrow morning.” He cut the engine, got out of the truck and rounded it to her side. She tried to gather her things, stuffing it into her backpack. “Go ahead and go inside, sleepyhead, I’ll bring all your things in.”

  Even though she had slept, she was still sleepy as hell, so she did as she was told. She climbed out of the truck with only her purse in her
hand. She fumbled with her keys before she finally made it into the house and up to her room.

  She was coming out of the bathroom when Casey entered her room with her backpack, pillow, and blanket.

  “I found your iPod,” he said, holding up the little pink device.

  “Where was it?” She chuckled, knowing that she could lose anything and he’d probably find it.

  “In the side pocket of your backpack. I opened it up to stuff your gloves inside and voila.” He sat her things down in the corner of the room and then headed to the door. “You don’t have to walk me down. I’ll lock up.”

  Katie closed the distance between them. She looked up at him, placing her hands on his chest, and he met her gaze. She took in a deep breath and tried to commit this moment to memory. There wasn’t anything she wanted to forget from their run yesterday morning until now.

  She loved the longing look is his sparkling blue eyes. There was no doubt she had that same look in her own. She wanted him, so much.

  “Not so fast.” She hooked her finger in the waistband of his jeans and pulled him closer to her. She didn’t want him to have any doubts about what she wanted. “Stay with me, Casey.”

  He reached out to her, cupping her face in both of his hands. “God, Kate. There’s nothing I’d rather do, but—”

  “No buts,” she told him. “Stay.”

  “I didn’t take you to see your mom so you’d sleep with me.”

  Katie chuckled, still looking into his breathtaking eyes. “Casey, I wanted to have sex with you long before you took me to see my mom.”

  It was his turn to laugh. He lowered his face, his lips brushing against her neck. “Oh, really. When did you decide you wanted to have sex with me?”

  As his tongue swirled along the length of her neck, she tried hard to answer his question. Only it was really hard to think while he was setting off sparks all over her body. She squeezed her thighs together as her toes curled in her shoes.

  “The night I met you, I considered it.” She combed her fingers through his soft, thick hair as his hands traveled down her body. “But I was a goner the minute you told me you read my books.”

  He lifted his head and stared into her eyes. “That was a long time ago, Kate.”

  She nodded; her eyes alight with desire. “And you’ve kept me waiting long enough.”

  CASEY

  He was just about to lower his head to kiss her when she stepped away from him.

  “Did you lock the door before you came up?” she asked as she walked around the room, turning off the lights and closing all the blinds.

  “Of course, I did. I wasn’t about to come up here and leave the door open. We’re out in the middle of nowhere. Hope Falls is safe as can be, but you can never be too sure. In fact, it literally stresses me out that you’re out here alone.”

  “I’m not alone all the time. Shelby and Levi are in and out.”

  “Not at night. They don’t live here.”

  She shrugged him off as if it were no big deal. “They’re looking for a live-in caretaker. Who knows? I might take the job.”

  “And live here permanently?” he asked. There was a time when if a woman had said something like that, he would have gotten the hell out of dodge. But Katie didn’t spook him with her revelation. In fact, it was just what he needed to hear after he had literally given himself a pep-talk the whole way home about her leaving Hope Falls.

  When they first met, he was adamant about not getting close to her because she was going to leave him, just like everyone else had. But now, after getting to know her, after falling so hard for her he could barely see straight, if she wanted to go back home, he wouldn’t begrudge her that. He was pretty damn sure he’d follow her the whole four hundred and seventy-two miles back to southern California. Hell, he’d follow Kate anywhere.

  “Yeah, why not?” She answered his question with one of her own. She stood in front of him, smiling up at him with a grin that wouldn’t quit. “Even though my book is just pages from being done, I’m not ready to leave, Casey.”

  He tried hard to swallow the emotions that flowed through him. He couldn’t have been happier to hear the news that she wanted to stay.

  “Cat got your tongue?” she teased him. “Stunned speechless again?”

  He chuckled, thinking about their first encounter and just about every one after that. She always had him tongue-tied and twisted. “Who needs words, Kate?” He circled his arms around her, pulling her close to him. “All I need is you.”

  She pressed her chest flush against his, letting her head fall back, blinking her eyes and then closing them. It was as if she was standing there, soaking in the moment. He took an instant to observe her, his gaze falling on her lips. He wanted so badly to scoop her up and climb into bed with her, devouring every part of her body with his mouth. But he wouldn’t do that. Not just yet. He had waited patiently for his chance to kiss her and he was going to take it slow, savoring every second that his mouth touched hers.

  “I’d like to kiss you now, Kate.” He swallowed his lust, waiting for her to respond.

  She smiled, her eyes fluttering open. “I’m not getting any younger.”

  If he didn’t know her better, her goofy statement would have killed the mood. But he did know Katie, and it only made him love her even more. Yes, he loved her, he thought, as he lowered his lips to hers.

  He touched his lips to hers softly, tentatively. He was purposeful, barely grazing his mouth against hers. With the slightest touch, sparks had ignited all over his body, firing off shots of electricity in all directions. Little by little, his lips pressed to hers, heavy with emotion and desire. Each time they touched, he craved the feeling even more. He couldn’t get enough, finally covering her full mouth with his, sucking on her top lip and then her bottom. She playfully scraped her teeth along his bottom lip and it was nearly his undoing.

  He needed more and he needed it now.

  KATIE

  She loved that Casey was taking his time with her, but she was literally about to self-combust. She ached for him. If she pressed her thighs together any tighter, she feared they’d never come apart.

  Piece by piece, Casey removed her clothing, his tongue following the path as he exposed her skin. As his mouth found the flesh of her breast, she hissed. He took her nipple between his teeth and nibbled with the perfect amount of pressure.

  She had tried more than once to rid him of his clothes, but he kept pushing her hands away.

  “Be patient,” he told her, a knowing smile on his face. He knew she had all the patience of a two-year old. When she was finally naked, he held her hands and took a step back. “You. Are. Beautiful.” She watched as he swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

  “It’s real, Casey.” She took his hand and placed it over her heart. “Somehow, someway, you’ve taken up residence right here. In my heart. It’s real.”

  He lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers. As they kissed, he allowed her to strip him of his clothes. Their tongues slid past each other, tasting each other and dancing around as his pants dropped and then his boxer briefs. They had to break their kiss to get his shirt over his head, but when all was said and done, Katie could hardly breathe.

  Casey Palmer was breathtakingly gorgeous. He was tall, muscular, and chiseled like a Greek God. Who knew he was packing all that underneath his gear. She was tempted to drop to the ground and bow to him, chanting, “I’m not worthy.”

  Instead, she tilted her chin up to the ceiling, closed her eyes and said, “Are you there, God? It’s me, Katie. Thank you so much for the ridiculously hot naked man in my bedroom.”

  When she opened her eyes, Casey was shaking his head. She could see that he wanted to laugh—so did she—but now was not the time. She needed badly to touch him.

  With her palms flat against his chest, she raked her hands over the hair that dusted each one of his finely sculpted pecs. She didn’t know where to beg
in. She wanted to explore every inch of his body with her hands, her lips, her tongue.

  She stepped back and soaked him in, just as Casey had done her.

  “Casey. You. Are. Beautiful.”

  He smiled, curved his hand around her neck and pulled her in for another kiss. Katie devoured him. She couldn’t get enough. Inch by inch, he backed her up until her legs hit the bed. Together, they lowered themselves onto it. Their bodies lined up perfectly. They took turns exploring each other. She closed her eyes and held her breath as his fingers dipped between her legs and worked magically to bring her pleasure that she had never experienced before. She had no idea what she was missing until now. Casey brought her to her peak and over with only his expert hands working her like she was an instrument and he was a masterful musician.

  It took her a second to come down from her high, but when she did, it was her turn to explore him. He filled her hand and then some. She could only imagine what it was going to be like for him to be inside her. She pumped his shaft as she thought about him thrusting inside her. She grit her teeth and squeezed her thighs together as Casey took heaving breaths and pumped his hips into her hand.

  He kissed her forehead and brushed her hair from her face. Then his gaze met hers. She would never tire of looking into his sparkling blue eyes.

  “I want you, Kate.”

  “I want you too, Casey.” She reached toward the side of the bed and grabbed a condom from her nightstand.

  He chuckled. “I thought you had sworn off men.” He leaned back and put the thing on.

  She fluttered her brows at him. “That was before I met you, stud.”

  He laughed heartily as he lowered himself on top of her. “You’re too much.”

  Katie smacked him in the ass. “You already have me drooling over your hot bod, Case. Don’t make me beg.”

  Casey shook his head. “Slow down, Kate.” He kissed her lips. “This isn’t a race.” Her eyes fluttered closed as he kissed her forehead. “I’m not going to fuck you.” She felt his lips on her chin. “We’re not going to have sex either.” On her left cheek. “You mean too much to me for that.” Right cheek. “You’re going to be the first and last woman”—he placed a heavy kiss on her mouth this time, tongue and all—“I ever make love to.”