Hearts on Fire Read online

  “Ummm… getting ready for bed?” I asked, confused at his question. I mean, wasn’t it obvious?

  He motioned to my shorts and tank. “What are you wearing?”

  I looked down at my clothes, trying to figure out what the problems was. “Pajamas?”

  “You are so fucking cute; you know that?” He stalked over to the bed and reached for the hem of my tank. He pulled it over my head, freeing my breasts from the material. I looked at him with wide eyes. “This is a ‘no pajamas’ week, woman. Number one—I want to feel your soft skin against mine at night.” He slid his fingers into the waistband of my shorts. I lifted my hips so he could slide those off too. “Number two—they’re just a waste of time, since I plan on taking them off anyways.”

  I gave him a flirty smile. “So that’s it, huh? I don’t get a say? What are you? The pajama police?”

  “Something like that.” He pulled the towel at his waist and let it fall to the ground. He crawled up on the bed and straddled me. He grabbed me by the hips and pulled me down so I was flat on my back. He took my wrists and locked them together on the pillow over my head. He leaned over the top of me, pinning me with his gaze. “Did you want me to handcuff you? Because that can be arranged.” His voice was low and seductive. His eyes dark and piercing.

  I looked up at him with innocence. I thought about his proposition, then said softly, “I…I don’t think I’m ready for that yet.” The way he looked at me, put me in a trance. All conscious thought left my mind, as images of being handcuffed floated through my mind. It wasn’t altogether that unappealing. What if that was what he wanted? Something I wasn’t ready for. Yet. We had never really talked about that. I swallowed down the lump in my throat.

  “Relax. I’m messing with you.” He flashed me that panty dropping smile.

  I let out a breath of relief. “You scared me a little bit,” I whispered.

  He ran his knuckles softly down the side of my face. “Baby, you know I would never do anything to you that we both didn’t agree on? Right?”

  I turned my head to the side, swallowing down another lump. Tears that I was trying to hide, filled my eyes. I blinked them away. He let go of my wrists and turned my chin to look at him. A single tear ran down the side of my face to the pillow.

  Concern filled his eyes, “Kyla, I really was just messing with you.” He placed a gentle kiss on my lips.

  “I know.” I took a deep breath, letting my insecurities show. “I just… I just want to be enough for you.” My voice quivered, as I fought to keep it under control.

  “Baby, look at me.” I looked into his eyes. Eyes so blue, they put the ocean to shame. “You are more than enough for me. You’re smart. You’re beautiful. You’re sexy. You bring out the best in me. You’re my everything, my forever.”

  He got up from the bed and went to his duffle bag. He unzipped it and then came back to sit next to me. “I was going to wait until later in the week for this, but I think now is the perfect time.”

  I sat up in bed, grasping the sheet to my chest to cover me. He pulled a small box from behind his back. I gasped and threw my hands up over my mouth, letting the sheet fall to my waist. Oh my god!

  “It’s not what you think,” he smiled at me. “I have thought about us and our future together. One day, I will marry you. Nothing would make me happier. But for now, this is all I can offer.” He opened the box. Nestled inside the velvet lining was a silver ring with an amethyst stone cut in the shape of a heart. The color such a deep shade of purple, it almost looked black. He took the ring out of the box and placed it on the ring finger of my right hand. “I’m giving you my heart. When you look at it, I want you to remember that this is my promise to you. I know it will be hard when we go away to school, but I’ll always be with you.

  I was struck speechless. I had so much I wanted to say, but none of it would come out. I just stared at the beautiful heart shaped ring on my finger. Tears filled my eyes for a whole new reason, and slipped down my cheek.

  Tyler took my hands in his, “I hope those are happy tears.”

  I nodded my head frantically. “Yes! I…I just don’t know what to say.”

  “Say you’ll have faith in me. In us.” He brought my hands to his lips and kissed them. “I know this is scary— being apart— but we can do this. I’m not going anywhere. My heart is staying with you.”

  “I will… I mean… I do. I… I don’t even know how to tell you how much I love you,” I said wiping the tears away.

  “You show me every day. I couldn’t ask for more.” He pulled me in and wrapped his arms around me. “When I asked you to Homecoming, I never knew you would completely capture my heart.”

  I pulled back. “I want you to know, I’ve always trusted you. It’s those skanky bitches I don’t trust,” I said twisting my mouth sideways.

  He chuckled, whether at my words or my expression, I wasn’t not sure. “Don’t you worry about those skanky bitches. I’ll make sure they know we’re together. You’ll try to be at my games, right?”

  “Of course! I gotta cheer my man on.”

  He took my face in his hands, “We’re going to be all right.”

  “I know,” I said placing my hands over his.

  “Good. Now that we’ve settled that, I think we have some unfinished business. I owe you some lovin’. And I always pay my debts.”

  He reached down and grabbed me by the ankles, pulling me flat to the mattress again. I giggled at the rush as my head hit the pillow. He pushed my feet apart and settled between my legs. “See? Clothes are such a waste of time.” He buried his head between my thighs and paid his debt many times over.

  Chapter 30

  Tyler

  Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! My eyes popped open at the sound. Kyla was wrapped in my arms, her head on my chest. She was beautiful when she slept.

  The morning light was just starting to peek through the blinds. It was still early. Really early. I reached over and grabbed my phone to check the time. Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

  Kyla stirred on my chest. Her eyes barely opened as she looked up at me. “What time is it?” she asked in her groggy morning voice.

  Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! “Early.” We both looked at the wall behind the bed. “Too early for this shit.”

  Kyla smiled smugly, resting her head back on my chest. “You can’t say anything. That was the deal.”

  “What deal?” Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

  “I promised we’d pretend not to hear them, if they pretended not to hear us,” she explained. Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

  “Fuck that! It’s like 5:30 in the morning.” I reached my arm up over my head and pounded my fist against the wall. “People are trying to sleep over here!” I shouted.

  “Sorry!” the muffled response came through the wall.

  I snuggled Kyla back in my arms, wrapping her in my warmth. I kissed the top of her head and drifted back to sleep.

  I woke a few hours later to an empty bed. I didn’t like it. I wanted to wake with her still in my arms. I quickly threw some shorts on and headed to the kitchen. The smell of coffee filled the air.

  Tori and Chris were sitting at the table getting their morning caffeine. “Morning, cock blocker,” Chris chided. I flipped him the bird then grabbed a mug from the cabinet and filled it.

  “Boy, someone’s crabby this morning,” Tori smirked over her cup of coffee.

  I added cream and sugar. “Someone got woke up at the ass crack of dawn by his friends fucking against the wall,” I replied curtly.

  “Technically, that was the bed, not us,” Chris corrected.

  “Whatever, man. It was early.” I looked around the room looking for her. “Where’s Kyla?”

  Tori pointed towards the slider. “She sitting out on the back deck. Been out there a while.”

  I nodded my thanks and walked towards the deck. I could see her through the window, sitting at the table, feet up on the chair, knees tucked to her chest, as she looked out over the lake with a mug in her hands.
Her hair was in a messy knot on top of her head. She was gorgeous with the sun shining on her face, free of make-up and natural.

  I slid the door open. “Where’d you go?”

  She turned to look at me and smiled. “I didn’t want to wake you.”

  I went over and sank in the chair next to her. “Whatcha doing out here by yourself?”

  She looked back out over the lake. “I just love it here. It’s so peaceful in the morning. I like listening to the waves, it’s soothing. It calms me. Helps me put life into perspective.” She turned and faced me. “Thank you for last night. I needed that. But, you always know what I need.” She looked down at the ring on her finger. “Thank you for always being there for me. And for being here with me now.”

  “Baby, there’s no place I’d rather be. You okay?”

  “I’m perfect,” she assured me. “So what do you want to do today?

  “Well,” I said running my hand over my stubble, “what do you think about jet skiing? Do you know if there’s a place around here to rent them?”

  “Ooooh! That sounds like fun,” her eyes lit up. “I think there’s a place just down the road. I’ll have to ask Tori.” Kyla got up and walked to the slider, then quickly turned back around. “Are you hungry? I’ll make you breakfast.”

  “How about we make it together?”

  She gave me a sweet smile. “Come on,” she motioned with her head.

  After a breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast, we all got changed and took Chris’s truck down to the jet ski rental. We rented two. One for Chris and Tori and one for us. After I got Kyla situated in her life jacket, we headed toward the dock. “Have you ever done this before?” I asked.

  “No,” she shook her head. “Have you?”

  “Once. But it was back in Bay City on an inland lake. You scared?”

  “Not with you.” I loved that she put all her faith in me. She felt safe with me.

  I lower myself on to the jet ski, then held my hand out for her to step on behind me. “Hold on tight. And don’t let go.”

  She wrapped her hands around my waist and gripped my legs with her thighs. Fuck, that felt good. “You ready?”

  “Yes,” she answered as the jet ski bobbed in the waves under us.

  I started the engine and she laid her head against my back. I started out into the open water. I took it slow, riding the waves that were close to the shore. When we got out a distance, I yelled back over my shoulder, “Hang on, baby!”

  I opened the throttle and soared out across the lake. I loved the feeling of the wind in my face and the freedom of the open water. A speed boat passed us, creating huge waves in its wake. We took the first wave and soared into the air, landing hard back in the water, then skimmed over the smaller waves. I slowed, and looked over my shoulder. “You okay?”

  Kyla had a giant smile plastered across her face. She nodded and laughed, “This is awesome!” The waves rocked us back and forth.

  I opened it up again and took off across the lake. We drove down by the Sleeping Bear Dunes and then headed back. Kyla gripped me tighter, never loosening her hold. She laughed and screamed with delight. It was music to my ears to hear her enjoying this. I slowed us down to a stop and turned to give her a kiss. Just her and me out in the lake as we bobbed up and down. “You really like this, don’t you?”

  “I love it! Can I drive?”

  I looked at her skeptically, “You sure?”

  “Yeah! I wanna do it.” She was glowing. How could I say no to that?

  We switched places as I put the key ring around her wrist. I held on to her tiny waist. “Be careful, baby. You gotta hold on tight--” Before I even finished my sentence, she had us roaring across the lake. Another speedboat came by and she took the wake like a pro. I was actually pretty impressed.

  I saw her go to make the turn and everything happened in slow motion. She turned the handles tight to the left, taking the curve way too sharp. The momentum from the speed, didn’t allow us to follow the turn she was taking. I tried to hold on to her, but my hands slipped from her waist and I was thrown off into the cold, deep water. I went under and was disoriented by the waves, water rushing over my head. When I finally surfaced, I looked around and saw the jet ski bobbing in the water about fifteen feet away. Kyla wasn’t on it. I fucking panicked and searched around in the water.

  When I turned to the right, there she was, full on laughing, as she treaded water. “You okay?” I yelled to her. I couldn’t keep the worry out of my voice.

  “Oh my god! That was awesome!” she cried out.

  I swam out to her and grabbed her hand, pulling her back to me. “You scared the shit out of me!” I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tight.

  She pulled back. “I’m fine,” a smile lit up her face.

  She pulled my hand and we swam back to jet ski. I climbed up first, then held out my hand to help her up. She climbed on behind me and handed me the key. I was pissed, now that I knew she was fine. The feeling I had, when I thought something might have happened to her, settled low in my gut. We drove back to the shore in silence. We docked and took off our life jackets. I knew she could sense my level of pisstivity. I started to walk away, leaving her standing there.

  “Hey! I’m sorry!” she said. “I just got carried away. The adrenaline rush. The wind in my hair. The open water. I was just having fun!”

  I strode back to her, my anger simmering over and leaned down close to her face. “You scared the fuck out of me! That was reckless! When I didn’t see you I panicked.” I pointed at my chest, “It’s MY job to keep you safe!” I was yelling at her now.

  She turned her back on me, crossing her arms over her chest, and her shoulders started to shake. I reached out to touch her shoulder and she shrugged it off, pulling away.

  My anger hadn’t dissipated, but I knew I had just hurt her. Fuck! “Kyla?” I said gruffly.

  She turned and faced me, tears in her eyes, but never falling. “What?” she snapped. “You think it’s okay to yell at me like that? I’m not a child!” Her voice was cold and hard. She had never used that tone with me before. “I made a mistake. Get the fuck over it! I’m fine! You’re fine!” She let out a frustrated sigh. “This was supposed to be fun. Mission NOT accomplished!” She stomped off towards Chris’s truck, threw down the tailgate, and hopped up.

  I turned in the key to the rental office. I was a shit. Why did I yell at her like that? Because she scared me, that’s why. But she really didn’t deserve it. I knew that. I walked over to the truck, grabbed my hat out of the cab, and then hopped on the tailgate next to her.

  I put my arm around her and buried my head in her hair. “I’m sorry.”

  “Me, too. But, you can’t yell at me like that” her voice was distant.

  “I know you didn’t mean for that to happen. I just got scared. I didn’t mean to yell at you,” I whispered.

  “Me neither,” she said softly.

  “Did we just have our first fight?”

  She looked up at me with those sad green eyes. “I think so.”

  “You’ve never talked to me like that before. I honestly didn’t know you had it in you.”

  “You’ve never pissed me off before,” she said honestly. “I’m sorry I scared you.”

  I took her face in my hands. “I don’t want to fight with you.”

  “I don’t want to fight with you either.”

  “I hear make up sex is pretty great,” I smirked at her. “Maybe we can try it out.”

  When we got back to the house, Kyla and I snuck off to our room. She sat on the bed, wringing her hands in her lap. “Tyler. I really am sorry about what happened today. The last thing I wanted to do here, was fight with you. Especially since this our last week together for a while.”

  I sat next to her, taking her hand. “Maybe it was a good thing. I mean, better here to have our first fight, than when we’re miles apart. At least we know we can handle it, and come out of it okay.”

  “We’re okay?�
�� she questioned.

  “Yeah, we’re okay. It’s going to take more than that to break us.”

  She nodded. “It gave me a sick feeling in my stomach. I don’t like fighting with you.”

  “Me neither, baby. I love you. No more fighting.” I pulled her onto my lap and wrapped my arms around her waist. She put her arms around my shoulders and pressed her lips to mine.

  Suddenly, the kiss became frantic, as our tongues tangled. Kyla pushed her soft hands up under my shirt and rubbed my muscular chest. I reached back and pulled the shirt over my head. She reached for the hem over her own shirt, lifting it away. I worked the ties on her bikini top and let if fall to her lap, freeing her tits.

  Our remaining clothes disappeared fast, as we desperately groped each other. I needed in her. Now! She straddled my chest and I stuck my fingers in her wet, warm pussy. “I love how you’re always so ready for me,” I growled. I grabbed her hips and pulled her to my face. I had never done that to her before.

  “Ty?” she stiffened. Then gasped as I stuck my tongue inside her, and her body relaxed from the pleasure I was giving her. Her head dropped back, as she grabbed at the headboard of the bed, “Oh my god!” Her breath came in quick short bursts as I worked her relentlessly, finding that perfect spot. I felt her pussy clench around my tongue, as she came on my face.

  She moved back down my chest and I quickly grabbed a condom. Kyla hovered over my dick. I grabbed it in my hand and guided it into her wetness. With her hands braced on my chest, as she slid down on my cock. She let out a loud moan as her eyes rolled back in ecstasy. She worked me up and down at a furious pace. Her tits bouncing. I reached up and took them in my hands, squeezing and rolling her nipples between my fingers.

  She pushed her pussy down on me, gyrating her hips. I seized the moment, grabbed her by the waist and flipped her over onto her back. She let out a loud gasp as she landed hard onto the mattress. She spread her legs wide, knees bent, and feet flat on the bed. She pushed her hips up meeting me thrust for thrust. I pounded my dick into her fast and furious. I pushed her knees to her chest, allowing me to get deeper. With my hands on the back of her thighs, I watched as I slid into her over and over again. The sight of me disappearing into her, was erotic as fuck. Her hand went between us. She desperately rubbed small circles against her clit, seeking her own release again.