Wild Fire (The Fairy Tale Match Series) (16 page)

Laura cried out his name as his hands
closed over her naked flesh. She could no longer think, only feel the river of
heat flowing through her body and settling at her core. She desperately wanted
to feel his skin next to hers. She gripped his shirt and pulled it open,
scattering buttons around the floor. Her hands touched every spare inch of skin
they could reach, revelling in his hard strength under her questing fingers.

His mouth lowered to her breast,
closing over the nipple, flicking it gently with his hot tongue. Laura was out
of her mind with the fire raging through her blood. His hand dipped lower
stroking her stomach with tantalizing slowness. His fingers trailed closer and
closer to the part of her that yearned for his touch until finally they slipped
into the elastic waistband of her leggings. Finding her sensitive heat, he
stroked her. She cried out at the intense feelings shooting though her body.

Her head fell back against the wall
as his clever fingers worked their magic. Her breathing came hard and fast, the
sensations of his mouth on her breast and his fingers on her woman’s bud nearly
driving her insane. She’d never experienced anything like it before. Sparkles
danced behind her eyes as the sensations he created in her body spiralled and
soared out of control. She could hear herself moaning and panting, hardly
believing it was her. Helpless in her desire, her hips worked against his hand,
driving her closer and closer to fulfilment.

Suddenly wave, upon wave of intense
sensations flowed over her, like a white hot flame. She screamed Jake’s name,
sobbing into his shoulder as she shuddered out her release. He held her close,
as she floated back to earth, her breathing slowly returning to normal.

“Jake,” she whispered. “I’ve
never…….I mean I never knew it could be like this. It never was before.” She
looked up at him, tears flowing freely from her eyes in her wonderment.

Jake kissed her again gently. His
Laura took his breath away. She looked so beautiful with her hair mussed, half
undressed, her lips swollen from his kisses. She’d never looked more beautiful.
His heart, his body raging for his own release. Laura looked down at his
painfully obvious erection.

“What about you?” she said. “Don’t
you want to…….you know. Finish this properly?” Her hands drifted to his
waistband. “I won’t get pregnant,” she told him shyly.

Jake grabbed her hand. “No,
sweetheart. Not yet. Today was just for you. I’m not ready yet.” He didn’t know
how to explain that he just knew he couldn’t give his body to her without
losing his whole heart too. He wasn’t sure he was quite ready to commit himself
that far. He’d wanted to give her a gift, to watch her come apart in his arms.
It had been special and magical; something he’d never forget. He already knew
he was in deep with her, but hesitated to go the whole way yet. He wished he
could just give in and let go, but emotionally he just wasn’t ready.

Hurt passed over her features and his
heart shuddered in response. “Please Laura. Just give me a little more time,”
he pleaded with her gently. “I want to explore us; to see where we are going.
Just give me time.”

Laura nodded, lifting her lips to
kiss him softly. “I will give you all the time you need Jake. But I want you to
know that for me, I already love you.” Her voice trembled with her admission,
knowing he wouldn’t say the same back to her, not yet anyway. But hope bloomed
in her heart that he would be able to one day.

Jake felt his heart slam in his chest
at her words. Elation unlike anything he’d ever felt before flowed through him.
He closed his eyes a moment to savour the feeling. This amazing special woman
had told him she loved him. He wasn’t sure he deserved her. He wanted to give
the words back to her but they simply stuck in his throat. He’d said them
before and lived to regret it. Now he wanted to wait until he was sure. He
hoped she’d understand.

Jake slowly set her back on her feet,
kissing her gently one final time. He helped her to right her clothing and
locate her t-shirt. His shirt was beyond help, so he left it dangling undone at
his sides. He took her hand in his as they walked out of the stable. Laura
sincerely hoped they didn’t look like what had just happened between them, but
suspected they did. She couldn’t bring herself to really care about it. A silly
smile spread across her face. She was simply too happy.

 Laura’s legs felt like jelly after
her experience, her body tingled and her heart felt light. Jake was willing to
explore a relationship for them. She couldn’t have asked for more.

*****

Flo patted Charger on the head while
he grazed happily in the pasture. “He is such a good horse,” she said to Lotta.
“I didn’t even have to encourage him very hard to try for a bite at Walter. He
did it with such enthusiasm too! What a pity he missed.”

“Flo!” Lotta admonished. “Please
remember that you are a fairy godmother. We don’t think such thoughts.”

Flo shrugged, unrepentant.

“Things have gone very well today,”
Lotta continued. “I’m not sure our services will be required for much longer.”

“But Dan and Kerry are not any closer
to becoming a couple!” Flo protested. “We must set some kind of plan in motion
to put the two of them together.”

“I am confident that Laura will take
care of that. Truly, it looks like things are beginning to work out here. We’ll
stay another day, maybe two. Then I think it might be time to move on.”

Flo sniffed. “That’s the part I don’t
like. I miss them when we go.”

“Me too,” Lotta admitted, dabbing at
her own eyes. “But at least we’ll know they have their happy ever after.”

“I’ll only go if I see that things
are working out for Dan and Kerry,” Flo warned. “Not a moment before.”

The two fairy godmothers sat together
watching Charger, content in knowing they had almost completed their
assignment.

Laura was walking on cloud nine. No
matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get the silly grin to leave her face.
Alfie clasped his hands over his ears with good natured groaning as she broke
into an off key song during their prep for lunch service. Laughing, she threw
her cloth at him, catching him square in the face. She’d been gradually trying
to teach him how to cook, but his knife skills still scared her witless. He’d
nearly chopped the top off his finger the day before. She wasn’t sure how he’d
survived this long in the diner by himself. Still she had to admit he was a
very willing student. She couldn’t help but feel proud of him for the effort he
was putting in.

Laura glanced at her watch for what
felt like the hundredth time. Her stomach fluttered with nerves. She glanced
into the diner, but there was still no sign of Kerry. Somehow, during her very
long sleepless night, she’d hatched a plan to sort Kerry and Dan out. It could
all blow up in her face but she couldn’t see any other way.

She’d left the money to pay Martha
for the barn raising food on the table in the kitchen, which she was due to
give her that day.  She’d transferred her contribution into Jake’s account by
internet banking and he’d sweetly got the money out for her. She’d had to shush
Bill after breakfast, when he’d tried to hand it to her to take to the diner.
He’d raised his eyebrows at her, but hadn’t asked what she was up to, bless
him.

When she’d got to work she’d texted
Kerry, telling her that she’d forgotten to pick the money up and asking her to
drop it in for her. Then she’d got Dan’s number from Martha and called him,
asking him to come to the diner at lunchtime. He’d been surprised but she’d
told him she had a plan to help him with Kerry, she’d just neglected to mention
what that plan was exactly, in case he chickened out. Now she just needed Kerry
to arrive before Dan got there.

Laura tried hard not to pace, but it
was difficult. She had no idea how things were going to go, but she hoped with
the right push Kerry and Dan would work things out. Laura had decided to be the
one to give them the push. If they just sat down and talked, she was sure they
would realise they both felt the same way about each other. She wanted them to
be happy. She knew the Jake problem still existed, but hoped she’d think of
something when they had to jump that hurdle.

The diner door opened and Kerry
finally walked in. Laura breathed a sigh of relief. She stuck her head out of
the kitchen. “I’ll be right there.” Turning to Alfie she asked, “You’ll be okay
a few minutes won’t you? I won’t be long.”

“Sure I will. I’ll go slowly with the
chopping, just like you told me. Don’t worry.” Alfie grinned at her as he chopped
the remaining vegetables in a way that made Laura wince.

She smiled at him, not the slightest
bit reassured that she wouldn’t come back in the kitchen to find it covered
with blood. “I know, but you know where I am if you need me.”

“I won’t,” he said confidently. “It’s
not like you’ll be gone for more than ten minutes you know!”

A lot could happen in ten minutes,
especially with Alfie. Still she had no choice if she wanted to do this.
Trusting he’d survive being alone for a short while, Laura headed over to
Kerry, who was standing near a table by the window, looking out onto the street.
Laura hoped she wouldn’t see Dan before he got in the door. She didn’t want her
making a run for it.

“Here you go,” Kerry smiled as she
handed Laura an envelope with the money safely tucked inside.

“Thanks so much. I am such a scatter
brain today!” Laura took the money and put it in her apron pocket to give to
Martha. “How can I thank you for running it down for me?”

“It’s no trouble. I wanted to come
into town today anyway, so you didn’t put me out.” Kerry’s face took on a
teasing glint. “Is there any particular reason why you might be so absent
minded today? Anything to do with Jake maybe?”

Laura’s face went up in flames. Kerry
laughed in delight.

“I have been dying to ask you what
happened yesterday. I saw you both coming in from the stables. All I can say is
I haven’t seen Jake look that happy in a long time. Is there some good news to
tell me?”

Laura laughed through her
embarrassment, happy tears sprung to her eyes. “Things do seem to be heading in
the right direction.” She admitted. “At least he’s told me he wants to explore
the possibility of a relationship for us.”

“Oh that is so wonderful!” Kerry
breathed. “I am so happy for you both.” Laura caught the sad glint behind
Kerry’s eyes.

“Well I want the same for you. So I
hope you’ll forgive me for meddling,” Laura said as she spotted Dan heading for
the diner.

“What do you mean?” Kerry asked
alarmed. She saw Dan and her eyes widened. “Oh, no. Please say you didn’t tell
him how I feel!”

“Of course not,” Laura replied as she
waved Dan over. He stopped short at seeing Kerry, then turned questioning eyes
on Laura. “But I do feel it’s time you talked to him about it yourself.” She pushed
Kerry into the seat of the table she was standing beside, ignoring the protests
that fell from Kerry’s lips. Striding over to Dan, she took hold of his arm and
led the stunned man to the table, pressing him into the chair opposite Kerry.

“Now, lunch is on me.” She halted
their protests with a firm swipe of her hand. “No, don’t argue. There is only
one condition. I want you both to talk to each other honestly. You might be
surprised if you do. I’ll send out some food soon.”

She headed back to the kitchen,
leaving them to it.

“Well, this is awkward,” Dan said fidgeting
in his chair.

“Yep.” Kerry didn’t know where to
look. She couldn’t believe Laura had done this to her. She was going to kill
her when she got her hands on her.

Martha came over to place drinks on
their table. “Well, this is so nice,” she commented, smiling at them both.
“It’s about time we saw the two of you together. Far too long in coming, I’d
say.” She winked at them before wondering off to take their order to the
kitchen.

“Not very subtle is she?” Dan said
with a small self-conscious laugh.

“No.”

“Are you only going to give me one
word answers all lunch? If you don’t want to be here, I’ll understand.” He
fiddled with his napkin, frightened by what her answer might be.

“I’m sorry. No I don’t want to leave.
Do you?” Kerry glanced at his face, trying to gage his reaction.

“No. It’s taken far too long to get
here as it is,” Dan confessed.

“What do you mean?” Kerry asked, her
heart banging in her chest. Was it possible he meant what she hoped he did? Or
was she reading too much into it?

“Isn’t it about time we had a good
long honest talk?” Dan made the decision to lay his heart on the line. He was
scared to death, but Laura was right. They had to talk. If Kerry didn’t feel the
same way, at least he’d know.

“I guess so.” Kerry suddenly felt
like throwing up. Here she was on the brink of everything she’d ever wanted or
total heartbreak. She wasn’t at all sure she was ready. At that moment, Martha
brought their food to the table. Kerry didn’t know if she could choke it down.

Dan took a mouthful of food, trying
to gather his thoughts. “What happened two years ago was a huge mistake. I wish
more than anything that I could go back and change it. But I can’t. I have to
live with that for the rest of my life. I lost my best friend; my brother that
day.” He paused, taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes before adding, “And
something even more precious that I had no idea I was losing.”

Kerry’s mouth went dry. “What Dan?”
She was terrified that he wouldn’t say what her heart dreamt he would say. But
she had to know.

Dan opened his eyes and looked
directly into her face. He leaned over and took her hand in his. “You, Kerry. I
lost you.”

Tears gathered in her eyes to fall
gently down her face as she took in his words. “Oh, Dan. Do you really mean
that?”

Her heart soared in hope, but she
still felt cautious that she was wrong somehow. That this was all some crazy
dream and she’d wake up the same as before. Empty and longing for something
she’d never have.

“With all my heart.”

She sobbed uncontrollably, slumping
over slightly in her chair. “Do you know how long I’ve wished and dreamed that
you would say something like that to me? How hurt I was when you wanted
Victoria?” she gasped between sobs. “I thought you only saw me as Jake’s little
sister.”

“For a long time I did,” he admitted.
“It wasn’t till I lost everything thanks to what happened that I realised my
feelings for you were more than I’d thought. Watching you from afar these last
two years has been torture. I worried you’d fall for some other guy. That I’d
have to watch you marry another man.”

Kerry sat up straighter, leaning
across the table she hit him in the chest. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she cried.
“I’ve been scared to death that you’d marry one of the many fawning women that
throw themselves at you. It’s been a nightmare thinking I’d never get the
chance I dreamed of with you. And all the time, we could have done something
about it. If only you’d given me a sign.”

“How could I? I thought you hated me.
And then there’s Jake. We both know he hates me. Even now, he’d never give his
blessing. He could cut you out of his life. I can’t ask that of you.”

“I won’t give you up Dan,” Kerry said
fiercely. “I’ve waited far too long for this. We have to find a way to make
things work. We have to fix things with Jake.”

Dan stared deep into her eyes. “Now
that we’ve found each other, I’ll do everything I can to make it up with Jake.
For you.”

“I can’t believe this is happening.”
She laughed joyfully.

“I know. We have a lot to thank a
certain person for.” He glanced towards the kitchen where Laura kept peeking
out every now and then.

“We sure do.” Kerry sniffled, wiping
her face with a tissue from her bag. “So, what do we do now?”

“We finish our lunch and we talk. I
am not such an idiot that I don’t realise we still have a lot to talk through
before we can put the past behind us. Then we can start deciding on our future.
What do you say?”

Kerry smiled brightly. “I say, yes!
Yes! Yes!”

*****

“How do you think its going?” Laura asked Alfie.

“I’m sure their fine, unlike this steak you’ve almost
cremated. I thought that one was my specialty!” Alfie quipped with a laugh.

Laura stuck her tongue out at him and laughed too. “I can’t
help it. I’m dying of curiosity here!” She spied Kerry getting up and heading
for the bathroom. Quickly she slipped out of the kitchen and hurried over to
Dan, sitting in Kerry’s recently vacated seat.

“Well?” she demanded slightly out of breath from her mad
dash.

He smiled the most dazzling smile she’d ever seen from him.
“How am I ever going to repay you for this?” He grabbed her hand and squeezed
it tight. “We talked. Really talked and finally we both know how we feel for
each other. I know we still have a rocky road sorting things with Jake, but at
least we are together and working things out.”

Laura gave a squeal of happiness. “I am so happy for you
both. You are together then?”

“We are. Tonight Kerry is coming over to mine for dinner.
We’re going to spend an evening getting to know each other again, somewhere we
can really talk with no eyes on us.”

Laura flushed. “I’m sorry. I just couldn’t stop myself!”

“Don’t be silly. I’m beyond grateful. I just want some time
with Kerry to myself.” He grinned broadly at her.

Laura nodded her understanding. What he said sounded really
good and if Kerry was going to be out tonight, maybe she could persuade Bill to
be absent as well. A wonderful idea took hold to surprise Jake. She smiled back
at Dan as she laid her plans.

*****

Jake stood outside the diner,
unobserved by the couple seated in the window. His blazing eyes took in the
details rapidly. Dan fairly glowed with happiness and so horribly did she!
Their hands clasped together in an intimate hold. It was quite obvious they’d
been having a romantic lunch together. He could see the empty plates on the
cosy table for two. He felt sick. His heart shattered into a million pieces.

How could this be happening to him
again? With Dan again? After all he’d told her, all they had shared, she had to
ram a knife into his heart and twist it. Pain unlike anything he’d ever felt
before surged through him. It was as he’d known it would be; far worse than
what he’d experienced with Victoria. He’d really dared to hope he had something
special with Laura. What a fool!

Why hadn’t he listened to his own
cautions? He’d been so stupid to place his heart on the line again. All morning
he’d been so happy. He’d been whistling as he cleaned out the stables, laughing
again with the stable hands like he’d used to before Victoria. He’d felt like
he was walking on air, like he could conquer the world.

He’d been so looking forward to
exploring this amazing connection they’d found. He’d begun to dare to believe
in his dreams again. So much so, that he’d headed into town to surprise her at
the end of her shift in the diner.