Hope Falls: Hidden Love (Kindle Worlds Novella) Read online

  He held the door to his house for her and waited patiently for her to walk in.

  When she did, she still clutched onto her backpack as if it would afford her some protection from him. In the kitchen, he calmly poured two cups of coffee then placed one in front of her. He met her gaze levelly and said softly, "Talk."

  She shook her head. "I'm not talking. I need to go."

  He didn’t flinch. "Just how much trouble are you in?"

  "I'm in the kind of trouble that gets me dead. So, since you've already seen past my disguise, let me go or arrest me or whatever."

  "Thing is, I can't seem to find any reason to arrest Corin Michaels. Or, Cara whatever your name is. Although, I have a feeling both of those names are fake. Or at least the wrong combinations. So, I can’t make you stay. But I would like to know who the hell I’ve been sleeping with."

  Okay, so he’d done a background check. "I guess this means that you also looked up my prints."

  He nodded. "No dice. You're a ghost. So," he leaned forward, putting his mug down on the counter. "Want to tell me who you really are? Or what you're running from?"

  She swallowed hard, her skin tingling at his proximity. The urge to run was strong, the urge to lean in was even stronger. She wanted him. But letting herself get close to him was going to get her killed. Or worse, get him killed. She shook her head. "I can't."

  "Were you at least going to say goodbye? As Cara, or Corin?"

  She shook her head and raised her chin. "No. I wasn't. You were never supposed to happen."

  He took a step towards her. And his scent made her want to lean in. To inhale him. To revel in the sandalwood scent of his skin. To relish in the stubble at his jaw, that had abraded her skin the other night. That's what instinct told her to do. Instinct was stupid. Instinct is horny. She should not listen to instinct. But then he leaned closer still.

  She knew he was going to kiss her, but she was powerless to stop it. Because this was what she wanted.

  "I'm sorry I ruined your plan, but from the moment I saw you, I couldn't help falling for you."

  And then his lips on were on hers and Cara was lost. She wasn’t running anywhere tonight. Except into his arms.

  Axel slid his hands down to Cara’s waist to her ass. Squeezing the taut flesh, he lifted her, forcing her legs around his waist. "I didn’t want you walking away again. I think I need you too much."

  He carried her inside the living room and seated her on the couch. When Cara parted her lips on a sigh, he delved deeper, relishing in the soft, sweet taste of her.

  His cock nudged at the apex of her thighs as she rolled her hips in time to his thrusting tongue.

  With a whimper, she tore her mouth from his. “Axel. I can't. I need to go."

  He pulled back from kissing her jaw to search her bright green eyes. "Say the word and I let you go. Tell me you don't want me."

  She stared back and muttered, “You know that's not true.”

  Axel chuckled low and deep as he nuzzled her neck. "Really glad to hear you say that. I think that would have killed me." Axel licked at the column of her throat just prior to giving her a teasing love bite.

  "Can't have that," she whispered.

  Keeping her body pinned in place by nudging his thigh between hers, he dragged her long-sleeved shirt over her head.

  He tossed the shirt somewhere over his head, he stripped away her leggings and panties. "Jesus, Cara."

  Once he had her naked, she reached for him and he couldn’t have resisted her for anything, taking even less care with his clothes. Hooking his hands behind her he pulled her forward until her ass sat at the edge. And then slowly he positioned his cock at her cleft and nudged the tip of himself inside her slick heat. Oh fuck. They both hissed.

  "Axel." She rocked her hips into his. “Hurry.”

  He dropped his forehead to hers. "Shit. Cara." He grabbed hold of her ass and tipped her hips up, just before sheathing himself all the way home.

  Cara cried out, and he held himself completely still. "You okay?"

  Cara wound her hands into his hair and tugged—hard—forcing him to meet her gaze. "Axel, shut up and make love to me."

  The growl in his throat rose out of nowhere as he pulled his hips back then slid home again. He slid in easier. Her slick walls massaged and milked him as he drove into her at a wicked pace.

  “Cara, God, you're so sweet, so tight." He was so big. But her body worked to accommodate him to make him fit.

  "Need you so much."

  “You have me.” Pressing her against him. He turned them and positioned her so she sat on top of him. Her eyes widened at the shift in angle.

  "That's right, baby. Ride me. Take me. It's your show."

  With one hand, he reached up to caress her breast, taking the tight nipple between his thumb and forefinger. Instantly, her inner walls pulsed around his hard cock. She planted her hands on his chest for leverage as she rode him. So good. So fucking good.

  He sat up as she slid over him and bent her back slightly before drawing her nipple into his mouth. Cara moaned, holding his head to her breast as he drew her in in long tugging pulls. Axel slid his free hand up and down her back until his questing fingers reached the seam of her ass. She stilled for just a moment, then pushed back into the caress. Oh yes. Dear God.

  Axel pulled his head back to meet her gaze. "Is this what you want, Cara? Do you want my fingers here?"

  She rocked her hips once. On a shaky breath, she said, "Y-yes."

  With a wolfish grin he slid his middle finger down until it reached her tight rosette. At the contact, he could feel her inner walls milking his dick. Against her breast he said, "I know what you like. I know what you want. You're mine. No more running."

  She dug her fingers into his shoulders. "Yes. God, yes."

  His finger slipped inside, and she hissed. Gently, he began rhythmically fucking her in time with the movements of her hips. "Good because I’m not letting you go."

  "Axel, Oh...God."

  He brushed her nipple with his lips again, nipping gently with his teeth. "It’s been days since I’ve made you come. I should fix that."

  "Please." At this angle, Cara’s clit rubbed against him and her inner walls contracted as he drove into her.

  He slid another finger into her ass quickly, causing her to moan. "Come for me, Cara. Come for me. I'm yours. I'm all yours. All you have to do is come for me."

  And she did. Clutching his hair, she came apart in his arms as he rode her. Cara threw her head back on a sob as she convulsed around him, calling out his name. Shit.

  As her silken walls milked him, he drove into her again and again, and then he was lost, careening into the edge of oblivion. As his released, he cried out, “Mine.”

  10

  Cara, let herself indulge for just a few moments. She waited until Axel's breathing became steady…and maybe a little longer. Even when she should have gotten up, put on her clothes, and gotten the hell out of dodge, she couldn't leave him. Just a few more moments. Another minute to feel safe, wanted, and loved.

  No. Not loved. That wasn't what this was. She had to remember that.

  After thirty minutes or so, she forced herself out of bed. It was time to go. Time to get her car, get out of town. Hopefully she’d catch Sam awake, but it wasn't exactly safe for her friend. So maybe it was better for everyone if she just vanished.

  "So, are you just gonna run, or you were you actually going to say goodbye this time?”

  Cara froze. "I'm not running. I'm just going back to my place." She lied smoothly.

  He laughed. "You do know I work for the FBI, right? That my whole job entails catching people in lies? You're running."

  She pulled the sheet tightly around herself. "If you were me, wouldn't you run when your carefully crafted identity has been seen through? It's time to go, right? You don't sleep with a guy who's asking too many questions."

  "You do if he's sexy like I am."

  She stood and he tugged the she
et until she released it. Immediately his eyes went to her breasts.

  "I have to go," she whispered.

  His eyes tracked her as she tried to scoop her clothing up off the floor. Finally, when she stepped into her underwear, he tackled her and dragged her back to the bed. "No you don't have to run. Talk to me. Whatever it is that you're running from, I can help you. Do you have any idea how long I looked for you? If not, consciously then subconsciously?"

  "You need to let me up, Axel. This isn’t a joke. This is my life."

  "Will you at least tell me who you are? Give me an idea of what you're running from?"

  She wanted to. For once, she wanted to just trust someone. She was so well aware that she’d put Sam's life in danger, by trusting her with her secret. She didn't want to do the same to him. He's better equipped to protect himself then Sam is. That was true. He was a damn FBI agent.

  "I can't. I'm sorry."

  He loosed his grip, but he kissed her. Slid his tongue into her mouth, and her body immediately softened for his. She arched her back into his body as he lay over her and kissed her senseless. Just like that, he had her soft and yielding and ready again.

  Why was this so easy with him? With one kiss, she was parting her legs, and his thick, hard, length nudged at her entrance. Oh God yes. She wanted more. One more for the road. One more time to hold her over until maybe, someday, several stops from now she could live a normal life.

  This girl could certainly use one more orgasm for the road. Cara sighed and let her body sink into the bed. While she wanted him, more than that she wanted to be held. She wanted to feel cocooned in his arms one more time before she had to run. One more time before she was all alone again.

  The length of him nudged her again and he slid his full length over her clit making her shake. "Still anxious to run?"

  "That’s hardly fair." She bit her lip and groaned.

  "The sooner you realize that I’ll use all the tools in my arsenal, the better off you'll be."

  She wanted him. She wanted this. "For the record, I'm on the pill. I use it to skip my periods."

  He blinked down at her. "Shit. I was so anxious to get inside you babe, I didn't think." He cursed again. "I'm clean."

  She nodded and arched her hips as he slid the length of himself over her again. "So am I. Please."

  He nuzzled his nose against the column of her throat, nipping gently, and then in one stroke, he seated himself inside her fully. "Oh, fuck, me."

  Cara hissed. He was so damn big and stretched her so wide. With each stroke, marking her as his. Touching her in places no other man would ever be able to.

  Axel drove into her again and again, murmuring to her about how good she felt. And how he never wanted to leave.

  The first time Cara came, was a surprise to them both as her body just clamped around his dick and refused to let him go. The toe curling orgasm that slammed into her made her see stars and her arches cramped from the force as the tingles coursed through her body.

  With her still quaking, Axel disengaged their bodies and rolled her over, dragging his pillow under her hips. With his hand fisted tight in her long hair, he sank deep and Cara creamed his name.

  He drove into her as he slid another hand under her body and cupped her breast, teasing and rolling the nipple at first gently, then harder as she tried to hold him inside her again. But it wasn't until he murmured into her ear, "Do you know how long I've waited for you? If I have to keep you weak from orgasms to keep you from leaving, that's what I'll do." He punctuated his words with another rock of his hips and she broke apart on a long moan, her body convulsing around him.

  With a feral grown, he nipped her neck and drove home over, and over and over again. He showed no sings of letting up either until she whispered. "I'm yours, Axel, I'm yours." One, two, three more deep strokes and he filled her deep with his seed.

  Cara couldn't move. Mission accomplished. He'd fucked her into a stupor. As methods of keeping are here went, it was effective, and enjoyable. And somehow, she couldn't think straight.

  Gently he disengaged, then headed straight into the bathroom, when he returned, it was with a warm towel. He cleaned her gently, before climbing into bed with her.

  "Now, Cara, why don’t you tell me who you are?"

  For several moments, she considered not telling him. She considered finding a way to get him to go back to sleep, but then, without even thinking the truth started to spill.

  "Three years ago, I worked for Sytel Development."

  "The software financial company?"

  "Yes. As a basic programmer. Nothing special. I was good at my job. Went in early. Stayed late. Basically had no life. So anyway, The CEO, Landon Price, noticed me and the work I was doing. Which was great. He gave me special projects. For one of those projects, I noticed a discrepancy in what we were charging versus what we were providing. We were also grossly over-billing. But no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find the source."

  "I have a feeling I know where this is going."

  "Probably. I took what I found to Landon, convinced what I was seeing an error. I was fired the next day."

  "Shit."

  "My sentiments exactly. What he didn’t know was I'd made a copy of the information I found. When I was called in to do my exit interview, they made it look like I was the source of the missing funds. He’d had another one of the programmers plant evidence. But I had my proof. He said the cops were coming to arrest me. I had no choice but to launch a preemptive strike. I sent what I had to the FBI. Someone called me, an agent, Peter Masterson, he said he wanted to meet. But when I showed up to meet him, there was a guy waiting to kill me."

  Axel frowned. "Masterson? What office?"

  "Denver. I didn't know what to do. I sent another copy to my friend at The Washington Post. Thanks to her, the story broke."

  "Let me guess, when the FBI wanted to talk to you again you weren’t so keen on the idea?"

  "Nope. I took my entire life savings and ran. I left my mom behind. My sister. Everything. I created a few identities that would last me for a few years until maybe it was safe. I was shocked when after the first year he was arrested and charged. I thought maybe it would be over. But then I saw that I was still wanted for questioning from the FBI. I figured it wasn't safe, so I kept running."

  "The Corin ID, how long have you been using it?"

  She hesitated. "A little over a year. It's time to give it up. I've had it for too long. When you showed up here, I was pretty sure you had me pegged."

  He shook his head. "Not when we first met of course. Not until after I saw you take that guy down behind the alley."

  "Shit," she muttered. "Where did I go wrong?"

  He flushed as he slid his gaze away from hers. "I knew you were definitely female that night you walked right in front of your window." He cleared his throat. "The blinds were down, but I saw you changing. I'd only seen you come in by yourself. It made me suspicious. Then I found your birth control pills and a long red hair on your wig."

  She scrubbed her hand over her face. Well that explained that. "I need to go. I know it's not in your nature to let me go, but at least give me a head start."

  He frowned. "Look. I know you think you can’t trust anybody, but I can protect you. I'll help you."

  "No. I know from Bo and Sam the kind of man you are. You’ll put your career in danger to help me. I can’t let you do that."

  "Don’t be stubborn. You need help and I want to help you." He frowned. "I didn’t even know I was looking for you until I found you. I don’t want to let you go yet. Just give me two more days with you. Until I leave at least. If you need to go, we'll go our separate ways."

  "Axel—"

  "Cara. Just try."

  She knew she shouldn't. But she wanted more of this. She wasn't ready to let him go yet. After all. She was only running toward loneliness. Another two days wouldn’t hurt. "Okay. But just for two days."

  Then tension visibly rolled off his shoulders. "Good.
I know just how we should spend that time."

  Cara squealed when he yanked the sheets back and kissed down her body, before firmly planting his mouth over her sex. The squeals quickly turned to moans and then gasps. And when he filled her once more, she whispered his name.

  11

  Axel had caught a case of feelings for Cara.

  Shit, more than just feelings. He really cared about her. The clock was ticking on their time together and he needed to find a way to extend it. Fuck that, he was desperate to find a way to extend it. Yes, they’d spent a significant portion of the last two days naked in bed. And on the kitchen counter. And in the shower. And yes, in his car. And out back in the hot tub.

  He couldn’t keep his hands off of her, particularly her breasts. It seemed, he couldn’t keep his dick from sinking inside her either. But this was about more than just the sex.

  It was about her laugh. The way she giggled. Every time she'd beat him at Killstar. It was the way she trash talked, and the way she soothed his bruised ego with a wiggle of her ass and the stroke of her tongue.

  It was the way she cooked, extremely poorly, but with gusto. And in between making love to her, they’d talked. About her childhood, his growing up in this house. His adventures with his brother. Growing up with her sister. He cared about her. He didn't want to let her go.

  The idea of it more than pissed him off. It terrified him. Because where would she go? How the hell was he going to find her again? Because, by now, he knew, he wasn’t going to let her go. He wasn’t going to let her just walk out of his life and not look back. He was keeping her. He had to figure out a way around her fear.

  To her it was very real. And she had good reason to be fearful. Masterson didn't exist in the FBI database. But somehow, whoever that guy was had access to the information she’d sent. Which meant he was more than likely a real agent, using a fake name. Axel needed to find a way to keep her safe and still bring her in so that they could live a life outside of the shadows.