Hearts on Fire

by Amber Thielman

  Hallie shook her head, lip trembling. “No,” she said. “No ambulance.”

  “Hal—”

  “I don’t want this to blow up,” Hallie murmured. I looked over at the bartender who was holding the telephone, about to dial. When he looked at me, I shook my head, and after a moment’s hesitation he replaced the receiver.

  Carefully, I lowered Hallie into a booth in the far corner of the bar, scooting in next to her, still supporting her with one arm behind her waist.

  “Can I get a whiskey over here?” I called to the bartender. “And some water, please.”

  As soon as our drinks were delivered, I helped Hallie take a sip of ice water before drenching a napkin in the second glass and dabbing gently at her busted lip.

  “Who the fuck did this to you?” I demanded. “Who hurt you?” Rage seemed to boil over and fall out of me, a rage so hot and deep that the room was closing in on us. I tried to imagine the face of whoever had done this, but all I could see was Hallie, bruised, bloody, and beaten, and the face I tried to imagine was smashed into a pulp, courtesy of me. I continued to dab at the dried blood on her face, but my fingers shook with vehemence. Hallie winced and tried to focus instead on the cuts up and down her arms. As soon as she’d caught her breath and relaxed a little, I slid the whiskey over to her and locked eyes.

  “Now what in the hell happened to you?”

  She lifted the glass to her lips and took a sip, grimacing.

  “Someone was having a bad day and decided to take it out on me,” she said. She tried to shrug but could only wince.

  “Don’t fucking bullshit me.” I reached one hand up and rested my thumb on her lip, trying to find the secret hidden behind her eyes. “Who did this to you? You need to tell me.”

  “I don’t know,” Hallie said. “I couldn’t see his face.”

  “Someone just jumped you?”

  “Yeah, Tate.”

  “Well did they say something to you?” I hadn’t realized I’d been clenching my jaw until it creaked with pain.

  “They didn’t say anything. He was probably just some drunk asshole in the mood to pick on somebody. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. That’s all.”

  “That’s not all,” I insisted, and images of strange men flashed in front of my vision. My fists curled into balls of white and I rested my knuckles on the table. “So, it was a male?”

  Hallie smiled, but just barely. “Come on, Tate, give me some credit. Had it been a woman trying to beat the shit out of me I’d have already dragged her in here by the hair.” She chuckled, but I couldn’t find enough humor to laugh. I wanted to kill whoever had hurt her; I wanted them dead.

  “This isn’t a god damn joke, Hal,” I growled, and her grin quickly vanished as she winced, one arm wrapping automatically around her abdomen. “We need to get you seen.” Guilt tugged at me, powerful, painful guilt that ripped me open from the inside and clawed its way to the surface. I couldn’t help but wonder if this still would have happened had I let her in before...the moment I broke up with Julia, instead of putting it off to sort out my feelings. Could I have protected her from whatever this had been?

  “No,” she said. “We don’t.”

  “This isn’t up for negotiation.” I reached for the cell phone in my pocket and unlocked the screen to dial 911, but Hallie grabbed it from my hand—with surprising speed for someone who could hardly move without wincing—and tossed it aside, out of my reach.

  “You know what will happen if you call.” She cleared her throat, taking another breath to ease the pain. “Our crew is going to respond and there’s going to be an uproar. We don’t need it. Not with everything that’s been happening with the fires. The media will be all over this.”

  “I don’t care.” I reached for the cell phone, but Hallie grabbed my hand, squeezing it between her fingers. Her eyes met mine, burrowing into me.

  “I do,” she said. Her grip relaxed a bit, and one side of her mouth twitched into a tiny smile. “Besides, I have a medic right here.”

  “Hallie, you need to tell me what happened. All of it. Everything.”

  “Now is not the time or the place.” She leaned back in the booth seat, pressing the damp napkin against her swollen lip.

  “Is anything broken?”

  “I doubt it. Just bruised.”

  “What are you doing here anyway?”

  She looked at me for a brief second before reaching to take a sip of water.

  “What, I’m not allowed to come here and have a drink?”

  When I didn’t answer, she shrugged and sighed, wincing as she did so. “Finn is taking over my apartment with video games and empty pizza boxes,” she said. “I needed some adult time.”

  “By yourself? Or—with a date?”

  “What does it matter?”

  “Are you meeting someone here? Is that who attacked you?”

  “No. Okay? No, I’m not.” She sighed and rested her elbows on the table. “Why do you care so much, anyway? You’ve barely spoken to me after what happened in the gym last week.”

  “I know, and I’m sorry. “I rubbed my temple, feeling an oncoming headache. What a shitty thing to do, leave my ex hanging while I went off with another girl so quickly. Douchebag of the year award went to me. But even then, even as I thought of Julia, I couldn’t bring myself to care. I was furious at myself for letting this happen to Hallie; the what ifs of my life swirled around in my conscience, and all I could think about was how to fix this. “I had to make sure things were okay with Julia.”

  Much to my surprise, Hallie smiled and reached her hand out to rest it on top of mine.

  “You’re a good man for that. How is she doing?”

  “She got plastered tonight and screamed about how much she hated me.”

  “Ouch.

  I shrugged, taking my second hand and placing it over hers. “I’m just glad it’s done. Because I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you, Hal.”

  “Even now?” she asked, and popped out her bottom lip, which was swelling to twice its size. “My sexy has run out for the week. Sorry.”

  I reached over and touched her cheek with my fingers, and she leaned into me, closing her eyes. I wanted so desperately to know what had happened to her, what kind of secret she was keeping from me, one she didn’t want me to know. I hated that. I wanted to bring justice to whoever had felt it was okay to beat up a girl...or anyone, for that matter.

  “Hallie, it wasn’t—Jeremy, was it?”

  To my relief, she chuckled and shook her head. “Jeremy might not be able to keep his dick in his pants, but he’s never laid a hand on me. Besides,” she tossed back the shot of whiskey and grimaced. “I haven’t seen Jeremy since we broke up. I imagine he spends his time frolicking through campus with his understudies.”

  “Too bad for him.” I signaled for two more drinks from the bartender and then paid the tab.

  “Are you leaving?” Hallie asked, looking alarmed as I stood up and shrugged on my jacket.

  “Yes,” I said. “But I’m taking you with me.”

  “Where?”

  “To my house. Or yours. It doesn’t matter.”

  Hallie looked over her shoulder, as if anticipating that Julia would walk into the bar in a fit of rage. Or, more likely, whoever had jumped her earlier.

  “I don’t know, Tate,” she said softly. I sat back down on her side of the booth and slid in until my arm was touching hers.

  “I would like your company.” I brushed back a strand of her long brown hair and traced my fingers along her neckline. “Please?”

  “Is this only because you’re worried about me?” she teased, but there was a hint of annoyance in her voice.

  “It’s because I want to be near you. It’s all I’ve wanted since the very first day I met you.”

  She smiled, hesitantly, leaning her head so that it rested against my chest. She closed her eyes and I brought one hand up to pull her into me, while the other hand stroked her hair.

/>   “Let me take care of you tonight,” I murmured, and kissed the top of her head.

  The car ride back to my house was quiet, but comfortable. Hallie kept hold of my hand the whole way there. I didn’t poke her for answers; I hoped that when the time came, she’d be able to tell me. I got the feeling that she wasn’t too trusting of people, especially men, and if that meant having to sit back and let her come to me, I’d do it happily. I wasn’t about to screw it up before it even began.

  My house was modest, but cozy, and Hallie looked delighted as soon as we walked in. Julia had moved out the last of her things a couple days earlier, so it was emptier than usual, but quiet and comfortable.

  “I love it,” Hallie said, stepping into the living room with me. “I get so tired of apartment living. I’m jealous you don’t have to share the wall.” The large, leather sectional couch was placed in the middle of the floor, pointing at the big screen TV, and a few soft throw blankets were hung up around my old recliner. Hallie slipped her shoes off her feet and left them by the door, and I did the same. I grabbed one of the fuzzy throws from the chair and draped it around her shoulders, careful not to jostle her too much as she took a seat on the couch and tucked her legs beneath her, cozying down into the cushions. I took a seat next to her, taking her chin in my fingertips to check her swollen lip and bruised eye.

  “Thank you for inviting me over,” she said, and allowed me to lift her shirt just enough to see black and purple bruises forming on her abdomen.

  “Fuck,” I cursed under my breath, shaking my head, but Hallie ignored me.

  “It looks worse than it is,” she assured me, but I wasn’t sure I believed it. As I started to stand to get her a drink, Hallie caught my hand in her own and pulled me back down onto the couch, meeting my eyes. She placed my hand on her cheek, smiling.

  Her skin was soft, so soft for a woman who worked as hard as she did. I let my fingers trail down her face, cupping her chin, drinking her in. Her smile, the deep color of her chocolate chestnut eyes, the way her brows arched and her nose wrinkled when she was trying to hold something back. There were callouses on her hands, just under the grooves of her fingers, but they made her who she was...a fighter. They made me want her more than I already did.

  “You’re beautiful,” I murmured. She reached one hand up and ran her fingertips through my hair, sending a shiver of desire down my spine. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as she traced her fingers down the side of my face.

  “I want you,” she breathed. “I want you now.”

  “Are you sure?” I feared hurting her, but she didn’t seem to share my concern as she slipped down into the cushion on the couch until she was underneath me, reaching for the button on my jeans.

  I scooted Hallie down on the couch, sneaking my hand up her shirt to caress the nipples under her bra. They grew hard under my touch, and she groaned with anticipation, her body reacting to mine. Her hips rose to meet my own, the mere touch of her body against mine had me fighting not to lose control. I unbuttoned the jeans she wore and rested my lips just below her belly button, teasing her, but careful not to hurt her. Hallie made a sound deep in her throat, her hands tightening the grip she had on my arm. I slipped the Levi’s from her body and tossed them aside, admiring the way she looked lying there half-naked below me. She watched me with anticipation, a flush rising to her cheeks, a lip pulled between her teeth as her eyes scanned my face.

  Just looking at her was too much to resist. I pulled off her panties, and before Hallie could say anything, I slipped one finger into her, and then another. She gasped, caught off guard, but her hips shot up, pleading for more. My penis throbbed against her bare leg, and I wanted so badly to take her, hold her to me until she begged to never stop.

  Hallie groaned as I slipped my fingers in and out of her, then she pulled my face down near her own, one hand on each of my cheeks.

  “Take me,” she said. Her lips rose to meet mine, and I kissed her gently, running one finger over the top of her lip, teasing her. I reached for the emergency box of condoms stuffed in the bottom of the coffee table drawer and ripped one open with my teeth. Before I could slip it on, Hallie took it and slid it over me, slowly, so that every second she touched me pushed me deeper over the edge. “Take me now.”

  I didn’t hesitate; I couldn’t. Hallie opened her legs even wider for me and I forced myself into her, a buzz of electricity traveling through my body. She felt so good wrapped around me, one hand tangled in my hair, the other one clutching my arm. I was careful not to jostle her too much, but the adrenaline overtaking her body seemed to keep her from feeling much pain, and she tightened around me, eyes closed, head thrown back. She moaned, panting, and the muscles in my body strained as the desire for release gripped me. A muscle in Hallie’s jaw twitched, and she tightened around me suddenly, gasping for breath as she released, falling slightly limp. Knowing it was time to let go, I released, pulling in air as we lay tangled on the couch with a crocheted throw tossed over our semi naked bodies. I rested my lips on Hallie’s forehead and she closed her eyes, sighing, and we fell asleep holding each other until the new morning sun kissed the mountaintop fleeting hours later.

  Chapter 34

  Hallie

  “Fuck almighty, Harper, what happened to your face? Did you run into a wall again?”

  I looked up from the paper I’d been reading, scowling at Kyle. He stooped down a bit to get a better view, squinting at me.

  “It’s nothing,” I said, wishing suddenly that I’d prepared a better excuse to dodge questions from the men. “I bit my lip.”

  “With what?” Kyle said. “A nail? Certainly, not with your teeth.”

  Heat rose to my neck and up to my face, and I looked back down before Kyle could keep pushing it.

  “Seriously, Hal, what happened to y—?”

  Just then a call came through, alarm blaring as the dispatcher referred the location and status over the speaker. I started to stand when a sharp pain sliced through my gut, and I doubled over just as Kyle looked away from me glance at the report screen. Trying not to show anything on my face, I lowered myself back down into the chair. Kyle turned back around to look at me, frowning.

  “Are you not coming?”

  “Not today,” I said. “Tate wants me to stick around and do this paperwork.”

  “Paperwork, sure,” Kyle said. He winked at me, but when his gaze caught sight of my swollen lip one last time, a flicker of concern crossed over his features.

  “Hallie,” he started again, but I waved him off.

  “Go,” I said. “Be safe.”

  He turned with resignation, gathering up his boots before heading to the bay. Tanner Rey, who had returned to work just recently, followed, shooting me a snarky look over his shoulder. It didn’t seem to matter what was going on in his life or in mine; he disapproved of me just the same as he always had.

  As soon as the firetruck pulled away, Tate appeared in the kitchen, poking his head around the door to make sure we were in the clear. When he saw that it was just the two of us, he leaned down and kissed me gently, lips parting in invitation, the thumb on one hand resting against my cheek.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked. I shrugged, then pulled his face closer to mine.

  “Better now.”

  “Good, I—”

  “Don’t talk,” I said, putting one finger to his lips. “Just come with me.”

  Taking Tate’s hand in mine, I pulled him out of the kitchen and towards his office, closing the door behind us. He opened his mouth to ask what I was up to, but then closed it again when I clicked the lock into place, eyes scanning his face, a primal hunger gnawing in my stomach.

  “You’re something else, aren’t you?”

  “So I’ve been told.” I pushed Tate up against the desk, fingers slowly working the buttons on his shirt, thumb caressing the bare skin on his chest. Tate braced both hands against the desk, breathless, as my lips touched his, teasing him. With one hand still on his che
st, I sank to the floor on my knees, kissing his abdomen, tongue lightly etching a groove in his skin.

  “Christ,” he groaned, hands tightening automatically on the desk. Grinning, I used one hand to unbutton his slacks, fingers skimming the area right above his penis, taunting him. I pulled the slacks all the way down, and the boxers followed. Tate gasped for breath as I wrapped my hands steady and secure around his hard-on, stroking the edge. I leaned forward and rested my lips on the shaft of his penis, groaning.

  Tate’s body went completely tense, hips thrusting forward with anticipation as I took him fully in my mouth, pulling back ever so gently, and then taking him again. One hand lost its grip on the desk, and Tate tangled his fingers in my hair, pulling my head back to look into my eyes. I smirked up at him, one hand still gripping his penis as I stood and kissed him, hard, my tongue slipping between his teeth. He pressed his body into mine as one hand still worked on his penis, the other hand pulling me in so he could kiss me deeper. My fingers quickened in a steady, gentle rhythm as he kissed my mouth, neck, and one of my nipples under my thin material of my shirt.

  A few minutes later, Tate fell into a euphoric release, and I grinned, my lips still resting against his chest as I sank into him, skin flushed with pink. He put his forehead to mine, and I closed my eyes, holding him against me.

  “Back to work,” I murmured. “I’d hate for someone to catch us.”

  “No, you wouldn’t,” Tate said. I winked at him, stepping back so he could pull up his pants and button them. Once we’d composed ourselves, we walked out of the office hand-in-hand, making our way to the kitchen for a cold drink. I sipped on a bottle of water, then leaned forward to kiss him once more, lips lingering on his.

  “Ahem,” said a voice behind us. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

  Tate straightened up so quickly he almost tripped over his own feet. Standing in the doorway was a short, slightly balding man with a pot belly and stern face.

  “Mayor Jensen,” I said pleasantly. Tate couldn’t seem to find the words for anything, really.