Mine to Hold (Heartfire Falls #2)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

Kendall Castille

“Oh no. Travis!” I hissed.

My husky looked up at me, blinking with innocence in his blue eyes.

I knew better. When I turned to look at the dress I was supposed to wear to the wedding, his gaze followed mine.

Not my wedding, mind you, but it started in an hour, and the dress I was supposed to wear was perfect for my three-legged husky to rub his whole muddy body all over.

He sidled against my legs, giving an affectionate snort. “You don’t even care, do you?” I glanced down at him.

His tail wagged before he let out a nice little roo for me. “Oh my God,” I muttered.

When my phone rang, I didn’t glance at the screen before answering it. “What?”

“Well, hello to you too. Sounds like you’re having a great morning,” Jude Silver teased. “I’m on my way to pick you up.”

“I know,” I ground out, “but I have a small problem.”

“What’s that?”

“Travis got muddy this morning, and, well, now the mud that was on his fur is all over the dress I was supposed to wear.”

Jude didn’t even try not to laugh, letting out a deep, hearty bark of a laugh. “No need to stress. It’ll be fine.”

“Jude,” I protested. “It’s a wedding. Your brother’s wedding. I care about Elsa and Haven, and I don’t want to show up in a muddy dress for their wedding. I don’t know what to wear, and I don’t know what to do!” I threw my hands up in the air as I paced.

Travis was now worried about me. Not because of the dress, mind you, but he sensed my stress, so he danced along at my side, tippy-tapping his feet on the floor.

“You have another dress or something, right?”

“Jude,” I ground out, “I’m not exactly a dress girl.”

I ignored the way his chuckle played over the edges of my nerves in an unsettling way.

“Not exactly. Well, I’m still coming to get you.” He paused. “You could always go to the wedding naked.” Electric pause this time. “Okay, maybe that came out the wrong way.”

I sighed. “Maybe it did, Jude. I’ll figure it out. What’s your ETA?”

“Ten minutes.”

“Ten minutes?!” I yelped.

“See you in a few,” he replied with a chuckle.

The line clicked, and I threw my phone on my bed. Racing around my room, I frantically looked for anything to wear. Finally settling on a skirt and a blouse, I glared down at my dog.

“This is not exactly wedding-worthy, but it’ll have to do. I wish you had to get dressed for a wedding.” Travis’s tail just wagged along.

I hustled to get dressed and refused to even look at the clock. I didn’t need to waste time counting the seconds. Small problem with that, though.

My apartment was a studio, just one big space with the living room and kitchen all together and the bed tucked in a little alcove. Everything was visible when you came through the door. Except the bathroom, which did have a door. But my closet? It was also out in the main area.

Maybe I was overexplaining. I was prone to doing that, but you need to have a sense of the context for what happened next.

Jude was my best friend. We’d become close in middle school, and that never changed. He had a key to my place and could just walk in. That was the kind of thing that would be okay—except for now.

In my haste, compounded by my choice not to obsess over the time, just as I was adjusting my skirt—one of those wrap skirts that needed to be tied just so—there was a sharp knock on the door. Before I could say a word, the door swung open, and Jude stepped inside.

There I stood with my skirt halfway tied with no shirt, no bra, nothing up top. My breasts were fully on display. My eyes whipped up to collide with Jude’s. His big, beautiful blues went wide, and I could have sworn he actually stopped breathing for a few seconds.

I felt the blush bloom all over my skin, the heat starting on my chest, rising up my neck, and into my cheeks. I tried to breathe, but I was frozen, my hands still holding the stupid wrap skirt. As we stared at each other, my nipples—my freaking nipples—tightened like they were happy to see him.

Fire spun in my belly, sending sparks scattering through me.

I took the moment to absorb him. Jude’s black hair was damp.

His blue eyes were bright with flashes of silver.

Sweet hell, he was so freaking handsome.

Tall, broad shoulders, lean, and unfairly fit.

The man’s lifestyle demanded that kind of fitness.

He was a wilderness guide, an outdoor survival expert, a first responder, and a hotshot firefighter.

He was manliness wrapped in lumberjack and topped off with a dose of too sexy for his own good. And apparently, for my nipples.

He wore a royal blue shirt over slacks. He looked much tamer than usual. The man practically lived in battered jeans and T-shirts, all of which did nothing other than show off his sexy, hot bod. But tucking this wild man into civilized clothing for a wedding somehow made him all the sexier.

My lungs abandoned any effort to get air, and my pulse had taken off so fast there was no catching it. We simply stood there and stared at each other for God knows how long until Jude snapped the moment.

“For fuck’s sake, Kendall!” he burst out as he spun around. “Get dressed!” He clasped the back of his neck, his head bowed.

“I am getting dressed!” I protested.

“You knew I was arriving in ten minutes!”

“Yeah, and I just told you on the phone that Travis ruined my dress! Well, maybe not ruined, but for the purposes of today, I can’t wear it!” I flung my arm toward the dress in question, which was draped over the back of the couch.

It was my own damn fault. My dog loved rubbing his back along the couch. It was like a personal scratching post for him.

“Get dressed,” Jude ground out.