Fiery Nights Read online

  “When I was in college, some friends and I went on a road trip across the country on summer break. Once we arrived in Cape Ann, I didn’t want to leave. So I moved here after graduating, found work and a place to live.”

  “Do you miss California?”

  “I miss my family but I usually go back every year. My home is here now,” I said. “How about you? How did you end up moving here from Salem?”

  “Salem’s not that far, not as far as California, for instance.” He smiled in a way that shot excitement between my thighs. “I’d been investing in real estate for my parents. When I heard of the opportunity to buy Vamps, I knew it was time to invest in a commercial property of my own, in some place I cared about. So I moved into a loft down here to be closer to the club.”

  While we walked, hand in hand, I thought how young he was to own his own business and manage commercial investments. Then Tristan said, “A part of me is glad they interrupted us. Otherwise, I might have taken you right there.”

  I looked out over the black waves lapping toward us before I grinned at him. “And I just might have let you.” I ran my fingers through my hair to make sure no errant graveyard dirt or autumn leaves had taken up residence. “And that would have been bad why?”

  He stopped to plant a kiss on my forehead. “That might be hot one day. But our first time together shouldn’t be in the dirt. You’re too good for that.”

  I blushed, but then tried to cover it up by changing the subject. “So should we walk back to the club?” I asked.

  Tristan thought before answering. “Actually, I live on the next block. Want to come to my loft?”

  I smacked him lightheartedly on the shoulder. “You’ve been luring me back to your place.”

  “Not so,” he protested. “I was just leading us away from the cemetery. And maybe habit brought me in this direction.”

  “Uh-huh,” I said, raising my eyebrows with skepticism.

  “Maya,” he said. “I’m not one of those guys who lure women anywhere. In fact, I’ve never brought a woman to my loft before.”

  This statement momentarily silenced me, but not for long. “Really? Why not? You’re a good-looking guy.”

  “I don’t mean I’ve never been with a woman. I mean I’ve never brought a woman back to my loft.”

  “Oh.”

  “Well. Do you want to come over?”

  My heart starting beating quicker again. “Why me? I mean, why am I the first woman you’re inviting over?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Well, if that smooth-ass line doesn’t convince me, I don’t know what will.”

  “Ha ha ha. Very funny.”

  “I’m serious. Why am I the first?”

  “Because.”

  “Because?” I prodded.

  “Because, I don’t know,” he said, exasperated. “I’ve thought about you since I first met you and I don’t know what to do with these feelings. I’m saying I don’t know because I don’t know what I’m feeling. I don’t know what it means. All I know is I want you.”

  It’s not often that I become speechless, but actual words could not form in my brain at that moment. Mouth agape, I reached my hand toward him. All I could muster was, “Lead the way.”

  As Tristan led us by some secluded warehouses near the waterfront, I thought about what he just said. Was there anything more erotic than a man telling you how much he wants you? My body was all but aflame thinking about where we were headed and what would most likely ensue. The more I pictured it, the more my entire body tingled.

  Something about the protective feel of my hand in his, his isolation that made me want to reach out and care for him, his ridiculously good looks and the way he thought of me as someone special, struck an erotic chord deep within me. The anticipation mounting inside me was almost too much. The wait was unendurable. Without any forethought, I said, “Tristan.”

  When he looked at me and asked, “What?” I leaned up to kiss him. I pushed him against the brick wall of one of the warehouses and pressed myself against him as my tongue explored his mouth.

  Momentarily surprised, he recovered and responded in kind. I took his large, roving hands and pinned him against the wall like some sort of sexually aggressive predator, a part of me I didn’t know existed until this moment. He groaned in appreciation as I kissed his neck, his ears, his chest.

  He relaxed against the wall as I explored his body with my hands and lips, both traveling down his torso. His chest, his abs, so defined I could feel them through his fitted black T-shirt. His pants.

  My fingers danced along his waistline, tentatively wondering what lay within. Then this brazen vixen within me who had been in seclusion for far too long undid the top button of his black pants. One finger ventured inside. Tristan moaned again and ran his hands through my hair.

  The vixen took over as I slid against his body, kissing his torso as I moved down.

  “Oh God, Maya,” he said. But then he stopped me. “No. Not here.” He pulled me up by the arms and I was facing him again. Then he said, “But damn it, I want you.” He cupped his hands on my ass and lifted me off the ground and I wrapped my legs around him. He turned us and pinned me against the brick wall, rough enough that I exhaled audibly on impact.

  He kissed me harder than before, more intense. Now it was his turn to explore me with his lips and hands. He squeezed my butt as he explored my neck with a very skilled tongue. A tongue that made me moan in appreciation and wonder what else it could do.

  He ran his tongue down over the tops of my breasts and I silently thanked the gods for picking this number that allowed for some cleavage.

  I looked around quickly to make sure nobody was walking this way. And for people who just might happen to be in the buildings who just might happen to look outside, well, I didn’t give a damn right then. Besides, it was late. Nobody should be working at this hour.

  “Tristan, this is so fuckin’ hot,” I said. “Just take me. Right here, right now. Up here against this building.”

  “You want it, baby?” he asked, kissing back up to my neck, my sensitive area behind my ear. Could I even respond at this point? “Now?”

  “Uh-huh,” I managed.

  “How bad?”

  “Bad.”

  “You want me?”

  “Oh God, yes.”

  “Even with my—issues.”

  I tossed my head to one side against the wall. “I don’t care about your issues right now. All I know is I want you.”

  Tristan pulled back and said, “And what about tomorrow, when you realize how much of a freak I am?”

  “I don’t understand that just yet,” I admitted. “But we all have something we’re hiding. Something we think makes us so different that nobody could love us.”

  “Even you?”

  “Even me.”

  “Oh baby, now I’m even more curious. What could possibly make you unlovable?”

  “Let’s worry about that tomorrow.”

  “You sure?”

  “Definitely.” I nodded.

  Then with a swoop, he threw me over his shoulder. I let out a yelp and he smacked me on the ass.

  “What are you doing, Tristan?”

  “Taking you home with me. And throwing you on my bed. Not some cemetery, not against a building—but in my bed. Where you belong.”

  Chapter Four

  When we stumbled into Tristan’s loft, unable to keep our hands off each other, the only thing I noticed was a bay window facing the Atlantic. His lips captured mine and demanded more while his hands claimed the most sensitive parts of me.

  Through this dance, he led me through the loft. Somehow I knocked over a plant on an end table.

  “I’m so sorry!” I said, breaking free of our embrace to tend to the destruction.

  “Leave it,” he said and we tramped through the spilled dirt over to his bed. True to his word, Tristan threw me on the bed.

  “Ooh!” I said.

  “Too rough?”
r />   “No. I liked it.” I melted into the soft black comforter. “You’re right. This feels much better than the dirt.”

  “At last, we made it back here,” he replied. “No cemetery, no brick buildings, no potential strangers peering in on us. I have you here now, alone, in my apartment.” He pulled off his shirt and I admired a chest that exceeded what I felt under his shirt. “And I’m not letting you go any time soon.”

  “Luckily, I’m not on call tonight.”

  “On call,” he repeated, while taking off one of my leather boots and kissing my ankle. “For what? What do you do?”

  “I’m a firefighter.”

  He looked amused. “Really?” Then he planted soft kisses up my calves. “I hope you’re not planning on putting out any fires tonight.”

  I’d heard some version of that line fifty times by now and usually responded with a smart-ass comment. But coming from Tristan during this very heightened moment, I could only shake my head in reply.

  My heartbeat raced as his kisses moved up my leg. With his lips on my skin, I couldn’t think of anything else but my burning desire, growing more intense as he explored my body.

  Tristan

  Her skin tasted so good beneath my lips. I could make out the faint scent of strawberries as I kissed her legs.

  All night my body and mind had been at odds. One part of me wanted to probe her with more questions, understand why she projected such a powerful glow. And when I explained how I was different, the weight lifting off me from the confession was elating. I’d never told another person before outside of my own family.

  Maya didn’t shy and run away, which only increased my attraction to her on so many levels—body and soul. She didn’t look at me in horror. In fact, after her initial confusion, she looked at me again with hunger in her eye. The look no mortal man could ever resist.

  And that look caused the conflict with the other part of me. My body that raged in heat, wanting her so. Wanting to probe her in so many more illicit ways than her mind.

  And her secret—whatever it was—only made me want to know her all the more.

  Her long shapely legs went on forever, I could kiss them all day long. As I kissed and caressed her thighs, she began to breathe quicker. I continued to feel her thighs as I kissed over the dress, moving up her torso and up to her breasts. I kneaded a firm round breast with my other hand, running my tongue along the tantalizing edge where the dress met her skin.

  She purred, “Ohhhh, Tristan.”

  Hearing her say my name in that sexy voice encouraged me to explore further. I kissed and licked her cleavage while my hand continued up her thigh. As my fingers crept up, I felt her tense in anticipation.

  I could feel the heat coming off her as I felt the lace edge of a panty line. I ran my index finger up the edge of one side of her panties and then tiptoed my fingers across the lace near the top to creep down the other edge, while she writhed under my touch. When I felt her mound, the wetness or her excitement slipped through the lace. I kissed along her jawline and pulled back to look at her—this exquisite creature lying in my bed. Her sapphire eyes were hooded as she looked back at me.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked.

  “Yes. Oh yes,” she said.

  My gaze fell on those pouty lips, half-opened, and I swooped down to kiss them. They were so full and soft I could kiss them all day, but there were so many other parts of her I wanted to explore. While we kissed, I moved my fingers up under the lace of her panties, up over her sex, and stroked her gently. When she moaned softly, I explored the most delicate parts of her, so moist and inviting.

  “Ready for me?” I teased.

  She nodded a few times before uttering, “Oh God, yes. Uh-huh.”

  “Let’s get these off then,” I said, pulling her panties down while she lifted her hips to help remove them. “Roll over.”

  When she did, I untied the leather fastenings keeping her dress closed, loosening each one as I moved from her upper back to her waist. The lace that teased me on the dance floor when I saw her earlier that night. Was it only a few hours ago? The moments I’d spent with Maya tonight seemed to stop time in its tracks.

  As parts of her skin were exposed, I saw black outlines of a tattoo. I kissed down the softness of her back and she sighed in contentment. The more I exposed her skin, the more her tattoo was revealed. Some sort of intricate design, like Aztec art, with flames wrapping through it near her lower back. The dress laced further than I thought. The tattoo continued all the way down.

  Unbelievably sexy.

  When I unraveled the fastenings covering her ass, I couldn’t help but touch her there, squeeze that enticing flesh. I had to pause to regroup since my erection was threatening to take matters into its own hands.

  She helped me pull the dress off and then she rolled over onto her back. There she was, fully naked on my bed. Mine.

  As I drank in the sight of her, I didn’t know what I wanted to touch more—her breasts, her pussy, any part of her skin. I started up with those perfect breasts—so round—not too big, not too small, but perfect for my greedy hands. As my fingers explored them, touching and squeezing, I ran my tongue over her pink erect nipple, nibbling it lightly. She moaned and squirmed beneath me, encouraging me to explore further.

  While I continued to worship one breast after another, I ran my hands down along her pale soft torso, down her tiny waist, down to her soft folds. She was already so wet and eager, I slipped my finger right in, feeling the warmth around me. She continued to writhe and moan, grabbing at my shoulder blades.

  “Now. Please,” she pleaded.

  Since my cock was practically throbbing to get inside her, I didn’t need any more encouragement. I quickly tore off my clothes and fumbled around a drawer to find a condom. As I began to put it on, she reached down to help me, wrapping her hands around my cock and moaning appreciation. She stroked me gently at first, but then more eagerly. I met her increasing rhythm until I knew it would lead to a point I didn’t want to reach too soon.

  “If you keep doing that, you’re going to make me come. And I’m only just starting with you,” I said.

  She let go and spread her legs wider, inviting me in. Finally, I entered her in a sweet slow motion to savor the sensation. Right away I could sense that she was not like any other woman I had been with before. Our union was electrifying, sending me to a heightened sensation I had never felt before.

  She tightened around me, exciting me further, and I increased the momentum as I penetrated her harder. The deeper I pumped, the more I wanted.

  She murmured something incoherent and then pulled me closer to her, wrapping those long legs around my waist. She met my thrusts with enthusiasm as our pace intensified even more.

  “You are exquisite,” I said, burying my face into her silken black hair and inhaling the scent of an herbal shampoo. “And you smell so good.”

  I never wanted this moment to end. Touching her body was far too exciting.

  “Oh Tristan,” she whispered.

  “I want you on top of me,” I said and flipped us so we reversed positions. “So I can see you like this.”

  When her muscles tightened over my cock, I almost came. Fighting to regain control, I then watched her face as she set a steady, exquisite tempo.

  “You are so beautiful,” I said as I ran my hand along her pale cheek. “Unforgettable. A dark-haired angel with a luminescent glow.”

  I ran my hands down her cheek to her breasts, shining pale and full in the dim light from the streetlights outside.

  Every part of me was intrigued by her—her body, her essence, her soul. What was she? Why did she feel so good, almost magical?

  And once again I wondered what secret she had.

  My questions were silenced as her breathing escalated and she increased her tempo. Hell, she was exciting. My pace increased with hers until our bodies reached a feverish pitch.

  “Oh my God, Tristan,” she exclaimed as she contracted
around me and covered me with her fluids. Within moments, her orgasm propelled me into a feverish state of no return. I dug my fingers into her shoulders, pulling her down and not letting her go.

  “Yes, Maya. Yes.”

  She collapsed on top of me and I held her in my arms. Exhausted, spent, and—content.

  Half-awake, I found one arm wrapped around Maya. I moved my hand up to feel her breasts.

  My erection drove me toward her and I pressed myself against her.

  “Mmm,” Maya moaned in her sleep, pressing her ass back toward me.

  Then my over-analytical mind woke up and ruined it.

  I’d never had a woman sleep in my bed before. Her presence both comforted me and freaked me out. Everything happened so quickly last night; we just went with it, but didn’t think things through.

  But she was so damn tempting. My hand ran down from her breasts, down her flat belly, down over her sex. She was already moist, ready for me. I stroked her lightly and she opened her legs slightly to let me in.

  I kissed her neck. This could be a great way to start the day.

  No!

  I can’t do this. There’s no place in my life for a woman. I’m not suitable as a companion to anyone.

  Reluctantly, I pulled away from Maya. If I stayed in bed with her, my cock would take over and I’d ravish her within moments. I put on some boxers, which did nothing to hide my erection, and went to make coffee. Maybe after caffeine I could think more clearly.

  As I watched the coffee drip into the pot, my mind tormented me with all kinds of questions, mostly coming back to What the hell do we do now?

  Then I looked back in at Maya sleeping so peacefully in my bed. I wanted to crawl back into bed with her, wrap my arms around her and spend the day with her in my arms.

  I wanted her.

  But we couldn’t be together. It would never work. Not with a freak like me.

  What the hell do we do now?

  Maya

  I woke up slowly the next morning feeling highly aroused. Wasn’t Tristan with me, touching me? Or was that just a dream?

  The smell of coffee brewing settled into the room, which never happens when you live alone unless you plan ahead. It was a great way to wake up.