Fiery Nights (4 page)

But I didn’t stand a chance.

I didn’t care who was around. I didn’t care that I owned
this damn club and had employees here working for me.

I pulled her closer to me, our bodies pressed up against
each other.

God, how I wanted to kiss her. I leaned in closer,
shortening the space between. Our lips barely inches apart.

Maya

Holy crap!

He was so close, so enticingly close, that I could barely
think.

My body ached to be closer to him as I moved with the music
that penetrated my senses from all angles. My brain knew there were dozens of
dancing bodies surrounding us, but I couldn’t see them, so caught up in my need
for Tristan. My fantasy of a similar situation popped into my mind. Funny how
my fantasy didn’t prepare me for how you could want someone so much that you
didn’t give a flying fuck who was around you.

Tristan’s hands moved down to my lower back, hesitating. I
pressed my body against him, egging him on. When I felt his erection press
against me, I gasped softly. His need for me was just as clear. He ran his
hands down over my ass and pulled me in even closer.

I ran a hand through his dark, tousled hair while my other
ran down his back. As our hands explored each other’s bodies, I thought he
might pick me up any second. I’d probably wrap my legs around him, if the dress
allowed. I had all but forgotten that we were in a public place, the dance
floor for his club, actually, so enraptured by my want for him. Tristan came to
his senses before I did.

He pulled back and looked in my eyes. “Damn, I want you,
Maya, but—not yet.”

I slowly opened my eyes from their half-hooded state and
tried to locate the part of my brain that controlled speech.

“What is it?” I asked.

“There are other matters involved.”

“Matters?” I raised an eyebrow. “Involved?”

“Come with me,” he said and grabbed my hand abruptly,
leading me to the exit. Then he stopped, let go of my hand and turned back. “I
mean, will you please come with me somewhere?”

One part of me scolded me not to go someplace alone with a
man I didn’t know well. Another part of me, one that lacked all common sense at
the moment and operated only on primal needs, nodded.

He took my hand, more gently this time, and led me out a
back door of the club. “It’s hard to speak in there over the music. And what I
want to talk to you about is not something you want to shout out in a loud
club.”

We walked away from the warehouses and down toward the
waterfront. I wondered where we were headed, but we didn’t speak as we walked
hand in hand.

Tristan turned to me and grinned like a schoolboy. “I’m very
glad you came with me.”

I couldn’t help but smile back, and then turned away,
running my finger over my bottom lip. “Sure. Where are we going?”

“Hold on. We’re almost there.” He led us to an old cemetery
enclosed by a black iron fence.

“A graveyard?” I asked with incredulity. “Why on earth are
you taking me here?”

He walked over to a back corner where there was an opening
in the fence and crawled through.

“I want to see something. And I want to see what you feel,”
he said. “Wait here a minute.”

He walked into the middle of the cemetery and looked around
him. The look on his face was difficult to read. A little sad, a little scared,
and maybe a little repulsed. A troubled look returned and I was reminded of the
first time I saw him, with haunted eyes on an angelic face.

After a few moments, he walked back over to me. He reached
his arm out for me to climb in with him.

I hesitated. Why was he taking me into a cemetery at night
and what the heck was he talking about?
What I feel?
What does that
mean?

“What are you doing?” I asked. But I gave him my hand
anyway.

I crawled through the opening, which was no easy feat
considering how tight my dress was, and followed him into the graveyard.

“Shh,” he said. “I need to concentrate.”

He looked at me. He looked around me. He turned a complete
360, and then he looked all around the area surrounding me again.

“Interesting,” he said.

“What’s interesting?”

He didn’t answer me, but under his breath, he muttered, “I
wonder.”

“You wonder what?” I asked.

Realizing he had spoken aloud, he looked at me. “I’m trying
to figure out why it happens. What are you?”

“What am I? I’m a woman. A very confused woman right now.
What else would I be?”

“No. You’re not an ordinary woman. You’re different.”

“You’re not going to give me a line that I’m special or
something, are you?” I said. “Because I think after that dance, we should be
well beyond pick-up lines.”

“I didn’t say special and it’s not a pick-up line. I said
different.”

“Oh yeah. That’s right,” I said with a wave. “I know. We’re
different from the general public. We’re freaks. We hang out in a nightclub
wearing weird outfits because we fit in with the other freaks.”

“That’s not what I mean, Maya. I know why I’m different. But
I don’t know why you are.”

“You’re not making sense.”

“Just follow me.”

He brought me into the middle of the old cemetery to a
concrete bench for visitors. I scanned tombstones dating back to the late
sixteen hundreds, carved with skulls or other objects as well as names. Most
were slanted or decrepit. Who knows how much longer they would last before they
disintegrated?

“Close your eyes.”

I did.

“What do you feel?”

“Utterly confused.”

“No, Maya. Focus. What do you
feel
?”

I took in a few deep breaths and concentrated. “I feel a
little nervous. I mean it does feel kind of scary to close your eyes at night
in the middle of the cemetery. And a little forbidden. As if we’re teenagers
running around in the shadows. And to tell you the truth—and maybe this is
easier to say because my eyes are closed and I can’t see your intense eyes—but
I’m also a little turned-on.”

“This turns you on?” he asked.

I opened my eyes. “A little bit.” Then I sighed. “There you
go again, looking at me with those eyes.”

“I’m just looking at you. Listening to you.”

“It’s the
way
you look at me.”

“Does it bother you?”

“No. It disarms me. Makes me forget what I was thinking,
like I lose all rational thought. Hold on, I’m thinking of the right word.
Titillated
might be the right word for what I feel right now. Is that weird?”

“Not to me,” he said. He leaned closer. “To tell you the
truth, I’m just as
titillated
right now. And it has nothing to do with
the cemetery. It’s because I’m with
you
. And because of that dance. Do
you always drive men so insane when you dance with them?”

I shook my head. “Definitely not.” In all my time going to
Vamps and all the guys I’d danced with, I’d never danced with anyone like
that
.And I’d never felt such a connection to someone I’d danced with before.
Whether it was just erotic or more, I didn’t know.

What kind of spell was Tristan putting on me?

“Thank you for coming here. It means a lot to me.”

“Did I help answer your question?” I asked.

“Some of it. There are many questions still to be answered.
But right now, that’s not what I’m thinking about.”

“What
are
you thinking about?”

“You,” he said breathily. “I take it back. Being here with
you right now is just as hot as being on the dance floor, but in a completely
different way. Can I show you what I’m thinking of?”

I gulped. Unable to respond, I nodded.

Tristan ran his hand along my thigh and my breathing
escalated. He leaned forward and I felt his warm breath on my neck. Excitement
shot through my body and I was keenly aware of the moistness between my thighs.
I instinctively tilted my head back to invite him in and was rewarded by the
feel of his sensuous lips grazing my skin.

Yes. Oh yes.

I closed my eyes to revel in the sensation of his lips on
me.

Then he abruptly stopped. “Sorry, Maya, I don’t mean to blow
hot and cold. I brought you here for a reason. And not to seduce you in a
graveyard. Even though that’s what I want to do more than anything else right
now.”

It took me a minute to slow down my breathing and control my
frustration after realizing he wanted to
talk
.As much as I like
to talk, that was the last thing I wanted to do at the moment.

“Everything is getting so confused. What’s happening? The
way I feel for you. It’s all happening at once.”

My frustration turned to thrill when he said how he felt
about me. Was it possible I had the same effect on him that he had on me?

“I need to tell you something about me.”

Oh no, these conversations never went well. “Damn it,” I
said, turning away. “I knew this was too good to be for real. You’re married.”

“No.”

“Kids.”

“No.”

“Oh God. Let me think,” I said, standing up to pace. “You’re
dark and mysterious and all. You’re ridiculously good-looking. You’re a
solitary soul, you hide away from people. You wear a
cape
.” I stopped
pacing and turned to face him. “Holy fuck—you’re a vampire!”

“Good God, Maya. Once again, no,” he said, putting his hand
on his forehead. “A vampire? For someone so enticing, you can also be pretty
damn exasperating.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but then shrugged. No sense
arguing the truth—well, for the exasperating part at least.

“Will you be quiet for two consecutive seconds so I can tell
you?” he asked.

“I’m sorry. It’s just—you know.”

“No, I don’t know. But I know what I’m trying to tell you is
difficult. It’s something I haven’t told another human before. And you’re not
making it any easier.”

Human?

I sat back down wondering why he used that term. Don’t most
people say, well, people? As in
I haven’t told another person before.

Stop overanalyzing, Maya. Big deal, he used a different
term.

“Okay, I’ll shut up now. See—zipping my lips.” I motioned my
fingers across my lips.

“About time, my mouthy little vixen. Although there are many
things I’d like to do with those lips, right now I want you to keep those pouty
things under control.”

I opened my mouth to protest once again, but remembering my
vow of lip zip, closed it again and smiled sweetly instead.

He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second.
Then he reopened them and put a hand on my knee. “What I was trying to say
earlier is that I’m different, Maya. And I think you are too.”

I raised my hand.

“What are you doing?”

“Raising my hand to see if I can speak.”

“You. Have. Issues.”

“I. Do. Not.” I mouthed it back in the same staccato as him.
“I was just going to agree with you. If you mean different in the lovable
misfits kind of way. Cuz if that’s what you mean, I get it.”

“That’s not what I mean.” He turned away and muttered under
his breath. “How can I describe it?” He turned back to me and asked, “Maya, do
you
sense
anything?”

“What do you mean?” I asked. “Like spirits or things like
that? No. I don’t. Come on. Why would I? I don’t believe in that stuff.”

He looked taken aback.

“Because when I first saw you, I saw something with you I’ve
never seen in another person before.”

I leaned forward. “Really? Like what?” I said it more
sharply than I intended, probably due to a combination of sexual frustration
and curiosity, both of which were at an all-time high at the moment.

“A light. When I first saw you on the dance floor, I saw you
surrounded by light.”

I raised my eyebrows. “What do you mean? Was a spotlight on
me or something?”

He shook his head. “No, not at all. I see things, Maya.
Shadows, darkness. Around people. I can see their sadness, their grief.”

I blinked my eyes rapidly. “What are you talking about?

“For me, it’s not just a feeling. It’s something I can see.
A visible presence around people. And it’s draining.”

“You see
feelings
?”

“Kind of. But not really. It’s more like a presence.”

“Like an aura?”

“Don’t I wish.” He shook his head. “That might be kind of
enlightening. But I don’t see colors, only shadows.”

“Don’t you see good things too? Like happiness?”I asked.

“No. It’s not like that. I wish it was. I think I must have
been cursed. I’ve only seen darkness around other people and felt their sadness
my whole life. Until I saw you.”

Whether that was true or the smoothest line I’d ever heard,
I didn’t know or care. My insides were turning to jelly from pure want. No,
need.

“Tristan, I don’t even know how to process what you’re
telling me right now. All this stuff about light and darkness. I don’t know if
it’s real or some really twisted shit to see how gullible I am and how much
crap I’ll believe.”

“This is not something I’d joke about.”

“Okay, if it’s true, what you’re telling me, it isn’t a part
of my world. And to tell you the truth, I need some time to try to understand
it. But for the love of God, if you don’t kiss me soon, I might just downright
explode into a thousand frustrated little pieces.”

His eyes moved from my eyes down to my lips. He ran a finger
along my lower lip and I squirmed on the concrete bench, wanting and waiting
for more.

And then, thank God, he leaned toward me. And finally,
finally, his sweet lips were on mine.

His lips were so soft at first, gently testing, caressing.
Then, he as began to explore my lips more, our kiss grew bolder, more intense.
I put my arms around his neck and leaned into him, sinking into his arms. All
the wondering and pining of the last two weeks came pouring out of me as I
responded eagerly and melted into this kiss.

I felt his hand run down my side and back up again,
venturing up to one of my breasts. As he caressed it, I moaned softly, wanting
more.

When his lips left mine, a part of me sighed. Why did he
have to stop? But when he placed his lips on my neck, I moaned softly. He
planted soft kisses along my neck, and then sucked on the flesh there as I
writhed under the touch of his lips.