Fiery Nights (9 page)

I could feel the heat rise within me again with the
increasing friction. The orgasm that was building threatened to overcome me.
Each time he pummeled into me shot me closer to my peak. When it I reached it,
it was so intense that I fell spent over the armrest. Tristan pulled me back
up, grasping my shoulders and pumped me so hard that I knew he was about to
come. His cock throbbed deep inside me as he slammed against me a few more
times. Then he kissed my shoulder and lightly bit it, and collapsed over the
armrest with me.

“Holy shit,” I said.

“That was incredible.”

We maneuvered into upright positions on the sofa and Tristan
took the blindfold off me.

“I’ve never done that before,” I admitted, fingering the
blue silk.

“Did you like it?”

“What do you think?”

“You seemed mighty interested.”

A naughty vixen hiding inside me took over. “Next time it’s
my turn to play with you.” I ran the scarf over his eyes to make my meaning
clear.

When I heard Tristan’s quick inhale, I said, “I take that as
a yes.”

At work the next day, I’m sure a really sappy smile spread
across my face because the guys at the firehouse gave me shit about my mood. I
had been replaying the more magical moments from my hot night with Tristan and
the blue scarf.

“Someone’s really chipper this morning,” one of the junior
guys said.

“I know that smile. Someone got laid last night,” Rick
Muller said in a sing-songy voice.

A confirmed bachelor in his late twenties, he tried to steer
any conversation we had to sex. Luckily, he was attracted to a very different
type of girl so I never had to worry about him making any advances. But if
there was an Irish girl, especially with red hair and green eyes, she would
have to fight pretty hard to keep him away. Nike with her dark auburn hair had
to set him straight once or twice. I wouldn’t exactly say Rick and I were
friends, but we had developed a sort of brother-sister, friendly-competitive
banter that made the countless hours working together more entertaining.

I’d worked with Rick forever. Okay, maybe it was just a few
years. But when you spend that much time working with a person in close
quarters, you get to know each other pretty quickly.

“Shut up, butt crust,” I said. For some reason, most of our
terms of endearments for each other involved the very mature use of the word
butt
.
“I can’t be happy about something without you thinking it’s related to sex?”

“Can you deny it, butt munch?” he asked.

I bit my lower lip while I thought of a comeback. Coming up
short, I threw my water bottle at him instead.

He caught it and said, “Busted.” Then he threw the bottle
back and asked, “So, who’s the guy?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know? I’m not telling you anything.”

“Man, I wish Nike was here. I usually could get something
out of one of you if I bugged you long enough.”

“Yeah, I bet that’s the only reason you wish she was here.”

“She’s hot. I’m not going to deny it.”

“And she’s long gone.”

Yeah, I wished Nike was there too. Now I was the only female
in the firehouse. Which meant I had to bear the full brunt of working with a
bunch of bored, nosy guys.

“So what’s the deal with this guy?”

“Drop it or I won’t cover your shift on Thanksgiving.”

“Hey, I have my plane ticket already. You wouldn’t.”

“Wouldn’t I?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Easy. All right, I’ll let it go.”

Tristan

The next few days with Maya were incredible. Who knew that
my work could actually be fun? Maya listened in fascination as I showed her a
cleansing ritual we should start with each time we tried to focus on working
together. We were both determined to understand the reason for our connection.
She asked questions about the different color candles and what they were for.
She asked to peek into the jars I’d filled with items for my potions.

“Let me guess what’s in here—‘eyes of newt and toes of
frog’?”

“Very funny. Yes, and I say ‘double double toil and trouble’
as I stir my cauldron.”

“Just teasing, babe. You know I’m fascinated about this
stuff. Ooh, what’s this, spices?” She opened the jars to sniff them. “Mmm,
cinnamon. Sage?”

I nodded.

“Lavender. And this, I don’t know.”

“Guarana. From Brazil. Be careful with that—it has double
the amount of caffeine as coffee.”

She moved on to other jars. “Snakeskin. And some kind of
bird feathers.”

Maya was intrigued by all the items I’d collected—they were
novel to her, but part of everyday life for me. Seeing her examine the contents
enchanted me, had me see my work in a new light.

Was this what people meant when they spoke of seeing things
through the eyes of a child?

We tried various spells and potions, both for fun and to see
what we could do with my condition.

We took frequent breaks to play around getting to know each
other—especially in the bedroom. I’d never had a relationship like this with a
woman before. With someone as uninhibited as Maya, I found our time
intoxicating. We worked together, laughed together, and then spent the rest of
the night exploring each other’s bodies. She fascinated me to no end.

I spent Thanksgiving with my family while Maya worked. She
came over after her shift, wearing a pinkish-red wig and leather catsuit.

“Bloody hell, Maya. What are you doing to me?”

“What?” she asked innocently. “You don’t like my outfit?”

“That’s the problem. I like it a little too much. Why are
you wearing that anyway?”

“I thought we’d go on a little experiment outdoors tonight.
Down to the graveyard.”

Puzzled, I asked. “And this outfit is necessary how?”

“I love reruns of the show
Alias
. And the outfit she
wore is so hot. This seems like a perfect opportunity to wear this outfit and
perform some reconnaissance.”

“Reconnaissance? With a pink wig? In a graveyard?”

“Don’t spoil the fun, Tristan,” she said. “Lead us on a
cleansing ritual and we’ll head on down there.”

“It will be hard to focus with you in that skintight
outfit.”

“Then close your eyes.”

“Trust me, I’ll still be thinking of it.”

She smiled decadently. “Tell you what. If you can focus on
what we’re doing, I’ll make it worth your while. You take this outfit off me
later. And do whatever you want. Wherever you want.”

“I’m focusing, I’m focusing,” I said. “Just promise to leave
the wig on later.”

“I promise.”

Maya

“So what are we going to do here?” Tristan asked, once we
reached the graveyard.

“You asked me if I felt anything in here. You see things in
here. We should do something with that.”

“Okay,” he said. The look on his face turned aghast as he
looked around. “Do you see them? They’re all over tonight!”

I looked around the graveyard but didn’t see anything other
than neglected tombstones.

“No, Tristan, I don’t,” I whispered. “It’s okay. Stay calm.
Stay focused. They’re not going to hurt you.”

“Shadows. Everywhere. Lurking through the stones!”

“Tristan. Look at me. Not them. Look at my light. Okay, good.
Now close your eyes. Hold my hands. Focus. Breathe.”

When I thought his terror had subsided, I said, “Open them
now.”

He looked around. “They’re gone.”

“Hmm.”

“This happened the last time we were here. I looked at you
and the darkness disappeared.”

“Ah. So we know what happens,” I said. “But why?”

“And what can we do with it?”

Neither one of us had answers. After several moments, I
said, “Let’s think about that later. Right now I’m thinking about the first
time we came here, the first time we kissed.”

“Happiest moment I can remember.”

“Hottest moment too.” I pressed up against him in my catsuit
and kissed him.

A low moan escaped his lips and he pulled me closer. He ran
his hands down my back and over my ass, cupping the cheeks.

“God, I love these things,” he said, squeezing them.

“It feels good, you doing that,” I murmured. “Let’s move
over there where it’s dark, behind that tree.” I nodded to the back of the
graveyard.

“What do you have in mind, my naughty little vixen?”

“Shhh. Just come along.”

I led him behind the tree and kissed him again as I ran my
hands down the front of his body, feeling his muscles tighten as I moved. When
I cupped his cock, he was already so erect I didn’t know how he could stay in
those jeans much longer.

I slid down the front of his body, kissing his torso until I
kneeled in front of him. I unbuttoned the top button of his pants and undid the
zipper, sliding my hand inside to grasp him.

“Here?” he asked, his voice coming out barely a whisper.

“Don’t worry, nobody can see us back here.”

“But someone might come.”

“Hopefully that someone is you.” I slid his jeans and boxers
down, freeing his eager, ready cock.

“Oh Maya. What am I going to do with you?”

“You don’t have to do anything right now. Just enjoy this.”

“I wouldn’t—and couldn’t—stop this.”

I kissed the tip of his cock and he growled low again. When
I licked the shaft, he ran his fingers through my hair.

“Close your eyes,” I said. Then I stood up and pulled the
blue scarf out of my bag. I stood on my tiptoes to wrap it over his eyes and
tie it in the back.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s my turn to play with you.”

“You’re going to blindfold me here? In a graveyard?”

“Shhh.” I kneeled back down and took him into my mouth. His
excitement grew as I took my time alternating between licking and sucking him
as he pumped his hips forward.

“Oh my God. This is incredible. I’m going to come if you
keep doing that.”

I sucked harder to show I wasn’t stopping. He reached back
with both arms and grabbed the tree as he arched himself forward one last time,
pumping his hot liquid into me and whispering my name.

Tristan

After that mind-blowing orgasm in the cemetery, we returned
to my loft. Maya had already taken my mind off the shadows when she took
control of my body there. And she continued commanding all my thoughts and
sensations as she began a striptease to a Danzig song,
She Rides
. I
didn’t think I’d be able to make it through the song
.
She pulled off the
leather catsuit ever so slowly, leaving on the reddish wig.

Shadows? Graveyard? What graveyard?

The sex was amazing. It was always amazing.

The way we explored each other would be permanently
imprinted on my memory. The blue scarf would never be just some scarf again.
And leather catsuits? Purr.

Maya stayed over most nights. I grew accustomed to her being
there so quickly. When she was gone, it was as if something was missing.

How did she become such an important part of my life? I was
alone for so long and thought I always would be. Holding her in my bed all
night filled me with a comfort I never knew existed.

Yet at the same time, I knew it couldn’t last forever. I was
too dark, too damaged. Unfit as a companion. And Maya deserved more. Better.

Pushing reality aside, I focused on now and the time we had.
As she sat on the sofa flipping through a magazine, I searched through my music
collection.

“Hey Maya, this is your song,” I teased as I played one by
The Cult.

She looked and turned her head to the side as she listened.
“
Fire Woman
?Oh, you’re funny.” She threw a pillow at me and went
to my laptop.

“What are you doing?”

“Getting you back. I’m looking for your song.”

“Ha, good luck. I’m one of a kind!”

“That you are.” Her eyes raked my body. “Come over here,”
she said, sauntering to the bed.

Just like that she switched from teasing me to seducing me.
And I responded to the slightest hint of her desire like a Pavlovian dog. No
doubt, I was hooked.

Unfortunately, I had to tend to the club and she had to work
at the firehouse. Once our duties were done, we met in the lab. We spent the
next several days focused on our new hobby—each other.

That and the other reason we had come together. Was there a
deeper reason for our connection? And would we ever figure it out?

Tristan

After a very energetic lovemaking session, we lay there
panting on the pullout sofa in my lab. She was lying on her stomach and I ran a
finger up her spine, tracing the intricate swirls in her tattoo. “Can I ask you
something?”

“Sure,” she replied. “The tattoo?”

“No. But now that you mention it, yes.”

“Just a design I like.”

“And the flames?”

“You know my secret.”

I nodded.

“So what’s your question?”

“You know how I see you in light. But deep down I see a
darkness in you. As if you’re sad.”

She bristled.

“Am I making you uncomfortable?”

“No. I just don’t know where you’re going with it.”

“I wonder about it. Often.” I propped myself up on one
elbow. “Why are you sad deep down? My mind runs wild thinking someone hurt you
and it makes me want to destroy them.”

“Settle down, tiger,” she said, rolling on her side to face
me.

I caught the sight of her breasts and grew aroused again.

“No need to seek and destroy anyone,” she said. “I’m no
different from anyone else. The usual disappointments in life.”

“Like what?”

“Oh, you know. People come, people go. You think they’ll be
in your life, but they disappear.”

“Your birth parents?”

She shrugged. “Maybe. But what do I know about that? I was a
baby. It’s hard to contemplate a loss of something that was never really
there.”

“Boyfriend?”

“Perhaps. I’ve had my heart broken, same as any girl who’s
ever been a teenager.”

“Anyone else?”

She opened her mouth and then closed it.

“Maya?”

“A good friend of mine just vanished from my life not too
long ago. I wish she’d just tell me why.”

“What happened?”

“That’s the thing. I don’t know. We were inseparable—we
worked together, hung out together—like sisters, I imagine. I don’t know since
I don’t have any. And then, she disappeared with the previous owner after the
fire and has been all cryptic since.”

Apparently I unearthed some feelings she’d buried for a
while. She continued her tirade.

“I mean, why can’t she just tell me what’s going on? Why did
she just take off with this guy
Mee-shel
, or however you say his name,
to Europe? Who leaves a decent job, a job she was good at and worked hard to
get, for some guy? She had a nice apartment and everything. Sends some moving
company to pack her stuff up and put it in storage—it’s crazy. Ugh, it makes me
sick. When a strong, confident woman leaves everything to go off for a man, I
just
hope
there’s a reasonable explanation behind it.”

After a significant pause when I thought it was safe to
speak, I said, “Maybe there is.”

She raised one eyebrow. “Really? What could possibly be so
important that you’d run off and leave everything behind?”

She had me there. “I don’t know. But from my experience, you
should never judge how a person acts or what they’ve decided unless you’ve been
in their shoes.”

She snorted. “Sounds very Zen-like to me.”

“Think about it. Most people think I’m extremely—peculiar.
The way I isolate myself. If they knew the reason why, well, maybe they
wouldn’t be so quick to judge.”

She looked sheepish for a moment.

“And you, with your connection to fire. If people knew, they
probably wouldn’t understand and would just dismiss you as some kind of freak.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I shouldn’t be so quick to judge. You
asked why I was hurt and that’s the most recent thing.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t have pried.”

“I’m glad you did. I’d buried it for so long I was starting
to grind my teeth at night.” Then she gave me a wickedly sinful smile and said,
“Bet you thought I was going to say it was some guy.”

I opened my mouth and closed it. “Maybe. I didn’t know what
you’d say.”

“Yeah, I know. Jealous much?” she teased and threw a pillow
at me and tried to scoot away.

“Oh, you’re gonna get it. Get over here you.” I grabbed her
ankle and pulled her back toward me and over my lap as she squealed. “Feeling
naughty, are we? Perhaps a little spanking is in order.”

“Oh yes, I need to be punished,” she said, looking over her
shoulder. “I’ve been a very
wicked
girl.”

That night I spanked her before we made love and I spanked
her good. She loved it, shouting out in protest each time, but then readying
herself for more. Seeing my red handprints on her fine pale skin shot
excitement straight to my cock. I bent her over the end of the sofa again,
grabbing her ass as I fucked her from behind.

I could never get tired of this. I could fuck her every day.

But then after she fell asleep in my arms later that night,
the doubts started to settle in.

No matter how much I wanted her with me, I had to think of
her happiness. She deserved better than me.

I was the wrong man for her.

Maya

I ordered a drink while waiting for Tristan. He’d agreed to
meet me upstairs at Vamps for a breather tonight. We’d been hiding out
downstairs or in his loft while we experimented in all sorts of fun ways, but
now I wanted to get out and dance.

“What have you got there?” a woman asked me, nodding toward
my drink.

She was quite attractive, with dark, wavy hair and goth-style
makeup. I couldn’t help but give her a quick once-over, the way you do when you
see a hot woman—even if you’re a straight woman. She was wearing a skintight
black outfit that showed every curve.

“It’s a Tempting Fate,” I said. “It’s really good. You
should try one.”

“I’ll have to get that next,” she said. “I’m Maddie. Great
club, isn’t it?”

“Maya,” I replied. I wanted to proudly add how my guy was
the owner of the club and how he was the reason this club made such a hot
comeback. But I stifled my enthusiasm, wary of being overzealous. “Yes, one of
my favorites. It’s not just the music and the people, but it’s all the little
details that make it its own.”

“So Maya, are you here with anyone? Someone as beautiful as
you shouldn’t be drinking alone.”

Was she hitting on me? Or just being polite?

“My boyfriend is meeting me here. He promised me we’d dance
tonight. It’s been too long.”

She laughed. “Men who dance. A rare breed.”

I looked around. There were a good number on the dance floor
tonight. But then I thought about the other men in my life. Would any of the
firefighters I worked with be caught dead on a dance floor, let alone a dance
floor like this one? Leather, vinyl, costumes and scantily clad bodies
abounded.

Just then, a dark-haired man sporting a Van Dyke snaked an
arm around Maddie from behind and kissed her on the cheek.

“Maya, this is my husband Roderick.”

“Maya,” he said, giving me a nod.

“Nice to meet you.”

Maddie said, “Roderick and I host couples parties at our
house. Maybe you and your boyfriend would like to join us sometime.”

Couples parties? Did she mean no kids allowed? Or was she
talking about the more kinky variety with an open-door sex policy?

“Um, what kind of parties do you mean exactly?”

“Oh, no pressure or anything. We just look for some
open-minded couples like ourselves who are looking for fun, friendship and, you
know—maybe a little more.”

The hungry look they both gave me told me all I needed to
know about what the little more might mean. And to tell you the truth, I did not
know how I felt about it. Part of me was ready to hightail it out of there. But
another part noticed the flush of excitement that shot through my body and
settled right between my legs knowing that these people were thinking of me
sexually.

“Umm, I don’t know. Maybe. I’ve never been to anything like
that before.”

She wrote down her name and number on a scrap of paper. “If
you’re ever intrigued and want to find out more, just give me a call. Like I
said, no pressure.”

As they walked away from the bar onto the dance floor, I
watched them. He was kind of hot in a Latin lover way. He shook it with style.
And she was definitely a head-turner. I tried to picture myself kissing her.
Would I like kissing a woman? Would I like to do other things with a woman like
her?

Hmm, stuff to ponder while I nursed my drink. What about
Tristan? Would he be into this? We did some freaky-ass shit together already. I
didn’t know how I felt about inviting other people into our sexual play. But,
hey, it could be fun…an experimental, open-minded, sensual kind of fun.

Tristan interrupted my fantasy. “Hey, babe. How are you?” He
kissed me on the lips.

“Fine,” I said, remembering where I was. “Now that I have
you here and I’m not left to my own devices.”

“Yes, we wouldn’t want that, would we? You could get into
all kinds of trouble.”

“Quite true.”

I looked at Maddie and Roderick dancing. They were all over
each other in a very uninhibited way.

Yeah, maybe. I might be into that.

Just as I was about to mention the interesting little
invitation we’d received, Tristan said, “Come on. I promised you I’d dance. And
I’m a man of my word.”

“Thank you, Tristan. I know you hate being around people for
too long.”

“It’s okay,” he said. “I’ll just keep my eyes on you. Being
around other people is easier with you to focus on.”

Tristan and I danced to some industrial tracks. He seemed
distracted, maybe sad. I could understand. I knew what he was dealing with at
the moment to come up here and dance with me.

Oh so different from the first time we danced when we
couldn’t keep our eyes or hands off each other. The passion was still just as
intense, just as powerful, but something was off tonight. What was it?

The DJ slowed it down with The Smith’s
How Soon is Now?
One
you were sure to hear every week or two.

I caught Maddie and Roderick’s eyes a few times. The way
they looked at each other, the way they ran their hands down each other’s
bodies—they were definitely hot for each other.

And the way they looked at me and Tristan made me think they
were hot for us too.

A couples party? I’d have to keep it mind. Maybe surprise
Tristan with the idea later.

Just as I was about to point them out to Tristan, I looked
at him. What was up with him? He wasn’t looking at me or at anything in
particular in the room, but staring as if he was in deep thought.

“What’s wrong, Tristan? You seem distant. Is it too much
being up here?”

He looked at me with his dark, soulful eyes, which now
appeared so full of sadness.

“Just close your eyes and hold me,” I said. I pressed myself
closer to him and he pulled me tight.

“Oh Maya,” he said. “What am I going to do?”

“Don’t do anything right now. Just hold me close. Whatever
it is, it’ll be all right.”

Tristan

I had thought Maya was right, we had to get out of the lab
and take a break. But going up to dance with her last night didn’t help. As
much as I craved touching her, needed her near me, I knew the end was
inevitable.

It would be painful. No, devastating. But our time was
coming to an end.

I spun the globe in my lab. I could sense it over the last
few days. My moods had darkened and I grew ever more frustrated each time one
of our experiments failed yet again.

I thought she might lead to the cure, but it hadn’t yet
happened. And I started to take my frustration out on her. I snapped at Maya a
couple of times while we brewed a potion. She looked at me surprised at first
and then came back at me. We started to fight over little things.

She didn’t deserve this. My moods, my darkness.

Maybe she wasn’t the light to my darkness after all. And I would
end up putting out her light. She would be surrounded by shadows just like
everyone else.

God, I would hate myself to destroy something so good.

I went to my compute to put on some music to distract me.
But instead, I played a song that just confirmed my self-doubts—a song I often
played in such moments—
Creep
by Radiohead.

As I listened to the song, the old haunt came back. I wasn’t
a good companion for anyone, least of all someone as good as Maya.

She was so fuckin’ special. I didn’t deserve her.

Maybe we weren’t meant to be together after all.

I played the song twice more, both to confirm my doubts
about whether I was good enough for her and to confirm how she was so much
better than I deserved.

Then I played Nine Inch Nails’s
Hurt.
Was there a
more despondent song out there?

I would hurt Maya. Eventually. No matter how much I wanted
to make her happy and protect her, I would be the one who hurt her in the end.
She couldn’t live a normal life with someone as fucked up as me. She deserved
someone who didn’t have such issues.

If I cared for her at all, I had to protect her—from me.

I had to tell her. Tonight.

Maya

After a shitty day at work, I looked forward to seeing my
hot guy with the magic hands and sensuous lips. When I arrived in his lab, he
didn’t rise to embrace me the way he usually did. He was bent over his
workbench, head in his hands.

What was going on with him lately? We didn’t even have sex
last night. Tristan just spooned me and we fell into a somewhat fitful sleep.

“Tristan? You okay?”

“It’s not working. We’ve tried and tried. I’ve done all
kinds of research. And—nothing.”

I put my skull-and-crossbones bike messenger bag down on the
floor and went over to rub his shoulders. “It’s okay. Maybe we’ll find
something, maybe we won’t.”

He turned to look at me and his eyes were red. “No, it’s not
okay. I’ve been living with this misery for years. And when I met you I had
this tiny hope against hope that I could be normal. But that was a mistake. I
don’t know why, but I’m cursed. And nothing and nobody can change that.”