Smoldering Nights (2 page)

Stop babbling
, Nike! Time to shut up.

He reached out and brushed his fingertips across the top of my hand. “Tossing and turning in bed isn’t so bad,” he said, “if you’re with the right person.”

Before I could censor myself, I blurted, “I guess I haven’t found the right person, but maybe my luck will change.” I dared looking in those cool blue eyes and raised an eyebrow.
What the heck am I doing? Flirting with him?

“Nike, I’ve often wondered about you. You’re in the gym all the time, but you’ve never spoken to me. So many people go there to socialize first and work out second. I tried to get your attention and say hi a couple of times, but you looked away so quickly. You’re always so focused on what you’re doing that you don’t talk to anyone.”

Uh-oh, did he think I was some freak? Did he think I was rude for never once saying hi? He didn’t realize one of the reasons I was there so often was once I knew he was in the vicinity, I found it hard to leave.

“You intrigue me,” he continued. He lifted his hand to my face and barely grazed his knuckles across my cheek. My skin burned again under his cool touch and I could feel my cheeks flush.

He leaned forward and whispered in my ear. “I’d love to get to know you better.”

Parts of my body that had been dormant for many months suddenly reawakened at the feel of his warm breath caressing my ear.

“Would you like to talk somewhere where we can have a little more privacy? We can go to a room upstairs.”

Oh mama!
All I wanted to do was jump into his lap right there and put my arms around his neck. At that moment, I didn’t care who else was around me. All I wanted was him.

I took a few deep yoga breaths to slow my raging heartbeat and regain my composure. “Would you excuse me for a minute?”

“Of course,” he said. “I hope you come right back.”

I smiled to indicate I planned on it and tried to walk slowly and seductively on my way to the ladies room. It wasn’t too difficult with the high-heeled lace-up boots. You either strutted sexily in them or you tripped and fell on your ass. No middle ground.

Luckily, I made it across the crowd without falling so I hope the sexy quotient was kicking up in high gear. When I turned back, he was still watching me. I gave what I hoped was a seductive
be right back
smile and then scanned the crowd for Maya.

She was wearing a schoolgirl outfit with a short blue plaid skirt and tight white tank top. Unfortunately, she wasn’t the only naughty schoolgirl on the dance floor tonight, which made it more difficult. Since most of the crowd was wearing black, I only had to scan the more colorfully dressed woman.

Bingo. She was with some tall guy who looked an awful lot like Trent Reznor, the lead singer of the alternative rock band
Nine Inch Nails
. She seemed quite lost in the music, dancing seductively to
Black No. 1
from Type O Negative, one of her favorite bands. She still hadn’t gotten over the singer’s death and regularly slept in a Type O shirt she had gotten from a concert.

Luckily, she looked over at Michel and when she noticed I wasn’t there, she looked around the room. Catching my eye as she saw me outside the ladies’ room, she whispered something to fake Trent and walked toward me.

In the ladies’ room, I waited. And breathed. I tried more deep yoga inhales through the nose and exhales through the mouth to try to slow my heartbeat.

Maya burst in. “That’s the guy, isn’t it? The one who looks like Bradley Cooper in
The Hangover
?”

“Yes,” I said.

“I knew it,” she hollered. “I could tell when he mentioned the gym and you turned into a blubbering idiot.”

“Thanks for noticing.”

“Man, I should go out there and tell him he’s the reason you look so slammin’ in that hoochie dress. Look at those shoulders,” she said. “Sexy as hell. I’d kill to have those. And I know one thing. You wouldn’t have spent so much time rock climbing without that eye candy to entertain you.” She walked toward the door.

“Maya!” I shouted. “DON’T!”

“I’m just kidding, Nike. So what the heck happened out there?” she asked.

“He asked me to go upstairs with him to a room. I’m debating what to do.”

Maya’s eyes widened in a look between shock and confusion. “What are you, nuts? The guy you’ve wanted for oh-I-don’t-know-how-long and have been too chicken-shit to talk to just happens to be here
and
just happens to ask you to be alone with him
and
you’re debating it in the ladies room with me?”

“Well, what the hell am I supposed to do? Jump him like some slut? Which won’t be that difficult to imagine, by the way, considering my poor choice of outfit tonight.”

“Shut up, you look hot. Do whatever the hell you want,” Maya said. “God, Nike, for some kick-ass chick during the day, you sure are a freak when it comes to this guy. Since when do you care what some guy thinks of you? You work in a firehouse full of guys and stand your own.”

“He’s different,” I said.

“Different how?”

“I don’t know. But he’s not like the other guys I’ve known.”

“Have you ever talked to him before tonight?”

“No, but—”

“Come on. I’ve seen you take men and turn them into jelly before leaving them hanging with their mouths open. How can some guy you’ve never spoken to until tonight, I might add, suddenly leave you tongue-tied?”

“I wish I knew.”

“Listen to me, Nike. And listen good. You want this guy. You’ve wanted this guy for a long time. He wants you too, or he wouldn’t have asked you to go with him. I don’t know what you’re afraid of, but just go see what happens. Nobody’s saying you have to sleep with the guy. Nobody’s saying you’ll run off and marry him. Nobody even said that’s what he’s planning to do with you. Maybe he just wants to talk. Just go out there and
see what the fuck happens.”

Chapter Two

Michel

Damn it, I’m coming on too strong. I’ve scared her away.

I sipped my drink as I watched her walk away. God, her ass was sexy. At the gym, it was always covered up in a loose pair of shorts. Here tonight, her dress showed what divine globes she had.

A firefighter? It made things a bit more interesting since fire was one of the only things that could harm me. She made her living combating what I feared. I could never tell her this, though. If she found out the truth about me, she’d run.

She just couldn’t find out the truth about me. It would scare her away.

That is
if
she came back.

Why did I ask her to go into a private room with me within the first ten minutes of us meeting? She might think I’m some lech just trying to get a piece of action. Why would she think otherwise? She didn’t know me at all.

“Can I get you anything else, Michel?”

Tracy’s interruption broke my train of thought. Tracy, who had been trying to get my attention for months.

“No thanks, Tracy.”

Tracy was beautiful, but she didn’t do it for me. I don’t know why I wasn’t attracted to her. Half the guys in the club would kill to go home with her tonight. But she didn’t have an allure the way Nike did.

What made Nike so intriguing? She always seemed so focused at the rock climbing gym and never once asked me for help. I had ladies who had been climbing there for years and knew exactly what they were doing, but would feign sudden ignorance to spark a conversation with a question.

I’d seen Nike here many times, but always from afar. Seeing her up close made it all the harder not to think about her. The skintight dress was torturous. How could I look and not want to touch her? Her breasts, always covered up by a T-shirt, were displayed to their best advantage in a revealing bodice. And I already paid close attention to how closely the dress stretched over her ass. Damn, I grew hard just thinking about her.

My mind entertained a vision of her tonight looking so deliciously vampish. Her auburn hair fell loose in long waves, no longer tied back in a tight ponytail. I inhaled again, remembering the floral scent I picked up when whispering in her ear. And the light, sweet scent of her blood. The innocent yet sensual combination would haunt me for a long time.

At the gym, her face was usually scrubbed clean of all makeup, but tonight it was artfully made up. Her lips outlined in a dark-red hue that added to her vampish quality. Her eyes. Yes, her eyes framed by her long, dark lashes. She looked so exotic, so sensuous.

In the gym, I thought her eyes were a kind of blue, but here in the darkly lit club, they radiated a jade green. Did she have a hazel color that changed according to what she wore—or her mood? Mysterious, just like her. What would they look like when she was making love, full of passion and desire? A vision of us naked, making love in my loft, entered my mind and I closed my eyes for a moment to linger in the fantasy.

Nike. Definitely a goddess.

A few minutes later, I saw Nike with her friend. Her friend walked away and Nike turned back in my direction.

She was coming back—
to me
. I bet every guy would love to switch places with me right now.

I regretfully pushed the sensual images out my mind, and then dismissed the regret. What did I need the fantasy for when the real Nike was here with me?

“Hi.”

“You’re back.”

“Yes.” She shuffled on her stiletto boots. “I’m back."

“Would you like another drink?” I asked.

“No thanks. I’m fine.”

“So do you want to go upstairs?”

“Yes,” she said, almost breathlessly, which made my cock stiffen.

I took her hand and led her toward a door in the back of the club. I used my key to open the door and lead her upstairs to my office.

“You have a key?” she asked. “How often do you come here?”

“Often. I need to check up on it. Make sure everything is going smoothly.”

“You do? Why?”

“It’s my club, Nike.”

Nike

It’s his club?
How often had I come here dancing in some slutty outfit and not seen him?

“I haven’t seen you here before,” I said.

He led me up to another black door, which he opened with another key. The room had a desk on one side and a black sofa on the other. I was both disappointed and relieved there wasn’t a bed in there.

“Oh, I’ve seen you,” he said. “Plenty of times.”

I tried not to think of any of the ho-like outfits I’d worn
or sexy dance moves I might had done with any number of random guys.

He brought me to the sofa and we sat down.

“You know I don’t go home with any of the guys I meet here,” I said.

“I know.”

I bit my bottom lip and wondered why I’d never noticed him before. Maybe I was too busy working the dance floor.

“Why do you work at the rock climbing gym then?”

“I own it too,” he said.

I bit my lower lip while mulling it over. When I looked up, I noticed he had moved even closer. Our thighs were touching. I wanted to move away, uncomfortable with the sensation, yet paralyzed as I didn’t want it to end.

“Don’t you ever sleep?” I asked.

“Usually during the day. I’m only in the gym during the week, usually evenings. And then on the weekends I sometimes come here.”

He reached up and gently touched my cheek. It felt like my skin burned under his touch. I looked into his piercing eyes and couldn’t look away.

“Do you own anything else?

His eyes focused on my lips, which made it hard for me to concentrate.

“Just some real estate. It keeps me busy.”

“I bet.”

“I don’t want to think about business right now, Nike. All I’m thinking about is you.”

And then his lips barely grazed mine before he pulled away. A flood of sensations whizzed through my body, sensations I hadn’t felt in a long time.

When he pressed his lips against mine, I responded almost involuntarily, my body reaching out for more. I knew I shouldn’t respond so eagerly and seem like a ho, but I couldn’t help myself.

He kissed me deeper, his tongue tasting my lower lip. I knew I should stop, but—but I couldn’t think of why. I pressed myself against him, arching my back under his touch, giving him a subtle invitation to continue.

When he pulled away, I felt an immense sense of loss.

“I have a confession.”

My heart sank. I knew it was too good to be true. It happened so quick and I responded too eagerly. “You’re married, right?”

“No,” he said. “Nothing like that. It’s about you.”

“Me?”

“I’m usually up here in my office. Behind the curtain is a two-way mirror where I can see down into the club. I’ve watched you from up here.”

My heart beat faster for more reasons than I could count. If any other guy had said this to me, I would have pegged him a stalker, a weirdo, a creep. But since it was Michel, I felt…excited.

I didn’t know what to say besides “Why?” Why did this guy leave me so tongue-tied?

“I find you,” he paused as if looking for the right word, “
fascinant.”
He stroked the stubble on chiseled chin and my eyes drew down toward the sexy cleft. A chin—a sexy feature? Since when? I never noticed a guy’s chin unless it was strikingly different from the norm. Michel had a way of exuding sexiness from just about everywhere.

“Yes, fascinating,” he continued. “The more I’ve seen you, the more I wanted to get to know you. I came down to the bar when I saw you and your friend come in. I was hoping to talk to you. What luck it was you came up to where I was sitting. But I never guessed we’d be up here like this. If we’re moving too fast, I’ll back off.”

I took a deep breath to clear my mind. Reason told me to cool it, be coy, play hard to get—an act I had perfected. However, it was hard to think reasonably at the moment.

“No. Don’t. I…um…I’ve wanted you for a long time. I just didn’t know how to express it.” I leaned forward to kiss him again, following my passion rather than any reason. “But I’m learning.”

He responded eagerly and our kiss grew hungrier and more intense. He ran his hands down along my sides and then up to my breasts. I moaned softly, shuddering under his gentle touch, wanting more. Much, much more.

He gently laid me back against the sofa and laid himself on top of me. I felt his excitement as he pressed himself against me and I grew moist, wanting more of him right then. My arms around his back, I pulled him closer, pressing myself against him.

He moaned and whispered, “You’re so beautiful. I want you so bad.”

“I want you too, Michel.”

Never had I wanted a man so much. How long had it been since I felt like this? How long had it been since I had a lover? Months, almost bordering on a year.

I’d never wanted anyone with this sort of urgency.

It felt so good to feel like a woman again. He brought out sensations that made me so aware than I was female, flesh and blood. I felt animalistic, primal urges wanting to get out.

“Please—now,” I said. “I don’t care if it’s too soon. Or if it’s wrong. I want you. And I can’t wait any longer.”

“Me neither, chérie.”

A tremendous bang rocked the club and bright flashing colors filled the room. At first, I thought it was my body reacting to Michel’s touch. But then I saw the wall closest to the desk blown away, leaving nothing but dark night in its wake and debris floating around the room.

Michel jumped up and ran toward what was once a wall with a window.

Startled from my haze of lust, I quickly recovered. I remembered I was a firefighter and snapped into action.

“Michel, back up. It’s not safe.”

He stayed where he was and I ran over, grabbing his arm and trying to pull him back. I saw two men dressed in black standing in the alley below.

“I’ve been looking for you, Michel,” the larger one said, pronouncing the French name as perfectly as Michel had
.
“And now I’ve found you. Come out and play.”

Michel bared teeth and snarled an animalistic growl. Only those weren’t teeth, I saw. They were definitely fangs.

Fangs!
What the hell was that all about? What the heck kind of person had fangs?

“You want to do it like
this
, Ricard,” he said, motioning to the debris falling out the window.

I didn’t have time to comprehend what I just saw.

Michel turned toward me. “Nike, get away from here. Go find someplace safe.”

“What about you?” I asked, and then looked down at those imposing figures below. “Come with me. Let’s get out of here.”

“I can’t, chérie. Unfinished business.”

In a movement almost too quick for me to register, Michel ran forward and jumped right through the hole and into the night.

I screamed and ran to the window, ignoring my own warning. He descended the two stories to the concrete below, and then landed unharmed on the balls of his feet, just like a cat.

The larger guy hissed and went after Michel.

That’s when I was hit by a cloud of smoke from below. Holding my breath, I ran back into the room. A fire had started below where there were hundreds of people jammed into the club.

I grabbed a Rock Hard Climbing T-shirt from a chair and covered my nose and mouth with it as I ran out into the stairwell. Seeing the stairs were clear, I ran down them as fast as I could in my stiletto heels, wishing I wore something faster and more functional.

I pushed open the black door back into the club and walked into pandemonium.