Pleasures of the Night

  “Are you going to talk to me so I can find you?”

  Her throat was tight with regret and bitterness, so she swallowed hard before speaking. “I’m losing it, Aidan. I’m getting sappy. The lamest shit makes me cry.”

  He moved closer, his stride never faltering or hesitating despite his inability to see. “I admire people who allow themselves to feel.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Exactly what I said.”

  “You can’t admire a woman who sits in the dark,” she argued, “because she’s too stupid to turn the lights on.”

  Aidan crouched down beside her. “I can. And I do.”

  “How do you find me like that?” She shivered at his nearness and the intimate tone of his voice. Even without sight, she knew his gaze was hot with sensual intent.

  “Your scent.”

  A moment later his face was in her hair as he breathed deeply. Lyssa froze as goose bumps spread in a wave across her skin. A tiny flutter tickled her belly.

  He settled back with her tucked up against him. “You open and close the door by yourself.”

  Lyssa considered that with a frown.

  “So you can control your surroundings if you wish to,” he pointed out with an odd note in his voice.

  She frowned. Wow, I did do that, without hardly thinking about it. “Why can’t I wish up a cold beer, then? Or a vacation?”

  “And a hot guy?” There was a delicious rumble of laughter in his voice.

  I’ve got the hot guy. She bit her lower lip at the thought. Aidan’s voice dripped sensual promise; his hard body and long, powerful legs boasted his stamina. She reached up and touched his hair, finding it short-cropped, thick, and silky. With the darkness robbing her ability to see, lustful images flooded her mind, thoughts of her fingers in that rich hair while his mouth worked magic between her legs.

  He hissed through his teeth, and she realized how her altered position pressed her breasts to his chest. Her nipples were hard in response to her thoughts, and she knew he could feel them. Pulling away quickly, Lyssa scrambled to put distance between them.

  “Sorry,” she muttered, beginning to pace in the darkness she knew so well.

  Aidan was silent for a long time, then he cleared his throat and said, “So let’s try to figure out how you control the door.”

  She continued to stride back and forth restlessly, certain she had never felt as awkward in her miserable life.

  “Lyssa?” He heaved out his breath. “You know what I think?”

  “What?” That I’m a sex-starved nutcase?

  “I think you’re too keyed up to focus on dreaming.”

  “Don’t you mean ‘hard up’?” She walked away from temptation, her bare feet padding softly across the warm floor. For the first time in a very long time, she wished she were alone, which made her grumpy along with frustrated.

  “You can dream just fine when you’re focused,” he called after her.

  Snorting, she shook her head. “Say it,” she grumbled under her breath. “I need to get laid.”

  She gasped as strong arms caught her about the waist and held her tight to a rock-hard chest. Against the curve of her buttocks she felt his arousal, a hot and substantial presence that burned through her sweats to her skin. Her brain stopped working, unable to process the fact that he might want her, too.

  “I’ll do more than say it, Hot Stuff,” he rumbled in her ear.

  Then he spun her to face him and took her mouth with breath-stealing hunger, before lowering her down onto golden sand…

  Chapter 2

  As sunlight flooded his vision, Aidan blinked and stared down at the woman in his arms. His heart stopped, every cell in his body arrested by the flowing golden tresses that tumbled across the sand.

  “What…?” She gasped, lovely dark eyes widened in surprise as she looked around. “Where are we?”

  A soft tropical breeze ruffled his hair, and reggae played in the background, but his eyes never left her face. She was confused, her short nails digging into the skin of his forearms, and he couldn’t form one coherent word to reassure her.

  Lyssa Bates was stunningly beautiful, her features both patrician and sensual. Her mouth full and red, kissable. Her eyes tip-tilted seductively, revealing both intelligence and innocence. Why had she pictured herself as worn and tired-looking?

  Because that’s the way she felt.

  “Oh my god,” she breathed, her fingertips touching his face reverently. “You’re gorgeous.”

  And then they were plunged into darkness. The music fell silent and the fragrant sea breeze disappeared, leaving only the two of them intertwined, their hearts racing next to each other.

  “What happened?” she cried plaintively.

  Aidan was immobilized in shock. He had desired her scent, the feel of her body, the blunt way she spoke…Regardless of her facial appearance, he’d wanted to take her beneath him and fuck her senseless. Sex as a distraction had always worked for him, and from her response to his embrace, he’d known it would work for her, too.

  Then he saw her. And now he wanted something more.

  “You got scared,” he managed hoarsely. “Lost the dream.”

  As he struggled with the implications, she resumed caressing his face, learning his features by touch as a sculptor would. He had no idea what she’d seen in the light. Her dream would make him into whatever she desired most. For the first time he resented that, wishing the effect he had on her was genuine and the face she admired so much was his own.

  “Aidan?” Her sweet voice was low, tentative. Lonely.

  Just as he was.

  He rolled, pulling her over him, his arms dropping to the ground. His head fell back and his eyes closed, the weight of his dilemma crushing his chest, making it hard to breathe. An eternity of seducing had given him enough insight to be certain—something fragile had taken root in the brief moment their eyes had met.

  It needed to be crushed, and Lyssa forgotten.

  “Yes?” His voice was gruff, and he felt the confusion it caused ripple through her. He should let her go, move her off him.

  But he couldn’t do it.

  Then she lowered her mouth to his, her softly fragrant hair surrounding him, encasing them together, until all he was cognizant of was her and how much he wanted her. Her lips touched his, a brief kiss, a gentle pressing. He groaned in painful awareness. Emboldened, her tongue flicked out, wetting his bottom lip before she sucked on it with a rhythmic pull that made his cock swell and ache. Lyssa set her hands on either side of his head, lifting slightly to brush her breasts back and forth across his chest.

  Aidan Cross, Elite Warrior and immortal seducer, was being consummately seduced for the first time in his endless memory. And Lyssa Bates was very, very good at it.

  He’d wanted to distract her and get laid. Now, mating with Lyssa had become a dangerous tangle. His brain was not analyzing step by step the best way to excite her so he could hurry up and thrust his cock into her. His brain was barely functioning at all, other than registering panic at the depth of his craving. He wanted to hold her close, take his time, arouse her to madness with his mouth and hands before sliding into her and letting her come. Over and over again.

  Not to forget himself. But to find himself. To remember what it felt like when he still had hope, to remember when he hadn’t been afraid to care about someone.

  Opening his mouth to speak, he was instead plundered by her kiss, her tongue sweeping inside, stroking along his, making him shudder. She moved, her thighs straddling his hips, her cunt to his cock, her lithe body gliding sinuously along his in a full-body caress. His chest rose and fell so rapidly, he felt dizzy. Sweating, he reached to push her away, but his muscles refused to comply.

  “The sand,” he gasped, turning his head, which freed her mouth to nibble along his jaw.

  Instantly, sand cushioned his back.

  “The sun.” If he forced her focus to shift, perhaps her ardor would lessen enough t
o allow him to resist and save himself. His burgeoning fascination with her couldn’t be allowed to deepen. There was nowhere for a relationship between them to go, and even if there was, it was hopeless. He needed to dedicate every bit of energy he had to the fight. He couldn’t afford to lose the concentration required to do his job properly.

  The air around them lightened slowly, like a sunrise, bathing her in a golden glow that formed a halo through her hair. She was an angel to him, a woman both open and innocent, yet not as fragile as circumstances made her appear.

  “Please, don’t stop,” she breathed in his ear, making him shiver.

  “Lyssa.” His jaw tightened. “You don’t understand.”

  She ground her hips downward onto him, his cock jerking at the feel of her heat burning through to his most sensitive skin. “You want me,” she argued stubbornly.

  “Yes, but there are things you don’t—”

  “And I want you.”

  Aidan growled as she shimmied again. “Oh, fuck it!” he muttered, rolling to pin her beneath him.

  “My thoughts exactly,” she said with laughter in her voice and eyes.

  Deliberately turning off the part of his brain that was urging him to think twice, Aidan let his body take over.

  This was what he knew, what he’d spent centuries doing, and he’d never wanted a woman this badly. He could face off against legions of Nightmares, yet he was afraid to fuck a woman he desired?

  “Clear your mind of everything but me,” he said roughly. “Give me the lead.”

  “You’ve got it.”

  Concentrating with more focus than he’d ever had to use before, Aidan took over the dream, altering their surroundings, creating a circular room lit by candles and scented with exotic flowers. Spicy incense burned in various holders, releasing thin wisps of fragrant white smoke into the air. Dominating the velvet-draped interior of the space was a massive round bed piled with a profusion of silken scarves in various colors. It was there that he pictured them, lying amid the softness, their skin bared and pressed together. Now that he was decided, he would ensure this was a night neither of them would ever forget. Their time together was limited, and he was determined to burn out their lust before it ran out.

  “Wow.” Her dark eyes were wide. “How did you do that?”

  “Hush.” He set his fingers over her lips. “No more talking.” Turning onto his side, he caught up her hand and set her palm against his chest. “Feel the rhythm of my breathing.”

  “Umm…I’d rather feel you naked.”

  He arched a brow. “I’ve got the lead, remember?” Inhaling deeply, Aidan started out imitating the rapid lift and fall of her chest, then he slowed the pace. “Match me.”

  Lyssa followed along at Aidan’s urging until they were inhaling and exhaling in unison. The concentration required to do as he asked narrowed her focus dramatically. She was inundated with sensory input—the alluring scents of the room, the feel of his hard, powerful frame, and the softness of the material they were sprawled on.

  Her wandering gaze noted the profusion of hibiscus flowers adorning water-filled glass jars and the soft violet glow given off by oil-burning lanterns. There were tapers, as well, in jeweled candleholders, and moonlight shining down from an open oculus. Altogether the effect was magical, supremely sensual, and erotically charged.

  As her world shrank to encompass only this room and the man with whom she shared it, Lyssa felt her enchantment with Aidan deepen.

  “Don’t lose the tempo of your breathing.” His voice was a low, seductive rumble that flowed through her. Aidan held out his hand, and a small bottle of golden liquid appeared in his palm.

  “Will you teach me how to do that?” she whispered, watching as he moved gracefully to a kneeling position beside her, and poured jasmine-scented oil into his hand.

  “Someday. Not tonight.” His slow smile made her heart leap. “Tonight I’m going to give you what we both want.”

  Lyssa could hardly believe what was happening. She was about to have sex with a man she barely knew.

  But this was a dream, and none of the taboos applied here. They didn’t have to go through the routine dating steps of dinner and a movie, following” the rules” until they could say they knew each other well enough to “go all the way.”

  So stupid. She already knew everything she needed to know—he was kind and solicitous of her needs, going to great lengths to create lush surroundings in which to take her. If this had been about nothing more than sex, he would have fucked her in the sand and been done with it. Instead, everything about his approach to their lovemaking was geared toward her pleasure.

  Keeping her breathing deep and even, Lyssa allowed her gaze to roam all over Aidan’s body, admiring his golden skin burnished by the flickering candlelight. It was stretched taut over beautifully defined pectorals and washboard abs, his biceps flexing as he warmed the oil in his hands.

  Then she looked lower, taking in the object of her desire. Her mouth watered and her pussy grew wet at the sight of his impressive cock and weighty balls.

  “God, you’re well-hung.” She shivered all over, her mind filling with images of him working her to orgasm with that mouthwatering erection.

  Damn. Finally, after all these years, she had the perfect guy. It was enough to make her writhe with desire, her skin burning hot and prickled with awareness.

  She licked her lips as he straddled her. His thickly veined cock curved upward to nearly touch his navel. The man was over six feet tall, with shoulders so broad she couldn’t see past him, yet she didn’t feel overwhelmed by his size. She felt safe and protected, and deeply thrilled to have such a magnificent male in her bed. His torso tapered to a lean waist, trim hips, and powerful thighs. The memory of those thighs between hers made her mouth dry.

  Unable to resist, Lyssa lifted her hands and wrapped them around his erection. She slid her fingers upward, judging length, and blinked in awe.

  Then again, he was huge everywhere else, why not here, too?

  “There is a spiritual philosophy called Tantra,” he murmured, cupping her aching breasts and kneading them. “Have you heard of it?”

  “Bits and pieces.” Her fingertips drifted along the hard length of his cock, learning its shape and texture in minute detail. She heard a slight catch in his inhale, and then he resumed his steady breathing.

  His coarse hands squeezed her swollen flesh with expertly gauged pressure. Her gaze grew heavy-lidded as her blood slowed, flowing sluggishly through her veins.

  “Tantra teaches believers that the energy of the cosmos exists within our bodies, and that a true tantric sexual union merges these energies into one.”

  “Aidan.” Lyssa whimpered as his fingertips tugged gently on her nipples. They were so hard, nearly painful from the extent of her arousal, and the oil on his hands allowed his touch to glide across her fevered skin. The combination was maddening, both soothing and inciting. “Um…I really don’t need foreplay now…”

  Aidan winked, and exuded wicked, erotic, decadent sex from every pore. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. This isn’t going to be a fast fuck. In fact, it’ll be a while before you’ll feel my cock in you.”

  “You can’t be serious.”

  Her back arched as he pinched the erect points of her breasts.

  “Oh yes, I can.”

  Narrowing her gaze, she wished she had some oil of her own. Instantly her hands felt slick, and a slow smile curved her mouth. She fisted her hands and pumped down the throbbing length of his shaft. He groaned.

  “Two can play,” she murmured.

  “We have to take you down a notch, Hot Stuff.” Aidan reached between her legs and parted her so that he could stroke across her clit. He rubbed in softly pressured circles, his other hand still tugging at her nipple. “You’re too hungry for it. Too impatient.”

  “Oh god…” she breathed, clasping his cock convulsively as a sharp, quick orgasm took her by storm. Two of Aidan’s long, callused fin
gers slipped inside her, fucking her, his oiled thumb continuing the consummate manipulation of her clit. Her cunt quivered and spasmed, her body tense as a bow. Straining…reaching…

  As she climaxed again, her pussy sucked ravenously at Aidan’s pumping fingers.

  “So damn hot,” he growled, leaning over her, the tight roping of his abdominal muscles supporting the weight of his torso. He took her mouth, his lips drifting across hers, his tongue flickering across the seam in time to the movements of his hand between her thighs. The pendant he wore around his neck swayed with his movements, brushing teasingly across her skin as an added point of sensation.

  Lyssa spread her legs with unabashed eagerness, wanting him deeper than his fingers could go. Opening her mouth, she tried to drink him in, her kiss frantic and passionate. He fit his mouth over hers and gave her what she wanted, a deep, drowning kiss. Feeling wild and out of control, she began to jack him off with both fists, squeezing the thick head of his cock on every upward pull.

  “Stop,” he said hoarsely, as her tight grip squeezed precum out of the tip. “You’re going to make me come if you keep that up.”

  “You said we could take it down a notch,” she urged. “We can do it slow next time.”

  Next time. Aidan had never thought of “next time” with a woman before. There had only ever been this time. Of course, he could usually make “this time” last all night. He knew already he’d be lucky to last five minutes inside Lyssa. Thankfully, she was primed and more than ready, her cunt so juicy hot, it was melting around his fingers. And, as she said, they could go slow in the next round.

  It aroused him further, the thought of having Lyssa again and again, and his cock swelled painfully. Pulling away, Aidan ordered, “Get on your hands and knees.”

  Her dark eyes widened as he pulled free of her grasp. She swallowed hard. “I don’t know if I can take you that way. You’re big.”

  Aidan grabbed his dick with both hands and coated it with a mixture of her cream and the oil. “Do it. Leave the logistics to me. You just lie there and come.”