by Nina Bangs
Mede stretched and padded toward the door. “Wouldn’t count on that good night’s sleep. I have some creative moves to lay on you.” He mumbled under his breath as his feet stuck to the floor. “First thing I’m gonna do as soon as I change forms is to jump in the shower.” He leered at her from those amber eyes that were so Mede, no matter what form he took. “Wanta wash my back?”
She turned off the lights and joined him at the door. “Mmm. Sounds like an invite to steamy fun.” She glanced at her broken nail. Fine, so a girl couldn’t ignore her nails forever.
Eric followed Kim and Brynn into her room. “So what kind of fantasy do you want?”
She looked at Brynn. “You choose. I don’t feel too creative right now.” Just make it hot and totally sexy.
Brynn nodded before turning to Eric. The two men stared at each other for about a minute, and then Eric grinned. “You’re weird, man.”
She’d missed something. “What?”
Eric laughed. “Brynn chose a two-part fantasy. He gave me the details mentally. Wants it to be a surprise.”
Kim sat on the side of her bed and kicked her shoes off. Oooh, yes. She’d never known how good absence from pain could feel. “How do your fantasies work? Do we have to do anything special?”
Eric shook his head. “Just get comfortable, and I’ll do my part. I set up the parameters of the fantasy in your minds, and then you guys do the rest. While you’re in the fantasy, it’ll seem completely real and make perfect sense no matter how outrageous it is. Once the fantasy is done, you’ll remember it but realize it wasn’t real.”
She was curious about this vampire with the freaky power. “Do you have other options when you create fantasies?”
“Definitely.” His smile caught at her, and Kim understood why Donna had chosen to become vampire. Forever with this man wouldn’t be a hardship. “I could make you believe in the realness of the fantasy long after it ended. For the rest of your life, if that’s what I wanted. Clarice, for example, will never remember what happened during the time she was possessed.” He shrugged. “But I’m a good guy, so I wouldn’t do that to you.” His smile widened. “Especially with this fantasy. You’ve got an evil mind, Brynn old buddy.”
“Sounds awesome.” Kim was still skeptical. She had a firm grasp on reality—or at least she had before visiting the Castle of Dark Dreams—and if the fantasy got too wild she’d recognize it for the make-believe it was.
She watched Eric go completely still, that total absence of movement no human could attain. And then he became vampire—his eyes changing from blue to black as they grew larger and more elongated, his mouth becoming fuller to accommodate his fangs, and his aura of power and danger filling the room.
He focused on them for a few minutes while he planted the fantasy in their minds, and then he returned to human form. “You could travel the universe and never leave this room.” Eric winked at Kim. “See, hanging with a creature of the night has an upside.” He walked to the door. “I don’t have to be here during the fantasy. Just relax, and it’ll come.” He closed the door softly as he left.
It made her uneasy to know Eric had messed with her mind, and she hadn’t felt a thing. Silence wrapped around them. “I guess I’ll relax right here.” She propped herself against the headboard.
Brynn nodded. “Sounds good to me.” He took off his shoes and joined her.
“So . . . Here we are.” Just relax. Easy for Eric to say. Her body wasn’t listening to her brain, though, because tension still made her insides quiver.
His soft laughter caused the quiver to expand exponentially. “This will be fun. Nothing to worry about.” Brynn reached across to clasp her hand.
“That’s what my dad said the first time he took me on a roller coaster. When we got off, I threw up on his shoes.” The warmth of his big hand seeped into her, and she felt the tightness inside her ease.
“Then I guess it’s lucky I took off my shoes.” He squeezed her hand gently. “Close your eyes and concentrate on something that makes you feel good.”
She glanced at him and smiled. “I’d have to keep my eyes open for that.” Was that too obvious? Uh, yeah. But if she really grinned a lot, he might think she was only being playful. The sad truth? She was totally serious. No matter what kinds of weird things happened around them, he made her happy when he was near. If he made her any happier, they’d have to treat her for an overdose of bliss before she left the Castle of Dark Dreams.
He didn’t return her smile, but an emotion she couldn’t identify touched his gaze.
She closed her eyes so she wouldn’t have to see him struggling to say something meaningless and noncommittal.
It felt good to rest her eyes and allow the sleepy lethargy to flow over her. After being up most of the night with the baby, even a few minutes of oblivion was great. Too soon she had to open them.
Her son, Billy, raced past her and out the door. “Hi Mom, hi Dad. I’m gonna ride my bike around our ordinary neighborhood for a while.” And then he was gone.
Her husband, Vic, sat across the kitchen table from her. He sipped his coffee as he checked his stocks in the Wall Street Journal.
He glanced up and smiled as he sensed her watching him. His smile was still really nice, even though his hairline was receding at the same time his waist was expanding. Lose some gain some.
He glanced at his watch. “Looks like it’s almost time for Ordinary Guy to hit the streets.”
She sighed. “It would be nice if you could stay home for just one day. We could do things together—change diapers, take out the trash, bake a tuna casserole.”
He reached across the table to pat her hand. “I’m sorry, dear. I’m a superhero, and people depend on me. Ordinary Guy already has lots of people to save today.” He opened the day planner that always rested beside his orange juice glass. “Let’s see, I have to stop Carl Lisle from making a disastrous low-yield investment. And Sonia Gerlich is about to choose Henson’s Electric to rewire her old house. Bad choice. But Ordinary Guy will be there to save the day. Hmm, Lily Madison bought a size twelve dress yesterday. She’s a size sixteen. I’ll have to be there for her when she comes out of denial.”
Kim felt her eyes crossing.
“There are dozens more like them walking the streets of New York City, all crying out for Ordinary Guy to make their pitiful lives better.” He brushed toast crumbs from his suit jacket and tie. Closing his day planner, he stood.
Kim knew she was begging, but she couldn’t help herself. “Tonight is New Year’s Eve. Can you get home early?”
He frowned. “I suppose I can reschedule a few of the poor suckers who need my help.” He smiled at her. “Sure, why not? We can sit on the couch and at midnight watch the ball drop in Times Square. Maybe make a little popcorn. If you’re lucky, the baby won’t need her diaper changed while the ball is dropping.”
She was pathetically grateful. “Afterwards we could make love on the couch.” Kim held her breath. He always made love on Sundays and Wednesdays. Today was Friday.
Vic looked thoughtful. “You’re right. Tonight’s special.” He opened his day planner again and penciled in ‘make love’ for twelve fifteen. “But not on the couch. We’ll make love in our bed because that’s where ordinary people do it.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “We might even get a start on our point-five child.”
He walked to the door, and as he did every morning, donned the pocket protector he’d found after an alien from a far distant galaxy had dropped it. Immediately, he was transformed into the superhero, Ordinary Guy, able to perform amazing feats of . . . ordinariness.
She watched him drive away in his white SUV that was exactly like the white SUVs their neighbors drove. Then she closed her eyes again.
In the blackness behind her closed lids, a woman with long blond hair and a slinky silver dress held up a sign that read: And Behind Door Number Two . . .
Kim opened her eyes and blinked. And blinked again. The sound of tens of thousands of
screaming people beat against her ears. Terrified, she glanced around, trying to figure out where the hell she was. Nighttime. Outside. Someplace high. She glanced down. Ack! She was on the roof of a building overlooking . . . No. It couldn’t be.
With her heart pounding so hard she didn’t know why all those people didn’t look up, she peered over the side of the building. Far below her, Times Square teemed like a giant anthill. Uh-oh. She looked at the other buildings. Sure enough, there was number one Times Square, the pole, and the crystal ball all lit up. New Year’s Eve.
She ran suddenly clammy hands over her dress. Dress? Well, almost a dress. It was a glittery gold piece of cloth that hit strategic spots. Most of the time. As she stumbled back from the edge of the roof, she almost fell. Jeez, no wonder. Her matching gold sandals had heels that added another story to the building.
Frantically, she looked around for stairs she could use to get off the roof. No stairs. That couldn’t be right. There had to be stairs. How was she going to get down? In a reflex action, she rubbed her arms to keep warm. If it was New Year’s Eve in Times Square, then it must be cold. Strange, she didn’t feel cold, even though her hair was blowing in the breeze.
She didn’t know why she was here, and she didn’t have a clue how to get off the roof. Only one thing left to do. She screamed bloody murder. But even as she shrieked into the wind, she realized no one below would hear her.
Won’t panic won’t panic. She panicked. “Help! Save me. I’m stuck on the roof, and I can’t get down. Send a helicopter. Send Spiderman, Batman, any man at all. I’m not picky.”
“Would Naked Man do?”
Huh? The man’s deep, sensual voice with a touch of the South in it spun her around.
“A beautiful woman shouldn’t be alone on New Year’s Eve.” His soft murmur promised that her New Year’s Eve was about to get a lot better.
She gaped. Yes, actually dropped-her-jaw gaped at him. She’d remember to blink again in a minute or so. “Um, love your costume.” Well, what else could you say to a naked superhero? And he was a superhero. She knew that because he had a giant N on his chest. It began at one nipple and ended at the other one.
His chuckle skittered up her spine. “I love yours, too, sweetheart.” Before she could react, he stepped close. “I like the way the back only covers your cute behind and the front plunges almost to your navel.”
“Can you get me off this roof?” She knew her eyes were wide as she stared up at him. Way up.
He was tall, with broad, muscular shoulders and a gleaming chest that a woman could rest her head against while her fingers explored his intriguing male nipples, sculpted pecs, and washboard abs.
“I can do many things, Night Woman.” He lowered his head toward her, the tangled glory of his blond hair falling around the most sensual face she’d ever seen.
“Night Woman?” A girl could die happy after getting a glimpse of that face.
He nodded. “I’ve chosen you to be my mate. After we’ve made love with enough sizzle to blow out all the neon signs in Times Square, I’ll share my power with you.” The heat in his gaze said he had a lot of other things to share with her. “We can wear matching Ns.”
He watched her from eyes that glowed golden in the reflected light from the square below, and his smile was an erotic invitation to lose herself in the texture and taste of his mouth.
She dropped her gaze, only marginally aware of his strong thighs roped with muscle. His whole sexual package was a fitting tribute to a superhero. His sacs hung heavy between his slightly spread thighs, and while his cock had not yet officially reached the excited stage, Kim was confident that when he chose to become excited it would be a . . . huge event.
Reluctantly, she returned her gaze to his face. “I know you. Somewhere in a past I can’t remember, I know you.” She frowned. “You’re Brynn.”
His smile broadened. “Not now. When night shadows cover the big city I become Naked Man.” He flung his arms wide to encompass the world around them. “I can bring you all that’s pulse-pounding, outrageous, and erotic.”
“But can you get me off this roof?” This was becoming less of a priority as his sensual energy swirled around her.
“Of course.” With no warning, he scooped her into his arms and leaped from the edge of the building.
She screamed like a banshee until she realized they were sailing high above Times Square. Unlike the movies, no one looked up and shouted, “It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s Naked Man!” Bummer.
After she got over the fear that he’d say, “Oops!” and drop her on her head in the middle of all those very drunken revelers, she had to admit it was an exhilarating experience. He held her against his hard chest while they flew effortlessly through the air. She felt . . . safe. Go figure.
Then she noticed where they were headed. “Uh, aren’t we supposed to be going down? I mean, the crystal ball is gorgeous, but I don’t think I need a close-up of—” Urp. Too late. He landed on the roof of number one Times Square and set her down. She stared up at the glittering ball with its Waterford crystal panels and gulped. Then she glanced around the roof. “There’s no one here. Shouldn’t there be lots of people running around making sure everything is okay?”
He pressed her against his side, his heat branding her from shoulder to hip. “In our reality, we’re alone up here. And I promise you’ll never forget this New Year’s Eve.”
“No kidding.” She glanced down at the sea of people twenty-five stories below as they all stared up at the huge ball.
He brushed her hair away from her face and traced the line of her jaw with his fingers. “Forget the ordinary tonight. Allow yourself to experience the extraordinary.”
Sliding his finger across her lips, he lingered on her bottom lip. “New Year’s Eve is for resolutions. Let’s resolve to live large with no limits to what we can enjoy or how we can enjoy it.” He lowered his head to touch the side of her neck with his lips and then whispered in her ear, “Make love with me here. Now. With the whole world present but not seeing.”
All of her normal arguments paraded across her mind. They’d just met. No pockets, ergo no condoms. Someone might see them. They’d just met. He wasn’t someone she’d take home to Mother. He was really really different. They’d just met. She opened her mouth to voice a few of her concerns, but he spoke first.
“When the moment comes, I’ll have protection.” His grin was wicked temptation. “Let tonight happen. Indulge your secret fantasies—the rush of making love with a stranger, the thrill of possible discovery, and the danger of playing with someone who isn’t part of your ordinary world. Expand your horizons, Night Woman.”
She wanted to. Even though she couldn’t quite remember her past, she knew this was something she wouldn’t have done. But as he’d said, this was their reality, and she was going to let it happen.
Reaching up, she wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled up at him. “Mmm. I’ve never made love with a superhero.” She frowned. “At least I don’t think I have. I would’ve remembered, wouldn’t I?” Impatient, she pushed aside a vague recollection of someone named Ordinary Guy.
He put his hands on her waist, lifted her into the air, and then swung her around. They laughed together as he pulled her down with him onto what should have been the cold surface of the roof. Instead it felt warm and soft. She didn’t question the discrepancy. Tonight wasn’t a night for questioning.
“I want to slide my fingers the length of your bared body, touch every part of you with my mouth, and then fill you completely.” His breath was hot against the side of her face.
“This will be an equal deal. There are lots of places I’d like to slide my fingers, and you don’t even want to get me started on what I want to do with my mouth.” She nibbled a path along the side of his neck and felt him shudder.
She lay on her back while he propped himself up on his elbow beside her. “Time to get rid of that sensational dress.”
He simply passed hi
s free hand over the dress, and it peeled from her body like the shimmery gold skin of a designer banana. She’d already discarded her shoes.
“Whoa, that was so cool.” She stared into his eyes gleaming with laughter. “Can we say impressed?” Distracted, she stared down the length of her body. “I’m not wearing a bra or panties. Where’d they go? I would’ve remembered if I left home without them.”
Brynn touched her nipple with the tip of his finger, and she sucked in her breath at the instant prickle of sensation.
“You’re Night Woman. You’re a sensual creature who finds undergarments a restriction on your sexy moves, and you have a whole arsenal of sexy moves.” He tipped up the corners of his oh-so-hot mouth.
“I do?” She returned his smile. “Yeah, I do.” She smoothed her fingers over his broad, muscular chest, glorying in the tactile joys of his warm, smooth skin and the hard nubs of his male nipples.
His gaze darkened as he leaned over her. “I’ll show you my sexy moves if you’ll show me yours.”
The roar of the crowd grew louder in seeming agreement with their sharing of sexy moves.
Lowering his head, he slid his tongue across her nipple, and she gasped her pleasure. Then he covered her nipple with his mouth and sucked.
She anchored her fingers in his thick hair while she hissed her pleasure. Oh, yeees! And it got even better as he teased the nipple with his tongue and then nipped gently. She had to be glowing as brightly as the ball above her.
When he moved to her other nipple, she raked her nails down his back, letting every delicious sensation pool low in her belly.
Touching his back wasn’t nearly enough. If this was a night for excesses, let the excess begin. When he released her nipple, she laid her palm flat over the spot on his chest where his heart pounded hard and fast. She pushed, and he rolled onto his back. A hum of erotic anticipation rose on a wave of need.
He locked his hands behind his head and watched her. “You have something in mind?”
