Superstition

by Veronica Blake

  He pushed his mostly uneaten plate of food to the side, too, and reached across the table again. This time he intertwined his own fingers in the fingers of the hand she purposely placed within his reach. “I heard you were exploring the Superstition Mountains, or so my brothers told me.” He chuckled. “I, personally, think old man Waltz might have found a cache of gold supposedly left up there by Spanish Conquistadors centuries ago. But his tale of endless veins of gold was probably exaggerated. How is it no one has ever found even a clue to its existence?”

  He shrugged his shoulders. A crooked grin curved his full lips as he asked, “So, do you believe in the legends and what did you think of those rugged mountains when you were up there?”

  Dawn was having a hard time concentrating on his questions because her entire body was being affected by the intimate intertwining of their fingers. She was imagining their bare legs being all tangled together among the freshly-washed purple flowered sheets covering her bed back at her apartment. It’s a good thing I took the time to change those sheets today. He surely has condoms with him tonight? Just in case.

  “Um? Oh, the Superstitions? Well. They absolutely terrified me,” she managed to say even as the sensuous thoughts ruled her mind.

  A look of surprise claimed Mateo’s face. “Did something happen up there? I mean, terrified is a pretty strong reaction.”

  She forced herself to concentrate on the conversation, but without thinking about how weird it might sound, she began to expose her true feelings about the Superstitions to him. “Actually, terrifying is a huge understatement. I felt as if someone was watching me when I was up there. And if I didn’t know better, I would swear I went sleep walking up there a few nights ago. That incident was as scary as it was ridiculous. Then, I had this really weird illness and some strange bite marks on my neck and wrist. Even worse, I’ve had these crazy wet dre—er—some really strange dreams since going up there on that creepy mountain.”

  Oh my God, she did not just say all that crap out loud? Just kill me now. She moaned inwardly. She could tell by the strange expression on his face he was probably thinking she must be completely insane. He cleared his throat and stared at her oddly.

  “W-Well, that all sounds really terrifying. You said you were having dreams? About w-what?”

  She hesitated before answering him. Had he caught the ‘wet’ part? His voice sounded strange. Maybe he was rethinking this entire date after her rambling craziness. He probably wanted nothing more than to high tail it out of here. Before she could reply, though, he reached out with his free hand and placed his palm gently on the side of her face and saved her from making a bigger fool of herself.

  “I know those mountains can feel pretty threatening. I’ve had some strange experiences up there myself. And I hope you know you can talk to me about anything,” he said quietly.

  She stared back at him, and was overcome with a complete sense of security. She swallowed hard and nodded. “I know.”

  His hand slid away from her cheek as he gave her a reassuring smile. “These dreams? Are they frightening?”

  After a heavy sigh, Dawn chuckled and rolled her eyes, hoping she could lighten the mood. “Actually, they weren’t scary. They were more mysterious and sensuous and they left me totally turned on.” She gave a nervous giggle. She did it again. Too much information. There was no hope for her.

  His grin widened. “So, sensuous dreams? There must be a hidden meaning in there somewhere.”

  “Yeah right. If only my real life could be as exciting as my dreams have been lately.” Seriously? Shut up already. Flames burned the hollows of her cheeks. Would he be offended by this subject? At the very least, he would surely think she was a horny nutcase after this conversation. She really had no idea what Apache men considered appropriate, but it was too late now to retract her last statement. The sound of his deep laughter did not clear her confusion, but the meanings of his next words were perfectly clear.

  “I would like to help remedy that situation if it is within my power,” he said when his mirth subsided. His grip around her fingers tightened, but she barely noticed. His voice was huskier as he added, “Tonight.”

  Her gaze once again locked with his and the unspoken thoughts in his raven eyes were as obvious as his suggestive comments. “I-I would like that, too.” He only needed to squeeze her hand and gaze into her eyes and she was so ready to jump into those fresh sheets on her bed. She squirmed awkwardly on the seat of the hard wooden chair as the inferno between her legs burned out of control.

  “Let’s get out of here,” he whispered as if he was afraid of being overheard.

  She managed a weak nod of her head. Yes, please get me out of here before I climb across the table top and rip your clothes off. The image of shoving the remains of their barely eaten dinner onto the floor so the table could provide a crude platform for them to have animalistic sex on was making her female parts convulse against the heavy material of her jeans.

  Within a matter of seconds, he tossed a wad of bills on the table—the same table where she just pictured the two of them naked and getting it on like wild animals—pulled her to her feet and was leading her out of the restaurant.

  Dawn eagerly lengthened her steps to keep up with his long strides. He unlocked the passenger door when they reached his truck and lifted her in before she had a chance to step up on the running board. Her head was spinning and her body felt as if a zillion pins were pricking lightly at her skin. It was a sweet, strange mixture of excitement and anxiety. She was certain she had never wanted anything more than she wanted to make love to this man, and she already had so many emotions invested in this new relationship she couldn’t help but worry about seeming, well, just plain slutty.

  She should have asked Chloe if there was some old-fashioned rule with Apache men about dating women who put out on the first date. Oh well, too late now, because she had no intention of changing her mind.

  The truck engine roared to life and Mateo wasted no time in getting out of the parking lot and heading back into Apache Junction. Once they were on the highway, he reached over and grasped her hand, which had been lying limply in her lap. His touch made her entire body quiver uncontrollably with the exhilaration of what they were about to do. She wrapped her fingers around his hand. Soon she would be wrapped in his arms.

  They drove in silence. The mystical sounds of Joseph Red Feather’s guitar music filled the cab of the truck once again. Dawn was still having the minor conflict with her conscious.

  “Are you okay,” he asked. “You are very quiet over there.”

  She exhaled the breath she had been holding and nodded. The old cliché, ‘I don’t usually do this sort of thing,’ was the only thing that came to mind. But she was afraid it would sound as if she was trying to make herself sound more saintly than she was, and she could not chance saying something stupid about her past sexual encounters, so she just mumbled, “I’m good.” Unfortunately, she couldn’t stop the awkward-sounding chuckle that escaped from her. She turned to smile at him in the hopes of appearing more confident. “I’m great, really. Well, maybe a little nervous. Things are happening pretty fast.”

  He leaned toward her. “Too fast?”

  The slight movement sent the manly odor of his cologne Dawn’s way and she was flooded with the memory of the musky scent she smelled in her dreams. The now familiar phobia that kept gripping her in its frosty clutches returned and she began to recall every intimate detail from her insane dreams again.

  “No, not too fast,” she answered quickly, trying to think of something other than the ridiculous notion Mateo was the man in her weird dreams. She realized he was driving down the street that led to her apartment. Had she told him where she lived? She must have, although, she couldn’t remember when. It didn’t matter. What mattered was she knew she was going to make love to him soon regardless of the consequences. Yep, the one night stand option had definitely won this first round, hands down.

  He pulled up in front
of her southwestern style two-story apartment building and parked in a vacant spot as if he knew exactly where he was going. But once he climbed out of the truck and rushed around to the passenger side to help her out of the truck, he waited for her to lead the way.

  “Lower level, apartment nine,” she offered as he draped his arm around her shoulder and they started walking toward the building. It felt so natural to be next to him; to have him holding her as if they had known one another for much longer than twenty-four hours. She glanced up at him. The breath caught in her throat.

  His bronzed skin seemed to shimmer in the artificial glow of the street lights and his hair appeared bluish black. That dangerous aura about him was more apparent than ever at this moment, and although there was a tiny nagging sense of unease in the pit of her stomach, she was far more excited than she was afraid.

  Dawn led him to the door of her apartment. Her hand was shaking when she tried to insert the key into the keyhole, and even though she tried to hide it from Mateo, he noticed.

  “Are you cold or afraid,” he asked. He placed his hand over her trembling one, but did not attempt to unlock the door for her.

  “Seriously turned on,” Dawn whispered.

  He wasted no time helping her turn the key in the lock after her last comment. With one hand he pushed the door open before she could say or do anything else. The quiet dark interior of her small apartment felt strange. She hadn’t brought a man here since moving in a couple of months ago, and bringing Mateo Two Moons here now made the cramped one bedroom apartment feel stifling and even smaller.

  She had this unexplained notion they should be making love for the first time under the stars—on the highest mountain summit; somewhere wild and open. The bed of his shiny new truck, maybe? She didn’t mind roughing it once in a while. They could have gone to his place. Where did he live anyway? These disoriented thoughts hurdling through her mind were quickly overruled by the feral out-of-control sensations claiming her body. A weak gasp escaped from her mouth as she was unexpectedly swept off her feet. The sudden gesture startled and thrilled her at the same time.

  Wow. What man in this day and age picked a woman up and carried her to bed? Mateo Two Moons, that’s who.

  He seemed to know exactly where her bedroom was located. Not hard, Dawn reminded herself, since the doorway leading to her bedroom and bathroom was the only exit from the living room and kitchen area in her small apartment.

  His mouth began to rain fiery kisses on the side of her neck, causing a mini bonfire to erupt in each spot his lips touched and it was spreading out of control throughout her entire body. As he placed her on the bed, she wrapped her arms around his neck in an enslaving hold. His nearness was the most over-powering aphrodisiac she had ever known and she was sure she would die if she turned loose of him now.

  “Mateo,” she moaned. “I want you so much.”

  “You have me, always and forever.”

  His whispered words filled her with a sense of magic. Always and forever. Her entire being stirred with yearnings she never experienced before with any other lover. This was more than merely anticipating making love to the hottest man she had ever known...this felt as if she was about to begin on a sensuous journey beyond anything she ever imagined. A journey that would truly last forever.

  He joined her on the bed. They were lying on their sides, facing each other and his arduous kisses were once again devouring her mouth, while their tongues twisted together in fanatical devotion. Fleetingly, she thought about how exquisite his mouth tasted, and how she hoped she didn’t taste like cheese burger and fries. But that thought was gone almost as quickly as it had appeared.

  One of his hands was tangled in her long hair, cradling her head as he hosted more demanding kisses on her lips; his other hand had worked its way up under her white lace bra, and was kneading one eager nipple, which was responding by standing swollen and firm against his fingers.

  Her free hand slid down his side until she came to the waistband of his jeans. The black leather belt he wore unhooked with little effort. His silk shirt was easy to pull free of the jeans, and in no time she was working on the buttons that ran down the front of his shirt. But she had only unbuttoned a couple when he sat up and pulled her to a sitting position with him. He pushed her black blazer away from her shoulders. She shrugged the jacket away as his mouth began to draw a trail of fervent kisses along her bare shoulder and upper arm. Electrifying currents launched her body to a new level of desire.

  Her trembling fingers began to finish the job of unbuttoning the rest of his shirt. She wished they had turned a light on so she could see his bare chest. In the darkness of the room only his shiny silver necklace glistened. The feel of his skin under her fingers when she splayed them across his biceps was as smooth as velvet and hard and developed as a bodybuilder.

  Mateo did not give her time to explore his well-defined muscles as he anxiously began to undress her. She lifted her arms up over her head and let him pull her white top off. His kisses began to nip gently along the rise of her breasts above the top edge of lace that adorned her bra. His lips against her fevered skin sent bolts of ecstasy through her.

  Reaching back, she quickly unhooked her bra so he could engage her breasts properly. He wasted no time in pulling the bra straps from her shoulders and discarding the undergarment somewhere among the rest of their rapidly disappearing clothes. His lips encircled one taut nipple and he began to suck gently.

  She moaned softly and leaned forward to allow his lips full access to the inflated bud. When his mouth moved to give the other breast equal attention, Dawn reached behind his head and pulled the band down from his long ponytail. The heavy locks tumbled free and loose down his back and around his shoulders. She could feel the silken strands floating over her upper body as she immersed her fingers into the luxurious thickness.

  Indescribable arousal deep in her core caused a flood of warmth and dampness between her legs. She had never been with a man who had long hair and the feel of Mateo’s nearly waist-length hair brushing softly against her naked skin as he continued to suck gently on her nipple was one of the most exhilarating sensations she had ever experienced.

  She imagined how beautiful her pale skin melded against his bronzed body must look. Contrasting, complimenting, and in perfect harmony in every way. Next time they would have to turn on the lights or make love in the daytime so she could see the unique beauty of their bodies blended together.

  He was already unsnapping her jeans and pulling the zipper down as she fumbled with the snap on his jeans. When she was finally able to slide his zipper down, she realized he wasn’t wearing anything underneath as his rigid cock was released from the confines of his jeans.

  Commando. Damn. This was so seriously hot.

  Mateo was working diligently to pull her jeans down and she eagerly followed his lead as she slid his jeans past his hips and down his muscled thighs. They both stopped long enough to pull their boots from their own feet, then each of them finished discarding their pants. In just a matter of seconds, the last of their clothes were gone and forgotten.

  He lowered his body and Dawn’s legs parted effortlessly to make way for him to settle between them. The touch of his rock-hard cock brushed against the inside of her thigh. An anxious moan escaped from her. He positioned his hips between her legs and with a gentle push against her opening slid inside of her. For an instant he made no movements.

  Pulsating throbs deep within her body made the anticipation unbearable. Her pussy tightened around his cock with commanding urgency. His first plunge deep inside took her breath away. There was a slight resistance to this intimate intrusion as her body arched up to accept all of him. She clasped hold of his tight muscled buttocks and pulled him into her as deep as she could handle.

  They began to move together as one, losing sense of time and reality. The escalating pleasure was so engulfing, so fulfilling, it nearly rendered her unconscious. Shooting sensations of rapture fired through her body a
nd made her feel as if her insides were about to detonate.

  Mateo pulled her up to a sitting position without freeing her body from his and with her legs wrapped tightly around his waist he pulled her to the edge of the bed where he knelt on the floor and began to delve his hips against her as he continued to move in and out of her like a perfectly oiled machine. She threw her head back, unaware of the hungry whimper that escaped when the rising climax was almost more than her mind and body could endure.

  His energy seemed boundless as their bodies pounded together, wanting—needing—all this impassioned indulgence could render. She drew on every reserve in her body in an effort to last as long as he did, but she couldn’t stop the drowning waves of ecstasy that kept washing her over the edge of the sensual pinnacle time and time again.

  When she was certain she could not stand the intensity of these delicious sensations a second longer, and she was yet again at the highest mind-boggling summit she was convinced her body could climb, she felt his body give a heavy shudder as his fiery essence spilled into her. His movements started to slow, but she couldn’t control the strong tremors still shaking through her body for a few more moments even after he no longer moved.

  He picked her back up in his arms without dislodging the intimate tangle of their bodies and lay down on the bed with her still impaled on top of him.

  Dawn drew in an unsteady breath as her sanity began to seep back into her spinning mind. Her sweating body still boiled over with sizzling remains of their powerful love-making as she continued to lay face down on top of him. The apartment could fall down around them and she wouldn’t have enough energy to move.