Up in Flames

by Trista Ann Michaels

  “How about a game?” he asked.

  CARA SCRUNCHED HER nose, which to her delightful surprise, made Hayden chuckle again. “What game are we playing?” she asked.

  Hayden walked past her and curled his finger, indicating she should follow him. “I think I should teach you poker.”

  “I already know poker. My father played.”

  Hayden stopped and glanced at her over his shoulder. Mischief sparked in his eyes as he replied, “I bet you have a hell of a poker face.”

  Chapter Ten

  Cara stayed behind him and let her gaze wander slowly over his strong back and hips. His wide shoulders were encased in a snug deep blue shirt that made the gray in his eyes appear slightly darker. The color suited him, and she definitely liked the way his white hair lay against the dark blue fabric.

  Her fingers itched to slide through those strands again. Cara bit her lip. She didn’t want to play a game. Being in the same room with him without touching was the last thing she wanted to do. All day she’d done nothing but think about this morning. His kiss, his touch, the way his body felt against hers. That was what she wanted. To feel that incredible sensation again. To feel safe and secure. To be in his arms once more.

  She’d never had anything feel so right. It was as though she was exactly where she was supposed to be. Why was he fighting her on this? Could she seduce him? Did she even know how?

  Maybe she should play this card game with him. Maybe if she paid close enough attention, she could find out what would push him over the edge. What would she have to do to get him to kiss her again? Or should she just kiss him like she did this morning?

  She followed Hayden into the den. He set his cup on the small round card table in the corner, then went to pull a deck of cards off the row of bookshelves that lined the far wall.

  “I have to ask,” he began as he pulled the cards from the box and sat down at the table.

  Cara took the seat across from him. “Ask what?”

  “How the hell did Alex fend off two Mundi?”

  “He was trained in Mundi techniques,” she replied.

  Hayden’s hands froze. His eyes narrowed slightly. “By who?”

  “Me.”

  He frowned and leaned his forearms against the table. “Why?”

  Cara smiled slightly at his surprise. “Why not? I could train you also if you wanted.”

  Hayden shook his head and sat back up. “Out of all the men in my family, I’m probably the least likely to take you up on that.”

  Cara’s smile widened. Even though Hayden was very muscular, very dominating in presence, he was definitely more the scholarly type, which probably explained his interest in medicine.

  “One summer when Alex was home from school, he was watching me train. He asked if I would show him a few things. At the time, I didn’t see the harm in it. Alex, even then, was a big man. Muscular and tough. I assumed he could take it. He did well, for the most part. Learned fast. I guess what he learned stuck with him, and that, along with the element of surprise, allowed him to be successful.”

  Hayden’s lips twitched as he dealt the cards. “You said for the most part.”

  Cara shrugged as she studied her cards. “I broke his arm once. Another time I broke three ribs.”

  Hayden stared at her over his cards. His brow quickly creased into a frown as he stared at her. “When I did a medical scan on you, I saw several instances of healed bones. Just how much abuse did you take during training?”

  Sighing, Cara rearranged her cards. “Too much.”

  She’d been injured more times than she could count.

  “There were also traces of steroids and an inhibitor of some sort.”

  Cara nodded. “Kinotin. It’s used to inhibit desire since Mundi are not allowed to have sex. It’s their way of making sure we adhere to that. It’s been a while since my last injection, so if there’s any left in my system at all, it’s basically useless.” She pursed her lips and stared over her cards, straight into those heavenly gray eyes. “Is that why you won’t have actual sex with me? Because I’m a virgin?”

  His eyes widened in surprise. With a sigh, he set his cards facedown on the table. “You know what actual sex is?” he asked.

  She scowled briefly. “Of course I do. I know what goes where, and I also know that your what didn’t go anywhere near my where this morning.”

  Hayden laughed. The deep baritone sound made her heart skip excitedly. Strange how someone’s laugh could do that. She’d never thought of a laugh being arousing. But then why would she? Until meeting Hayden, she’d never been aroused, much less thought something was arousing.

  “And it shouldn’t have. It wouldn’t be right, Cara. I can’t take advantage of you like that.”

  Cara twisted her lips and slowly rearranged her cards yet again. “Who says you’re taking advantage of me?” she asked softly.

  She watched him through her lashes. Desire sparked in his eyes. She could see it so clearly and wondered if the same burning look shone in hers. Just staring at him made her tingly all over. She could still remember the feel of his soft hands on her flesh, the way he touched between her legs, the way his tongue danced with hers. How could something that felt so good be so wrong?

  She wanted him. She wanted Hayden to be the person to show her passion. Now that she could feel, it only made sense to her that the man who helped her heal would help in this as well. She didn’t understand why he was being so stubborn.

  She sat back and placed her cards on the table. “I changed my mind. I don’t want to play cards.”

  “No?” Hayden asked. “What do you want to do?”

  Cara stood and began to undo the buttons of her shirt. Just thinking about Hayden’s hands on her breasts had already made them thick and aching. Was Beena right? Did he want her as much as she wanted him? She didn’t want to think about him saying no. When she did, it made her heart hurt and her stomach feel queasy. It was a painful feeling she didn’t like, but the need to have Hayden touch her overrode her fear of being pushed away.

  She’d never seduced anyone before, but if the heated look in Hayden’s eyes as she slowly slid the shirt off her shoulders was any indication, she was off to a good start.

  HAYDEN SWALLOWED AS he watched Cara remove the shirt, exposing her bare breasts. They were full and firm with dusky-pink nipples that hardened under his stare. He wanted to grab her to him and lick across those perky nipples till she squealed.

  “Cara, what the hell are you doing?” he choked as she tossed the shirt to the floor and walked toward him.

  She straddled his lap. “Seducing you.”

  Hayden fisted his hands at his sides as she lifted her arms and brushed her hair back off her shoulders.

  “Don’t you want to touch them?” she whispered.

  Hayden was stunned. For someone who didn’t know what she was doing, she was doing damn good. Hell yes, he wanted to touch them—touch them, taste them, suck them.

  Hayden put his hands at her waist and tried to stand. “Someone could walk by and see us, Cara,” he tried lamely to argue.

  Truthfully, he didn’t give a rat’s ass about that.

  A very strong invisible force shoved him back down just as the doors to the den shut loudly. Hayden stiffened.

  “I’m telekinetic, remember?” she murmured.

  Hayden glared at her. It was the first time he’d seen her use her powers. He never imagined she would actually use them on him. “Cara. Let me up.”

  She braced her hands on the back of the chair and narrowed her eyes right back. Despite being slightly pissed at her for holding him down, he had to admit she was incredibly sexy at the moment.

  “I could keep you here and just have my way with you,” she purred.

  “And then I could bust your ass when you’re done,” he replied.

  Her eyes widened. She sat back slightly but still kept her hands on the back of the chair. “Interesting. You would really spank me?”

  Hayd
en closed his eyes as images of doing just that ran rampant through his mind. “This is so not where I wanted this conversation to go.”

  “I’ve heard men talking about that. Spanking a tight, round ass, I believe is what they said. I was really only half listening at the time. I think because I felt nothing, men thought they could just say—”

  Hayden swallowed. “Cara,” he growled.

  “Whatever came to mind. They seem to like how it turns red.”

  “Cara,” he snarled again.

  “I’m curious now. If I took my pants off, would you spank me?”

  “No!” Hayden snapped.

  Not that he didn’t want to. He would love to bend her over that table right now and spank that adorable ass. She needed to be spanked. What the hell was she doing?

  He tried so hard not to look at her breasts. They were right there, just in front of his gaze. It would be so easy to lean forward and capture one of those perky nipples between his teeth. She’d released her hold on him, so it would be so easy…

  She slid her fingers over his shoulders. Hayden reached up and took her hands in his and pulled them away.

  “Cara—”

  She huffed. “Would you stop saying my name? Do you have any idea what it’s like to spend your entire life feeling nothing and then suddenly feel everything? Sometimes the feelings are so strong, I can’t control them. Crying is the hardest. Desire is the second. I want you to touch me so bad my whole body hurts.”

  Hayden swallowed. Again.

  “I’ve never felt anything like it, and when you touched me, made me feel those incredible sensations…” She leaned down and brought her mouth close to his. “I want to feel them again. From you.”

  Hayden inhaled her scent, the whole time trying to convince himself this was wrong. He was making a huge mistake. Unfortunately, he wanted her as much as she wanted him.

  She was beautiful, adorably inquisitive, sexy, stubborn, so toned and well defined, but it wasn’t just her body he wanted. He wanted to see her smile more. He wanted to take away those nightmares that left her crying and shaking in the middle of the night. He wanted to give her that pleasure again just as much as she wanted to receive it.

  He cupped her face and brushed his thumb over her bottom lip.

  He was pretty much the only person she’d had contact with since coming out of that tube. It made sense she would latch on to him, but he wanted more than her gratitude. He wanted her heart.

  “Cara,” he whispered.

  Cara didn’t let him finish. She covered her mouth with his, sliding her tongue past his parted lips. Hayden growled at the taste of her.

  “Hayden, please,” she murmured against his mouth.

  That small, soft plea was his undoing. Hayden gripped her ass and stood. Cara wrapped her legs around his hips as he set her on the table and pressed himself against her mound. He could feel the heat of her pussy, teasing him, taunting. He’d never wanted anyone so bad in his life.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck in a sensual slide that sent a sharp zing straight to his balls. Her long, graceful fingers slid through his hair, making goose bumps rise along his spine.

  Without breaking the kiss, he pushed her until she was flat on her back on the table. He covered one breast with his palm and gave it a hard squeeze. Cara moaned and arched, forcing her breast tighter into his hand. Her nipple beaded under his palm, and he pinched it, making it even harder.

  If he didn’t do something to get himself under control, he would be too rough when he took her. The way she undulated her hips, rubbing her hot pussy against the ridge of his cock, wasn’t helping matters either. If he was smart, he would just let her dry hump him and rub herself against him until she came.

  But right now he was most definitely not smart.

  Growling, he pushed away from her and rested his forehead against her firm stomach.

  “No,” she whined.

  She tried to pull him back to her, but Hayden lifted and grasped her hands. He pinned them on the table above her head and stared down at her firmly.

  “I need a second to breathe, Cara,” he murmured. “Your first time will hurt, and if I don’t calm down, I’ll make it a lot worse for you than it has to be.”

  “If you stop now, Hayden, I swear I’ll hurt you in ways you never imagined were possible,” she breathed.

  Hayden’s lips twitched at her threat. “I don’t doubt that for a second.”

  She was such a refreshing blend of innocence and vixen. God help him when she lost that innocence and became all vixen. She was a handful now as it was. Dipping his head, he captured her parted lips with his.

  She moaned and kissed him back, struggling against his hold. “I want to touch you,” she whispered.

  “No way, sunshine,” he rumbled in her ear. “If you touch me now, I’ll lose my damn mind.”

  He slowly worked his way down her neck, enjoying the sounds of her moans and sighs. She definitely wasn’t shy. If she liked what he did, she sighed and wiggled with a passion that took his breath away.

  Keeping both wrists tight in one hand, he lowered the other one and lifted her breast upward, meeting his mouth.

  Chapter Eleven

  The feel of Hayden’s tongue as it gently glided around her nipple made Cara ache for more. It felt so good but at the same time wasn’t nearly enough. She tried to break free of his hold, but when she met resistance, she realized just how much she liked his holding her down. The sensations coursing through her body left her breathless, scared, and excited all at the same time. Her mind was a jumble of emotions she would catch glimpses of only for it to meld into something else. She burned and ached, then shivered with need. It was all too much, but she wanted more.

  “More,” she sighed.

  Hayden complied by engulfing the tip of her breast between his lips and sucking. His tongue worked back and forth across her nipple, making her cry out. Moisture gathered between her legs, and she knew her body was ready for him.

  Why wasn’t he taking her? Why was he prolonging her agony?

  “Hayden,” she groaned. “Please.”

  He ignored her and moved his mouth to her other breast. Cara couldn’t keep still. She wiggled and squirmed, arched her back to get her breast farther into his mouth. When his teeth bit down on her nipple, she gasped at the surprising pleasure-pain sensation.

  She’d never felt anything like it. Who would’ve thought pain could be pleasurable?

  Hayden released her hands. She reached up to bury her fingers in his hair, but he pulled them back and placed her hands on the table by her hips.

  “Don’t move,” he growled.

  Her eyes widened at the commanding tone to his voice, the stern look on his face, and the wicked effect it had on her insides.

  He released her hands before grasping her pants and tugging them off her hips. The cool air hit her naked flesh, and she shivered.

  Hayden put his hands on her knees and pressed them back toward her chest. He placed soft kisses on the insides of her knees, and Cara drew in a slow breath. She was naked and wide open to him and his hungry gaze. Unease swept over her as he feathered his lips lower along the inside of her thigh. What was he doing? Surely he wouldn’t… There?

  She frowned slightly and glanced down toward the top of his head. “Hayden?” she whispered.

  He glanced up at her, a wicked gleam in his eyes as he blew softly across her pussy. Cara drew in sharply as his warm breath feathered over her. She dropped her head back on the table and stared up at the ceiling in stunned fascination.

  Wow.

  Those lips of his were so soft as he kissed the spot just above her pussy. Her heart raced, and a curious excitement began to swim through her. He nibbled gently at her labia. Currents of hot, wicked sensation slid up her spine, making her want to squirm and press herself hard into his face. This was so incredibly decadent and wild. She wrapped her fingers around the edge of the table, using her hands and stomach muscles as leverage to lift
her hips higher.

  Hayden slid his palms under her ass, holding her up as he slowly licked her slit. He worked that wicked tongue in teasing circles around Cara’s clit, making her squirm in a mixture of delight and frustration.

  His prolonging her orgasm was both aggravating and invigorating all at the same time. She swung from wanting him to put her out of her misery to not wanting him to stop…ever.

  She could feel that intense tingling from before. It began building deep inside her, washing outward in a wave of bliss. She undulated her hips, moving them along with his tongue and mouth. Her cries of pleasure echoed around her, mingling with Hayden’s whispers and groans of approval. The deep sound of his voice added to the erotic atmosphere, making her even hotter for his touch.

  Hayden gently sucked at her clit, and she shattered. Pleasure shook every part of her body as wave after wave of pulsating rapture rushed through her limbs. She would’ve relaxed back against the table, but Hayden grasped her arms and tugged her to a sitting position. His mouth slanted across hers. When his tongue slid between her parted lips, she could taste herself in his kiss.

  She backed away and touched his mouth with her fingertips. His eyes had darkened to a storm-cloud gray and were filled with a hunger that made her insides quiver. She’d never had a man look at her like that. It made her feel…wanted.

  She slid her fingers down over his chin, then dropped them to his chest. She pushed his shirt apart, anxious to feel his warm flesh under her palms. The beating of his heart raced against her hands, and she smiled.

  “Can I do that to you?” she asked.

  Hayden swallowed. “Yes.”

  She dropped one hand to the large bulge straining behind his pants. “I want to see what you taste like.”

  Hayden closed his eyes as though in pain. Cara squeezed his balls gently before unzipping his pants. She pushed her hands inside, first cupping his bottom before using her wrists to push his pants down over his hips. Once they were on the ground, he kicked them aside.

  She sat back and studied his massive cock. It was long and thick. She touched the moist tip and smeared the cream around the purplish head. Would that really fit inside her?