Deep is the Night: Dark Fire

by Denise A. Agnew

  “Yes,” he growled and hammered deep.

  She countered his actions by thrusting her hips upward. His hips moved frantically, his cock plunging so hard and fast inside her she abandoned trying to resist the climax.

  Her orgasm erupted, sending hot, gushing sensation to her cunt. She screamed as he kept the fire burning with each demanding shove. His completion came seconds later, and she reveled in the ecstasy as she felt his cock swell inside her, and heard his guttural shout of satisfaction. Lachlan’s entire body quaked, his arms tightening almost painfully about her as he reached the last plateau.

  Chapter 23

  “This is right,” Lachlan said as they nestled in each other’s arms.

  She laced her arms around his neck and rolled until she lay on top of him. She moved against his hair-roughened skin and delighted in his physique. He felt like a god of love, mesmerizing her with his animal beauty, and the command of his need.

  And he was right. Nothing felt more right in this moment than holding him and snuggling near his chest. She listened to the strong, steady beat and savored their time together.

  Amazingly, she felt arousal emerging again. She grinned down at Lachlan. “I’ll be right back.”

  She left the bed and came back with the entire box of condoms. She saw that he’d removed the other condom.

  “Good idea, sweet lass. Just being inside you unprotected for that short time—damn it, I could have made you pregnant.” He put his hand to his forehead, worry laced over those strong, handsome features. “I’m sorry, lass. I wasn’t thinking.”

  “I know. Neither was I.”

  “Forgive me.”

  “There’s nothing to forgive.”

  He grabbed her hand and held it in a tight grip. His eye held a seriousness that burned to her soul. She supposed she should have felt fear, but the idea of having his baby stirred nothing but a melting sensation inside her. She wanted him even more.

  “We’ll be all right.” She slipped her hand from his hold. “I want to pretend nothing exists in this world but you and me in this bed.”

  “Whatever you want.” She walked away. “Where are you going?”

  “Finding toys.” She rummaged in her dresser drawers across the room and came back with two items. “I hope you like this.”

  “What is it?” His voice was hoarse with desire.

  “Wait and see.”

  Without hesitation she straddled his body. His hands came up and clamped onto her hips, the hot caress of his callused palms touching her skin a welcome torture. Before his wandering hands could distract her, she grabbed one of his big wrists and looped the long, thin silk scarf around it. She anchored his left wrist to one wooden bedpost, and then his other wrist to the other bedpost. After tugging on the scarves enough to make sure they secured him without being too tight, she crawled off him long enough to flick on the small light on the nightstand.

  She’d never liked making love with the light on before. But with this handsome male animal, naked and with a new erection as bold as day, she loved that she could see details.

  “Oh, lass, I think I see now.” His soft, rumbling laugh made her grin.

  “Do you?” she asked, imitating a thick Scots accent. “You’ve been very bad and deserve punishment.”

  “What did I do?”

  “You made me desire you more than any man I’ve ever known.”

  His smile widened. “Good. Punish me then.”

  “Hmmm,” she purred.

  Her libido took note of Lachlan’s potent body laid out before her like a prisoner awaiting torture. He defined the word striking. Broad shoulders, powerful arms, hairy chest roped with muscle, a trim waist and narrow hips. Those long, strong legs shaped to perfection. And oh, what lay between those thighs. She couldn’t help but look at the undeniable evidence of his desire. Hard and ready, he epitomized the meaning of all male. She adored the way his cock stood up just for her, and that she owned the power to make him want her this much.

  The fact that he was so virile, so up to the challenge, made her want to slide a condom on him now and fuck him into the next century.

  Instead, she waited and allowed him to take in her naked body. She decided there and then he would get the show of his life. As she smiled, Erin knew he would be begging her to screw him before this was over.

  He’s the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen.

  Thank you, lass.

  She blushed and wondered if she’d become accustomed to his ability to read thoughts. “Stop it, will you? I want to devour you without every thought being on display.”

  He shook his head. “Remember, I can’t help it. Besides, the way you’re gazing at me now, no man would be able to resist.”

  His chest heaved with deep breaths as he watched her through lashes half-mast with desire and hunger raging in those mysterious eyes. Having him under her control felt empowering and arousing and she loved the way it turned her on. Under his weight she’d felt protected and cherished, and as his hands and mouth had started an aggressive exploration, she knew he cared for her deeply.

  This time she would show him exquisite pleasure, and he would love each minute. She leaned over him and dangled her breasts in front of him.

  He licked his lips. “Sweet mother of Nessie.”

  She laughed. “Like what you see?”

  His eyes flashed with a combination of frustration and building arousal. “Damn it, lass. You know I do.”

  She laughed again, keeping the sound sultry and as enticing as possible.

  He breathed against her breast, not touching, just waiting. “Erin, you can push a man too far.”

  Feeling powerful, she lowered her body and rubbed her breasts against his chest. Shivers ran through her. “Then what happens?”

  “He might fuck you until you can’t stand.”

  Desire licked over her body. “Oh, please do.”

  With an earthly growl, he lurched upwards and enveloped her nipple with his mouth. A startled gasp left her throat. He circled that nipple with his tongue until she whimpered. Darts of pleasure shot through her breasts as she allowed him to lick and suck. She knew no other man would do for her, no matter how much time passed, or how old she grew. Whether he recognized it or not, magic held her captive, giving and receiving and showing that love could take her higher. Lachlan’s touch continued, his tongue licking in a way that sent hot arousal flickering through her skin like fire. His tongue danced against the sensitive point of one nipple. Heat gathered and spiraled out of control as he took her on adventures her body never knew before. She pulled back from him.

  When she turned around and positioned her cunt right over his face, he breathed deeply. “Oh, sweetheart. Bring that closer. I want to taste it.”

  His words, deep and compelling, sent new shivers of fine delight through her senses. She complied, reaching down to wrap her hand around the base of his cock and enclose the rest of his long length in her mouth. His hips jerked and he moaned. She lowered her hips so his lips could reach tender flesh. When she started to suck him, his tongue flicked over her wetness and moved across her clit. Each touch brought exquisite feelings to the fore, mixed with a deep emotional longing.

  “Lass, if you don’t stop—”

  She let him go.

  Despite being tempted to let him spew down her throat, she ached to have him inside her. She reached for a condom and rolled it down his engorged cock, admiring the satin over steel hardness. She made sure she put in on slowly so she could torment him.

  His breath hissed inward as she finally rolled the condom all the way to the base of his cock. “Damn.”

  Erin realized being tied to the bed was driving him crazy, but he loved it. Erin turned about again and treated his nipples to long laps of her tongue. She eased her wetness over the tip of his cock. He arched up and tried to impale her on that long, hungry flesh.

  “Uh-uh.” She winked. “We’ll fuck when I say so.”

  The low growl in his throat sou
nded animalistic, and the hum of it made her womb clench. He strained against the scarves and his lips parted to reveal gritted teeth. “Come on, lass. Put a poor man out of his misery. I want you so damned bad, I can’t take it.”

  She leaned down to suck his nipple again and allowed her hands to trail over him in erotic exploration. She palmed his hard pecs, and then down to the sinew of his thighs. As she cupped his balls in one hand, his hips twitched up with a motion that mimicked sex.

  “Sweet heaven,” he muttered. “Please, lass. Fuck me before I lose my mind.”

  “You asked for it.”

  She impaled herself on his cock with a slamming movement that made him groan, and her gasp with excited fever. Big, solid, and swollen, his cock felt deeper and harder than the last time. Marveling at the feeling of him filling her, she started the motion, unable to wait a moment longer to experience everything with him. Their dance surged and flowed like the ocean. Each thrust seemed to go to the heart of her, allowing her to forget not only danger, but that she’d ever been without this man.

  Lachlan groaned and shuddered. His movements picked up, rushing with her to a conclusion with no beginning and had no end.

  His hips pushed up and his cock wedged high inside her. At her moan of pleasure he gasped, “Ride me harder.”

  She decided she would give him relief rather than torment. Erin gave Lachlan his wish, sliding up and down with a fluid motion that made him groan with excitement.

  “Watch me,” she said.

  She cupped her own breasts and tweaked the nipples, rolling them and stroking the hard peaks. She’d never done this sort of thing during sex, and the ravenous expression in his eyes said he liked it. The feeling of her own fingers stimulating her breasts sent sharp, extra pleasure all through her.

  His hips pounded upwards, and she took him with ever deepening movements. Each thrust brought her higher until her breath seemed suspended. Dizzy with love and sexual excitement, she came down on him faster, working her hips against him in a frenzy.

  An orgasm ripped through her, cording her muscles and tightening her burning channel around him. He cried out, a sharp, guttural tribute as he came. Lachlan trembled against her, his hips still working to move his cock in her pussy. Small sparks of orgasm continued inside Erin, and she whimpered as the movement of each solid inch inside her made the pleasure non-stop. Bliss built to indescribable strength, pulling her apart and then bringing her together again.

  After a few seconds to regain some of her strength, she untied him. He drew her down into his arms.

  She relaxed in his arms for a few moments before she spoke. “This isn’t over. I mean, the vampire isn’t gone. He’ll be coming back.”

  Lachlan kissed her forehead. “You’re right. I have a feeling he has a few more tricks up his sleeve before he leaves Pine Forest.” When she shivered, he held her tighter. “I promise you I won’t let him touch you again. But I won’t kid you either. We’ve got a fight on our hands. He’s clever and he’ll try new things in an attempt to take us off guard. That’s why I don’t want you to be alone again until he is destroyed.”

  “What about my work at the library?”

  “I’ll be with you there…everywhere.”

  When she sighed, he kissed her again, a deep, languorous tasting that showed their passion wasn’t finished for the night.

  He propped up on one elbow, his gaze tracing fire everywhere it touched. Joy started somewhere in her heart and blossomed outward until she felt like she might burst with the news.

  “Is this real?” she asked. “We’ve barely met.”

  “But we have forever to learn.” His wicked grin gave her lascivious ideas.

  She sighed.

  “What’s wrong, lass?”

  “I was thinking about Gilda. I got off lucky with this vampire, but I think worse happened to her. Do you think he bit her?”

  He shook his head. “Doubtful. She’d probably be dead if he had. Or he took very little blood from her.”

  As they settled into a companionable silence, she drifted into a dreamless world where only the two of them resided.

  Chapter 24

  Deep in his hiding place, the vampire paced the floor. Gloominess covered the empty tomb. Yet the hard, cold floor held no discomfort for him.

  He cursed disappointment and pushed it aside. Eventually Erin would let her guard down and be alone. Tavish wouldn’t be with her forever, nor could he guard her twenty-four hours a day.

  Burning fire filled his body as his rage heightened. Though he’d left Lachlan Tavish for dead all those years ago, obviously he hadn’t completed the job. With the strength of two and the love of a woman, Lachlan seemed to know what to do and when to do it. He hadn’t expected Lachlan’s interference or his ability to fight.

  Hatred grew higher inside him for Tavish. Strength and honor made the Scot powerful. Surprise had been Tavish’s ally. He never suspected that Tavish harbored extraordinary gifts. Ability to cloud the mind, fast reflexes, inhuman strength, elevated sexual prowess. The glowing eyes of a predator. And most maddening of all—the ability to sense a vampire nearby. No one he’d tasted before had gathered so many capacities into their body and used them for good.

  Building frustration made him pace the floor faster. Tavish must be disposed of immediately.

  Never mind that Gilda proved a luscious and more willing victim than he would have suspected. An unexpected delight, his tasty Gilda. Yet he burned for Erin, for the woman whose fire and life made him want her so much. If Erin hadn’t come upstairs, he might have drained Gilda to her death. In a more secluded place he would have fucked Gilda, then perhaps done the same to Erin.

  At the same time he couldn’t help but feel some self-loathing for not finishing Tavish in the library and then taking Erin. Throwing his head back, he howled as if in agony and screamed like a banshee to the heavens.

  Worst of all, Ronan Kieran would soon be here. Now he must dispose of two fighters before he might feast on young Erin and know the greatest carnal love of his Dasoria again.

  A deep rumble shuddered through the earth, boiling and writhing like snakes or worms being cooked in a cauldron. Thunder mixed with snow once again.

  He laughed, the sound more a screech than utterance of mirth. Soon Halloween would arrive, and then he would show the people of Pine Forest what true horror meant.

  Therefore he would design machinations to rid the town of those people who would help Erin and would ruin the love he saw growing between her and the bastard Lachlan.

  Love.

  The vampire’s blood chilled to arctic levels. Tavish might have fought him off for the time being, but his influence on sweet Erin would wear away as the sexual pleasure faded.

  Oh, he had no doubt they went to bed when they entered Erin’s home. He knew it in his bones. He could hear the sighing and the moaning and even the savage male sounds Lachlan made as he took Erin.

  But their happiness wouldn’t last long. A plan already formed in his mind how he would work his way back to them. He would have Erin for his own and use any means to get her.

  * * * * *

  Two days after the attack on Gilda and Erin, Arabella’s Coffee Shop on Main bustled with lunch goers, and the constant murmur of animated voices almost sounded too loud for Erin’s nerves. She settled into the booth and dreamed about hot soup to ward off the cold snap that arrived in Pine Forest that morning.

  Outside the warmth and brightness of the restaurant, the town seemed subdued, the revelry that often accompanied the Halloween season muted by a heavy feeling. Not only that, but she felt a strange coldness surrounding her that even Lachlan’s protective touch couldn’t remove. Molding around her heart, the icy worry demanded her attention when all she wanted was to forget the odd events of the last two weeks.

  More than that, she hoped Gilda would look better today than she had in the hospital yesterday. Gilda had tried to hide the trauma of her situation, and although she denied she’d been raped, Er
in knew there was more to the story than her friend was telling.

  Lachlan slid into the booth next to Erin, his arm going around her shoulders at the same time. He leaned in close, their lips an inch or two apart. “So, lady, wanna come home with me?”

  His irreverent grin made her laugh. “Lachlan Tavish, people are looking.”

  He didn’t even glance around. “Do you mind that so much?”

  No.

  “Good,” he said touched his lips to hers for a gentle kiss.

  “There you are,” a female voice said nearby.

  The moved apart, but this time Erin didn’t feel embarrassed or compelled to hide her feelings for Lachlan.

  “Gilda,” Erin said. “How are you?”

  Lachlan stood. Erin saw his concern for Gilda in his eyes as he hugged her. “How are you? Feeling all right?”

  “I think so,” Gilda said.

  Dressed in a black felt hat, scarf, and long coat, Gilda looked ready for a funeral rather than a cheery meeting with friends. Her face showed strain, her eyes not as bright and her mouth showing a half-hearted smile. Her gaze landed on Erin and Lachlan as she sat down in the booth, and this time her smile touched authentic. “What about you?”

  “We’ll survive,” Lachlan said with a gentle grin.

  Erin shrugged. “Still a little dazed, I’ll admit.”

  Gilda removed her hat and coat and put them in the booth beside her. “That makes three of us.”

  Lachlan’s eyes appeared sad and Erin marveled that this big, strong man harbored deep, tender emotions hidden beneath his tough exterior. “I’ll see you ladies in about thirty minutes. I’ve got some things I need to pick up.” He started to walk away, then turned back. “Don’t either of you leave before I get back.”

  After leaning over to kiss Erin, he left the coffee shop. Erin watched a few women gawking at him as he left.

  Gilda’s old sense of humor appeared to resurrect. “I can see you’ve moved way beyond friendly.”

  Erin knew denying reality wouldn’t work anymore, and why should she pretend that Lachlan Tavish didn’t possess her heart? She looked Gilda in the eye. “I’m in serious trouble here.”