Thunder and Lightning

by Calista Fox

  “I did. But now… Well. I’m happy here, Cam. I want you to let go of all of this and move on.”

  “And you’ll be okay?” he asked, the concern thick in his voice.

  Bev took another sip of her wine, tamping down the familiar twinge of guilt and loneliness she experienced when she left someone behind.

  Forcing an even tone, she said, “Thank you for caring. I’ll be fine. I promise.”

  She was a little over six hundred years old, after all. Not the thirty-one years he believed her to be. Leaving her companions was old hat for Bevelyn Goitia.

  Though, admittedly, it never got easier.

  “Now stop worrying about me. I’ll survive.” She drew in a deep breath, let it out slowly. “Have a good night, Cam.” And life. She disconnected the call.

  It was officially over between them and, of course, she felt a sense of loss. But she wouldn’t contact Cam as the years passed, would instead tuck the memory of him away in the far recesses of her mind. Along with the others she’d left behind out of sheer necessity. Making her existence lonely and painful at times. But much less so than if she didn’t keep such a tight rein on her emotions and her heart’s desires.

  Unfortunately, Bev had another human to keep at arm’s length. An unexpected attraction she’d felt from the moment she’d moved into her new home and had gotten that first glimpse of the hot-and-hunky Cane McAllister. Instantly, Bev had been seduced by his devilishly handsome looks, smoldering black eyes and powerful, sinewy body.

  Despite the monumental threat he posed to her carefully crafted shield.

  Setting aside her wine and ignoring the curriculum vitae of a new client—a downsized chief operating officer of a global corporation who would be difficult to place in a new position given the current economy—Bev crossed to the tall French doors along the west wall of her living room. They were cracked open and a warm, sticky breeze caressed her dewy skin and ruffled the white sheer curtains that covered the glass-and-wood panes.

  As she stood before the opened doors, the thick, humid air enveloped her. The lazy rotations of the ceiling fans cooled the beads of perspiration forming along her hairline as she peered out at the veranda.

  The evening heat was bearable only because it brought the scent of flowers in bloom that Bev couldn’t resist. Given her heritage, everything fresh and fragrant enticed her. She turned the air conditioner off at night so that she could open the doors and let the earthy smells filter in. The fans throughout the house hummed quietly and created a slight breeze that kept the rooms from being too sweltering to be tolerable.

  Her long hair was pulled back in a sleek ponytail, keeping the strands off her neck. The white lace tank top and loose-fitting, dove-gray jersey lounging pants she wore were a good complement to the weather. Albany had been just as hot and insufferable in the summer, but there was much more to the rise in Bev’s internal temperature than the humid climate.

  Focusing her eyes across the courtyard, her attention shifted to the object of her very intense—and highly forbidden—desire. Standing on his own veranda, his large hands wrapped tightly around the black, wrought iron railing, Cane McAllister seemed to be just as rigid and lost in thought as she’d been.

  She was reminded of her vehement reaction to his touch just days earlier. When he’d stared deep into her eyes, she’d felt a soul-stirring, ethereal connection form. When he’d touched her…

  She dragged in a ragged breath at the remembrance.

  He’d all but electrocuted her.

  Tonight, he stood at the north end of his house, the very front of his Colonial that faced the manicured square before them, which was lined by massive oak trees, Spanish moss adorning their thick limbs. She observed him through the gentle sway of the sheer curtains, remaining partially ensconced in the house as she watched him. His strong profile and the rigid set of his muscles enticed her. Made her want to stand next to him and drown in his masculine scent. Reach a hand out to him and run her fingers over his hard muscles as they bunched beneath her caress.

  The slivers of moonlight that penetrated the clouds illuminated his dark hair, picking up a sapphire hue. His white button-down shirt, tucked into black dress pants, billowed softly in the breeze, indicating it was opened at the neck. The sleeves were rolled up to reveal his sinewy forearms.

  Bev inhaled the fresh aroma of the flowers edging both houses and the manicured square, the scent mixing with the herbs in her garden. Suddenly, Cane’s gaze shifted from the square. His head lifted as he too sniffed the fragrant air. And then his jaw clenched for the briefest of moments before he slowly peered over one impossibly broad shoulder. His black eyes landed on her, locking with hers. As though he’d sensed her presence. Knew she stood just inside her house, watching him.

  The shimmering, silvery rays cast by the moon lit a portion of his sculpted face, making Bev’s pulse race. But it was the carnal, almost hungry, look in his dark eyes that hit her like a physical blow.

  Taking a step backward, blending into the shadows created by the candles burning on the mantle of her fireplace, Bev pulled in a shaky breath. Her body vibrated with sexual awareness and the blood seemed to hum in her veins as it flowed a little faster and turned molten. The most intimate parts of her burned with desire. Her nipples tightened and her clit tingled, all sensitive buds in need of his touch.

  And damned if another electrical storm didn’t roll in, with the thunder rumbling low and the lightning sizzling and crackling in the not-so-far distance.

  Bev could barely breathe as her gaze remained locked with Cane’s. Aside from their first formal meeting on her front lawn, they’d done little more than exchange brief pleasantries in passing since she’d come to Savannah a week ago. But she could not deny the obvious lust that blazed in his onyx eyes.

  A soft moan escaped her parted lips at the mere idea of Cane wanting her.

  As though he heard her slight whimper—impossible, as it was barely audible to her own ears—his jaw tightened again and then worked rigorously as he continued to stare at her. As though contemplating speaking to her. Stepping closer to her. Taking her in his arms and crushing her body to his hard, powerful one.

  No, she thought. Mustn’t think of that…

  But it was impossible to think of anything else.

  As Cane’s grip on the veranda loosened and his hands fell to his sides—hands she longed to feel on every inch of her—Bev wanted to retrace her step, move back into the glittery light. But her instincts kicked into high gear, warning her of the impending danger. Admittedly, in her six centuries of existence, she had never been this attracted to a man before. Had never wanted one with the sort of fierce veracity that sizzled in her veins, liquefied her body, ignited her very soul with a red-hot passion that would not be sated by fantasies alone.

  Yet to give into her desire would be hazardous to them both. Cane was much younger than she was. A mortal. A man who would not understand her existence.

  He was a threat to her. Innately, Bev could tell from his raw intensity that he was not the sort of man to let her keep him at bay, as Cam—and all the others before him—had allowed her to do. She’d had complete control over those past situations, those relationships. But it took little more than the acknowledgement of the untamed passion that clearly raged within Cane McAllister for Bev to know the damage they could do to each other.

  If she were to give him all of her, it would devastate them both when she left him.

  An inevitably she could neither deny nor escape.

  And if he were to ever find out her secret…it would ruin her. Destroy her.

  Kill her.

  Not just emotionally, but physically.

  And yet…to know all of this. To have it come to her with such crystal clarity because of the lust that flared in his eyes, the tension that gripped his body, the apparent impossibility of tearing his gaze from hers and vice versa…

  Bev’s pulse kicked up another notch or two. Her heart thundered in her chest and he seeme
d to hear it across the courtyard as he narrowed his eyes on her, turned fully and took one long stride forward. Her mouth gaped as her chest rose and fell with her excitement. The anticipation that held her hostage, rooting her bare feet to the polished hardwood floor as she involuntarily willed him to cross his veranda in the predatory way in which she’d become familiar, span the courtyard and her porch to get to her…

  To touch her. To kiss her. To make love to her the way no man ever had. Ever would…

  Bev became all too aware that Cane was the man she’d waited her entire existence for, even if her time with him could be nothing more than fleeting.

  She wanted him. Allowed herself for the first time to acknowledge and accept the danger she’d just invited into her life.

  As she watched him through the sheers dancing on the wind, she knew she would have him.

  Though there would be hell to pay for it.

  Chapter Four

  No way in hell are you doing this.

  Yet even as the thought popped into his head, Cane was stalking across the porch, descending the short flight of steps and moving quickly toward the Victorian. He could hear the hammering of Bev’s heart, could sense the flow of blood in her veins as though it were coursing through him, burning his insides. The connection he felt to this woman was maddening, his desire for her no longer controllable.

  The ornate front door with a cut-crystal center opened before he’d bounded halfway up her steps, his booted feet echoing his determination. His unrelenting need.

  She stood in the foyer, looking breathtaking and mystified and completely devourable all at once. Cane’s erection grew, his cock reminding him of the impending danger, but also demanding a satisfaction he didn’t think he could live another moment without.

  His fingers itched to touch Bev and he wasn’t even sure where to start. Much as he wanted to rip the holder from her hair and twine his hands in the thick, silky-looking auburn strands, he also wanted to grip her by the waist and crush her to him, melding every inch of their bodies together in a fiery collision of passion and made-for-each-other body parts.

  “Cane,” she greeted him in a soft, breathless voice that held a revealing hitch to it.

  “Bev,” he replied in a much gruffer tone.

  His gaze locked with hers. The shimmering green irises were vibrant and all too telling of her arousal. Conveying an intense desire that matched his own.

  He’d waited so long for her. Over two hundred years. It was unbearable to waste another second not touching her, tasting her, pleasuring her.

  Regardless of his previous convictions. Despite the perilous situation, the threat she posed to his humanity. His very existence.

  He had no idea how he could possess her body without taking her life. But there had to be some way to control his vampire nature as he indulged his masculine needs.

  Crossing the threshold of her home was symbolic in so many ways.

  A dangerous awakening.

  Ironic in nature and yet… A necessity. For Cane couldn’t take one more day of not intimately knowing this woman.

  She would belong to him come sunrise. For how long, he couldn’t say. Couldn’t possibly know or predict. But the need was too great to ignore. It consumed him, made him desperate to have her.

  “You’ve been watching me,” she said in her sultry voice. It was like warm honey oozing down his spine.

  “And you, me,” he simply said.

  She drew in a sharp breath. He heard the crack of air so acutely, it may as well have been cymbals crashing together. Her sparkling eyes were multifaceted peridots that caught the chandelier light just right.

  “You know very little about me,” he surmised.

  “Or you, me,” she countered, borrowing his simplistic yet still intense tone.

  Cane let out a low groan. He was flirting with disaster, but there was no stopping this runaway train.

  They both seemed to know it.

  Slamming the door shut behind him while he kept his gaze on Bev, he said, “We seem to be on a collision course.”

  She merely nodded.

  “I knew it the moment you moved in.”

  Again, she nodded. Her throat tightened, the long chords pulling taut, as though she were trying to suck in a full breath.

  Cane’s eyes were drawn to the pulse on the side of her neck. The vein didn’t bulge, but it drew his attention nonetheless.

  His vampire thirst intensified. Cane’s fists clenched at his sides as he fought the rising need to sink his teeth into her soft, delicate flesh.

  To hold her lush body against his as he drank from her.

  To taste the very essence of her.

  To drown in the velvety richness of her.

  More than he’d ever wanted anything before—even absolution for what he’d done to Amy—Cane wanted to feel this woman’s warm breath on his skin. Feel her sensuous curves meld to his hard angles. Hear her moan deep in her throat as his fingers played the erotic instrument that was her body, strumming her clit, bringing her endless hours of pleasure.

  Even now he could smell her arousal and it was nothing short of intoxicating. He could drown in the scent of her, but it would only increase, not satiate, his desire for her.

  Forcing the fervor building within him to remain at bay just a bit longer, he asked, “Where are you from?”

  Translation: Where have you been all my two hundred years of existence?

  “Albany of late,” she said, her eyes barely blinking. They were glued to his face, completely transfixed on him.

  “What brought you here?”

  “I thought,” she said in a whisper of a voice, “a job.”

  He took one big step and it closed the gap between them. “But not really?” he suggested.

  Of course she had no idea they were destined to be. He could feel it to the core of his undead being. She could not experience the sort of ethereal revelation he’d come to, yet perhaps he could help her understand their meeting and this night were meant to be.

  For whatever reason, he could not explain. For better or for worse.

  Likely for worse, but they were long past heeding that warning.

  She sucked in another quick intake of air, held it, then let it out slowly. The way she stared at him, held her ground against him with her bare feet planted firmly on the hardwood floor, she appeared stable and capable. Not the least bit malleable no matter what he said or did.

  Yet there was a flicker of curiosity in her eyes… Of wanting to believe something she couldn’t quite bring herself to believe.

  He said, “You came looking for something.”

  “Perhaps,” she countered.

  “Or someone?” he offered. And Cane’s groin tightened further, as did the knot in his stomach that he hadn’t known existed. Had never felt before. Even his throat seemed to compress and burn with need.

  For a moment he was lost in her dazzling green eyes. They hypnotized him, made him feel as though he were being pulled into a dark, sensual abyss that consumed him. Surrounded him completely. Made him feel like the rest of the world did not exist.

  Only this moment. This woman. This incredible attraction that could not be denied.

  He fought the urgency that welled within him. The need that gripped him. The powerful desire to grab her and press his mouth to hers. To let his tongue delve deep and discover the gifts she had to offer with just one kiss.

  As his fangs ached and his body burned—every inch of him responding vehemently to her and demanding its hunger be fed—Cane tried to remain in check. To retain some self-control. When really all he wanted to do was give himself over to the primal passion she sparked so easily.

  He felt the vampire nature within him stretch and hiss and prepare itself for a sensual attack. Seeking a fulfillment two centuries in the making.

  “I can’t explain this,” he said, hearing in his voice the perplexity he still felt over this peculiar situation.

  “Seems fairly self-explanatory to m
e.”

  He breathed a sigh of relief. Of course she understood the sexual aspect of this peculiar seduction. Passion burned in her eyes as surely as it did in his.

  Taking another step toward her, he was pleased she didn’t step backward. Away from him, as she’d done three nights ago. Rather, her chin lifted and her gaze met his. Holding it. Her enticing chest rose and fell with her excitement. He could practically breathe in her arousal. Wanted nothing more than to heighten it. To stimulate her senses to the point of driving her wild.

  Even then, she’d still not know the intensity of his emotions. His desires. They were almost painful in nature, raw and prickly.

  His cock swelled at the close proximity of her. The way she stared up at him, looking as needy as he felt, made him almost mad with the burning sensation that rose within him. He was desperate to touch her. Possess her.

  “I want you.” Blatant honesty. He could give her that when it came to his feelings. Along with his eternal fidelity. He already knew he’d never be tempted by another.

  Her jaw fell slack as her eyes blazed with the realization of his words. The passion and promise wrapped around them.

  Cane moved in for the proverbial kill, taking one last step to close the gap between them. He felt the heat radiating from her body. Smelled her skin and her blood and her excitement. Heard her soft, shallow panting.

  One hand gripped her waist, holding her steady because she swayed slightly as though she’d gone weak in the knees. The fingers of his other hand skimmed along the graceful bare neck exposed by her ponytail. He could feel her pulse jump beneath his touch and he fought the urge to kiss her there. To bite her. To ravage her.

  He knew fighting his primal instincts would be difficult, but damn it, he’d do it. Because this was a mating game he was determined to win.

  “Your jaw’s tight,” she said in a soft voice as she raised her own hand and brushed her fingers over the clenched muscle. “Because you’re holding back.”

  Holding onto his sanity was more like it.

  He merely nodded.

  “Don’t,” she whispered, her tone sharp. Hungry. Greedy.