Embers of Desire [Sequel to Lighting a Flame] (Siren Publishing Allure)

by Serenity Snow

  “Oh fuck.” Danica breathed out roughly.

  Kaela let out soft mewling sounds as their frantic motions had them grinding hard against each other. Her body was a runaway train about to jump its track, sweat beaded on her forehead and her skin burned with arousal.

  “Oh my God. Dani!” she cried out as her body jerked. Her orgasm slammed into her so hard her nails locked in Danica’s shoulders.

  Danica’s cry was harsh as her release rushed through her. Her arms closed around Kaela and Kaela collapsed against her, panting hard. She snuggled against her, eyes closing. She felt at peace for the first time since she’d last been like this with Danica.

  Danica’s fingers lightly caressed her butt as she held her. She’d missed these moments, missed Danica’s arms around her, holding her close.

  She felt heat at her back and Danica stiffened.

  “Oh shit,” Danica muttered softly.

  Chapter Nine

  A stab of guilt sliced through her as she stared up into stormy whiskey eyes. She saw a jagged flash of hurt before it vanished into enigma. “Kaela. Get up.”

  Tyler lifted Kaela off of Danica and set her on her feet. “Hello, Kaela.”

  “Hello, Sir.” She looked at Danica. “I’ll get my stuff and get out of your hair.”

  “Just wait in the bathroom,” he ordered.

  “Mistress?”

  Danica got to her feet. “Go ahead and clean up,” she said.

  “I thought we agreed you wouldn’t do this without me,” Tyler said tightly once Kaela was gone.

  “You don’t have any right to have invaded my space,” she said coldly. “And I didn’t agree to anything. This is my life, and I don’t have to get your permission to fuck someone.”

  “Like hell,” he muttered keeping his voice low.

  “Get out, Tyler,” she said pointing to the door.

  “So you can fuck her again,” he demanded in an accusatory tone.

  “So what if I do?” she asked softly. “You’re not invited. You’ll just kill the mood with your dick.” She gave him the dirtiest look she could summon and then turned her back on him.

  Tyler jerked her around and she gave him a mutinous look. He held her gaze for a long moment. His whiskey stare was unreadable, but pain lanced across her heart as if hurting him hurt her.

  “Out or I’ll call security,” she said. She had to be hard to drive home her point. This would be the only chance she got to drive him as far away from her as possible.

  He nodded, his face an implacable mask now as his eyes hardened on her. “I’ll go,” he said tonelessly. “But this isn’t over.”

  “Yes, it is,” she said acerbically.

  “Keep thinking that.” Tyler turned on his heel and strode from the room.

  Danica drew in a breath and released it. Why couldn’t he just leave her alone?

  “Danica?”

  “You can come out,” she said.

  “I didn’t mean to ruin things for you,” Kaela said. “He’s a great guy.”

  “I’m sure he is, but you didn’t ruin anything,” Danica said. “He just had the wrong idea about me.”

  “Do you want to go have dinner and talk about it?”

  She shook her head, “No.” She didn’t want to rehash this out loud let alone with herself. She had a feeling though she was going to replay every moment of his arrival to his departure until she was too drunk to think straight and all because of that hurt look on his face.

  Why did she even care? She didn’t want a man in her life, but it hurt like hell having to be so mean to him.

  * * * *

  The production schedule of everything was set. All he needed was the finalized designs. Without them, he’d have to reschedule with the manufacturer thereby delaying their release date as well as the commercials. Sid wanted to time the release of some items with the movie Kaela was going to be in, and the boss had no problems with that. The jeans had to release on schedule though along with some of the T-shirts.

  Tyler tapped his fingers on his desk as he waited for someone in Fantasy Brokers to pick up. Danica hadn’t answered her cell or her office phone. He knew he could easily wait another day, but this was all about seeing Danica.

  He could have flogged her last night. If he hadn’t heard that phone call and gone charging over to the club, he wouldn’t have already been partially prepared for what he’d seen. Hell, he wouldn’t have been there. He’d gone there hoping Danica would be at the bar with Kaela, not fucking her.

  Seeing them together had been a stab to the heart, but he wasn’t ready to give up on her. He’d seen something in her eyes last night that told him his hurt hadn’t left her unaffected. That little bit of caring was enough to build a foundation on.

  “Fantasy Brokers. How may I help you?” The voice on the other end of the line snapped him out of his reverie.

  “May I speak with Ms. Moss?”

  “Danica’s not in,” she answered. “Would you like to leave a message?”

  “Is Ms. Singer in?” he asked. He heard a doorbell in the background.

  “She just came in, hold on.”

  Tyler heard the quiet conversation wondering if Vinessa would blow him off. If she did, he’d get his ass up and go over there.

  “Who’s calling?” the girl asked.

  “Tyler Quinn.” He heard more conversation.

  “Mr. Quinn, hold on. I’ll transfer you to her office.”

  He tapped his fingers again and cursed Danica for hiding from him. He’d been pissed and turned on last night. He’d also been certain that having another woman in their bed now and again would be a good thing for them both. And Kaela might do. She was a pretty good sub, and she was good in bed.

  “Mr. Quinn, what can I do for you?” Vinessa asked in a crisp tone.

  “Where’s Danica?” he asked. “It’s important that I speak with her.”

  “Have you called her?” Vinessa asked coolly.

  “She’s not answering her cell or her work line,” he answered, sensing a hint of protectiveness.

  “If you didn’t have an appointment, then chill out,” she said. “I’ll tell her you called. She’s no doubt finalizing designs for you.”

  He hoped she was. “Do you have her home phone? I need to discuss business with her. The production date has been moved up.” Actually, he wanted to break up her little lovefest with Kaela.

  Vinessa laughed. “I’ll give her the message,” she told him. “I have to get back to work.” She disconnected and he gritted his teeth.

  Damn. He should have known Vinessa wouldn’t be of much help. She was a true dominant and no doubt wanted to protect her friend from any unwanted advances on his part.

  So, he had to wait.

  The knock on his door made him frown. “Come in.”

  The door swung open and Chasen walked in, his eyes inquiring snaring his. “Cousin.” He nodded.

  “I thought we were meeting later,” he said.

  “We are. I just wanted to check in with you. Sid said you were a bit snappy today.”

  He’d been a little snappy at the sight of Kaela, but not unprofessional.

  “Problem with Kaela?”

  “No.” He shook his head and then sighed. “It’s personal.” Chasen was a few years older than him and his gray eyes saw too much at times leaving him stripped to the bone.

  “Having girl trouble?”

  “No.” Kind of.

  “You know Ty, losing a woman isn’t the end of the world even for a Casanova like you.” There was a teasing note in his tone.

  “I know, Chase,” he muttered. “Worry about your own sex life.”

  “I don’t have one, so I have to dip into yours,” he said with a grin. “Tell me about this girl.”

  “I’m falling for her, and I don’t think I can take losing her.”

  “Then, keep being your charming self, and she’ll realize you aren’t an acceptable loss.”

  * * * *

  Danica grimac
ed at the shrill ring of her phone. Tyler didn’t have the number so she knew the only person calling her home phone was Vinessa. She pushed away from her design table and vacated the chair in front of the window where the sun had been coming in on her. She grabbed the cordless handset and connected.

  “Yes, Vinessa?” she asked blandly. Her headache was gone and her stomach was finally sane enough to think about taking in food and drink.

  “Hey, girly, what’s up?” Vinessa asked.

  “I’m working,” she said casting an eye over her home office. The soothing shades and abstracts on the wall gave the room a homey appearance.

  “Unlock the door,” Vinessa commanded. “I’m standing on your porch.”

  Damn it! She should have known her best friend would track her down when she hadn’t shown up. She’d just hoped Vinessa would assume she’d had a long night with Tyler Quinn and let her recover in peace.

  “Fine,” she muttered and hung up. At least, she’d put the Smirnoff bottle in the garbage after her shower. Thankfully, she’d cleaned up the mess she’d made when she’d tripped in the dim room after getting too plastered to see straight too.

  She opened the door for Vinessa moments later and her friend strolled in giving her a critical once over.

  “Ratty T-shirt, saggy shorts, and a pathetic excuse for a ponytail. You must have a hangover.”

  She made a face. “You don’t know jack.”

  “Bet you don’t either. Your poison is always gin.” She feigned a shiver. “What’s got your panties bunched?”

  “Nothing,” she muttered hating that Vinessa knew her so well. That was a two-way street though and she could tell her friend was a little happier than usual today. “What’s got the sun shining up your ass?”

  Vinessa snorted and cross her arms over her chest. “This isn’t about me, so spill.”

  She sighed. “Kaela is in town.”

  “So?”

  “We had sex,” she muttered and the hurt look on Tyler’s face sent daggers of pain stabbing at her chest. She clenched her fists and unclenched them.

  “You told her you wanted to get back together?” Vinessa guessed.

  “No. Tyler walked in on us,” she wailed. “He looked like a wounded rabbit when he saw us, and I just threw a knife at him.”

  “A verbal one I’m supposing since he sounded fine,” Vinessa said giving her an amused look.

  “I told him to fuck off.”

  “Oh, well, that’s what’s got his boxers all wadded up,” she said and laughed. “He said production’s been moved up. He wants the final designs and for you to pull that knife out of his chest.”

  She glared at Vinessa who merely laughed again. “I can’t see him, Vin,” she muttered darkly. “He’s too dominant. He’ll just force me to submerge my own needs and personality.”

  Vinessa studied her contemplatively. “I think you’ve always leaned more toward men than women,” she said carefully. “And when Jon put you through the ringer it left you afraid to trust yourself.”

  “I’m not afraid to trust myself!”

  “You were eighteen when you first started seeing him, Dan,” she said softly. “You were still young and innocent. He tricked you, and your soft heart trusted because no one had ever deliberately deceived you like that.”

  “It was my fault.” Everything that had happened to her after learning Jon was married had been her fault. “I should have walked away.” Then, his wife wouldn’t have nearly killed her and Jon’s son. She’d stabbed the boy saying he was going to be just like his father. Then, the crazy woman had held the child over Danica and let his blood run over her.

  Vinessa gave her a quick hug and a wan smile. “She was crazy and he didn’t help it, but it wasn’t your fault she lost it.”

  “She almost killed her own son,” she murmured. It had taken her months and intense therapy to stop waking up screaming.

  “Honestly, honey, cut yourself some slack. Cut Tyler some slack. Some men are jerks, yeah. But I don’t think Tyler is anymore jerky than your average decent guy.”

  “He’s still a man.”

  She caught Danica’s hand. “If you want my opinion, Jon was just a sadistic sociopath, who got off on controlling you and his wife.”

  She sighed. “I’m scared.”

  “I know,” Vinessa said. “So am I.”

  “What?” She frowned.

  “I’m scared Lucas won’t be able to handle this relationship,” she admitted. “He agreed to take the weekend off and go away with me and Marika, but I don’t know that he’ll ever be able to truly accept having two women in his life.”

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “Don’t be,” Vinessa said gently shaking her hand. “If it doesn’t work, it’ll hurt like a bitch to lose him, but I’ll go on. Honey, you will, too, if things don’t work out with Tyler. Just let the guy pass or fail on his own merits.”

  Chapter Ten

  Danica stepped into the sports bar she and Vinessa frequented. The tables were nearly all filled and conversation and laughter bubbled forth from the patrons as they watched a game on one of the big screens.

  She didn’t find Vinessa on the first floor, so she headed to the second where she spied her friends at the back and strolled over. Vinessa and Kalyani Singleton looked up when she joined them.

  “Hey, girl,” Kal greeted her with a smile.

  “Hey,” she said. “Where’s Connor?”

  “Having a quiet evening with Leigh,” Kal told her with a smile. Kal was in a happy relationship with Leigh and Connor. The three of them seemed to fit together so well despite Connor’s initial reservations.

  “I ordered you a beer,” Vinessa said and indicated the frosty bottle in the middle of the table.

  “Thanks.” She grabbed it and took a sip. “So, how’s ménage life, Kal?”

  Kal gave her an amused look. “Fine. How’s the swinging single scene?”

  “Swinging.” She smiled.

  “We were just talking about going to Texas next month,” Vinessa said. “Girls only. You want to come?”

  “Girls as in you two and your lovers?” she asked.

  “And you,” Vinessa said. “There’s this pretty little bed and breakfast there and a great antique store Kal is dying to check out.”

  She may as well go. She had no life. “I don’t see any reason why not,” she said with a shrug. She wouldn’t be cuffed to Tyler’s bed or anything. Hell, she wouldn’t even be curled up with him on his couch watching a movie either.

  “Great,” Kal said with a devious grin. “I’m going to walk your ass off. There’s a flea market there, too, that we have to check out.”

  Vinessa groaned and rolled her eyes. “Kal you so need to get over your fascination with junk.”

  “You find some good stuff at flea markets,” she said with a sniff.

  Danica smiled and took a sip of her beer, but her mind wasn’t on the banter the two kept up. She was thinking about Tyler. She hadn’t called him to tell him the designs were ready, but she’d wanted to just to hear his voice. She wanted to feel his body beneath hers and their lips moving together in a hot kiss.

  “…dinner?” The word barely penetrated her thoughts as her blood roared in her ears.

  Both women were staring at her. “What about dinner?” she asked guiltily.

  Vinessa and Kal cocked a brow at her, but it was Vinessa’s knowing look that made her look away as she quickly scrambled for an excuse.

  “Where do you want to go?” Vinessa said.

  “I didn’t know we were having dinner,” Danica replied. “I thought it was just drinks.”

  “Change of plans,” Kal said with a smile. “So, let’s go.”

  This was Vinessa’s way of getting her out of the house and keeping her mind off Tyler. It wasn’t working. She wanted to be sitting across from him flirting, staring into his warm whiskey eyes, getting drunk off him instead of having dinner with them.

  Vinessa linked her arm through D
anica’s as they headed out, “You could have just called him,” Vinessa said. “Then, you’d be with him instead of thinking about him.”

  Danica gave her a mutinous look, but her stomach fluttered at the mere thought of Tyler. “I wasn’t thinking about him,” she muttered. “I’m just tired.”

  “Tired of lying to yourself?” Vinessa murmured.

  She pulled out of her friend’s grip. “There’s nothing to lie to myself about,” she muttered and strode ahead of her. Yeah, Vinessa knew her way too well.

  * * * *

  Tyler was sipping on a cup of coffee when Danica walked into his office the next morning. He got up and gave her a smile. “Coffee?”

  “No.” She crossed the carpeted floor to his desk as he motioned to the chairs before it.

  “I see you got my message,” he said. “But I would have thought you’d have called and made an appointment instead of just showing up.”

  “Is there a problem with that?” she asked coolly. “I thought you’d want the finalized designs as soon as possible since your production schedule had changed.”

  “I’m eager to see the designs for the belt buckle. What material would you suggest?”

  “Fabric, a quilted design or metal,” she answered. “I made the recommendations in my notes.” She opened her bag to retrieve the folder of designs.

  “Great.” He perched on the edge of his desk.

  “The designs are built for two body types, so there won’t be a scaled up version.” She held them out to him and Tyler studied her even as he took them.

  There were shadows in her eyes that hadn’t been there before. She wore her dark gray blouse open at the throat revealing luscious hints of her golden skin that made him want to lick and caress.

  He looked down at the designs. The clean lines were enticing with just a hint of curve, but it was the details that stood out the most. “I’m glad you were able to give us that,” he said. “I think you noticed the contract noted you be paid more if you accomplished that?”