Tempted

by Anthony, Alexandra

  "Buonanotte, Roma!!"

  He bowed to the crowd a few times, letting Randy, Johnny and Pete take their turn tossing picks and drumsticks, waving their own farewells to the crowd before the lights went down and they ran off the stage.

  That was where Nick found me, wide-eyed and my face streaked with tears. I didn't try to stop them. I couldn't if I tried. For the second time, he'd rendered me speechless with his song choice.

  Nick stopped in front of me and I craned my neck to gaze into his fathomless eyes. His thumbs brushed along my cheeks and gently cradled my face in his hands. A crooked smile tugged at one side of his mouth. "We have to stop meeting this way."

  I tried to laugh but it came out as a hiccup. A fresh wave of tears fell from my eyes onto his skin. I tried to speak but the words seemed to get in the way.

  So I did the only thing I knew to do. I kissed him. I dragged his face to mine, devouring his lips as if they were the sustenance I needed to survive and I was starving for him. Pouring every pent up emotion I had inside me into that kiss, his cool lips seemed to melt under the heat of my lips. He slowly took back control, pushing me back against the wall, his much larger body molding against my much smaller frame.

  All was forgiven as we lost ourselves in the moment. His worry about my fragility, my irritation at his overbearing ways...it all slipped away as hands roamed over frustrating layers of clothing, fingers squeezed and caressed exposed skin. I didn't even try to stop him when his powerful hand gripped my thigh and hitched it up so his hips could slide between my legs. He could have taken me against the wall of the backstage and at that moment, it wouldn't have mattered. It wasn't until the blinding glare of camera flashes pulled us back to reality. Somehow, the paparazzi had managed to sneak into the backstage area. Our impromptu make out session would be on the cover of every gossip blog within the hour.

  Ian pushed his way between the cameras and us. He was huge; large enough that his presence alone caused the Italian photographers to take nervous steps backwards. I knew no Italian, but I was positive their words to Ian were anything but nice.

  Nick wasted no time. He let Ian hold off the crush of cameras and he wrapped a protective arm around my waist. He steered me down the hallway to his dressing room. Once inside, he slammed the door and ran his fingers through his dark hair.

  I twisted my ring nervously on my finger, trying to measure his mood. "This isn't going to be good. It's going to be everywhere within hours."

  “And?” He didn't look at me, his voice strained.

  I swallowed tightly and ran my fingers over his forearm. "We just need to be prepared. That's all I meant."

  He chuckled sardonically. "At least those pictures will quell the rumors that I'm gay."

  For a moment, I was speechless. Then I burst out into laughter, almost bending over at the waist. His lack of relationships had made him the target of every rumor: that he was gay, bisexual, had a secret relationship and the most humorous, that he suffered from some sort of sexual dysfunction. You name it and the rumor had been tossed around.

  Well, almost every rumor. I hadn't heard the one that was true. No one had accused him of being a century old vampire walking among the living.

  "We can't stay in here all night," I squeezed his bicep lightly. The top of my head rested against his shoulder. "What are we supposed to do?"

  He let out a long sigh. "The part you're going to hate the most. The after party."

  ***

  We'd driven through the streets of Rome to a popular nightclub, the city streaking by us through the privacy of the tinted windows. We'd been escorted inside quickly with only a few flashbulbs breaking the relative calm of our entrance. The club had been reserved for VIP's and the elite: members of the record label, executives and people with enough money to blow on a chance to spend a moment alone with Nick Hart.

  They were all people Nick didn’t have give two shits about. He played a good game. I’d give him that. As much as he despised the whole celebrity thing, why had he chosen to immerse himself in it was a mystery to me.

  And once again, I was left with Ian. His stoic silence made me miss the idle chitchat of Siobhan. He stood at my side and watched Nick like a hawk. Nick had two other men from his security staff with him as he shook hands and played the role of rock star. He was the epitome of charm and I'd never seen so many flashes of his bright smile and dimples since I’d met him.

  Elliott and Isabelle would be proud of their prize client. He was holding up his end of the deal amazingly well.

  After nearly 30 minutes had passed, I could sense his weariness as he separated himself from the crowd and downed a third glass of champagne and reached for a fourth. His broad shoulders slouched and his hands tightened around the flute. I expected to see the crystal shatter in his hands. I needed to go to him…he was struggling.

  Giving Ian a sideways glance, he gave me a nod of agreement. Sometimes I wondered if he could read my mind, or if he was oddly in tune with emotions and feelings. At this point, I wouldn’t count anything out.

  Silently, I sidled up to him and entwined my fingers into his free hand. He turned his head slightly to look down at me, the tiredness evident in those dark, chocolate eyes.

  He needed to be distracted. "Come dance with me." I tugged on his hand slightly.

  He didn’t budge. "Savannah, I'm not sure if that's a good idea," Nick muttered under his breath. He gently placed the empty champagne glass down on the table. His chest rose and fell with his shallow breaths.

  "You have to be here anyway…at least for a bit longer. We've already been photographed together tonight. What will this matter, Nick? C'mon..." I cajoled, leaning in to press a kiss on his dimpled cheek.

  The song changed to a slow, grinding beat and the whole dance floor shifted, couples cramming closer, moving as one giant being. Tugging again, this time he relented and I dragged him into the crowd with me. With a sexy grin he spun me and pressed himself up behind me. My back instantly melted against his chest, my hand snaking up to his neck and twisting into his dark hair at the nape of his neck.

  With his strong hands low on my hips, Nick moved me against him. I'd be lying if I said I didn’t love the feel of his hard, solid body against mine, his tightly grasping fingers selfishly gripping my hips. With a quick move, he took my hand and spun me to face him. As our bodies met, our eyes locked and the resulting smile was what I lived for. That was my smile. It was the one that no one else ever saw. It wasn't one he used to impress or dazzle anyone. It was filled with his unbridled affection and wonder.

  "I think you could get me to do anything," he murmured. The back of strong fingers caressed my cheek as his muscular thigh slipped between my legs.

  "Anything, huh?" I countered, gripping his t-shirt in my hands until I'd pulled his lips to mine. I brushed my mouth across his. "Still doing okay?"

  I worried about his control more than he did. I knew he struggled to be with me from time to time. Being in a packed room filled with humans couldn't be easy for him. It was easy to see the conflict now on his face; the tight lines around his eyes, his shallow breathing.

  "Yeah. You’re going to owe me for this." His mouth covered mine, his cool tongue slipping between my lips. He deepened the kiss as we gracefully moved together on the crowded dance floor.

  I’d willingly owe him for this moment. Ignoring the crowd and the music, I'd gotten lost in him. Time ceased to exist in his arms. It was beautifully strange how the simple touch of his mouth on mine could soothe my silly insecurities, and how a single look could make everything else disappear.

  Every single thing except his love.

  Yes, his love. As much as I tried to deny it, I was as much in love with him as he was with me. It hung between us, an uneasy impasse neither of us chose to discuss. I didn't want to admit the fact and he was honoring my silly fear of hearing and speaking the dreaded 'L' word.

  Our lips parted and the roar of the room hit me. All around us the dance floor was a throbbing, g
rinding single unit. Not one person was paying attention to us. They were all hips against hips, hands on skin.

  I twirled around so my back was against his chest again. My breathing was erratic and my body was almost shaking in my need for him. My hips arched back against his, pleading with him for relief.

  "What in the hell are you trying to do, love?" His words came out through clenched teeth. And I knew exactly what I was doing to him. His hard erection was grinding between the cheeks of my ass. It was taunting me, telling me everything my body wanted to know.

  "I’m distracting you," I purred, turning my head to him. He did two things that pushed me over the edge. He wrapped my hair around his right hand, pulling my head to the side. I jolted when his mouth attached to my neck, his blunt teeth and tongue tantalizingly sucking over my skin.

  My breath caught in a high-pitched moan. My mouth hung open as his lips continued to suck on my skin and his cock pressed against me, iron hard and throbbing.

  "Who else could do this to you?" Each word came out as a snarl. His hands tightened in my hair and his tongue ran over my neck where his teeth had been moments earlier.

  Moaning loudly in response, I would have told him anything at this point if I knew it would stop the longing that was barreling through my veins. "No one."

  "Kiss me…prove that no one else could do this," he growled. I turned my head, latching my mouth to his. The rumble in his chest vibrated through me to my very core. I was on fire, electricity crackling between us.

  When I looked at him, his eyes showed me he felt the power too. It pulsed between us, a constant throb when we touched. He let go of my hair and his hands covetously grabbed my ass, pulling me flush against him. His cock was twitching against my stomach.

  "I can't do this anymore, love…" he begged, breaking from my mouth. His head hit my shoulder, his breath heavy in my ear. "Let's go."

  Nodding my head, I let him take my hand and we weaved through the crowd. Nick jutted his head towards Ian, who in turn pulled out a cell phone, typing away on the touch screen.

  As soon as the cool night air hit me, my head cleared and I could think again. "Stop for a second." I pressed my hand against the wall of a building, my legs trembling. My head may have cleared, but inside…inside was chaos.

  Nick leaned next to me, his forehead to my temple. "Savannah?"

  "I need more of you." I stood and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. My mouth went for his neck, my teeth nibbling over his pale throat.

  "Hotel, love…" he groaned. His hands wrapped tightly around my waist, holding me firmly against him.

  "'Hurry," I whimpered, looking up into his eyes. The black of his pupils eclipsed the dark brown of his eyes.

  "Forget about the car,” he stuttered. "Ian knows what we’re doing."

  He wrapped an arm around my waist and guided me through the parking lot and onto the sidewalk. I was thankful that it was a short walk to the hotel. Neither of us said a word…but the need and want seemed to throb between us, echoing in each of our footsteps.

  The same woman was at the front desk when we entered the hotel. As we hurried through the lobby towards the elevators, I felt her eyes on me as he pushed the button on the wall. Just as the car arrived, Nick picked up my hand, kissing it softly. I barely registered her sullen face as the doors closed.

  He turned to me in the elevator, tucking my hair behind my ear. "I've never felt anything like that. I want to feel it again…" Nick whispered, kissing my forehead and nose, skipping my mouth to scatter kisses across my cheekbone.

  "No…" I groaned. Even though I said no, I pulled him closer. "Don't start until we make it back to the room. I can't…" I felt his smile against my neck.

  "I’m changing. It's you. Or it's us," he muttered against my skin. I felt his lips smile against my jaw. "The music, your body. It was too much..."

  "I know," I nodded, running my fingers through his hair and keeping his face at my neck. I could feel him hard against my hip when he pressed into me. The elevator doors opened with a sounding bell.

  With inhuman speed Nick only used when no one was around, we were inside the hotel suite. Nick walked me backwards, his mouth all but consuming me in a rush of frantic kisses.

  "Finally…we’re alone," he growled against my lips. "I plan on taking advantage of every single minute."

  "Good," I growled back. I came to a stop when my back pressed into the glass of the window. He picked me up in his arms, both hands gripping my thighs. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he pushed into me again. One hand grabbed the strapless bandeau of my dress and shoved down into a bunched mess around my waist. He ripped my strapless red lace bra completely from my body, my breasts exposed to his sultry eyes.

  I gasped when I felt the cold of the glass touch my skin. I didn't know what was more overwhelming or alluring, the feel of his hands on me or the chilled glass on my overheated skin.

  "Cold?" Nick asked. His lower lip caught in his teeth, his dark eyebrow rising sexily.

  "I don't care about the cold, Nick. Give me what I need," I mumbled, demanding him to finish what he started.

  "Oh, love," he crooned, smirking at my frantic behavior. "There are…things I'm going to do to you before I fuck you." He released me and my feet touched the floor again. His hands caressed the curve of my breasts, coming to rest on the dress bunched around my waist. With one swift tear, it fell around my feet in a heap.

  I stood before him in a matching red lace thong. His thumbs rubbed the wetness between my legs, dragging over the material. "Who makes you this wet?" He pulled his hand away, sucking his thumb into his mouth. He swirled his tongue around it as if he was savoring my taste.

  "You," I whispered, entranced on his sensual display. With an impatient hiss, I gripped his shirt and tugged on it. "But you already know what you do to me."

  His deep roar pulsed in the air around us as he ripped my panties from me. He picked up one of my legs and then the other, lifting me up completely off the ground. My skin tugged and squeaked against the glass of the window as he lifted me up, his cool breath a welcome relief against the heat of my wet pussy. I groaned a soft sob of relief when his mouth finally touched me. When his tongue finally thrust into me, my cries echoed in the room.

  I reached up and gripped the curtain rod, grinding against his face for release or friction. My body was a writhing bundle of sensation. I felt my legs shake as his tongue went deeper, taking everything I had.

  "The power you have over me," his husky voice growled into me. His tongue made a slow circle between my folds and flattened over my now overly sensitive clit. “And you don’t even know it.”

  "Shit," I gasped. I closed my eyes under the ministrations of his clever mouth. The speed increased and my grip on the curtain rod tightened. I heard and felt the metal pull away from the wall.

  "Rip it off," he glanced up at my hands. He’d heard it too. "If this is what I make you feel, I’ll pay any amount of money to see you like this." He sucked my clit into his mouth. When I was about to come, he spoke again. "I could smell your arousal on the dance floor. Was it for me? All of it?"

  "Yes," I groaned, thrashing against his face. "Just you…"

  His ebony eyes watched my face, his beautiful mouth curling into the most wicked of smiles. It widened and I heard the soft click of his fangs dropping, his head a blur as he bit down on my femoral artery. I let go of the curtain rod, my hands dragging down the glass of the window. They tangled in his black hair instead as my body shook with the intensity of my climax. His touch, his mouth and fangs were almost sensory overload.

  He pulled me from the window, tugging his tight t-shirt over his head at the same time. We both fell to the floor in a pile of arms and legs. I forced Nick flat on his back, crawling up his body until my mouth met his. My lips were demanding and my tongue boldly swept in, taking possession of his mouth. His hands slipped down my back, anchoring me against him.

  “I don’t think so.” I broke away from his mouth, slid
ing down his body, leaving stinging kisses on my way to his stomach. I ran my fingers over his denim-covered cock, smiling against his skin when the most delectable purring sound escaped his mouth and trembled in his chest.

  Clicking my tongue against my teeth, I was slow and deliberate as I flicked open his jeans. “I want to see you. All of you.”

  "Savannah…" he snarled as I teasingly shimmied them off of him, my nails dragging down his long legs.

  "Nick." I licked my lips, groaning as he was spread out for me, completely naked. My eyes traveled over every inch of his long body, over his muscled chest to his long, powerful legs. I flung his jeans away, free to wrap my hands around his thick cock. My need temporarily quelled, it was my time to play. "Look at you," I whispered, twirling my tongue around the tip of him. "For me?"

  "Always,” he roared. His hips bucked and his hands made tight fists as I took him completely in my mouth. I dragged my teeth slowly along his ridge, my eyes never leaving his face. He was tragically gorgeous when he gave himself over to me. "Oh fuck, Savannah…" Nick moaned, meeting my eyes. "The heat of your body against me on the dance floor…I wanted to either fuck you or bite you."

  "Or both," I smirked, stroking him softly from base to tip. He was so thick that my hands could barely circle him. "It’s your fault. How did you know I was wet?"

  "How did I know?” he gasped. "300 people in that room and you were the only thing I could smell." He bucked his hips again and his hands grabbed the leg of a nearby chair. I heard the wood snap under the power of his grip. Drunk with power, I sank my mouth back over him, feeling him hit the back of my throat. "Love…I'm…" He didn't need to finish. He came hard in my mouth, his entire body tensing and releasing.

  I was in his arms instantly, moving in a blur to the bedroom. We slid across the sheets, leaving me imprisoned under his hard body. Twisting and arching, my arms and legs wrapped tightly around him as he pinned me roughly, almost violently against the mattress. The bed groaned, shaking under the force of our bodies. "This bed may not make it through the night," Nick warned. My whole being flooded with desire, moaning softly at the thought of us destroying the room.