Page 29 of Savage Fire

“Shit!” She climaxed, her back arching off the bed as she screamed.

Between her legs, Fang’s movements grew uneven, jerky, as he groaned and sped up, his cock pistoning into her as he grunted and moaned.

Finally, he slammed inside and threw his head back, letting out a most inhuman sound as his cock swelled then released inside her.

Fang slumped over her, their breathing in gasps and pants. Sweat slicked bodies sticking to one another.

It took long, glorious moments to come down from the highest of highs. Slowly, Fang pulled himself free, padding to the bathroom to get rid of the condom. Her eyes closed, her body languid, she was nearly asleep when she felt the bed depress as he climbed back in. His arms closed around her, pulling her into him—big spoon and little spoon.

She didn’t realize she’d fallen asleep until she woke when he pressed a hard kiss to her shoulder.

“Tessa….” He sounded awed. “That was far more than I ever imagined it would be.”

She grinned cockily. “Yeah, it was pretty fucking amazing.”

His body shook with silent laughter.

“So humble, my Tessa,” he teased, kissing her shoulder once more.

“You know me, sooo humble.”

He hummed contentedly. “Idoknow you, some of you, anyway. But I want to know more.”

Her heart stalled. “Like what?”

“Like…how is it that you came to Las Vegas? From some of the things you’ve said, it sounds like you came, you saw, you stayed. Where were you before? Where does the beautiful Tessa come from?”

She stared at the wall opposite the bed. The lamp light from the bedside table casting long shadows across the surface.

How much could she tell him? It wasn’t that she had any dark secrets, they were just humiliating. Frightening. How did you tell someone that you were hiding out from your stepfather who happened to want to be your “daddy”, too?

Sighing, she settled back into his embrace, allowing the warmth and security of his arms to cover her.

“I came to Vegas from a little town in the middle of nowhere. When I turned eighteen, I left home. Travelled a bit, following the bus lines, working cash only jobs. When I got to Vegas, I got a job, a tiny apartment, and realized that this was where I wanted to plan roots. I’ve been here five years. I met Skathi four years ago. Then I met you.”

She kept it as simple and vague as possible.

He was silent a moment before tightening his arms around her and sighing as well. “And your family? Your mother? You said she was first generation Mexican American. No offense to you, beautiful, but you seem moregringathan Latina,” he said, curling a blonde lock of her hair around his finger.

She snorted. Wanting to see him, to kiss him, she flipped over.

“It’s the hair and the blue eyes, right?” she remarked, watching him play with the hair falling over her naked shoulders.

He nodded, his lips curling.

“I get that from my dad, apparently. Never met him. Have no idea who he is, and my mom never wanted to talk about him other than to tell me he was older, a surfer, and that her parents went ballistic when they found out he’d despoiled their daughter.”

“Do you still talk to her?”

“Not really.” Partial truth. God, she felt like a bitch for keeping something as small as a phone call with her mom a secret. What was she hoping to accomplish?

He looked like he wanted to ask her more, but he didn’t, going back to playing with her hair.

“Condesa,” she murmured, the urge to share something of her true self with him overwhelming. If she was really going to do this thing with Fang, one of them had to begin the process of being open. She’d never been so terrified, but she knew that if he really meant for them to be a couple, he had to know the truth. He had to know the real Tessa.

“What?”

She swallowed, then replied, “That’s my real name. Condesa Maria Ramos. I changed it to Tessa Grimes. It was sort of my way to start over, start fresh. Create a new me, ya know.” She could tell he wanted to ask why she changed it, but he kept that question to himself. He was a man with his own secrets, after all. Secrets he hoped he would share with her, as she was sharing with him.

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