Page 44 of Phoenix Falling
I poked his firm chest muscles, the ones I daydreamed about constantly, imagining exactly what they looked like. “Hate to tell you, but those muscles aren’t nearly as cuddly as a teddy bear.”
He chuckled. “Maybe not, but they’re good for other things.”
I just bet they are.
It was nearing midnight when we found ourselves on the Ferris wheel, going round and round slowly. Up high in the sky, Sun’s body warm against me, the twinkling lights of the city—it was the perfect way to end the night. When the ride began emptying, we found ourselves stopped at the top for a few minutes, and I snuggled under Sun’s arm, my teddy bear cuddled against me. “It looks peaceful from up here, doesn’t it?”
Sun’s words rumbled in his chest. “Sometimes a bird’s-eye view can give you a little perspective.”
“How?”
“It reminds you that there is more to life than what’s right in front of you.” His arm tightened. “Death, trouble, pain. They are each a part of life, but they are not all life has to offer.” He shifted me around to face him. “There is also this.”
His lips were warm and hard as he took the kiss he wanted. I opened to let him in.
When he finally released me, he didn’t go far. My lips brushed his when I murmured, “I don’t think you can see that from a bird’s-eye view.”
“Don’t bet on it.”
He kissed me again.
ChapterEighteen
RISK
Sun didn’t push me beyond kisses. Not far, at least. As I stepped onto the bus, I found myself regretting that. I almost wished we’d found that quiet place to be together, just the two of us, and I’d given him the opportunity to talk me out of my reservations. I wished I had the memory of his body to keep me warm through the day instead of an empty bed and even emptier arms.
My head told me a hit-and-run, sex-only relationship was probably the best thing for my life, not to mention a vampire’s. But with Sun? Talking to him about his dad, about his loss, I’d found myself yearning for something more. Yearning to know what his relationship with his dad had been like. What had happened when his father died. What he did for the Archai, why he hadn’t tried to feed from me yet, what it would be like if I had him for more than just tonight—if I had him for always.
And I couldn’t think that way. Whatever else he was, Sun was a vampire. I would never fit into his world, and he would never leave it for mine. Sex was all we could be about.
I knew that; I did. So why did the thought fill me with despair?
I stood on the top step of a bus I didn’t need, holding the railing as I stared out at Sun standing on the sidewalk. He needed to go home, he’d said. He had stuff he needed to take care of, no matter how much he’d rather stay the night with me. I wanted him to stay the night with me. I also wanted to keep myself safe. I simply didn’t know how to do that if I let him in any further.
I held his eyes until the bus began to move, rolling wheels taking me away from temptation. My intention was to get off at the next stop and patrol. Anything to ease the restlessness taking up residence in my stomach. Except when the bus stopped two blocks down, I found myself descending the steps and turning in the direction I’d last seen Sun, as if a magnet was attached to my chest and wouldn’t allow me to go any other direction. So I turned, and I walked back the way I had come. And walking, I realized I wanted to follow. I wanted to know.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure what it was I wanted to know, exactly. Maybe I was desperate to spend just a little more time with Sun. Maybe I was watching to see if he was going to pick up another woman. Would he drink from her as he hadn’t from me? Maybe I just wanted to know something, anything more about the male who was dominating my every waking thought.
I had no idea; I only knew that the longer I followed his path down the sidewalk, the more the instinct that had kept me alive all these years fired up inside me, and I was simply pulled along in its wake.
It was well after two in the morning. There were still plenty of bars open downtown, plenty of noise and people and distractions. I found myself hugging the exterior walls of each building I passed, avoiding the pools of light that spilled out of the occasional window or shone down from the even rarer streetlight as I moved slowly back the way I had come. The darkness was my friend, and I drew it around me, cloaking myself from prying eyes even as I changed my appearance to that of a typical prowling college guy like the dozens I passed on the street. One thing about Sun, he couldn’t hide his height and bulk. Up ahead, I could see the gleam of light on his red hair as he passed beneath the streetlamp, head and shoulders above everyone around him. Even knowing he couldn’t see the real me despite looking straight at me, I held my breath and stepped as lightly as possible as I followed him up the street.
When he turned into an alley, I stopped at the opening and carefully peeked around the corner. Shadows cloaked him, caressing his form almost as much as they caressed mine, but I caught a glimpse of him farther down. I entered the alley and hurried to catch up.
Sun made a dozen turns ahead of me, but each time I was able to follow until I found myself sandwiched between the dark, imposing walls of a more industrial area, bare of any crowds or noise except some light traffic several streets over. Up ahead, Sun stopped for a moment, looking around, before stepping through a break in a chain-link fence to enter what I assumed was an abandoned property.
I scurried forward, anxious to see where he went next.
When I reached the fence, I crouched down, taking myself out of Sun’s line of sight should he look back, then peered around the edge of the brick building I knelt beside. Framed by the wire holes in the fence, I could see a dark cavity between several structures. The boundaries formed a small yard, scattered with trash and overgrown weeds, abandoned long ago, it seemed, to a dismal fate. In the center of the space, Sun stood, staring down at his cell phone. What he was seeing, I wasn’t sure, maybe reading a text, but after a moment he slid the phone into the pocket of his shirt. Quick fingers began to unbutton the fabric over his chest.
I froze. He was…undressing? Why?
I knelt in the shadows and watched as inch after inch of bare skin was revealed. And what a glorious sight it was. Thick chest, broad shoulders, narrow waist. When his fingers went to his belt and began to undo it, my mouth went dry. He was the perfect specimen, a big, powerful male, and when his fatigues dropped to the ground, I saw exactly how perfect he was. Delectably perfect. His cock was at eye-level, thick and bold, bracketed by strong thighs that promised a no-holds-barred ride to heaven.
God.
And yet I couldn’t fathom a reason for Sun to strip down to his skin, no matter how glorious it was. In the few minutes it took for him to bare himself, my mind scrambled to make sense of what it was seeing, but no answer came to me. Nothing logical, anyway.
