Ablaze (10 page)

Chapter Ten

Only a couple customers were dining when
Dylan's brothers said their goodbyes. Tony joined him and Angel for a bit, then
went back to the kitchen right after Raz cleared the last table.

It was almost twelve o'clock and he should
call it a night, but for some reason, he didn't want to leave his spot. Funny
that. Normally around this time, he was antsy to sit in front of his computer
to write. Not tonight. What he wanted to do was keep talking--no, staring at
Angel like some besotted teenager.

"I had so much fun. Your brothers,
including Tony, are wonderful."

Dylan chuckled. "Before you go back to
North Carolina, you'll know how to scuba dive, fix cars, build houses, and
design web pages. And
you
are going to show them how to sculpt."

"I know. It'll be fun. What about you?
What are you going to teach me?"

Dylan didn't expect that question. But an
answer, like a light bulb, lit in his head.

I'll show you pleasures in bed.
It must be the beer, because an image of Angel lying on
his bed, naked, one hand above her head and the other lazily running up and
down her stomach, her leg bent at the knee moving sideways giving him a glimpse
of heaven, formed in his head.

Nice. "You asked a really dangerous
question."

* * * *

A faint light that twinkled in the depths of
Dylan's blue eyes sent an unexpected warmth in her stomach. It could be that he
was talking about something dangerous like shooting a BB gun, but a hint of
desire in his eyes made her believe he was talking about something wicked. She
shouldn't, but she felt excited at the thought.

Dylan's lip twitched. He kept glancing down
at her lips. He was thinking about wicked things. And she wanted to know what
those wicked things were. Heat crept up her neck and cheeks. Dear heavens, hold
your thoughts to yourself, Angel. "I shouldn't keep you. You must have
something else to do after the restaurant closes."

"Nope. Suzy is basically running this
place. I'm the owner, but that's it."

"You should let me pay for my food.
Business is business."

"Nah. If you wash the dishes once in a
while, we'll call it even."

Angel winced. "Last time I washed the
dishes, I broke Manfred's favorite plate."

"I'm sure we could ask Tony to replace
anything that you break in the kitchen."

"True. Thanks again, by the way for
letting me stay here and for helping me sleep this afternoon." She paused.
"Well, I should call it a night." Angel stood up and started to walk
toward the stairs, feeling Dylan's presence behind her. Standing on the first
step, she turned around. The top of her head almost reached Dylan's nose. "What
about you? Are you going to stay down here for a while?"

Dylan shook his head. A lock of hair fell
and partly covered his left eye. "No. I have to work on my project for an
hour or so."

All night, her fingers itched to reach and
comb his hair. Now, being this close, the temptation was hard to resist, so she
gently combed Dylan's hair back. "What project?"

If Dylan was surprised at her action, he
didn't show it. However, his eyes lit up as if to say he liked what she did. "You
really are nosy."

Angel grinned. "I am. Before my month
is up, I'll know everything about you and the rest of the Bands."

"You're scary."

"So what project are you working on?
Need help?"

"Nah. Nothing big. So would you like me
to tuck you in?" Dylan waggled his brows.

"You watched me sleep earlier and now
you're offering to tuck me in. Is it because you think I'm pretty?"

"What?"

"Marley said you like pretty women."

"Well, if you want to hear the truth, I
find that you're hideous with your scaly skin, broomstick hair, and yellow
teeth." Dylan sniffed the air close to Angel's neck. "And you stink. You're
the kind of woman I steer clear from. You're not a danger to my mind and heart."

Angel laughed softly. "I see. Well, lucky
for me, you still have four brothers I can try to catch. And, I must tell you, all
four said they'd go out on a date with me anytime. Maybe I should start with
Marley."

"What?"

"Yup. Well, goodnight." She turned
around to go upstairs, but a strong arm around her waist prevented her from
going any further. Dylan turned her so they were facing each other. Only this
time, there wasn't any space between them. "What are you doing?"

Dylan kneaded the sensitive flesh just above
her hip. "Kissing you goodnight," he said and then did just that.

Angel didn't know whether to stop Dylan or
urge him on. This wasn't just a goodnight kiss. This kiss made her hot all over.
It was the kind that would prelude to something more.

Dylan sucked her upper lip while his tongue
moved beneath it, making her feel hot all over. The touch of his lips on hers
sent a delicious ache deep in her belly that made her groan. She breathed in
his faint cologne as Dylan slanted his head a little to take her mouth with
demanding mastery that aroused her.

Sweet heaven. She couldn't remain passive.
She kissed him back. That was all it took. One strong arm tightened around her
waist while the other cupped the back of her neck to hold her in place while
Dylan sinfully brought her temperature to a higher degree.

It had been a long time since parts of her
body tingled like this. Lust, like a dormant volcano, woke up and was now ready
to burst. When Dylan's tongue slipped in between her teeth, she opened her mouth
and let him in. She sighed at the taste of him tasting her.

She wrapped her arm around his neck. She gave
her weight onto him, but it wasn't enough. Wanting to feel more of him, she
bent her knee and ran her thigh against Dylan's strong one.

Dylan responded by tightening his hold
around her waist with one hand and cupping her ass with another. He aligned
their bodies together and began to press his erection against her. He grounded
his hips, which made Angel whimper from the delicious feeling.

Dylan's kiss was nothing like she'd
experience before. He was fire, arousing, teasing her senses, making her burn
and throb. She returned his kiss with reckless freedom from inhibition. Yes,
she didn't feel inhibited…only wanting.

Raising his mouth from hers, he breathed
hard and stared at her, his eyes glazed with passion. "You're a temptation
walking on earth." He kissed the base of her neck and bit the skin lightly
before reclaiming her lips.

In between breaths, she said, "I'm just--"

"Goodnight, you two."

Angel's eyes flew open. By the door, she saw
Tony standing, grinning from ear to ear. Oh, my God!

* * * *

What the fuck! How could he forget that Tony
was still here?
It was Angel
. Her eyes, her body, her smile, her hair. Hell,
yeah. She made him forget. He even forgot his own plan to avoid unnecessary
conversation with her. She had already said goodnight. It was his chance to
step back and focus his mind on his task…like finish his draft. Instead, he
ended up kissing her and imagining her naked in his arms. Now, look what
happened. Tony, his blabbermouth cousin, caught them kissing.

"Goodnight, Tony. Make sure the door is
locked when you leave."

"Will do. Should I turn on the music? I
recommend
The Shins
. Awesome music. Want me to play--"

"Get the fuck out of here, Tony."

"Alright. Just making suggestions, you
know. Night, Angel. See you tomorrow. You broke my heart when you ordered
Chinese, but I'll still show you how to cook my special pasta because I love
you, ma belle."

"I'm sorry," Angel replied.

"Just kidding. Night."

"Night, Tony." As soon as the lock
echoed in the quiet room, Angel leaned her forehead on Dylan's shoulder "That
was embarrassing."

Dylan planted a soft kiss on the side of her
head. "I'm sorry."
Partly true
. He was sorry that Tony saw
them kissing. His cousin would most likely send his brothers text messages as
soon as he shut the door, and tomorrow they would poke and prod him about
tonight. Yeah, he was sorry about that. On the other hand, he wasn't sorry at
all about kissing Angel. She made him feel. It had been a long time since he
felt so alive, so excited about being with a woman. Damn, this was more than
flirtation, more than lust. Sighing, he took Angel's hand and led her upstairs.
They didn't say anything until they reached Angel's room. "My room is only
a few feet from yours. Call if you need me."

"Thanks for the entertainment, food,
and…a place to stay."

"You're welcome. Anytime you're feeling
low, you can always come here. I'm sure my brothers would love to have you
around."

"And you?"

"Of course. I get to kiss you, right?"

Angel started swinging their still joined
hands. "I think you kissed me because you didn't want your brothers to
upstage you."

Dylan laughed at that. "What can I say?
I'm a very competitive man." He paused. "So, you think you'll be able
to sleep tonight?"

"We'll see. If not, I could always
sculpt. I brought my clay with me."

"What about reading a book?"

"I'm not much of a reader. I'd rather
work with my hands than hold a book. Minnie, reads a lot."

"There's not much to read in Kama
Sutra."

"You've seen the book."

"Most men I know had a glimpse of that
book. You have a very interesting grandma."

"I know. Minnie reads spicy kind of
books, too."

"You mean erotic books."

"Yeah."

"Explains why she can curse like a
drunken Irish on paydays."

Angel laughed softly. "She's something
else."

"Did you happen to see the author?"

"Why?"

"Just curious."

"Minnie read hundreds of romance books
with buff men on the covers. Her recent book…the author wrote,
Meet Me at
Pier 59.
Dee Bennet. Yeah, that's the author's name. Minnie said the movie version
is as good as the book."

Damn right.
"Why don't you try reading it. You might like it."

"I know I won't. I call them porn books
for old women."

Dylan nearly choked on his own spit.
Porn
for old women? The hell!
"Porn?"

"Yup. On that note. I think I'm going
to bed. Night." Angel tried to unlace their fingers, but he tightened his
grip on her.

"Wait, what made you say that Dee's
books are porn? When you haven't even read them?"

"I picked it up one time. Opened it to
a random page and saw the masturbatory part in the story. Hence, a porn book. Lost
my interest right away. Boring."

Masturbatory and boring?
Dylan's ego was pricked. He poured his time and sweat in
writing
Meet me at Pier 59
. He received glowing reviews, too. How could
this woman, who obviously knew nothing about writing a full length novel, say
that it was boring? Did she have any idea how… Damn. "What else didn't you
like about the book?"

"The author wrote an overly dramatic heroine,
so overacting. She pouts, whine, moans a lot and nearly flawless."

"Maybe you're just jealous of her."

Angel poked his chest. "Excuse me. I
would never be jealous of a woman who acts like a fake boob."

"What?"

"Never mind. Minnie enjoyed the movie.
But then, she loves Dee Bennett. What kind of books do you read? Detective,
murder, comedy."

Dylan thought for a second. If he tells her
he read Dee's books, he could defend it. "I'm reading Dee Bennett's book
right now. And I tell you, it's not that bad."

"No," Angel said incredulously.

"Telling the truth."

"Really? Wow. Who would have thought
that men as tall and handsome as you--wait. You're not…I mean, earlier Morrison
said you're not circum--"

"What the hell are you talking about?
Woman, if you're trying to say that I'm gay, you are wrong. Not that I am
against gay men. And fucking Morrison was kidding about me."

He gave Angel one of his fierce look to show
that he was serious. She just laughed harder. Dylan felt annoyed, but hid it
well. Shit. If she learned that he wrote those porn-for-women books, she might
roll on the floor laughing. Now that he couldn't handle. He'd better go to his
room before Angel shredded his ego to pieces. "Sweet dreams, Angel. Call
if you need me."

"Wait, are you mad at me? It's not good
to go to bed mad, you know. Life's too short. What if I suddenly die in my
sleep? You'll feel guilty because you made me go to bed thinking that you're
mad at me. You'll feel horrible even. I remember not giving Manfred a goodnight
kiss one time because he didn't let me go to my friend's house for a sleep
over. The next day, Minnie took him to the hospital because of a bronchial pneumonia.
I felt horribly sick, I tell you. Oh, one time Minnie said--"