Dangerous Temptations Read online

“The house I’m renting is only two houses away.”

  “Oh, so Mrs. Nelson is your neighbor. She’s a member of the Red Hat Society with Lou and Marie, which is otherwise known as Salem’s fastest gossip channel.”

  “So that’s how everyone knew I’d stopped by the clinic.”

  I giggled. “Exactly.”

  “Are you going to open the door, Syd?”

  Oh, right. He lived close. Two houses. Officer McHotty was only two houses away. Mentally, I fist pumped. I made it to the front door in record time but stopped to take a deep breath to appear unaffected.

  When I opened the door, Mike put Maggie Maye down, and she scurried up the stairs. “Where are you going, Mags?”

  “Probably to my bedroom.”

  She disappeared at the landing, and I turned back to Mike. He pressed his lips against mine. “Hello, beautiful. I’m glad you gave me an excuse to come over.”

  “You don’t need an excuse.”

  “I like that answer, but you happen to have a detective a few houses from you that wants to assist your Nancy Drew skills. Where’s your computer?”

  “Upstairs.”

  He kissed me again. This time, I felt his tongue swipe against my lips. “I think we might want to start researching before things go too far.”

  I blinked in confusion. “Too far?”

  “I want to open your robe and feel what’s underneath, Syd.”

  “Oh my.” Yes, open my robe and touch my nipples. Roll them between your fingertips as you ease your finger inside me. My hormones were out of control. I really needed to dust off my vibrator before I started to hump his leg.

  Mike grabbed my hand and led me up the stairs. In my bedroom, Maggie Maye was already asleep on my bed. There was a love seat under the window to the right. I grabbed the computer and we settled there.

  “See? What do you think?”

  Mike

  I took the computer from Sydney and started to read through what she’d found.

  “Have you seen anything with the symbol that was on the coin in any of your research?”

  Sydney shook her head. “No, nothing.”

  I handed her back the computer. The way she was snuggled up next to me had my body on fire. I wanted to slip my hands in her robe and explore every inch of her body, kiss every inch of her body.

  Clearing my throat, I pushed my thoughts away before they started giving my dick any ideas.

  “We had a call last night. A woman said she heard a female screaming from the Salem Witch House Museum.”

  “Probably the ghost, Elizabeth.”

  My mouth dropped open. “Jesus Christ. Not you, too?”

  She smiled. “What? It is the second most haunted place in Salem. I think I’ve even seen a woman walk by the upstairs middle window.”

  “Really? I think I did, too.”

  “See! A ghost.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Back to what I was saying. The door was unlocked and the alarm hadn’t been set, which I thought should be concerning since the place is filled with historical artifacts and antique furniture, but I keep forgetting this is not Chicago.”

  Sydney smiled, and I felt a squeeze in my chest. She was so beautiful—even more so when her face lit up.

  “Bill and I heard a crash in the dining room area. We found a cat in there but never did find anything broken.”

  Sydney’s eyes widened as she whispered, “A ghost.”

  Ignoring her comment, I kept talking. “When I was shining my flashlight around, I saw something on a wood beam, but I didn’t have time to really look at it. After we searched the house and found everything was okay, I went back into the dining room to find this black cat that had been in the house and following us around.”

  “How did the cat get in there?”

  “No idea. Maybe some kids let it in, thinking it was funny. Anyway, it was sitting on the fireplace mantel, looking up at the spot where I had shined my light.”

  Sydney rubbed her hands together. “Oh, this is getting good! Maybe a ghost cat.”

  “A ghost cat?”

  She nodded and smiled.

  “Okay… anyway. It gets better. Look at what was carved into the wood.”

  I handed her my phone, and she stared at the symbol.

  “Mike, this is the symbol that’s on the coin.”

  I nodded. “I know. I didn’t want to say anything until I attempted to find something out about it.”

  “Did you find anything?”

  “No. I did, however, find an old blog that a woman here in Salem used to have. It talked about a secret society. I remembered that was what Quinn had said in the letter you found.”

  Her eyes lit up. “Yes! Do you think the symbol is part of the secret society?”

  With a half shrug, I replied, “I’m not sure. I even scanned the picture into the computer and tried to do a reverse image search, but I came up with nothing. Well, not nothing, I guess. It led me to that woman’s blog.”

  “What was her name?”

  “She never says her name. Her blog posts were sort of crazy and off the wall. She talked a lot about the witch trials and how it was all a conspiracy theory.”

  “Conspiracy theory?”

  “Yes, she hinted that the women’s deaths had nothing to do with them being accused of being witches. More like they knew things they weren’t supposed to know.”

  Sydney frowned. “What kind of things?”

  “Here, let me pull up her blog and show you.”

  Sydney handed me back the laptop, and I couldn’t ignore the way my body felt when our hands touched. By the way she drew in a quick breath, I knew she’d felt it, too.

  I typed in the web address I remembered from last night and waited for it to load. But all that popped up was a message that said the server couldn’t be found.

  “That’s weird. Hold on. Let me look at my notes in my phone to make sure I have the right website.”

  After checking the web address again, I looked at Sydney. “That’s weird. The site is gone now.”

  Her eyes widened. “Do you think someone took it down because you were looking at it?”

  I rubbed the back of my neck. If that was the case, I had a strange feeling that Sydney might have stumbled onto something not so innocent and fun. No, that couldn’t be it. There was no way Virgil would have ever put her in danger.

  “What are you thinking about?” Sydney asked. “You have such a serious look on your face.”

  My eyes met hers, and in that moment, I didn’t give two shits about symbols, secret societies, or why some nutcase’s website had been removed. It was probably a coincidence, anyway. The site hadn’t been updated in years.

  I took the laptop and set it on the small table in front of the love seat.

  “I want to kiss you, Sydney.”

  Her tongue moved along her lips before she nodded.

  Placing my hand to the nape of her neck, I pulled her to me and pressed my lips to hers. We both let out a soft moan when our tongues met.

  The kiss started off slow and easy, but it quickly turned to more when I stood and carried her over to the bed. I pulled her to me as I laid back.

  Shit, feeling her lying on top of me, knowing she had hardly anything on under her robe, had me hard in an instant.

  “Mike,” she gasped when our mouths parted and she pressed against my hard length as she straddled me.

  “I want to touch you, Syd, but I only want to go as far as you want.”

  With a smile, she sat up and undid the belt of her robe and let it fall open to reveal the thin nightgown she had on. My fingers itched to lift her gown over her head and pull her nipple into my mouth.

  I looked up to find her watching me. Her own eyes were hooded with lust.

  “Touch me, Mike.”

  I swallowed hard. Why in the hell am I nervous? Why does this feel so… different?

  “Where?”

  She removed the robe and lifted the gown over her head, giving me full view
of her body. The only thing she had on was a pair of panties.

  “Fuck, Syd.”

  She had the most beautiful breasts I’d ever seen. I reached up and cupped them both, rubbing my thumbs over her tight nipples.

  “Oh my.”

  When she started to move her hips against my dick, I had to control the urge to flip her over and take her.

  “Syd, how far?” I asked, my voice cracking.

  “More. A little… more.”

  Sitting up, I took her nipple into my mouth, sucking on it while I played with the other.

  “Yes. Oh my, you have magic lips. And a huge—”

  When she stopped short of what she was going to say, I pulled away and looked up at her. “A huge what?”

  She blushed. “Zucchini?”

  Laughing, I replied, “Are you asking if that’s a zucchini in my pants?”

  “No?”

  Lifting my hips, I flashed her a wide grin. “Trust me, it’s bigger than a zucchini.”

  With a giggle, she rolled her hips against my cock and closed her eyes, eliciting a groan from both of us.

  Fuck. If she came, there was no way I’d make it home fast enough to give myself my own release.

  “Mike. Oh… yes.”

  I took her nipple back into my mouth as my hand slowly slid down her stomach. I placed one fingertip into the waistband of her panties and moved it slowly.

  “How far, baby? I need to know.”

  Before she had a chance to answer, her doorbell rang.

  We stilled.

  Sydney groaned and said, “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  Maggie Maye jumped off the bed and went running down the steps as Sydney rested her forehead against mine. We took deep breaths to calm ourselves.

  There was another ringing of the doorbell, and then a loud knock had her reaching for her gown and slipping it back on, followed by the robe.

  “I better get it.”

  “Yeah, you probably should.”

  As she walked away, I cursed inwardly. Whoever was at the door was going to get their ass arrested.

  Mike

  I walked down the steps as Maggie Maye jumped up at the door. Sydney pulled her belt tightly around her waist and peeked through the peephole. I sighed with relief knowing she didn’t just throw open her door to anyone.

  She unlocked the door and opened it. “Wesley? What are you doing here? I wasn’t expecting you.”

  My fists balled up as I watched him give her a once-over as she tried to calm Maggie Maye down.

  Prick. It wasn’t like I had any issue with the guy. He had gotten a few people off on a lot less than they deserved, but he had seemed like an okay guy. Except for how he was looking at Sydney right now.

  “I wanted to make sure you were okay. I was worried about you when you left. And with someone breaking into the museum tonight, I just wanted to make sure everything was okay.”

  Sure you were… dick.

  “You’re so sweet, but I’m fine. Mike told me about that. I’m glad nothing was taken. It would be a shame to lose any pieces of the town’s history.”

  Wesley sighed. “Me, too. I had something I wanted to talk to you about. Mind if I come in for a bit, maybe have a glass of wine?”

  What in the fuck? Is he crazy?

  “Hey, Wesley.”

  The sound of my voice caused him to look up at me. He frowned as I descended the stairs. Then he forced a smile. “Mike.”

  When he looked back at Sydney, she didn’t offer up any excuses why I was there or coming down from the second floor, most likely from her bedroom. I could still see the flush on her cheeks, and her kiss-swollen lips said exactly what we had just been doing.

  “I hadn’t realized you had an overnight guest. My apologies.”

  Sydney looked from me to Wesley. “Mike stopped by to help me research something, and he also wanted to make sure I was okay.”

  Wesley sent me a look that screamed he was not happy I was there.

  Friend only, my ass.

  “Well, I knew you had a rough day. Are you doing better?” Wesley asked, a touch of bitterness in his voice.

  “I am. Thanks for stopping by, but if you don’t mind, Mike and I were… ah… we were… um… making pizzas?”

  I chuckled to myself. God, I adored this woman.

  “It was great seeing you again, Wesley,” I said, walking up behind Sydney and placing my hands on her shoulders.

  “You, too. Have a good evening, Sydney. Let me know if you need anything.”

  “Thank you, Wesley. We’ll talk tomorrow?”

  “Of course. Good night.”

  The moment she shut the door, she turned and sagged against it. “I’m so sorry he interrupted.”

  I framed her face with my hands and kissed her. Her arms came up through mine and wrapped tightly around my neck.

  When we withdrew, I smiled. “I better let you get some rest. You’ve had a long, emotional day.”

  Her eyes filled with disappointment. I ran my fingertip down her cheek and along her jawline. “The first time I make you come, Syd, I want to be in a bed, with you naked, and my hands and mouth all over you.”

  She gulped before she spoke. “I want to be your sucker.”

  I frowned. “My sucker?”

  “No, no. That’s not what I meant. I was talking about, you know… like how many licks would it take to get to…”

  That made me raise an eyebrow.

  “I’m going to stop talking.”

  “Yeah, I think you probably should.”

  Giving me a sexy smile, she said, “But I wonder how many licks it would take—”

  I pressed my finger to her lips and shook my head. “Syd.”

  She nodded.

  With a wink, I removed my finger, kissed her lightly on the lips, and said, “I can’t wait to find out, lollypop.”

  With that, I reached down to pick up Maggie Maye.

  “Sleep good, sweetheart.”

  She sighed as though I’d just said the most romantic thing ever to her. I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and said, “Lock the door behind me.”

  “Okay.”

  “Night, Syd.”

  “Good night, Mike.”

  The next morning, I woke to Maggie Maye licking my face.

  “Good morning, Mags. You have to go potty?”

  She barked and bolted out of my room. I could hear her little nails as she ran down the steps and through the house to the back door. I couldn’t believe how quickly she took to house training. My little girl was a smart one.

  Yawning, I stood and stretched. Then the memory of last night hit me all over again, and I felt a rush of warmth race through my body. This was a new feeling—nothing I had ever experienced before with a woman. I didn’t want to think too much about it, but I knew for a fact there was something different about Sydney Burch. Something that had me thinking about her nearly nonstop.

  Maggie Maye barked, letting me know I was taking too long. I rushed down the stairs, forgetting to put a T-shirt on. Once I opened the back door, the pup ran around the yard, found her spot, and went pee. Then she took off after a bird, chased a butterfly, and stumbled over herself when she attempted to run by and grab a stick along her way.

  I laughed. “I’m going to call you Sydney Junior. Come on, girl, let’s get some breakfast.”

  As I made my way back into the house, I glanced at my laptop on the kitchen table. I’d lain in bed last night, bothered by the fact that the blog I had been on earlier had vanished.

  Maggie ate her kibbles as I mixed up a protein shake and drank it.

  The sound of the doorbell was unexpected, and I made my way through the house to answer it. I looked through the side window and saw Sydney standing there.

  There goes that warm fuzzy feeling in my chest again.

  She was holding two coffees and a little bag.

  When I opened the door, her smile faded.

  “Good morning, beautiful. To what do I owe
this honor?”

  Her eyes slowly raked over my body.

  “Oh my… my… Oh my… wow… You can really see them all. Like… they’re so bumpy. And all the same size.”

  I looked down at my stomach and laughed. “The same size?”

  When she looked up at me, she wore a horrified expression. “Oh my gosh! Do over!”

  She spun around and rushed down the steps of my porch only to turn around and come back up them again. This time, however, her eyes were fixed on her feet.

  “Don’t look at them. Don’t look at them,” she mumbled as she stopped in front of me, looking at my feet now. “Good morning! I brought you coffee and a treat for Mags.”

  “Wow, thank you.”

  Her eyes jerked up, and she focused on the porch ceiling.

  “Would you like to come in?” I asked, trying not to laugh, but loving that I had such an effect on her. If she only knew she had the same effect on me.

  “Oh, sure. Yes, thank you.”

  She held out the coffee while she lifted the other cup and proceeded to study the name Sydney written on it. I took the coffee and stepped to the side, allowing her room to walk in.

  Rushing by me quickly, she stepped into the living room and scanned the entire place.

  “It’s adorable in here.”

  “Adorable wasn’t what I was going for, but that’s my mother’s fault. Thank you for the compliment, though. Let’s head into the kitchen; I take a bit of cream with my coffee.”

  “Mmm-hmm, okay. Yep. Kitchen. I should go first, though, so I don’t stare at your back muscles.”

  Sydney slapped her hand over her mouth and closed her eyes for a moment.

  “I work hard for those muscles. Stare all you want.”

  She shook her head as she walked by, saying, “You’re not helping.”

  I started to follow her. Sydney turned around and held out her hand. Of course, I walked right into it. The feel of her hand on my chest drove me mad with desire. Her fingers flexed against my skin while her mouth parted slightly.

  “Wow.”

  “Syd.”

  “It’s so hard.”

  “Syd.”

  Her eyes lifted to meet my gaze. “You should probably put on a shirt before I do something crazy like hump your leg.”

  This time I couldn’t help it. I laughed. Taking her hand in mine, I turned her arm over and kissed her wrist.