VOLCANO NIGHTS

Josie Jordan

“After you.”

The deep male voice made me jump. Tall, with tousled blond hair and the cutest of smiles, he was one of the most gorgeous male specimens I had ever set eyes upon. And he’d reached the back of the queue a split second before me.

Heat rushed to my cheeks. “Thanks,” I said, wheeling my suitcase into position in front of him.

The airport rumbled with discontent. People were shouting and sobbing into their mobile phones and chasing after anyone in a uniform. Others had staked out trios of seats or patches of floor and appeared to have set up camp for the night. I shuddered at the very thought. Please let there be rooms. Nothing could be worse than trying to sleep in this noisy airless space. Yet the line was barely moving.

My feet ached. Told you so, Mick would have said. What kind of idiot travels in heels? I wished I’d worn pumps or even sneakers. Every few minutes I nudged my suitcase across the tiles with my toe, and I was aware of the blond guy doing the same thing behind me. His aftershave was a pleasant distraction. Clean and fresh, it reminded me of an ocean breeze. I closed my eyes and breathed it in. I might have been smelling a real ocean breeze right about now if this hadn’t happened.

My turn finally came. “I need a room for tonight,” I said.

The assistant tapped her keyboard. “You very lucky, madam. One room left.”

Oh no. My tension returned in an instant. Reluctantly I turned to the guy behind me. “You were here first.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it,” he said. He glanced left but the assistant at that desk was already erecting a NO VACANCIES sign.

“The room’s yours,” I insisted.

“If you don’t want it, I’ll have it!” someone shouted from farther back in the queue.

At this, the blond guy stepped forward. “Look, take it quick, before someone else does.”

He was so close I could feel the heat radiate from his body. I shook my head.

With a frown, he reached into his pocket. “We’ll discuss this afterward.”

I remained there as he handed his credit card to the assistant. I had nowhere else to go, after all. Feeling light-headed, I gripped the counter. What a disaster. In fact my whole week had been a disaster from start to finish. What was I going to do now?

He was staring at me. “Are you okay?”

I nodded weakly. My airline meal had been inedible, and I hadn’t eaten anything for hours.

Stuffing his wallet back into his pocket, he put an arm around my shoulders and steered me to a nearby seat. “Look, the room’s yours,” he said.

He was so gorgeous, I was afraid to meet his eyes. I shook my head.

He shrugged. “Let’s share it then,” he said. “You take the bed, I’ll have the floor. It’s got to be better than sleeping here.”

Finally, I let myself meet his eyes. Something fluttered in my stomach and I quickly looked away. “What do you reckon?” he asked.

Flustered, I weighed up the situation. He was a fellow Brit and he seemed harmless enough. “Um, I guess.”

His smile was dazzling. He put out his hand. “I’m Cameron.”

“Monica.”

My cheeks burned as he clasped my fingers.

“You look like you could use a coffee,” he said.

“I’d love one. A tall latte, please.” I fumbled for coins but he’d gone.

He pressed a warm paper cup to my palm. I lowered my face to breathe in the acrid aroma, and my head began to clear. Between sips, I studied him. Mick would be spitting mad by now, and I’d be scared to say a word in case he exploded. But Cameron just sat there with his hands wrapped around his cup and his long legs outstretched, seeming completely relaxed.

“Are you going on holiday, then?” he asked when he noticed me looking at him.

I sighed. “Not anymore. My plane wasn’t even supposed to land here.”

“Yeah, tell me about it. Who’d have thought a distant volcano could cause such havoc?”

A plane scraped up overhead.

“Hey, how come they get to fly?” I said.

“Must be going westbound,” Cameron said. “But I’m not complaining. I get to share a room with a gorgeous brunette.” His smile was playful—suggestive even.

And I realized I liked what it suggested. I liked it a lot. “How would your girlfriend feel about you sharing a room with a strange woman?” I asked before I could help myself.

He chuckled. “You don’t look too strange to me. Anyway, I’m single. You?”

Damn. I should have seen that one coming. “Um, it’s complicated.”

“Interesting answer.”

I drained my coffee, avoiding his gaze.

He stood up. “Let’s get out of here.”

I reached for my suitcase, but Cameron’s warm fingers descended over mine. “I’ve got it.”

Mick always hassled me for not being able to travel light. You really need six pairs of shoes and eight dresses? Fine, but don’t ask me to carry them! I’d managed to limit myself to a single case this time, but it was a heavy one.

I rushed after him. “Want me to take your backpack then?”

He threw an amused look over his shoulder. “I think I’ll manage.”

Our hotel was right outside the terminal. An angry crowd surged around it.

“Stick close,” Cameron said and pushed forward.

“Room twenty-six,” snapped the harassed-looking receptionist when Cameron waved our reservation papers.

He swept open the door and hung back, gesturing for me to enter first. He had nice manners, that was for sure. I went in, looking for an extra bed, a sofa-bed even, but there was only a huge king. Heaped with pillows, it looked soft, clean and inviting. Cameron kicked off his shoes and collapsed onto it.

“I might jump under the shower,” I said, feeling shy.

I stood there for a while with hot water blasting my head and shoulders and my energy seemed to return.

“My turn,” Cameron said when I emerged. “Then we’ll go get dinner, yeah?”

I felt a little surge of happiness. With Cameron by my side, being stuck here didn’t seem to matter so much anymore. I lay back on the bed to wait.

Twenty minutes later, we were sipping wine in the hotel restaurant. The chaos continued in the lobby. Through the glass, I watched a security guard attempt to disperse the crowd.

“We were lucky to get the room,” I said.

“Yeah, I know,” Cameron said.

I checked my watch. “I should have been in Singapore by now. Never mind. I guess we just have to make the most of it.”

“And how do you suggest we do that?”

I gave him a sharp look. Was he flirting with me?

A waiter appeared.

“Saved by the bell,” Cameron said with a wolfish smile that did strange things to my stomach. “But don’t worry. We’ll come back to that question later.”

Definitely flirting.

The conversation moved to safer territory while we ate. Cameron seemed like a lovely guy. I was stunned to learn he lived in London, just a few suburbs away from me.

“Small world, hey?” he said.

As we tucked into dessert, I recalled my parting shot at Mick. If you can play around, so can I. Not that I’d intended to, of course, but Mick wasn’t to know that. Was this what I needed to restore the balance? A no-strings night with a sexy stranger?

Cameron leaned back in his seat. “Want to tell me about your complicated situation?”

Something about him invited intimacy. We were surrounded by people, but somehow it seemed as though there were only the two of us left on the planet.

“I came home from work early one day and caught my boyfriend in bed with someone else,” I said.

Cameron’s green eyes were warm and encouraging. He appeared to have turned off the flirting for now.

“It was a girl he worked with.”

I wasn’t about to give him the gory details. They hadn’t heard me come in and I’d caught them fully at it. She was trussed up in black lacy suspenders, on her hands and knees on our bed, with Mick pumping his cock into her from behind. He pulled out of her in horror when I entered the room, and I saw my small vibrator, no less, buzzing away in her ass.

I took a large gulp of wine, trying to dispel the scene from my mind. “He begged me to give him a second chance. He swears he’s learned his lesson.”

“And you believe him?” Cameron leaned across to top up my wine.

“I don’t know.”

He’d said we’d been together for so long that he’d just got curious. But I didn’t know if I could forgive him.

“Do you still love him?” Cameron asked.

My throat closed up and I stared at the table. If you’d asked me that question just a few hours ago, I’d have said yes in an instant. But I could no longer summon up the same conviction.

Cameron gave me a look I couldn’t read. “So you’re back together?” he asked.

“Not exactly. I told him I need some space. I was going to visit a friend in Sydney.”

Cameron smiled. “You can’t get much farther than that.”

Our eyes met.

“What are you thinking?” he asked.

“That I’m going to bed with you in a minute,” I blurted before I could help myself. To hide my embarrassment, I drained my wine.

His smile widened. “I keep thinking about that too.” His eyes sparkled.

My stomach fluttered again and I toyed with my empty glass. He touched my hand, nearly making me leap out of my skin.

“Coffee?”

“Um, yes please.”

“Hey, you’re cold.”

“No, I’m fine. It’s just the air-conditioning.”

But he pulled his sweater over his head. “Here, have this.”

“No, really…”

Before I could stop him, he draped it around my shoulders. It was still warm from his body heat. I caught the faint smell of wash powder mingled with his aftershave.

“Thanks,” I said, hugging it closer.

One night, I thought to myself as I watched him summon a waiter. I could allow myself one night to help me make a decision about Mick. In the back of my mind, though, I wondered if my decision was already made.

“How long have you been single?” I asked, breathing in the smell of him from his sweater.

“Mm…about a year,” he said.

“You mean you just had dates, casual stuff…”

“No. No one.” He must have seen my surprise. “I was busy with work, I guess.”

I swallowed as I took this in. I was sharing a bed with a hunky hot-blooded male who quite possibly hadn’t had sex for a year.

“Plus I was kind of getting over someone,” he added.

“And you’re over her?”

“Oh yeah.”

I drank the last of my coffee.

“Ready for bed?” he asked softly.

Shakily, I stood up. “Let’s go.”

The elevator clunked shut behind us. Cameron shifted closer until his lips were just inches from mine. “I’ll never sleep after all that coffee,” he said.

My stomach flipped. I wanted him so bad. But I needed him to know where he stood. I cleared my throat. “You know that expression ‘What happens in Vegas’?”

His eyes searched mine. “You mean whatever happens in our room, stays in our room?”

“Yeah. Do you think that’s…feasible?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “But if that’s what you want, let’s find out.”

“See, I’m a little mixed up right now and I don’t want to mess you about.”

“Fine by me.” He brushed his lips to mine.

My legs nearly crumpled.

“Sorry,” he said. “I couldn’t wait any longer.” There was laughter in his eyes. Desire too.

The elevator pinged and the doors opened. He grabbed my hand and whisked me down the corridor.

We practically fell into the room. This time there was no holding back. His mouth pressed hot against mine. I slid my fingers under his shirt, over his rib cage and across his broad chest. He broke the kiss to pull his shirt over his head.

“Look,” he said. “We’ve just met and I don’t want you to feel…”

“Just shut up and kiss me,” I said.

The kiss got heated. I reached down, unbuckled his belt and pulled his jeans off. And then his boxer shorts, too. A soft laugh from him, but he didn’t stop me. Instead he pulled off his shoes and socks and stepped out of his jeans and stood there before me wearing just a smile.

I stepped back to take a long look at him. Here was a guy who was at home in his own skin, and no wonder. I could hardly believe he was mine for the night.

“I want you,” I said.

“You’ve got me. I’m all yours.”

Pushing him down onto the carpet, I climbed on top of him, pulled my dress over my head and lowered myself against his chest, relishing the warmth of his skin against mine. Through the thin lace of my panties I could feel the heat of his erection.

“Look,” he said. “Just say if you…”

I pressed my lips to his to shut him up and pushed my tongue into his mouth to show him how I was feeling. His tongue pushed back into my mouth in return and I sucked it hard. His fingers traced a line between my breasts, burning my skin. When they crept inside my bra, I shivered and arched my back. He found my nipples and circled them teasingly, before craning his head upward to fasten his lips to their firm tips. I felt his hard-on twitch beneath me.

“You are so beautiful,” he whispered.

Still wearing my panties, I rubbed myself up and down against his erection. His fingers brushed down over my belly, into my panties, and found my clit. I inhaled sharply. I lifted myself a little to give him room and he pushed his middle finger into me. Desperate for more, I bucked my hips. His other hand cupped my chin. I took his forefinger into my mouth and sucked it hard as he fucked me with his fingers.

“I want you inside me right now,” I said.

I wasn’t normally like this. Sex with Mick had generally been an in-bed, lights-off affair, with Mick on top. And if he was feeling in a particularly generous mood, he might touch me when we were done as an afterthought. But something about Cameron made me lose all my inhibitions.

An awful thought occurred to me. “Oh crap!” I said. “Have you got condoms? Tell me you have.”

Cameron reached across the carpet to his suitcase; I breathed out in relief when he pulled out a small box. I tipped a condom out and ripped into the foil.

“Hey, slow down,” he said with a laugh. “We’ve got all night.”

I grabbed his head with both hands and brought his mouth back to mine. Already I sensed that one night wouldn’t be nearly enough. I wanted to make the most of every minute. While I kissed him, I groped about beneath us and stuffed the condom onto his cock.

“Sorry,” I said. “But I can’t wait.”

With that, I pulled the gusset of my panties to the side and plunged myself down on him.

“Oh wow…” I gasped. He felt amazing.

He clasped my fingers in his, supporting my weight while I rocked myself back and forth over him. My knees were getting some serious carpet burn but I was too turned on to care.

He must have sensed I wanted it harder, because he flipped me over onto my back and pushed my knees up to my tits. I groaned as he sank his cock back into me. He smiled down at me as he fucked me like that. I wrapped my thighs around his hips and cupped my palms to his smooth buttocks, pulling him deeper.

Then I noticed the floor-to-ceiling mirror in front of the bed. I pointed. “I want to watch you fuck me.”

I slid myself out from underneath him and bent over the side of the bed, my knees on the carpet and my breasts squashed to the mattress.

He moved into position behind me. “Like this?” he asked.

We watched ourselves in the mirror as he plunged his cock back in. He grasped my hips and fucked me with short, fast thrusts. Excitement built up in my lower belly. I reached down to touch myself, watching his face as he pounded away. I arched my back and pressed my ass backward to meet each of his thrusts, sliding my finger from side to side over my clit and all the while enjoying the view in the mirror.

Before long I found myself on the point of no return. I stilled my finger, and let the next few thrusts of his cock tip me over the edge. “That’s it!” I gasped. I buried my face in the sheets and cried out.

Cameron made a few final thrusts and collapsed on top of me, his chest heaving and wet with sweat. He stroked my hair as we got our breath back.

“I need another shower,” he murmured.

“I might join you,” I said.

“I was hoping you’d say that.”

Neither of us got much sleep that night. I just couldn’t get enough of him, and he certainly didn’t complain about the way I kept jumping on him.

When I woke the next morning, Cameron was still asleep and life seemed complicated once again. Gently, I extricated myself from his embrace. I let myself take one last look at him. Then I tore my eyes away. It was better to make a clean break. Quietly, I dressed and gathered my things, and crept out of the room without daring to look back.

My heart felt like it was breaking as I went down in the elevator. The double doors of the hotel slid open, but I simply couldn’t bring myself to go through them. Instead I veered into the lobby coffee shop and stood there at the counter with my head reeling. “Tall latte, please.”

Mick would be happy about my early return, but would I be happy to see him? I realized the answer was no. Cameron had reminded me how to feel good about myself.

Then I saw the departure screen and my heart sang. It was a sign; it had to be. “Actually,” I called, “Make that two. And two croissants.”

After a quick stop at the front desk, I hurried back to our room. “I got us breakfast.”

Cameron opened his eyes and yawned. “Great.”

“All flights are grounded now, so I booked our room for another night. Is that okay with you?”

“It’s more than okay. Come here.” He lifted the sheet, and I saw he was still naked under it.

It was too early to say if he and I had a future together. But a distant volcano seemed to be giving us a helping hand.