The tent was nearly empty except for one man standing in the centre of the ring. She stepped forward with Daniel as the man levitated off the sawdust floor of the centre of the ring, and she realised that he was holding on to some sort of gymnastic rings. ‘Probably Jake,’ Daniel said, not bothering to lower his voice. Kris stepped forward to get a better view.
‘Probably?’
‘They’re a twin act, Jake and Josh. But Josh tends to spend his evenings in more carnal pursuits.’ ‘Probably Jake’ was contorting himself into some pretty impressive shapes, every muscle in his arms bulging as he suspended himself gracefully above the ring floor. He moved through the poses slowly and with control, and the surreal performance in the empty circus tent made Kris feel like she had stepped into a dream.
‘It’s amazing.’
‘I think they’re Family. You know, get born into the circus, trained to balance on the high wire as soon as you can walk, sort of thing.’ The act apparently ended, and ‘Probably Jake’ lowered himself gently to the ground and took a bow toward the centre of the ring, then toward the seats before straightening and turning to his impromptu audience.
‘I’m going to go out and find Josh before he gets himself into too much trouble again. Goodnight, Danny,’ he said. He turned and gave a bowing sort of greeting to Kris, then left through the same flap they’d come in.
Daniel put an arm around her waist and guided her to a small, protected cove beneath the risers. ‘This is where me and the crew stand to watch some nights. It’s got a great view of the action,’ he said, speaking low and right into her ear. The vibrations of his voice sent shivers down Kris’ spine, and she leaned into him.
‘Like your own secret clubhouse. Can I see the stage?’
‘The ring. Come on.’ He stepped forward and offered his hand, leading her out from under the risers and forward, over the raised ring that captured the performance area and into the centre of the ring itself. He let go of her and she moved around the ring slowly, taking in the amazing backdrop from behind which the performers would emerge, the lights and rigging above her, and the rows and rows of empty seats. They seemed focused on her, expectant, and she had a powerful urge to do something magnificent to fill them.
‘It’s amazing,’ she said. He sat on the raised platform that went almost all the way around and she went to him. That hot burn deep in her belly was growing hotter than she could stand, and she wanted to thank him properly for showing her something so marvellous.
Daniel pulled her close to him and swept his tongue over her lips, and she opened for him, allowing his kiss to pass deep inside her and tease at the fires in her belly. She could almost hear the echoes of cheering and applause, and instead of driving her to hide, it made her want to give all the more. She pressed forward, easing over him until Daniel was lying on his back on the two-foot-wide platform and she was lying over him, a smile curving her lips. His hands rested on her waist, and she kissed him again, letting her body press down into his.
‘This place is really incredible,’ she whispered to him. He smiled and stroked his hands up and down her sides.
‘And I get to build it from scratch all over again every time we move. How cool is my job, now?’
‘Very damn cool,’ she said with a laugh that surprised her. She caught his bottom lip between her teeth and bit down gently, and he moaned and pressed his hips up into hers, showing her the extent of his enjoyment of the moment. ‘So where would you bring someone backstage if you wanted to have sex with them?’ she asked into his ear.
He shuddered beneath her before he answered. ‘Oh, I wouldn’t do it backstage. Backstage is a royal mess, with make-up and costumes and props all over the place. Someone would probably end up with a juggling pin up their ass or something,’ he joked. ‘Most people would just go back to their trailer or a sleeper car or something and that would be that. But if I wanted to do it in the tent, I’d do it right here in the middle of the ring.’
She laughed lightly and nipped at his neck. ‘Would you?’
‘Oh, sure. The bigwigs who would be really pissed are all dead asleep this time of night, and it’s great in here. Sheltered. Clean.’ He tucked his hands behind his head and watched her.
‘What if someone walks in?’
‘What if they do? Trailers don’t exactly have soundproof walls. I think we’ve all pretty much heard everyone else going at it at one time or another, so no one’s really shy about sex around here. Unless you’re shy, of course.’
Kris rolled her eyes, but the desire welling up in her – inspired as much by this place as by the sexy and surprising man she found herself with – was impossible to ignore. She could insist they get into his truck and find someplace quiet to go neck, but …
She leaned forward and kissed him again, letting some of the heat inside her out to sear him, too. Then she stood up and wiggled out of her tight top, letting it and her bra drop into the ring. She leaned forward again, and he sat up halfway to meet her, his hands finding her breasts and caressing them gently, kneading and squeezing and leaving her wanting so much more. His mouth moved over her throat and she moaned and pressed into him.
He sat up and pulled her to him, and suddenly she was straddling his lap and his mouth joined his hands on her breasts. ‘Harder,’ she gasped, and he bit down hard enough on one nipple to make her want to come right then and there. She must have made a sound that he approved of, because he immediately moved over to bite down on her other nipple, too. She gasped as the pleasure washed over her, a hot coal bursting into flame and warming her whole body with pleasure. She gripped him tightly, pulling his head toward her body and fisting the back of his shirt with her other hand.
Then he tipped his head back and smiled at her, and the sweet boyishness of that expression made her kiss him on the forehead, the cheeks, the eyes, and finally on the lips. She let the tenderness and pleasure she felt spill out of her into that kiss, her tongue caressing and sweeping through his lips. She teased and tasted him, and let him to do the same to her, embracing the power of a mere kiss to both satisfy and enflame. He was gentle and patient, stoking her fires and using his hands to tease the naked flesh of her back and ribs.
‘I bet you take all the girls to kiss under the big top,’ she teased, and by the way he laughed, she’d caught him by surprise. She sucked his lip into her mouth and kissed him again before he was forced to reply, not really wanting to know if she were the first or the fiftieth woman he’d brought here. Tonight, the magic of the tent belonged to her, and she wrapped herself in it like a warm cloak.
Her fingers found the buttons to the front of his shirt, and she didn’t break the kiss as she started to unfasten them, letting the slow rhythm of the buttons be their own sort of tease. She let her fingers dance over his skin more than they strictly had to, took her time with each button, and teased a little in between, but soon she ran out of buttons to unfasten, and his shirt came down over his shoulders and away.
He was tanned and healthy, his muscles well cut and gorgeous under his shirt. It had also hid a tribal tattoo that went across one pec and partially up over his shoulder. She turned her head to examine it, letting his lips fall to her neck to continue their exploring there as she traced her fingers over the edges of the design.
‘This is beautiful,’ she said, surprised by the art.
‘I found my tribe when I came here,’ he said, placing kisses along her collarbone in-between his words. ‘These people are my family. We’re nomads, but we stick together, take care of each other. That’s rare nowadays.’
‘I can see the appeal,’ she said, leaning forward to let her tongue trace the path that her fingers had just taken. He moaned as her tongue traced the lines on his hot skin, and when she got to the top of his shoulder and bit down, his arms tightened around her and he gasped.
This time it was him moving over her as he pushed her gently back, lying her down on the narrow wooden platform. He kissed his way down her body