Beacher leaned his six foot plus frame against a tall
oak tree in the shadows and drank in the commotion
happening around the huge bonfire at the edge of the lake.
He'd been coming here for years to partake in the good
times leading up to the annual July fourth celebration,
drinking until he couldn't remember the festivities the next
morning. Tonight, he listened and watched as shapely
bodies gyrated around the tall flames to a variety of music.
Since returning home from Afghanistan, Beach
found he couldn't socialize as he used to and that seriously
pissed him off. In the past he'd work like a dog all week
from sun up to sun down knowing the weekend would offer
good friends, good beer, plenty of fun and maybe even a
warm body to keep him company during the night. Now he
could barely tolerate being around people at all.
Reaching up he rubbed the scar running along his
forehead and down the left side of his face. The scar itself
didn't bother him, or how he got it, not really. He could
have done without the blast that tore and seared his flesh,
but he lived and so he didn't complain about the leftover
reminders, at least the physical ones anyway.
Eternal Flame
by Robin Leigh Miller
5
The mental crap he could do without. Not dreams or
post traumatic stress syndrome or anything like that for
him. No, the jar to his brain apparently rewired or jolted
lose some sort of hidden, buried, unknown, fuck, he didn't
know for sure,
anyway. Now, when he got too close to people he got a
weird buzzing noise in his head and picked up on their
feelings. Not just knew what they were experiencing, but
actually felt their emotions as his own, and that sucked big
time.
Stick him in the middle of a group and he'd get so
dizzy from the onslaught of emotion his stomach would
cramp. One second he'd want to pound his fist into a
stranger's face and the next he'd want to cry over a stupid
comment made to insult another. His moods swung so fast
he made a woman suffering with PMS seem rational.
So, instead of joining the fun, drinking a beer and
dancing around the fire like he wanted to, he could only
observe. Right now he observed the sexy Flanna Proctor
with her wild red hair and quick temper trying to push off
the attentions of some rich playboy who apparently decided
she would be his for the night. Dumb ass preppy apparently
didn't know her very well or he'd have stepped off by now.
Flanna, or Lanna as she preferred to go by, didn't
take shit off anyone. Beach smiled fondly as he
talent. That's what the shrink called it
Eternal Flame
by Robin Leigh Miller
6
remembered the first time he'd seen her, in kindergarten,
Mrs. Foust's class. The very first day of school a little boy
decided he wanted the ball she'd picked out to play with.
After about one minute of arguing, Lanna glanced around
the room to make sure the teacher wouldn't see and kicked
the kid's feet out from under him with one swift swing of
her leg. As the child lay on his back looking stunned,
Lanna snatched the ball out of his hands, gave a sassy flip
of her long red hair and proceeded to play.
Yep, Beach fell in love with her that day. She didn't
whine or tell the teacher, Lanna handled the problem on her
own and that ended that. So went the rest of her school
years. Kids either loved or hated her. Get on her bad side
and she'd give you a
good side and she'd walk through the fires of hell for you.
Beach admired the hell out that kind of woman.
Her qualities were stellar but her looks were sinful
enough to make even the devil sigh. Standing at barely five
foot tall she was packaged perfectly with pert breasts that
would fill a man's hand nicely and an ass that could bring
that same man to his knees just watching it sway as she
sashayed away. Fiery red hair cascaded down to the middle
of her back. Even now Beach's hands itched to sink his
fingers into her silky locks. And when she looked at you,
God have mercy, her bright green eyes sparkled like jewels
real reason to hate her. Stand on her
Eternal Flame
by Robin Leigh Miller
7
loaded with playful mischief that could get a man locked up
for life bending to her whim.
Even her pink bubble gum lips were mesmerizing
the way they formed a pretty bow on the perfect present.
But, what he really found sexy, what made his cock twitch
to life even as he stood in the shadows, was the tattoo
peeking out above the waist band of her low rise shorts on
her left hip. The head of a phoenix shrieked with its beak
open and high on the inside of her tender thigh were its
flaming tail feathers. Beach wanted desperately to see
exactly where the rest of the tail wound.
"Hey, Snyder," one of his old buddies shouted. "Go
talk to her instead of lurking in the dark like a spy."
"She's busy," he retorted taking a swig from his
long neck beer bottle.
"She won't be for long. I give that stupid fuck
another five minutes, tops, before he finds himself on his
back staring at the stars wondering what the hell
happened."
Beach squinted against the glare of the fire. Lanna
had her finger in the preppys face chewing him a new ass.
Normally, Beach would be laughing, amused by her anger
but, something didn't seem right about the guy. Not sure
what was icing his nerves, Beach kept a close watch.
Eternal Flame
by Robin Leigh Miller
8
Calling on his old habits of surveying the
surrounding area for danger, Beach quickly fingered
preppy's buddies. Two had their heads together and were
dropping something into a plastic cup. Fuck, drugs. Beach
hated drugs. When they handed preppy the cup and he
offered it to Lanna, raw, mean anger flared to life in the pit
of his gut. Beach jerked away from the tree and ignoring
the ambush of emotions he'd be hit with, headed toward
Lanna.
When she took the cup and promptly dumped it on
preppies head, Beach halted his movement and waited.
"Good girl," he mumbled to himself.
from someone you don't know.
that to his sister for years.
Lanna stormed off through the crowd and
disappeared. Torn between following her and making sure
preppy didn't follow her, Beach fisted his hands and
planted his feet to the ground. She wouldn't go far. He'd be
able to catch up with her. Preppy on the other hand, he
didn't trust. As long as he had the man in sight, Lanna
would be safe.
Preppy and his buddies huddled together, no doubt
scoping out another victim. Taking a deep breath, Beach
strolled to his buddy and thanked God the emotions
pounding at him were good.
Never accept a drinkHe'd heard his father preach
Eternal Flame
by Robin Leigh Miller
9
"Hey, put the word out," Beach told his old friend.
"That son-of-a-bitch just tried to drug Lanna's drink. She
didn't fall for it so I suspect he'll be looking for another
willing victim. Tell the girls."
After a string of foul curses his friend nodded and
began spreading the information.
High-tailing it out of the area, Beach cut through the
woods and toward the parking area, his long legs eating up
the ground in no time flat. As he neared the clearing where
everyone parked he heard the distinct sound of glass
breaking and metal crunching.
Keeping in the dark shadows of the trees, he
followed the sound and came to a surprised halt. There, in
the darkness yet illuminated by the full moon, Lanna held a
tree branch and swung it like a pro at a brand-spanking-new
silver Lexus. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out
who the car belonged to.
Beach leaned up against a tree and quietly watched
her turn the once pristine car into a mangled piece of
garbage.
"You think you can manhandle me," Lanna bitched
as she smashed the taillight out. "You think you can tell me
what I'm going to do for you?" Smash, the back window bit
the dust. "I'll show you what I can do for you." Lifting the
Eternal Flame
by Robin Leigh Miller
10
large, heavy branch over her head, Lanna crashed it down
on the trunk lid.
Beach winced. Damn but that woman had some
power in her little arms. The trunk lid caved like a piece of
tin foil. Maybe they didn't make cars as well as they used
to. Lanna demolished every square inch of the car. Even the
side mirrors were hanging like limp, wilted leaves on a
dead plant.
When she reached into her pocket and pulled out a
knife Beach cocked an eyebrow and whistled as she
stabbed the front tire. Lanna jerked around holding the tree
branch out for protection. Beach stepped out of the
shadows and clapped.
"Nice work," he said smiling.
"Beach," she sighed as her shoulders sagged and the
branch dropped out of her hand. "What the hell are you
doing sneaking up on people?"
"Watching the show. Mind telling me what
warranted this sort of effort?" As if he didn't know, but the
chance to see her fly into a rage amused him.
Lanna straightened her shoulders and looked down
her pixie nose. "Just a little payback."
"Payback, hunh?" Beach turned his head and swore
he heard voices coming through the woods. If word got out
already about preppy's drugs the asshole would have been
Eternal Flame
by Robin Leigh Miller
11
chased away from the party. "I wonder what kind of
payback you'll get when he comes out of these trees and
sees you standing next to his car?"
A flash of fear struck like lightening in her eyes and
then disappeared. He didn't like seeing that. In fact, he
couldn't remember ever seeing fear in her eyes before.
Strolling toward the tree he'd parked his motorcycle
beneath, he swung his leg over the machine and folded his
arms. Lanna looked around nervously.
"Get on," he told her.
"What?" Lanna twisted her fingers and chewed on
her full bottom lip.
Beach suppressed a groan wanting to chew on that
lip himself. "You can either wait around for the bastard to
show up or you can get the hell out of here with me. Your
choice." Hoping she'd make the right decision, Beach
started his bike.
Lanna ran toward him, her unbound breasts
bouncing beneath her bikini top. Lust struck hard in his gut,
coiled around his balls and drew them up tight against his
body. Beneath his zipper his cock thickened. As she swung
her leg over the seat and pressed her body against his back
another lightning bolt of lust hit, traveling throughout his
nervous system and damn near blowing his control.
Eternal Flame
by Robin Leigh Miller
12
Clenching his jaw and bunching his muscles, Beach
took off hoping the cool night air would clear his mind and
cool his boiling blood. Slim chance in hell. Lanna had her
breasts pressed hard against his back and her arms wrapped
tight around his middle mere inches from his throbbing
cock. If she so much as allowed her fingers to dip ever so
slightly, she'd get the surprise of her life.
A few miles down the road Beach realized she'd
laid her cheek against his back and scooted further forward.
In all the years they'd known each other he'd never once
seen her clingy, not even with the men she dated, always
keeping them at arm's length. Yet, here on his bike she'd
planted herself right on top of him.
"Where are we going?" she shouted over the roar of
his bike.
"Where do you want to go?" He expected to take
her home but if she had other ideas he'd be game.
"I wanna go swimming," she told him squeezing his
abdomen.
That familiar buzz started in his head only it didn't
overcome him, merely tickled around the edges of his
awareness. Frowning, Beach realized they'd been riding for
about fifteen minutes and he was only now feeling anything
from her. Odd. Good, but odd. Lanna wanted fun, that's
what he felt. Fun and laughter.
Eternal Flame
by Robin Leigh Miller
13
Beach smiled. He'd give her fun. Taking a dirt road
that cut through the woods, he headed toward a part of the
lake no one knew about. A camp he'd set up months ago for
when he needed to escape the brutal attack of emotions. A
part of the lake his father owned and passed along to him
before his death two years ago. Beach never brought
anyone to his hiding spot, why he chose to now he couldn't
be sure. Not that it really mattered. This was Lanna and she
was
Lanna dug her chin into his back and peered over
his shoulder. Beach searched his feelings for any sense of
fear on her part. Happiness, a faint tingling of happiness
spread through his body. Strange how hard he had to dig to
find it.
As the road turned into a two tire path, Lanna
squealed in delight and bounced on the seat behind him.
Laughter bubbled up and out, Beach couldn't stop it. His
little hell fire was excited and it made him excited. Not that
she made him feel it, the excitement was his own. Again,
odd.
Ten minutes later they pulled into the wide, open
clearing. His camper sat off to the side near the tree line,
his campfire ring in the center of the clearing. Chairs were
tucked up under the awning and his swim trunks hung off a
low tree limb. Inside the camper he had a stocked fridge
always an exception.
Eternal Flame
by Robin Leigh Miller
14
and overflowing cupboards, not to mention an incredibly
comfortable bed.
Stopping the bike, he shut it off and also closed
down any thoughts of sharing said bed with Lanna. She'd
never once shown anything other than friendship towards
him and he'd be damned if he'd ruin that.
Lanna jumped off the bike, swung her arms out to
her sides and spun in a circle. "This is magnificent."
Moonbeams gave her the appearance of glowing as she
circled the camp, laughing and giggling. "How long have
you been staying here?"
"A few months," Beach laughed. For some reason
her approval meant the world to him when other's approval
never meant squat before. Then again, Lanna had that
affect on people. He'd seen the grumpiest of old men smile
when she paid them even the slightest attention.
"It's peaceful, isolated, and it suits you," Lanna
decided spying the lake. With a high pitched squeal she
wiggled out of her shorts and ran toward the water.
Beach had to lean against the bike to keep from
staggering. Sweet God Almighty he'd never seen anything
sexier. Her tight round ass wiggled and swayed as she
worked her shorts down over her hips. For a split second,
wiping his hand over his face, he thought she didn't have
anything on under those shorts.
Eternal Flame
by Robin Leigh Miller
15
The water splashed and she shrieked. "Come on in,
Beach. Let's swim."
Oh, like that would be a good idea. Currently
sporting the boner of the century, the thought of putting on
his swim trunks made him cringe. "I don't think so, Lanna.
You go ahead." Beach combed his fingers through his
raven black hair. "What the
muttered, trying to figure the best way out of this situation.
He wanted her. Fuck, for the last three years or so
he wanted her. A man would have to be considered walking
dead if he didn't want Lanna. Pacing in a circle around his
bike, Beach ticked off all the reasons he shouldn't jump in
the lake and take advantage of the situation.
First of all; this asinine empathic thing he had going
on. Sure, he didn't really feel anything from her on the ride
over, nothing to concern himself with anyway, but what if
she went into one of her adorable rages while he stood next
to her? Other people's anger hit him like a ton of bricks.
Lanna getting angry could cause a serious problem. What if
he couldn't control his response?
Second; she didn't need to be saddled with a freak
like him. Not that she would want anything long term, but
still, Lanna loved life. She should be free to be herself and
not have to sensor her emotions around anyone. Hell,
hell was I thinking," he
Eternal Flame
by Robin Leigh Miller
16
Lanna tamping down her emotions would be like locking
her in gilded cage just to look at her. It wouldn't be right.
Third; and probably the most important to him, it
could ruin their friendship. Beach preferred having her in
his life as a friend to not having her at all. Hell, she'd been
a part of his life since kindergarten.
Frustrated, Beach kicked at a stone. He remembered
being hunkered down in the dark under a hail of bullets
thinking if he made it through this war alive he'd come
home and ask Lanna out. Tramping around in a country
you weren't wanted made a man think about his life. Beach
could only think about Lanna.
Then it happened. The mortar exploded and his
entire life changed. He didn't come home the same man.
While others came home with missing limbs, or dead, he
came home with a rewired brain that forced him to stay
away from the people he cared about the most.
"You've changed."
Lanna's voice drifted through the darkness and
wrapped around him like a silk scarf, all soft and sexy
caressing his raw nerves. Turning, he found her standing
only a few feet away every bit the vision of erotic sexual
promise he'd pictured back in Afghanistan. Her wet hair
hung in long strands to the middle of her back. Her emerald
eyes glimmered in the dim moonlight.
Eternal Flame
by Robin Leigh Miller
17
Beach frowned. A fair skinned woman, she seemed
to glow beneath the moonlight. If he didn't know better he'd
swear she stood beneath a black light. Even her hair
shimmered as if flames crackled around her head. Too
much beer, he decided, and his raging hormones.
"War does that to a person," he told her, opening the
side pouch on his bike and pulling out a dry towel. "Here."
Beach held out the towel and she closed the distance
between them.
When Lanna touched the material an electrical
charge shot through his arm and crashed into his heart. Not
an unpleasant feeling. More warm and soothing than
painful. Still, he jerked back and gasped.
"Sorry," Lanna said with a smile. "I tend to do that
to people." Dabbing at her hair she looked toward the ring
of stones where he burned his camp fires. "Would you
mind starting a fire?"
"Sure." They didn't really need a fire to stay warm,
not in July anyway, but if Lanna wanted a fire he'd build
one. It would give him something to do other than stand
there gawking at her magnificent tattoo.
Turning his back, Beach headed for the wood pile
and quietly moaned in frustrated desire. The tail of her
Phoenix tattoo curled around her hip, beneath her bikini
bottoms and then wrapped around the inside of her thigh,
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by Robin Leigh Miller
18
its tail flames tickling very close to where Beach knew
heaven awaited. Talk about sexy as hell. It did nothing to
cool the raging erection threatening to drive him insane. In
fact, walking became damn near impossible.
"Were you planning on staying here tonight?"
Lanna asked dragging a few chairs up next to the fire ring.
"Uh, yeah, I was." Maybe he could excuse himself,
trudge out further into the woods and relieve this God
awful lust burning through his system. He didn't normally
do that, but right now he really didn't think he had a choice.
His blood felt like fire raging through his veins and his
cock threatened to burst free from its confines any moment.
"Mind if I stay with you tonight?"
Eternal Flame
by Robin Leigh Miller
19
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