by K. A. Linde
Then we came out on the other side, and I gasped. An enormous telescope sat in the center of an observatory dome. Candles covered the floor of the dimly lit room, revealing a small picnic and a perfect view of the millions of stars overhead.
I blinked away tears as I drew my attention back to Penn. “This is…everything.”
He drew my hand to his lips and kissed it. “Anything for you.”
“Are we…allowed to use the telescope? I couldn’t imagine that they’d let you use this equipment,” I said, wide-eyed.
He nudged me. “I spent a few afternoons here with a friend in the astronomy department. I have a basic grasp of the machine. I can handle it.”
I was pretty sure there were actual stars in my eyes. “That’s so awesome.”
“Oh god, there’s my nerdy girl.”
I playfully nudged him. “Hey!”
“I like it,” he said, drawing me into the room and toward the blanket. “Once night has finally fallen, we can use the telescope, but for now, I think you’re starving.”
My stomach grumbled in response. “How do you do that?”
“It’s almost like I know you.”
“I suppose.” I crossed my legs and sat on the gingham blanket. Candlelight flickered over Penn’s sharp features as he took a seat next to me. “Penn.”
He had just reached for the picnic basket but stopped and looked back at me in question.
“Thank you,” I said. “Thank you for doing this. It means so much to me. You mean so much to me.”
He grinned that cocky little smile that made my knees go weak and then drew my lips to his. “You’re most welcome.”
I wanted to launch myself at him and rip all his clothes off for the gesture, but somehow, I held myself back as he went back to the basket. He withdrew a large baguette, some grapes, a container that was full of still-warm baked Camembert, a selection of meats, and a bottle of French wine.
I tipped my head back and laughed. “Oh my god, are you re-creating our first date?”
“Was that a date?” he asked.
“It was something.” I stared down at the spread that he’d prepared just like he had that one night we shared in Paris.
He’d walked right into a French restaurant and come out with a spread similar to this for us. We wandered down to the Seine and ate it on the water overlooking the Eiffel Tower. He kissed me as the lights flipped on, and it had been magical.
“Perfect,” I amended. “It was perfect.”
We dug into the food. Memories flooding us both from that time almost eight years ago when we’d been young and stupid. We’d fallen in love in a night and not even known that our lives would drag us back together over and over again until we were here, in this moment.
“So,” I said, savoring the taste of baked Camembert on my tongue, “tell me, what’s your deepest, darkest secret?”
He dragged me into another kiss. “I think you know all of mine now, love.”
“Ah, such easier times when it was just that you wanted to escape your life. Poor little rich boy,” I joked.
“And you?” He gestured to me. “Do you finally feel like you belong?”
It was the answer that I’d given so long ago. That I acted like I belonged, but I really didn’t. Had that changed? In some ways, I was acting more than ever. But the truth of it was, I did belong. Just as he’d said so long ago.
“I belong with you,” I told him.
“Good answer.”
Our kiss deepened, lengthened, until I lost where I started and he began. It was just us, tangled together, hands and lips and tongue. And I didn’t want to come up for breath. I didn’t want to discover the space between us. I wanted to live in the moment forever where Penn and I were one.
Chapter 31
Penn
“Penn,” Natalie groaned into my mouth.
It was an encouragement. Like screaming, Yes, yes, yes, at me just from my tongue against hers and my hands in her hair. Sex had always been my perfect art form, but it was something else entirely with Natalie. It made me reconsider everything that I’d ever thought in the past. Made me look at myself and see everything I’d been lacking. That I’d tried to cover up with sex. As if it could fix what was broken inside of me. But only when we were together did I feel like maybe I wasn’t broken after all. Maybe I just had never really known love until her.
I lifted her arms and slid her shirt over her head, getting a peek of her nipples hardening through the lacy material of her bra. My hands slipped back down her arms, her shoulders, and to the soft contours of her chest. I hooked a finger under her bra, teasing the erect peak until she squirmed under my touch.
I loved every moan and whimper and sigh that I extracted from her willing body. The way it moved and ached as I worked on her. This wasn’t just sex. This was seduction, and it made my cock harden in my pants.
But I was in no rush. I had every intention of taking my time with her.
My fingers pinched the clasp of her bra, and her breasts fell out of their constraints. I tossed the useless material aside before pressing her back against the blanket. She pulled her arms back up and stared at me with a come-hither expression on her hooded bedroom eyes.
Mine.
The word rang through my skull over and over. She was mine. This beautiful, strong, and courageous woman was mine. We’d had our ups and downs. We’d walked through fire. But we’d come out ahead. And I was going to keep her this fucking happy for the rest of her life.
I snapped the button on her jeans and then pulled the zipper to the base. I crooked a finger under the waistband and teased the edge of her panties. A purr came from her. I knew what she wanted. I was happy to oblige as I tugged the jeans and panties over her hips and down her muscular swimmer’s legs.
I worked my way back up, splaying my hands against her inner calf and opening her up wider as I moved up to her inner thigh. I stopped right before her perfect pussy, already wet and waiting for me. I ran one knuckle down the length of her, and her whole body bowed in response. She thrust upward, begging for more. For me.
My hands splayed her out further before I feasted on her pussy. My tongue alternated between flicking against her clit and gently sucking it. One hand holding her down as she writhed underneath me. Soft exclamations pouring from her mouth. Her panting hitting a feverish pitch as I claimed her with my tongue.
I released one of her legs and slid a finger into her opening. Another moan of my name escaped her, and I smiled against her pussy lips. She was close. I could feel it the way she clamped around my finger, demanding more. I inserted a second finger, and she tightened like she was trying to keep me from ever leaving. My cock hardened nearly to the point of pain as I thought about finishing this by bottoming out inside of her. But I had to hold out. I wanted her to come at least twice.
My fingers curled inward, finding that spot that I knew drove her crazy. And her hands dug into my hair, pressing my face back toward her.
“Oh fuck,” she panted. “Yes, oh god, yes.”
I worked her in and out, in and out, while lapping against her clit until I felt her entire body seize up and release. She arched up as the orgasm hit her and then fell back against the blanket, incoherently whimpering softly over and over.
I withdrew my fingers from her and kissed her pussy one more time. She jerked against me she was so sensitive.
“Penn,” she groaned, her eyes fluttering open. Her eyes said she wanted more. “Come here.”
I undid the top two buttons of my shirt and then pulled it over my head. Her eyes slid down to my six-pack. She managed to sit up on one elbow, running her other hand down my body.
“Mine,” she growled. As if she had heard the chorus shouting it in my head.
“All yours.”
She reached for my pants, but I was there first. I pushed her back down on the ground as I undid my belt and stripped out of my pants and boxers. Her eyes lit up at the sight of my cock jutting out. She licked her lips.
Fuck, I wanted her mouth around me. I wanted her to deep-throat it until I was shooting hot cum all over her. Putting my mark on her. But I wanted to be inside of her more. Needed to feel her come all over my cock.
I bent over her body and brought my lips down on hers. She was hungry for me, kissing me back with matched ferocity. I lined myself up against her heated core and then thrust deep. I tipped my head back at the feel of her wrapping all the way around me. Her hot, wet flesh that fit around me to perfection. Like she had been made for me.
“I love you,” I breathed against her lips. “Fuck, I love you.”
She smiled, pushing her hips harder against mine. “I love you, too.”
The first long draw out of her was sweet, blissful torture. She breathed in deeply at the sensation, and then I slammed back into her. Harder and rougher than before. It jerked her body forward, but she only groaned in pleasure in response.
I needed more. Out, out, out and then hard and fast in. The way she tensed, waiting for that moment when I’d take her all over again, made me only anticipate it more. Made me crave that feeling.
But soon, I couldn’t control the out. I was close. Closer than I wanted to be. She needed to come with me.
So, I slipped my hands under her soft body and drew her up. So that we were both sitting with her in my lap. My hands were now on her hips and ass, controlling her body as I lifted and slammed her back down on me. So that I was spearing into her over and over again.
She opened her baby blues and stared down at me with all the love and devotion in her eyes.
“Oh fuck,” I groaned. “Come with me, baby.”
She nodded. “So…close.”
And then I thrust once, twice more, and she unleashed on top of me. Her orgasm was a pin trigger on my own. I came with a grunt of pleasure and a wave of ecstasy that shot up into her. Her arms wrapped tight around my neck, and I held her against me like a lifeline.
We sat, pressed together, both panting and breathless for a minute. Then I gently released her back against the blanket and crashed down next to her. Our chests rose and fell together. Fully sated. No words even between us. Just that moment. Our breaths. As the sun disappeared and the stars finally lit up the night sky.
“Natalie,” I murmured.
She rolled onto her side to look at me. Her gaze was unfocused. Her smile lazy and dream-laden. “Hi.”
I chuckled and pressed a kiss to her plump lips. “Come to Paris with me this summer.”
She blinked. “Paris?”
“I have a conference, and then I thought we could stay in my flat until I have to come back to teach in the fall. Do all the things we didn’t get to do the first time we were there together. Find our park bench. The one where it all started. What do you say?”
“Yes,” she breathed. “Did you think I’d say anything else? Of course, I want to go to Paris with you.”
“Oh good, because I already bought the tickets.”
She laughed and bumped my shoulder. “Good thing I said yes.”
“It is because we’re leaving the day after your event.”
Her eyes widened. “The day after? You couldn’t have given me two days?”
“Uh-uh,” I said, pulling her flat against me. “You’ve been too stressed. I want to take you away and feed you macarons and walk the Seine with you and get lost in the gardens at Versailles and drink champagne straight from the vineyard. I want you to be so relaxed that novels spring from your fingertips, fully formed. Ones you love and ones you cherish, whether or not they are ones you want to publish. Or even actually do.”
“Wow, Penn, I think you drive a hard bargain,” she said. “This just sounds awful.”
“Did I mention the sex?” I asked with a deadly smirk. “There will be lots of it.”
“I suppose I can do that.” She grinned like a fool. “Macarons and champagne and novels and lots of sex. Living the Parisian life.”
“So, is that a yes?”
She jumped on top of me and plastered my face with kisses. “Yes, yes, yes. Yes, of course!”
I pressed my fingers up into her hair and pulled her mouth back down to mine. “I love you.” I brushed my nose against hers. “Now…how about that telescope?”
Her eyes widened with delight, and then she dragged me toward the behemoth I prayed I could actually operate.
Part V
King’s To You
Chapter 32
Natalie
“Natalie, honey, sugar cakes, sweetie pie,” Gregory said in distress, “you need to calm your tits before I calm them for you. I have everything under control. Which is why you and your little butterfly hired me. We have this set. All good to go, darling. Go to the spa and relax before you get wrinkles.”
I tried desperately not to roll my eyes at the party-planner, but damn, he made it difficult. “I’m fine. I’m not worried about wrinkles.”
“Everyone should worry about wrinkles. What moisturizer do you use?”
“Dear god, it doesn’t matter. I just want to get through my checklist.” I waved the sheet of paper in his face.
He snatched it out of my hand. “Check. Check. Check. Not happening anyway. On their way. Check. Check. Check. We’re good here.”
He tore the paper in half and then in half again. My eyes widened in shock.
“What the hell, Gregory?”
“You are clogging up my space,” he said, dramatically waving his hands.
Honestly, where the hell had Harmony gotten this guy?
“If you don’t believe in auras, you should. Yours is all over the fucking place.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. My mother was following me around, even here. “I know plenty about auras. I just want to make sure that everything is ready.”
“Well, you had a look around. We went through your checklist. Now, please, baby doll, go get ready for the event and try to enjoy it. That’s why you hired me. I have it covered.”
He gave me a little push toward the exit, and I sighed. Maybe he was right. How much more could I do? I’d done it all ahead of time. And he was my day-of person. Even if he was obnoxious. If there were any fires from here on out, he would handle them. I hoped.
I bit my lip and then nodded. “Okay, okay. I’m going. Call me if you need anything.”
“I do this for a living, sweetheart. I’ve got it under control.”
“All right, all right,” I said and then hustled back through Trinity, staring at what I hoped would be the finished decorations for the event tonight.
I’d made the guest list and checked it twice. Everyone who was anyone was going to be there, and I just had to make my grand entrance to complete it all.
I was almost out of Trinity when I heard my name being called. I froze in place and debated whether I should just leave or not.
“Nat, please,” Jane said, hurrying toward me.
I turned slowly back around and found my friend standing before me, looking like a shadow of herself. There were dark circles under her eyes. She looked like she’d lost weight, and she hadn’t had any weight to lose. Her clothes hung on her small frame. And she didn’t even have her customary sunglasses on her head.
“What is it, Jane?” I asked, keeping my voice neutral. I felt for her. But I hated her betrayal. A grudge-holder was who I was as a person. I didn’t know how to move past that.
“I just…wanted to apologize,” Jane said. “We never really got to talk after what happened at the club, and I feel awful.”
“About what? That you sold me out to Katherine for Percy money or that you got caught?”
“That I hurt you.” She frowned. “Everything happened so fast with Katherine. I overextended myself for the soft opening for Trinity in December. I had all this money that was supposed to show up from my overseas banks, and Court could only help me cover some of it. And then the investors backed out at the last minute. Lewis helped me with a contact of his earlier, but they wouldn’t back the whole thing. Ka
therine found out about it. I have no idea how. And she offered to help.”
“She’d give you Percy if you outed me,” I finished for her. “Classic Katherine.”
“I didn’t want to. It was do or die for my dream.”
“Funny you say that. Since what you did killed mine.”
“I know. I’m so sorry, Natalie. I didn’t know what she was even going to do with it.”
“Yes, you did,” I said with a chuckle. “Don’t play dumb, Jane. You’re as savvy as they come. You hoard secrets and gossip like it’s your job. And look, it kept you in business. Congrats.”
“I didn’t know what else to do.”
I stared back at her with indignation on my face. “What else to do? You could have told me! You could have come to me. We could have figured it out as friends. But you didn’t, and you won’t. You’re only telling me now because you’re desperate.”
“Please,” she whispered, reaching out for me. “You’re…you’re my best friend.”
I withdrew my hand and frowned. “I can’t do this. I thought we were friends. And, right now, I just…I don’t know. Can we figure this out after the party?”
“Okay,” she agreed softly. “Sure, after the party.”
“I have to go get ready.”
“I’ll…I’ll see you tonight then. And, Nat?”
“Yeah?”
“I won’t say anything…about my contact.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. Was that a threat? “What contact?” I asked with a blatant glare.
“Right. Sure,” she said, chewing on her bottom lip. “There never was one.”
I nodded and turned away from her and out into the bright light of day. My heart constricted as I walked away. I hated what had just happened. I wanted to be Jane’s friend. I wanted her at my side, as she had been for so long. It felt wrong, not including her. It felt dangerous with her having the information about Lewis.
