A Beautiful Star (Beautiful Series, Book 5)

by Lilliana Anderson

  “Short for ‘William’,” I assume with a smile, and Bill lets out a chuckle as he takes my hand and leans in to kiss my cheek.

  “She catches on good this one. Nice to meet you, sweetheart,” he booms, his salt and pepper hair flopping about his stubbled face as his blue eyes shine down at me welcomingly.

  “And this,” Jonathan moves on, “is my mother, Molly. There’s no long or short of her name. She’s just ‘Molly’. Someone tried to call her ‘Mols’ once and they got slapped for it, so no one changes her name anymore.” Jonathan gives me a wink as Molly draws me against her short soft body in a warm hug.

  “It’s so lovely to meet you. Molly is actually short for Margaret, but I won’t answer if you call me that,” she smiles, and I see that she too, has blue eyes and her slightly greying hair still has a healthy mix of blonde in there, making it unnecessary for any sort of colouring.

  “Well, you got here just in time, son,” Bill says to Jonathan with a clap on his back. “We’re just about to fire up the barbie. You can help check the gas lines before we start.”

  He nods and gently squeezes my hand before releasing me with a kiss to the side of my head.

  “Please don’t set any of the trees on fire this time,” Molly calls out after them as they all file out of the kitchen leaving their mother and me on our own. “They’re a menace to society with that barbeque,” she comments, craning her neck to see what they’re doing. “I swear, when they get together they barely have a full brain between them.”

  Smiling, I watch through the window as Jonathan puts one of his brothers in a headlock and rubs his knuckles on the top of his head. They’re all smiling and laughing and I begin to understand how wrong the media is about Jonathan. The man he is with his family, and the man he is with me, is the real him, the rest is a persona, and I’m beginning to feel very blessed to be a part of the warm, caring and fun loving man that is the real Jonathan Masters.

  “Is there anything I can do to help?” I ask, turning away from the window, and I find Molly watching me with slight amusement as if she was just reading my thoughts.

  She doesn’t comment though, she simply points to the other side of the bench and answers my question. “Sure. Why don’t you grab those tomatoes over there and get cutting.”

  I do as she says, being careful not to squish the tomatoes and get them all over my dress. “How many should I do?”

  “The whole bag,” she answers, bustling about the kitchen herself.

  “How many people are coming?”

  “Oh, it’s just us. But when you see those boys eat, you’ll understand the need for all this food,” she smiles, placing a tray of meat on the counter before washing her hands then picking up two heads of lettuce and shifting to the sink.

  “So, how long have you and my son been together?” she asks after a while.

  “Oh, we’ve just been getting to know each other mostly, but I’d say we’ve crossed over to dating territory during the last couple of weeks.”

  “And you’re not pregnant?”

  “No,” I answer quickly, almost choking from the surprise of her abrupt question.

  “OK, so you’re only in dating territory. Do you care to elaborate on that?” Her questions are abrasive and I wonder if the kind act was for the sake of her sons, but I’ve dealt with difficult interviews before, hell, I’ve conducted difficult interviews before, so I can handle anything she can throw at me.

  “It just means that we became friends first, and slowly, we’re becoming more. But we’re not rushing things,” I explain.

  “I see. That’s probably a good thing. I’m assuming you’ve heard about my son’s reputation.”

  “Yes. I know all about it.”

  “Then why are you with him?”

  “Because I like him. He likes me. And we just…click together, you know? It’s hard to explain. Honestly, I did have my reservations at first, and perhaps I still do. But it’s why we’re taking things slow. We’re learning to trust.”

  She takes a moment to study my face, as if she’s reading my intentions on the surface of my skin, then she nods, as if she has her answer and continues with the salad.

  “He has it in him, you know–the ability to be faithful. He was just too young for a commitment like that before,” she says, tearing apart one of the heads of lettuce and rinsing it underneath some running water. “I’ve always thought that all he needed was to find that one woman who makes him forget about all others. Then he would settle down for good and become the man I know he can be.”

  “I believe that too,” I smile as I hold out the salad spinner for her to place the loose leaves in.

  “I’m glad. You must be very special, you know. Especially if he’s bringing you around this soon. He never introduces us to his girls unless he absolutely has to. We met the Marx girl after they were already engaged and the papers found out, and he wouldn’t even let us talk to that Weston woman he was supposedly with after that. Pfft. A publicity stunt,” she mutters, “I’ve never heard of something so absurd in my life.”

  “It happens all the time unfortunately. Celebrities fake relationships for the sake of the cameras, but in private they don’t have anything to do with each other.”

  “It’s not something I condone at all,” she titches, just as the noise from outside comes nearer the house and the first person inside is Jonathan.

  Rubbing his hands together as if he’s dusting off imaginary dirt, he looks between his mother and I. “We’ll this is nice. Getting along I hope.”

  “I like her Jonathan. You can relax,” Molly says, turning to me and giving me a wink to let me know I passed. A sense of relief washes over me and I smile before looking to Jonathan, and I can actually see the relief on his face as well. And I realise how huge this meeting was for the both of us. His family is obviously a really important part of his life and if I’m going to be with him, I need to fit in. Thankfully, it seems I do.

  The rest of the afternoon is filled with a mountain of food that amazingly, besides a bit of bread and salad, gets eaten, a rugby match in the backyard, and a hell of a lot of male bonding and embarrassing story telling.

  Being told about the time when he tried to kiss their neighbour when they both had braces and got fused together, makes it almost possible to forget that Jonathan is this international heart throb who stars in blockbuster films and make millions of dollars.

  We’re sitting around an outdoor table, surrounded by his family, and Jonathan seems like the most normal man I’ve known, and when he slides his arm around my chair and leans in close to comment on his side of each story, I feel myself growing closer and closer to him.

  I look around at his family and I observe the close bond they share, and I hear his mother’s words from earlier in my mind, and I know that they’re true. He does have the ability to love and be faithful. I just need to trust him. That’s what’s most important. And I do. I trust that his feelings toward me are real. And as I watch him tear off a piece of bread and throw it at his brother, laughing as Coop deflects it then picks up his own bread to return the attack, I find myself laughing as well, sharing in his happiness, sharing in his family. Then, as the small bread battle turns into a full on food fight, I join in, squealing as lettuce hits me in the face and Molly yells for everyone to stop, even though she’s laughing too. Her protests just ensure that the food is thrown in her direction, and as the battle grows and the noise escalates, Jonathan catches my eye and we both just…stop, then he kisses me. He wraps his arms around me as food continues to hit us and he takes my mouth in his, and he kisses me in this deep, loving way that fills my heart and makes me sure.

  It’s in this moment I know, I’ve fallen in love with him. I love Jonathan Masters, and from this day onwards, I will never love another man.

  His mother said that Jonathan just needed to find the right woman to fall in love with to become the man he was meant to be. I guess we can say the same about me, for me to change, for me to trust an
d give my heart, I needed to find the right man, and that man is kissing me without restraint while his entire family looks on.

  Chapter 21

  “Come inside,” I murmur, as Jonathan walks me to my door and prepares to say goodnight.

  “What for?” he asks, his eye narrowing slightly as I open the door and pull him inside.

  “For this,” I answer, reaching behind my back, and unzipping my dress slowly, my eyes locked with his as I do. His mouth drops open and as I step backwards again, he steps forward, shaking his head.

  “What are you doing, Red?”

  “I realised something today,” I tell him, sliding my dress off my shoulders and letting it slide down my arms until it falls to the floor. I step out of the pool of fabric, smiling as I see the tent of arousal that has appeared inside Jonathan’s cargo shorts. “I realised that I feel the same way about you, as you do about me.”

  He bends down and picks up my dress, holding it and looking as though he’s fighting with himself as to whether he wants me to put it back on or if he wants to throw it away so I can never wear it again. “Oh god, Red, you’re going to have to spell it out for me. I need to hear the words because I can’t think straight with you standing there like that.”

  My hands move to unclip my bra. “I realised…” I let it slide down my arms and drop on the floor, watching him struggle to swallow as his eyes take in my naked chest.

  “Red,” he warns.

  “That I love you, Jonathan.”

  Never in my life have I seen a man move as fast as Jonathan did just now. One second he was a few steps away holding my dress as if he was going to make me put it back on, and then the dress was dropped on the floor and now he’s up against me, with one hand pulling at my waist and the other cupped around the base of my head as his mouth devours mine.

  My arms wrap around his neck as I melt against the firm strength of his body and moan softly as the heat of his hands touch my skin. Together, our mouths move and our tongues slide and our teeth clash as we grow desperate for contact.

  I reach down and pull his shirt up, pushing it until he pulls it off and discards it as I walk backwards, leading him to my bedroom where I plan to have my way with him.

  His hands return to my body and they slide down to grip my arse and lift me so my legs need to wrap around his waist. I kiss him harder, pressing my breasts into the heat of his chest as he walks us to my bed and shoves aside the clothes I left there as he lowers me down.

  “Say it again,” he murmurs, as his kisses move to the curve of my neck and his hand kneads my breast.

  “I love you,” I gasp and his hand squeezes a little harder as he groans.

  “Again.”

  “I love you,” I repeat and his mouth takes in my nipple, sucking back on it and grazing it with his teeth. I cry out, arching my back as his other hand grips my free breast and squeezes it softly, sending waves of desire rolling through me.

  His kisses trail between my breasts and down my stomach, pausing to gently run his tongue around the rim of my belly button, which sends chills rippling through me as my core throbs for his attention.

  Moving lower, he takes a hold of my panties and pulls them down just a touch. “Tell me again,” he whispers, and my hands move to slide through his thick hair as I look down at his vulnerable face and repeat the words.

  “I love you, Jonathan. I love you, I love you. I love you.”

  Letting out his breath, he pulls my panties down my legs so slowly it could be considered reverent as his eyes drink in every inch of my naked body as I lay before him.

  “I’ve dreamt about tasting you, craved your thighs wrapped around me,” he murmurs, dragging his fingers lightly up my legs until he grips my knees and slowly pushes my legs apart to expose my core.

  His eyes darken with lust and hunger as he gazes between my thighs, then lets out a low growl as he bows his head, and tastes me.

  I’m overcome with sensation and my mouth opens, and my body shudders, pleasure rippling through me as his tongue takes slow, tentative laps between my folds.

  “Oh,” I moan, quivering with emotion as his tongue moves and presses a feather light touch to my swollen clit, then a kiss, a suck, a swirl. “Oh god! I can’t, I can’t hold…” I gasp, unable to finish my sentence as my body spirals to the brink of orgasm sooner than I can control.

  Letting out a deep rumble, he grips my thighs and clamps his mouth down over my core, licking and swirling and sucking, dipping his tongue into my entrance and dragging it back upward, sucking back hard on my clit. I explode. I scream. I buck beneath him, clawing at the sheets, pulling at his hair, but he keeps going, his moans vibrating through me as I’m taken through waves upon waves of heightened pleasure, and just when I’m about to scream ‘enough’, something inside me rolls forward, growing into something bigger, something stronger. My arms fly out, and my legs wrap around his head, and I throw my head back and yell, “Holy fuck!”

  Slowly, his firm suction turns into a gentle lap, then a gentle kiss that travels up my now limp body as I lay beneath him, heaving for breath. I feel his cock through his pants as he holds himself over me. I crave his entrance, my hands sliding over his torso and to the waist of his pants.

  He moans again, pressing his hard length against my thigh as he kisses me in the curve of my neck. “I have never, loved a woman the way I love you, Red. Do you understand that? Do you understand what you mean to me?” he whispers.

  “I do,” I gasp. “I do.”

  “I need you, to be inside you, but I’m scared, Red, I’m scared of what will happen when we cross this line. I’m already so fucking in love with you that I’m scared to feel anymore. I love you, Red. I love you more than anyone, or anything, and I’m scared I’m going to get so deep in you and then do something that will fuck this up.”

  Moving my hands up to hold his face, I shift my body so I can look up into his face, his blue eyes, shining with his warring emotions. This union is momentous for the both of us. To trust someone with your heart and to promise them your soul is something neither of us has done before. It’s as if we’re standing on the edge, ready to jump into our eternity, knowing that the moment we jump, we’ll never come back to what we were before.

  “I’m scared too,” I whisper. “You know I am. But, I’m giving you my heart, Jonathan. I’m giving you my heart and I’m giving you my trust. Make love to me. Make love to me and give yourself to me, like I’ve given myself to you. I love you. You have me. I’m yours. Be mine.”

  He closes his eyes and his breath shudders as he lowers his mouth to mine, kissing me long and slow, his tongue making love to mine in a soft languid motion that brings tears to my eyes.

  My hands slide down his back, drifting lightly towards his pants again, and still kissing me, he shifts his hips and allows me to open his button and zip then push them down enough to free his erection and take it in my hand. We moan together as my hand travels up and down his length, squeezing his girth as his intense arousal pulses against my hand.

  Then working together, we push his pants and boxers to the floor and I position his tip at my entrance, a light growl escaping his throat as I tilt my hips up then grip his arse with my hands and pull him into me, gasping out as his girth stretches my walls and his length fills my depths.

  Wrapping my legs around his, I cross my ankles as he begins to slowly stride in and out, the emotion passing between us, transporting us to some sort of desire filled dimension that has no other purpose than to feed this moment as we whisper about love and a life that exists only with the other in it.

  Slowly, the emotion becomes this vastness that can’t be contained anymore and our bodies release on a long slow moan. He spills himself inside me and I erupt around him and as we hold each other, our bodies physically shaking from what we just went through, we both understand very clearly that our lives have just changed forever, and neither of us will ever be whole without the other.

  This is a love like no other. It�
�s that rare, joining of souls that many of us never find.

  This is forever.

  Chapter 22

  “Good morning,” Jonathan whispers, when the sun begins to lighten my room, casting a soft pink glow over my walls, before either of us has even gone to sleep.

  Still wrapped in his arms, I lift my head, looking at him under heavy lids. My body is exhausted, but I’m not ready to sleep. I don’t want this moment to be over yet.

  “Morning,” I whisper, pressing a kiss under his jaw.

  Since our first earth-shattering union, we have spent hours, talking, making love, and making promises. This night has been the night for us. The night we’ll always remember as the moment we started. The moment that marks our official beginning.

  He rolls to his side, his hands sliding over my skin as he moves and comes face to face with me. “I think we should talk about this protection thing, or lack thereof.”

  I smile and reach up, trailing my fingers over his face and feeling the morning stubble poking through. “I see it as a sign of pure trust. When I took you into my body, I trusted that you wouldn’t enter me without knowing that you’re clean. And when you entered me, you trusted me enough to know I wouldn’t take you inside me without being clean myself, and also on the pill.”

  Grinning, he pulls me a little tighter toward him. “I love it when you talk dirty like that.”

  Laughing, I nudge against his body with mine. “But I’m serious though. I wasn’t worried. I trust you. You have proven to me that you care enough to put my safety before your own desires.”

  Reaching up, he runs his fingers through my hair, lightly brushing it down my back before resting his hand on my hip. “I love that you trust me, Red. But I really need you to know that last night was the one and only time I have ever been unprotected.”

  “Me too,” I whisper, snuggling against him as his arm tightens around me again.