Seeing Stars

by Jennifer Bernard

  “It’s not any of those things. You want me to prove it to you? I’ll prove it to you. Stay here for a second.”

  In a flash, he left the booth and strode to the bar. Starly gripped the edge of the table. She felt a little dizzy, to be honest. She pinched the skin of her forearm to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. The way Hunter spoke, with that deep, sexy rumble, and the incredible words he was saying...it was like every fantasy she’d never allowed herself to have. Compliments, she was used to. Heartfelt, honest words of emotion...that was something new.

  Hunter appeared at the booth and held out a hand to her. “Come on, princess.”

  “What? Where are we going?”

  “I’m going to show you just how spectacular you are. I’m going to prove it to every inch of your body. And you’re going to shut up and let me.”

  There he went again, ordering her around and being his irresistible sexy-bastard self in the process. With her knees so weak they wobbled, she stood up. He grabbed her elbow to steady her. The instant surge of heat felt like a flash grenade. She was actually surprised that smoke wasn’t pouring off the two of them. He guided her out the door to a path that led behind JT’s Roadhouse.

  “It turns out the couple that runs the bar also owns the Mountain Meadow B&B back here. One of their best rooms happens to be free.” Hunter dangled the key from one finger, then closed his fist around it. He gave her a look that penetrated right to her core. A throbbing started up between her legs. “If I don’t have you seeing stars by the end of tonight, well…” He winked at her. “Then I’ll just have to try again.”

  6

  As soon as they made it inside the B&B, Hunter lifted Starly into his arms. He didn’t know when he’d ever get a chance to be with her like this again. He wanted to make the most of it.

  She wrapped her legs around his hips. He groaned out loud. To be surrounded by the softness and sweet scent of the woman who’d been torturing him for the past year—it was beyond arousing. It was crazy-making. All the blood in his body seemed to surge into his cock, which went stiff as a club. The need to plunge into her, to find relief from his constant craving, nearly brought him to his knees.

  But this wasn’t about him. This was about showing Starly that she was more than...well, more than “Starly.” More than a stage creation. That she was precious and valuable and amazing for who she was, inside and out.

  He carried her into the small bedroom and tossed her on the queen-size bed. He didn’t intend to be so rough, but he was struggling to keep a lid on his mad lust for her. She didn’t seem to mind. Raising herself on her elbows, she caught her lower lip between her teeth and gazed up at him with passion shining from those beautiful eyes.

  “Is this really happening?” she whispered.

  “Do you want it to happen?” He figured he’d better make sure while he still had a molecule of willpower left.

  “Oh yes. Yes, yes, yes. I do.” She laughed. She was so gorgeous in the moonlight streaming through the window that his heart hurt. “Come here, Hunter McGraw.”

  She came onto her knees and beckoned to him with one sexy crooked finger. Who could resist that? He came onto the bed so they were face-to-face, front-to-front. Just a man and a woman—and a megaton of electricity sizzling between them. He put his hands on her ass and drew her hips against his throbbing cock.

  “I have to feel you, or I might die,” he told her in a thick rasp of a voice.

  Her body melted against him. So sweet, so hot. So willing. Her breath came in quick, warm pants, and through that ridiculously big Army sweatshirt, he felt the racing beat of her heart.

  “Take off that damn shirt,” he whispered. “I want your skin against me.”

  She whipped off the shirt and tossed it behind her. Underneath, she wore the same pink t-shirt from earlier. He’d been wondering all day if the skin around her nipples matched it. “Now the shirt. And the bra.”

  As he issued these orders, he kept his hands on her ass, rotating her against him in a slow grind. He noticed that her breaths were coming in time to the rhythm he’d set. As if he was the beat and she was the melody.

  “What about you?” Her breathy voice sounded like something out of a sex-line call. “Do I get to see any skin in this scenario?”

  “You get to see all the skin you want, babe. Just as soon as you’re naked.”

  His gaze drifted to her chest. Her nipples were already hard enough to lift the thin material. His mouth watered, and his tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth. He couldn’t want to feel those hard little nubs against his tongue.

  “Please,” he rasped. He wasn’t ashamed to beg. “Have mercy.”

  Her lips parted, her eyes glowed, and her hands went to the bottom of her shirt. She teased it up her torso and slid it over her head. Underneath, she wore a thin silk bra that showcased her breasts, pushing the two delicious mounds together.

  “The bra,” he reminded her.

  She reached her hands behind her back and eased the fabric away from her chest. And there they were, gleaming in the moonlight. The most perfect breasts in the world. Her nipples seemed to stiffen even more as he devoured them with his eyes. They quivered as her chest rose and fell.

  “God, you’re fucking gorgeous.”

  Just to prove how she affected him, he pulled her hips harder against his erection. His thighs were on either side of hers, and she fit perfectly in the cradle of his body. Her hands went around his back and tugged at his shirt.

  “I’m taking this off,” she told him. “You have no idea how many times I’ve imagined you shirtless.”

  She dragged it over his head. He had to release his grip on her ass so she could get his shirt off. He missed the contact immediately, but as soon as she’d ripped off his shirt, it was all worth it. Because her warm, silky skin was pressed against his chest. His hands went to the sweet curve of her waist where it met her hips. His hands fit perfectly right there, just above the flare of her hipbones.

  Her hands were all over his back. Up and down, feeling every muscle as if she couldn’t get enough of him.

  Or maybe he was projecting, because he didn’t see how he would ever, in ten lifetimes, ever get enough of her.

  “Wow,” she whispered. “Your body is unbelievable. No wonder I feel so safe around you.”

  “Define ‘safe.’ Does it include taking your pants off?”

  “Yes, go for it.”

  He slid his hands under the waistband of her jeans, then around to the front so he could unbutton them. She wriggled her hips to help him slide her pants down her thighs. He wanted her naked, but he couldn’t wait another second to feel her intimate flesh. As soon as he could fit his hand under her panties, he cupped her warm, wet mound.

  She cried out. Her body vibrated against him. So wet. He searched with his index finger for the hardened nub of her clit. When he found the swollen bundle of nerves, she let out a gasp. He rubbed gently, all his senses attuned to her response. Which was electric and wonderfully satisfying. He could spend his life soaking in her trembles and ragged breaths. He stroked along the slippery seam of her sex, teasing her, arousing her, returning again and again to the button that made her shake in his arms. She pushed against him, her movements becoming more and more frantic.

  The scent of her arousal made him mad with want.

  “I need to taste you.” He lifted her off him and laid her out on her back. After pulling her jeans the rest of the way off, he flung them to the side. When he spread her legs open, the sight of her glistening slit nearly made him come right then and there. He braced himself over her and ran his tongue across her nipples. So sweet, sweeter than any candy. So was the rest of her, which he discovered as he made his way down her body. The curve of the underside of her breast...the little dip of her belly button...the quivering skin of her lower belly...the soft tickle of hair on her mound.

  Finally he reached the spot he craved with every cell of his body. Tenderly, he slid his tongue across her clit.
/>   She arched against him with a guttural moan. “Hu...Hunter...oh my God...that feels incredible …”

  With that kind of encouragement, he could lick her all night long. Keeping her legs firmly parted, one hand on each inner thigh, he threw himself into his task. He focused all his attention on the hot bit of flesh pulsing against his tongue and lips. Then he brought his thumb into the act for a little more friction, because he’d noticed how much she enjoyed his hands.

  “I’m going to...please, Hunter...I want to …” she panted incoherently.

  He smiled against her wet sex. He knew what she wanted—and he knew how to give it to her. He’d always loved being able to bring pleasure this way. But never before had the activity made him this hard. He could pound rocks with that thing between his legs. It swelled to almost painful proportions, but he ignored it.

  Increasing the pace of his tongue and the pressure of his thumb, he inserted one long finger into her tight passage. Then two fingers. He found a spot that made her cry out with pleasure. And then her entire body went taut and rigid. She bucked against him, nearly making him lose his grip. The hell if he’d let that happen. He held on tight, stroking her, licking her, staying with her through the most satisfying orgasm he’d ever experienced.

  And it wasn’t even his.

  * * *

  Starly floated back down to earth. Holy smokes, what was that? She’d had sex before, of course. But based on what had just happened, she’d never had sex before. The kind of sex people would die for. The kind of sex that could turn your life upside down.

  And all that without the main event. She rolled over and met his smiling eyes.

  “Wow.” She wanted to say more than that. Something along the lines of, “Oh my God that was incredible can I marry you and have your babies.” But “wow” was as far as she got.

  “Do you believe me yet?”

  “What?”

  “That you don’t need any of your stage gear to blow my mind.”

  Braced on one elbow, he settled his other hand on her hip. The warm weight made her melt all over again. Seriously? Could orgasm number two come around that quickly? If so, that would definitely be a first. But she didn’t care about that right now anyway. She wanted him to feel as good as she did. If that was even possible.

  “I’m kind of thinking that blowing something else might be fun.” She gave him a sassy wink. His hand tightened on her hip, his thumb sweeping along her waist.

  “Hmm.” His wicked rumble made her legs want to fall apart all on their own. “As much as I would give my left arm to feel your sweet mouth on my cock, I’m not done with this yet.”

  His strong hand delved between her thighs and settled possessively on her sex. It was almost embarrassing how wet she was, except she felt too freaking good to be embarrassed. Her body was still tingling from that powerful O.

  Her heart fluttered madly in her throat. “You’re not?”

  “Not even close.” He pressed the heel of his hand against her already pulsing clit. “Just do me one favor. Can you stay just like this and let me stare at you while I put on some protection?”

  The vixen in her responded to the straining need in his voice. “What, like this?”

  She arched her back and trailed her hand across her chest. She flexed her hips in the most sexy way she know how—which was pretty sexy, considering the kind of choreography she used on stage. He moaned and leaped off the bed. He dug into his pocket and retrieved a condom. With his eyes glued to her, he shoved off his pants and boxer briefs.

  At that point, she sat bolt upright.

  “Holy cannoli, Hunter.”

  “What? I’m very turned on right now.”

  “So that’s...not normal?” Her eyes got wide as she took in the straining shaft between his strong thighs. It wasn’t that it was unusually long. It was in the normal range, at least in her experience. But it was thick. Thick and so, so hard. Her breath sped up at the thought of how it would feel pressed against her inner walls.

  “That’s what you do to me, Starly.” He rolled a condom onto that work of art. “Do you know how many times I’ve gotten off a shift and had to jack off in the shower before I fucking exploded?”

  “No,” she said breathlessly, coming to the edge of the bed. She grasped the base of his cock. Yep, just as iron-hard as it looked. He hissed out a breath. She looked up to catch his scalding gaze.

  “Keep on doing that if you want me to come right now.”

  She let go, even though there was so much more she wanted to do to him. Swirl her tongue around the tip. Wrap her mouth around it, feel its fullness against the back of her throat. Surrender to it, body and soul.

  He tugged her to the edge of the bed, making her squeak in surprise. Naked and so hot she nearly came just from the visual stimulation, he stood between her open legs. He adjusted her position so her butt was right at the edge and her thighs spread wide. Her heart was beating as fast as a triple-time dance groove. He looked down at her and dragged his fingers through her slick, exposed folds.

  “You’re ready for me again, aren’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are you ready for this?” He gripped the base of his shaft. That movement made the muscles in his chest and arm ripple. God, he was male perfection. She wanted that hard, powerful body next to her, in her, on top of her, not standing over her.

  “Yes!” She nearly shouted from frustration. “Enough with the questions. Fuck me, Hunter. Just please fuck me.”

  Her face flamed as those words left her mouth. Hunter definitely brought out her X-rated side. Normally she never used the word “fuck,” even casually. She didn’t want her younger fans getting wind of it. But that’s what she wanted from Hunter right now. She wanted a down-and-dirty, old-school pounding of a fuck.

  No sooner had the words left her mouth than Hunter gripped her upper thighs and angled her hips up. He positioned his cock at the juncture of her thighs. “You don’t have to ask me twice, babe. If it’s too much, tell me. If I don’t hear you because I’m too fucking turned on, pound on my shoulder.”

  And then he was easing his cock inside her, inch by inch, watching her closely as her body gave way. It was a good thing she’d already come once and then had gotten excited all over again. All that lubrication came in handy. She felt no discomfort, just a radiating pleasure that seemed to ripple out to different parts of her body the farther he pushed inside her.

  “You okay?” he asked in a tight voice.

  She nodded, her heart too full to speak. Feeling Hunter claim her body was a nearly mystical experience. Every part of her trusted him—her mind, her soul, her body.

  This man.

  She belonged to this man.

  “Oh honey,” he groaned, digging his hands into the flesh of her hips. “You feel so unbelievably good. Still okay?”

  “Yes...I …” A spasm caught her by surprise and her eyes flew wide open. “Do that again.”

  “This?” He flexed his hips slowly and went deep.

  She moaned. “That. And that other thing you did. With your hand.” She didn’t even know what it was, exactly, except that it had felt amazing.

  “Baby, I have so many things I can do to you. And I want to do every single one of them. Over and over. But right now, I’m not going to make it more than another few seconds, you’re just so goddamn beautiful and sexy and you have no idea how much I’ve dreamed about this.“

  His hot words added to the sensations building inside her, and when he reached down and rubbed the aching nub of her clit, she exploded. She threw her head back and let the release rip through her. Wave after wave of ecstasy traveled through her body, all the way to her fingers and toes. Distantly, she heard him shout and felt his body go stiff against her. He pulsed inside her, his breath hot against her neck, his groans vibrating from his chest to hers.

  Finally he collapsed next to her, one leg still tangled with hers. She felt sweaty and exhausted, wrung out and incoherent. And she’d never been ha
ppier.

  “Wow,” said Hunter, echoing the only word she’d been able to utter after her first orgasm.

  She snuggled into the curve of his body. “Wow,” she agreed happily.

  Really, what more needed to be said? “Wow” pretty much covered it.

  7

  Starly had many more reasons to say “wow” before the night was through. Some of those “wows” were caused by orgasms. But not all of them. Some resulted from just talking.

  She told him that she’d been lusting after him from day one, and he said the same thing. Except even more graphically.

  Wow.

  She told him about some of her childhood experiences in the music business. The manager who had dressed her like a hooker at the age of twelve. The rock critic who had intimidated her so much that she’d given him her virginity. She shared the good stuff, too. The joy she found in singing for an audience. The foundation she started to help bring music programs into inner-city neighborhoods. The day she hit #1 in the Billboard Hot 100 and celebrated by giving everyone who worked for her a ten thousand dollar bonus.

  Hunter listened to everything she said with his complete attention, asked perceptive questions, and told her he thought she was amazing.

  Wow.

  Speaking of music, he decided to show off his imitations of Justin Bieber, Kanye West, and Snoop Dogg. She laughed until she cried.

  Wow.

  Then he told her smokejumping stories that made her hair stand on end. He also told her about his family, which sounded very close and nothing like her own. His sister owned a gallery in Jupiter Point, and was apparently very beautiful but had no time for romance. Everyone in town was always trying to set her up with their cousins or college friends or ex-boyfriends.

  Hunter kept telling his sister to hold out for her soulmate, that she deserved nothing less.

  Wow.

  Around three in the morning, when they’d worked up a massive appetite after orgasm number four, he snuck out to his Jeep and came back with a whole stash of snacks that included her favorite food of all time, Rice Krispies Treats.