Scintillation (Stars Align Book 3)

by Kate Stacy

  Holy fuck. This is the kinda shit she reads?

  Blindfolds and bound wrists. Thigh slapping and punishments.

  Apparently, my princess likes a little kink.

  Good to fucking know.

  She admitted that she hasn’t been with many guys, something that makes me happier than I’d like to admit. She was never really shy to begin with, but she’s not afraid to ask for what she wants in the bedroom. When she wants to be fucked, she tells me in all sorts of creative ways. I like it when she’s bold.

  The past couple weeks with her have taught me that Presley is quiet and standoffish as a means to protect herself. She has some deep-rooted insecurities. Not that she’s told me about them, but it’s become glaringly obvious, and not only from her scars. Despite whatever insecurities she deals with, she is sure of herself in so many other ways. She’s unapologetically Presley and it’s a major fucking turn on. It’s one of the things I love most about her.

  “He added his fingers to my torment, twisting and flexing them to hit a spot that made my body practically fly off the bed. ‘Please, Xavier. I can’t take any more. It’s too much.’”

  I bite back a laugh. That sounds awfully familiar.

  I’ve never really thought of myself as a dominant man, but I can’t deny preferring to have control in the bedroom. Presley sure as fuck hasn’t complained.

  This shit she’s reading is hot as fuck, and my dick is hardening painfully in my jeans. I didn’t think listening to her read a sex scene would turn me on this bad, but I should have known. Her voice is sinful and every-fucking-thing she does turns me on.

  I keep listening to her words but try like hell to keep my focus on the ink.

  It’s damn near impossible, and a few minutes later, I lose the battle.

  After finishing the shading detail on the second rose, I give up.

  Turning off my machine, I set it down and start to clean up her tattoo.

  “Oh, you’re done?”

  “For today, yeah.”

  After I’ve grabbed what I need and covered her ink, knowing the drill, she moves to stand up.

  “Don’t move.”

  I roll my stool in front of the chair, blocking her movement. Careful to avoid the fresh ink, I run my hands up her thighs, underneath the hem of the skirt I’m thankful she decided to wear. Makes what I’m about to do so much easier.

  I hear her sharp intake of breath, but I don’t stop.

  As I near the apex of her thighs, I can feel the fucking heat radiating from her and I know I’m going to find her dripping wet. I hook my thumbs into the sides of whatever lacy things she’s wearing today and slowly slide them down her thighs.

  “Adam, what are you doing?” It’s a quietly yelled whisper, like she’s afraid someone will hear.

  I don’t answer the question, choosing to show her instead.

  I watch her, her lips parting in a gasp as I slide my tongue along her slit, circling her clit and tasting all her sweetness. Presley is no doubt one of my favorite flavors.

  “Fuck, Adam,” she breathes, and she tries to wiggle away. “We can’t...we…”

  I plunge two fingers into her swollen, needy pussy and her hips thrust toward my hand.

  “We can’t do this here.” She tries to protest, but it falls on deaf ears when it comes out more moan than actual words. “Someone could walk in.”

  As the words leave her lips, she tightens around my fingers.

  My eyes flash to hers, and my mouth spreads to a wide smile against her pussy.

  Dirty fucking girl.

  “You’d like that, wouldn’t you, Princess? For someone to walk in and see my face buried between your thighs?”

  She shakes her head, but her body gives her away again when wetness floods my fingers.

  Moving my thumb to circle her clit, I keep talking. She fucking loves it and it’s giving me plenty of thoughts for later.

  “Mmm. You’re such a fucking liar, baby. You’re soaking my hand just thinking about someone walking through that door. You want to be seen, don’t you? Want someone to watch the way I get you off? See how fucking sexy you are when you come?”

  She bites her bottom lip hard, trying to stifle her moans.

  “Don’t hold back now. Let them hear you,” I demand, lowering my mouth to her pussy.

  She calls out my name when I draw her clit between my lips and suck.

  I devour her, drinking her down like a man dying of thirst. Her cunt gets wetter and wetter, and I lap it up hungrily. Her thighs tighten around my head as I eat her relentlessly until she’s gasping my name over and over. Body arching from the chair, her hot, dripping pussy presses against my face as she fists my hair, holding me where she wants me.

  I’m sure everyone in the shop can hear the sounds leaving her luscious lips, but I don’t give a fuck. I know there aren’t any clients in the shop right now, so let them hear everything I’m doing to her. Let them want what they can’t have.

  When I know she’s close, I hum against her and the vibrations from my tongue send her straight over the edge. Her body shakes uncontrollably with the aftershocks as I continue thrashing her with my tongue. She tries to close her legs, tries to push me away, but I’m not finished. I want one more.

  I pin her to the chair with one palm, holding her hostage as I fuck her with my fingers and ravish her clit with my tongue. When the second orgasm wracks her body, she screams my name and I feel it down to my fucking marrow. I want to record it. The sound of her voice, filled with lust and need, as she screams my name. I want to record it and listen to it on repeat.

  I keep licking her, slow and steady as I work to bring her down from the clouds.

  I revel in the feel of her body shaking and twitching with tremors.

  When her body begins to relax, I pull away, satisfied. Slipping my fingers from her heat, I slide them into my mouth, sucking and licking every last drop of her release. She watches me with an unfocused gaze, her eyes glassy, pupils blown wide.

  Wiping my mouth, I stand and hover above her, studying her as her breathing evens.

  I stroke her face, her hair, watching her intently as I lean in to take her lips with mine.

  Sweeping my tongue past her lips, I deepen the kiss.

  I kiss her like I crave her.

  Hard, and full of urgency.

  TWENTY-FOUR

  Presley

  “I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.”

  He steps out of the bathroom in nothing more than a worn pair of jeans, the band of the black boxer briefs I know he’s wearing peeking out from the top. When my eyes meet his chiseled torso, he hunches his shoulders and drops his head like he’s trying to hide. Awkward tension lines his face and I’ve never seen him look so unsure of himself. It’s...well, it’s ridiculous.

  Tara fights to hold back her laughter, but I don’t. My snicker turns to a snort, then full blown laughter. He only shakes his head, glaring at me.

  “Seriously, Princess. How in the hell did you get me to agree to this?”

  “Pussy power,” I deadpan.

  His eyes widen in surprise, then narrow. The look he gives me promises retribution.

  A delicious shiver moves down my spine.

  I can’t wait.

  “It’s not that bad, Adam. I promise.” I walk over and take his hand, leading him closer to the bed in the staged room. I lift up on my tiptoes to press a kiss to his lips. “If I can do this—even with my anxiety—you can do this. It’ll be fine. You’ll see.”

  His tension melts a little and the muscles in his shoulders loosen.

  I know he doesn’t truly want to be here, but much like I did for my sister, he agreed for me. Adam and I have talked about me wanting to model. I told him all about the boudoir shoot and how it made me feel. At this point, he knows all my deepest, darkest secrets. I had to tell him everything in order to make him understand. It was an uncomfortable conversation that I don’t
care to rehash, but I had to fess up to get him to agree to coming here today. He knows now why I used to cut. He knows about my desire to be seen, to no longer feel invisible, lost in the shadows of my sisters. Sometimes I’m a bitter bitch, but Adam seems to understand.

  He agreed to do this photo shoot with me today, and it means more to me than he could possibly know.

  “She’s right,” Tara chimes in. “It might seem a little awkward for the first few minutes, but after that it’ll be like I’m not even here. Something tells me I won’t need to give the two of you much direction.” She tosses us a wink and starts tweaking the settings on her camera.

  Adam grabs my hips, pulling me close to him. Dipping his head down, he speaks softly in my ear, “You owe me. I don’t know what yet, but you definitely owe me for this.”

  “Name it and it’s yours,” I say, smiling against his cheek. “You didn’t have to agree to this, you know.”

  He pulls back to look me in the eye. “I know. I seem to be doing a lot of things I wouldn’t normally do because of you.” He slides his hand from my hip around to my ass, squeezing hard enough to bruise. “Besides, you look fucking unbelievable in this little number.”

  He fingers the edge of the lace on the garter belt I’m wearing. It’s connected to a set of matching thigh high stockings that I know drive him out of his mind. He snaps the thin strap against my thigh, and I gasp, goosebumps erupting all over my skin.

  “This is painful for me, Princess. You’re in those fucking hot scraps of lingerie and there’s a bed next to us, but I only get to pretend to lay you down and strip you bare.”

  He nips at my neck and I duck my head down, trying to control the flare of heat that ignites from his words and his touch. His voice gets so deep, so rough and gravelly when he’s aroused. It gets me every fucking time.

  The rapid click of the camera shutter breaches our private moment and Adam starts to pull back.

  “Nope. Don’t stop,” Tara insists. “I’ve been snapping photos for the past five minutes and y’all didn’t even know I was here. Keep doing exactly what you’re doing.”

  My eyes flash to Adam’s and I search their depths, wanting to be sure he’s still good with this.

  He smirks. A spark of heat flares in his dark orbs and his smirk slowly morphs to a feral grin.

  He takes slow, measured steps, backing me up against the frame of the open window. He presses his body against mine, shifting his hips to grind his rock-hard cock into my center. My head falls back on a low moan and he chases me, running his nose up the column of my throat.

  His large palm slides from my hip to my thigh, fingers working the small hooks of the garter belt. When the thin strap separates from the stockings, he grips my thigh, lifting it against his hip as his mouth works magic against my throat.

  I’m vaguely aware of Tara’s position in my peripheral and I wonder how this looks from her point of view. Does it look as hot and sexy as it feels? Adam and I are sharing this intimate moment with her, but knowing she’s watching, documenting every move, every touch—only makes it hotter.

  Not wanting my musings to distract me too much, I focus on Adam. His touch. His low spoken words, quiet enough that only I can hear them.

  “You’re a fucking goddess, Presley.”

  Holding both thighs, he lifts me up and my legs wrap around him. He carries me to the bed, but rather than dropping me like he did our first night together, he turns and lowers us both down. Adam lays back, leaving me to sit astride his strong thighs. His hands glide up to my hips and mine move to his muscled torso, trailing down the hard planes of his abs until I reach the denim encasing his lower half. I toy with the band of his underwear, teasing my fingertips just beneath the fabric. I watch the hardened expression on his face as I pop the button and slowly lower the zipper.

  Before I can blink, he sits straight up, wrapping his arms around my back. He moves my hair over one shoulder before replacing his hand on my back, unfastening the hooks on my bra. His mouth meets the tender spot below my ear as he slips the straps down my shoulder. Discarding my bra somewhere on the floor, he places hot, wet, open-mouthed kisses down my neck and across my shoulder. My head falls to the side, granting him all the access he needs as his hands glide across my skin. One to the base of my spine, one to the nape of my neck, where he grabs a fistful of hair and pulls my head back farther. I close my eyes, savoring the feel of his hands and mouth on me.

  “Hot...damn,” Tara mutters from somewhere behind me. My eyes pop open and she grins, snapping one more shot. “You two together are pure fire. I’d let you keep going, but if anymore sparks fly there’s a good chance something might actually ignite.”

  Adam chuckles and shakes his head, releasing me from his firm hold.

  “Laugh all you want, but you’re not seeing through my lens. These pictures are incredible. The two of you are naturals. The chemistry between you two is out of this world.” She turns to grab something from one of the bags she totes around with her. “Pure magic, I swear,” she mutters.

  I relax against Adam, trying to come back down to earth. Tara isn’t wrong about the chemistry between us. Being near Adam always has me flying high, and judging by the thick erection pressing against me, I’m not the only one still worked up. When Tara isn’t looking, Adam grabs my hips and pulls me down, grinding me against the hard bulge in his jeans. I bite back a groan and shoot him a look.

  “I’m gonna step out of the room for a few minutes,” Tara says, not noticing our antics. “Now that the hard part is over, y’all can change into the other outfits and we’ll get the less risqué shots done.”

  As soon as the door closes behind her, Adam flips us over and pins me beneath him, capturing my hands in his on both sides of my head.

  “If she wasn’t coming back in a couple minutes,” he says in a low murmur, “I’d be fucking you into this mattress right now.”

  “Later, beast.”

  He growls, nipping my bottom lip before releasing me.

  Standing, he reaches out a hand to help me from the bed. We both strip right there in the open, neither shy about our bodies since we’ve seen it all before. He swaps his worn blue jeans for a pair of black jeans with strategically placed tears and frayed edges. He doesn’t get a shirt for this shoot, so his chest blessedly remains bare, all those tight muscles and ink on full display.

  I peel off the gray lace lingerie and replace it with a gray corset and a pair of distressed black, low-rise jeans. I slip my feet into a set of studded black heels and fluff my hair.

  “Jesus Chris, Princess. Do you have to look so fucking edible in everything you put on?”

  Smiling, I strut over to him and plant a kiss on his mouth, teasing his lips with my tongue.

  Once again, Tara interrupts the moment by knocking on the door. “Coming in!”

  Smiling against his lips, I slowly start to pull away.

  “You’re all mine tonight,” he growls, pulling me back.

  “Count on it.”

  He slants his mouth against mine and I melt into him.

  I’m a goner when it comes to him.

  I’m falling hard and fast.

  I’m just not quite sure if he’s going to catch me.

  TWENTY-FIVE

  Adam

  Leaning against the tailgate of Ryan’s truck, I take a pull from my beer and look at the scene surrounding me.

  The Fourth of July is a big deal across the country, but it’s something entirely different here in Blackwood. I swear more than half the town is shut down and the majority of those people seem to be gathered on Jaxson and Madalyn’s vast property for their annual bonfire.

  Apparently, it’s a big damn deal.

  I don’t remember there being this many people here last year, but what do I know? I dropped by but wasn’t here for more than thirty minutes or so before I went home. At that point, I’d only been in town a few months and didn’t really know anyone aside from Ryan an
d his girl.

  Over the last year, the guys have brought me into the fold. Now I’m one of them.

  So, at Ryan’s urging, I followed suit with the rest of the town and shut down the shop for the weekend. I’ve already seen a couple of the guys’ faces in the crowd and I’m sure the others will show up at some point tonight. It’s good to see them relaxed and having a good time.

  What surprises me is the fact that Jax and Holden close down the bar for the weekend. I would think this would be one of their busiest weekends, but they don’t seem to care about the potential income. They’re both here among the masses, along with Zane and Noah, who can’t seem to take a day off. They’re both behind the huge outdoor bar, mixing drinks for anyone who asks.

  It’s a good thing Noah is here tonight.

  I can’t say I’m ready to talk to him, to tell him the truth, but I’m going to do it anyway.

  I’ve been sitting on this information for months now and I’m tired of waiting.

  I still don’t know what I’m going to say to him, or how he’s going to take the news.

  But whatever happens is going to happen, and I’m gonna have to make peace with whatever the outcome may be.

  First, I’m thinking I need a little good luck kiss.

  I spot Presley heading inside, so I push off the tailgate and tail her.

  She heads for the bathroom and I pick up my pace. I catch up to her before she closes the door and slip inside, shutting it behind us. She squeals when I wrap my arms around her, pulling her body against mine. I bury my face in her neck and inhale deeply, an odd sense of calm washing over me.

  I didn’t realize how nervous I was until this very moment.

  I didn’t realize how Presley makes all the bad shit fade away.

  “Adam, what are you doing?” she whispers, her body melting against mine.

  “I came to steal a good luck kiss before I talk to Noah.”

  “You’re finally going to tell him?”

  She turns in my arms but doesn’t try to break away.