THE STARLIGHT HILL COMPLETE COLLECTION: 1-8

by Bell, Heatherly

  “We have to go now.” Ted spoke sternly. “Say goodnight to your mom.”

  “Night, Mom,” David said and gave her a little wave.

  No kiss. He was too big for that. Off they went in another direction. Fallon let out a breath. “Well. That went okay.”

  “Okay?” Jack said, brows up. “It would have gone ‘okay’ had I been allowed to re-arrange that jerk’s face.”

  “Oh, I’m used to Ted. He’s Sally’s problem now.”

  “He shouldn’t talk to you like that.” Grabbing the blankets, he took her hand and led her away from the crowd.

  Fallon wasn’t used to anyone coming to her defense. A few years ago Scott Turlock had been her biggest ally in town since he was in lock-down hero mode twenty-four seven. They’d never had a ‘thing’ despite all the rumors that flew around before he met his wife Diana. But Fallon was a little surprised that Jack hadn’t yet mentioned the three marriages. People always made fun of that, too. She should have prepared him a little better. Divorced once and divorced three times didn’t carry quite the same connotations.

  “Aren’t you going to ask? You know you want to ask me.”

  “I’m not one to judge. If I had a spotless house, I might.”

  “But you haven’t been married three times.”

  “Maybe that means I have far less faith in the institution than you apparently do.” He smiled a little at this and squeezed her hand.

  They crossed Main Street holding hands. Someone honked and waved. Fallon blinked into the bright lights. The driver behind the wheel was Joe, and Kailey was in the passenger seat. Fallon hadn’t seen them in the crowd tonight.

  Fallon waved back. “I got married right after high school and that didn’t work out because we were too young of course. Not quite a year. A couple of years later I got married again to one of my good friends. Didn’t work out because he’d only married me on the rebound. Nice guy, too, but he broke my heart. That one lasted six months. And then I met Ted, got pregnant quite by accident, and so we were married. But I’ve been on my own now for about eight years. I guess people tend to forget that.”

  “So you tried marriage for a while and it wasn’t your thing.”

  “I still believe in marriage, but I just haven’t met the right one yet.” She paused for a beat. “Next time I get married it will be right. It will be forever.”

  They didn’t speak for a few minutes as they walked back to her mother’s house, the sounds of the night all around them. All throughout the residential neighborhood, each track home was decorated to the nines in white, red, green, blue and pink twinkling lights, some with battery lit statues of Santa and his reindeer. Mrs. Martinez’s house on the corner had a manger scene. Mom’s next door neighbor, Marty, had an inflatable snow globe that played “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.”

  On the sidewalk in front of Mom’s, where only one window was decorated in white fairy lights, Jack stopped abruptly. “What would that look like?”

  “Forever?”

  “The one.”

  It didn’t take long to tell him, since she’d spent the past few years trying to work it out in her head. “He would be a little bit like me, so he’d understand where I’ve been. Someone married before too. He has to like kids, of course, or that’s a deal breaker. Loyal. Kind. A good kisser.” And good at other things too, she chose not to add.

  He grinned. “You put kissing last.”

  She’d suddenly become painfully aware that she’d pretty much described Jack to a T. “I know what’s important now.”

  “You’ve definitely put a lot of thought into it.” He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it. “Let me ask you something else.”

  “Ask away.”

  It didn’t matter that she was shivering a little more now that the temperatures had dropped even further outdoors. When they went inside her mother’s house, they were going to sleep in the same bed. Not just in the same room. The. Same. Bed.

  He took off his jacket and placed it around her shoulders. “We haven’t known each other for long even if somehow it feels like we have.”

  “That’s true.”

  “And tonight we’re going to sleep in the same bed through no fault of our own. The only question is how much sleep we’ll get. Because I don’t know about you, but I’m not tired at all.”

  12

  Jack palmed the back of Fallon’s neck and drew her closer. “Scared?”

  “I’m a big girl, Jack. I’ve been propositioned before.”

  “This is different.”

  At least he hoped like hell it was different. Because the truth was that by all rights he should be exhausted. He hadn’t slept well the night before and then driven hundreds of miles today. But right now he could stay up all night. He was wide awake and alive because she did that to him. Excited him. Made him have thoughts and emotions he hadn’t in a long time. Made him feel…something.

  She wouldn’t meet his eyes. “I know.”

  “Look at me.”

  Her green gaze rose to meet his, and there was a spark in them that kick-started his heart into next year. “I’m looking at you.”

  “And?” He tried not to smile.

  “Okay, maybe I’m a little bit terrified.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re strange if you’re not scared of me after tonight.”

  “What I saw tonight was a mother who loves her son, and a son who adores his mother. And I also saw an idiot who doesn’t talk to you with the respect you deserve.”

  “Ted is rude to me, but he’s rude to everybody. I know that people talk about me behind my back, too, but maybe I deserve it.”

  “No one deserves that.”

  “I’ve made a lot of mistakes, Jack. Three of them. Maybe you should run for the hills.”

  “I’m not worried.” He pressed his forehead against hers. “Tell me to back off, Fallon, and I will. Just say the word.”

  He listened to the pattern of her breathing as it shifted and the breaths came faster. Shorter. He sensed her heartbeat kick up under his fingertips.

  “Don’t feel sorry for me. I can’t stand that.”

  “Seriously?” He pulled back to study her face. “I will only feel sorry for myself if you say no. But I’ll do what you want. Nothing more and nothing less.”

  Their eyes locked for a moment and neither of them spoke.

  “I want you to kiss me. Then I want you to take me to bed, drive me crazy and hold me all night long. And in the morning, if you’re still here, I want you to bring me coffee again.”

  “News flash: I’m still going to be here.” He kissed her neck. Licked it. “Do you want cream too?”

  “Mmmm. Yes.”

  Then he kissed her, a long and deep kiss that got hotter and wilder as their tongues met and he tasted her. She was sweet, warm, willing, and everything he needed. She pressed up against him, and he crushed her to his chest. He couldn’t get close enough.

  “Inside,” he heard himself growl.

  She fumbled with the key to her mother’s house, and he tried to help her. Once inside he raced up the steps right behind her. He couldn’t be more obvious about what he was about to do if he sold tickets, but thankfully Mrs. McQueen had retired for the evening. He shut the bedroom door and made good use of the lock.

  Fallon had thrown off his jacket and kicked off her shoes. She stood by the edge of her bed in stocking feet and looked smaller. Vulnerable. “I don’t do this. It’s been a long time for me.”

  “Me too.” He pulled off his sweater and discarded it on the floor. “I’m not going to tell you how long it’s been because I’m a guy and that might make me look bad.”

  “Just looking at you, it’s difficult to believe it’s even been fifteen minutes.”

  “It’s been the longest fifteen minutes of my life, then.” He put his hands on her hips and tugged her close. “But I haven’t forgotten how.”

  “Lucky me,” she said as she pulled off her blue sweater.<
br />
  Underneath she wore a shiny cherry red bra with a front clasp. In two seconds he’d unclasped it and her smooth breasts spilled out into his hands. Rosy pink nipples. He tweaked an already hard nipple with his thumb.

  “Jack,” she moaned, her voice sounding low and carnal. “You’re the sexiest Santa Claus I’ve ever met.”

  “It’s for the kids. For you I have something else.”

  He pulled her close by the nape of her neck and angled her the way he wanted to kiss her. Hard and deep. She opened up to him, and damn if it didn’t feel like she was equally as desperate to get closer. One touch and she responded, giving back as good as she got. Her soft hands were everywhere on him, down his pants, rubbing his chest and abs, and holding on to his shoulders like an anchor.

  He bent low and suckled in her nipple. She tasted as sweet as he’d imagined. When she drew in a sharp breath and bucked against him, he nearly lost what little control he had left. He licked, kissed and slowly savored every part of her soft and bare skin. Tugging an earlobes, nipping at the tender spot on her neck, kissing shoulders, arms, breasts and trailing down her stomach. Sizzling heat consumed him. It took over, and he was like a bottle rocket about to burst. He wanted to slow down and take this easy. Not so simple with her. He needed her more than he could remember ever needing anyone or anything else in his life. Fisting a handful of her silky hair in his hand, he kissed her again and again with a fierceness that matched his longing. Then he backed her up to the bed, and gently pushed her back on to it. She twisted the rest of the way out of her bra, and gazed up at him, beautiful eyes luminous and glazed over with lust.

  She did it for him. Upside down, sideways, and every which way a man could move or think or feel. He wriggled her tight jeans off as she twisted to help and tossed them to the side. Underneath she wore shiny red panties a perfect match to the bra, making him wonder who’d had the idea to have sex first. Knowing she’d wanted him just as much turned him on like flipping a switch from warm to raging hot fire. He pulled the flimsy material off and flicked it out of his way, kneeled in front of her, and spread her thighs to kiss her right in the middle of all that heat. Her muscles tensed under his hands. She was already wet. He palmed her ass, lifted her up to him and drank her sweet juices. Unable to get enough and unwilling to let her get away from him, he licked and teased. He stopped only when her body shook in tiny quakes and she said his name over and over.

  He stopped not because he wanted to stop, but because he had to get deep inside her before he went crazy out of his mind with lust.

  * * *

  Fallon willed herself not to cry, because if Jack hadn’t been scared off by now, the crying might be the thing to do it. She didn’t understand why she felt such strong emotion welling up, either, unless it was because he’d just given her the most blissful orgasm of her life. Or maybe it was because he’d been so sweet and loving and protective tonight. Fake or not, he’d had her back, and she wasn’t used to that. She’d never understood what it would be like to have a strong man like Jack in her life, and had half convinced herself she didn’t deserve someone like him anyway. To think that she’d met him only a week ago shocked her to the marrow because it seemed as if she’d known him forever.

  Once her body stopped shaking, she tried to tug him up. “Come here.”

  He rose from his knees and got busy pulling off his pants and underwear. An impressive erection sprang out and she licked her lips in anticipation. She wanted to taste him too and to eat him alive if she could. But instead she watched as he tore off a condom packet with his teeth and then slipped it on.

  “Jack, wait, I want to—”

  “Later,” he growled. “I need inside you.”

  She gasped when he pushed inside her, deep inside her, the delicious heat of him creating waves of pleasure almost too intense to bear. He drove into her, slowly and methodically creating a rhythm which rocked her to the core. Fallon lifted one leg higher and he went even deeper. He groaned and seemed to lose some control then, his thrusts becoming harder and more urgent. Driving her out of her mind.

  And he didn’t take his eyes off her. “Look at me, babe.”

  She did, fixating on his soulful dark eyes. Brooding. Edgy.

  “Do you like this?”

  “Yes,” she gasped.

  “Tell me what you want.”

  She could barely formulate a single thought, much less talk. She wanted this. More. Him. “You.”

  “Like to hear that.” He kissed her deeply, and she tasted herself on him.

  “I’m so close. Jack.”

  “Let go, babe. Just let go. Come for me.”

  And she did a minute later, not because he’d asked but because she couldn’t hold back a moment longer as she came apart. Her body shook and trembled fiercely as wave after forceful wave of intense sensations hit her. A moment later with one last powerful deep thrust, he groaned and cursed as he came.

  He rolled to lay flat on his back and tucked her under his arm. “What are you doing to me?”

  She didn’t know that she’d done anything to him. Yet. But somehow, she’d experienced a level of intimacy with him that she’d never had before with any other man. It was embarrassing, actually, how close she felt to him right now. He’d probably had great sex like this many times in his life, while for her it felt like the first time.

  “You okay?” he asked when their breaths had become more regular and even.

  “Not okay. Pretty awesome, actually.”

  “Good.”

  Maybe because she wanted him to feel just as raw and tender as she did at the moment, she asked the question again. “You said you would tell me. Why aren’t you a cop anymore?”

  He didn’t pull back or away as she might have expected. Instead he kissed her forehead. “You really want to know.”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay.” He let out a ragged breath. “Being in homicide, there are images you can never un-see. I was okay with that for six years. And then I had to investigate the death of a kid at the hands of his own father.”

  “Oh God.”

  “Yeah. After that, I was done. Finished. Cooked. My captain told me to take some time off. Come back later, he said. Suggested I put in for a transfer to another department. Most of my friends agreed I just needed a break after that case. It did me in. So I resigned.”

  “I understand,” Fallon said, her fingers playing with the short hairs on his chest. “But you can’t stop. I’ve seen it. It’s who you are.”

  “I’m going to have to figure out how to stop. I might pound nails for a while with my brother. Then I’ll see where I land next.”

  Oregon was so far away, especially from Los Angeles. One more reminder to her, as if she needed it, that what they had was temporary. Fleeting. Some of the best things in life were. And considering their entire relationship was supposed to be fake anyway, he’d already given her far more than she’d ever expected.

  “I’m going to always remember this road trip. I didn’t think I wanted to drive up the coast with you but we had fun. Didn’t we?”

  “Yeah, we did, babe. We did.” His finger traced the curve of her face. “I thought you needed a break as much as I did. You’ve been working hard towards your future, and I get that, but sometimes you have to stop and play. I figured that out the hard way.”

  “You’re right. I forgot how for a while. It’s because I’ve always wanted to prove to the people who don’t think much of me, to Ted and my mother, and all the others, that I’m a good person too. I made mistakes but it was never because I didn’t care.”

  “Or maybe because you cared too much.”

  Tears stung her eyes and she pressed her face to his neck. “Why is it that you get me and nobody else does?”

  His arms tightened around her. “I’d like to say it’s because I’m such a great guy. You’re never going to find another one like me. I’m a prince among men. Honestly? Maybe it’s because we’re so much alike.”

  “How
can you say that? Everyone respects you.”

  “You need to command respect. I never want to hear Ted talking to you the way he did tonight again. Maybe I should be the one to tell him. It won’t be as kind coming from me.”

  It had always just been easier not to engage Ted in arguments since she usually lost. But Jack was right.

  She couldn’t have David thinking it was okay to speak disrespectfully to any woman, least of all his mother.

  13

  When Fallon woke the next morning, she heard voices downstairs in the kitchen. Jack and her mother. Blinking, she picked up the cellphone from her nightstand. Nine o’clock and already several texts from Kailey:

  That Jack Cooper is a looker!

  When you wake up, call me.

  Are you going to the parade tonight? Could use your help doing hair and make-up for the Nutcracker dancers unless you are too busy with Hot Guy, in which case I totally understand.

  But I will want details. All of the details.

  Fallon wasn’t sure she could give out all those details without blushing so maybe it was best to keep it PG. Right. Like Kailey would let her get away with that. She texted back:

  Just woke up. Need coffee. Will text you back when I am fully caffeinated.

  She sat up and was about to reach for Jack’s shirt off the ground nearby when the door to her bedroom squeaked open. Jack walked in coffee in hand. He looked so handsome and best of all, wide awake. Like he’d already showered, but he hadn’t yet shaved. And damn he wore the scruffy look well.

  “Morning. Beverly talked my ear off, or I would have been here sooner.”

  “Thank you.” She accepted the hot mug of coffee. “What was she going on about?”

  He sat on the edge of the bed and brushed a soft kiss across her lips. “Her back door screen doesn’t shut right. Easy fix. And the sink in the downstairs bathroom is clogged. A few other things. I’ve got a list.”

  “She gave you a honey-do list?”