by Marie Carnay
“No problem. Hopefully I’ll see you again. I’d love to record your album.”
Rachel blushed and managed not to scream like a fangirl. A producer wanted to record her album. A real producer and not some sketchy guy with a Craigslist ad and a convertible van. She picked up her purse and took a deep breath. She might actually be catching a break. Moving forward. Making things happen.
She said goodbye, pushed open the door to the studio and busted out onto Santa Monica Boulevard and into the Southern California sun. And ran smack into chest. She bounced off the crisp cotton shirt like a quarter on a mattress and stumbled backward. What was it with her and running into buff dudes? Blinking and squinting against the light, she looked up into his face and her mouth fell open. Oh my god. This cannot be happening.
“I’m starting to think you have a thing for my chest. At least as a springboard.”
The flush that spread up her face put her prior blush to shame. “Oh my god. I am so sorry.” She’d run into him again. The man from the hallway. The guy who’d watched his friend go down on her in the dressing room and not said a word. A stab of heat went straight to her clit and she backed up in a panic. “I should go.” She turned to flee when he caught her by the arm.
“Don’t run away again. I want you to stay.”
She swallowed and turned back around. “You do?”
“I do.” He let her go and held out his hand. “Brooks Sullivan.”
With a quick breath, she reached out and took his hand. Sparks didn’t begin to describe it. “Rachel Madison.”
“It’s more than a pleasure to run into you again.” He smiled and ran his thumb back and forth across her hand. Every stroke sent a flutter through her.
“I can’t believe it. After I ran out, I—I never thought I’d see you or…um…shit.” She winced and pulled her hand away.
“Alec?”
“Is that his name?”
Brooks laughed and rubbed the back of his neck with the hand he’d just wrapped around hers. She tingled. “Mmm-hmm. Alec Wells. He’ll be sorry to know he’s missed out on this.”
She frowned. “I’m sure you both have women throwing themselves at you every day.”
“None as sexy as you.”
Oh my god. He licked his lips and stared at her like she was a perfectly cooked steak he couldn’t wait to devour.
“You can’t mean that.”
Brooks stepped forward, eyes locked on hers, tongue tracing a pattern over his lower lip. “But I do. If you hadn’t run out on us last night…”
“What?”
He grinned. “Let’s just say we could have taken you out. Had a good time.”
He’s serious. Hot damn. It might have been spring in Los Angeles, but the air around them shimmered like an August afternoon. If he kept looking at her like that, she’d sweat through her makeup.
“What did you have in mind?”
“A night on the town. Or in my bed. Anything and everything you could possibly want.” He stepped toward her again and she could smell the spice of his aftershave. It screamed expensive. She glanced at his body—the tight weave of his dress shirt, the perfect cut of his pants, her hazy reflection in his black dress shoes. Damn. Make that really expensive. She’d thought the ‘anything she wanted’ line was puffery, but now…she wasn’t so sure.
Rachel wet her lips and raised an eyebrow. “Too bad I ran out on you then, isn’t it?”
“The offer still stands.”
She forced a swallow. “It does?”
“Mmm-hmm. How about tonight? I know a place you might love. That is if you’re interested in a bit of adventure.”
Oh, god. The way he said adventure—it was downright scandalous. “More than last night?”
He nodded.
Wow. She thought of Melanie and how she’d told her to go for it. Stop being afraid and act like she owned it. Well, if she was going to have a second chance at a night with a man like Brooks, she wasn’t going to waste it. And by the way he spoke, he didn’t intend to, either. She rose up on her toes and brushed her lips against his ear. “Then I’m all yours.”
4
Rachel tugged on her dress and shifted her weight back and forth on her heels. Why did I let Melanie talk me into this? The black lace hugged her curves, showing off her hourglass figure and shoving her boobs higher than ever. He’d said dress sexy. Which to a guy like him probably didn’t mean clean jeans and a t-shirt. So she’d let Melanie drag her shopping and pour her assets into a dress that forgot its other half.
Now that she stood at the entrance to her apartment building watching the cars whip by, she had serious regrets. What if he wanted go to the movies? Or bowling? She couldn’t throw a strike in four-inch patent leather heels. She didn’t know the first thing about him. Other than he looked damn good in a suit and had shitty taste in bars.
With a sigh, she glanced up at the stairs. I could run back up. Throw on something else. Anything else. Damn it. She nibbled on her lip and debated with herself until a rumble from the road caught her ear. A sleek, curve-hugging, charcoal sports car pulled up to the curb. The bright yellow brakes flashed like neon in the dark. Wow.
The steady purr as it sat there said ‘I cost more than half the condos in the valley.’ She’d never seen anything like it up close. On TV? Sure. Magazines? Check. Roaring by at four in the morning on the vacant Sunset Strip? You betcha. But never right next to her.
The driver door opened and a shiver rushed through her. Oh my god. Brooks. I should totally have googled him instead of wasting time shoving my boobs into this dress. He walked around the front of the gorgeous machine and Rachel ground her teeth together to keep from gawking. Black, close-fitting tux. White shirt. Billion dollar grin. She wasn’t even close to his league.
His eyes bounced up and down as he took in her heels and legs and dress. “Rachel. You look stunning.”
A flush spread up her cheeks and she stepped back into the shadows. She’d never been more thankful for the broken streetlight. “Thanks.”
“I hope you haven’t been waiting long. You know I’d have come to your door. Picking you up on the street isn’t my usual style.”
She blushed even harder. No way was a man like him getting a single peek inside the crappy mid-century shoebox she shared with Melanie. “It’s no problem, really. You…um…look good.” She tried to smile, but it came out in a grimace. God, what is wrong with me? Men didn’t usually make her awkward. Disappointed and pissed off. But not awkward.
“Thank you.” He held out his hand. “Ready?”
With a nod, she stepped toward him and slipped her fingers over his palm. He raised her hand to his lips and she tried not to swoon. Smooth lips brushed across her knuckles and she trembled.
“Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise. If you’re ready, we should go. The show starts soon.” She nodded and he let her hand go before turning to open the car door.
Rachel stepped up and glanced at the low-slung seat hugging the asphalt. Oh, god. How am I supposed to get in there? She gave him a tiny smile and held the bottom of her dress, clambering in with all the poise of a bull in a pen. Oomph. With a thud, she landed on the soft leather and Brooks shut the door. Well. At least he knows I’m not graceful anymore.
As she buckled her seatbelt, he slid into the driver’s seat and the car warmed a thousand degrees. The way the wool of his pants hugged his thighs, how his jacket showed off the cut of his waist, the firmness of his shoulders. He wrapped his hand around the gear shift and she wished it were her knee instead. Controlling her every move, revving her engine and making her fly down the boulevard.
Forget a date, she’d trade whatever he had planned for a night pinned against the wall and his breath on her cheek. Melanie was right—it’d been way too long since she’d been with a man. That needed to change. Tonight. She glanced over at Brooks and he winked as they took off, peeling out into the Hollywood night.
The city whooshed by in a blur a
nd in minutes they were trading lights for trees and heading up into the hills above Hollywood. As they climbed the winding roads with ease, the car purring its way around every turn, Rachel shifted in her seat. She’d expected a nightclub. Fancy dinner. A house on the other side of the 101. Not an empty public park.
The farther they went, the more her desire soured into unease. She stole a glance at Brooks and forced herself to break the silence. “Aren’t we in a park?”
He smiled and gave her a nod. “Mmm-hmm.”
“I thought they closed at dusk?”
“They do.”
“Then…”
“Patience. We’ll be there soon.”
He didn’t look like a serial killer. He looked…rich. Handsome. Sexy as hell. Not the typical closet-murderer profile. But there was a first time for everything. “This is going to sound crazy, but…you didn’t steal this car, did you?”
Brooks laughed and Rachel blushed. “No. It’s mine. And don’t worry. I’m not taking you up here to ravage you and dump your body. You’re safe with me.” He turned and met her stare. “I mean it.”
She nodded and pushed her fears back down. Her gut told her to trust him—that this could be the start of something amazing if she’d just let go and see where the night led.
The car angled around another curve and opened up into a parking lot. A white, three-domed building stood at the end of the lot, shimmering in the night sky like a castle from a fairy tale. “What is this place?”
“You’ve never been here?”
She shook her head.
“Well, then you’re in for a real treat.” Brooks pulled the car right up to the path, put it in park, and opened the door. In seconds, he’d strode to her side and helped her out. “Welcome to Griffith Observatory.”
Rachel’s mouth popped open. She’d heard about the Observatory before—it boasted the best view of Los Angeles and the stars. But it was supposed to be a major tourist spot. Always crowded. Never empty.
He took her hand, leading her down a side path and around the building as she glanced around. “I don’t understand. Is it closed?”
“For everyone but us. We have it all to ourselves tonight.”
“You…rented the whole place?”
He nodded.
“Wow. Brooks, you didn’t—”
“Shh. I know I didn’t have to. I wanted to. Come, the view is this way.” His arm slipped around hers and as he guided her down the path, all Rachel could do was remember to breathe and put one foot in front of the other.
Who was this guy? A secret heir to some crazy fortune? Shipping magnate? Con-artist extraordinaire?
They rounded the corner of the building and Brooks came to a stop. “Well? What do you think?”
Rachel blinked, looked up, and almost fell over. All of Los Angeles opened up before her. Technicolor lights twinkling as far as the eye could see. Cars and street lights and apartments all lit up in reds and yellows and blues. Downtown skyscrapers sparkling in the distance. “It’s…gorgeous.”
* * *
Not as gorgeous as you. He wanted to say it, but didn’t want to scare her away. She was already timid. Unsure.
He knew it was over the top—the car, the tux, the Observatory. But he needed to wow her. Get her to forget Alec and his fucking magic tongue. Give her a chance to see him and all he could give her. All she could be.
He didn’t need his partner to find a sexy woman. He had one right in front of him, staring at the lights of L.A. like they were the Hope Diamond. Alec could play second fiddle for a change. This night was about him and Rachel.
As she stared out at the city, Brooks stole a glance at her body. Creamy thighs pressed up against the wall, tits heaving beneath the lace of her dress. Cheeks flushed, eyes huge and round. Fuck. She’d been beautiful at the bar. Even better in the studio. But in that dress? Those shoes? With the night turning her skin to porcelain?
“Brooks. I—you shouldn’t have done this.” She turned to him and bit her lip.
“Why not?”
“It had to cost a fortune. Renting this whole place and…and…” she waved at his body and then toward the parking lot, “and your tux and that car. I—I’m not that kind of girl.”
He raised an eyebrow. Did she think he was trying to buy her? “If I’ve offended you, I’m sorry, Rachel. I didn’t mean—”
“Offended me?” Her voice turned squeaky and she took another step back. “Brooks, you’ve got me all wrong. I don’t know who you think I am, but I’m not some celebutante you met on Rodeo Drive.”
“I never said you were.”
“Don’t you get it? I’m ordinary. I’m a bartender from Modesto for god sakes. I don’t deserve all this.”
She can’t be serious. He strode forward, closing the gap between them before taking her by the arms. “Don’t be ridiculous. When I ran into you in the bar…the way you looked up at me with those big, brown eyes. And then to see you perform. Good god, woman. You have no idea the power you possess.”
“Power?”
“You mesmerize me. The voice that oozes out of you—the lushness of your tone, your lyrics, it’s exceptional. You are exceptional. And that body…god, I could worship it for hours.”
“You could?”
Her tongue darted out and licked a trail over her lower lip—a wet slash he couldn’t help but taste. He leaned in, sliding his hands up her arms to weave through her chestnut hair and pull her face toward his.
He kissed her. Lips on lips, eyes wide open, and she melted. Body turning soft and pliable as he took her deeper. Swiping his tongue across her pout, flicking her lips apart to taste the heat inside.
He let go of her head to run his hands down her body, skimming the black lace until he found her bare thighs. Mmm. He slid his hands up under her dress, squeezing and plumping the round, lush globes of her ass and crushing her body against his. Damn if she wasn’t perfect. The way her tits mashed into his chest. Her hips molded against his. Her belly massaged his hard cock with every press of his hands. With a groan, he broke their kiss.
“Don’t you feel it? How bad I want you? How much you turn me on?” He dug his fingers into her soft body, grinding her lace-clad belly against his dick, giving her a taste of every inch of his need.
“You’re serious, aren’t you?”
He crushed her body against him again. “I’m beyond serious. I’m desperate. I could fuck you right here in front of all of Los Angeles.”
“You mean it?”
He thrust his cock against her belly. “I do.”
“Good.” She stepped back with a wicked grin and grabbed his belt, undoing the buckle and his pants while he stared.
“Rachel—what—”
“Shh. It’s my turn to surprise you. Just be quiet and enjoy it.”
Brooks gawked but did her bidding. He didn’t know what switch had flipped inside her, but he wasn’t turning her down. Not for anything.
As she pulled his pants open, he backed up until his legs hit the wall and the guardrail dug into his back. She grinned and leaned over, jutting her ass out behind her as she pulled his boxers wide. God damn. He stared at her ass swaying back and forth and she shoved his boxers down.
* * *
Damn.
Rachel’d seen her fair share of cocks—some long and straight, others thick and veined. But Brooks was…on the large side. Thick and smooth with a purpled crown she couldn’t wait to taste. Her pussy throbbed and she ran her tongue across her lips.
“Like what you see?”
“Mmm. Do I ever.” She smiled and leaned in, licking a trail around his velvet head before opening wide and taking the tip inside. A bead of cum oozed from his tip and she licked it off, groaning as she slid down his shaft.
“Fuck. Yes. Just like that.” Brooks wove his hands through her hair and gave a gentle tug. “Suck it like you mean it.”
Moaning, she slipped lower, taking him deeper and deeper until her lips and jaw could open no more and his he
ad bumped against her throat. Mmm. She knew she’d surprised him—taking charge like that after being so unsure.
But all she could hear was Melanie’s voice in her head, saying ‘Don’t chicken out because you’re scared. Take what you want. Act like you own it.’ So she had. Diving for his belt, tearing his tux pants open. Finding the best present a girl could get—a dick like a lollipop with inches to spare.
Rachel grinned around his shaft and stuck her ass up even further. She might be the only woman in L.A. who loved blow jobs as much as sex. The way one lick of her tongue turned a man to jelly. How she could dominate and control. Own him with her lips and tongue. She’d let his friend Alec take charge the other night—shoving his head between her legs and shooting stars behind her eyes. But not tonight. Not until Brooks had a glimpse of all she could offer. All she could take.
Wrapping her hands around his base, she worked what couldn’t fit in her mouth while she swirled her tongue around his tip and lapped the underside of his shaft. Up and down she bobbed her head, taking him deep before easing off and licking again. She couldn’t wait for him to come inside her mouth, fill her up with his salty release and show her just how much she turned him on.
As she took him deep again, she paused. What was that? Something hummed. A quick, repeated vibration over and over. Is that his…phone? She lost her rhythm and he groaned above her.
“God, don’t stop. Please.”
She smiled. Yes, sir. Sliding one hand up and down, she worked herself back into a rhythm, taking him deep before easing off and licking the tip. Again and again she sucked, grazing his shaft with her teeth, lapping at his head until he groaned. His thighs tensed and she knew he was close. As she reached down to with one hand to fondle his balls, the phone buzzed again. Mmm. Mr. Popular. She rolled his sac between her fingers, teasing and toying with him as she licked his crown.
He groaned and twisted his fingers in her hair, holding her head as he thrust into her, sliding deeper down her throat with every pass. Oh, yes. As much as she loved being in control, she loved it even more when a man tried to take it back. Directing her head. Fucking her mouth like he’d fuck her pussy. She groaned and flattened her tongue, giving him access to every last inch of her.