Written in the Stars: A Contemporary Hollywood Romance

by Renea Mason

  He moved closer, burying his nose in my hair. "With those elements in the equation, I think there is so much that could go right."

  I breathed in his scent. "It won't be strange for you?"

  "No. I mean…I'm sure it will be sexier for you than for me. The film was grueling, but I can fill you in on all the gritty details later. I'll let you enjoy it once, and then I can kill it for you with the actor's commentary."

  I pulled back, trying to read the thoughts in his head as I considered his proposal. "Why are you doing this?"

  He kissed my forehead and sighed. "If we must acknowledge the elephant in the room, love... I think we both know why, but it's something neither one of us are prepared to give life to with words. So, we'll wait. Keep the story going." He pressed his lips softly to mine, then hovering just out of reach, continued, "See, in all your stories the heroine chooses the ending, she controls her destiny but misses out on so much. It's a theme in every tale. But not this one, Katherine, you're not the only author of this adventure. I get a say, and I won't allow you to hide. You don't need to control what will be, give your control to me." His mouth crashed against mine. My body melted against his. His arms clutched me, so strong and comforting.

  My chest heaved with heavy breaths as our mouths parted. I swallowed hard. My heart thudded behind my breasts. It all seemed so impossible.

  "Just in case you find yourself turning into one of those horny housewives that looks like she wants to devour me, I'm here for you. Devour away. I'm willing, but I do have one condition, however."

  "You're safe from my advances, but I'm curious. Conditions?"

  "Wait, I'm safe from your advances? After that kiss? What if I don't want to be safe?"

  "Well, Mr. Sinclair, are you saying you like to live dangerously?"

  "Absolutely." He grinned. "But remember, I do have one condition."

  "Oh, this ought to be good. What's your condition?"

  "When you scream my name, it needs to be my name and not my character's name. Totally kills the mood."

  I rolled my eyes. "Again, I think you're safe."

  "I can hope you're wrong, can't I?" He squeezed me tighter and pressed the button on the remote.

  Seeing his name in the opening credits sent a warm flutter through me. This was his work, his life, and he was sharing with me. It all seemed so surreal.

  The cinematography was beautiful and his acting superb, his body a work of art. No wonder everyone wanted him. I had seen him shirtless around my house, but the camera provided an erotic lens. Something about the distance of the camera made him seem otherworldly. On screen, he slowly drew his shirt up his torso, revealing the hard ripples of his chest and abdomen. He focused on his partner with a sensual intensity I'd never seen before. Even though it wasn't real, it sparked my memory of what it was like to be Daniel's object of affection. I need to distract myself from such comparisons. "How long do you spend in the gym?"

  "A lot, at least two hours a day, a minimum of six days a week. It's incredibly hard to maintain."

  I felt his eyes on me, taking in my reactions. He was so fucking beautiful, and right here on my sofa, twirling my hair around his finger.

  "Do you see what I mean about the subtext? The idea that love can't be defined and sex can be a means of strengthening a connection or destroying it."

  I made the mistake of looking at him. Hunger flared in his dark pupils. I was going to have to decide whether or not my next decision would bring about union or destruction. Could I handle making love with him and never seeing him again? I knew it didn't matter. I was in too deep.

  On the screen, he towered over the petite actress—his pelvis thrusting against hers with a look of rapture in her eyes. Dear God, his ass. The way he kissed. I had felt those lips, and the screen did not do him justice.

  "You are truly beautiful." I couldn't believe I said it out loud, but there was no denying it.

  His lips brushed my ear. "So are you." He peppered soft kisses under my jaw.

  I laughed. "Oh, yes, the aging, soon-to-be forty recluse, with the middle-age spread...compared to what," I waved towards the actress on TV, "a twenty-year-old, size zero?"

  He pulled me into his lap, forcing me to straddle his hips. "Let's go ahead and address this now because it's not going to go away, and I've seen it destroy so many relationships."

  Relationships? The word made my head buzz. Surely, it was a slip of the tongue.

  "That…" He pointed to the screen, "love, it's a job. It's fiction. No different than the books you write. Yes, I use my body to express my art, but I'm fully capable of compartmentalizing the two. That woman is an actress, she's a prop, just as I am, to tell a story, nothing more. There is no connection between us. Someday, maybe I can bring you to a set so you can see just how unsexy it is. You are not a prop. You're a choice. I'm here with you tonight because I chose to be. Your generosity, closely followed by your kindness, not to be outshined by your beauty, and that deliciously dirty mind of yours is what first spurred my attraction. After we said goodbye at the airport, I couldn't stop thinking about kissing you, touching you, and so many other glorious things I want to do with you. Not some actress, not a nameless face in the crowd, but you. There will never be a comparison."

  "But, you married a co-star."

  "Yes, it was a huge mistake I've learned from. So, please…allow me to decide who I find desirable. Give me back my control." He leaned in close to my ear. "Katherine, do you want me?"

  I would have been blind, deaf, and dead, not to want him. That voice, the body, his kindness, intelligence. "Yes, but it scares me."

  "I'll tell you a secret... I'm frightened too." He cupped my cheek with his hand. "It's been a very long time since I've trusted someone enough to open up to them, to let them see me. As you know, it hasn't always worked out so well. I mean, I'm here because it almost killed me, but I'm having a hard time fighting this, and I don't think I want to. I don't want to leave you wondering what if."

  I bit my lip, feeling like I was on the edge of a cliff. If I leaped, I wouldn't have to wonder, but my heart might never be the same. If I didn't, he was right. I would always wonder. "Tell me what you're thinking; we need to reconcile the unknowns."

  He flexed his hips and pressed his hard cock against my core. "I need you, not just now, but in my memory. I need to know what you taste like, what it feels like to be inside you. The next time I'm alone, fisting my cock, I want it to be you I'm imagining. I don't want you to fantasize about what it's like to be with me. I want you to know. I want you to know what I feel like inside you, on top of you, under you. I don't want to leave anything to your imagination. I want you to know what sex with me is like, not some on-screen choreographed dance with my character and someone else."

  "Lachlan, I…"

  His hand slid up to cup my ass, pulling me tighter against him. I heard him moan on screen, and I turned to see what was happening. His character was fucking the young woman hard, and she loved it. I wanted that. I wanted him to fuck me like that like he might not ever get the chance again because what we had was so fragile it could fall to pieces at any moment. He was right, he had a say in this story, so instead of choosing the ending as I normally did, I had to trust there would be more to our story.

  "Katherine, tell me I can touch you."

  "Please."

  "Tell me I can have you."

  "Please," I breathed.

  His hard cock rubbed against my core. His hand dipped between us, pressing his fingers against my sex through my panties.

  I moaned. It had been so long since anyone touched me, and this was him. My hands trembled as they ran over the muscled planes of his chest.

  His eyes never left mine, yet he managed to find the remote and stopped the movie. "We can save it for another time.

  "Katherine, love, are you nervous?"

  He kissed me softly. "Yes."

  "How long has it been since someone loved you?"

  "Seven years." I lowered my ga
ze to my left hand, remembering the last time Daniel and I were together.

  "Katherine, look at me. Give me control. Let me love you."

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

  Without waiting for my answer, he says, "Stand up, take off your panties, and give them to me." The stern look on his face and his command reminded me of something he said on the plane.

  Recalling our conversation, I took a risk. "Yes, Mr. Sinclair." I worked the garment down my legs.

  His fingers dug into my hips. "Bloody hell. Yes, love, perfect. Call me that anytime you need me to take control. It will be our secret." He rubbed his cock through his pants with one hand and held out his other hand for my panties. Squeezing the panties in his fist, he said, "These are soaked. Who made you so wet?"

  "You did."

  "What's my name?"

  "Mr. Sinclair."

  He stood up from the sofa, forcing me to take a step backward. He somehow seemed even larger than life, towering over me—the only connection, our gazes. The longer he looked at me, the more my skin tingled. I ached for him to touch me.

  "Katherine…" He breathed my name. "I want to make love to you in your bed. I want to wake up beside you tomorrow. I want you to smell us on your sheets."

  I grabbed his hand and led him to my bedroom. The way his gaze slid over my body was intoxicating. He made love with his eyes first, and it was impossible not to be affected.

  Clutching the hem of my dress, he pulled it over my head. With a few snaps, he allowed my bra to fall from my shoulders and onto the floor.

  I felt so exposed, me completely naked and him fully dressed.

  "Mmm… you are beautiful." He ran his finger along my jawline, over my clavicle, and between my breasts. The same finger lifted my chin. His lips closed over mine in a delicious kiss. His fingers worked at each button on his shirt until the fabric gaped open, unveiling his broad, muscular chest.

  The kiss continued as I helped him with his task. Stepping out of his shoes, he toed off his socks and unbuckled his belt. He paused, peering into my eyes—a subtle seduction, a silent conversation only we heard.

  My fingers found the button on his pants and pushed it through the fabric. A moment later, I lowered his zipper.

  "What do you want, Katherine?"

  Without hesitation, I answered, "Want to touch you."

  "Please," The word was almost a moan.

  I reached into his boxers and closed my hand around him, gliding my fist along his length.

  "Katherine…"

  With my other hand, I worked his pants and boxers down over his hips. Anxious to see and taste him, I stepped closer and trailed kisses from his breastbone downward until I was face to face with his cock. His impressive length and girth twitched with the breath I blew over the tip.

  On my knees, I worshipped him with my tongue. His throaty moans added another element of seduction to our plot. He was so fucking sexy.

  Wrapping his hand in my hair, he urged me to take him in my mouth. I complied, licking the salty droplets at the tip before engulfing him. With my fist wrapped around his base, I slid my hand and mouth up and down his shaft.

  He stared down at me, lust gleaming in his bright irises. "Fuck. So good. So fucking sexy." His fingers threaded the tendrils of hair, trying not to pull. I wish we had more time, so I could teach him I wasn't fragile.

  He tugged ever so slightly on my stands. "Come here, love. If you keep doing that, it's going to make the other things I have planned for you more difficult."

  I rose.

  His lips captured mine. "Hmm…what a talented mouth you have, Katherine. You put my fantasy to shame."

  I blushed.

  "Oh, don't be embarrassed. You won't believe how many times I've dreamt we were back on the plane, and when you woke up, you unzipped my pants and sucked me off, right there in front of everyone." He stepped out of his pants and backed me toward the bed. His cock pressed against my stomach. His mouth devoured mine. Pulling away, he picked up his pants and fished through the pocket. He circled to the side of the bed, placing two foil packets on the nightstand.

  I smiled at his thoughtfulness, thankful since I was so out of practice.

  "I didn't mean to be presumptuous, but I'll admit, I was hoping we'd end up here." He stalked toward me like a lion—majestic and graceful. "Now, where was I? Oh, yes, that's right." His hands settled on my hips, helping me onto the bed.

  I inched towards the headboard, and he followed, keeping a minimal distance between us. He sat back on his feet and encircled his fingers around my ankle, lifting it up. He kissed the tender flesh on the inside of my leg then hiked my other leg higher and wider. Lachlan trapped his bottom lip in his teeth and smiled approvingly. He marked my leg with a slow, tantalizing path of kisses to my sex, where he opened me for his inspection. Titling my hips back and parting my thighs farther, he dipped his fingers into my slit.

  I moaned, delighting in his touch and my vulnerability.

  "Now, that's a sound I could hear every day of my life and never grow tired of it." He pushed two of his long, slender fingers into me.

  "Oh, God, Lachlan…" I almost came from feeling part of him inside me.

  He dipped his head, his breath caressing my clit. "So soft. So tight. Mmm…your scent. I'm so fucking hard."

  A jolt coursed through my body with the first swipe of his tongue.

  His firm grip held my shaking legs still. His mouth sucked, his tongue danced, and his fingers fucked me all in perfect rhythm.

  "Fuck, Lachlan… You're going to make me…God…I need…" I couldn't steady my breathing or finish a fucking thought.

  He stopped only for a moment and said, "Not as much as I need it. Come for me, Katherine. Squeeze my fingers. Drown me in your desire. You are so fucking beautiful."

  I gripped the comforter and tossed my head back, biting my lip.

  The onslaught of his tongue on my rigid nub caused me to scream his name. "Lachlan." My head swam in euphoria, and my body gushed, soaking his hand and face. My quaking legs resisted his hold, but his strong hands forced my legs even wider.

  Removing his fingers from within me, he replaced them with his tongue. The tip swirled around my entrance then swiped back and forth from slit to clit until he had devoured everything I had given.

  His face glistened when he sat up from between my legs. His cock jutted out from his body, hard and thick. He ran a hand through his hair. "I could live between your legs."

  I reached over, grabbing one of the condoms, and ripped the corner. "Well then, come here, it's time for you to come home." I pinched the latex between my fingers.

  He visibly shivered and scooted forward until his cock was within reach.

  I rolled the rubber material over the head, sliding until it reached the base.

  He wasted no time. Gripping his cock in his hand, he positioned himself at my entrance and slid home. A long, feral moan escaped his lips once he was seated inside me.

  God, he felt so good.

  He forced his hips closer, trying to be as far inside me as possible, then leaned forward and captured my mouth with his.

  I could still taste my essence on his lips, adding to my arousal. The weight of his body pressed me into the mattress, while his tongue explored my mouth. Flexing his hips, he slid out and drove into me again. This time, his arms stiffened, and he rose above me, his head inclined to expose the galloping pulse in his neck. His adam's apple vibrated with his deep, satisfied groan. "Katherine, Mmm… I don't know how I'm going to be able to leave in the morning. You feel so good. So wet. So tight."

  Not wanting to think about the future and dying to see him come, I cupped his ass cheeks in my hands, taking a moment to appreciate the firmness beneath the soft flesh. "You have me now. That's all that matters." I urged him to set a rhythm.

  His pelvis pounded against mine, leaving a delicious ache.

  The need for him to look at me was a driving desire I didn't fully understand. "Look at me, Lachlan.
I need to see you."

  He arched his back and stared directly into my eyes, never wavering while his cock thrust in and out of me.

  I reached up and ran my fingers over his face, trying to memorize him.

  His lips kissed the tip of one finger, then the next, just before his eyes closed, and his rhythm changed. His legs stiffened, muscles trembled. "Fuck, Katherine. I'm coming." He continued to pound, taking me over the edge with him.

  He peppered kiss over my face as his movements slowed. He smiled and shook off the shiver that ran through him. "Wow."

  I couldn't help but grin. "Yes, wow, indeed."

  He reached between us, grasping the end of the condom and withdrew. He bounded from the bed to dispose of the used latex and clean himself before returning to bed.

  I worked my way under the covers where he joined me.

  He wrapped me in his arm and snuggling me tight against his body.

  I thought back to something he said in our email exchanges. "Why did the heroine allow herself a taste if she knew that's all it would be?" I found the question difficult to answer at the time but staring at his lovely face, I knew now she had no other choice.

  Sometime in the middle of the night, we made use of the other condom. We didn't speak. No words were needed. We simply felt each other—skin against skin. It was passion and reverence sealed with a kiss. Both sated and exhausted, we succumbed to a much-needed sleep.

  Lachlan's alarm sounded far too early. I had slept in his arms again, but this time I remembered.

  Unwinding from around me, he rolled onto his back. He grabbed his phone and turned off the alarm, only to return to me. His body melded to mine, skin against skin. "I'm going to miss you. I wish I didn't have to leave."

  "Me too." I smiled. "You'll be careful?"

  He gave me a sweet, chaste kiss. "Yes, I promise."

  This was the part I hated. Why I never considered dating an option. The uncertainty. The goodbyes. The morning after was something I never relished, which was one reason I avoided it.

  He linked his fingers with mine and raised them to his mouth. Pressing a kiss to the back of my hand, he asked, "What's wrong? You seem...I don't know…distant."