Falling Star

by Olivia Brynn

  "You really want me to just sit and watch you cook?" She held on to his shoulders for balance, and he couldn't seem to release his hold on her waist. His thumbs caressed her ribs through the thin cotton of her shirt. Without thinking, he stepped between her knees. Her position on the counter put her face at his level.

  "You're my guest. I can't have you skipping a meal."

  She removed his sunglasses, and then hers. She set them both aside, then peeled off his hat.

  He went still. He'd never been so naked in his life. She saw right through every pretense he'd ever put on. Right now it was just Adam Joseph Herlihey and Jade Colleen Graham. All that made him the man he was lay exposed for her to see, but rather than looking away, Adam indulged in the exchange, drawing everything he possibly could from those windows to her soul. God, he was afraid to blink and sever the electric connection. He stared at her so long, the flecks of brown in her eyes started to blur together.

  "What did you say?" She sounded as confused as he felt.

  "I don't remember." The current drew him closer, and in a rush he kissed her. She opened to him eagerly. The sound that bubbled from her throat went straight to the tip of his cock, and shimmied down to his balls.

  She wiggled to the edge of the counter, hooked her ankles around his thighs, and drew him closer to her. Oh God, he was so hard it hurt. He adjusted himself against her, but damn, she ground along the fly of his shorts, teasing him with her heat. Smooth warm legs circled him. He could barely think straight with her hands grasping his back and scalp in a hungry hold.

  "I'm glad you're here."

  "Mm, me too."

  "Jade…" She should stop him here. He wanted her to push him away. He needed some space before he took her on the kitchen counter.

  "Please, Adam." Her voice was breathy and warm in his ear.

  "But dinner—"

  "Can wait. Please Adam."

  Yes. Now. Fuck. He cupped her ass and carried her from the kitchen and into the cramped stateroom. He crawled with her into the center of the bed, then dropped down to cover her. Their combined sighs of pleasure echoed off the walls.

  He reached under her shirt and the softest skin met his fingers. He broke away from her mouth; he had to feel that skin on his tongue.

  "Adam…oh that feels good."

  With his mouth planted on her abdomen, her goose bumps came in a wave, tickling his lips. The sight of her, the way her shorts rode below her navel, the way he'd hiked up her tank, baring the fucking sexiest torso, drove him wild with lust.

  He growled, guiding her shirt over her head and tossing it away. She wore an all but transparent scrap of pink fabric in place of a bra. Her nipples poked through the lacy thing, their dusky shadows like a virgin smiling behind a veil. He cupped one full mound with both hands, and sucked her entire areola into his mouth.

  The fabric was softer than it looked. It molded around her erect nipple when wet. He fumbled for the front clasp, cursing his clumsiness. Finally he was able to tear the contraption away and look his fill.

  "Jesus, Jade you're beautiful. Your body is perfect."

  She scrambled to get at his shirt. He had to stop looking at her perfect body when she peeled it over his head.

  "I like this." She ran her fingers over his skin, light enough to make every nerve ending in his chest stand at attention. She lifted off the bed to plant her lips against his shoulder. "Let me feel you against me."

  He kissed her hard, and rubbed their chests together. Her breasts, cool now from his mouth, scraped across him. He was so turned on, he was afraid to take his shorts off for fear that he'd come as soon as she touched him. He had to slow down.

  He rolled them to their sides. She curled a leg over his to keep him close, and he twined his between her smooth thighs.

  "I just want to look at you for a minute." Her clear skin looked almost like it was made out of porcelain. He stroked her cheek with a thumb. Cool and soft. The strawberry blond curls tangled his fingers in a silky prison. He was torn. As much as he wanted to spend the next few hours just staring at her, memorizing every freckle on her nose, cataloguing every color that streaked through her hair, he had to kiss her too, and he couldn't do both. He studied her until he had to taste her. A trail of kisses over her cheeks and neck, then he'd pull back to look his fill. He continued the pattern until she writhed on the bed with a hungry moan.

  "You're driving me crazy, Adam."

  "Fair's fair. I can't even think about you without going a little bit nuts." He worked his way back to her breasts, loving the way she arched off the bed. While he suckled her like a babe, he worked on the fastener of her shorts. He barely got the zipper down before slipping his hand beneath her spread fly and panties.

  "Oh God, Jade. You're so ready for me." So fucking hot and wet. Any control he strived to maintain almost snapped at that point. He sucked air into his lungs. His fingers slid along her crease, slipping and swirling in her cream. Her nub was swollen and hard. He pinched it gently, pulled it, rolled it in time with the gyrations of her hips.

  With a strangled groan, she shoved her shorts and panties together down her legs and kicked them away. Adam rolled back in order to see what she revealed.

  Straight from the hottest wet dream he could remember, this woman lying beside him made his chest burn with lust. She was trim, but not too skinny. His hands moved almost of their own accord, feeling the curve of her waist, the softest skin where her thighs met.

  She kept her pubic hair trimmed and shaved into a thin triangle, more like the point of a reddish gold arrow, showing him the way to ultimate pleasure. He traced the shape, and the silky strands tickled his coarse fingers, sending spasms of desire through his hand, up his arm and into his soul. The tip of that arrow hovered over her clit, which jutted out and glistened with moisture. Sliding his finger further down, to those shaved lips below, he released the breath he hadn't realized he held, and it hissed through his teeth. When touching wasn't enough, he moved down and his tongue followed the path forged by his hand.

  She shivered when he traced the triangle, moaned when he swirled around her clit, and shouted his name when he kissed her. She tasted so sweet. He should have known. As sweet as her mouth was, her cream was like the cinnamon icing on a warm dessert.

  Licking her was almost enough for him. He could continue all night, but he was already precariously close to his own orgasm. He hadn't been with a woman in months. He hadn't been with a woman sober in a hell of a long time. He barely slid two fingers inside her heat before she jerked, then swelled. Her shuddering humming sound rolled over him, and her slick channel clenched his fingers in ecstasy. He kissed her, suckling her clit through each contraction, riding it out with her, prolonging her pleasure and his.

  "Come to me Adam."

  He didn't need to be asked twice. He scrambled out of his shorts, and dropped wet kisses on his way up her body. She surprised him when she took his face in her hands and kissed him. The taste of her mingled with the sweetness of her mouth, sent another explosion of pure lust through his veins.

  She nibbled his lips, she sucked on his tongue, and oh God, she trailed those delicate fingers down his front until they found his cock. Hard, ready, and weeping.

  "My turn." She winked, pushing him onto his back and crawling down his legs.

  "No, no Jade. I can't." He shoved her hand away with his own, and stiff-armed her with the other on her shoulder. "I'll come as soon as you touch me, and I don't want that." He swallowed hard, then pulled his balls away from his body to keep the rushing orgasm away. Jesus, you're going to embarrass yourself.

  "Condom?" Her voice was low, husky.

  He gestured toward the built-in bedside table, breathing like a fish out of water. He thought about the complicated riff in his latest number-one song. The lyrics to the work in progress that he just couldn't get right. By the time he had regained some semblance of control, she was again hovering over him with the rubber in her hand.

  "God, you turn me on li
ke no other." He shook his head with a self-depreciating chuckle. "Kiss me Jade."

  The grin she gave him was as naughty as it could be. Lust danced behind her eyes when she straddled his hips and leaned on one bent arm to do his bidding.

  Her cool, refreshing tongue stroked his, whirling around like an exotic dancer on a pole. With her free hand, she rolled the condom down his dick, and he was pretty proud of the fact that he didn't lose it right there, with the tight circle of her fingers sliding down his length. She sat back on her heels to study her handiwork, his cock pulsing and bobbing between them.

  Her legs looked so smooth and white against the roughness of his dark hands. He wedged his hands between her thighs and his hips, then up to where her wet center hovered over his balls.

  "I love the way you touch me." He barely heard her whisper, but he felt the words deep in his chest.

  "I love to touch you."

  He measured his breathing, three counts in, three out. He wasn't sure if he could clear his head, with her balanced over him the way she was, but he had to try if he wanted to last more than one stroke inside her walls.

  When he rubbed her clit between his thumb and forefinger, she shot up, then dropped on all fours with another one of those breathy moans that made him glad he was a man.

  "You like that?"

  "You're…going to make me come again." Her head was bent, and she watched every movement he made. God, that was sexy.

  "I want you to. Over and over." He lifted his shoulders to reach her mouth with his. "I love your mouth Jade." He dropped back onto the pillow and slipped his middle finger as deep inside her as he could.

  She hiccupped.

  He smiled.

  He curled that finger up, found the ridged spongy patch and rubbed a circle around it, recognizing the catch in her breath for what it was. She said he wasn't conceited, but the rush of male pride at bringing her such pleasure was hard to deny. It drove him crazy that he took her to such heights.

  She held his hand inside her, curling her fingers against his where they lay against her clit. "Ah, Adam…I want you inside me." She sat upright, and looked deep into his eyes. Then she took him in her slender hand, angled his erection up and rose to her knees. When his cock slid along his knuckle where it was seated in her hot channel, he barked some inhuman noise, and his hips jerked up, sending him deeper.

  He didn't know what words he used, but he was aware of a string of nonsensical noises erupting from his throat.

  The most incredible warmth enveloped him when she sandwiched his hand between her pubic bone and his. When he regained some sanity, he wiggled his finger against her G-spot each time she slid down him in an agonizingly slow rhythm. While he fought with every base instinct in his body to pump to release, he surrendered himself to her pace, and indulged in each hot pass she made.

  When she lowered herself to rest, with his cock and digit buried as deep as possible inside her, she opened heavy lids to meet his gaze. Her stillness paralyzed him, and he could only stare into those liquid green eyes. Then, without warning, and still without moving a muscle, her eyes drifted closed in supreme pleasure, and she came. Hard.

  "Fuck…Jesus…Jade…" He grabbed her hip, holding her tight against him. He felt each clamping contraction as she squeezed the life out of him. She flushed, the sexy blush coloring even her breasts with a rosy glow.

  The combination of his dick and finger inside her, feeling her orgasm in two ways was enough to send him over the edge. He pinched his eyes closed, and bared his teeth. His balls tightened, and shot his seed in wave after wave up and out his staff. Each pulsing release was a miniature orgasm, and they added up to one hell of a finale. A thin sheen of sweat covered him, sending a shiver down his body. This pleasure he had never known even curled his toes.

  When he had no more to give, he peeled open his eyes to find her looking down at him, the sultry expression of a woman well pleased. She took his hand, slid his finger from within her, and cupped his fist in her hands. She brought it to her lips, and kissed his knuckles.

  He closed his eyes again, and sighed, indulging in the sexy aftermath of loving. His adrenaline still pumped through his body, his heart still raced out of control, so he just relaxed, and allowed her to bring him back to earth with her gentle ministrations.

  Finally he felt like he'd regained enough control over his liquid muscles in order to open his eyes, and with the smile on her face, Adam Nash realized he would never again need a liquid high.

  "Jade, that was…" He shook his head. There were no words that wouldn't sound cliché or trite.

  "I know. For me too." She lay on top of his chest, blanketing him with warmth, and he wrapped his arms around her, committing every second to memory. He smoothed her hair away from her cheek, tucked her head under his chin, and smiled. Again.

  He knew it would be good. Every kiss, every touch they'd shared had been leading up to this, and he'd be damned if it wasn't better than he could have ever expected.

  He rolled them both to their sides, and he reached down to hold the condom as he pulled from her. "Don't move." He shot her a teasing glare, then rolled back over, sliding off the bed and into the head. He returned with a warm washcloth, and winked up at her.

  *

  Jade smiled. That wink was so sexy, so full of promises, and now she knew each promise this man made with his touches, kisses—and winks—were not empty ones.

  He cleaned her with a gentle touch, then tossed the washcloth to the floor along with their clothes. He laid his head on her stomach, and wrapped his arms around her waist. The position was so tender and subservient, Jade took a shuddering breath to keep her emotions in check.

  His thick hair tickled her ribs. She smoothed it against his skull, ruffling it where it still held an indentation of his ball cap.

  After a while, she thought he might have gone to sleep; his breath came deep and even, and his weight was heavy on top of her. She closed her eyes. She could go for a nap. They could wake up later and have dinner then.

  To her consternation, the mere thought of food sent her stomach rumbling. Adam's responding laughter made her blush.

  He nuzzled her belly with his nose. "Sounds like I need to feed you."

  "Not yet. I don't want to move."

  "You don't have to move." He rose on his hands and knees. His sleepy blue eyes looked even sexier now.

  "But…"

  "Huh uh. Stay. This will just take a minute." He pulled his boxer shorts out from the pile of forgotten clothing at the foot of the bed, hiked them up over his hips, and went into the kitchen.

  Jade lay there for only a moment before putting her panties back on, but opted for his black tee shirt to top them. The shirt fit Adam like a second skin, but it draped along Jade's curves, and hung down to mid-thigh. It smelled like him though, and that was enough reason to wear it.

  She came up behind him where he stood staring into the refrigerator, and took him in her arms. His back was hot on her cheek.

  "I told you to stay." He stroked her hand where it lay temptingly close to his nipple.

  "I want to help."

  "You can choose then." He twined his fingers through hers and held them against his heart. "We have chicken marsala, salisbury steak, or chicken stir fry."

  She peered around him. In the fridge were three aluminum pans, each clearly marked with a bold black sharpie. "Carley?"

  "No, I did this all by myself."

  "You're kidding!" She let go of him, and pushed him aside to look beneath the foil lid of the first pan she found. Four chicken breasts topped with mushrooms and nestled in a bed of noodles. Broccoli, cauliflower and carrots in a separate foil cup in the corner of the pan. Even cold it smelled delicious, and her stomach grumbled again. "Oh no. This isn't good."

  "It's not?"

  "No. Damn you, you cook too?" Now, if he volunteered at a children's hospital, she'd be a goner for sure. She set the chicken marsala on the stove top and turned to face him, shaking her head. She
was in such trouble.

  He closed the refrigerator and took her hands in his. "Actually, when I said I did it myself, what I meant was, I picked up the phone and called my friend who is a chef, and asked him to prepare three meals that could be reheated in my boat's oven. All by myself."

  "Oh Adam, you little—"

  "Hey, I picked them up from his restaurant by myself too. I'm a pretty self-sufficient guy, don't you think? Hey, watch this. I'm going to get dinner ready." He reached behind her to switch on the oven. "Just call me MacGyver."

  He dodged her playful slug.

  While the scent of the Italian dish filled the space, Adam slipped his board shorts back on, but refused to allow her to change out of his tee shirt.

  "I don't think I'll be able to wear it again without a raging hard-on after today." He rubbed circles into her back through the shirt. "But this is worth it."

  They joked and laughed through dinner. Forsaking plates, they just hunched over the big aluminum pan, fighting over bites of chicken or the juiciest looking carrots. He poured them each a glass of wine, and she watched the moon rise from a most comfortable place on his lap where he sat on a fabric sling-backed deck chair.

  "The boat isn't making you sick?" His breath tickled her eyelashes, and the rumble of his words sounded even more musical when she had her ear pressed against his chest.

  Jade had his hand in hers, tracing each line in his palm, wishing she knew how to read the story behind each crevice. "No, it's very soothing."

  "You might change your mind if the wind picks up." He tightened his free hand around her waist and pressed another kiss on her forehead.

  "I trust MacGyver to keep me safe." She felt his smile against her forehead.

  "We're not that far out. If it gets too bad we can just head back in."

  "Mm, then I'll pray for good weather." She kissed his palm, then ran her tongue along the deepest groove.

  "Me too. I love having you all to myself like this."

  "I won't want to go to work on Monday, that's for sure."

  When he didn't respond, she again wondered about his profession. She adopted a casual tone, and tried something. "How about you? Don't you just love Mondays?"