Falling Star

by Olivia Brynn

  "The days of the week don't matter much to me. Sometimes I'm at work at two in the morning on a Sunday."

  She sighed. "Are you ever going to tell me what you do?" She hated the pouty words, but she hadn't tried this approach, maybe it would work. She stuck out her lower lip. This always worked on her brothers.

  "I think you're going to figure it out pretty soon." He held her close. "I promised Dean I'd tell you before this weekend is over."

  "Dean knows?" She sat up to face him. "And he didn't tell me?" It couldn't be bad, if Dean didn't try to stop her from spending the weekend with Adam. It couldn't be too exciting either, or Dean would have made it a point to tell her. "Wait a minute…you told Dean before you told me?"

  "I didn't tell him. He guessed."

  She looked Adam over. Did she miss something? "How did he guess that fast?"

  Adam shrugged. "Maybe he's just smarter than you."

  "Adam!" She planted her fists on her hips. Oh he did not just say that.

  With that sexy laugh, he pulled her back into his arms, her cheek against his nipple. "Jade, I'll tell you right now if you want me to." He smelled good. "But I wanted to spend this weekend without worrying about it."

  "I shouldn't be worried that you're hiding it from me?" She circled his nipple with a middle finger, watching it grow to a stiff peak before her eyes. "You know I won't care if you're a fast-food burger flipper, roadie, or key grip best boy…or whatever they call it."

  "That's good to know, but you aren't even close. You don't need to worry. What I do is legal, moral, ethical, and decent. It affects most aspects of my life—a big part of who I am, but I really do own my own car, and this boat, and even my own house." He sighed, and rubbed her bent arm. "But most people see my occupation as me, and vice versa. I just want you to know who I am before I throw that into the mix."

  "I already know what kind of man you are."

  "Yeah, you told me. Cocky was the word I think you used."

  "Hmm, but now I know I was wrong about that." She averted her attention to his right nipple, and adjusted her hips in his lap.

  "Oh?"

  "Mm hm, I think I said you were 'a little cocky', which I now know doesn't describe you well at all."

  Typical man, his erection grew with her words. "Maybe if you left my nipples alone, my little cocky wouldn't misbehave."

  "I think it's behaving quite nicely." She rubbed against him, and even politely reached down to adjust him.

  Kisses are better when smiling.

  Adam stood, lowering her to the polished deck, and without a word, led her down to the state room.

  * * * *

  She woke sometime during the night, disturbed to find that Adam wasn't beside her. It was the first time during the night she couldn't feel his hard body wrapped around hers. After exhausting themselves with a slow session of lovemaking, Jade was surprised she hadn't slept until noon.

  She sat upright and looked around. The sheets beside her were cool enough to prove that he had left a while ago. Where would he…

  And then she heard the music. Adam's guitar. One chord, and then another. A picked-out melody, strung through the harmony. The tune complemented the otherwise still and silent night, and then it stopped.

  An irrational need to be close to him flooded her body, and she shoved her arms into Adam's shirt, and followed the sound up the stairs and out onto deck, all the way to the front—bow, Adam said—of the boat.

  When she saw him, she stopped in her tracks. Adam sat cross-legged on the wooden deck, a guitar in his lap. One tiny florescent lantern cast a circle of blue light on the spiral notebook beneath one knee. There was a pencil behind an ear, and he wore only a pair of cotton boxers.

  Those same chords, the same melody, then one or two additional notes, another pause, then back to the beginning. Adam lifted his face to the clear starry sky. From her position behind him, she couldn't tell if his eyes were open, but obviously he was lost in his music, concentrating on the flow of notes, and the direction they took him.

  He stopped playing, took the pencil from his ear, wrote in the notebook, stuck the pencil back in place, and the process began again. As much as she wanted to stand there watching and listening, Jade didn't want to disturb his concentration, so she turned to tiptoe back to bed.

  "Jade?"

  His voice startled her, and she jumped a bit before turning back around to face him. "I'm sorry. I woke up and you weren't there. I didn't mean to interrupt you."

  "Come here." He laid his guitar aside, and held out a hand. Light from the moon and bluish lantern glow painted the area with a black-and-white old-movie feel.

  She walked toward him, wending through the many balls of notebook paper, strewn like shrapnel after a weary battle. His beautiful features came into focus as she got closer. She took his outstretched hand, and he led her around and into his lap.

  "I'm sorry I woke you. I forget how thin these walls are."

  She didn't realize how chilly it was outside until his warm arms surrounded her. She snuggled back against his chest. "It was beautiful. I didn't want you to stop."

  He buried his face in the curve of her neck. "If you give me a minute I'll play some more." He sipped at her skin, licking and kissing. "But I needed a break, and you smell good. Like sex and sleep." He rubbed her arms, warming her.

  "I wonder why." She yawned. "So you write music?"

  He laughed. "I'm trying, but it isn't working out very well right now."

  "It sounded good to me." She settled more comfortably on the deck in the cove of his thighs.

  "The music is done. It's the lyrics that are giving me hell." He rested his chin on the top of her head, and together they watched the stars twinkle just like the lights of the distant California coast.

  "Wait, so you write music?" Did she just figure out his big secret occupation? No wonder he was reluctant to share that with her. Working in a consignment sort of fashion can't be too stable.

  "Yeah." He laughed, the sound rich in her ears.

  "Well why didn't you just say so?"

  She pinched a few hairs on his leg and twisted. He yelped, and grabbed her wrist.

  "You didn't ask if I wrote music. You asked if I was a stunt man or a porn star, but you—" She twisted further. "Damn, Jade, that hurts!"

  "Don't mess with a girl raised in the sticks with boys." She had unlimited knowledge of effective torture of a male body.

  "I was going to play for you, but if you're gonna be mean…"

  She released the knotted hair. "I'm sorry. I'll be good."

  He rubbed the red spot on his thigh. "I bet you were a little brat growing up."

  "I am an angel sent from heaven above," she recited.

  He picked up his guitar, and put it in front of her, then hooked his chin on her shoulder to play. His breath fanned her collarbone, and his words snaked into her ear like a forbidden whisper. "Well, Angel, it's a well-known fact that there are four types of country music." He strummed a chord. "We've got Lovin', Livin', Leavin' and Cryin'. Every song in country music falls into one of these categories."

  "Is that right?" There was something fascinating about having a guitar played in her lap. She could actually feel the notes through the back of the instrument where it rested against her breasts. She tucked her hands beneath his thighs to keep them out of the way.

  "Yeah, a guy I know came up with this category system, and it's made sense. Anyway, this song is a type one: Lovin'." He tuned one string with a barely perceptible tweak to one tuning key. When it was satisfactory, he continued. "But the lyrics aren't coming to me quite yet, so just close your eyes for me. I'll play it, and you can just imagine the love story in the music."

  Jade couldn't keep the grin from her face, but she closed her eyes, and leaned against his shoulder. "Okay."

  And then he played.

  The straining melody threaded through the strummed chords. She tried to picture a man singing to his lover. Immediately she placed her and Adam in he
r mind, and she knew she wore a goofy expression as the waves of melody drew her into the dance. Adam hummed along, and she heard his voice in her ear. Maybe she was still half asleep, but the song, with its minor chords and sorrowful tune, changed from being about love to the story of sadness. Adam's purring sent an ache of regret straight to her heart. Even without words, the music made her want to cry when it was all over.

  "What do you think?" He continued strumming the chord progression, and spoke quietly into her ear.

  "I loved it." She slid her hands down his, until she held the guitar through him. "Adam, it was just beautiful, but…" She bit her bottom lip. Shut up Jade.

  "But what?" He stopped playing.

  "Nothing. I loved it, I really did."

  "Tell me," he prodded.

  "Well…you said this is a love song, right? A type one?"

  He laughed, and nibbled her ear. "Yeah, type one. Lovin'."

  "And what were the other types?"

  "Lovin', Livin', Leavin' and Cryin'."

  She threaded her fingers in between his where they lay against the strings. "I don't know much about music or anything, and I wouldn't even attempt to understand what it's like to write a song…"

  He sat still, and she worried she might offend him. "Go on," he prompted.

  "I just thought it was more of a Leavin' or Cryin' song. Maybe a type three, three and a half…uh…maybe."

  He was quiet for a few minutes, which really worried her. Then he laid the guitar aside, and enfolded her in his arms like before. "You really think so?"

  "Well, you know, without the words I mean. Maybe once you get the lyrics in there it will—"

  "No…no you're right." The animation in his words relieved her of any guilt at her big-mouthed opinion. "I wanted a love song, and I wrote this. In my mind it's just always been a love song." He clasped both her hands in his. "I never actually stepped back and looked at it. Oh my God, Jade. You're right, it's not a love song!"

  "Wait, Adam. Don't change it just because of what I said."

  He pushed her aside to cradle her in his left arm. He leaned over her with the biggest smile on his face. He didn't look like a man who'd had little or no sleep. His eyes shone, dancing with excitement. "Jade, I'm so glad I woke you up." He kissed her hard, but without desire. He was too keyed up with another joy.

  Jade laughed at his enthusiasm, and climbed off his lap. "Wake me up anytime Adam."

  He reached for his notebook, and tore out the page he'd been writing on, crumpled it into a ball and threw it into the shadows with the others.

  She sat on her heels and watched the wheels turning. His eyes shifted across the paper, and he wrote in bold scrawling words. She leaned over, smoothed his sleep-mussed hair, and kissed his forehead with an indulgent smile.

  He probably didn't even notice when she crept back to bed.

  Chapter Seven

  Waking up in the arms of a sexy man has to be one of the greatest pleasures known to womankind. His legs were tangled with hers, one arm thrown across her waist, the other had to be numb, with her head lying on his bicep cutting off his circulation. Her nose was pressed against his chest, and his deep even breathing proved he was still asleep.

  She didn't know when he'd come back to bed; she had fallen asleep listening to his music out on deck. From his clean scent, she realized he must have showered before joining her.

  Too bad she missed that. She planted a kiss on his smooth pectoral muscle. Warm from sleep, and tasting deliciously masculine. He was beautiful to look at. He must pump a lot of iron to keep his body this rock hard. His nipples were a dark auburn, two flat circles of flesh that intrigued her. She knew he liked her touch on them, the way he cupped her head last night while she suckled and teased them erect. As tempted as she was to replay the evening before, she didn't want to wake him; he probably needed the sleep.

  She looked up, past his square jaw, dusted as it was with blond stubble, across his chiseled cheek, and to his eyelids. His lashes were darker than the hair on his head, the thick crescents made her want to kiss them. He looked completely harmless and innocent in sleep.

  Very carefully, she scooted up to align her face with his. She inhaled his breath like a vampire would feed on the blood of his victim. The longer she stayed, the more her heart ached with the intimacy of sharing his essence as he simply slept. She was torn between hoping he'd awaken for her sake, and hoping he would continue to sleep for his.

  Finally, with an airy kiss on the corner of his mouth, those lips that gave her such pleasure yesterday, she slipped from beneath his arm and adjusted the sheet over him before grabbing something to wear and sneaking out of the room.

  It took a few minutes just to figure out how to turn on the shower. It would be too small for them both, she thought with a naughty pout, but the water was nice and hot. After putting on her makeup, Jade peeked in to check on Adam. He hadn't moved from where she left him, his hand still stretched out as it had been curled over her waist. She indulged in another long staring session, until her body started asking for something more, and she had to leave him to rest.

  She wandered along the boat, stopping on the way to lean against the chrome rail and watch the rise and fall of the dark blue ocean. She could count only five boats in sight, and none close enough to bother them. The green mountainous Southern California coast sat far in the distance. The ocean always made her feel lonely and insignificant, and the feeling was even more pronounced out here surrounded by nothing but water.

  The cockpit fascinated her, and she carefully walked through it, studying the various dials, levers and switches. Good lord, how long must it take for one to learn how to drive a boat like this? Dean would have an aneurism.

  It was almost eleven when she looked through the kitchen for something to eat. She scrambled some eggs and fried a few links of sausage. When brunch was ready she snuck two plates into the bedroom, set them on the bedside table, and snuggled against him.

  "Mm, good morning," he mumbled. "I smell breakfast."

  "Are you too sleepy?"

  "No." He opened his eyes and rolled to hover over her. He studied her for a few minutes, tracing a line over each of her features with a reverent touch. "Has anyone ever told you that you look like a painting?"

  "A painting?" She laughed, warmth rushing to her cheeks. "I don't think anyone has. I hope you aren't thinking Picasso or Dali."

  "More like Botticelli." He smoothed her hair away from her face. "I love that you aren't starving yourself into a size two. You're so real. Real curves, real boobs…"

  "That makes me wonder what kind of woman you're used to dating." And trying not to wonder how she measured up. Size two plus six. That's how you measure up Jade.

  "It makes me realize all the others weren't women at all."

  Oh God. The sincere way he looked down at her, those sleepy blue eyes…she was in such trouble. "Scrambled eggs and sausage. Keeps me in my real womanly figure. Come on, it's getting cold." She gave him a smacking kiss on his cheek and slipped free of his arms. She had to get out of there before he started looking too closely at her flaws. She poured two cups of coffee and returned to the bedroom, where he was propped up against the wall, a sausage link skewered on his fork. They ate side by side, often sharing forkfuls and kisses. Again she was thankful for the calm waters, or they wouldn't have even attempted breakfast in bed.

  She carried their dishes back to the kitchen, and when she returned, she stopped in the doorway. Adam had slid back down in bed, his arms folded behind his head, and a very sexy smile on his face. She stuck a hip out, and folded her arms over her chest.

  "I thought you were getting up." Too late, she realized what she'd said.

  His smile grew on one side. "Oh I'm up."

  She rolled her eyes and tried her best to look unimpressed. "I mean, I thought you were going to get dressed."

  "And I thought I told you not to pack any clothes." He crooked his finger, beckoning her to him. Like one hypnotized, she follo
wed his silent direction. She crawled up his body, and he guided her the last few inches with two hands cupping her face until she kissed him.

  He tasted of coffee. His warm tongue stroked against hers with amazing skill. She tried not to think of the women before her, but the vision of a size-two, leggy, blonde supermodel with double D's wrapped around Adam in a carnal embrace almost made her growl.

  "Have I told you I love your body?" he hummed in her ear. The words were musical, like the bass accompaniment in one of his love songs.

  "You do?" She tore off her tank top, as he worked on her bra.

  "I do. Smooth. Warm…sexy…God, baby. Bring those nipples to my mouth."

  Any thought of another woman pleasing him left her mind, and her heart swelled with pleasure. She made some kitten-like mewl, and crawled further over him, until one breast was poised over his willing mouth.

  He circled the stiff tip of his tongue around to outline her already erect nipple in a painfully slow drag. Then another circle further down onto the flushed skin of her breast. His breath was warm against her, but each ring of saliva he left chilled with the moving air. Another circle and her nipple nestled firmly inside his mouth. When he wrapped his lips around her flesh and pulled his mouth free with a long drag, Jade almost lost control and collapsed on him. The torture was too sweet though, and she braced herself for more, even while moisture leaked out to coat her sex.

  He reached down to the button of her shorts, and made quick work pushing them down until she could kick free without moving from his mouth. Then he used his hands to stroke the skin of her back, down to her ass, even her thighs received the loving attention of his ten fingers.

  "Okay, this one's done." He reached for her other breast, and began the torture all over again.

  Jade threw her head back and moaned. "Adam…"

  His wandering fingers found the arrow of her pubic hair, and played with it. "I love what you do here." He traced the shape until he reached the point, and spent extra time where she was already moist and needy. "It's very sexy."