Catching Stardust (14 page)

The touch of her fingers on his naked skin was enough to take the chill from the water. He was suddenly very aware of how naked they both were, and just how closely she stood. “Hey,” he said, his voice huskier than he thought it would be.

“Hey yourself.” Her eyes twinkled in the moonlight as she gazed at him.

He stroked his hand along her collarbone trying desperately to ignore the urge he had to pull her against his body—to kiss her, to touch the parts of her body still hiding beneath the water. If she were flush against his body, she’d know exactly what her touch did to him. If her body pressed against him fully, he’d have to resist a whole lot more than kissing her. That would be down right painful.

She shivered under his touch.

“You cold?”

“A little. Maybe we should go finish eating.”

He wasn’t the least bit hungry for food, but he nodded and motioned back toward the water’s edge. “There are a couple of blankets on the shore beside our clothes. I’ll stay in here while you dry off.”

Her hand lingered on his arm for another few seconds. He wondered if she could feel his pulse pounding under her touch. All too soon, she swam away toward the shore, leaving him alone in the cold lake and already missing the feel of her skin on his.

Chapter Eleven

Maia nibbled at her food and chanced a glance up at Zander. He sat across from her, his blanket wrapped loosely around his waist. Her view was even more amazing than it had been earlier now that he was half naked. As he looked down at his food, eating silently, she took in his sculpted chest, the ripples of his washboard abs, the dusting of dark hair below his navel, leading down beneath his blanket.

She choked on her mouthful of food as she tried to swallow. Quickly, she grabbed her wine and took a big sip.

He cleared his throat and she flickered her gaze back up to his face only to find him grinning at her. She took another bite of pasta and looked away, adjusting the blanket wrapped tightly across her chest.

Neither had gotten dressed right after coming out of the water. The blankets didn’t dry them so much as moved the water around on their skin. So instead of getting their clothes wet, they’d opted to wrap up in their separate blankets while they dried off in the gentle warmth of the lanterns and the summer air.

Now that the last of the water had dried, the blanket made her warm and cozy. If she closed her eyes, she could almost imagine she was sitting in front of a fireplace with Zander. She could almost imagine what it would be like to curl up beside him with her cheek resting on his chest. Surprisingly, the thought made her feel unusually comfortable and at peace.

And aroused.

Knowing she was virtually naked in front of Zander made her even more hot and bothered despite the chill from swimming in the lake. And every time she snuck a peek at Zander’s bare chest, she had to force herself to look away. The desire to touch him again was almost too compelling and distracting to ignore.

His arms had been more muscular than she’d expected. It wasn’t as if he did heavy manual labor for work, but don’t tell his body that because apparently it hadn’t gotten the memo. And now, seeing his chest, she didn’t have to imagine how muscular it was.

Oh, no.

She could see clearly in the dim light of the lanterns that his chest was very defined. The only question in her mind was how it would feel to run her fingers over those muscles. Her eyes traced the path that her fingers couldn’t.

“I wouldn’t stop you. I wouldn’t say no.” Zander’s voice was low and deep, breaking into her thoughts.

“What?” She shook her head to clear the haze of desire clouding her judgment. “I’m sorry. I must have missed what you were talking about.” She stretched out her legs, which tingled from sitting cross-legged for too long. Her blanket fell open to above her knee, revealing part of her thigh.

Before she could cover herself again, Zander moved to lie on his side, propped on one elbow beside her. He skimmed his hand up her shin to her knee then back down to her ankle. On the return trip, he tugged the edge of the blanket back over her leg so it was covered again and rested his hand on top of it.

He might not be physically touching her skin anymore, but the damage was done. She didn’t want him to cover her legs again. Nope. She wanted him to uncover her slowly and slide his hand further up her leg—all the way up until he found the spot that ached for him.

“I’ve been watching you sneak peeks since we came back from the lake. I probably wouldn’t say no to anything you wanted to do.”

She took in quick, shallow breaths, her head spinning with the influx of oxygen. She felt as if she’d been holding her breath for the last few minutes and now suddenly she was practically panting.

She really had to figure out how to hide her emotions better. He knew what she been thinking, and he was okay with it. But was she?

No. She couldn’t get involved. So why did she let herself get into situations where all she wanted to do was get more and more intimate with him?

Because he treated her like the goddess she actually was, which was something Orion and all the others never had. Because he was interested in her as a person and not just as an object to be claimed.

Because he’s so hot I want to lick him.

That too. So many reasons to stay away from him and yet she could only ever remember the reasons to be
with
him.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her voice was weak, giving away her pathetic attempt to lie. She’d never been good at that.

“No? So you haven’t been eyeing me from your side of the picnic, because I could have sworn you had.” His eyebrow arched, teasing her, catching her in the lie.

She shook her head slowly, feeling as if in a daze. “Nope.”

“So you wouldn’t mind then if I come over here?” He slid up closer to her, his deliciously naked chest only an inch from her very naked arm. He walked his fingers up her arm, stopping periodically to rub little circles on her skin. “You don’t mind it I do this?”

She opened her mouth but no words came out.

Don’t do it.

She closed her eyes and forced herself to take steadying breaths through slightly puckered lips. It wouldn’t work out with them—she knew a happy future with Zander was impossible given her situation. But did that mean she couldn’t enjoy this one experience in this particular moment? Did every experience have to be directly leading to something more? Something deeper?

The heat of his lips on her skin at the round of her shoulder sent a spike of heat all the way to her toes and everywhere in between. Arousal so deep and intense, she couldn’t remember having ever felt anything even remotely comparable before. And that was really saying something since she’d been around an eternity already.

Of course she couldn’t remember her own name at this particular moment either, but that was beside the point.

Let the future be damned to Hades. She was going to enjoy her time with Zander and worry about the consequences later.

She cupped his jaw as he kissed her arm again working his way toward her shoulder, slowly creeping closer and closer to her neck. His jaw was stubbly and rough against her skin and so full of maleness she almost moaned.

He stopped when he reached her shoulder, peering up at her with smoldering eyes, clearly hungry for whatever she could offer him, but not so bold as to take what he wanted without her telling him it was okay. Dropping her hand to his neck, she traced a path along his jugular until she got to the V of his collarbone. She stroked further down his chest, sighing at the feel of his silky skin over the hardness of his muscular form.

A sound rumbled deep inside his chest making his skin vibrate under her palm and he pressed his lips to her shoulder again, his teeth nibbling her skin.

Not able to deny herself the pleasure any longer, she twisted and pressed her mouth to his, hungry for something other than picnic foods. He let her in, groaning into her mouth as she tasted him the way she’d been longing to.

Her body screamed at her for more—pleaded with her to get as close to him as she possibly could.

His hand trailed up her arm to her shoulders, to the back of her neck and finally into her hair. His grip was firm and demanding with the same apparent need she felt. She turned her head, breaking the kiss, trying to give her brain time to think. But she could think of little else besides his lips kissing a path along her jaw and down her neck to her collarbone, leaving little fires dancing on her skin along the way.

“Stop,” she whispered. “I can’t. We shouldn’t.”

“You can,” he said between kisses. “We should.”

He claimed her mouth with his again and it was all she could do to keep her thoughts from spinning out of control. “You’re absolutely right,” she murmured.

She wanted to, she really did. And he was right, they could do this and she was pretty darn sure they could do it damn well too.

Maia gave into his kiss again, letting him explore her mouth with his tongue, in turn exploring his mouth with hers. She slid down to lie beside him, pressing her body to his with only the blankets to separate them from fully being together.

Draping her leg across his thighs, she clung to him, desperate to get closer. His hand went to her knee that was newly exposed to the night air. Slipping his hand under the blanket, he swept it up the back of her thigh, not waiting for her to complain.

Not that she planned to complain about anything.

Zander cupped her rear and she moaned deeply into his mouth. She felt his desire pressing against her and she wanted more than anything to free him of the confines of the material wrapped around his waist. She slipped her fingers under the edge of the blanket and tugged gently. It held tight, tucked under his hips too much to be pulled free.

A throat cleared from just outside the circle of lanterns.

Maia shrieked and clung to Zander. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and she buried her face into him.

“Who’s there?” Zander demanded, protective testosterone flooding his voice and posture as he moved to sit up, tucking Maia behind him as if to shield her.

“Sorry, dude.” The man stepped closer and lit his face with a flashlight.

“Damn it, James.”

Maia looked between the two men. “Wait. You know this guy?” She tugged the edges of her blanket to cover as much of herself as she could, suddenly feeling very exposed.

“James set this up for us tonight. What the hell are you doing here sneaking up on us?”

“I hate to crash your…good time, but shift change is in half and hour and I’ll be out of a job if anyone finds out I let you guys up here.”

Zander cursed. “We’ll pack up.”

“Leave the picnic basket and stuff and I’ll swing back to pick them up on my way home.”

They sat in silence for a moment, watching as the flashlight and footsteps faded into the distance.

“Sorry we got interrupted.” Zander tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“It’s probably for the better.” She rolled on to her back away from him and stared up at the sky, trying to soak it in as much as she could before she had to go back to the city and the light pollution that came with it.

Zander followed her, rolling over so he hovered above her but she put her fingers on his mouth, blocking him from kissing her more.

He peered at her through half-lidded eyes his hand squeezing her hip, dangerously close to the area that begged to be touched. “What’s wrong? We still a have few minutes left. I’m sure we can think of some way to pass the time.”

“I want to, I really do. But I can’t. I—I’m not—I just can’t.”

Being interrupted by James had been a blessing in disguise. She wanted to, but she couldn’t be with someone who didn’t even know who she really was. She wasn’t ready to tell him the truth about her—she could never do that. So how could she be with him physically when he didn’t even know who she was, what she was?

Zander rolled onto his back beside her and peered up at the sky. He sighed and rubbed his hands across his face as if massaging away the pent up tension he undoubtedly felt.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly. Her heart clenched. She didn’t want to stop kissing him. In fact she wanted to do a whole lot more than kiss. She probably would have if they hadn’t been interrupted. But she couldn’t let herself get caught up in a moment she’d regret later.

She couldn’t let herself take things further with Zander knowing they both stood to get hurt if she did. This pain was easier to bear. Much easier.

“It’s okay. I shouldn’t have let myself get so tempted so quickly. This is really our first date. I should have treated you better.”

She rolled over and put her hand on his chest, staring into his eyes. “You’ve been nothing but kind and wonderful. And I’ve been tempted by you too. I’m just not ready.”

He kissed her softly on the lips—a kiss that didn’t ask to lead to anything more.

“Why don’t I pack up the food and clean up this mess while you get dressed. I promise I won’t watch. Well, I’ll try not to watch. Promise seems a bit…excessive. I hate to make a promise I’m not sure I can keep.”