Release the Stars (14 page)

“My turn,” Charlie said, lightly tracing a fingertip over the skin of Ava’s back. “Let’s see how long you last.”

Ava narrowed her eyes. “I’m not saying it’s a contest, but if it were, you never stood a chance, Charlie dear.”

That did it. Charlie pushed herself up from the mattress and toppled Ava off her. In no time, she had Ava on her back and she straddled her slender waist. Charlie grabbed Ava’s wrists and pinned them above her head. “Time to wipe that triumphant grin off your lips,” she said, although uttering these words had nothing to do with how she really felt inside. Beneath her skin, desire, infatuation, and the events of the night blended into a heady mix of pure ecstasy. Charlie was about to slip her fingers inside Ava. The woman she’d walked away from. The woman who had come after her, fought for her, and showed her that Charlie had better take her seriously.

Charlie released Ava’s wrists and smiled down at her, staring into her eyes. Ava’s lips parted in a grin, baring a perfect row of the whitest teeth. When she smiled like that, her cheeks creased and created the most adorable dimples.

She flanked Ava, barely touching her. It was high time to acquaint herself with the more intimate parts of Ava’s gorgeous body.

Charlie let her fingers skate along Ava’s belly, meandering upward, to the delicious curve of her breast. Despite just having experienced a freeing orgasm, arousal pulsed in her clit at the first contact with Ava’s breast. She circled her fingers around Ava’s dusky nipple, stiffening it into a delicious peak.

When Charlie looked at Ava’s face, all smugness had drained from it and she lay with her eyes half-shut and her lips parted. Gently, Charlie took Ava’s nipple between her fingertips and squeezed, luring a moan from Ava’s lips. Ava dug her nails in Charlie’s back. Charlie tightened her grip slightly, proud to wear any mark Ava left on her.

Charlie repeated the process on Ava’s other nipple, bringing it to a hard knot under her touch. When she moved her hand lower, she brought her lips to Ava’s nipple and sucked it into her mouth. Charlie’s clit joined the pulsing party between her legs. If she had her way the bed wouldn’t see a lot of sleeping that night.

“Oh, Charlie,” Ava moaned. She threaded her fingers into Charlie’s hair. Charlie released Ava’s nipple and met her gaze. Ava said, “This is no time to exact revenge for me teasing you earlier. I’ve been waiting, too, remember?” Ava’s voice was shot through with breathy lust.

Instead of teasing Ava the way Ava had done to her so cruelly earlier, Charlie slipped her hand inside Ava’s panties, meeting nothing but wetness. Ava released Charlie’s hair and grabbed Charlie’s hand, guiding her farther into her panties.

Charlie lowered her mouth onto Ava’s nipple again and nibbled on it with her teeth, while her hand explored Ava’s wetness. She needed to see, though. She needed to see Ava’s soaked pussy lips.

Charlie let Ava’s breast slip from her mouth, slid her hand out of her panties, and pushed herself up. She tugged Ava’s panties down her long legs and, finally, looked. She had a sudden, overwhelming urge to start licking and lose herself in Ava’s pussy. But Charlie wanted something else even more. She wanted to gaze into her eyes and fuck her with her fingers until she came.

Charlie repositioned herself by Ava’s side and couldn’t resist taking those tiny, dark nipples in her mouth again. While she did, she slid a fingertip between Ava’s slick folds, then up to circle her clit.

“Fuck me, Charlie,” Ava demanded. She really was bossy. And apparently only had patience to tease others.

Just from skating along her lips a few times, Charlie’s fingers were entirely coated in Ava’s juices. Charlie couldn’t wait any longer either. She wanted to do this as much as Ava wanted her to do it to her. Charlie’s fingers drifted to Ava’s entrance and, ever so slowly, Charlie slid two fingers into Ava’s pussy. She forced herself to take her time, to allow each moment to form solidly in her memory.

Ava gasped for air. The hand resting loosely on Charlie’s back stiffened, nails digging into Charlie’s flesh.

Charlie reveled in the sensation of her fingers being enveloped by Ava’s inner heat. Ava thrust her hips against Charlie’s hand, demanding more, and her desire pooled in Charlie’s palm.

“Aaah,” Ava moaned. “Oh, Charlie. Oh, Charlie.” She repeated the words like a mantra, as though she needed to hear herself say them to tip over that edge.

Charlie focused all her attention on Ava, and drank in the changing expression on her face, the way her eyelids fluttered, and her lips contracted into a pout, her head thrown back into the pillow—but the pulse in her own pussy was impossible to ignore completely. Heat traveled beneath Charlie’s skin as her fingers explored and stroked Ava deeply.

Then, Ava’s body jerked a couple of times, and she curled her fingers around Charlie’s wrist.

“Oh, fuck.” Ava exhaled a deep breath.

Charlie eased her fingers out of Ava, kissing her softly on the mouth. Ava’s lips stretched into a wide smile that was also reflected in her eyes.

“That was not a bad start,” Ava said, folding an arm around Charlie’s neck.

Charlie fell onto her back next to Ava, whose arm rested in the hollow between her neck and the pillow. “When I woke up this morning, this was the last place I expected to be after the auction.” For all Charlie knew, she might even have successfully avoided Ava for the rest of her days in LA.

“I take it you’ll be staying tonight?” Ava joked.

“If it were up to me, I’d never leave this bed again.”

“Are you saying you want me to handcuff you to it?” Ava pushed herself up and stared down at Charlie.

“I did notice a bit of bossy streak. We’ll have to do something about that.” A warm glow expanded in Charlie’s chest.

Ava leaned over and pecked Charlie on the cheek. “We’ll see,” she said without an ounce of sincerity in her tone.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

When Charlie opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the ocean. Frothy waves crashed onto the shore. She squinted to locate the exact spot on the beach where Ava had pulled her close and kissed her the first time.

She rolled onto her back. Ava was still asleep, lying on her side, the sheets thrown off, chest exposed. The tranquility on her face stood in sharp contrast to the expressions Charlie had witnessed throughout the night. They hadn’t slept much, and as she stretched, Charlie discovered delicious aches in her body she hadn’t experienced for more than a year, perhaps longer.

She lay staring at Ava a while longer. She wanted to stay in Ava’s house forever, without having to face the outside world.

“Hey.” Ava opened her eyes and looked straight at Charlie.

Instantly, the warm glow invaded Charlie’s body again. “Morning.” Charlie planted a kiss on Ava’s forehead.

“That’s it?” Ava asked. “How stingy.”

“Hey, you should be glad I’m still here.”

“This from the woman who wanted me to chain her to my bed last night.”

“I said no such—” Charlie realized too late that Ava was teasing her.

Ava let out a giggle, then asked, “What time is it?”

“I have no idea.” Ava’s bedroom smelled of sex. “I also have no idea where my phone is. I’m inclined to not give a shit.” Charlie had nothing planned for the day.

Ava lay in silence for a few minutes, then brought her hands to her head. “Sandra must have lost her mind by now. I need to check my messages at some point today, I’m afraid.”

“Maybe later,” Charlie said, and kissed Ava on the forehead again. “Let’s take a shower first.”

“There’s an idea. See, I knew you had some brilliance in you.” Ava curved her arms around Charlie’s neck and pulled her in for a deep kiss.

* * *

After a shower that lasted much longer than any Charlie had ever taken before, they sat at the breakfast bar in the kitchen. Ava stared at her phone. She hadn’t turned it on yet.

“Perhaps I did lose my mind a little last night.” She reached for her coffee cup and sipped. “All your fault, by the way.”

“Why don’t I switch mine on first? Assess the damage, to take that first edge off.” Charlie toyed with her phone.

“Sure.” Ava pricked a piece of mango onto her fork.

Charlie pressed the
on
button and waited for her phone to come alive. As soon as the screen lit up, an avalanche of messages rolled in.

“Most are from my teammates,” she assured Ava. “A few dozen are from Nick, of course.” She scrolled through and didn’t see anything too unexpected. “No links to TMZ yet.” She shot Ava an encouraging smile.

“Okay. Here we go.” The messages on Charlie’s phone were nothing compared to the buzzing and beeping of Ava’s when she switched it on. She put it next to her coffee mug and, for two full minutes, stared at it as though she was willing it to stop violating her peace of mind. “Sandra only left me fifteen messages. Oh, and Eric called, of course. About fifty other missed calls. And I know better than to open any social media accounts right now.” Ava pushed her phone away and looked at Charlie. “It
is
Sunday.”

Charlie gave a light chuckle. “True. But maybe give Sandra a call. Let her know that everything will be all right.”

“I can tell her that all I want, she’s not going to believe me. I mean, I pay her not to believe me, really.”

“Realistically, what’s the worst that can happen?” Charlie asked. “It’s not as if you went on a date with Elisa Fox or anyone like that. It’s just me.”

“Just you.” Ava sat musing, then locked her gaze on Charlie’s. “If I call Sandra, she’ll want to come over. Our day will be ruined.”

“You have to tell her something. For all she knows, I cast a spell on you and kidnapped you or something.”

This brought a small smile to Ava’s face. A smile that was quickly erased by the buzzing sound of the intercom. “Speak of the devil. I bet that’s Sandra.” Ava slid off her stool and headed toward the security screen mounted on the wall near the fridge. She pressed a button and a Mustang Charlie recognized from when she’d come to dinner appeared on the screen. It wasn’t Sandra. It was Eric.

“Oh, Christ.” Ava sounded as though her eyes were about to roll out of her head. “This is just perfect.” She inhaled deeply, widening her stance on the floor—perhaps for extra support. “What?” she said rudely into the intercom.

“Can I come in?” Eric’s voice came through the speaker.

“Why?” Ava’s voice was full of impatience, making Charlie wonder what had actually happened between them.

“Why?” Eric repeated. “Because I’m your friend, and we work together, and we need to talk.”

Ava sighed deeply. “Fine. But no lectures, please.” She pressed a few buttons before turning around. “I’d best put some more clothes on.”

“Do you want me to go?” Charlie asked, not excited to witness any of this.

“No, absolutely not.” Ava walked toward her. “We have nothing to be ashamed of. If Eric wants to come in here and display his testosterone levels a bit, that’s his business. I know exactly what he’s going to say, because he has said it to me several times already.” Ava planted a kiss on Charlie’s forehead. “Could you please let him in while I at least put on a pair of pants?”

“Erm, I’m not exactly dressed either.” Charlie was sitting on her stool in last night’s tank top and a skimpy pair of underwear she’d borrowed from Ava.

“Right.” Ava easily managed one of her wide smiles. “Then we have no choice but to let him stew for a few minutes. Come on.”

They rushed up the stairs and Charlie had to search Ava’s bedroom a few seconds to find her jeans. In the time it took her to recover and put on her bra, Ava had somehow magically transformed herself into a cover girl. Charlie had some questions about how she did that, but there was something she wanted to know even more.

“Did you and Eric part on, erm, amicable terms?”

“I wouldn’t quite call it that.” Ava smoothed a crease out of her blouse. “So best not let him wait too long.”

They dashed back downstairs, and Ava let Eric in.

“We meet again,” he said when he noticed Charlie lingering in the kitchen.

“Hi, Eric.” Charlie hadn’t engaged in too much direct conversation with Eric at the dinner party, but he’d come across as a pleasant enough guy.

Eric shook his head at her. “What were you even thinking, Ava? You can’t just, just…” He seemed unable to find the words to describe the heinous act Ava had committed. “Just do what you did. I hate to be the one to say it, but you can’t be that selfish. Not someone in your position. Not when other people’s jobs are at stake.”

“Please tell me how exactly I’ve put people’s employment on the line?” Ava appeared calm in the face of Eric’s madness.

“Are you kidding me?” Eric was a tall, fit man of about fifty, with a full head of gray hair. He wasn’t exactly attractive, but what did Charlie know? So often women melted into puddles for men she thought looked ghastly. “We have an image to uphold. We owe that to the show.”

“Oh, really? And what kind of image is that? The kind where the female host only has affairs with one of the male judges?”

Eric looked away from Ava and evaluated Charlie. He looked as if he couldn’t quite believe he had to compete with the likes of her.

“I thought you knew better.”

“Why don’t you say what you’ve really come to say, Eric?” Ava fixed him with a cold stare. “Ted, your co-judge, is openly gay, for heaven’s sake. This has nothing to do with the show, and we both know it.”

“Well, you said it. Ted is gay. Has been for years. You, on the other hand…”

Charlie didn’t have to imagine what jealousy looked like. She had a front row seat to The Big Jealousy Show right here and now.

Ava’s features softened, and her voice was much mellower when she spoke next. “Let’s both calm down, okay? I realize you must be hurt.”

“Hurt?” Eric obviously wasn’t ready to calm down. “Have you even been on the internet today?”

Ava expelled some air, then held up two fingers. “You have two choices, Eric. Either you sit, have some coffee, and take a deep breath. Or you leave right now.”

Hearing Ava raise her voice like that made Charlie’s heart beat faster. It was inappropriate given the situation, but she couldn’t help herself. Bossy Ava turned her on.