Chapter Six
Star
I was entirely too at home here in Caelum’s house.
And now, knowing he was a daddy, it was like Fate had brought us together again.
While I still felt the twinge of guilt over losing touch with him in all my busyness, there might have been a reason for it.
Maybe we both needed to come into our own, finding out who we were, so that we could get back together in a transparent and new way.
I’d dated some daddies before, but Caelum was in his own league.
“Is there anyone you need to call?” he asked.
Our thighs were pressed up against one another on the couch.
His arm was slung over the back of the couch behind me.
He’d moved the sofa to the side so that we faced the fire.
I starred in a fair number of TV shows and movies, but sitting here, watching the dancing flames, was better than anything I’d ever made or seen.
If I had my wish, I’d forget my career altogether, and stay with him.
Too bad that wasn’t the way life went.
I let out a long sigh and nodded. “I probably need to call my assistant.”
“How about I go make us some hot cocoa while you call them. I might be able to find you a treat, since you ate all your food.”
“I’d like that. Thank you.”
Caelum placed a kiss on the top of my head and got up, leaving me to my task. I hit the speed dial on my phone and only had to wait for one ring before Davis answered.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
There were assistants who were stern and ran a tight ship and Davis was one of those, but he also cared about me as a person, not just a commodity. He was more than my assistant. He was my best friend.
“I’m fine. I’m at a friend’s house for the night. I got caught by the enemy and I ducked into a business trying to hide.”
Davis scoffed. He could smell my lies from a mile off. Or, in this case, the half-truths. “A friend? I looked at the blogs, Star. You ran into some insurance office. Did you pick that spot for any particular reason? Know somebody there maybe?”
Davis always knew when I was up to something. But I hadn’t even known it was Caelum’s office. “Maybe.” That dangling carrot would keep him content for a hot minute.
“All right. Keep some secrets. But you’re safe. That’s all that matters. I’ve been walking around town in your trench coat and that getup you use for going out in public, trying to keep them guessing but I think they’re onto me.”
I laughed. It wasn’t the first time Davis had taken one for the team. Out of all the people in my work life, he was the only one that wasn’t in it 100 percent for himself and I appreciated that. “Thank you. I’m good for tonight and I’ll call you in the morning, okay?”
“Mm-hmm. Have a very, very good night.”
“Stop that! Bye.”
I disconnected and got up from my comfy spot to see what Caelum was up to in the kitchen. I leaned on the doorframe that separated the kitchen from the living room and took him in. He’d changed over the years but not in a bad way. Not at all.
He had a beard now, something I wouldn’t have liked before but now made him even sexier.
Once he changed out of his suit, I got a glimpse of his shoulders and those powerful arms that had caged me in before.
Caelum was right out of one of my fantasies.
He always had been. It was my fault we hadn’t stayed together.
I let fame and busyness get in the way of what was the best thing that ever happened to me.
He must’ve been so hurt. So heartbroken.
And now I was here, in his home, seeking shelter from the one person in this world I had no business bothering.
“I can feel your eyes on me, Star.”
“My eyes are right here in my head, thank you.”
He looked at me over his shoulder and damn it if my cock didn’t heed his unspoken call. “Sure they are. I hope you like extra marshmallows. I had a few slices of pound cake left as well.”
“How could anyone say no to extra marshmallows?” I asked as he carried a tray toward the living room. I followed him, inhaling the decadent chocolate and vanilla as he passed me. How long since I’d had a cup of cocoa or a slice of cake? And that comforting little dinner? I couldn’t even remember.
“Come sit.”
I obeyed immediately, caught up in the perfection of this night. “How am I going to sleep after all this sugar?” I asked. “Not that I’m complaining.”
“I’m sure you’ll manage. It’s been a long day for you.”
I nodded, taking a sip of the thick chocolate drink. It was the perfect temperature. The marshmallows had begun to melt into the liquid and I felt some of it stick to my top lip. “I really need a napkin.”
My eyes met Caelum’s and as I reached for a napkin, he stopped me with his hand over mine. “May I?” he asked, and my tummy erupted with a thousand butterfly flutters.
“I…yes.” I had no clue what he was asking permission to do but I wanted it. All of it.
Caelum leaned forward after carefully putting his cup aside. The sofa depressed between us and as he grew closer, my body lit up and my cheeks flamed. He muttered something under his breath and I swore he said, “I’ve waited so long.”
This man. He did nothing wrong. Certainly nothing to deserve me ghosting him the way I did.
I regretted it before but now, as his eyes darted down to my lips, I did so even more.
I wanted to say I was sorry. To heal any hurts I’d caused him.
But before I could say anything, his lips grazed my top one and I fell into a bliss I hadn’t known before, not even when we were together.
“You taste so good, Star,” he said, pulling back. I said nothing, still trapped in the haze of his touch. “I’m sorry. Was that too forward?”
I managed to shake my head. “No. Not at all. Not forward enough if you ask me.”
He sucked in a breath and leaned back. A smile graced his beautiful lips. “I couldn’t believe my luck when you stumbled into my life again. It’s been years, but it feels like maybe you were with me all along. I feel like this bubble we’re in is going to burst at any second.”
I was going to burst at any second if he didn’t kiss me again.
“I’m glad you know all about me now,” I said.
“Everything about me. That I’m a little.
It’s hard to share those things. It’s hard to share anything in my line of work.
I never know who I can trust or who is out for the fame of it all.
The last thing I want is to end up on a magazine with my most private self as the main headline. ”
“I understand. Your secret is safe with me. I just want you, Star. Not your fame. Not your money. Not any of those things. Just you.”
I shuddered with the power of his words.
He was so sincere in anything he said. “You’re sure you’re okay if I spend the night?
” I asked. “I don’t want to interfere in your life any more than I already have.
Hell, I haven’t even asked you if you’re with someone.
Maybe you have someone else.” I began to spiral until he reached out and pulled me closer, somehow managing not to spill my hot chocolate in the process.
“There’s no one else.” Caelum brushed his lips against mine again. “How could there ever be anyone else, Star? What we do with the rest of the night is entirely up to you.”
“Is it?” I teased, this time capturing his mouth with mine.
“Absolutely.”