Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
HEATH
Just one more kiss. Then I’d stop. That had been the plan.
But the moment Stella’s tongue slid against mine, I lost any hope of restraint. The truth was, I’d lost it the moment I’d seen her dancing with another man.
“Stella,” I moaned, cupping her face in my hands.
She clung to me, her tongue tangling with mine, and goddamn it, she could kiss.
Stella could fucking kiss .
No reluctance. No shock or restraint. This was not the same woman who I’d kissed last weekend beside her car.
I devoured her, and she met me beat for beat.
Her lips moved frantically over mine as my hands roamed over her shoulders, following the curve of her spine. Like I’d cupped her face, I fit my palms over her ass. Then I squeezed. But I didn’t linger. I traced her hips, then her ribs, wanting to feel every inch of this woman. I wanted to lose myself in her slender curves and sweet taste .
My tongue dueled with hers as I banded my arms around her, pulling her flush against my chest. When my growing arousal dug into her hip, she gasped, and that adorable little hitch in her breath only made me want her more.
I tore my mouth away from hers, wanting to taste her skin. As my lips trailed down the long column of her throat, Stella’s fingers dove into my hair, threading through the strands. One tug and I was hard as a rock.
She arched her back and I dropped lower, pulling aside the fabric of her dress to reveal a perfect breast. No bra. Thank fuck.
A rosy nipple popped free and I didn’t hesitate to suck it into my mouth.
“Heath,” she whimpered.
I nipped and lapped at the bud until Stella moaned my name again. Her skin was so smooth. Her breast was the perfect swell to fit the cup of my hand. I was just about to move to the other side when the door to the sitting room swung open.
“Oh my God,” a woman squeaked. “I’m sorry.”
Stella gasped, shoving at my shoulders.
I glanced over my shoulder as Stella scrambled to right her dress. “Natalie?”
“Heath?”
Natalie glanced between the two of us, her eyes wide. “I wasn’t here. I didn’t see anything. You two, um, have fun.”
There was a smirk on Nat’s lips as she slipped out of the room, leaving Stella and me alone.
My breath came in labored pants. Stella’s face was beautifully flushed and her pink mouth swollen. God, I could kiss her for years if it meant that color was mine and mine alone.
I dragged a hand through my hair and inspected the door. No lock. Damn it. I was teetering on the edge of control, but I didn’t need another person walking in on us—like her brother—so I took a step away.
Stella cleared her throat and smoothed down the skirt of her dress.
This was wrong. So, so wrong. My reasons for not chasing Stella hadn’t changed in the last week. Nothing had changed. Yet everything had changed.
Seeing her with that guy on the dance floor had felt like a lightning rod piercing my heart. No woman had ever made me feel so jealous. The only man she’d be dancing with tonight was me.
“Heath, I...” She put her hands on her cheeks. “What are we doing?”
I stepped closer, pulling her hands away. “Don’t hide from me.”
She looked up to me and those expressive eyes were so full of uncertainty it made my chest ache. “I don’t know what you want. That’s fairly terrifying for me because the one thing I’ve always wanted was you.”
Stella spoke like those words had been waiting a week, a year, to make their way free. The vulnerability in her voice was humbling.
“I meant what I said the other night. Stell, I’ve wanted you for a long time.”
“Really?”
“Longer than I would let myself admit.”
She pulled her lower lip between her teeth to hide a shy smile.
I put my thumb on that lip to tug it free. “We should stop.”
“No.” She shook her head. “We should leave.”
“Together?”
She nodded and let out a rushed breath. “But you should know I used it up. ”
“Used what up?”
“My champagne bravery.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I just told you that I’ve always wanted you. That used up all of my bravery. So now you have to take charge because I’m too busy having a mental freak-out that you just kissed me and sucked one of my nipples and said that you want me too, and oh my God, you want me too? How is this even happ?—”
“Breathe, baby.”
She obeyed, nodding as she dragged in some air.
“Better?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” I leaned forward and kissed her forehead, then took her hand in mine and dragged her out of the sitting room.
Our first stop was at the coat check. After we got her jacket and clutch, she checked Guy’s keys under his name while I ordered us an Uber. As soon as we had her belongings, I rushed her down the staircase and into the winter night.
Snow was falling lightly as we slid into the backseat of a black sedan. The icy flakes melted instantly on the car’s windshield. Even over the smell of air freshener and leather, Stella’s sweet scent filled my nose.
The driver confirmed my address and that was the last shred of attention he earned. I focused entirely on Stella, drawing in her perfume, holding it for a heartbeat, before leaning in close for a deeper inhale.
We were only blocks away from The Baxter when I buried my nose in her curled tresses, pulling her hair away from her shoulder so I could duck down to kiss her throat.
The moment my lips hit her pulse, her breath hitched. Shy. Sexy. The sound shot straight to my cock. I’d earn a hundred of those tonight if she had them to give.
“Stella,” I whispered against her skin .
Her hand came up, cupping the back of my head and holding me in place.
I grinned and peppered the delicate spot beneath her ear with open-mouthed kisses until her fingers dug into my scalp.
Other than my mouth, I didn’t dare touch her. I didn’t trust myself not to take her in the back of this car, damn the driver watching through the rearview mirror.
Traffic was light and by the time we stopped in front of my house, my dick was aching. Stella unbuckled her seat belt first, practically shoving me out of the car. Then we raced up the sidewalk to my front door.
The moment I had the key in the lock, Stella reached beneath the hem of my suit coat and slid her hands up the plane of my back. I leaned into the touch, forgetting for a second that we were outside. That the snow was falling and catching the white glow of the Christmas lights I’d strung on the eaves.
“Are we going inside?” she asked.
I answered by twisting the lock and stepping inside with Stella on my heels. Then I kicked the door shut before sealing my lips over hers.
She rose on her toes, twisted her tongue against mine as I banded my arms around her and hauled her to my chest. When I shuffled toward the nearest wall of the entryway and hoisted her up, she wrapped her legs around my waist, pressing her center into my erection.
Stella might have told me to take control, but I was following her lead. She nipped and I sucked, tasting every corner of her mouth. One of her hands slipped between us, her fingers searching for my belt buckle.
I tore my mouth away, gritting my teeth. I ached for her, but when we crossed this line, there was no going back. “Stella, be sure. ”
She lifted her hand free and brought it to my forehead, pushing the hair away. “I’m sure.”
“This changes everything.”
“I think that we’ve already changed everything, don’t you?”
“Yeah,” I whispered, drowning in her gaze. “I guess we have.”
She leaned in, pressing her lips to the corner of my mouth as she tilted her hips forward, urging me on.
Maybe she hadn’t used all that bravery. Or maybe she had more courage than she let herself believe, champagne or not. Timid or bold, I’d take her in every way.
Her fingers found the clasp on my belt and began to tug.
“Wait.” I pulled away, panting. “We’re not doing this against the wall.”
“No?”
I shook my head. “No.”
She moved to let her legs down but I swept her away, earning a little laugh as I carried her out of the entryway. Every room was dark, the only light coming from the Christmas tree in the corner. Its multicolored bulbs cast their red, blue, green and yellow light over the living room.
If Stella was curious about my home, she didn’t let on. She didn’t look away from my face or loosen her hold on my shoulders as I strode down the long hallway to my bedroom.
Like the living room, I’d put a small tree in a corner. Maybe other men wouldn’t bother with decorations, considering there were no family gatherings planned for my place, but I loved Christmas and falling asleep to the glow of the lighted tree.
Stella unwrapped her legs as I set her on the foot of the bed. She reached for me but I shook my head and dropped to my knees. My hands were trembling.
When was the last time I’d been anxious with a woman? Maybe my first time? That had been in high school, after prom. Even then, we’d each had enough cheap liquor to chase away the nerves.
This was Stella.
My fingers fumbled with the straps on her shoes. I willed my heart to stop racing. When her hands came to my hair again, I leaned into her touch and closed my eyes.
“I can’t believe this is happening.” Her confession was barely audible. The honesty in her voice, the heart shining through those dazzling eyes, was my undoing. There was no woman as beautiful as Stella Marten.
And I’d been a coward for too long. A fool for not acting sooner.
Now she was fucking mine.
When I went back to her heels, the shaking in my fingers was gone. If all I did tonight was make this good for her, I’d call it a win. I plucked her shoes from her feet, tossing them aside, then trailed my fingers across the smooth skin on her ankle, working my way toward the inside of her knee.
My fingertips moved in slow, torturous swirls, never leaving her skin as I inched along her legs. A shiver shook her shoulders as I brushed the skirt of her dress across her thighs, pushing it higher and higher. Her breath hitched again, that sexy-as-fuck gasp, when I skimmed her hips and along the lace of her panties.
Her eyes were hooded when I met her gaze, her bottom lip between her teeth again.
I gave her a smirk as I balled her dress in my fists and dragged it up her torso. She raised her arms as I whipped it free.
“You are...” My mouth went dry at the image of her on my bed, naked but for those panties. “Perfect. My Stella. So fucking perfect.”
Even in the muted light, I saw the pink blush of her cheeks .
I took her face in my hands, pulling her to my mouth. Then I stood, not loosening my hold, as I laid her on the mattress.
The ministrations I’d done with my hands I now did with my mouth, trailing open-mouthed kisses across her neck and down her chest, stopping to pay her nipples more attention. Then I moved lower, dragging my tongue around her navel.
She whimpered, a sound I was beginning to love as much as that gasp.
I lingered above the hem of her panties, dragging in her sweet scent as I tucked my fingers into the lace and dragged them away from her bare mound.
“Heath.” Stella gulped the moment the fabric was free, pooled on the floor beside her dress and heels. “I’ve, um, no one has ever... I mean, I’m not a virgin but, uh, you know.”
Oh. Fuck. Me.
I’d be the first to taste her. The only. My mouth watered. “Do you trust me?”
She nodded.
“Good.” I pressed at her knees, spreading them apart.
Her folds glistened, her pussy as pretty a pink as her lips. Her muscles tightened, her legs tense. It would be fun to tease her one of these days. To kiss everywhere but where she needed it. But for our first time, I didn’t delay.
I dragged my tongue through her slit, moaning at her taste.
Stella let out a little cry, slapping a hand over her mouth.
I chuckled, licking her again.
“Oh my God.” It was muffled from beneath her hand, but I was taking it as approval to devour.
I lapped at her, sucking her clit into my mouth, taking her to the edge, over and over. When her legs were shaking, her body writhing, I’d back off.
By the fifth time, the hand on her mouth was gone, and her hands fisted the charcoal comforter. By the tenth, she was growling in frustration.
“Want to come, baby?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Your wish, Stell.” This time, I didn’t back off. I kept at her until her back arched off the bed, her entire body spasming as she let out a string of moans. Only when her toes uncurled did I stop.
Her chest was rosy, her body limp.
I licked my lips and stood, shrugging off my suit coat as I memorized the image of a naked Stella on my bed. My cock was painfully hard, the bulge straining at the zipper on my slacks. I made short work of undressing, and when my clothes were strewn beside hers, I gripped my shaft and gave it a hard stroke.
“I haven’t been with anyone for a while,” I said. “And I had a checkup last month.”
Stella nodded frantically. “Me neither. And I’m on the pill.”
This night just kept getting better. I planted a knee on the bed, picking her up and hauling her into the pillows. She parted her legs for me, making space in the cradle of her hips.
I kissed her, letting her taste herself on my tongue. I kissed her until she was writhing again, begging for more.
In one long stroke, I thrust inside her tight body. One long stroke, her walls fluttering around my length, and I nearly came undone.
“Fuck, Stell.” It took every fiber of my strength not to come, feeling her heat as she stretched around me. I wrapped her in my arms, burying my face in her hair. “You feel so good.”
She wrapped her arms around me, holding me close. “Move. ”
I kissed her pulse, then leaned away, pulling out to slam inside.
“Heath,” she cried, her eyes squeezing shut.
I heard my name three more times from her lips before she came again, pulsing and squeezing me with such force that her orgasm triggered my own. I came on a roar, pulsing inside her as white stars broke behind my eyes.
Boneless and sated, I collapsed onto her arms, rolling so she was draped across my chest. Then I held her tight, feeling her heart beat in an opposite rhythm to my own.
How had I gone this long without her? Why hadn’t we been doing this all along? She’d ruined me for other women.
One night, and I was ruined.
This was reckless. She was an employee. She was Guy’s sister.
But she was Stella.
My Stella.
She made a move to stand, but I held her tight.
“Stay.”
She pushed the hair from her face and gave me a sleepy smile. “Okay.”
“Stella?” I called through the house, yawning as I squinted at the bright light streaming through the windows. “Stella.”
Silence.
I padded to the front door, peering through a sidelight. There were fresh tire tracks in my driveway, ones that hadn’t been left by last night’s Uber.
No, they’d likely been from this morning. After Stella had snuck out of the house.
“Damn it. ”
Why would she leave? Why wouldn’t she wake me first? Was she upset?
I rubbed the stubble on my jaw, pissed at myself for not waking up and frustrated with her for sneaking out.
Any normal day, I’d track her down. I’d show up at her doorstep and we’d talk this through. But it wasn’t a normal day.
It was Christmas.
Merry Christmas, Stella.