One Night with a Star (Second Chances Book 2) (14 page)

“I love you, Jenny,” he said, stealing the breath right out of her lungs. “I want a future with you. With you and Daniel. I want us to be a family.”

She sighed, every inch of her skin prickling with pleasure. Those words should not be so erotic. They should appeal to the part of her that thrilled at cradling Daniel on a tough night, not the part of her that wanted to do things that would make a porn star blush.

“I’m buying that house, love, and come hell or high water, I’m living there,” he went on. “I don’t care if I have to drive five hours to work every day, this is where I belong. With you.”

Dear God, if she didn’t have Simon inside of her soon, she was going to explode.

“Yes,” she said, chest heaving as she panted with the sheer joy of it. “Oh yes.”

She may not have been mobile the way Simon was balanced over her, but she had enough freedom to slide her hands across his abdomen to cradle his dick. He sucked in a breath as she wrapped her hands around him, stroking the hard, heavy length of him. She loved the sounds he made, loved knowing what she could do to him. If he didn’t have her so pinned down, she would have splayed him on his back and taken him into her mouth, swallowing him deep enough to make him howl for release. Just the image of it in her imagination—Simon, helpless with pleasure as she went down on him, tongue teasing the most sensitive part of him—made her lick her lips in expectation.

He must have seen her reaction and conjured similar fancies in his own imagination. With another fast, searing kiss, he pushed himself to his knees, ripping open the condom. She sucked in a breath as she took in the sight of his full, naked body. He was perfect in every way, fit, proportioned, with an above-average dick that stood up like some Greek god of lust. Her core squeezed as he wrapped a hand around that proud staff and stroked himself. He even added a rumbling groan.

“Show off,” she teased, breathless and aching to take him in.

He laughed and let go long enough to roll the condom on. Then he rocked back off the bed, finally allowing her to spread her legs apart.

He helped by splaying his hands across her inner thighs and pushing her even wider. The stretch of muscles combined with the cool rush of air against her pussy was enough for her to catch her breath in a sultry cry. Half a second later, Simon’s mouth was on her, and her cry became a gasp of pleasure. His fingers spread her so that his lips and tongue could work their magic. Her whole focus narrowed to the pulsing pleasure building in her core as he traced her opening with his tongue, teased inside, then worked his way up to her clit.

“I will never get tired of the taste of you,” he promised, thick and deep.

Jenny could only moan in response as he closed his mouth over her clit, sucked for a moment, then began circling his tongue around the oversensitive nub. He knew exactly how much pressure to use and which flickering movements would drive her crazy. Her hips twitched against him, and she arched her head back at the sensations. And, because she knew it would turn him on even more, she caressed her breasts, pinching her nipples to hard peaks. His answering growl told her he’d seen and approved. The power of knowing just how hot they were making each other sped her along to the edge.

She came with full force, her whole body involved as shuddering tremors took her. Simon groaned, sliding two fingers inside of her to feel her orgasm. He stroked her in just the right spot, drawing out the pleasure for what seemed like forever. The bliss of it left her soft and satisfied, but more than ready for him to take his pleasure from her.

He wasted no time. With her legs still spread wide, he kissed his way up her body, circling her navel with his tongue, then pausing to suckle each of her breasts. By the time his lips reached hers, his hips were wedged against all the right places. He rubbed his hot length against her clit a few times before taking hold of himself and guiding toward her entrance.

She cried out with satisfaction as he thrust into her. The thickness of him stretched her, filling her perfectly. He let out a primal groan as their bodies fit together, then jerked his hips back to thrust again. He knew how she liked it, not sweet, not pretty, just needy. His breathing grew tight and desperate as he pumped into her, pushing deeper, searching for a perfect mating. She closed her legs over his hips, squeezing him with her inner muscles, and his cries grew more frantic. She dug her fingertips into his back, venting her pleasure with involuntary sounds that turned her on even more with each of his thrusts.

At last, he tensed and cried out as he climaxed. Her body sang in response, and she hummed with the potency of being able to make him lose control so spectacularly. As he relaxed, coming down from the high of passion, she hugged him tight with her arms and legs. He sagged over top of her, staying inside of her.

“I love you,” he said. “I do.”

“I know,” she panted, feeling it through to her soul.

For the moment, her worries were silent. They were still there, lurking. Nothing had changed, but her body was too satisfied, her heart too full of Simon, to entertain those fears. She should move, clean herself up and go back to work. She should march over to Twin Pines and force Neil to set things right. She should swallow her fears and break up with Neil firmly and definitively right then, but all she wanted to do was lay there, basking in the afterglow with Simon. He was heavenly. She should wrap herself in him and trust that everything would work out as it should.

But already, worry was creeping back up on her.

Chapter Thirteen

On paper, life couldn’t have been better for Simon. John and Margaret accepted his offer. The house would be his by the end of the month. Jenny had turned a corner. Even though she swore she didn’t want to, she turned a corner and let go of some of her fear after they made love. She still insisted there were things she had to handle before they could seriously entertain being together, but the tone of the conversation had changed. She wasn’t pushing him to arm’s length anymore. She even let him take Daniel for the day on Friday while she was at work, and though her mom had scowled and given him about five different ultimatums for treating Daniel well before the two of them drove off for some quality father-son time, she
did
let him go.

The only fly in the ointment was the great, big, giant one—Twin Pines and Second Chances. And Simon wasn’t about to let that one last roadblock in the way of his and so many other people’s perfect happiness ruin things. He would pull out the big guns and fight back.

That, of course, involved taking Daniel up to Twin Pines to hang out with the residents.

“He’s such a sweetheart,” Mrs. Preston cooed, escorting Simon and Daniel around the main activity room in the newer wing of Twin Pines’ central building as if they had come to see her and she was sharing. “Look, Shirley. Simon Mercer has a little boy.”

Three older women, one in a wheelchair, came rushing across the room to tickle and squeal at Daniel, their wrinkled hands caressing Daniel’s plump baby hands. Whatever lingering concerns Simon had had about showing Daniel off like a prize vanished. Daniel was lapping up the attention, giggling and drooling at his adoring fans as they played peek-a-boo with him. And here Simon had worried that Daniel would cry without his mother. Well, it looked as though the little tike was his father’s son after all.

“I didn’t realize you were a family man,” a Mr. Oliver came up, cane in one hand, and thumped Simon on the back. “It’s good to see. I don’t know why young men these days seem so scared of family obligations.”

“Neither do I,” Simon agreed. With Daniel laughing in his arms, he was likely to agree with anything.

Mr. Oliver kept his arm around Simon’s shoulders as though they were old army buddies. “So, do you know anything about what’s going on with that TV show of yours?” he asked.

The question bit into Simon’s joy, reminding him of the reason he’d come to Twin Pines to begin with. When one of the stronger women cooing over Daniel offered to hold him, he let his son go and turned to Mr. Oliver.

“That’s exactly what I’m trying to find out, sir,” he said. “Do you know anything I don’t?”

Mr. Oliver humphed, adjusting his WWII uniform cap, which he still wore with pride. “All I know is that most of the ladies around here are grumpy as hell about the possibility that the program might not film here anymore.”

Simon lost his attempt not to grin at the statement. “The ladies?”

“Some of the gents too.” Mr. Oliver sniffed, sharing a knowing wink with Simon. He grew serious. “You young people don’t know what it’s like for us here. They try to make it pretty and palatable, but for too many of us, a home like this is where we get shipped off to when we’re useless and no one wants us anymore.”

Simon opened his mouth to contradict him, the whole thought of people being discarded making his stomach ache, but Mr. Oliver raised a hand to wave him to silence.

“It’s true,” he said, brooking no argument. “We’re lucky here. You’ve got to have money to get a place at Twin Pines, and the staff tries their best. Doesn’t change the fact that we’re here to wind down. Which is why that program of yours is so important to us.”

“How is it important?” Simon shifted his weight and crossed his arms. He wanted to understand this. He needed to understand it to make his point.

“It gives us something to look forward to,” Mr. Oliver said. “Something we can feel involved in. I got to be an extra in one of the episodes you all filmed last autumn. I haven’t had so much fun in years. That little lady who did my make-up was a real firecracker too.” His grin alone was enough to convince Simon to take up the banner of Second Chances and charge into battle.

“Would you or maybe some of the other residents be willing to speak to the board about all this?” he asked.

“Would we?” Mr. Oliver laughed. “Son, we’ve been telling them all along that we want the show to come back. It’s the heart of all the gossip around here. Even this whole mess of ‘will they or won’t they’ film keeps us going. It’s a reason to wake up in the morning.”

Simon wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. It was his rallying cry, though. He slapped Mr. Oliver on the back. “I’m going to go to bat for you, sir. For all of you.”

“Good.” Mr. Oliver nodded. “Maybe you can balance out the whisperings of that snake accountant we’re always seeing stuck to Dr. Jan’s side.”

“Neil?” Simon’s question was ominous.

“That’s the one,” Mr. Oliver agreed, then made a noise of disgust. “He keeps trying to cut the budget for entertainment and switch to a lower grade of grub in the kitchen. Penny-pinching little twerp.”

Simon laughed. “I couldn’t agree more, sir.”

He was distracted from more conversation as Dr. Brunswick marched into the room. She may have been young, but in her severe suit with her hair brushed back, she seemed as crusty as any of the residents. Simon checked to be sure that Daniel was still content in the arms of his female admirers, then nodded to Mr. Oliver and crossed the room to intercept her.

“Dr. Brunswick,” he called, catching her before she started down one of the other halls that fed into the activity room. “Can I have a word with you?”

Dr. Brunswick stopped, turning to him with a sigh and a barely-tolerant look. “What can I do for you, Mr. Mercer?”

“I want to talk to you some more about Second Chances, about its importance to the residents.” Why not just dive into things. “I’ve just been talking to some of them. They’ve been telling me how much the show means to them.”

“I know how important it is,” she said, planting her hands on her hips and looking more like the stern schoolmistresses of his childhood than anything else. “I keep getting letters from them and visits to my office.”

“Then you understand what an important part of all of their lives this has become,” Simon charged on.

“I do, Mr. Mercer,” Dr. Brunswick sighed, “but I don’t have time for this. There’s more to Twin Pines than this damned show, and I need to see to all of it.”

She turned to march on down the hall. Simon checked on Daniel, then launched after her.

“There has to be something we can do to convince the home’s board that filming will be good for the residents and good for the facility.”

Dr. Brunswick stopped and spun to face him. “I
know
, Mr. Mercer. I know how you feel, I know how the residents feel, and I know how your production company feels.” Though from the frustration in her voice, she wasn’t happy about any of it. “I can assure you, the board is going to meet and discuss it.”

“When?”

“At the next board meeting,” she answered with a twinge of deliberate sarcasm.

Simon was about to go on, but she stopped him.

“Look, I get it. This is partially personal. You poached Neil’s girlfriend. Neil is a bitter, spiteful jerk, and he’s lashing out to get revenge.”

Simon flinched, brow flying up. “You know about that?”

“Of course I know about that,” she replied. “I know everything that goes on in here, with the residents and with the staff. It’s my job.”

“Then why not just give asshole accountant the brush-off and be done with it?”

“Because Neil isn’t the only one who’s expressed concerns,” she answered without hesitation. “A few of the residents don’t like the disruption. Some families are concerned about protecting their loved ones. And our lawyers have brought up a few liability issues that weren’t discussed last year before the first filming.”

“I see.” The added information should have dented Simon’s spirits, but only one thing really stuck in his mind. “So this isn’t one hundred percent Neil’s doing?”

“No, it’s not.”

Simon breathed a sigh of relief. Jenny needed to know as soon as possible. She could stop blaming herself, and once she did, he had no doubt she’d come out of her corner fighting.

“I’ve got things to do,” Dr. Brunswick reminded him.

“Thanks for your time.” Simon smiled at her, nodded, and let her go.

He pivoted and charged back to the activity room, happier and more confident than he’d been in weeks. Daniel was just starting to get fussy, but as soon as he scooped his son into his arms, he was back to giggling and drooling again.

“Come on, little tiger,” he said, kissing Daniel’s head. “We’ve got to head home and get you some lunch.”

A few of Daniel’s ring of admirers hummed in disappointment.

“You’ll bring him back soon, won’t you?” Mrs. Preston asked.

“Of course I will.” Simon stepped toward her and kissed her forehead too. “We can’t stay away from our favorite ladies for long.”

Mrs. Preston giggled and blushed. The other ladies eyed her with envy, so Simon made the rounds, kissing them all goodbye. When he leaned over to the woman in the wheelchair, she scooped her hand around his neck and planted a smacking kiss on his lips.

“I’ve always wanted to kiss a movie star,” she said with a low, sultry laugh.

“I bet you were quite the vixen in your heyday,” Simon teased her as she straightened. “You still are.”

He headed out of the activity room with twin feelings of joy and righteous sympathy for the fabulous residents of Twin Pines, vowing to visit them like he said he would. He wondered if there was some sort of charity organization that advocated visiting the elderly and shut-ins that he could volunteer his image for in an effort to get others to visit homes like this.

He was so wrapped up in his thoughts as he headed down the stone stairs from the main building to the parking lot that the sight of Jenny coming up the stairs startled him.

“Love, what are you doing here?” He greeted her with a huge smile. Daniel echoed that smile, holding his arms out to her.

“Hi sweetie.” Jenny went straight for Daniel, beaming with love.

Simon considered it a victory when she shifted that same expression to him. The heat from their surprise coupling the other day was still there. She swayed toward him rather than pulling away. Her smile was as open and inviting as it ever had been. Yes, they’d definitely turned a corner. Now the real battle began.

“Honestly,” she said, her smile dropping to tight resignation, “I’ve come to do something I should have done a long time ago.”

Simon frowned, curious. “What?”

She took a deep breath, holding Daniel close, then met his eyes. “I’m breaking up with Neil.”

He shouldn’t have, but he grinned, laughed even. He ran a hand through his hair, feeling a little too proud of himself. “Yes, well, I suppose after a little afternoon delight the other day, that is the next logical step.”

“Stop,” she scolded him, smacking his arm with her free hand. “I’m serious. This is a big deal.”

“Not as much as you might think.” He was right back to bursting with excitement over the things Dr. Brunswick had told him. “I just spoke to a certain Dr. Janice Brunswick, and it turns out that Neil’s idiocy was only one of the reasons the board has been having second thoughts.”

“Really?” The light in her eyes was enough to keep him going for months.

“Yep. Which means this is not your fault. Not at all.”

She sucked in a breath, his happy relief reflected in her eyes. “Oh, Neil is going to pay for this now,” she said.

“Hey!” A shout from the top of the hill, from the man himself, drew both Simon and Jenny’s attention. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Neil wore his trademark disgusted frown. He changed direction from where he was heading along the path just outside of the main building to march down the stairs.

“I was just leaving,” Simon said. He held his hands out to take Daniel and whispered, “Go get him, tiger.”

Jenny handed Daniel over to Simon. Her heart thumped in her chest, but she didn’t dare name the emotions that came with that thumping. Daniel tried to fuss a little, holding his arms out to her.

“It’s okay, sweetie,” she told him, tickling his pudgy little cheek and kissing his hands. “Go with your daddy. Mommy’s got some ass to kick.”

Simon laughed. The sound distracted Daniel enough to silence any lingering guilt about letting her fussy baby go with someone else.

“Call us later to let us know how it went,” Simon said.

He nodded, the look he gave her just the kind of support she needed. She still wasn’t sure sleeping with him was the best idea she’d ever had. She continued to have lingering doubts about how likely any relationship between them was to work out. But at that moment, she didn’t have time to worry about it. She had a mission.

“Yeah, that’s right, star-boy,” Neil called after Simon as Simon and Daniel headed the rest of the way down the stairs. “Get out of here.”