Shooting for the Stars (7 page)

“Christ, you’re tight,” she whispered.

“You think?”
Losing your livelihood along with your entire identity can do that to a guy
.

He still felt a little drunk, but not just on tequila. The fireplace had warmed the room, and her hands were stroking his neck. The soothing touch of feminine fingertips on his body was a rare treat. Bear didn’t have a girlfriend. Sex happened with frequency, of course. A pro snowboarder had his pick of vacationing ski bunnies whenever he was in the mood. But there was no one steady in his life. Traveling seven months out of the year made dating impractical. He’d hoped to have a real girlfriend someday, and then a wife. That had always been the plan.

But that was a logical error, wasn’t it? He wouldn’t be traveling all the time anymore. Yet who would want a guy who was washed up at twenty-nine? One who didn’t have a Plan B?

“You’re fighting me,” Stella said, her voice low. “Drop your shoulders.”

Shit, he was. Bear made himself relax. “Thanks, buddy.”

“Shhh,” she said. “Actually, lift your arms over your head for a second.”

He did it without thinking. And a half second later, his t-shirt was tugged over his head and tossed aside. He opened his mouth to launch a knee-jerk protest, but then soft hands landed at the juncture of his shoulder and his neck. The friction of her skin against his own was like medicine. Instead of arguing, he let out a big sigh instead.

“That’s it,” Stella breathed. “Drop your head.”

For once in his life, he let Stella have her way without a fight. The pain of getting squashed by fate had not been dulled by tequila. It had not been soothed by Duku’s antics. Stella’s touch was the strongest drug yet. And it wasn’t even a close contest.

“Thanks for letting me turn your celebration into my pity party,” he said. “I’m sorry about the timing.”

“No, sweetie. It’s not like that.” She dug her thumb into his achiest muscle. “I want to be around when the big stuff happens.”

“Today it’s all big stuff.”

“Yeah,” she whispered.

“I do have some regrets. That’s why it’s hard to tell my father to fuck off. He’s right about some things.”

He felt her ruffling his hair now. “It doesn’t matter, though. Everybody has regrets, because nobody can do everything, right? You can only live your life in the way that creates the fewest of them.”

“How did you get so wise for someone so young?”

She delivered a quick slap to his shoulder. “First of all, I’m not that young, chump. And more importantly, it’s because I have this conversation with myself all the time. You might only get the lecture from your dad twice a year. But I get it all the time.”

“I’m sorry.” He knew that Stella’s parents weren’t as supportive of her athletic career as they were of Hank’s. Since she didn’t make enough money on the freeriding circuit, she couldn’t afford to keep a place out West, like Hank and Bear did. Every summer she lived at home. Her parents often tried to convince her to consider giving up competing. She hadn’t become an overnight sensation at nineteen like her brother, so they assumed there was no point.

“Your parents want to keep you close,” he said.

“That’s the nicest way to look at it.”

“Do you think you’ll end up with regrets?” he asked.

She stilled herself for a second. “I already have some.” Her hands resumed their magical healing powers, though she didn’t say any more.

“Well,” he cleared his throat. “Are you going to share?”

“I’m thinking about it,” she murmured.

Bear wasn’t sure what she meant by that. But it was hard to think too hard with Stella’s competent hands massaging his body. His eyes closed again, and he drifted, seeing images of the crystalline lake and the stark mountains against the darkness of his eyelids. In spite of all that had gone wrong today, this moment was pretty close to perfect.

As the knot in his neck relaxed, Stella’s hands wandered down his back. With a fist, she kneaded his lats, then rubbed her fingertips up and down his lower back. It felt divine. His body listened to her soothing touch, and it liked what it heard. So much so, in fact, that he began to tingle everywhere. He felt goosebumps break out on his chest. The low groan he heard seemed to have come from him.

Stella worked her way up his back again. Then she rose up onto her knees to make herself taller, providing leverage. But it also pancaked her lush body against his bare back.
Sweet Jesus
. The heat and pressure of her curves against his skin was a little more stimulating than he wished it to be. His dick began to feel nice and heavy as she moved against him.

Down, boy
. He was trying to think of a polite way of shifting away from her when her hair swept forward, draping over his bare shoulder, brushing his chest. His nipples tightened up even as he registered the fact that Stella had lowered her mouth to his skin.

Time slid to a stop as she pressed soft, open-mouthed kisses to the side of his neck.
So fucking nice
.
Except…
This wasn’t supposed to be happening. Even as he processed this, her sweet mouth moved to the sensitive skin just below his ear. And that would have been mind-numbing on its own, but her long hair continued to tickle his chest, setting him on fire.

He didn’t even try to hold back his groan.

Hearing it, Stella did not waste time. She threw a knee around his hip, almost straddling him. Yet she began to slip down his denim-clad leg.

Bear caught her with one arm, his hand cupping her ass. For a split second, neither of them moved. The only sound was his pounding heart.

Then Stella lowered her head, and he watched the slow-motion approach of her deep brown eyes. The first touch of their lips together was tentative, as if they both needed one more second to figure out whether this was truly happening.

Hell yes, it was.

Bear crushed his mouth to hers. And then they were kissing, and Bear was eighteen again, and desperate to taste her. He felt exactly the same surge of shock and pleasure as all those years ago. The slide of her soft lips on his lit him up. Without thinking, he cupped her face in one palm, and she opened up for him. A split second later, Stella’s tongue invaded his mouth. She tasted like limes and danger. And pure woman.

Stella kissed him as though she owned him. And for a few paralyzing moments, he would have willingly sold himself into slavery for even one more minute of her attention. But since the dynamic between Bear and Stella had always been an energetic power struggle, instinct kicked in. He took charge, hauling her to his chest, then flipping them both over until Stella lay on her back on the sofa.

Bear planted an elbow on the sofa’s edge and kissed her again, this time on his terms.

“Oh,” Stella whimpered between kisses, and the sound of her seeped through his veins like a drug. They went at it like teenagers again. He chased each kiss with another, and then another, slanting his mouth over hers, perfecting their connection. Each dive into Stella’s mouth was deeper than the last.

Unbidden, his free hand skimmed under her slinky top, finding the silky skin of her stomach. Ever since teenaged Stella had begun wearing bikini bathing suits, he’d been tortured by the question of how it would feel to touch her. And now he knew the answer.

Addictive
. That’s how it felt.

Meanwhile, her hands slid all over his bare chest. And then her legs wrapped around him, her heels digging into his ass, suddenly yanking his groin against hers.
Jesus
. He was raring to go, and it was partly because Stella was
still
trying to assert control over him. On another girl, that would have been a turn-off. From her, it was hot as fuck.

With a growl, he grabbed both her hands, holding them over her head. Then he hiked his body up a few inches, pinning her hips in place with his own. Breaking their kiss, he stared down at her.

Beneath him, Stella’s face was flushed, her dark eyes lit with lust. Their eyes locked and their chests heaved from exhilaration.

But…
Goddamn
. How did he end up here, with Stella? This wasn’t part of tonight’s plan.

“Let me up, Bear,” she said softly.

Chastened, he released her immediately, rising to his knees on the sofa.

Her face pink, Stella scrambled to a kneeling position, too. For a second they just stared at each other. He didn’t
think
he’d misread the situation. But he’d had a lot to drink tonight, and where Stella was concerned, he didn’t trust himself.

What was she thinking right now?

The answer came as Stella scooted closer to him again. Surprised, Bear held his body still, watching her. Her hands went to his waist. When she slid her fingers across skin, just north of his waistband, he had to bite back a moan. Her ambitious fingers found the button of his jeans, which she popped open.

That sobered his ass up. Fast. “Stella,” he breathed. “You shouldn’t do that.” It’s what he’d told her all those years ago. And it was still true.

She threw back her head, looking up into his eyes. “Bear,” she chided. “I haven’t been sixteen for a long time.”

“No kidding.” He blew out a breath. “But we’ve been
friends
for a long time, and…”

“Bear?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you think you could just shut up right now?” Her questing hand found a new place to stroke, just over the bulge in his jeans.

Jesus Christ.
He couldn’t even answer her, he was so turned on. Slowly she eased his zipper down. Then one of her exquisite hands ventured beneath the waistband of his boxer briefs. Bear’s breath stuttered in his throat.

Stella chuckled. “Now I know how to silence you.”

That was a second wakeup call. Stella obviously believed she’d bested him, rendering him defenseless. He planted a foot on the floor and grabbed her with both arms. Stella squeaked with surprise as he hoisted her into the air. He stalked around the sleek fireplace, tossing her on the bed. On her back, with her mussed hair spreading out on the duvet, she looked up at him with surprise.

He stood back, holding tightly to his control for one crucial moment longer. He could
not
get this wrong. “Am I getting on this bed with you?” he asked.

She licked her lips, and the anticipation made him so hungry he forgot to breathe. “Only if you lose the rest of your clothes first,” she answered.

Well then
. There was no way to misinterpret that. And, as Stella had pointed out, she was an adult, capable of making her own decisions. If she wanted this, he did not have to refuse.

Apparently he wasn’t moving fast enough for Stella, because she came after him. Sitting up, she tugged on the waistband of his jeans. Bear shoved the denim down his ass, his legs, and off his feet. Stella divested him of his boxer briefs next. Whisking away any remaining shreds of higher-order thinking, Stella grabbed him by both hips, tilted her head down, and began dropping wet kisses onto his shaft.

Before he could even catch a breath, Stella took him into the wet heat of her mouth. The sensation caused his muscles to lock up tight. Lifting his eyes to the ceiling, he dropped his head back, fighting for a little self control.

“Mmm,” Stella hummed.

The sound made Bear pant. All the tequila he’d drunk tonight was supposed to make him numb. Instead, his body had accelerated from a standstill to crucial velocity in a matter of minutes. If he didn’t put on the breaks, the entire ride would be over before he was ready.

Bear reached down, skimming his hands over Stella’s hair. He grasped her silky shirt in his fingers. With a tug, he raised the fabric, forcing Stella to release him. She relented, raising her arms. He whipped the shirt over her head and tossed it onto the floor. With a gentle shove, he tipped her back onto the bed, then climbed on with her.

She reached for him. “I wasn’t finished.”

“Patience,” he scoffed, holding her off in a way that kept her questing hands from reaching his dick. Holding her still with a hand to her shoulder, he freed up his other hand for some very necessary work. He undid her jeans, then gave them a tug. She lifted her hips, and when the fabric fell away, he choked out a laugh. Stella wore nothing underneath.

Stella Lazarus went
commando
. That was just so
her
.

And now she was spread out on the bed before him, her skin smooth and inviting, in nothing but a sporty little black bra. Not that he could keep his eyes up there. The temptation was just too great to run his gaze down her olive-toned curves. He bent over her body, skimming his lips along her hip bone. She tasted even sweeter than he’d imagined. Kissing his way across her body, he paused to nibble the top edge of the tiny triangle of black hair between her legs.

“Ohhh,” Stella moaned, her hips shifting underneath him.

Bear braced himself over her, forearms aligned outside her sleek thighs. She was more muscular than the women he usually went to bed with.
Hell
. Just the idea of how she might use those muscles on him was almost more than he could take. Drawing his elbows closer to her body, he pressed her legs together tightly. Then, lowering his head, he began dropping light kisses onto every inch that was still accessible. With his mouth, he cruised the juncture between her inner thigh and her mound, pausing to let his breath ghost over her body.

“You’re… ohh…” she whimpered, flopping back onto the bed. He raised his eyes to see her chest heaving. He nosed between her legs again, the trace of a sweet, musky scent of her turning him on even further. If that was possible.

She fought his grip on her legs, but he would not budge. Smiling now, he placed a single slow kiss about an inch north of the place where she would rather have it land. Again she wriggled, trying to enhance the connection to suit her.

“You’re impatient, buddy.” Without releasing the hold his elbows had on her, he lifted a hand to smooth from her belly button down to the crux of her thighs. He gave her nothing else but a wicked grin. Bear was desperate to escalate the situation. But it was too much fun to tease her.

“I’m impatient?” she huffed. “You made me wait ten years.”