Star of His Heart (6 page)

N
othing could have prepared Ethan for the need that took over his body at that moment. Unable to hold back, he captured her mouth with a possession that fueled his fire in a way it had never been with another woman. He wanted to devour Rachel alive.

A part of him couldn't believe that she was in his arms and that he was taking her mouth like it was the only feminine one left on earth. For now, for him, it was.

For some reason, he couldn't control the rush of physical hunger consuming him. His tongue tangled with hers with a voracity that sent pleasure spiking throughout his body. He was kissing her hungrily, as
if he was seeking out some forbidden treat and was determined to find it.

Moments later, only because they needed to breathe, he released her mouth and stared into her stunned gaze. Refusing to allow her time to think again, he lowered his mouth once more and at the same time, he swept her off her feet and into his arms. Before the night was over, his touch would be imprinted on every inch of her skin.

Somehow he managed to get them up the stairs. Upon reaching the landing, he moved quickly toward her bedroom. She wanted to get it on and he was determined not to let anything stop them. Though he had wanted her from the first moment he'd laid eyes on her, he'd thought he would be satisfied with them just being friends. Well, he'd been proven wrong.

The moment he placed her on the bed, he joined her there, wanting to keep her in his arms, needing his lips to remain plastered to hers with his tongue inside her mouth and doing things so wicked it made his skin shiver. The kiss really had gotten ridiculously out of hand because never in his life had he been so damn greedy. So hard up to make love to a woman.

In an unexpected move, she pulled back, breaking off the kiss and drawing in a ragged breath. Her gaze latched on to the mouth that had just thoroughly kissed her, and he felt his rod pulsate when she took her tongue, that same tongue he'd tried to devour, and licked her top lip before saying, “I think we should get out of our clothes, Ethan.”

He couldn't help but smile as he pulled up on his haunches. “I think you're right.” He moved away from the bed to pull the jeans down his legs while flames of desire tore through him. He pulled a condom pack out of his wallet and ripped it open with his teeth. Sheathing his aroused member was an exercise in torture.

Without wasting any time, he returned to her. With a ravenous growl and a need he didn't want to question, he reached out and began removing the clothes from her body. The moment she was completely naked, the lusciousness of her feminine scent filled his nostrils and further stimulated every nerve in his body, making his protruding erection that much harder. He intended to stake a claim on every inch of her body. Beginning now.

He lowered his head and captured her mouth at the same time his hands reached around and began caressing her back and pulling her closer to the fit of him, his hard arousal pressing into her stomach.

He broke off the kiss and his mouth trailed lower, planting kisses over the soft swell of her breasts before taking a nipple into his mouth and sucking it with an intensity that made her groan.

Without losing contact with her nipple, he tilted his head and gazed up at her, saw the heated desire flaming her pupils. Returning his attention to her breasts he began kneading the other while continuing to torment the one in his mouth. He liked the feel and the taste of her and realized his desire for her was intrinsically raw.

“Ethan…”

He liked the sound of his name from her lips, and his erection throbbed mercilessly in response. “Tell me what you want, Rachel,” he coaxed softly, planting kisses across her chest while his hands remained on her breasts. “Tell me what you like.”

When she didn't say anything but let out a tortured groan, he blew his breath across a moist nipple. “You like that?”

She didn't hesitate, responding, “Yes.”

“What about this?” he rasped in her ear before shifting, letting his wet, hot and greedy mouth slide down her body. She arched her hips the moment his mouth settled between her legs, and he could taste the honeyed sweetness of her desire on his tongue.

Her eyes were closed, her breathing was heavy. He knew she was feeling every bit of what his mouth was doing to her. With his hands he widened the opening of her legs as her taste consumed him and made him want to delve deeper into her womanly core. Her unique and sensuous flavor drove him to sample as much of her as he could get.

But he wanted to do more than that. He wouldn't be satisfied until he shattered her control the same way she had shattered his.

When he felt her body tremble beneath his mouth, he released her and pulled his body up and then over hers, easing between her legs and caging her hips with the firmness of his thighs just moments before thrusting into
her. The force alone made her scream out her orgasm mere seconds before he released his.

A pulsing and fiery explosion rocked his body, which subsequently rocked hers. He leaned down and captured her mouth and knew what it felt to truly want a woman in every sense of the word.

Next time around they would go slow. And there would be a next time. He would make sure of it.

 

An aftermath of sensations consumed Rachel as she lay there, unable to move. Ethan excused himself to go to the bathroom, and she could barely nod in acknowledgment of what he'd said. Nor did she have the strength to turn over off her stomach and onto her back. She felt completely drained. And it wasn't because it was her first orgasm in two years. It was all about the man who'd given it to her.

Moments later, she heard him return and opened her eyes, only to see his naked body walking out of the bathroom. The dim light from the bedside lamp didn't miss his engorged erection. How could he be hard again so soon when she could barely catch her breath? And she couldn't help noticing he had on another condom. He couldn't possibly assume she had strength for another round.

The bed dipped beneath his weight as he slid in next to her. His hands began gently caressing the center of her back and the rounded curves of her buttocks. She closed her eyes again, enjoying the feel of being touched by him. When he replaced his fingers with the tip of
his tongue and licked up and down her spine, a moan of pleasure escaped her lips.

Now she understood how desire could get stirred all over again so soon and gave herself up to the pure joy of it in his hands and mouth. She drew in a deep breath and then breathed out slowly, reveling in the passion building in every part of her body. It was a primitive force she didn't want to yield to again so quickly. She wanted to prolong the enjoyment.

“Turn over, baby.”

She pulled in another deep breath and whispered, “Can't. Too weak.”

“Then let me help you.”

She heard his soft chuckle moments before he gently eased her onto her back. She stared up into his gaze, and the look in his eyes stroked something she hadn't counted on—intense desire even in her weakened state. Desire she couldn't resist or deny. She'd never wanted a man this much, so this was a first for her. And when he leaned down and claimed her mouth in a way no man had ever done before, a shiver of intense heat rode up her spine, renewing energy she didn't think she had. Her heart began pounding in her chest. At the same time, her body started shuddering with sensations she felt all the way to her toes.

With a burst of vigor that was rejuvenating every part of her, she lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck while his mouth continued to mate with hers in a kiss that progressed from hot to scalding with a stroke of his tongue.

When he finally released her mouth it was only to shift his body between her thighs. She moaned, knowing he was about to soothe the ache at the juncture of her legs.

He reached out, cupped her bottom, lifted her hips and thrust deep inside of her. For a moment he didn't move. It was as if he needed to savor the feel of his erection planted so profoundly inside of her, pulsing, thickening and growing even larger while her inner muscles clamped down on him tightly.

Then, finally, he began moving in and out at a rhythm and pace that had every cell in her body humming, trembling and shuddering in pleasure. The muscles in his shoulders bunched beneath her fingers when he lowered his head to breathe against her mouth. Her breath hitched in her throat and then her lungs cleared in a precipitated slam.

“Ethan…”

He tasted her lips with his tongue as he drove into her. His hard thrusts made her bed shake, the springs squeak and the headboard hit against the wall. Not only was he drawing out a need and desire within her, he was fulfilling it to a degree that had her meeting him, thrust for thrust.

With one final thrust into the depth of her, her body spun into an orgasm of gigantic proportion. As she reveled in her climax, he kissed her with an intensity that elicited moans from deep in her throat.

At that moment, there was only one thing she could think of. So much for them being just friends.

 

Ethan eased from the bed and slipped into his jeans. Once he had snapped them up, he glanced back over his shoulder at the woman asleep in the bed. Never had any one woman touched him the way she had, in and out of bed.

And that was the crux of his problem.

He pulled in a deep breath and leaned down to brush a kiss against her temple and then quickly pulled away when he breathed in the scent of her, which had the power to render him helpless.

He rubbed a hand down his face. What the hell had he gotten himself into? Rachel had made it clear, exceedingly so and on more than one occasion, that she had no intention of getting involved with anyone she considered to be in the spotlight, anyone who would put the media on her tail. If she became involved with him, she ran the risk of that happening. He knew if there was any ounce of decency within him, he would grab his stuff and leave and when he saw her tomorrow he would pretend last night never happened.

Easier said than done.

He couldn't do that.

Something was forcing him to not only acknowledge that it happened but to do whatever he could to make sure it happened again.

He shook his head in dismay as he left the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Wasn't it just a little over two weeks ago that he'd made the vow to focus on his career more than anything else, certainly more than any
woman? But there was something about Rachel that called out to him at every turn.

He had gone back into the bedroom he should have been occupying to freshen up when his cell phone on the nightstand rang. He released a deep, annoyed breath when the caller ID indicated it was his agent. “Yes, Curtis?”

“Ethan, where are you?”

He rolled his eyes. “Is there something you need, Curtis?”

“The paparazzi can't find you.”

“That's too bad,” he murmured with agitation clearly in his voice. “And how did you know they were looking for me?”

His agent paused a second before saying. “It's my job to know everything that's going on with you.”

Ethan frowned. Was Curtis somehow responsible for the media hounds hanging around outside of his house last night? It wouldn't surprise Ethan, since his agent liked keeping him in the news. In the spotlight, as Rachel termed it. The thought that Curtis could be connected didn't sit well with him. “Your job is to advance my career, not fabricate lies about me and my love life.”

“It's never bothered you before,” his agent countered.

The man was right. It hadn't bothered him before. “It does now, and it would behoove you to remember that. Talk to you later, Curtis.”

Ethan then disconnected the call.

 

The sound of a ringing telephone worked its way into the deep recesses of Rachel's sleep-shrouded mind. Without lifting her head from the pillow, she reached out and grabbed her cell phone off the bedside table. “Hello,” she said in a drowsy voice.

“I can't believe you're still in bed.”

Rachel forced one eye open upon hearing her sister's voice. “What time is it?”

“Almost noon. You weren't at church today, and Aunt Lily wanted to make sure you were okay since it's not like you to miss service.”

Rachel moaned, which was followed by a deep yawn. “I'm fine, Sofia.”
Am I really?
“I overslept.” That wasn't a lie.

She slowly pulled herself up in bed, surprised she had the energy to do so. Taking part in lovemaking marathons wasn't something she did often, and thanks to Ethan, her muscles had gotten one heck of a workout.

Ethan…

She glanced at the rumpled spot beside her in the bed. It hadn't been a figment of her imagination. He had been there. His masculine scent was still in her bedcovers. And she could hear him moving around downstairs, which meant he was still there.

She closed her eyes as memories of their lovemaking flowed through her mind. There were the memories of his hands all over her body, his tongue licking her nipple, his head between her legs, his—

“Rachel?”

She snapped her eyes back open. “Yes?”

“I asked if you wanted to do a movie later.”

Sofia was a workaholic and any other time Rachel would have jumped at the chance to do something fun with her sister, but not today. But she knew better than to tell her sister the real reason. “Can I get a rain check? I want to finish this painting so it can be ready for the gallery's opening day.”

“Sure, just let me know when.”

They talked for a few more minutes and then Sofia had to take another call. Rachel disconnected the call and stretched her body in bed, thinking that as much as she had enjoyed making love with Ethan, it couldn't happen again.

She eased out of bed, knowing they needed to talk.

 

Few people knew that cooking was one of Ethan's favorite pastimes, so he wasn't taken aback by the look of surprise on Rachel's face when she walked into her kitchen. Her sexy-pixie expression was priceless.