Celestial Desire (2 page)

She laughed, and he felt it spread through him like sunshine. “Maybe.”

Maybe
wasn’t good enough.
Maybe
implied it might not happen, and that was unacceptable. Instead of his usual feeling of sated satisfaction, he was craving
more
. And if she kept wiggling her ass like that, he was going to break every safe-sex rule he had and bang her anyway. Just the thought of entering her bare, of coming inside her, had his balls swelling again.

“What can I do to sway you?” he said, glad that his voice didn’t convey the desperation he felt.

Her eyes twinkled as she sat up and splayed her palms across his chest, appearing to consider it. “Bring more than three.”

Lord, have mercy
.

“California agrees with you,” Jessica Harrison commented. Mother and daughter sat at the small table for two in the quiet Italian restaurant, remarkably alike in appearance. Jessica’s blonde hair now had a few silvery strands, and her face, a few more wrinkles, but rather than detract from her beauty, they added to it.

“This food agrees with me,” Celeste said, eyeing up the perfectly prepared chicken medallions the waiter placed before her. The smell of lemon and herbs had her stomach cheering in anticipation. “Lean meats, fresh herbs and vegetables. Makes it easy to forget the carbs.”

“You look wonderful, Celeste. I am so proud of you.”

“Thanks, Mom. I feel good.”

“Everything is okay? Do you need anything?”

“Everything is fine. Stop worrying.”

“I’m your mother. Asking me not to worry is asking for the impossible.”

Celeste reached out to touch her mother’s hand. “But I’m okay.
Really
. I love my new place.”

“I don’t know why you just didn’t move in with me,” Jessica said. “I have plenty of room.”

“We’ve been through this, Mom.” While Celeste loved her mother and wanted to be close to her, Jessica had a tendency to be a bit overprotective. It wasn’t wholly without reason; the past two years had been difficult, but Celeste was stronger because of it. Not to mention she’d become accustomed to the freedom and privacy that came with living on her own. If she’d been staying with her mother, she wouldn’t have experienced the wonder and magic of Zane, sex-god extraordinaire. That man had some
serious
skills.

“Yes, and you’re right. But at least let me help. Let’s go furniture shopping tomorrow.”

Celeste hesitated, sipping from the tall glass of ice water. “Tomorrow?”

“Yes, tomorrow,” her mother smiled. “There are quite a few good places around, and at least one of them is advertising a semi-annual sale. We can pick out a nice bedroom set, some chairs and tables, maybe a sofa.”

“I don’t need all that, Mom. My lease is only for six months.”

Jessica’s smile flickered. “I was hoping you might like it enough here to stick around a bit longer than that.”

“I love it here. It’s beautiful.” Visions of a sexy, naked Zane flashed through her mind. “But I can’t make a decision like that after only three days.”

Jessica put down her fork and smoothed the napkin draped over her lap. “You’re safe now, Celeste.”

Celeste nodded, because she knew her mother wanted to believe that. Celeste wanted to believe it, too, but didn’t have as much faith in the legal system as Jessica did, not where her ex-husband was concerned. She wanted to keep her options open and her life mobile enough to move on at the first sign of trouble. Coming here at all had been a risky move – Celeste did not want the shadows of her past darkening her mother’s doorstep but figured it would be safe enough for the next few months, at least. And, truth be told, she’d really missed her mother and the close bond they had once shared.

“So what’s Mitch doing this evening?” Bringing up her mother’s special friend was a surefire way to lighten the mood and redirect the conversation to more pleasant topics. As hoped, Jessica’s features softened and a smile played about her lips. It was nice to see; her mother’s eyes hadn’t lit up like that since her father died.

“He said he had some briefs to wade through before court tomorrow.”

Mitch was a lawyer, and a good one. Celeste had met him on more than one occasion and heartily approved. “He is always welcome to join us, you know.”

“I know, and I appreciate that, but we need some mother-daughter time, too. Like dinner tonight. And furniture shopping tomorrow.”

Celeste sighed. So much for her brilliant diversion tactic. “I’d love to, Mom, but I can’t. I’ve got a ton of orders lined up, and the move put me behind.”

“Business is good, then?”

“Better than good,” she grinned. “I’ll never have to work another day again.” Jessica laughed at their inside joke, a reference to one of Celeste’s favorite sayings: “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.”

“I’m happy for you, honey. You deserve it. But surely you can spare an hour or two for your poor old mother?”

Celeste rolled her eyes at her mother’s blatant attempt at guilt, but laughed. “All right! But only the kitchen store, no furniture.”

“Deal. I need to pick up some things for the dinner party next week anyway.”

The hairs on the back of Celeste’s neck prickled in warning. “Dinner party? What dinner party?”

“Oh, didn’t I tell you? I’m planning a small get-together, kind of a ‘welcome to the neighborhood’ thing.”

“
Mom
.”

“What? It’s just going to be a couple of people.”

“You know I don’t like those kind of things.”

“You need to get out and meet people, honey. I promise, it won’t be bad. Just some local business people who live in the complex. Potential local contacts. Please.”

Celeste exhaled heavily. “I’ll think about it, okay?”

Jessica smiled. They both knew Celeste would be attending. “Fine. Now about tomorrow. I was thinking we could start at …”
 

* * *
 

It was supposed to be a once and done thing; satisfy his craving, scratch his itch, then move on. Yet he found himself at Celeste’s condo again two nights later. She’d called and like a slobbering hound he’d been out the door with the phone still held to his ear.

He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her, which should have bothered him more than it did. He rationalized it away, reasoning that because he’d underestimated her the last time, he needed to redeem himself before he could move on.

She was giving him a second chance, and he wasn’t going to blow it. He tucked a dozen condoms into his pocket this time. Apparently she was just as anxious for a re-do, because her door flew open before he’d even lifted his hand to ring the bell.

Hungry eyes fixed on his and her pebbled nipples were clearly visible beneath the white silk of her robe. He growled and stepped over the threshold, taking her in his arms while he kicked the door shut with his booted heel.

“Zane,” she panted, “can you do that thing?”

“What thing?” his words were muffled against the soft skin of her neck, his breath coming as hard and fast as hers. Christ, he was like an animal around her! Within seconds of showing up at her door with a bouquet of flowers, she was naked in his arms and he was trying desperately to push his jeans down enough to free his aching erection.

“That
thing
,” she pleaded, grinding her hips against him. At least he wasn’t alone in this crazed lust. Less than forty-eight hours had passed since he’d walked out of her condo, but it might have been forty-eight weeks given the unbearable throbbing in his groin.

“You mean that thing where I shove my aching cock inside your tight wet pussy and fuck you till you scream my name?”

Her eyes rolled back in her head as he did just that. “Yeah,” she exhaled in blessed relief. “
That
.”

A week later, he was no closer to walking away. She was right out of his personal fantasy; sweet, smart, sexy as hell, and freaking insatiable. They’d make love and barely fifteen minutes would go by before he found himself lusting after her again. Granted, she had an incredible body, all soft, womanly curves, with generous natural breasts and hips that cradled his body and melded to every hard plane, welcoming him with heat and slick moisture. No matter how many times he prodded for entrance, she was always ready and willing.

Seven days since he’d first noticed her by the pool, and he’d seen her no less than three times. Those three times had consisted of marathon sessions in her condo, though they’d branched out a bit. They made heavy use of the mattress (she still didn’t have a proper bed), but also explored the shower, the kitchen counter tops, and the section of wall just inside the doorway.

He touched the pads of his fingers to the raw-looking rug burn along her lower back, recalling how they had rolled off the mattress in their spirited play and he hadn’t even thought about easing up. She winced at the slight contact; he made a mental note to put some ointment on that when he had the strength to stand again. The thought of her hurting was unacceptable.

“I was thinking of heading out to the marina tomorrow, doing some sailing. What do you say?”

“Sounds awesome, but I can’t.” Her voice was a soft purr as she stretched out languidly beside him.

“Another
thing
?”

“Yeah. I’m setting up a new system for someone.” In between their bouts of epic sex, he’d learned that she designed, built, and installed custom computer systems. That explained all of the digital equipment piled in her living room when she didn’t even have a decent chair to sit on.

“I thought you made your own hours.”

“I do, mostly, but this isn’t regular business.”

“Postpone. Reschedule. Work your magic.” He punctuated each word with a nip of his teeth, finishing with a couple of long, lingering licks.

She groaned and shifted, giving him better access while her fingers threaded through his hair to keep him from moving too far away. Celeste, it seemed, was every bit as greedy for his touch as he was for hers. “You make it hard to refuse, but this guy’s really important.”

“Guy? Should I be jealous?” His tone was teasing and light, but the unease in his gut was anything but.

“Relax,” she chastised on the crest of another groan, arching her back as her breast bid for more attention. “You’re more than enough man for me.”

Feeling remarkably better, Zane started breathing again. “So who is he?”

“My mom’s friend. She really likes him, and he’s a great guy. He … did something for me. I’m hoping to repay the favor a little.”

Zane didn’t miss the way she averted her eyes; there was some undercurrent in her tone that had his protective instincts rushing to the surface. It was unsettling, to say the least. He’d known her what, a couple of days? He shouldn’t be feeling this… territorial.

Then again, the normal rules didn’t seem to apply when it came to Celeste. If she was anyone else he wouldn’t have returned a third time. Once was usually his limit, twice if the sex had been truly epic. He wasn’t sure he’d ever even made it to a third visit before, so he was in unfamiliar territory even when it came to rationalizing what it meant.

He shoved those thoughts to the back of his mind, unwilling to overanalyze while he had all this soft, warm flesh against him. Celeste and logical thought were proving to be nearly mutually exclusive.

“What did he do for you?” he pressed.

Her entire body tensed in his embrace. Was it in anger? Fear? Annoyance? Zane wished he could see her eyes so he’d have a better idea of what she was feeling; her every emotion was displayed clearly in them, he’d noticed.

He refused to let go when she tried to pull away. Instead, he let his hands move slowly over her back, soothing strokes meant to calm. After a span of several heartbeats, he felt her begin to soften again. He liked that he could have that kind of effect on her.

“You ask a lot of questions,” she said finally against his chest.

“Add ‘curious’ to ‘honest’, ‘prepared’, and ‘resourceful’.”

She grinned slightly, but it faded as quickly as it had come. “It’s a long story,” she hedged. “Maybe another time, ok?” She pulled away from him, the first time she had done so. He didn’t like it at all, but this time he allowed it.

“Okay,” he agreed reluctantly. “But, Celeste?”

“Yeah?”

“I want to know more about you.”

She gave him a sad smile and touched her fingers to his lips. She opened her mouth to say something, then changed her mind. Instead, she rose up on her toes and kissed the corner of his mouth. “Go on now,” she said softly. “I’ve got work to do and you’re too much of a distraction.”

Zane wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, giving her a proper kiss. If she thought he could be dismissed that easily, she was mistaken. But something was bothering her, and he had the feeling that if he pushed too hard she’d shut him down completely. That was the last thing he wanted.

“How about dinner, then?”

“Can’t,” she said. “Got a thing.”

Another
thing
. He was fast becoming tired of
things
getting in the way of him trying to do something more than simply fuck her into ecstasy, and wasn’t that a shocker? He shelved that little epiphany for later when he could examine it more closely. She was trying to move away from him again.

“You know, pretty soon I’m going to think you just want me for my rod.”

She grinned, and the mischievous spark was back in her eyes. “Well, to be fair, it really is an amazing rod.”

He heaved a martyred sigh, though his chest puffed out with male pride at the same time. If that’s what it took to keep her around for a while, he’d man up.

“All right,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Stop giving me those big puppy eyes. I can’t do dinner, but maybe we can meet for dessert afterwards.”