First Take (Star-Taken) (7 page)

With a sigh, she hit End.

“I thought you weren’t dating anyone
.” Nate hurled the words at her like he was accusing her of some heinous crime. After putting the Land Rover over the line so that it took up two spaces, he slammed into Park. The vehicle jerked to a stop.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath then slowly exhaled. Opening her eyes again, she faced
Nate’s profile. “Not that I have to explain my love life to you, but I met him recently.”

He twisted in his seat and regarded her through narrowed eyes. “You two sounded pretty cozy for having just met.”

Her eyebrows shot to her hairline. “Seriously? You of all people shouldn’t say those words to me.” They were similar, if not the very same, words she’d hurled at him when he’d brought up the blonde beach bimbo. She jerked open the door and slid out then slammed the heavy metal shut.

He
met her behind the vehicle. “I wasn’t judging. We’re all allowed our little affairs.”

She rocked on her heels
. What did that mean? Was he saying if they got back together he wouldn’t care if she slept with other men? Was he expecting the same consideration in return? Unbelievable.

“
How very open-minded of you.” She didn’t bother disguising the heavy sarcasm dripping from her voice as she slid her phone into her back pocket. “Now, can you get my luggage?”

He frowned. “How will you get home?”

She stared at him. “Um, my mom?”

His lips compressed into a thin line while he shook his head. “I
played chauffer. Surely you didn’t expect her to drive herself?”

Shit. Shit. Shit. And double damn.
She shoved her fists in the front pockets of her jeans and headed toward the hospital. This was going to be a long evening, and nowhere near as enjoyable as the previous one.

~ * ~

SEVEN

Rachel struggled awake from complete exhaustion. Sweeping out a hand, her knuckles knocked into the nightstand with a loud
rap
that punctuated a ring of her phone. She didn’t do ringtones. With a curse, she fought the lethargy weighing her limbs and rolled over. She levered upward on an elbow and grabbed her phone with her other hand. After sliding her thumb over the lock-code sequence, she raised it to her ear. “Hello?” she croaked.

“Did I wake you?”

At the sound of Stephen’s voice, waves of warm fuzzies washed through her, chasing away the worst of the fog and infusing her with a small jolt of energy. She flopped backward. The fluffy pillows cradled her, and she wished they were Stephen’s arms instead. “Yeah. I meant to call you, but I laid down for a minute, and the next thing I know, my phone’s ringing.”

“I almost didn’t call
. It’s what, midnight there?” Concern tightened his voice. “But I was worried about your dad. You.”

She glanced at the digital alarm clock on the nightstand beside her old bed
in her parents’ house. “Looks like, but don’t worry. I have some work I need to do.” She couldn’t fight back a big yawn. “Sorry. I’m so tired.”

“
You should get some rest,” he said softly. “You’ve had a long day.”

She snuggled her head into
a pillow. “Actually, it’s been a long couple of days.” Sore inner thigh muscles and tender folds attested to the fact.

“If I’d known what was going to happen—”

“Don’t you dare apologize.” Thoughts of yesterday had been the only thing countering the day’s depression and stress. Not that she would admit that to him.

He chuckled. “I wasn’t going to. I was just going to say, I wouldn
’t have woken you up at two in the morning.”

She’d startled awake at the first sweep of his tongue along her folds. After a few more
, she’d stirred herself enough to demand he let her return the favor. She’d been too sore by that point for sex, but God, she’d loved taking his hard length in her mouth while he soothed the ache between her legs. “Mmm.” She squeezed her thighs together and a tingle tickled its way to her nipples.

“Yeah, that’s how I re
member it too.” The rustle of material sounded through the phone.

“Are you in bed
?” She couldn’t shake the image of him bare-chested and laid out for her pleasure.

“Yep.”

“Isn’t it a little early for the West Coast?”

“Probably, but someone exhausted me last night. Between that and the early flight…”

She smiled, even though he couldn’t see it. “Well, you’ll have the bed all to yourself tonight, so you can get plenty of rest.”

“The sleep will be appreciated. The empty bed not so much.”

If he didn’t like an empty bed, did that mean he wasn’t used to being alone? A wave of jealousy washed over her. There wasn’t anything stopping him from hanging up with her and going out to pick up a random woman. After all, wasn’t that what she was, someone he’d found at a movie theater? Los Angeles had just as many—

Stop it, Rach. It’s not like you own him.

Besides, if that was his intent, then why bother calling her at all? She nibbled her lower lip. Would a woman ever be secure in being the girlfriend of a star? Shock stilled her tongue. Girlfriend, she rolled the word around in her head. Did a one-night stand followed by a call for a date then another to check on her mean he wanted something more?

“
You still with me, babe?”

“
Babe,” a generic term, she wasn’t his girlfriend, but if she wanted to see where this thing between them was going, then she better get a rein on the green-eyed monster. “Yeah, I was just thinking.”

“
Hmm, I’m not sure I like the sound of that. What did the doctors say?”

Relief washed through her. He’d assumed she was worried about her dad, not stewing in jealousy.
“If his vitals are stable in the morning, then he’ll go into surgery near lunchtime. The procedure should take around three, maybe four hours.”

She shifted
, trying to get comfortable, but she’d fallen asleep in her clothes, and her jeans and bra were constricting after hours of wear. She put the phone between her ear and shoulder and undid the button of her jeans. “Then if all goes well, he’ll be able to go home in the next few days.”

After sitting up, s
he unhooked her bra and slid it from under her T-shirt, switching the phone from hand to hand as she maneuvered the straps down her arms. With a sigh of relief, she said, “In theory, he could be home in a few days.” She tossed the undergarment toward the nightstand. “I’ll probably stay for a couple more days after he’s released to make sure Mom can handle everything.”

“Sounds like a lot of ifs. Are you okay? You’re there for your mom, but who’s there for you? That
family friend
?” His tone was hard as he’d spoken the last words, like he was spitting out distasteful words.

With a
snort, she stood then shimmied from her jeans. Leaving them pooled on the floor, she grabbed the quilt and sheet then tossed them aside before climbing onto the bed. The sheets were cool against her skin as she reclined into the pillows and covered her bare legs. “Nate has no interest in taking care of me so much as having me as arm candy, though he does seem to genuinely care about my parents, at least in his own way. But my brother is driving down first thing in the morning. I’m not alone in this.” Not that she and Robert were all that close. However, he was Mom’s favorite, which meant the woman preferred his company, allowing Rachel to give most of her attention to their father.

“
Well it’s good there are others around, but what do you mean that guy wants you for ‘arm candy’?”

Why did he sound so confused? Didn’t a
ctors have the same desire to have the most attractive model-actress-singer of the moment at their sides? “You know, decorate his house, give him kids, and do the pretty at parties, that kind of stuff.”

She sighed. She’d had to deal with her mother and Nate tag-teaming her on the almost hour drive ho
me. Who was the new guy? What did he do? When she hadn’t answered, they’d switched to postulating on what the wife of a partner of one of the largest law firms in the city would get to do with all her leisure time. It had sounded truly boring if not downright dreadful to Rachel, who considered much of it mind-numbing. However, she’d bitten her lip. With the stress of Dad’s situation, Mom didn’t need Rachel shattering her illusions. There’d be time enough for that after the surgery.

“What about your
career?”

T
he events of the past forty-eight hours weighing down her eyelids, she closed her eyes. “Exactly. There’s really nothing of me in that equation.”

“I take it this guy’s an ex or something
?”

“Something,” she murmured. “The past.”

“It sounds like he’s very much a part of the present and would like to be the future.” While Stephen might have striven to sound neutral, there was an edge to his voice, or so she imagined. Surely a trained actor would be able to hide his irritation.

Was he jealous then? Such a silly thought, but still not one she wanted perpetuated.
“Too bad for him.”

“No chance, huh?”

Was that relief she heard? “Uh-uh.”

“What does a guy have to do to have a chance?”
Was that curiosity brightening his tone?

Hmm
. What does a guy have to do? Not be a selfish asshole for one. Or a lazy bum. That’s no good either.

“Did I lose you?”
Stephen asked softly.

She roused herself from a half
sleep. Stephen wasn’t a bum or an asshole—at least all his actions this far were to the contrary. “Not a chance,” she whispered, and he growled. She sighed happily. “Mmm, that does all kinds of funny things to my insides.”

“
Oh, yeah? Like what?”

She smiled, though he couldn’t see it.
“For one, it warms me from the inside out.” And the vibrations of his voice only added to the sensation.

“Come on, babe. You’ll have to do better than that.”

He’d made the demand for more graphic language from her more than once the previous night, and she’d risen to the occasion, striving to be bolder. Still, she’d never had phone sex. Wasn’t even sure she could pleasure herself while he listened; but the thought of controlling him, pushing him to the brink and beyond with just words, empowered her. “It vibrates low in my stomach and tightens my nipples.”

“
Hmm…” The smile in his voice was unmistakable. “Did I tell you last night how much I adore your nipples with their perfect rose-colored tips and oh-so-sensitive responsiveness. I couldn’t believe I made you come from just playing with them. Squeeze one for me.”

Heat washed through her
and her folds throbbed—they were still so tender. Her nipples pebbled and thrust against the soft cotton of her shirt. Sweeping her thumb across a hard bud, she gasped as pinpricks of pleasure radiated outward.

“That’s it, babe. Imagine it’s my hand playing with t
hem as I lick your sweet pussy. Just give yourself to me. Let me take away all the tension of the day.”

She sighed
at the blissful promise of his words. Floating in the aftermath of release sounded heavenly. When she did as instructed, a zing of electricity arced to her clitoris. Pressing the heel of her free hand to the bundle of nerves intensified the sensation for a brief moment.

“I l
ove the way you taste, but you know what I loved more?” He paused for a beat. “You licking your juices from my chin and lips—that was sexier than hell. I’d ask if you liked the way you taste, but you damn near sucked my tongue off, so I know you did.”

Shivers danced along her skin.
He was right. She had enjoyed the tangy taste of herself mixed with the taste of him. “You know what I liked more though?” she asked, continuing to pinch and fondle her nipples. He hadn’t told her she could stop after all.

“What’s that?”

“When I woke up to you kissing my folds.”

He chuckled.
“Folds?”

She
smiled. He was very particular about his bedroom language. “My pussy.” He growled, and she pushed her heel harder against her clitoris to prolong the tremor that shook her. “And I got you to turn so I could suck,” she licked her lips, remembering the hot length in her mouth, “your hard cock.
That
was delicious.”

His heavy breathing
whispered through the phone. “I loved having your lips wrapped around my cock, and God, are you’re talented with that tongue. I wouldn’t be surprised if I had a hickey on the head from all that sucking.”

“Can’t you see?” She arched into her hand.
Her fingers brushed the crotch of her panties. Heat radiated through the cotton. She slipped a finger beneath the elastic then along her folds. When had she become so brazen? Could a person change so much in a day or two?

A distant
rustling traveled through the phone. “I can now.”

“And what do you see?”
She closed her eyes, recalling how his erection had looked in her hand before she’d taken him into her mouth.

“My hand wrapped around my cock for one.”

She hummed at the mental image. “And?”

He chuckled. “Now who’s the one being demanding?”

Apparently a person
could
change in a short period. She pictured him leaning against the headboard, his gaze skimming the surface of his washboard abs to rest on those thick fingers of his holding his engorged length. Her imagination had improved, but the need building inside her left her impatient for more details to feed the fantasy. “At the base?” She slipped a finger between her nether lips, sliding in the moisture easing from her channel.

“Yes. It was. But now I’m stroking myself, wishing it was your hand, or your mouth, or your pussy.”

With languid movements, she imagined her finger was the head of his erection—though nowhere near as wide or satisfying—sliding along her folds, gathering her juices to ease the penetration of her body. “Mmm.”
That would be nice.
“And do you see a hickey?”

He sucked in a sharp breath. “Babe, it’s flushed purple, so I can’t tell a damn thing
except I need to come.”

“You must be close,
” she said in a throaty whisper. She’d never thought of herself as seductive, but that voice certainly was.

“I’ve been walking around half-cocked all day. You’d think after being drained dry three times, I wouldn’t have anything left, but it seems I do.”

How hot would it be to see him come all over himself?
“I don’t suppose you have a computer handy?”

“No. Why?”

“I just wouldn’t mind seeing you.” Her imagination might have improved, but it was no replacement for the real thing.