Starbright (22 page)

Beth went rigid when his lips made contact. Aidan chose another approach. He moved back up her body, rubbing his lips back and forth on her stomach.

Soothing her with words and unhurried kisses, he monitored her response. When he felt she was ready, he clasped the back of her knee and gently separated her legs. He placed soft kisses to her inner thighs and worked his way up.

Beth’s hips undulated as she awaited his touch. Aidan kissed her some more until the tension eased out of her. When she relaxed further, he moved to his destination, opened his mouth, and licked her.

Beth gasped. “Gosh, that feels amazing!”

Aidan smiled to himself. She’d felt nothing yet.

As he repeated his slow sweeps, Beth wound her hands in his hair and pushed her head back into the pillow, her breasts rising toward the ceiling with the arch of her spine.

With gentle pressure, Aidan opened her thighs more and flicked her most sensitive spot with his tongue before drawing on her core in a rhythmic sucking. He dug deeper and deeper until he got the true taste of her.

Beth gripped his hair tighter and wriggled beneath him, her hips lifting toward his mouth. “Oh, Aidan! Yes… more…
please
…”

Aidan penetrated her with his tongue, finding a rhythm with his jaw and moaning into her. Beth let out a pleasurable cry, and her body shook under an exploding orgasm. He continued licking her gently until he felt the time was right to stop. Supporting his weight with one arm, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and shifted up along her body.

“That was wonderful. Thank you.” Beth took him by surprise by pulling his face to hers so she could kiss him.

Aidan sat up with her on the couch, flashing a large grin that wouldn’t quit. “You have no idea how much I enjoyed that.”

Beth’s gaze landed on the bulge under his briefs. “I think I have a pretty good idea.”

Aidan didn’t interfere as she pulled down his underwear and took him in her hand. At her first stroke, he knew it wouldn’t take long. The memory of her arching her back and calling his name as he licked between her legs sent him over the edge. He groaned and jerked as his orgasm arrived, and spilled out over her hand and his stomach.

When he opened his eyes, he found Beth smiling at him. He sat up and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “I love you, little dove.”

“I love you, too.” Beth stood and walked into the kitchen without covering herself up.

Aidan heard the water running. Moments later, she returned with a towel. After cleaning up, he draped her in a quilt he removed from the back of the couch and walked over to the hi-fi.

Aidan chose Ella Fitzgerald’s silvery version of a romantic Ira Gershwin tune and returned to the sofa, where he tucked Beth under his arm and kissed her good night. As gazed upon their entwined hands over the quilt and the ring on his finger, a serenity that had been absent during so many of his previous Christmases overtook him.

By the time the record concluded, Beth was fast asleep. Aidan fanned her hair out over his chest, mindful of her stitches, and kissed the top of her head. The love he felt for her calmed his frenzied passion to reverence. This was the woman who helped him discover he had the potential to become a man of worth, despite his dishonorable past—the woman who was his future, his greatest gift of all.

Closing his eyes, he wished her a Merry Christmas and slipped into a rare, peaceful sleep.

Beth and Aidan awoke before dawn and made pancakes for breakfast. When Aidan left for home to change into more casual clothes for his car appointment, he promised he would call her later. Beth found it odd they hadn’t made definitive plans regarding when they would see each other next and hoped this evening was a possibility.

As she stood at the sink washing their dishes, she thought about how gentle and patient he had been with her last night. When he mentioned he wanted to kiss her
down there
, she felt extremely nervous, but she was also determined to push the boundaries of their intimacy. She was shocked by the act at first—the carnality and sinful closeness of it—but once her tension waned, the experience was very enjoyable.

Afterward, she wanted to return the favor, but she assumed there was a specific technique to stimulating a man that way and she didn’t want to let him down. As much as she was growing more accustomed to physical intimacy, this was one subject she didn’t feel at ease broaching with Olivia or Connie. She didn’t want to talk to Aidan about it because she didn’t want to emphasize her lack of experience. Her only choice was to figure it out on her own.

On her way out of the kitchen, she heard a knock at the front door. With furrowed eyebrows, she walked to the foyer. The incident in her old apartment made her hesitate before unlocking and opening the door, even in broad daylight.

Her eyes widened when she saw who stood on the front stoop.

“Mama! Papa!” She wrapped her arms around her parents.

“Oh, my darling Marie.” Her mother held her tightly. “We missed you so!”

“What are you doing here?” Beth stepped aside, remembering her manners. “Goodness, I’m sorry. Please, come in.”

Her father removed his fedora, picked up the two suitcases at his feet, and entered the house behind her mother. Beth looked back and forth between her parents, still unable to grasp they were truly here. They looked as well as the last time she saw them. Her mother’s short brown hair was set in curls. She wore an unbuttoned, light blue coat, a flowery frock that emphasized her slim figure, and minimal makeup. Her father wore a long, tan coat over his favorite tan slacks and tweed suit jacket. His full head of hair had more gray speckled among the brown than she remembered, and his face showed a few more wrinkles, but his eyes radiated youthful joy.

“The studio sent us airline tickets as a surprise for you, in celebration of your Academy Award nomination,” her mother explained. “We’re here for three whole days!”

Beth regarded her mother peculiarly. It didn’t take her long to come to the conclusion that Mr. Mertz was not responsible for their trip, especially considering Aidan’s hasty departure this morning.

As her father set the suitcases down in the hallway, Beth embraced her mother again, taking in the faint, familiar scent of Prell shampoo. “It’s so lovely to see you, Mama.”

“It’s wonderful to see you, too, sweetie.” Her mother brushed her hair back and gasped.

Her father rushed toward them. “Marie, what in the world happened to your forehead?”

Beth stepped away from her parents, avoiding their concerned gazes out of guilt. She had withheld her injury from them because she didn’t want to cause them unnecessary worry.

“I fell and hit my head on the telephone table in our old apartment.” She pushed her hair back so they could see the fading lesion better. “It’s nothing, really. The doctor said there won’t even be a scar.”

“Regardless, you should’ve told your mother and me.” Her father observed her studiously. “How did you fall in the first place?”

Beth hated keeping the details a secret from her parents, but she didn’t want to give them the impression that her life in Los Angeles was dangerous. Although it was extremely out of character for her to lie, she rationalized it was for the best in this situation, like she did when she decided not to tell Aidan about her most recent meeting with Mr. Mertz.

She dodged her parents’ stares as she replied. “Our living room was full of boxes because we were packing for our move, and I tripped over one of them.”

“Did your studio health insurance cover your medical care?”

“Yes, it did.” Beth stuttered her response, caught her off guard by her father’s inquiry.

After further consideration, she still had no idea who had paid her hospital bill. She had health insurance, but since Nathan insisted on keeping the hospital visit a secret, and all claims had to be approved by Mr. Mertz personally, the studio couldn’t have covered the bill. The only logical answer was Nathan had Mr. Stern take care of it from her business account.

“Mama, Papa, would you like something to drink?” she asked, eager to change the subject.

The severity diminished in her father’s face. “A glass of water, please.”

“I’ll have the same.” Mrs. Bates’ attention moved to her daughter’s neck. “My, what a lovely necklace, Marie.”

Beth’s cheeks grew red. “I just got it recently.”

Her mother leaned in to get a closer look.

“Stunning,” she said, cradling the diamond pendent in her hand.

Beth took her parents’ coats and her father’s hat and stowed them in the hall closet. “Papa, you can place the suitcases in the living room for now.” She gestured for her parents to follow her.

As they walked down the hallway, her mother talked about their first airplane ride as well as their first impressions of Los Angeles. Mrs. Bates also explained they were provided a number to summon a studio car, which was available to drive them wherever they wanted to go for the duration of their stay. Furthermore, tomorrow night, the three of them had reservations at Mayflower, an exclusive restaurant in the city, which was typically booked up months in advance.

Mr. and Mrs. Bates were born and raised in Clarkson and had never ventured outside of Oregon previously. After some persuasion, Beth convinced her father to accept bi-weekly checks from her, but he insisted he would only put the money toward practical purchases like fixing up the house. Whatever was left over, he saved instead of spending frivolously. He even continued working as a shoe repairman full time. Although Beth respected that her parents maintained their traditional values, she was happy they were able to experience L.A. and splurge a little.

After escorting her parents into the living room, she ventured into the kitchen and poured two glasses of water.

“I apologize for not inviting you myself,” she said as she reentered the living room. “I just never thought it was an option to fly you out here.” She handed her father his glass. “Papa, you never spoke highly of Los Angeles, so I assumed you wouldn’t want to visit.”

Her father’s serious disposition returned. “Well, I’m still not certain this is the right place for you, but I’m keeping an open mind.”

Her mother accepted the second glass of water. “Marie, I know we already congratulated you over the telephone, but we wanted to tell you in person how proud we are of your Oscar nomination.”

“Thank you.” Beth’s voice wavered. Her parents’ praise meant as much to her as Aidan’s support, far surpassing even the highest accolades from the Academy.

While her parents drank their water, Beth showed them around the house, pointing out the new furniture she and Olivia bought and explaining the decor still needed sprucing up.

“In the New Year, Olivia and I want to replace the wallpaper in the kitchen and bedrooms,” she said upon conclusion of the tour. “We also want to paint the bathroom.”

“Where is Olivia?” her mother asked. “I would love to meet her.”

“She’s staying at a friend’s house for a few days, but I’ll see if we can arrange a get-together.” Beth kept her response vague. Divulging to her conservative parents that Olivia’s
friend
was actually a beau wasn’t the smartest idea. “Mama, Papa, now that you’re familiar with the house, why don’t you place your belongings in my bedroom? I have a double bed now, so you’ll find the accommodation comfortable. I’ll stay in Olivia’s room.”

As soon as her parents left the living room. Beth darted over to the telephone. She lifted the receiver and turned her back to the doorway, bettering her chances of hiding her conversion.

“Western Union Operator. What number?”

Beth kept her voice as hushed as possible. “Hollywood 53211, please.”

She fiddled with her angel pendent as she waited for the operator to connect the call.

“Hello?”

At the sound of her beau’s voice, Beth smiled. “Thank you. They just arrived.”

“So you figured out it was me, huh?” Aidan sighed. “I was gonna tell you the next time we talked.”

Beth cast a sparkling glance at the couch they had occupied earlier. “It was a lovely surprise. You’re the most wonderful beau in the world.”

“I booked the airfare and dinner reservations, but Nate was the one who located your parents in Clarkson. He also arranged the chauffeured car and sent the telegram and plane tickets from the studio to make it seem like they came from Mertz.”

“But all of it was your idea, right?”

There was a humble pause before he answered. “Yeah.”

“Aidan, please come for dinner tonight.” The invitation spilled from Beth’s lips without hesitation. “I want my parents to meet you.”

The extended silence on the other end made her think she had pushed him too far. After all, meeting the parents was a large step, and they had only recently begun their courtship.

Before she could make amends, Aidan replied. “I’m honored you asked me. I just don’t think it’s a good idea. What if your parents hate me?”

Beth giggled. “They won’t hate you.”

Silence filled the line again.

“Okay,” he said finally. “Just don’t tell them I arranged their trip. They might not like that I led them to believe Mertz was responsible. I don’t want to get off on the wrong foot, you know?”