Page 41 of Only Some Stars Fall

My arms begin to quiver, my breathing becomes more rapid, and just as I think I am going to come undone from the beautiful skills this man possesses, Hux hoists me up onto the dock.

Quickly climbing up beside me, he spreads one of the wool blankets out and gently lays me down. Kneeling over me, he covers us with the other blanket and pulls the shiny foil pack from his discarded jeans that lay next to his chair.

“Awfully prepared for the fact the sun is barely up now, aren’t we?”

“Are you kidding? I’ve been prepared and waiting for you since the moment you crashed into me that very first day.” He looks down at me, silently asking if I’m okay. I nod my head as he tears open the packaging.

In one swift move, he is gliding into me, filling my body with his slow but steady thrusts, and it’s everything I need. The build of overwhelming ecstasy returns as he continues to slip in and out of me. The sun begins to peek over the mountains, turning everything to shades of pink, orange, and gold as the tension continues to climb. When the first rays of the sun make contact with the shoreline, everything around me shatters. I climax with a moan beneath him.

I take in the kaleidoscope of colors that dance around us and float weightlessly back down to reality, watching his face intently as he finds his own release, sinking deep within me. Hux’s breathing is ragged and hot on my chest. Slowly, he extracts himself from between my legs, and I immediately miss his presence.

He lowers himself down beside me, panting heavily, and I tuck my face into his chest. There is too much emotion to speak. I breathe him in, inhaling this complicated, beautiful man who is broken in ways I don’t fully understand.

NINETEEN

Two Years Prior

HUX

“What the fuck,man? Did you take all the ice?” I open the lids to both freezers behind the bar, which are now empty. “We open in thirty minutes, and you damn well know these fucking things take forever to produce ice.” The perks of a very old, barely profitable family business with even older and even less efficient equipment.

Storm chuckles as he closes up one of three massive coolers he’s been filling with an array of the resort’s liquor and beer. “Chill out. The kitchen still has plenty.” Distracted, he shuffles the drawer’s contents, searching for who knows what.

“Plus, look outside. It’s the perfect day. Everyone is going to be on the water today, not sitting inside watching golf with you and your boring ass.” Finally, he pulls out a bottle opener, slamming the now completely ransacked drawer shut.

“Yes, and where do you think they are all going to come forlunch, dickhead?” He ignores my insult and continues his preparations.

Man, do I hate that I still have to come home and work here in the summers,I silently bitch to myself.When my dad finally agreed to cosign my school loans so I could go to New York for college, there was one condition: For the next four summers, I had to sublet my apartment and come back to the resort. Never mind the fact I could make a hell of a lot more money working in the city as a bartender than this dead end. My parents were especially sentimental and felt it was important that Storm and I always stay connected to our roots. So, here I am, swatting mosquitoes and scrubbing sticky glass rings off this weathered bar.

“How did you even get today off? I thought we were short-staffed and it was ‘all hands on deck.’” I impersonate my dad’s deep voice. Storm and I both got a long-winded lecture on what he expected of us before he left to take some guests on an overnight fishing trip.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine for one day. Pretty college boy like you with that big old brain… Who could get mad at that smile?” His sarcastic laugh gets on my nerves. Yes, I might be home for the summer, but he is the one who has decided to dedicate his life to this desolate place, not me, so he should be here to suffer also.

“You’ve seen the weather, right? They are predicting some pretty ugly storms this afternoon. You know how the lake gets.”

He sighs loudly, annoyance written all over his face. “What are you a weatherman now? Yes, I saw the reports, and news flash, I have lived here my whole life, and I know the lake in all its forms. Chill the fuck out, would ya.” I ease off, turning my back to him, and start prepping drink garnishes. One thing even I don’t do is push Storm too far. I can sense his mood shift quickly.

“Besides, you know how uptight Jules’s parents are. She and I have to take advantage of the freedom when we can. You’d think she was underage or some shit.”

I bite back a snarky comment about how her only being eighteen doesn’t immediately translate into him being some stand-up guy that her parents should accept with open arms.

In actuality, my attitude has nothing to do with her age and all to do with the fact that I should be the one out on the boat with her today, not Storm.

Julia’s family is new to the resort this year, and my dad, wanting to make sure all new guests have a great experience, loves to roll out the red carpet. When I say red carpet, I mean a few extra fishing trips and the cabin with the least amount of age. Thank the powers that be that people come for the experience of “roughing it,” or my parents would have lost this place years ago.

From the minute Julia stepped onto the property earlier this month, it’s been clear that every male within a thirty-mile radius wants her, and I can’t say I blame them. She’s gorgeous, bubbly, and a breath of fresh air that we all could use up here. Storm, however, made his intentions clear by loudly losing his shit on anyone who dares breathe her name.

To be fair, I approached her first and introduced her to Elle and Kenny, and she’s closer to our age than Storm’s. On top of the fact that she starts college in the fall, what does she see in a guy who plans to live up here in the woods and work at this rundown resort for the rest of his life? Storm’s delusional if he thinks he has a real chance with her.

I continue to stock and prep the bar without saying another word to my brother. It’s not like I can rat him out; we are adults, and knowing Storm, it still means a fistfight would ensue. I don’t have time for his bullshit. I need to get through this summer and get back to the city the minute the guy subletting my apartmentpacks his bags. All I can do is pray this is my last summer behind this damn bar.

I grab a rag to wipe down the tables. I hear the back door open and see Julia walk in. She looks gorgeous; her tanned skin against a tiny black bikini top, and her dark hair is swept over her shoulder. She sees me first, a wide smile breaking across her face.

“Hey, Hux! Are you joining us out on the boat? Looks like it’s the perfect day to be out on the water.”

Keeping my head focused on the dried ketchup I’m scrubbing that is acting more like plaster, I open my mouth to reply when Storm comes back into the room.

“Nah, baby brother is going to make the family proud and run the bar all by himself, right, bub?” Storm slaps me on the back a little too hard, and my pulse rises. Anderson boys have always been known for their tempers.

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