Page 69 of A Star is Scorned
He reached up and tweaked her nipples, tangling his hands in her hair while she rode him harder. “Yes, my darling, just likethat.”
His words of approval made her wild with desire, and she adjusted so she could lift herself higher and drop more boldly onto him. My God, was this what she had been missing? No wonder her mother had warned her against it. She would like to do this and nothing else for at least a week. Perhaps a month. Hell, with Flynn, she might want to spend the rest of her days in his bed.
The wave of pressure inside her began to build, and she took his mouth with hers, tangling their tongues together. He answered her with a deeper thrust, one that made her groan, and she whispered in his ear, “Faster.”
He obliged and moved his mouth to suck at her neck, and the pleasure was overwhelming. She had never dreamt it could be like this. No wonder Flynn was a rogue. She said a silent thank-you for all the practice he’d had before this moment, her jealousy entirely forgotten with the reward of such knowledge.
Without warning, her orgasm crashed into her as if she were a volcano erupting. She clenched hard, feeling the warm pressure of his dick inside of her, and the sensation made her pleasure even more intense, as if she had reached the top of one peak only to climb to another.
She moaned his name as she came undone in his arms, and he followed quickly behind her, a few quick thrusts and a grunt before his face scrunched up and a look of utter bliss washed over him.
She collapsed on top of him, enjoying the sensation of his sweat mingling with hers. After a moment, he kissed the top of her shoulder and rolled her gently to the side so his arm was cradling her and her head was lying atop his torso. She was still lightheaded, and she lazily traced her hand up and down his chest, reveling in the light blond dusting of hair. He pressed a kiss to thetop of her head and lay back.
She made a hum of contentment and snuggled as close to him as she could get, the afterglow of her pleasure still suffusing her body like some ethereal being had possessed her. He yawned, and she marveled at how safe she felt here, protected by his embrace.
Being intimate with a man had seemed this frightening, unknowable thing, and yet, she felt more cared for than she ever had in her life. Flynn had awakened something in her—not just something carnal, though she realized now how much richer her life could be with that in it. No, something untethered and wild. Something that made her feel like she could soar through the skies, free as bird, and always have a place to land. It was unusual, knowing she didn’t have to be the one always looking out, always being cautious, always worrying. Because Flynn would do that for her.
She nuzzled his collarbone, throwing an arm across his chest to tangle them fully together. Flynn Banks was so much more than what she’d imagined—vulnerable and sexy and kind and funny. But not in the way he was on-screen. Rather, in a way that was altogether more real, and rougher around the edges. Those jagged edges were what made him who he was: a celluloid swashbuckler made flesh and blood.
She sighed with happiness and, without thinking, murmured against his chest, “I think I’m falling in love with you.” But all that answered her was a soft snore, and a strange mix of relief and disappointment surged in her gut.
She wondered if she’d have the courage to tell him again.
Chapter 24
Livvy awoke to the soft pressure of Flynn’s hand on her hip, absentmindedly stroking her belly. She smiled without opening her eyes, soaking in the moment and remembering the previous evening. Her legs were tangled with his and her hair was strewn across his chest. She wished she could capture this moment in a bottle, like the sand outside his house, and keep it with her always. She listened to the soft rising and falling of Flynn’s breath and let it calm her, reveling in the sensation of being wrapped in each other in the vulnerability of sleep.
When she opened her eyes, she noted that the room was bathed in a gray early-morning light. But then suddenly, a cloud shifted and a ray of sun struck the opposite wall. She lifted her head to look at the clock on Flynn’s nightstand and jolted straight up, realizing it was nearly 10:00 a.m. God, she hadn’t left a note for Judy or called to tell her she wasn’t coming home. Her sister had probably sent out a search party by now.
Livvy gently extricated herself from Flynn’s arms, rolled over, and got out of bed. She hunted around the floor, desperate to find her clothes before she remembered that she had removed them to swim in the ocean. Was her dress still on the deck?
She noticed a plaid dressing gown hanging on the back of Flynn’s door and pulled it on. Wrapping it tightly around her, shetried to dull the edge of panic. It was fine. Everything was fine. Judy probably assumed… Livvy blushed at what her sister probably assumed.
Flynn opened his eyes and stretched languidly, and the sight of him naked and laid out before her was almost enough to make her forget her need to check on Judy. He noted her blush and nodded at the way she’d covered herself in his robe. “Surely you’re not shy, not after everything we did?”
He waggled his eyebrows, and she giggled in spite of herself. “No, it’s just… I didn’t realize we’d slept so late, and I never told Judy I wasn’t coming home last night.”
Flynn patted the bed next to him, urging Livvy to return. “We can give her a ring in a minute. Don’t you want some breakfast first?” The look on his face said that breakfast had absolutely nothing to do with food. The offer was sorely tempting, but she needed to get home.
“Flynn, I need her to know I’m all right. What if she’s imagining the worst?”
His wolfish smile fell, as if he had just remembered why Judy might jump to the direst possible conclusion. He sat up, ran a hand down his face, and yawned, before finding his striped pajama pants and pulling them on. “There’s a phone in the kitchen. Come with me.”
Livvy followed him downstairs. She wound her finger through the rotary dial on the phone hanging on the wall while he attempted to make coffee on the stove. Despite his cooking skills, she had to laugh at how inept he was here. He clearly was used to waking up to a fresh pot.
But any sense of humor evaporated when Judy didn’t pick up.
“That’s not like her.”
“Maybe she’s in the ladies’ room.” Flynn still looked exhausted.She took the small metal coffeepot from him and packed the grounds tightly into the base; it gave her something to do with her hands besides wringing them.
“Maybe…I’ll try her again in a few minutes.”
Once the coffee pot was bubbling away on the stove, Livvy returned to the phone and tried ringing their bungalow again. No one picked up. Livvy’s stomach threatened to divulge its contents.
Flynn wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. “It’ll be all right.”
But panic was swirling in her gut. Her alarm bells were going off. Any number of things could have happened. Judy could be out searching for her, worried she was dead in a ditch somewhere. Or Judy herself, God forbid, could be the one who was in trouble.
