Page 98 of When Stars Collide
“I never said Iwantedto keep things professional. I said weneededto keep things professional.”
“And that’s still the case, isn’t it?”
The longing in his eyes when he looked at me was enough to ignite a fire throughout my entire body, answering my question for me.
“It should remain the case for the both of us. It would certainly make things easier—at least, I thought it would make things easier. But I was in denial. The truth is it’s only made things excruciating. Because I can’t get that night at the opera out of my head, no matter how hard I try.”
“What are you saying?”
“I want you, Mena. I wanted you the night of the opera, and I want you right here, right now.”
“Then what’s stopping you?”
That was all he was waiting for, to know that I wanted him just as much as he wanted me. And the moment that confirmation was made, he pulled me onto his lap, his lips quickly finding mine. My back was pushed against the keys, creating an off-key melody while Phineas’s hand slid eagerly down the curves of my body as I straddled him. Resting his other hand on my shoulder, he slid his fingers over the strap of my dress, hesitating to pull it down, as doing so would render me half-naked. Maybe he wanted to savor the moment, maybe he was in the middle of changing his mind entirely. Either way, I wasn’t having it.
I reached for the strap, making eye contact with him briefly before his eyes traveled down to my shoulder, watching me expectantly. Under any normal circumstance, watching a woman perform a strip tease would be an erotic experience, but this wasn’t any normal circumstance. Completely forgetting about my tape situation, I slipped off the strap and tugged.
“Son of a bitch!” I screamed, burying my face in Phineas’s chest.
“What happened? What is it?”
“I really hope you aren’t a boob man, because I’m pretty sure I just ripped one of them off.”
“What?” he asked, chuckling. His eyes widened, resting on my chest when I sat up. “You’ll be happy to know it’s … it’s still there. Your breast, that is. And it looks perfect … perfectly fine.” He took a second to compose himself, his focus moving from my breast to my dress. “Dear God, how much tape did you use?”
“As much as I needed to use to keep my boobs from making their own premiere.”
“So, you were planning on wearing that dress forever, then?” He laughed, despite trying to hold it in.
“I’m glad you find humor in my pain. In my defense, I wasn’t planning on nailing my boss tonight. I figured I would casually disrobe tomorrow afternoonish while nursing a hangover like I do any other weekend.”
“That seems plausible.”
I smiled as my fingers pulled the other strap of my dress down my arm, almost certain I could hear Phineas’s breathing intensify. He put his hand over mine, and for a second, I thought he was going to stop me. Instead, his fingers interlaced with the strap and, slowly, he pulled it the rest of the way down my arm. With the strap of my dress out of the way, his fingers traced the length of my arm, hovering over my chest, his face searching mine.
“I want you to touch me,” I whispered near his ear.
“Mena,” he groaned. Gently, his fingers worked to separate my other breast from the dress. Once freed, his thumb brushed over my nipple, sending a pleasurable current through my body. “You’re absolutely stunning.” His eyes moved up my body, finally settling on my face.
Unable to hold back any longer, I crashed my lips against his while my hands worked to remove his tuxedo jacket. “There’s so many parts to this. Why are there so many parts to your tuxedo, Phin?”
“Here.” He snickered at the desperation in my voice, but I could sense he was just as eager as I was for the both of us to be undressed.
Together, through fumbling fingers that had completely lost their dexterity at the moment we needed them the most, we managed to remove his tie, cummerbund, and button-down shirt, revealing the white T-shirt he was wearing underneath, which I managed to pull off of him in record time. His bare chest looked exactly how it felt the night at the opera: defined and sculpted in every way. A groan of my own escaping my lips, I couldn’t help but run my fingers down his torso, stopping just north of his equally as impressive abs.
He leaned forward, pushing me back against the piano, his lips exploring my neck. His hand cradled the back of my head, preventing it from striking the keys, while the other explored the top half of my body, his fingertips sending waves of pleasure up and down my torso. Heart beating out of my chest, I couldn’t wait any longer, and thankfully, neither could he. Desperately, he stood up and lifted me up onto the piano, kicking the bench out of the way as he tugged my dress the rest of the way down, until I was in nothing but my bikini briefs. Pesky clothes out of the way, in one swift move, Phineas picked me up, and I swung my legs around his waist as he carried me to his bedroom.
Like the rest of his penthouse, Phineas’s bedroom featured floor-to-ceiling windows that, at night, allowed just enough light into the room for me to make out his silhouette as he lowered me down onto his bed, his lips finding mine the moment my head came to rest against his pillow. In one smooth movement, his hand pulled my bikini briefs down, leaving me fully exposed.
“It would appear you have me at a disadvantage,” I said, our lips just centimeters apart. I could feel his lips curving into a smile against mine.
“You’re wrong. When it comes to you, I’ve always been the one at a disadvantage.”
“Well, then let’s level the playing field.”
He shuddered as my fingertips ran down the length of his body, stopping when I reached the button to begin unfastening his trousers. Sensing I was in for a struggle, Phineas finished the task, removing both his trousers and boxers and throwing them onto the floor. Fully naked himself, he hovered over me on his elbows, his thumb caressing my cheek. It felt like he was hesitating, and my stomach sunk at the thought that he may be changing his mind.
“Phin? You’re not having second thoughts, are you?”
