Pulling her to him, he kissed her. It wasn’t a goodbye peck or a goodnight kiss. It was deep and wet. It went on until she was gasping for oxygen and her jaw ached. It was an I-own-you kiss.
His hands dropped to grip her ass and Stella moaned into his mouth. She had no idea how she could still want him so badly. She was mostly certain that her body would shut completely down if she gave in and let him inside her again. But she was willing to give it a shot. Mind-blowing euphoric bliss like he’d given her didn’t exactly come around often. Or ever, in her experience.
“Mm. Yeah, you’re right,” he began, pressing his still firm cock against her thigh. “I think we’re all done here.”
Far too turned on to keep playing at the casual banter, Stella pulled him back to her once more.
She flicked her tongue against his lips before dipping it into his mouth. Her hands held his face tightly and she stared into his eyes.
“I’ll put my notice in tomorrow, Van. I can’t…I don’t want to stop.”
“Hey.” He took her hand and pressed his lips seductively to her palm before letting it go. “This won’t cost you your job, cowgirl. We’ll figure it out.”
“Stay,” she pleaded quietly. It was a desperate move and she could feel the rejection as soon as she said it.
He kissed her firmly on the forehead. “Want to know the first rule of performing?”
Having no clue why he was suddenly bringing up his career, she furrowed her brow. “Sure.”
Biting at her lower lip, he let his fingers blaze a trail through the still damp folds of sensitive flesh between her legs. “Always leave them wanting more.”
She moaned as he stroked her. “Van.”
“Goodnight, beautiful. Sweet dreams.”
“Night,” she whispered as he walked out, even though it was nearly time for the sun to come up.
He smiled sweetly, something he rarely did. But there were flecks of sadness in his eyes.
She wanted to reach out to him, cocoon him in that private place where they were one, where they were whole, where there was no sadness and everything was perfect. But she let him go. Back to his side of the line that would always separate them. She could tell by the way he behaved that he thought himself beneath her for being a patient or client or whatever the hell at SCR. But she knew the truth.
When he left here, he’d jet off to his real life, where he was in high demand night after night, where he played to sold-out crowds and made awe-inspiring and heart-stopping music—she’d downloaded some of it. And she’d be…here. Hiding out in a job where she was a glorified secretary. She wasn’t like Miranda or Dr. Ramirez. She didn’t change anyone’s life here or help anyone do anything much other than transcribe notes, send faxes, and respond to emails.
Once Van left, her life would return to its typically gray shade of mundane. He was a brilliant burst of flashing red-gold light in her life. One she would appreciate while it lit her universe, and one she was realizing she would miss more than she could even imagine once it was gone.
Two days could feel like an eternity. A miserable, lonely, and dull-as-dirt eternity.
She’d been busy working and hadn’t seen him even once. She’d hoped he would make his way to the barn, but Jesse was spending all kinds of time down there. She had a feeling she might not be the only one to have received the “be careful” warning. But she was afraid to ask Jesse if he’d talked to Van. Opening her mouth to ask about Van would probably give her away instantly. She didn’t know if she could even speak his name without turning red and twitching.
She was contemplating this while tapping her pen rhythmically against her desk. A song of Van’s band called “Flight” from their hit album Escaping the Cage played quietly from her computer. She hummed along as she scrolled through the emails she needed to answer. She had to clench her thighs together every time his raspy voice reached her ears.
When her office door burst open, he appeared as if she’d magicked him into the room.
A confident grin lifted his lips. Stella figured he must’ve recognized his song. “Hey there, cowgirl.”
She stood abruptly, skimming her knee against her desk. “Um, hi?”
Jesus. His eyes were light in contrast to his dark cobalt blue T-shirt. His bare body appeared behind her eyes and she finally got what it meant to undress someone with your eyes.
“Didn’t realize you were a fan,” he said, closing the door behind him.
Stella’s heartbeat sped as soon as the door clicked shut. It nearly combusted when there was a second click. He’d locked it.
“I’m not,” she answered quickly. Too quickly. Hurt flashed across his face, and she amended her answer immediately. “I mean, I hadn’t actually heard anything by your band before…before we met. But then I got curious. So far, I really like all the songs I’ve heard.”
“Curious, huh?” He arched a brow, lowering himself onto the edge of her desk instead of into a seat. “Anything else you’re curious about that I can help with?”
His heat spread throughout the room along with his expensive cologne and clean man-soap scent. It was intoxicating—so much so that all she could do was be honest.
“A few things,” she answered, meeting his burning stare with one of her own.
“Name one.”
“I’m curious who this song is about.” She nodded to her speakers. There was a line that had touched her somewhere she kept hidden. What if I let it all go—bare everything inside? What if I let the ugly show? Come with me tonight. Grab my hand—let’s take flight.
The verse was half-screamed and half-growled, but she felt the full weight of his pain in it.
Van’s shoulders tensed despite his effort to lift them noncommittally. “It’s not about anyone really. Pretty much the whole album was about escaping our sadistic record label. They were just too damn stupid to get it.”
“Hm.” She searched his face for any sign he might be lying. She found none, but she still didn’t believe him entirely.
“Anyways, wanna know what I’m doing here?”
Her face flushed deep crimson. “Yeah, that would’ve been a more appropriate question to ask.”
His lips curved into a heart-seizing grin. “I think we’re pretty far past appropriate, cowgirl. No need to worry with it now.”
She smiled back. “Fair enough.”
“Well, to answer your unasked question, I’m here because Dr. Ramirez mentioned that my client satisfaction survey hadn’t made it in with the others. I could’ve sworn you came by and we took care of that. Or did I dream that?”
The knowing gleam in his eyes had tremors rippling under her skin. He knew good and well they hadn’t finished and why.
Stella ran a finger over her lips. “Let me think. There were just so many. I can’t remember exactly why yours wasn’t completed.”
He pinned her with a wicked grin as he stood and backed her against her desk. “Let me refresh your memory then.”
She gasped out loud when he grabbed her hips and locked his mouth onto hers. His kisses turned her world upside down and flung her center of gravity far, far, from reach.
She let her fingers clasp behind his neck. “I missed you,” she mumbled into his mouth.
“Did you now?” He pulled back and stared at her probably now thoroughly swollen mouth.
She nodded.
“You know where to find me, Stella Jo.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t know if…”
“If we’d get caught?”
“If you’d want to see me again so soon after—”
“Are you fucking serious?” He stepped back but didn’t let go of her. “Did I somehow leave you with the impression that I didn’t want to see you?”