Shooting for the Stars (8 page)

Christ
. When she put it that way, he didn’t feel half so guilty about this. He turned his face to the side and chuckled.

“So freaking bossy!” she complained.

“But you like it.” Even as the words came out of his mouth, he realized how true they really were. That challenge in her eye when they argued? There was something more there than simple stubbornness. He’d always known Stella enjoyed challenging him. He’d just never allowed himself to wonder whether he was one of the challenges on her to-do list. Or to dream about how
hot
their long-time rivalry would feel in bed.

Jesus
, he was a goner.

Above him, Stella propped herself up on her elbows. Bear, who probably had eighty pounds on Stella, still had control over her lower body. Since there was nothing she could really do to hurry him up, he dropped his head once more to graze the triangle between her legs with soft kisses. Then he raised his head to give her his cockiest grin.

Narrowing her eyes, she reached between her breasts and unhooked the clasp on her bra. The cups sprang apart, her breasts breaking free with a bounce. Her nipples were larger and darker than he’d expected. He’d been tortured by the question of exactly what lay beneath Stella’s bikini tops ever since he was a teenager. Suddenly, Stella looked
far
more naked than she had a minute before. As he stared, she dropped back on the bed, arched her ribcage, and cupped her own breasts in two hands. With a breathy little moan, she began stroking them.

Bear was not even conscious of his decision to move. It was only after he found himself scaling her body, catching those soft swells in his own hands that realized that he’d been had.

Quick as a striking serpent, Stella’s legs wrapped around Bear’s ass, her heels digging in to pin him close to her body. “Men,” she cooed, squeezing his body with strong legs. “So predictable.”

In answer, Bear said: “Hrrmhaah.” Because it wasn’t possible to be eloquent with a boob in his mouth. He sucked the tip into a pebbled point, his tongue swirling around the wine-dark nipple. Stella gasped and held him even more tightly.

He lifted his head, and then they were kissing again. If he could, he’d stay forever in her sweet mouth. For the first time tonight, she relaxed into the kiss, letting him take the lead. Bear tried to slow down. He made an effort to appreciate each languorous slide of his tongue against hers. But his pulse was racing, and Stella’s curves underneath him were more than he could withstand. She’d parted her legs a little ways, which meant that the base of his shaft settled between her legs. The slick softness he felt there was making him half mad with desire.

Finally, Bear’s self-control was dragged right to the brink as Stella slipped a hand down between their two bodies, gripping him with her fingertips.

For the second time tonight, he grabbed her hand away from his dick, pinning it over her head. Then he caught her other one and did the same. Securing both of her wrists with one of his hands, he propped himself up on the other elbow and looked down to watch her face. What he saw there did nothing for his patience. Stella’s cheeks were flushed a deep red, and her swollen lips moved as she panted for him. “Bear,” she groaned.

He tilted his pelvis, the tip of his dick teasing her entrance. “You want this?”

“Right now,” she whimpered.

Again, he teased her with a glancing slide of his aching cock. “I don’t know. Let’s do rock, paper, scissors to decide.”

But the joke fell flat. Because there was no way to disguise how badly he wanted her. Their desire for each other was so palpable that it was hard to believe they’d avoided doing this before. Bear dropped his mouth to hers once again, giving Stella the slowest kiss he was capable of delivering. “Give me one second, buddy. I need to gear up.” He rolled off of her and grabbed his jeans from the floor. Unfortunately, his wallet felt suspiciously thin. He swore under his breath.

No condom.

“I won’t get pregnant,” Stella said quietly.

Bear did not look at her, because the sight of a completely naked Stella lying ready for him to…
 

The image was too much. He didn’t ask any clarifying questions, because he was not going to take chances tonight. He was already a little awestruck that they were having this conversation. And no matter how careful Stella was with the pill or whatever, taking a risk with her was out of the question.

Bear strode over to a wooden console against the wall, where he’d noticed some miniibar items. He pushed aside a wrapped package of playing cards, a six-dollar lip balm and… found a three pack of condoms.

“Hallelujah,” he grunted, ripping one open. And here he’d thought fancy hotels were overrated. With shaking hands, he sheathed himself.
 

Stella watched him from the bed with a gleam in her eye. “Latex covers rock,” she said.

“You did
not
just make that joke.” He chuckled while his heart thumped loudly against his ribcage.

“So what if I did?” she teased as he lay down again on the bed. Stella raised her arms, reaching for him. Now there was a sight to file away in his brain forever.

Bear did a horny version of the military crawl, hyper-aware of everywhere they touched. He braced himself above her. The heat of her body, the smooth brush of her breasts, the flutter of her pulse at her neck… The whole experience was something he never thought he’d see.
Don’t rush
, he warned himself. There might not ever be another moment as perfect as this.

“What are you waiting for?” Stella asked. “A signal from the judges?” She moved her body a crucial inch, and Bear had to close his eyes to hold on to his control. He made her wait a few more seconds. Because if he set aside their power struggle, it would change things between them too much. He needed that distracting layer of competition to keep her at an arm’s length from his heart.

She clamped a hand around the back of his neck and hauled him down for the hottest, most crazy-making kiss of his life. Stella absolutely invaded his mouth, and he let her. She wrapped first one leg and then the other around him, letting out a huff of frustration at the delay.

That’s when he made his move, pumping his hips, pushing home in one smooth go.

“
Yes
!” she cried out, throwing her head back.

He’d succeeded in catching her off guard, keeping one last ounce of control over the situation. The trouble was he caught himself off guard, too. She was tight and hot and so wonderful that he needed a moment to collect himself. So he bent down to kiss her again, but that only made it worse. The slide of her tongue against his own was so hot that he had to move his hips. Stella’s smooth legs gripped his ass. She was under him and around him in every possible way.

At that moment, there was nothing else in the world he needed. No sponsorship mattered. No tour mattered. There was only Stella. She held him so tightly it was possible to forget every other thing in the world.

Seven

A
LL
THE
U
NO
CARDS
and the backgammon set had officially been thrown off the bed.
 

For
years
she had been fantasizing about this, and the reality was almost more than Stella could take. She didn’t want to rush, but she was incapable of slowing down. Every kiss, every flex of Bear’s hips brought her closer to the brink.
 

The intensity of Bear’s silver gaze stole her breath. Hovering over her, the man of her dreams looked into her eyes. And then he
smiled
. That smile had always made her stupid, even on the best of days. Right now it was devastating. Bear lowered his beautiful mouth onto hers, and Stella was forced to drop every pretense of attitude. This was too good. It was almost too much. All she could do was put her arms around as much of Bear as she could and hold on tight.

Meanwhile, Bear picked up the pace, growling into her mouth. She’d always wondered what it would be like with him, and reality did not disappoint. She was approaching sensory overload — the scruff of his beard, the bulk of his muscle under her hands… She wished she could slow down time and memorize everything. It was all so very very good.

This
was what it felt like to get exactly what you wanted. Like bathing in sunshine and sweet friction.

Bear dropped his head to take her breast into his mouth again. And that’s what ruined her. When he lapped at her nipple, she couldn’t hold back anymore. Vaguely aware that she was making a lot of unintelligible sounds, she tensed every naked muscle, as if she could stretch out the moment by sheer force of will. Then sensation clobbered her, knocking her back against the sheets. Through the haze of her orgasm, she saw Bear squeeze his eyes shut. “Yeah, buddy. Fuck, that’s hot. Aw, yeah,” he panted. Then he gave one more masculine growl and planted himself to the hilt with a shudder.

For several long moments, nobody moved. Stella could only lie there breathing, processing the ripple effects of intense stimulation. Her skin felt flushed, and her pulse raced. With his face dropped into the curve of her neck, Bear gave a long groan of satisfaction.

Then, he rolled off of her.

A few seconds were all it took for Stella to feel a twinge of… she didn’t know what. Panic was too strong a word. But her defenses notched up to high alert, guarding her heart against whatever happened next. Even though plenty of tequila had been consumed tonight, Stella now felt as sober as a stone.

There was an unfamiliar sting behind her eyelids, too.

It didn’t help that Bear got up and disappeared. The room felt too cool all of a sudden. She heard a flush, and knew he’d just disappeared into the john to throw the condom away. But she was very alone in that bed for a moment, wondering if she’d just made a colossal mistake.

He returned, though. She felt the bed depress, and then the warmth of his body moved over to curve around hers. His big leg hitched between hers, and a broad hand came sliding around her waist. He made a satisfied sound. She could feel his muscles relaxing against her body.
Men
. They were such simple creatures. Give them food or sex, and they were happy.

“You okay, buddy?” he asked quietly.

Stella’s heart contracted at the sound of his familiar nickname for her. “Mmm,” she said. It wasn’t a very definitive statement, though, so she also reached a hand back, over her head, to ruffle his thick hair through her fingers. She couldn’t roll to face him, though. She didn’t trust her eyes not to well with tears. She’d gotten something she always wanted. But it was terrifying to realize immediately afterwards how much she
still
wanted it.

Once would never, ever be enough.

Eight

I
N
THE
MORNING
, B
EAR
woke up slowly.

When you spent five or more months of the year traveling to sporting events all over the world, waking up could be a confusing adventure. With his eyes still slammed shut, he took stock. The bed beneath him was comfortable and also large. No part of him dangled off the edge. It felt great, actually. It beat the hell out of waking up in his sleeping bag on someone else’s hotel room floor. (That happened, sometimes.) Much of Bear felt great, actually. There was a dull pain in his head, though. That wasn’t unusual.

He was, however, naked.

Bear’s eyes flew open, and the realization kicked in.
Naked. Fancy wooden beams on the ceiling. Tahoe. Tequila
.

Stella.

Oh, fuck
.

Gingerly, Bear turned his head to the side. It was almost a relief to discover that he was alone in the bed. The only sound he could hear was the cycling of water from that ridiculous hot tub in the bathroom.

And it was just as well, because he needed a couple minutes alone, if only to process what had happened. Bear closed his eyes and took a steadying breath. It had been glorious, really. The intense look in Stella’s eye while they made love? So hot. His whole life he’d kept a sturdy wall between desire and the wonderful creature that was Stella Lazarus. Last night, he’d dropped that wall.

Afterward, he’d fallen asleep curled around her body, but woke up again a couple of hours later. Alcohol always trashed his sleep cycle. He’d tiptoed into the bathroom for a glass of water. In the dark, he’d borrowed Stella’s toothbrush and washed his face. Then he’d tiptoed back to bed, climbing in as quietly as possible.

She’d turned in toward his body immediately.

“Hi, buddy,” he’d whispered, not knowing whether she was asleep or awake. In answer, warm hands skimmed his chest. That was all it took. He leaned in, giving her a deep and minty kiss. On the sound of a sigh, Stella had pressed her beautiful body up against his. Before long he was pulling her up onto his thighs while she reached for a condom on the table.

With the dark cloaked around them, there hadn’t been any thinking. Just heat and craving.

But now? In the daylight, things looked different. Hank was going to
shoot
him.
Jesus Christ
. “Do you mind taking Stella out tonight to celebrate?” his friend had asked.
Yeah. Sure. No problem, Hank
.

A few short hours later, he’d… Bear clapped one hand over his eyes and held back a groan. There was no greater violation of the guy code than the sin he had just committed.

They weren’t cavemen, of course. There was a version of events which might have made a Bear and Stella combination acceptable. Say, if Bear had ever sat down with Hank and asked him, man to man, if it would be okay if he asked Stella out.

Unfortunately, that scenario bore no resemblance to the events that had occurred on this bed. A tequila soaked hookup? That was just plain wrong. The worst, most childish defense popped into Bear’s head. “But she started it.” She had, too. It was God’s honest truth. She’d kissed him, and she’d unbuttoned his fly.

Right. As if that made a difference.
Oh, well then. It’s fine that you banged my baby sister after splitting a pitcher of margaritas
.

Said no one ever.