Catching Stardust (10 page)

She couldn’t resist it anymore. She popped up onto her toes before her mind could stop her body and pressed her mouth to his. She sucked in a quick breath at her own unexpected action, her mouth opening.

His tongue flickered against her lips tentatively as if asking her permission. A low moan escaped her mouth. His tongue slipped inside, finding hers and tangling with it.

She melted against him, her knees weakening more with every taste of his tongue in her mouth. He wrapped one strong arm around her waist, pulling her body flush with his while his other hand tangled in her hair at the nape of her neck.

Maia stroked her hands up his back, gripping onto his shoulders, clinging to him as if he might be a dream that would slip away from her at any moment. But this wasn’t a dream. Oh, no. Dreams didn’t taste this good.

Zander’s hand slid past her waist and cupped her butt in his large palm. The heat of his touch was enough to cause another moan from deep inside her to escape. He squeezed gently and her body reacted by sending a spike of heat straight to her belly.

She wanted to stay here with Zander all night. To let him explore all she had to offer, right here on the rooftop, under the stars. But what would she gain? A broken heart? Another complication to her already complicated problem of how to get home?

As her mind wrestled with logic, her hands roamed his body. Down his back to skim over his trousers, testing to see if his butt was as firm as it appeared to be when he climbed the stairs in front of her on their way to the roof.

It was.

She forced her hand away from forbidden temptation and instead gripped his waist. Her thumbs stroked along the edges of his abs and she whimpered with desire. Ripples of muscle hid beneath his shirt, taunting her.

Maia pulled back, breaking contact with his mouth. She licked her lips, savoring the last taste of his mouth on hers, knowing it would be the last time she would give in to her desire to be with him.

As much as she wanted to go beyond kissing, she couldn’t. There was something special about Zander, which was all the more reason not to get involved with him. She couldn’t let her heart become a factor in her mission to get back to the stars.

Zander was far too nice and way too cute—no, hot. Seriously hot.

Maybe if he was cute but a total jerk, she could have a night of fun without worrying about how she would walk away from him in the morning, but she had a feeling that wouldn’t be true with Zander. He was kind, and funny, and sexy and smart…everything she’d always wanted in a man. She couldn’t risk what could happen if she gave in to what she felt in this moment.

A moment that could have repercussions for both of them.

She peered up into his heavy-lidded, questioning eyes. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but it would only be worse later if she didn’t.

“You are out of this world, Maia,” he said, desire deepening his voice to a rasp.

If only you knew how right you are.

He dipped his head and kissed her again before she could take a step back. His mouth hot with a need matching hers. If only she could give in like her body wanted her to—her will already betrayed her, weakening with every flicker of his tongue against hers.

Stop this now while you still can.

Zander pulled her closer, evidence of his growing need pressing into her.

Or don’t stop.

Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to stay here a little longer, have a little fun. It wasn’t like she was agreeing to marry him or anything. It was just one night of kissing and hopefully some touching.

Yep. That sounded pretty good.

Really, what’s the point of traveling somewhere if you weren’t going to take in the sights, sounds, and tastes of the place? And tonight Zander tasted absolutely amazing.

Maia let herself melt into him, gently rubbing her body against his as she did. His grip tightened in response. Oh, yes, tonight would be all kinds of fun.

The scent of summer rain—sweet, with hints of flower blossoms—invaded her senses before she felt the first drops. She thought the cool rain might sizzle as it hit her skin. Zander had heated her up to a raging boil with his kisses. The raindrops didn’t sizzle, but they did do a great job of plastering her hair to her face in a completely unsexy way. Great.

Thunder rumbled through the sky, sounding as if it was directly overhead. Zander pulled away, breaking their kiss suddenly. “What the hell?” He peered up at the sky, which was now clouded, the stars blocked from view completely. “Where the hell did this weather come from?”

Another crash of thunder boomed as a streak of lightning shot through the sky. Not just any lightning—Zeus’s signature lightning.

I should have known.
She glanced up to the sky, narrowing her eyes against the rain.
Sure you can spy on me, but you can’t zap me back home!

Damn it to Hades, Zeus was almost a bigger pain in her ass than Orion was. First Zeus sends her to Earth for who knows what reason. Then he won’t even let her have a little fun while she’s here.

“I don’t know, but I think we should head inside.”

He ignored her, pulling her closer and wrapping his arms around her as if he could block the rain with his body.

“You’re getting soaked,” Maia said. “Come on. Let’s go in.”

“It’s okay. I like the rain.”

Another streak of lightning flashed in the sky, illuminating the nearby building. A little too close. Maia shrieked and jumped. “Let’s go,” she said, pulling Zander toward the door. He hesitated for a moment before quickly pulling the protective cover over the telescope then followed her as she ducked inside, padding down the stairs back into his apartment.

“Where did that storm come from?” Zander shook the water from his hair and grabbed a couple of towels from the closet beside the stairs and tossed one to Maia. “I can’t believe how quickly that storm rolled in.”

Maia toweled off her hair and face. “Maybe it was all the heat we had during the day. It wasn’t until the sun went down that the cool air blew in. That could cause a freak thunderstorm or two.” It was as plausible an explanation as any. She couldn’t very well tell him that Zeus had made it rain so things wouldn’t heat up even more than they already had on the roof.

“Sure, but we usually hear those storms coming for miles before they happen. This one was weird. Clear one minute and stormy the next. It’s strange.”

She motioned toward the door. “I should go.”

“Wait. It’s still pouring out there and you don’t have a coat or umbrella. Why don’t you stay until the rain stops? I can find you some dry clothes if you want to throw your dress in the dryer.”

The thought of pulling on warm, dry clothes from Zander’s closet was enough to make her head spin with need. His jacket had smelled like him. She could only imagine how good his clothes would smell wrapped around her.

But as much as Zeus annoyed her—and he really, really annoyed her—he’d been right to put an end to her fun with Zander. Getting together with him wasn’t going to make it any easier for her to leave when she finally figured out a way to get home. She shouldn’t get involved with a guy from Earth.

“I can’t,” she said quickly. “I really have to go. But thanks for the offer.”

She could see the disappointment on his face. Better to see it now before anything happened rather than later when she was headed home. Better to cut ties now and not give in further to any kind of romance with Zander.

“I have to get back to the hotel.” Maia started to slip out of Zander’s coat but he reached for her arm, stopping her before she could take it off.

“Take my jacket with you. I’ll come by tomorrow and collect it.”

That was sweet of him, but it wouldn’t help her forget about him and never see him again. Nope. Wearing his jacket back to the hotel would ensure they saw each other again.

“I can’t.”

He tugged on the collar of the jacket and pulled her closer. “You’re either letting me take you home under an umbrella or you’re wearing this. Your choice. Of course, you could always choose to take me up on my original offer and stay here until the rain ends. I’m sure we can find a way to entertain ourselves inside.”

He lingered above her like bait hanging from a hook, just waiting to snag her and reel her in. His eyes crinkled slightly behind his wire-rimmed glasses and the corner of his delicious mouth turned up mischievously, almost as if he knew he had her cornered. “I think I like the third option best, but I’ll make due with either of the others.”

Her breath hitched in her throat as he brought his mouth down to hers, stopping short of touching her. His breath was warm on her lips as he spoke. “Stay until the rain stops, Maia.”

Oh she wanted to. She really, really wanted to stay.

Her heart drummed in her chest with the decision. He made a tempting offer. Too tempting. It would be so easy to slip back into his arms, possibly end up in his bed. But at some point she’d still have to walk away from him. And a night in bed wouldn’t make leaving any easier.

“I can’t stay.” She brushed her mouth against his, barely a kiss at all—a goodbye more than anything else. A last memory to take with her since she didn’t plan on seeing him again.

She would take his jacket to the hotel with her because it was the easiest way to end things with him. And she would leave it at the front desk for when he came to pick it up. She’d never have to talk to him again. Never have to worry about falling for a man from Earth.

The same wouldn’t be true if she stayed here tonight.

So she’d leave, and she’d leave now. She’d squash any thoughts or hopes of him being able to help her get home. She’d have to risk too much of her own heart to stick around longer in the search for information. His knowledge wasn’t worth the possible heartache that could come later if she kept letting herself feel this connection with him.

Maia pulled away before he had the chance to deepen the kiss and turned to the front door of his apartment.

He took a step toward her, perhaps to try and convince her to stay. Or maybe just walk her to the door. Either way, she didn’t stick around to find out. She called out the name of her hotel over her shoulder, purposefully leaving out her room number and darted through the door.

Chapter Eight

Maia flopped onto her bed in the hotel room and pulled Zander’s jacket tightly around her body. Burying her head into the supple material, she breathed deep, taking in his intoxicating scent. She’d planned on dropping it off with the concierge on her way back up to her room, but something inside of her just wanted a few more hours with him in some way before she had to let him go for good.

Zeus’s storm had conveniently stopped once she’d gotten a few blocks from Zander’s apartment. With one last flash of lightning in the sky, the clouds dissipated. Zeus was obviously watching her with Zander, which meant he had to know she was trying to get back home.

The question now was why couldn’t she get a call through to him when he was obviously checking up on her? Why was Zeus interrupting her date with Zander on the rooftop, and then leaving her stranded here on Earth and blocking her only way to communicate with home?

It didn’t make sense.

Nothing about this situation made any sense.

She tried calling home again as soon as she’d walked into her hotel room only to be greeted by the same annoying message about a problem on the line. No way was that true. Nope. The only problem on the line was the one Zeus put there.

She would find a way to get even with him when she got home. And she would get home eventually.

Sighing, she rolled over and snuggled deeper into her pillow, pulling Zander’s coat tight around her. She’d make sure to drop it off at the front desk bright and early. But for now, she’d let herself be engulfed in his scent, which would hopefully lead to dreaming of him.

Her first full day on Earth had been exhausting and the stress of it finally caught up with her. Life on Pleiades wasn’t nearly this difficult.

***

Zander had woken tired from a restless night’s sleep. Every dream focused on Maia. The dreams were fun, but they sure didn’t help him feel any less sexually pent up this morning than he had last night when she’d left. She was amazing. Kissing her was like—hell, he didn’t have words for it. Damned awesome would have to suffice.

First thing this morning, he’d checked the weather reports from the night before to see if the rainstorm from last night had been expected or if it was some kind of freak storm. He wasn’t sure why it mattered either way, he just felt compelled to find out. His suspicion had been confirmed—freak storm with no warning.

An unusual feeling settled into his stomach when it came to Maia. Not something bad, just something different. Things, unusual things, seemed to happen around her. Why was that? How could a clear night suddenly fill with clouds to block the stars?

How could anyone have eyes that looked like hers even with fancy new contacts? How could anyone wear contacts that made their eyes appear to almost glow, twinkle and swirl like the galaxies? They couldn’t.

There was something interesting and unusual about Maia and he had to find out what it was.