Star Crossed (10 page)

No. She briefly closed her eyes, hardening her resolve.
I don’t love him. Lust after him,
yes. But I don’t love him. I can’t love him
.

“Kris?”

The question in his voice caused her to open her eyes and look at him. They were soft and filled with concern and something else she wouldn’t name. He opened his mouth to say something and she placed her hand over his lips, silencing him.

He grabbed her hand, his brows drawn together in a frown. “You can’t keep avoiding this or changing the subject.” She leaned over and placed a kiss on his shoulder. He smiled slightly. “Or trying to distract me.” She kissed his neck, then softly bit it. “Is it working?” she whispered against his skin.

He moaned softly. “What do you think?”

Her hand slowly skimmed along his hard stomach, her fingers teasing every valley.

The muscles twitched beneath her exploring touch and his chest muscles trembled under her gentle kisses.

When her fingers wrapped around his rock-hard shaft, she grinned. “I think it is.” Stefan grabbed her shoulders and rolled to his back, pulling her up on top of him.

He wrapped one arm around her waist, the other hand he used to brush the hair away from her face.

“What am I going to do with you?” he whispered.

Her breath caught in her throat at the intensity of his stare. Could he see in her eyes how she felt about him? Could he tell in the beating of her heart?

“Make love to me.” The words left her mouth before she even realized it.

He smiled slightly as he brought her lips down to his. “Gladly,
kisary
.” It was far from slow this time. But wild and passionate. His kisses sent her falling out of control and she wiggled her pussy against his hardening cock. “Damn, woman,” he growled and rolled her to her back. “You’re killing me.”

“And you’re driving me crazy,” she answered back. “I want you, Stefan. Now.”

“Ah, fuck,” he groaned. “Move to your knees.”

She smiled, intrigued with the idea of him slamming into her from behind. With a devilish glance over her shoulder, she positioned herself in front of him and wiggled her behind. He grabbed her hips and held her still as he invaded her tight passage with his massive cock. She screamed and laid her forehead against the mattress. He felt so good inside her. He pulled out, then slowly pushed back in with a moan. “God, that feels so fucking good.”

It did, but she wanted more. “Stefan, stop playing. I want you to fuck me.” Stefan closed his eyes with a smile. He loved how she talked dirty when she was desperate. Putting his hands along her ribs, he lifted her against his chest, making sure to keep his cock deeply seated. His palms squeezed her breasts, and she thrust them forward with a sigh.

“I like your breasts, Kris.” He pinched her nipples, making them harden. “I like how you respond to my touch. How well we fit together.” He thrust his cock deeper to prove his point and smiled as she wiggled her hips against him. “Feel how well we fit together, Kris.”

Taking her hand, he moved it to her pussy. She could feel his cock slowly moving in and out, her juices making him slick and wet. Her thumb brushed her clit, making her gasp. He felt so good, so right. Never in her life had she been this wild with someone, this uninhibited. With his hand over hers, she moved to toy with her clit. The sensitive nub hardened and swelled beneath her touch. She moaned as Stefan’s hand moved in conjunction with hers. The two of them moving as one.

“It feels good, doesn’t it, baby?” he whispered. “Make yourself come for me.” She groaned as her fingers moved faster, applying just a little more pressure.

“That’s it, baby.” Stefan’s hips thrust faster, his cock filling her impossibly deep.

“Stefan,” she screamed as her body shuddered from pleasure.

Falling forward, she braced herself on her hands as Stefan continued to plunder her pussy. Over and over he plunged and her body responded with another more powerful orgasm. Every muscle quaked in pleasure and she screamed as her release skimmed

through her body again and again. Stefan growled and hot jets of semen emptied into her spasming channel.

“Oh, God,” she sighed, her forehead lying against the cold comforter.

With a sigh, he pulled from her body and tugged her against him as they settled beneath the sheets. His warmth seeped into her relaxed body and it wasn’t long before she fell sound asleep nestled in the safe cocoon of his arms.

“Oh, my God.”

Krista sighed as she gazed around at the winter wonderland spread before her. She and Stefan had just finished lunch and decided to head outside to check out what the storm had done.

It was absolutely beautiful. Wet snow clung to branches and rockfaces, turning everything within view white. The sunlight glittered off icicles hanging from tree limbs, causing them to sparkle like diamonds.

The air was still cool and crisp and smelled fresh. With a smile, she inhaled deeply.

“Now if we just had a sled.”

Stefan raised an eyebrow in question. “A sled?”

“You’re kidding, right?” she asked with surprise.

He shook his head.

“You don’t know what a sled is?”

“No.”

She placed her hands on her hips and studied him. “What did you used to do as a kid when it snowed?”

“We used to take a scrap piece of ship, go to the top of a hill and slide down on it.” She raised an eyebrow and grinned. “Stefan, that’s a sled.” He shrugged and walked toward her. “You call it a sled. I call it a
gleent
.” He smiled seductively, coming closer. “Have you ever made love in the snow?” Narrowing her eyes, she held her hand up in front of her. “Stop right there, Senator.”

He stopped and raised an eyebrow.

“You wore me out this morning.”

“Did I?” He grinned as he began to walk toward her again.

She took a step back, moving toward the rockface. “Yes, you did. I’m quite sore.” She tried to keep a straight face, but was having a difficult time of it. He looked gorgeous this morning in his jeans and wool tunic, the white turtleneck underneath a stark contrast to the deep blue of the wool.

His gray eyes sparkled with a devilish light. Occasionally that flash of something she couldn’t identify shone in his eyes but as soon as it was there it was gone again. She wondered if he was trying to keep his feelings hidden from her. Or maybe it was something he himself didn’t even know was there.

Her back hit the rock wall, and she stopped. His hands on either side of her head kept her pinned in place. He wiggled his eyebrows. “Maybe I should kiss it and make it better.”

Her laughter echoed through the valley around them. “You are so bad.” He returned her smile, then bent down, tossing her over his shoulder.

“Hey,” she gasped. “What are you doing?”

“We’re going to find something to make a
gleent
with.”

“What? You don’t think I can walk on my own?”

“I’m sure you can.” His hand slowly made its way up the inside of her thigh and she gasped. “But this is so much more fun.”

“Stefan Marcone!” She tried to reach around and swat at his hand, but she couldn’t reach it. His laughter made her scowl. “You’re impossible.”

* * * * *

Finally finding a piece of metal, they spent the next couple of hours sledding down hills and challenging each other to snowball fights. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed like this, the last time he’d felt this alive.

Whenever he looked at her he fell a little more in love. He knew it now, without a doubt. But she still kept that wall up, only allowing him so close. The snowball to the side of his head caught him by surprise. His eyes closed and he fell to the ground in a heap.

“Stefan?” Her laughter stopped and concern filled her voice. “Stefan?” He heard the crunch of the snow as she made her way to his side. Just as she dropped to her knees next to him he grabbed her arm and pulled her down. Rolling over, he pinned her beneath him.

She squealed and looked up at him with shocked eyes that quickly narrowed. “You faker.” She swatted at his shoulder and he chuckled. “You scared me to death.” He smiled down at her. His lips softly brushed her cheek. “Were you afraid you’d hurt me?”

“No.” Her breathing sped up slightly as he nibbled her neck. “I don’t know how to get out of here. If anything were to happen to you, I would be trapped.” He stopped what he was doing and looked down at her with a raised eyebrow.

“That’s it?” he asked incredulously.

One corner of her lips twitched. “Well, what did you expect?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Lie to me. Tell me you can’t live without me.”

“It’s more like I can’t live with you,” she grumbled.

They looked at each other and laughed. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her he loved her, but he was afraid it would push her away. Fear was something he didn’t often feel and to feel it over a woman made it even more strange and unsettling.

Slowly he dropped his mouth to hers, trying to convey what he couldn’t say out loud yet. Her lips were cold and trembled slightly, but they quickly warmed against his as they kissed, their tongues in slow battle.

He moved his hand to her hip and gently squeezed. The way her body perfectly molded to his never failed to amaze him. The way she responded to his touch never

failed to take his breath away. He put his hand at the back of her leg and raised it as he slid his thigh between hers. The desire he felt for her, coursing through his veins, shocked him. It seemed the more he made love to her the more he wanted her. She made him feel whole, complete, and he couldn’t get enough.

His fingers lifted the hem of her sweater and brushed along the skin of her stomach.

It felt soft and hot to the touch. She sucked in a breath and shivered.

“My hands cold?”

“A little,” she sighed as he placed soft kisses along her jaw. “I’m getting all wet.” He grinned against her neck. “In more ways than one, I would imagine.” She poked her finger in his side and he chuckled.

“You know what would really be incredible right now?” she asked.

“Besides this?”

His thumb brushed across her nipple, and Krista had to concentrate hard to remember what she was saying. Shivers ran down her spine that didn’t have anything to do with the temperature. At the moment she didn’t even feel the cold.

She watched as he reached over and popped a small bit of snow in his mouth.

“Lying in it isn’t enough?”

He grinned as he raised her sweater and moved the lace of her bra aside. Bending over, he captured the peak of her hard, hot breast in his cold, snow-filled mouth, and she almost screamed at the sensation.

Slowly the snow melted and his mouth warmed as his tongue continued to stroke and tease her sensitive nipple. She buried her hands in his hair, arching further into his touch.

Lifting his head, he pushed her sweater back down, then moved to place nibbling kisses along her lips.

“What were you saying?” he whispered against them.

“I…uh…” She swallowed as his tongue traced the edges of her lips. “I was thinking a warm bath would be great about now.”

“Mmmm.” He shifted his thigh, rubbing it between her legs.

She sucked in a breath and moved her hips against it.

“A warm bath does sound nice,” he whispered.

He bit her lower lip and then sucked it into his mouth. He pressed his thigh tighter against her aching pussy and she moaned.

“Stefan, you have to stop this.” His lips covered hers. His tongue traced her teeth then retreated. “We can’t make love in the snow.”

“Who says?”

She giggled. “Me. I’m freezing.”

Stefan smiled and kissed the tip of her nose. “Come on, then. I’ll take you up on that bath idea.”

“What makes you think I wanted to take a bath with you?” Stefan bent over and grabbed her hands, pulling her up in front of him. “Just for that, you little minx,” he hissed, bringing them nose to nose, “I’m going to make you beg.”

Her lips twitched at the corners, fighting a grin. “Beg for what? The bath?”

“No. Me.”

He quickly bent at the waist and lifted her in his arms. She squealed, her laughter floating around them. She buried her face in his neck and placed soft kisses at the spot where she could feel his pulse racing.

“Maybe I’ll make you beg,” she whispered against his neck.

She felt the tremor run through him and smiled. He stepped into the cave and headed for her room.

“Do your worst,
kisary
. We’ll see who makes who beg.”

* * * * *

Okay, so I begged
.

Krista grinned and snuggled deeper into his arms, her head on his chest, one leg across his. The man was certainly talented, but there should be more to a relationship than sex. The reality was they were from two different worlds. Not just literally, but figuratively as well.

Stefan was royalty and no matter what he tried to tell her about how he wanted to marry for love, the fact of the matter was she didn’t belong in his world. A countess she was not. And never would be.

A thunderous noise echoed throughout the cavern, jolting her from her thoughts.

Her eyes widened and she sat up.

Stefan grabbed his beeping communicator and flipped it open. “It’s okay. It’s Taron.”

“Is that a ship?” she asked as her nervous gaze took in the glasses shaking on the table.

“Yeah, he’s in the docking bay. Sound echoes through here pretty good.” He tugged on a small strand of her hair. “Hey,
kisary
. Come back down here.”

“Don’t you need to meet him or something?”

He grinned. “Taron knows his way around. We’ll greet him in the morning.” She lay back down next to him, his arms wrapped tightly around her. He kissed her forehead and she smiled, snuggling closer to his warmth.

She finally remembered to ask about what he had called her. “What does
kisary
mean?”

“It’s a Tilarian endearment.”

She rose up on her elbow and looked at him. “But what does it mean?”

“It means stubborn.”

She grinned. “No, it doesn’t.”

He studied her hair as he softly ran his finger through it and pushed a curl behind her ear.

“Well.” She lifted an eyebrow. “Are you going to tell me?” He rolled over and propped himself on his elbow as well. Bringing his lips extremely close to hers, he studied her thoughtfully. “Hmmm. Why should I?” She smiled seductively and trailed a finger along his chest. “Because you can’t resist me.”

A chuckle rumbled through his chest. He put his finger under her chin and tipped it up. His fathomless gray eyes bored into hers, and she felt as though she was branded, made his just by a look. “It means ‘my love’.”

What was he saying? Was he saying he loved her? Or was “my love” just something like “sweetheart” or “honey”?

She knew this was a mistake. They were from opposite ends of the spectrum. A middle-class country girl and a monarch whose level of royalty would be equivalent to that of Britain’s king. How would she ever go back to see her friend? She would always be worried she would run into him, and God forbid he should marry someone. She would be heartbroken.

She opened her mouth to speak, to tell him how she felt, but before she could utter two words his lips captured hers in a kiss that stole her breath.

She tore her mouth from his. “Stefan, we need—”

He didn’t let her finish. He once again sought her lips with his as he pushed her to her back and settled over her.

Against her mouth, he whispered, “Shh. Be quiet, Kris. Just let me make love to you.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his hungry kisses. She’d take this while she could. Soon it would be time for her to return home to her job, her apartment…and a life without Stefan.