Year of Living Blonde (Sweet Life in Seattle, Book 1) (49 page)

“Do you have any lotion?” she asks in a breathy voice. Her face is flushed, her mouth open. He recognizes she’s aroused, too, and he likes seeing that. A lot.

“In the . . . nightstand,” he manages to say.

She pulls away from him and opens the drawer, comes back with a bottle of the unscented lotion he keeps there. Squirting some in her hand, she rubs it between her breasts and then takes the excess and smears it all over the rest of herself, tugging on her own nipples.

Anthony is spellbound and can’t take his eyes off the sight of Natalie touching herself.

He swallows. “I could watch you do that all day.”

She gives him a slow, naughty smile. Then she positions herself over him again and slides his cock right between her breasts, holding them together for him.

Christ.
He already knows he’s not going to last much longer. His hands reach out and grip her shoulders to help steady himself.

He watches Natalie, her pretty face, and the way she’s looking down at him. Then he watches the sight of what she’s doing for him and lets himself go, enjoying the earthy experience. In truth, he’s had this fantasy about Natalie many times, but he never knew it would come true, and when he finally climaxes, there’s a sense of gratitude at her generosity.

Natalie discovers Anthony owns a big claw-footed tub. “I’m so envious. I’ve always wanted one of these.”

“Yeah? I had it put in after I bought the house. I mostly take showers, but every once in a while I like a long soak.” Anthony fills it with water and they both get inside. There are no candles, but his bathroom light has a dimmer.

He helps guide her down so she’s sitting with her back to him. The hot water feels like bliss and Natalie sighs as she leans into his chest. She decides being with Anthony is like dancing under a warm summer night sky when all the stars are out and you realize how lucky you are to be alive.

She thinks back to how it was between them in bed and how she’s never done anything like that before. It was arousing. Plus, she felt sexy and bold.

“Have you ever dated a woman with small breasts?” Natalie asks, as Anthony takes a washcloth and runs it down her arm. His bathroom soap smells like sandalwood, a scent she’s come to associate with him. She also notices some salon brand mint shampoo off to the side.

“Of course.”

“Really? I’m surprised.”

“Because I’m so into yours?”

“You do seem to like big ones.”

His deep voice vibrates behind her. “I don’t discriminate. I love all women’s breasts—big or small.”

“Listen to you . . . so diplomatic. What are you, the boob ambassador?”

Anthony laughs. “Now that’s a job I wouldn’t turn down. Though, I’ll admit to a weakness for larger ones.” He runs the washcloth across her chest. “Yours are particularly nice.”

“Thank you.” Natalie can’t help her smile. For years she hated being so busty, and had even considered breast reduction, but not anymore.

He kisses her shoulder. “What about you, Miss Natalie? Do you have any favorite male body parts?”

Natalie thinks about his question. “I definitely like a nice butt. And chest, too. And, of course, you get an A plus in both those departments.”

“I appreciate that,” he murmurs.

He bends his knee to get more comfortable and Natalie can’t help but notice it’s masculine and perfect like the rest of him. “What’s it like for you?” she asks.

“What’s what like?”

“Being so good looking.”

Anthony is silent and she wonders if he’s going to deflect her question or pretend it isn’t true.

He lets out a deep breath and then surprises her. “It has its good and bad points.”

“What would be bad about it? It seems like it would open a lot of doors.”

“It closes them, too. People don’t always take you seriously if you look a certain way.”

“Are you complaining about being beautiful?” She turns to glance at him over her shoulder.

“No, but you have to remember the kind of work I do has nothing to do with appearance and everything to do with intellect. I have to prove myself on paper and then when people meet me, I often have to prove myself again. It can be frustrating at times.”

Natalie considers his words.

“And then I keep being asked to teach that damn survey course—Astronomy 101,” he groans.

“What? I thought you enjoyed teaching.”

“I do, but not that class. It’s filled with girls who couldn’t care less about astronomy and just want to flirt with me or worse.”

“I see.” Natalie remembers how the young women who sat behind her in class were talking about him, not to mention the way she was ogling him herself. “You don’t feel complimented?”

Anthony snorts. “Are you joking? It’s a nuisance. Not to mention all the inane questions they’re always asking. They’re screwing it up for the students who do want to learn. ”

“Professor Novello,” Natalie speaks in a dreamy voice, “is the moon really made out of cheese?”

“Exactly.”

“I could see how that would be annoying. So, what are the good things about being beautiful?”

He chuckles behind her. “You make me sound like a supermodel.”

“Come on, there must be some perks to being gorgeous. I can’t believe it’s all bad.”

He nuzzles her neck. “Why don’t you tell me? You’re gorgeous.”

“Not like you. Seriously, I’m curious.”

He runs his hands down her arms. “All right. In the same way it closes doors, it opens them, too.”

“How?”

“I get preferential treatment a lot. People, especially women, will go out of their way to do things for me, and I definitely get away with stuff I shouldn’t. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve been helped next, even when there are lots of people who have been waiting longer than me. It’s weird. Also, people always assume I’m a nice person.”

“But you are a nice person.”

He sighs. “Trust me, I wasn’t always nice. I’m ashamed to admit it, but when I was younger I took advantage.” He’s quiet for a few seconds. “Luckily, I was raised in a family where everyone has a strong sense of duty, so it never got too out of hand.”

“What’s it like to have practically any woman you want?”

“Fantastic.”

“I’ll bet.”

She can hear him chuckle again and when she turns to look at him, he seems embarrassed.

“What is it?” Natalie asks.

“I don’t know. I’ve never admitted these things to anyone before.”

“I’m not judging.”

He nods. But then his expression changes and he grows sober. “You’re still holding a grudge against me though, aren’t you?”

Natalie lifts up and turns around in the water, so she can face him. They study each other and finally she lets out a sigh. “Yes, but I’m trying not to.”

He traces a finger over her collar bone. “How are we going to fix this?”

Natalie takes the washcloth. “I’m not sure, but we will.” She squeezes the warm water onto his chest, watching it drizzle down over muscle and dark hair. She gets the soap and rubs it in her hands until it’s foamy. Then she suds him all over—his chest, neck, under his arms—the woodsy scent of sandalwood filling the air. Anthony lays his head back on the tub and lets her wash him in a sleepy way, like a large cat, relaxing in the sun.

As she rinses the soap off him with the washcloth, something occurs to her. “Could you let me see that software program you created? The one with all our bakery’s financial information on it?”

He raises his eyebrows. “Sure, I could send you the program and a copy of the file.”

“Okay, thanks.”

After their bath, they get dressed again. Natalie didn’t bring a heavy coat, so Anthony loans her one of his, rolling up the sleeves for her. He continues to bundle her up with a scarf, gloves, and a ski hat.

“Are we going to the North Pole or your backyard?”

He tucks the scarf into her coat. “I just want you to be warm.”

She watches as Anthony pulls on a black puffy ski jacket, but doesn’t bother with the rest.

They head outside. Anthony’s backyard is a big open field. Apparently, astronomers don’t like too many trees hindering their skyline. It’s the witching hour and the world is quiet and still. It’s chilly enough that she’s grateful for the hat and scarf.

Natalie glances up at the sky and is surprised to see it’s mostly clear even though it rained earlier.

“It’s just a little ways over there.” He points to a small structure a short distance from the house.

They walk side by side over the wet grass, and Natalie thinks about how she should be exhausted. She worked that day, so she’s been up a long time, but instead, she feels more awake than ever. More alive somehow, even.

Finally, they get to a medium-size shed where Anthony unlocks the door with a key and switches on a red light. Inside there’s a large tubular object with metal arms that almost look alien, holding up a huge bucket on top. It’s attached to a platform with a pivot.

“Wow, is this your other telescope?”

“This is it. It’s a Dobsonian I built myself.” She detects a note of pride in his voice and it occurs to her Anthony seldom boasts about anything, even when he could.

Using a handcart, he maneuvers the telescope out of the shed.

“Do you want help?”

“I got it. Actually, you could grab one of those flashlights on the wall inside and then shut the door.”

Natalie does as he asks and then follows him as he carts the telescope a short way out to an area with lawn chairs and a table. She tries to be helpful as he sets up, but it’s obvious he doesn’t need any help, so she takes a seat in one of the chairs.

“It’s so peaceful,” she murmurs, leaning her head back to gaze up at the sky again.

“I know. It’s fantastic out here at this hour.”

He fiddles with things and it takes a while as he adjusts the pivot on the large telescope. Natalie remembers what a finderscope is from last time and watches Anthony as he keeps looking through it. Eventually she sees him peering through the main eyepiece.

“Come here.” He motions to her, putting his hand out.

Natalie gets up and walks over. Anthony pulls her in for a quick kiss before stepping out of the way to let her view. She looks into the eyepiece and sees a field of small stars that all appear the same. “What am I looking at?”

“I tried to center it. Let your eyes adjust and then find what looks like a medium size star in the middle.”

She does what he tells her and focuses on the bright point in the center. “I think I’m there. What am I seeing? It’s not a star?”

“No, it isn’t stellar. It’s a quasar called 3C273. I know it’s not impressive looking, but you have to see it with more than your eyes. This is deep space. That quasar is two-point-five billion light years away. ”

“Really? But why does it look like a star?”

“It’s close to a supermassive black hole. The energy it emits outshines everything else in the galaxy.”

Natalie continues to stare at the small bright object, thinking about what Anthony is telling her. “So I’m looking two-point-five billion years into the past?”

“That’s right.”

“Incredible . . .” she breathes. Then she pulls away from the eyepiece and smiles at him. “This is amazingly cool.”

He grins, his expression pleased. “Would you like to see more deep space objects?”

“Definitely. But what about long gamma-ray bursts, the stuff you work on, can we look at those?”

Anthony shakes his head. “No, it’s not something I can show you with a regular telescope.” He explains how gamma-ray bursts are extreme bursts of energy—the most powerful in the universe. “It’s a frequency we can’t see with our eyes. They’re narrow beams and some of our theories suggest they’ll vaporize everything in their path within 200 light years. ”

“Wow, I hope Earth isn’t in danger!”

He chuckles. “No, luckily we’re safe. There aren’t any stars massive enough nearby to affect us. Often long gamma-ray bursts come from the most distant galaxies, so by studying them we’re looking at explosions that happened close to the Big Bang—which is what most of my own work centers around.”

Natalie nods, dazzled.
Whoa.

She spends the next hour and a half with Anthony as he shows her various nebulae, open star clusters, and galaxies. He explains about each of them and she can’t help but feel a sense of wonder at all that is out there.

“You’re a good teacher. And I’m not just saying that, I mean it.”

“Thanks. You’re a good student, actually.”

After they put the telescope away and before they go back inside, Anthony pulls her into his arms and kisses her. He smells woodsy and tastes like the night.

“I want you to come to Rome with me this summer.”

Natalie’s eyes widen.
Summer.
So we’re thinking that far ahead.
“I haven’t traveled much.”

“I know, but it’s time to fix that. I’d love to show you Rome. It’s my favorite city.”

She sighs. “I’m sure it would be wonderful, especially with you. I don’t know if I can leave for that long, though.”

“It’s only a couple of weeks. Promise me you’ll think about it.”

“I will.”

When they finally go inside, neither of them falls asleep right away. Instead, they lay quietly in bed, gazing at each other as the early dawn filters through the window. Anthony strokes her hair. And Natalie knows something has shifted. She feels brand new. As if the world has changed from black and white to color, as if she were a princess awoken with a kiss. Part of her pulses out a warning, tells her to hold back, to be careful. The specter of being hurt lingers so near, hiding in the shadows, but she decides to forget the shadows.