“This is not what I expected you to show me.”
Adam hooked the helmets on the back of the bike, turning to watch Tess as she paced the length of the long patio behind the Lick Observatory. It was clear tonight, the stars brilliant against the dark sky, so bright that you didn’t even need the huge telescope housed in the observatory building just to the right of where they stood to see them.
“Well, one of us needs to get their mind out of the gutter,” he said, sputtering out a laugh when she whirled around, green eyes wide and hands on her hips in indignation.
“Oh really?” Tess sauntered toward him, her stride half dangerous swagger and half sensual invitation. “If you haven’t noticed, this place is closed. Are the cops going to show up and arrest us for trespassing?”
Now it was his time to swagger, and it was easy when being with Tess made him feel ten feet tall. He moved toward her, meeting her in the middle of the patio, reaching out to pull her flush against him. Adam loved her curves, her breasts, hips and ass reminiscent of the pin-up girls of the 1940s. But what made her absolutely mouthwatering was the way she owned her body, the utter confidence she had in her power as a woman.
Women in his family’s wealthy circles lived as though their money or connections gave them what Tess had naturally. They hid behind designer labels and expensive vacations that were handed over to them on a platter and never had to fight or scrape for their place in this world.
But Tess was a self-made woman, independent and strong, and he didn’t even have to know all of her story to know that she’d had a rough time of it. She was everything he wanted and even more than he was sure he could handle.
But he’d be damned if he wouldn’t give it his best try.
“We don’t have to worry about the cops.”
“Sure about that?” Tess asked, running her hands up his chest and over his shoulders, her fingers tangling in his hair. Her touch was electric, lighting him up from the inside out, brighter than any star in the sky.
“I’m as sure as a half-million-dollar donation to the observatory foundation last year.”
“And I thought my twenty-five-dollar donation to the fire department was living large.”
“Did I tell you that this is one of my favorite places?” Adam asked, taking her hand and leading her over the stone wall running along the edge of the overlook that led to the wooded valley below. He stood behind her, one arm wrapped around her waist and the other gesturing toward the broad swath of sky surrounding them.
“I used to come here and stare at the stars. We came here on a field trip in school and I fell in love with the way this sits so high above everything. It reminded me of the mountains where I lived when I was little and how you could hike to the top of the ridge and the stars seemed like they were so close you could reach out and touch them.” He pointed to a different area as he named each constellation in turn. “The Big and Little Dipper. Orion’s Belt. The North Star. I could come here and I knew that the stars I saw here were shining down on my family...wherever they were.” Adam kissed her neck, noticing her little shiver at his touch and ramping back his surge of anticipation. Tess was here and there was no hurry. He buried his face in the soft fall of her hair, pressing kisses and tiny love bites over the exposed skin of her throat. “Pretty sappy, I know.”
“Not sappy,” she replied, nuzzling back. “Have you talked to your brother and sister?”
He nodded, resting his chin on her shoulder and his cheek against the silk of her hair as he recalled the phone calls it had taken him three hours of psyching himself up to make.
“Yeah. Roan was cool, running off to some gallery thing so he couldn’t talk long. We set up another time later this week.” Adam had been relieved to hear the genuine interest in his brother’s voice. “He sounded really glad to hear from me.”
“And Sarina?” Tess asked, the tentative edge to her voice betraying her worry.
“Sarina wasn’t an easy call.” He sighed, voicing the concerns that had almost kept him from hiring Tess to find his siblings. “When I first started looking for them, I was worried that they were dead, that I was too late. But, since I heard that you found them, I’ve been up nights worried that they wouldn’t want anything to do with me.”
Tess’s fingers wove together with his own, a squeeze that let him know he wasn’t alone. “Did Sarina say that to you?”
“No. No.” Adam replayed the very brief phone call with his sister. “She was just...flat. I’ve had more interest from Siri.”
“Keep trying. Sarina has had a hard life, built ways to protect herself.” Tess leaned back and pressed a kiss to his jaw. “She’s worth the extra work.”
“Have you met me? I’m never giving up on her. She’s my sister.” He paused, wondering how they’d swerved onto this topic. This wasn’t what he’d had planned and it wasn’t a place he wanted to be right now. Not when he had Tess in his arms under the stars. “Sorry. Pretty sappy.”
“You’re not sappy,” she repeated, her ass pressing against his rapidly hardening dick. “Pretty sweet and crazy sexy.”
“Sexier than being a rock star?” he teased, ghosting a kiss over her lips and relieved to be back on track for tonight’s planned events.
Tess chuckled at that, the laugh evolving into a moan as his lips grazed her earlobe and his hand traveled up her stomach, cupping her breast at its final destination. Her nipple was hard, jutting against the soft material of her dress, and he could not resist rubbing the pad of his thumb over it, softly pinching it and grinding his erection against her when she gasped and dug her fingernails into his thighs. The pinch of pain was electric, sending the aftershock of pleasure racing along his nerve endings, emphasizing every rub of his own hard nipples against the softness of his T-shirt, the press of his zipper against his long, stiff length.
This moment was the manifestation of a fantasy he’d lived on for months. His need for Tess had been there since the first meeting and he’d worked so hard not to give in and so had she; both were aware of the high-tension wire attraction that sizzled and snapped between them at every interaction. And here they were, on the verge of a moment that would destroy all of the carefully created walls that kept them apart for very good reasons. And while they’d agreed earlier, agreed to set everything on fire and contain the blaze, he wanted to be sure. They needed to be sure.
“Tess, I’ve got to know if this is still what you want,” he growled against the curve of her jaw, surrounded by the sweet scent of her citrus perfume and the arousal-fueled aroma of her skin. She was writhing against him, falling with him into the enticing bliss of their pleasure, and he needed to hear her say yes just one more time before he let them both fall over the edge. “We can stop if you want to. No repercussions, no fallout.”
Tess turned in his arms, backing up against the stone half wall as she met his gaze head-on. Her eyes were sharp with their intensity, clear even in the midst of the haze of sex they were currently stirring to life between them. He watched in fascination as she inched up the miniscule skirt of her dress, each tangle of her fingers in the fabric exposing another sliver of the soft pale skin of her thighs.
Her panties were black, a lace pattern that covered the place he longed to touch and taste, and with slow, deliberate movements they were sliding down her long legs and then lying in a puddle on the patio. Tess’s curls were dark red and neatly trimmed; his attention was riveted there for a few moments by the sensual weaving of her fingers in their springy tangle. He forced his gaze to return to her face, needing to see that she was one hundred percent in this with him. If she backed out, it wouldn’t be the first time he’d gone home horny and hungry for Tess; it hadn’t impacted their working relationship in the past and if the brakes went on now, it wouldn’t be a problem in the future.
Tess’s voice was clear. “Adam, I know what I want and it is you. Like we agreed—no strings and we both walk away when we’re done.”
Adam took two steps forward, taking her mouth and inhaling her words as if they were the very life force he needed to keep breathing from one minute to the next. Tess opened to him immediately, her surrender echoing his own demand, and the heat between them rose with every rub of tongue and slide of lips.
She wasn’t sweet, but Tess’s brand of need was addictive and he already knew he’d have to tread carefully on this path or he’d find himself on the wrong side of what this was supposed to be about. He didn’t have time for a relationship and he really didn’t have time to be nursing a yearning for a woman he couldn’t have.
Adam leaned her against the half wall, pressing kisses along her jawline, and down the pale column of her throat. The V-neck of her dress allowed him access to the delicate line of her collarbone and the shadowy top of the sweet cleft between her breasts, and he tasted, licked, nipped as much as he could reach. Tess writhed against him, bracing herself against the edge of the wall as she wrapped her legs around his waist.
Adam slid his hands down her body, cupping her bare ass and lifting her up in the air so that he bore all of her weight. From this position, Tess gazed down at him and he could see every detail of her expression. He observed the way her lids fluttered halfway closed when he grazed the folds of her sex. Observed the way she tried to bite back her moan when he found her slick and hot and spread it over her clit. Groaned out his own desire when he dipped a finger inside her heat and she lifted herself up and down on the digit, taking her own pleasure. He was absolutely at her service.
“Jesus, Tess, you feel better than I dreamed. Go ahead, take what you need, baby.”
He used his thumb to massage her clit, adding another finger as she anchored her hands on his shoulders, grinding down on his fingers. Adam loved this look on Tess, debauched and hungry, powerful and honest. She leaned down, claiming his mouth in a fierce kiss of teeth and tongues, tasting of the months they denied themselves the sating of this primal need.
They broke off the kiss, Tess’s cheeks flushed and her lips swollen and red. She threw her head back, her passion-coated shout of laughter ringing out into the night.
“You look like a queen with the stars making up your crown,” he whispered, letting the awe in his voice shine through. “And every true sovereign deserves to be worshipped.”
Adam slid her down his body, ending with her sitting on the half wall. He dropped to his knees at her feet, running his hands along her inner thighs, pushing the hem of her dress to expose the soft curls hidden beneath. He took his time, tracing the blue veins lying just under the skin, following with soft kisses and tender nips that made her gasp.
“I’ve never known anyone like you, Adam Redhawk,” she whispered, her nails digging into his shoulders in an attempt to drag him closer. He resisted with a smile; he was going to take his time.
“Well, that just means that you never had a man who appreciated what an incredible woman you are.” He placed a kiss next to her right knee. “Stupid men not knowing what they had.” A kiss on the left leg. “You’re smart.” A lick on the right inner thigh. “Beautiful.” A bite on a tender spot on the left. “Strong.” Another kiss. “Powerful.” Another lick. “Sexy as hell.”
“Lean back,” he said, watching as she leaned back slowly until she was resting on her elbows, looking down at him with eyes heavy lidded and dark with her desire. Her breasts rose and fell rapidly, her chest expanding with each ragged, panting breath.
“Tess, you are so damn perfect,” he confessed, his own heart beating like the rhythm he’d pounded out on the drum kit earlier in the evening. He leaned forward, taking the first long, thirsty look at her sex in the full moonlight.
With his hands trembling with excitement, Adam ran his thumbs over her lips, making sure to give special attention to the places that made her gasp and squirm. He didn’t want this to end too soon, needed to take his time to savor every second since he’d been dreaming of it for so long. So, he kept it slow, light, a gentle graze along the flesh designed to awaken every nerve and every pleasure.
Slick and wet, he couldn’t wait any longer to taste what was on offer. He slid his hands under her thighs, under the sweet, round globes of her ass and lifted her, gently tugging her toward the edge of the half wall. Tess was level with his mouth, her sexy, sweet body just waiting for his touch, and he wavered between teasing her a little longer or indulging the pleasure he craved. He was hard, throbbing in his jeans, but he pushed it to the back of his mind. His only thought was doing everything he could to make Tess come apart.
Her first taste was heaven, so sweet and edged with the spice of her need. It was a first kiss, a first taste, his first step toward total addiction. Adam lapped at her, long licks, slow kisses, all calculated to push her over the edge. Tess’s hands roamed over his shoulder, nails digging into his muscles and then traveling upward to tangle in his hair. He let her guide him, reading her pulls and presses and letting her control where she wanted his touch as he drove her desire higher and higher.
Adam watched her face when he finally—finally—grazed her clit. Tess moaned and grasped his hair tighter in her fist as she thrust her hips forward, greedy and begging. Delicious. It wouldn’t take much more to get her to the end but he wanted to stretch it out a little while longer. A trip to heaven shouldn’t be over too soon. Tess was very wet, so his finger slid into her easily, her body tight and hot on his skin. She cried out again, loud enough for it to echo in the ravine and Adam angled his tongue against her bundle of nerves, willing to do anything to hear that sound again.
Gently, he pressed his finger deeper inside, thrusting it slowly in and out, adding a second when she pressed down hard against it, seeking more and more friction, more sensual invasion. Tess rode his hand, her nails now grazing his scalp, and the pinpricks of pain shot straight to his cock, bringing him to the very point of the intersection of pain and pleasure.
Tess was writhing against his face, one of her hands now running over her breasts, her belly, fingers pinching the hard, tight peaks of her nipples through the fabric of her dress. Her eyes were closed tightly, lips parted on every sigh and pant of breath. She was a feast for his eyes and mouth and he rewarded her with intense focus on her clit.
Tess trembled, her thighs clenching around his head as frustrated and desperate moans passed over her lips. Her orgasm was right there, and he could not wait to see her fall apart around him, on him. With an addition of a third finger, Tess seized up, her body frozen as her pleasure hit her like a star shooting across the sky.
Adam rode out the pleasure with her, continuing to lick and suck and kiss her flesh until she pushed him away, her body limp and boneless above him. He rose up over her, kissing along her jaw and neck, claiming her mouth in a sweet tangle of lips and tongues as she came back down to earth.
Tess rose up, sliding to the ground in front of him on her knees. Her eyes were open as their tongues slid against each other, her hands trailing down his chest, fingers fumbling to undo his jeans. He broke off the kiss with a moan that rattled up from his gut when her fingers wrapped around his shaft. Her first touch was tentative, exploratory, her fingers tightening around him when he thrust up into her grip.
He groaned and Tess smiled, causing a shiver of lust to race through him. She stroked him, her grip firm and hot and slicker with each pass. It was hot, sexy as hell, but the connection that kept his eyes locked on hers was visceral, elemental. He moved against her, snapping his hips up into her grip in a rhythm calculated to drive him closer and closer to the endgame.
“Come on, Adam. I’m your queen. I demand it.”
Her tone was all it took. He was already on edge, tuned up to one hundred times his usual level of endurance. The tingling started in his spine, racing through his veins and under his skin and then spilling out of him with a shout and a deep, greedy kiss.
Long moments stretched into minutes as they leaned against each other, heartbeats slowing down to a normal pace, sweat cooling on their skin in the chilly evening air. Adam leaned back against the half wall, pulling Tess against him and tucking her against his chest as they both looked up at the stars.
The silence wasn’t awkward, sex hadn’t changed that between them, and Adam breathed out a sigh of relief. He’d wanted Tess but he’d wanted her body and her mind and the way he and she worked together, the way they’d moved in sync. This way when their affair was over, they could still be friends, still be in each other’s lives. That prospect made the sex even sweeter, hotter.
“That was amazing, Tess,” he murmured, brushing a kiss against her temple.
“Of course it was,” she murmured. “It’s why we avoided it for so long.”
Adam felt the truth of that statement, knowing in his gut that was why he’d steered clear of giving in to his obsession with Tess until now.
Lights moved on the long drive that led to the observatory and they both sat up a little straighter. It could be another pair of lovers ready to do some star-gazing of their own or it could be the police. Either way, it was time for them to leave. Adam rose to his feet, helping Tess as they searched for her underwear in the shadows. Laughing, they snatched them up from the ground and Tess shoved them in her pocket.
“How much did you say your donation was again?” Tess asked as they strode over to the bike, grabbed the helmets on the back and slipped them on. “Enough to get us out of this?”
Adam glanced quickly at the approaching car. “Let’s not stay around to find out. Run for it?”
“Like Bonnie and Clyde?”
Adam considered this option, willing to go with it...to a point. “As long as it’s the version with more sex and no murders or bank robberies, I’m in.”
Tess jumped onto the bike, blowing him a kiss. “Well, hop on, Clyde. Let’s go chase some stars.”
It was the best offer he’d had in a very long time.