He stepped towards me and cupped my cheek in his huge hand. Dipping forward, he rested his forehead on mine, and I could see his jaw ticking under his skin. His warm breath made my face tingle. ‘Oh God, no. Don’t misunderstand me here. I havenointention of letting you go home. Not unless you want to. No, this... this between us. It’s like nothingI’ve ever felt before. And it’s terrifying the hell out of me. It’s all so fast. But, at the same time, I don’t want it to stop.’
Relief flooded through me. We were on the same page. ‘Neither do I.’
The crossing began to beep to let us know it was safe to go, and Fin kissed my forehead before grasping my hand again so we could set off once more.
We arrived at the door of Fin’s apartment, and he smiled warmly as he slipped the key into the lock, turned it, and moved aside so I could enter. Once I was standing in his living room, he appeared before me. Lifting his hand, he stroked his fingertips gently down my cheek. ‘I want you so much, Star. So, so much. You’re like no one I’ve ever met. I’m drawn to you. But I screwed things up before, and God knows I don’t want to do that again.’ A crease appeared between his brows and his internal conflict was almost palpable.
I stepped closer and smoothed my hands up his chest. ‘Let’s just forget what happened before, okay? I think you made it clear how you feel earlier. I think we may have passed the point of taking it slow, but... we can taketonightslow.’
He lowered his mouth to mine and inhaled deeply as his hands found my hair, and I gripped his jacket, tugging it from his broad shoulders. He removed his hands from my hair long enough to let the coat fall to the floor, but within a split second, he was pressed against me again. His heart pounded against my chest and my legs weakened at the intensity of the kiss. He pulled away from me once more and slipped his hand into mine, tugging slightly as he walked backward towards the bedroom.
22
Fin
You know how people joke about having an angel and a devil on their shoulders? The ones who have conflicting arguments about a person’s decisions? Yeah, well that was usually me. Ithadbeen me the last time I had found myself in this position with Star. Thankfully, thistime my angel and devil were on the same page for once.
I led her towards my bedroom, walking backwards so I didn’t have to take my eyes off her. She was stunning. There was no other word for her. Every strand of her silky blonde and pink hair, every permanent mark of artwork on her skin; her curves, her eyes, her smile.Everything. I know they say fools rush in, but I wasn’t going to dwell on that. I was overwhelmed by all these feelings and emotions that had never reared their heads before, and I couldn’t think straight.
All I knew was that the way I felt right then and there bore no resemblance whatsoever to the way I’d felt for Elise. And I nearlymarriedher. You hear all these things about love at first sight and such, but I was a total cynic about that kind of stuff. Butthisgirl. My strange and beautiful Star had some kind of hold over me. And yes, it was scary, but nothing worth having ever follows the easy path, surely?
Since that first night she had infiltrated my every waking minute. All I could think about was being with this sexy, quirky woman who broke the mould of what I had been instilled with as my ‘ideal’. She was like no one I had ever encountered. Now, I know my experience was limited, but there was no ignoring the reaction I’d had to her from the beginning. She was myheart’schoice, and that was what mattered.
I was...beguiled.
Once inside my bedroom, I leaned towards her again and covered her mouth with my own. The taste of her and the feel of her heart beating against mine was an intoxicating combination; one that I definitely wanted more of.
* * *
When I woke the following morning and stretched out my arm to feel for Star, the bed was cold and my eyes sprang open. I was alone.Oh no. Did she leave?As my brain gained consciousness, I heard water running, and singing. I smiled at the sound and rolled onto my back, taking a quick glance at my clock. It was almost seven. I languidly extended my taut muscles and replayed the intensity of the night before. As I remembered the feel of her wrapped round me, a smile played on my lips. I closed my eyes briefly and imagined introducing her to Callum and Tori and the thought didn’t terrify me. Perhaps I’d arrange a meet up. Tori was such a caring and accepting person anyway and my brother just wanted me to out of Dad’s clutches and happy—two things I was more than on my way to achieving.
Climbing out of bed, I walked into my bathroom and was immediately cocooned in the steam billowing from the shower enclosure. Star was singing a medley of the songs from the previous night and I chuckled as she impersonated David Bowie. The singing stopped and her head poked round the shower screen.
‘Good morning, Mr. Hunter. Care to join me?’
She didn’t need to ask me twice.
At around eight, as we ate scrambled eggs on English muffins, I kept catching her watching me in my periphery. There was something on her mind.
I smirked and shook my head. ‘Come on. Out with it, Mendoza.’
She scrunched her brow and her cheeks turned a sexy shade of rose. ‘Out with what?’
‘Oh, come on, Star. I may not have known you long but all the signs are there. You have something to say, so say it.’
She placed her fork down and pushed her plate away. ‘I... I think I’m waiting for you to ask me to leave.’ Her voice was a fragile whisper, and she momentarily let her head fall forward.
A wave of guilt mixed with dread washed over me and I swallowed. ‘Really?’ I placed my own cutlery down and pushed my chair away from the table. What had I done to elicit such a negative reaction? ‘Come here.’ I patted my lap.
The pink in her cheeks grew brighter. ‘What? Why?’
‘Just come here,’ I insisted, and thankfully the strong-willed woman acquiesced, walked round, and positioned herself in my lap. I tucked the curly strands of damp hair behind her ear. ‘Star, whatever I’ve done to make you feel that way, I’m sorry. I don’t want you to leave. Although I know you have to go to work soon, so I’ll let you off for that. But I do want you here. I want to get to know you. All of you. I know we rushed into things the first time and I acted like a total idiot, but now I know what I want, and that’s you, here with me. I want us to see where this is going because, I don’t know about you, but I... I feel this could be something important. Do... do you?’ I swallowed hard again, suddenly overcome with anxiety at what I was suggesting. In not so many words, I was telling her I wanted a serious relationship. I hadn’t known her very long but I just...knew.
A sweet smile spread across her lips and she took my face between her palms. ‘I really do, Fin. It feels right. Which—as you pointed out last night—is totally crazy considering the length of time we’ve known each other. But, every relationship has a beginning and I’m happy to see where this goes.’
On hearing her affirm her feelings about us, relief and excitement surged in my veins and I pulled her towards me so I could kiss her deeply.
And my God, I knew my heart could potentially be in serious danger. But I didn’t care.
