Blossoms of Love Read online

  Darkness had fallen while they’d been in the garage, and it felt as if the temperature had dropped twenty degrees. Greer shivered a little while waiting for the heat to warm the cab.

  When Daniel returned, she started to ask what was under the tarp, but didn’t as he buckled his seat belt and put the truck in gear. She had something more important to ask him.

  “Why did you ask me out?”

  He grinned as he pulled out into traffic and headed toward the freeway. “Because you like me and it scares you.”

  She pondered his statement for a moment. “That’s an unusual answer. Not what I was expecting.” But he was right. And she hated it. She did like him, more than she wanted to. “You are pretty easy to like.” And look at. “But you come with baggage. You have a high-pressure job. Your life is a fishbowl, and I don’t want to be swimming in your fishbowl. I had enough exposure as Rose Queen. I loved it and hated it at the same time. When it was over, I was happy going back to my boring life.”

  He pulled off the freeway and turned onto the road leading into Griffith Park. At least now she knew where they were going. Before entering the park, he stopped at a small deli.

  “Wait here,” he said.

  He left the motor running for the heat, but when he opened the door, cold air washed into the cab. She pulled her jacket more tightly about her. Daniel returned a few seconds later, a picnic basket in one hand.

  “Are we having a feast?”

  “Food stimulates the intellectual centers of the brain.” He put the truck into gear and turned back onto the road leading to Griffith Park.

  “So, we’re having a picnic.”

  “We’re having more than that,” he said.

  They continued in silence for a few miles. The road twisted, turned and climbed steadily up the side of a mountain. Occasionally Greer caught glimpses of the bright lights of Los Angeles glimmering below like stars. Was this what he meant when he told her he was going to show her the stars? She glanced up at the clear night sky.

  He pulled into a picnic area and parked.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  “Yeah, I’m ready.”

  The cylindrical object in the bed of the truck turned out to be a telescope. Greer held the picnic basket while she watched him release the cords holding it in place and then shift the telescope to his shoulder. He led the way toward a large clearing with picnic tables and barbeque pits.

  “What are you, an amateur astronomer on top of everything else?”

  He hefted the telescope over his shoulder and started walking toward an open grassy area. “Looking at the stars is practical as well as psychological.”

  “You must explain that to me.”

  He looked around the grassy area and lowered the telescope to the ground, placing the tripod legs carefully on the grass and making sure they were secure. “In my profession, it’s never bad to understand that there are things bigger and more important than I will ever be.”

  Wow, that said a lot about him. She wasn’t sure how she should take it, but she did like his humility.

  He fussed with the telescope for several minutes, testing to make sure the legs were stable. He looked into the eyepiece at one end as he adjusted the lens.

  Greer was impressed that he recognized his place in the world and he was comfortable with himself. She sat down on a picnic bench and stared at him. Suddenly he wasn’t the arrogant, vain man she’d thought. He was better in real life than in her petty thoughts.

  Her heart gave a little lurch and she felt an urge to take a long, deep look at this man. She had the feeling he’d never shown this side of himself to any of those exotically beautiful women he’d dated. She simply couldn’t imagine a starlet in a sexy designer dress traipsing her way through the grass in six-inch heels.

  He held out his hand. “This baby is a top-of-the-line Celestron telescope. Come here and give it try. I promised you stars.” He made several more adjustments and then showed her how to use the telescope.

  When she looked into the eyepiece, Greer caught her breath. To one side, the full moon showed large and clear, with the depth of shadow easily seen. “So the moon isn’t made of green cheese.” She wondered how that odd idea had even gotten a start.

  “Not at all,” Daniel said. He leaned close to her, his breath warm on her cheek. “Now I’m going to move the scope slightly.”

  The telescope veered away from the moon, and what she saw next was a mystery. “What am I looking at?” Whatever she watched, it moved quickly. A meteor, perhaps?

  “That’s the International Space Station. It’ll be gone shortly.” He shifted the telescope again. “We were lucky to catch it. I worried I’d be too late tonight.”

  She saw stars. Hundreds of millions of stars. The night sky looked like black velvet stretched from one end of the horizon to the other. Greer’s breath caught in her throat. “This is beautiful.” She was overwhelmed by the splendor of the night sky she’d never stopped to look at before, as well as by a new sense of understanding about Daniel.

  Greer remembered an introductory astronomy class she’d taken as an elective back in college. She’d thought it would be easy, just studying the constellations and recognizing them, but the class had been more about the history of astronomy and its evolution. Though she’d enjoyed it, she’d been a little disappointed. Giving her this incredible show, Daniel hadn’t disappointed.

  “I was hoping you’d like it.”

  “You don’t show many women this, do you?” Again the image of a starlet in designer duds crossed her mind.

  “The only women I’ve ever brought here are my mother and sisters.”

  “Hmm.”

  “Is that all you have to say?”

  “I’m thinking about the significance of that statement.”

  He chuckled. He adjusted the telescope again. “Look again.”

  She looked into the eyepiece. “What am I looking at?”

  “The North Star,” he said. “In the Little Dipper.”

  For the next hour, he showed her different constellations. The universe was so large that Greer felt humbled beneath it. Later they sat at the picnic table, drinking wine and eating sandwiches.

  “I find the night sky endlessly fascinating,” Daniel said as he bit into his sandwich. “There is so much out there that is still a mystery.”

  “Like what?” Greer asked.

  “In the last few years, several different types of stars have been discovered. Like the zombie stars. And the whirling dervish stars.”

  “Zombie isn’t a term I’d associate with a star. And what is a whirling dervish?”

  He grinned. “A star with a rotation is so fast that they are more egg-shaped than round. And zombie stars are white dwarf stars that had a weak supernova. Parts of them are still active and look like they’re coming back to life.”

  “You’re kidding me.”

  He held up a hand. “Scout’s honor. A zombie star was discovered by the Hubble telescope, or rather the image of one was discovered in 2014. Scientists will be studying it for years.”

  They sat in silence for a few minutes, finishing their sandwiches. Daniel looked so peaceful sitting there. The animation he showed while in front of the camera had been replaced by a relaxed pose and intense interest as he gazed at the dark sky.

  “I’m surprised by this part of you,” she told him. “Who knew you were interested in astronomy?” In fact, his interest in astronomy wasn’t even mentioned in the Internet Movie Database. Greer had given in to temptation and looked him up.

  “I know my job is to make lighthearted conversation and be entertaining. This is a part of me I get to keep just for me. And that’s the way I want it. I share this with people I want to, not my TV viewers who don’t need to know. And—” he paused for a second “—I ne
ed to be reminded that I’m not as important as I sometimes feel.”

  “You weren’t kidding.” To Greer this new knowledge she’d discovered about him made him more intriguing, adding new depths to his personality.

  “My love of astronomy isn’t glamorous or sexy.” He took a sip of wine.

  “You’re wrong,” Greer said in a husky voice. “It is to me.”

  He put down his wine down and leaned over to her. His kiss was light and tender, his lips soft against hers. His warm breath fanned over her cold cheek. Somehow this kiss was different from the first one amid the flowers and statues at the Norton Simon Museum. This kiss seemed more real, more right.

  Greer should have known from the second she met him that they would eventually end up in her bed. He just snuck in under her radar and made her like him.

  “Let’s go home,” he said.

  “Yeah.”

  He jumped up and went to his telescope to disassemble it while Greer packed up the basket.

  She was silent all the way back to her home, wondering if she should invite him in. She wanted to learn more about this man whose public image was so different from his private one. By the time he pulled into her driveway, she found the courage to ask him in for a nightcap.

  “Are you sure?” he asked, studying her.

  “I’m sure,” she said and led him into her house. “You don’t think I’m being too forward?” She took a moment to pet her cat and dogs, smiling as he joined her. Then he lifted her back to her feet and pulled her toward him.

  Daniel kissed her, his lips warm and moist. “I don’t think you’re being too forward.”

  Daniel gently kissed her again, and she felt a deep need pulse through her. The kiss was more passionate, more intense, than any kiss she’d ever had.

  He was truly a game changer. His gentleness surprised her in a pleasurable way. He seemed to want to take things slow. He trailed kisses down her neck, lifted her sweater up and off and gently stroked the swell of her breasts beneath her lacy red bra. Her nipples puckered.

  She led him up the stairs to her bedroom. Once inside, he held her tight against him. Passion curled through her, leaving her breath ragged and thready. Slowly he leaned over and kissed the tops of each of her breasts. Then he reached behind her and unhooked her bra.

  Greer felt beautiful with him. Carefully he lowered the straps of her bra until her breasts were bare. She didn’t even feel embarrassed being seminaked in front of him. His gaze slid down her body as he reached for the zipper on her jeans. When she was completely naked, he stepped back to look at her.

  “You’re beautiful,” he said in breathless wonder.

  She reached for his T-shirt and pushed it up to caress the smooth skin of his chest.

  “I think you are, too,” she said, sliding her fingers over his rigid nipples. He gasped, pulled his T-shirt off and reached down to unbutton his jeans.

  She slipped off her sneakers and stepped out of her jeans. When she stood, Daniel was completely naked, and watching her. He ran his hands over her body, caressing her breasts, her hips, her butt. Greer’s skin tingled every place he touched.

  “I don’t want to stop touching you.” His voice came out as a half groan.

  Greer rubbed her cheek against his smooth chin. “You don’t need to.”

  “I have to get a condom.”

  Greer stroked his shoulders. “Hurry.” Greer watched him take a condom out of his pocket. Had he anticipated how the night would end? She laughed, not caring. This was right. This was where they belonged.

  “Where were we?” he asked.

  She kissed him and pulled him down on the bed with her.

  Daniel maneuvered their bodies until he lay on top of her, cradled in her thighs. Greer could feel his hardness against her. Moisture was already trickling down her, wetting her thighs.

  He began to kiss his way down her body, starting with her cheek, then moving to her earlobe. He ran the tip of his tongue over the shell of her ear and nibbled his way to her neck. He took his time exploring her neck and shoulder. His silky skin moved over her, sending shudders through her. All she wanted was for him to take her to that place where pleasure was the only thing she experienced.

  When his mouth found her breast and he took in a hard nipple, Greer cried out. He worked his tongue around her breast, laving every inch of it until she’d been thoroughly caressed. When he was finished with her breasts, he moved down her body until he found her navel. Ever so gently he swirled his tongue inside her belly button. She didn’t think something like this could be such a turn-on, but the simple action sent waves of heat crashing through her. She moaned.

  She was so ready, and he seemed content to just tease her. He licked the outside of her thigh, easing down toward her knee. When he lifted her leg high and blew his warm breath on the crook of her knee, she closed her eyes and gave herself over to the sensation. As wonderful as it all felt, she wanted him inside her, satisfying the need at her core. She leaned back on the bed and sighed. She had no doubt he wouldn’t disappoint her.

  He continued with his extremely slow, tortuous lovemaking. By the time he licked her instep, she bit down on her lip to stop from crying out.

  Daniel rolled her on her stomach and started his reverse exploration. Greer was delirious with need by the time he found his way back to her shoulders. Quickly she rolled on her back and sat up. She took his face between her hands and kissed him hard. “Is it my turn yet?”

  “Nope.”

  She cupped his cheek and pulled his mouth to hers. He pushed her thighs apart and slipped inside her, slowly, achingly slowly. For a second he stopped, as if he was waiting for her to accept him inside her. She didn’t hesitate. Then, carefully, he buried himself fully inside her, and Greer knew she would never forget this moment.

  He sighed. “You feel so good.”

  He moved inside her, her softness giving way to his hardness.

  Daniel never took his eyes from hers. His hands moved over her slowly, and Greer relished every touch, every caress. He made love to her with such reverence, she felt she was the most precious thing in the entire world.

  His jaw hardened as if he was holding back. She didn’t want him to hold anything back from her, not now, not ever. “Love me harder,” she urged him.

  “I want it to last.”

  “It will.” She wasn’t sure if she was just talking about the lovemaking. “Don’t hold back.”

  He thrust into her hard, and she could feel her orgasm begin to build. She raised her legs and wrapped them around him tighter. The tightness in her stomach built and burned through her. He lowered himself and pushed into her harder and harder until she flew over the edge, and a second or two later he came with her. The stars she’d seen in the night sky had nothing on the ones she’d seen in his arms.

  Chapter 5

  Daniel woke the next morning to bright sunshine streaming through the window. For a moment he didn’t remember where he was as he looked at the cheerful bedroom with bright yellow paint and watercolors of Rose Parade floats on the walls. He was also conscious of a weight over his legs. A glance down showed a cat staring at him from her perch on his calves.

  “Good morning, Scooter,” Daniel said. He reached down to pet her, but the cat arched her back, hissed and jumped off the bed. As though that was their signal, the two dogs jumped up, their tails wagging.

  “Pip and Roscoe, down,” came Greer’s command as she walked into the room. The two dogs glanced at her, then jumped down. “Coffee’s almost ready. If you want a shower—” she pointed to a closed door at the other side of the room “—that’s the bathroom.”

  She looked sexy in a black silk kimono, cinched tight around her waist with a long belt. He grabbed her and pulled her down on the bed, across his chest. “I do want a shower, but what I really
want right now is you.”

  She grinned at him as his hand stole beneath the silk to caress her breast. She rolled to the side, the kimono gaping to show her smooth skin. She slid a leg up his. He took her nipple in his mouth, curling his tongue around it. Heat grew in him and she moaned. He untied the belt and pushed the kimono away from her body.

  She was so beautiful.

  “I want to make love to you all morning,” he whispered against her lips. “Then we’ll have lunch at Venice Beach. We can walk the boardwalk and watch the ocean.” His mouth trailed down her neck, down past her belly... He knew where it was headed, and judging from her shaky breaths, so did she. He was flirting with the area above her thighs when her phone rang. “Don’t answer that.”

  “I have to. Chelsea wouldn’t call this early on a Saturday unless there’s an emergency.” She rolled to the side of the bed and reached for her phone. “What’s up, Chelsea?” Greer listened for a few moments. “I’ll be right there.” She disconnected and put the phone down. She stood and smiled at him sadly. “I’ll have to take a rain check on lunch and...that other thing. Float emergency.”

  Daniel groaned. He’d have that shower now. As cold as he could make it.

  * * *

  Daniel found his mother in her office at the family’s restaurant, Luna el Sol. He’d grown up in this restaurant, and it was as comfortable to him as his bedroom. The bright colors always made him smile. He especially loved the huge bird cages that had originally contained live parrots and macaws. The birds had been annoying, and his father had replaced them with plush replicas from one of the LA Zoo’s gift shops.

  His mother glanced up at him, her eyes alight with humor as he entered. Her office was filled with elegant antique walnut furniture redolent of the southern California. Patio doors opened to a small atrium garden that contained wrought iron tables and chairs only used during good weather. The day, which had started out sunny, had changed, and now a hazy drizzle filled the late morning air. California needed the rain, so he didn’t begrudge the weather.