Star's Dark Stranger Ch. 01

She moved with the sinuous grace of a snake. As she wove through the carnival crowd she noted the eyes that followed her. The men watched her. "They always do," she thought with a grin. Poor fools. A toss of her rich auburn hair, bat of dark eyelashes over emerald green eyes, a twitch of her well-rounded hips, and she knew they couldn't help but stare.

She grinned cockily as she saw heads turn toward her and a man gaped as she passed. Men were weak, easily molded and manipulated. Usually it took nothing more than a certain look, at most an enticing whisper in his ear, and he was hers. She sighed. That was fun, at times, but she grew bored quickly with men like that--toys, mere playthings, adoring puppies--and usually left them hanging, wondering why she'd lost interest.

Star tossed her hair back, held her head high and strutted through the crowd. So what if she became bored with her toys quickly? There were always more. No one yet had captured her heart, nor her attention, for more than a few months. She did not plan on allowing that to happen. To do so would be to give someone else control in her life, and she had no intention of surrendering control anyone. When it came to romance and sex, Star was the one holding the reins. She decided when it started and when it ended.

Boredom - that was what had brought her to the carnival in the first place. The cheap, glittering thrills of the carnival never failed to amuse her, briefly. The gaudy showiness poorly disguising gritty filth appealed to Star's darker desires.

Night had fallen over the carnival, and the nature of the crowd had changed. Gone were the screaming brats and their overstressed parents. There were still a few stragglers, but now most of the carnival goers were adults. Couples, single men, and a few single women wandered the attractions and rides. None of the women, she noted, were anything like her. Of course, not many women were.

She wandered along, perusing the carnival delights, noticing that this area of the carnival was nearly empty. "That's quite all right, I rather enjoy the solitude," she thought. Not to mention the thrill of being in an area that was so dark and deserted that it seemed off-limits. "Always the rule-breaker," she grinned. Still, there was usually something interesting to be found, especially in the offbeat places, the places where no one belonged. Just as this thought came to her, she noticed an animal cage.

Staring at the slumbering panther in his cage, she was startled when someone whispered in her ear, "Shame such a majestic animal is caged, is it not?" in a deep, melodic voice. Unable to hide her gasp of surprise, she turned to see who had gotten so close to her unnoticed. There was no one there.

Then another whisper, this time in her other ear, "Such a pretty lady should not be wandering alone, so far from the safety of the lights..."

Refusing to show the unraveling of her nerves, Star did not even try to look at her mysterious conversationalist and instead lifted her head high, arched a delicate eyebrow and said in a remarkably calm voice, "Lights rarely mean safety, and crowds the same. I do not fear the dark, nor the deserted...neither, apparently, do you."

He gave a mirthful laugh and, from somewhere directly behind her, he said, "Darkness and deserted areas hold no fear for me, and have not for a very long time. Not much does. I, however, have nothing to lose. Do you, Star?"

More intrigued than frightened by his knowledge of her name, Star turned when she felt the cool pressure of his hand on her shoulder. The words, "Do I know you? " froze on her tongue as her eyes fell upon the most beautiful man she'd ever seen. His thick, straight ebony hair hung down to his lean waist, framing his pale, flawless face offset by full, rich lips, and a strong, square jaw. But most riveting were his eyes.

Those eyes ensnared her, pulling her in as though hypnotized. Deep, dark and impossibly blue, his eyes spoke directly to her soul, promising her delights, pleasures and breathless adventures beyond her wildest dreams. In those eyes were pleasure and pain beyond her understanding. Her breath caught deep in her chest, she just stared in unabashed awe at the man before her, unable, or maybe unwilling, to stop him as he pulled her into his arms and lowered those incredible lips to hers.

When his lips met hers, a wave hit her mind, overwhelmed her and tore her under its current. She saw brilliant flashes of light and knew nothing but the cold heat of his hands on her, on her waist, holding her hard against him, in her hair, controlling her. She felt his tongue deep in her mouth, exploring, tasting and caressing hers. After what may have been a mere second, or possibly an eternity, he released her mouth from his and looked deep into her eyes, as though reading her soul.

She found herself dizzy, even faint, and realized that she had never released the breath she held in her now aching lungs. She tried to tear her eyes from his unwavering gaze, wanting to shake her head to clear it, to figure out why she had to remind herself to breath, of all things, but she was not able to turn her eyes away from his. As she stood there, panting lightly, trying to regain control of herself, she realized that her hands were pressed up against his muscular chest, clutching his open, finely tailored black dress shirt. All she could think was that he felt so good against her hands that she never wanted to let go.

A wicked grin curved across his full mouth, and he whispered a mere inch from her face, "You never have to, my little Star...you never have to." Before the full impact of his words could take hold in her mind, his lips were against hers again and consciousness faded into darkness.

Her mind was foggy when she awoke and stretched luxuriously, running her hands across satin sheets. "Satin sheets?" she thought, startled. She sat up, disoriented and worried, and tried to look around in the darkness surrounding her. Her thoughts raced. "Where am I? How did I get here?

What the hell happened?"

"Relax, kitten, relax..." was whispered in her ear as she felt a hand reach up and grab a hold of her hair, pulling her back down on the bed, and it all came back to her. The beautiful, mysterious stranger, the kiss--oh, the kiss--and his whispered promise! Alarmed, she struggled to sit back up, but her body refused to cooperate as his eyes locked hers. Somewhere, deep in her consciousness, she realized it was odd. Somehow she could see his eyes clearly, the deep blue color, the intensity of his stare, in the pitch black darkness.

"Shhhhh...easy, Star, easy. This will be so much easier if you don't fight it, Star," he murmured reassuringly to her.

That deep part of her mind wondered vaguely: What will be easier? She felt his cold, long-fingered hand slide over her shoulder, down between her full breasts, to gently caress her stomach. With fading anxiety, she realized she was nude, and had been since she awoke in this strange, place. She tried to grab hold of that fear, to fully realize it and shake the encroaching haze from her mind, but it slipped away, replaced entirely by the awareness of his hands touching her and his mouth once again covering hers.

His long, cold fingers slipped down even farther, over her pelvis and through the soft fur of her pubis, one finger gently massaging her responsive clit. She slipped a hand up over the back of his neck, reveling in the thickness and softness of his hair, feeling it entangled in her fingers and falling around her face. She loved men with long hair, loved feeling their hair on her, around her, especially during love-making. His seemed made for passion.

He responded to her movement by gently sucking on her tongue, then her lower lip, biting ever so softly with sharp teeth. She moaned softly as he released her swollen lip and teased her ear with a very talented mouth. His tongue ran lightly along the outer edge of her ear, darting in to flicker the tender inner flesh, his teeth nibbling her sensitive lobe. At the same time, between her legs, his fingers picked up intensity in speed and pressure, bringing her closer and closer to the edge.

She felt the first waves of her orgasm hit as his fingers expertly worked her wet, erect pleasure nub. With his tongue teasing her ear and his fingers pleasing her clit, she cried out as one of the most intense orgasms she'd ever experienced shuddered through her body.

When it subsided, she was exhausted and drenched in sweat and her own juices. She felt limp, like an abandoned puppet, unable to resist his further advances, even if she'd wanted to. But he merely pressed his cold lips to her overheated cheek and told her to sleep. She slipped back into unconsciousness, depleted and yet sated, no longer caring or even hearing the small piece of consciousness that screamed for answers.