Stark Pleasure; the Space Magnate's Mistress (The LodeStar Series) by Cathryn Cade Page A

repay you.”  
    “Of course,” he agreed coolly. “That’s how I got where I am.”
    Kiri closed her eyes for a sec. Yes, it had been a hellish day and a half, but she was snapping at his hand outstretched to help her—again.
    “I’m sorry,” she said. “That was petty. I do appreciate your help.”
    He looked down at her, searching her face as if she were speaking in a foreign tongue without a translator. “I meant what I said, Kiri. I do expect something from you in return.”
    “What, free coffees for life?”  
    He shook his head. “How could anyone as lovely as you possibly be so quarking blind?”
    “Hey.” She wasn’t sure if he’d just complimented her, insulted her, or both. She stopped in her tracks, pulling free of his arm. “Look, Stark, we both know I’m not like the women you usually have—”
    He gave her a look. “And how would you know that?”
    She waved a hand. “The kind of things they leave behind, for one thing. I’ve never owned underthings like that in my life, but if I did I certainly wouldn’t forget them somewhere.  
    “And besides,” she went on, ignoring his smirk. “You’re…you, and I’m me. We’re not exactly a matched set.” Unlike the undies.
    His amusement disappeared. He hadn’t liked that, but it was the truth.
    “Be quiet.” Ignoring the travelers passing by, Stark backed her against the wall. He held her there with the press of his much larger, harder body. His warm hand cupped the side of her face, holding it turned up to his. Kiri waited, her heart pounding with the suffocating excitement only he seemed to generate in her.
    “I want you, Kiri,” he said baldly. “I want you in my bed and in my house. I want to fuck you as often as I can. I want you there to look at and perhaps even to talk to if you’ve anything intelligent to say other than that you’re not worth my interest. I want to dress you in lovely things chosen for you and then take them off of you, whenever, wherever and however I want.”
    He stared at her, his face taut. “Now do you understand me?”
    Mesmerized by the absolute determination in his gaze, she nodded. He really did want her. No man had ever wanted her for more than quick and dirty sex. So this was how it felt.
    He kissed her, hard. His mouth closed over hers, hot and damp, his lips biting at hers, tasting and possessing them, demanding that she open to him. His tongue swept into her mouth, tangling with hers, coaxing her to suckle it and then doing the same to hers. She accepted it, reveled in it. When he kissed her she could forget everything around her.  
    Finally the kiss gentled, and he lifted his head, just enough to look at her mouth, his thumb sweeping across her cheek to stroke between her wet lips. She caressed it with her tongue, tasting him. And would have done more right there, had he demanded it.
    “Soon,” he promised, his gaze hot. He straightened, his arm about her again, and propelled her back out into the busy concourse. “Now come along.”
    Kiri walked along with him, and on the hoverway, she leaned into him. Not that she needed him to support her, but at least for however long this lasted, she wouldn’t be alone.

Chapter 9
    Stark’s attendant didn’t look too surprised to see Kiri.  
    Kiri dropped into the seat across from Stark on his cruiser. He made sure her seat harness was fastened for takeoff and sat back in his own seat.  
    “I do have one question,” he said after a moment. “Why did you gamble more than you could afford?”  
    “None of your business.”  
    He looked at her over his steepled hands. “It is. If you have an addiction, I want to know before we become involved. There are treatment programs. But more than that, I will not tolerate that particular compulsion.”
    Her face burned. He thought she was a total slummer—gambling, murder. “I don’t have an addiction. I told you I’m good with numbers. I used that to get my business going. Also, I can see