Jaxon took Holly to the basement carpark of his office building and led her to a black Land Rover. “I’ve rented this for two days.”

Holly raised her brows. “Why? Is this part of throwing off paps and OZs?”

“Something like that.”

“But I’m wearing my disguise.”

“We can’t be too careful.”

Holly sighed and got into the passenger seat. “You’re going to so much trouble, honey.”

“No. This isn’t going to so much trouble. It’s necessary, so don’t say another word about it.” He kissed her lips before closing her door and going to the driver’s side.

He was excited about this. Even though he’d enjoyed each date he and Holly had had in his house, it wasn’t the same as taking her out.

“Are you very hungry?” he asked as he started to drive. “Can you wait a couple of hours before eating something?”

“Yes. So I take it we’re going for a long drive?”

He grinned. “You catch on quick, babe.”

“To where?”

“That’s the surprise.”

“I’m guessing we’re going to a nice little cabin in the middle of nowhere, and then we’ll be making love all night long.”

His cock started to harden. The last bit was exactly his plan.

Holly grinned. “I got it right, huh?”

He chuckled. “You’re spot on with the making love all night part. You’re slightly off with the middle of nowhere, and you’re pretty much wrong with the nice little cabin part.”

“Okay, so we’ll be having hot sex in a beautiful big mansion somewhere around… Newcastle, Kiama or the Blue Mountains.”

Jaxon laughed at Holly’s attempt to cover the possible areas surrounding Sydney. He navigated city traffic and turned towards Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Holly made little claps. “Now we’re narrowing the possibilities. We’re going north. So two hours from here will be Newcastle, possibly even Port Stephens. Or maybe you’re accounting for traffic so we might only be going to the Central Coast, Hunter Valley or Lake Macquarie, which is one of my favourite holiday spots.”

He kept his face impassive. “Have you been to any of those areas lately?”

“No. I haven’t been since I got famous,” she said with a sigh. “But when Xave and I were kids, we used to go to Lake Macquarie a lot. Mum used to have a rental property there, and I love the place.”

His heart swelled. He was glad he picked the right spot.

“I’m glad we’re not going home to your place tonight,” Holly said quietly.

“Yeah. I still can’t believe someone found out. We’ve been so careful.”

“It’s funny, Bryce and I were just discussing it today. He said someone’s bound to find out where I’m staying with all the intrigue happening. It’s just annoying it’s happened sooner rather than later.”

He frowned. “What else did you talk about?”

“Well, he did also say I’d have to move somewhere else once people discover I’m staying at your place.”

“Did he have any suggestions as to where?”

“No. I’m happy to ask him. Maybe Smith Security has hiding places for their clients.”

He shrugged. “Maybe. Anyway, let’s not talk about that tonight. This whole thing has been stressful for you, so let’s enjoy our date without any talk of kidnapping or paparazzi or overzealous fans.”

“Thank you. I have to say you’ve been very good at relieving my stress, though.” Holly rubbed his thigh.

He inhaled sharply. “And I can’t wait to do some more relieving tonight.”

“Me neither,” Holly breathed.

“Babe…”

“Hmm?”

“I’m driving, and it’s getting dark. I need to focus on the road.” And make sure they weren’t being followed.

“Uh-huh. And?”

“Don’t distract me.”

“I’m not doing anything,” Holly said in surprise.

“You were rubbing my thigh.”

“For two seconds.”

“That’s all I need to get horny.”

Holly laughed. “I’ve heard about people getting blowjobs while driving, but I better not do that.”

Oh. My. Fuck. “No. Not a good idea.”

“So let’s decide what to talk about for two hours so you can concentrate on the road. How about you tell me what we’re gonna eat.”

He planned to spread some whipped cream on her later. “Let’s not talk about food. I’m a bit hungry.” For her.

“The hotel—or room or house or whatever—we’ll be staying in?”

“Nope.” He could already see her on the bed.

“The area where we’re going?”

“That’s still a surprise.”

“What about work?”

“Nah.”

“Us?”

He smiled at her, grasping her hand to kiss it. “I’d love to talk about us, but that might lead to sex talk, so let’s save that for later.”

Holly sent him a beaming smile that warmed his heart like no other.

“How about you sing for me?”

“Ah, yes. Let me play some background music from my phone.”

For the rest of their journey, he had the absolute privilege of being the only audience at a special private concert by the one and only Holly Stirling. He sang along with her, surprising Holly that he knew most of the words to her songs. He was pretty pleased with himself, knowing this date had started on the perfect note.

When he took the Lake Macquarie exit from the freeway, Holly paused her beautiful crooning.

“I knew it! We’re going to Lake Macquarie! Is the place we’re staying at yours?”

“Yes. I bought it two years ago, had it modernised, and tenants moved in pretty much straight away. They vacated three weeks ago because they bought their own house.”

“Can’t wait to see it. Are we cooking? I’m starting to get hungry.”

“You’ll see,” he said with a mysterious smile.

Ten minutes later, they pulled up inside the garage of his four-bedroom, two-storey house. The built-in mini lamp of the garage door opener helped illuminate the space until Jaxon found the light switch.

“Wow, there’s not one single item in here,” Holly commented.

He closed the garage and opened the door leading to the kitchen. “Come take a look at what’s inside.”

Holly walked in, looking around in confusion. “There’s nothing here.”

“Yup.” He followed her to the living room.

“There’s no furniture anywhere.”

“That’s right. That’s why the managing agents wouldn’t even think I’ll be turning up to stay the night at any point. That should help keep our visit here a secret.”

Holly made an approving expression. “But there’s a bed in the bedroom, right?

“It’s totally empty, babe.”

“Oh. Where do we sleep?”

He gestured for her to follow him back to the garage. “You didn’t notice these.” He showed her the contents of the boot of the vehicle.

Holly’s mouth dropped. “Oh my gosh. What are all these?” She opened the portable cooler. “Look at all this food! And some from my favourite Italian restaurant! And you brought a microwave too. Is this from your apartment?”

“Yes. I’m not feeding you cold food.”

She grinned at him. “And we have an inflatable air mattress…”

“Queen-sized.”

“Two pillows…a picnic blanket…a bed blanket…torches…mosquito repellent coils…and what’s this?”

“We can pitch that in the backyard. It’s a tent.”

“We’re sleeping outdoors?” Holly asked excitedly.

“If you like.”

“Yes! This is so exciting!”

Phew. He’d worried that Holly might find this too austere for her tastes. “We also have toiletries in that bag—plus a pair of your undies and one of your nighties I took from your drawer.”

Holly flung her arms around his neck. “This is a wonderful surprise. I love it. Thank you.”

He kissed her thoroughly. “Shall we get set up?”

Holly nodded. “Are you good at pitching tents?”

“Believe it or not, I practised a couple of times the other day when you were at your parents’. It’s not hard, but it’s easier with some help. The air mattress should fit in it.”

They lugged the items into the house, then Jaxon opened the sliding doors leading to the back.

Holly went out. “Cool.”

He smiled, silently agreeing with her. This backyard was one of the reasons he’d bought the place. Tall, neatly trimmed hedges provided privacy all around the fence line, and different varieties of flowering plants were arranged on a wide half-circle, framing the big lawn where they were going to pitch their tent.

He had to remember to personally thank the gardener who’d been looking after this yard for more than ten years. The guy continued to be contracted by successive owners of the property for his sheer passion and dedication to the gardens he looked after. Jaxon had been very happy with him.

He looked up at the bright full moon low on the horizon and inhaled deeply. He just realised that there couldn’t have been a better night to take Holly here, with the weather being pleasantly warm—not at all sticky like it had been the last couple of nights.

He’d originally thought coming here on the weekend would have been better, but his managing agent had told him they’d already scheduled showings for prospective tenants for that time. He’d had no choice but to pull it off tonight, as he knew Holly had a free day tomorrow.

It was just perfect. He was lucky.

Or it was simply meant to be.

He watched Holly walk around the garden, ooh-ing and ahh-ing as she inspected the plants, which she was able to see clearly in only the moonlight. Just how hard had he fought in the past to not act on his attraction for her? He’d desperately wanted to keep control of his privacy.

Now, look at where he’d ended up. He hadn’t deliberately chosen to date her. She was a world-famous celebrity who could be the catalyst for his ruin. But his IR assignment to keep her safe while investigating her bodyguard—his long-lost brother—had forced him to face his feelings for her.

How could he not see all that as perfection, as destiny, when circumstances had thrust them together? Difficult as things were, they were the reason why he was with Holly.

Now, he couldn’t imagine losing her.

Holly walked to him, biting her bottom lip. “I have an idea.”

“Uh-huh?”

“Let’s not bother with the tent.”

Blood rushed to his groin at the picture that instantly flashed in his head. “Sex under the stars, huh?” he asked in a low voice, pulling her close with an arm around her waist.

Holly indicated the hedges. “It’s very private. You have a knack for choosing properties with excellent privacy.”

He smiled. He valued his privacy greatly, but he better not tell her that, in case she felt she was wrong for him. “I love your idea.”

“Good. Why don’t we start fixing dinner first? I’m famished.”

He kissed her lips. “Me too. And we’d be needing a lot of energy for tonight.”

“We can’t be too loud, though,” Holly said with a giggle. “We don’t want the neighbours checking what’s going on.”

“On that note,” he said, releasing her. “Let me make sure the side gates are locked. We don’t want anyone wandering in here.”

“I’ll heat up the food,” Holly said, heading back inside.

Jaxon double-checked and triple-checked that there was no way for anyone to get into the house or the backyard. For once, it wasn’t the kidnappers he was worried about. No one but he and Holly knew they were here tonight.

But he doubted they could manage to keep their volume down the whole time while having sex, especially since tonight promised to be extra hot. He didn’t care if the neighbours heard as long as they didn’t see who was making the noises.

He joined Holly in the kitchen and smiled when he found her humming as she heated up the food, her wig nowhere in sight. That was why this place was perfect. She could let her hair down without a worry.

It took a few minutes to inflate the bed, then he laid it outside next to the picnic blanket Holly had set up with their dinner. He dumped the blanket and the pillows on the air mattress before sitting on the ground next to Holly.

“So hungry,” he said and chuckled when Holly placed a big forkful of lasagne in his mouth.

In between chats and jokes and flirting, they stuffed themselves with the delicious food. And he couldn’t take his eyes off Holly. She was glowing and happy, and it thrilled him how much she was enjoying herself tonight.

They put their rubbish in a plastic bag and rested for a bit, enjoying the peaceful ambience.

“I love this setup,” Holly said, staring at the sky.

He’d noticed her look at the same spot a few times now, so he glanced up to check what was capturing her attention. It was the Milky Way.

“Could you believe that that there is the centre of our galaxy?” Holly asked, awed.

“Yeah. We never get to see it like this in the city. It’s nice when there’s no urban lights to affect the visibility.”

“All the billions of stars and black holes right there… It’s just mind-boggling. We’re sitting here, able to see our galactic centre with our very own eyes, and we are so, so small.”

He gaped at her. This woman, a major star across the globe who sucked people into her world because of who she was, hadn’t forgotten how to be awed by nature, didn’t care that she’d eaten from disposable plates and wasn’t bothered she was sipping wine from a plastic cup.

She was simply incredible. But more than that, she was authentic with him, and he couldn’t help but fall harder for her.

Why did they call it falling in love when his heart felt like it was soaring?

“I think I’m ready for dessert now.” Holly lifted the lid on the cooler beside her and took out the small box of pavlova. “I’m glad you didn’t get the big one, or I’d be stuffing myself sick.”

“I’m glad you like pavlova. I was gonna get something else, but I thought it would be fun decorating it with you.”

Holly leaned to kiss him on the lips. “I like that we’re doing things together. So what do we have for it?”

“A passion fruit, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and, of course, whipped cream.”

Holly pulled out the little chopping board he’d brought as an afterthought and started cutting the passion fruit and strawberries.

And this was about the time he’d planned to use the whipped cream.

He took the canister, shaking before uncapping it. Then, as sneakily as he could, he squirted a dollop on Holly’s bare thigh, just below the hem of her tight skirt, which had ridden right up as she sat on the ground. “Oops,” he said, bending down to lick it off. “Mmm, nice.”

“Jax!” Holly said, laughing.

“Sorry. It was an accident.” He placed some cream on his fingers and rubbed it on her cleavage.

“Hey!”

He licked that off too. “Yummy.”

“So this is the game you want to play, huh?” Holly said in a low voice.

“Don’t mind me. I’m just enjoying some cream.”

Holly shook her head, taking the canister from him. “I want my dessert first, Mister.”

He sighed. He supposed he could wait. They had all night.

To his surprise, Holly tugged at his shirt and lifted it off him. Then she pushed him towards the ground.

“Oh, you’ve changed your mind?” he asked with a laugh.

“No. I’m going to put the toppings on my dessert.” She spread some whipped cream on his chest and arranged some fruit on top of it.

He watched her, grinning like a loon. “You look very proud of your creation,” he quipped when she’d finished, loving the playful smile on her face.

“Can’t wait to taste it. But first…” Holly grabbed her phone and pointed it at him. “Say cheese!”

“Pavlova!”

The flash blinded him, making him blink.

“Aw, it’s not the best because the lighting’s poor, but it’ll do.” Holly showed him the screen.

He laughed. She had done a good job of decorating his chest.

“Now don’t get up, or you’ll ruin it,” Holly said, cutting herself a small piece of the meringue and eating it.

“Hey, I thought you’d be eating me!”

Holly giggled. “I have to have some of the base. Then I can have these.” She dipped her head towards his chest and took a raspberry in her mouth, her tongue grazing his nipple.

Jaxon chuckled. This was fun and—

His breath hitched when Holly started to undo his belt. “Babe.”

“I don’t want your jeans to get food all over them,” she said coyly. “You didn’t bring spare clothes, did you?”

He shook his head, lying to her. Of course, he’d brought spare clothes for the both of them. He’d been very organised.

Holly pulled down his jeans and underwear at the same time, and he lifted his hips to help. His cock pointed to his belly button.

Once he was completely naked—bar the food on his chest—Holly straddled his thighs.

“Look at this,” she crooned, running soft fingers on his hard-on. She held it with one hand and grabbed the whipped cream with the other. Then she squirted the white foam on the tip of his penis.

He held his breath.

No.

He started panting.