Starlit Sand: Ocean Sands Series, #1

By C.J. Miller

Can one hot night turn into forever?

The cautious lawyer burned by love...

Lauren Catalano refuses to let her recent failed marriage turn her cynical. After an out-of-character tryst with a stranger on the beach, Lauren learns her mystery man is rock superstar Noah Devereux. 

The rockstar with a heart of gold...

Humiliated by scandal, Noah questions the worth of his fame and fortune if all it earns him are hollow relationships and betrayal. But Lauren's honesty and loyalty hit him hard.  

The pursuit 

The more time Noah spends with Lauren, the deeper he believes that she's the woman he needs in his life. But Lauren resists falling for a man who might only be around for the summer... or until someone else catches his eye. Will Noah convince Lauren to believe in happily ever after or will their affair end in more heartbreak?

Starlit Sand is the first full-length contemporary romance in The Ocean Sands series. The other books in the series are:

1. Starlit Sand (A Rockstar Romance)
2. Golden Sand (A Billionaire Romance)
3. Midnight Sand (A Billionaire and Baby Romance)
4. Exquisite Sand (A Chef Romance)

• Language: English
• Publisher: C.J. Miller
• Release date: Nov 9, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386403869

C.J. Miller

***Start reading C.J. Miller's Ocean Sands Series today with Starlit Sand. You can also sign up for C.J.'s newsletter at cj-miller.com.*** C.J. Miller is the author of more than 15 contemporary romances, including the Ocean Sands Series.  She lives in Maryland with her husband and their three children. She can often be found with a book in her hand or writing one at her computer. Join C.J.’s mailing list on her website at cj-miller.com for news about her upcoming books. Follow her on Facebook at Facebook.com/cjmillerromance/ or on Twitter @cjmillerwrites . Contact C.J. at cj-miller.com

Book preview

1

Lauren Catalano checked the address she’d written on the slip of paper again. Nine Atlantic Avenue was the largest villa on the street. The two-story stone structure had a wide front porch that spanned half the house and small post lights lining the pristine, landscaped garden. The driveway disappeared around the side of the house. Lauren had been asked to drop off legal documents at this location, though she hadn’t been aware she’d be showing up in the middle of a party.

Cars lined the cobblestone street, every light in the house was turned on, and music pulsed onto the porch. The villas on either side and across the street were dark. Either the residents weren’t home or they weren’t bothered by the commotion.

Lauren took the stairs to the front door. Should she knock? Before she could decide, the door opened and light spilled out into the darkness. A couple wrapped in each other’s embrace stumbled out of the house. Lauren stepped aside to allow them to pass. The woman wore a short, tight rainbow-print dress and the man jeans and a dark T-shirt. Lauren had come directly from her office and felt stodgy in her black skirt suit.

An unsmiling man in black clothing with a headset over his right ear held the door for her. Welcome to Ivy and Bart’s engagement party. He gave her an assessing look as if appraising her for the possibility of carrying a weapon or a camera.

I’m here to see Ivy. She had to speak loudly for the man to hear her.

Name?

Lauren Catalano. Ivy’s lawyer.

The man looked down at his tablet. He tapped something on the screen. Go ahead inside. He offered no more assistance.

Lauren looked in at the party. Dozens of people were dancing and talking. She laughed to herself. Ivy had been different from her other clients, and this fit what she knew of her: fun, extroverted, and vivacious. Thank you. I’ll find her. She could’ve handed off the documents to the doorman, but due to the private nature of the papers, she’d give them directly to Ivy.

The inside of the villa impressed her. This property hadn’t been listed on Ivy’s or her fiancé’s assets, and Lauren wondered about the owner, likely a successful friend who worked in the music industry. The vaulted ceilings, the hardwood floors, the paintings on the wall, and the openness of the space were straight out of a home décor magazine, airy and modern without being abstract and cold. The dimmed lights set the mood, and the music drew people into the enormous sunroom at the rear of the house.

Lauren caught sight of a man who looked familiar, but she couldn’t place him. Tall, with dark hair, a strong jaw line, and an amazing mouth, he spoke to a group of five women who hung on his every word. Perhaps he was a famous friend of Ivy’s.

As if he sensed her looking at him, he turned in her direction, and their gazes held for a long, loaded moment that knocked the breath out of her lungs. His gaze did a slow slide down her body and awareness arced between them.

Lauren! Ivy approached, and Lauren broke eye contact with the dark-haired man. If not for the interruption, she’d have been unwittingly pulled into the group of women.

I have your paperwork. Did you want to talk about it? Lauren asked.

Ivy’s bright smile didn’t fade. Nope. I’m cool with everything.

Mr. Davis wanted me to reiterate that this is unnecessary paperwork that he’s agreed to because he loves you. Ivy’s fiancé had spoken those exact words to her.

Ivy’s face lit up. Bart’s the sweetest. I know it seems silly, but I think it’s a smart move.

Lauren nodded her agreement. So much money was in play and a prenuptial agreement was a good plan. Ivy and Bart’s combined net worth totaled in the millions. If you have any questions or think of anything later, feel free to contact me.

Ivy hugged her. Lauren had enjoyed working with Ivy, and with their business complete, she’d miss her energy and presence in the office.

Thank you for making this unpleasantness easier. Why don’t you stick around for a while? Bart and I are planning to play some new music, and I’d love your thoughts.

Lauren didn’t belong here, but no wouldn't leave her mouth. Lauren’s clients were the best part of her job. I can stay for a short while.

Twenty minutes later, drink in hand, Lauren had found a comfortable place at the party for people watching on the outskirts of the crowd. No one looked in her direction, and since she didn’t know anyone except Ivy, how to strike up a conversation eluded her. Famous faces everywhere, actors and actresses, singers, and reality TV stars.

Lauren could talk about playing the violin and her favorite songs, but from what she’d read, Ivy and her friends weren’t classical music types. Setting her mostly full glass on an empty tray near the bar, Lauren walked onto the crowded pool deck, weaving her way toward the beach. Women wearing itsy-bitsy bikinis and men in swim trunks mingled around a large figure-eight-shaped pool. In the shadowed hot tub beneath a ten-foot-tall rock waterfall on the far end of the pool, something borderline indecent played out. Lauren had never seen anything like it, and she couldn’t wait to tell her assistant, Melody, about this party.

Walking carefully down the stone stairs leading to the beach, she prayed she didn’t trip in her five-inch heels and flash her thong to everyone at the party. Granted, she wouldn’t show more skin than most of the female swimmers were. Before stepping onto the sand, she removed her shoes.

Two white Adirondack chairs, tucked in a quiet nook near the pool deck, waited as if they’d been placed on the starlit sand for her. Ocean Sands was a beautiful town to live, and this quiet, exclusive community on the beach was picturesque in every way.

Lauren sat, stretching her legs in front of her. Invisible from this location, she could listen to the water and the music from the party and relax. She closed her eyes and dug her toes into the cool sand. The waves crashed against the shore in a soothing rhythm.

Not enjoying the party?

She jumped at the male voice and turned. Someone else sat in a similar chair she hadn’t noticed, farther in the shadows. Her pulse fluttered. His sinful baritone voice swept over her, and desire wound tight inside her. She could only see half his face, but she recognized him as the man from earlier talking with a group of women. To her tastes, he needed a shave, but it didn’t detract from his handsomeness. He radiated sex and confidence, a potent combination both intriguing and beguiling.

I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude. I didn’t see anyone out here. She stood, her pulse beating erratically. She sensed he wanted to be alone, yet he appealed to her as no one else ever had. A brief run-in with a man on the beach shouldn’t elicit this strong of a reaction.

I just needed to get away from the noise for a couple of minutes. I didn’t mean to run you off. Although that’s the effect I’m having on women lately.

He had the opposite effect on her. She wouldn’t blurt out the obvious, like, Hey, you’re super-hot. Surely he must know that. Thirty minutes ago, he’d been surrounded by women fawning over him. As for her, he’d captured her attention, and she didn’t want to walk away from him. Not the effect you’re having on me.

He looked at her for a long moment. Was her attempt to flirt too blatant?

It’s nice of you to say that. Just once, I’d like to meet someone and have it be easy. Know what I mean?

She did. Her past relationships had become complicated, love and passion weighed down by minutiae of the day-to-day. I get it. I’ve been there too.

He stared out at the water and straightened his shoulders, as if shoving off a great weight. Tell me, why are you at a party when you obviously don’t want to be? He took a swig from his jug. Was he drinking rum straight from the bottle? A little dangerous, a lot sexy.

She enjoyed his frank questions. All week, Lauren danced around words and issues, playing games and reading between the lines. Being direct worked on her free time. I stopped by to drop off paperwork to a client, and she asked me to stay. She lured me with the promise of hearing her new music. I couldn’t say no.

His mouth curved into a smile. Ah, you’re Ivy’s lawyer.

Her skin heated under the intensity of his stare. Does my reputation precede me?

She mentioned having a lawyer she liked. Ivy talks a lot. Isn’t great at keeping secrets.

You’re a friend of hers?

A friend of her fiancé’s first, then I met her. Great lady. You’re a fan of Ivy’s music?

Of course. I was thrilled when I found out she was my client. She almost couldn’t believe her good fortune to have landed such a great account. Ivy had wanted a female lawyer under the age of forty, and preferably one with a love of music. Her request of the firm had narrowed the pool to Lauren. While Lauren primarily listened to classical music, Ivy’s was in her playlist too.

I can imagine. She’s a character and she keeps Bart’s life interesting. She keeps everyone’s life interesting. She and Bart are half the reason I love Ocean Sands.

Lauren wanted to ask the rest of the reason he loved Ocean Sands. She could’ve guessed at the answer: small resort town, beautiful views, quiet but lively. Those were among her reasons.

Do you live around here? he asked.

Lauren took a deep, slow breath. Her pulse scrambled, and desire surrounded her. She took a step toward him, pulled by an invisible force. I live in the Golden Sands community. A development not nearly as posh as Sunrise Seas, but she had an ocean view and a short commute to her office in Berlin.

Do you know the guy who lives here? he asked, jerking his thumb toward the house.

She blushed, feeling bad admitting she didn’t. I don’t. Ivy didn’t mention the specifics when she asked me to meet her.

He took another sip from his jug. Excited to see so many famous faces?

Handsome and beautiful faces, sure. But I don’t know anyone except Ivy and Bart personally, and I can’t put names and faces together.

He sat forward, his dark eyes searing into her. Don’t read the gossip columns?

Keeping up with legal journals and regulatory materials filled her reading time. Not often. I read a lot for my job. What about you? What do you do?

He didn’t answer right away, and she took another step closer. He steadily sipped his drink in silence.

Oh, come on, spill the goods. What can be worse on the social ladder than a lawyer? Used-car salesman? Hit man?

The corners of his mouth lifted, and her temperature rose a few degrees. I’m a musician.

She guessed many people at this party were musicians, song writers, singers, dancers. What kind of music do you play?

Rock and alternative music. Some of my songs have a folksy blend to them.

She didn’t have any professional musician friends. Those musicians she’d met while learning to play the violin had either dropped it altogether or it became a hobby. All original stuff? Do you do any covers?

He sent her a long look. Had she been insulting?

I write my own stuff. I collaborate with my bandmates on some songs.

He seemed unsure. Did his music embarrass him? Would you rather not talk about music?

He shrugged and took another swig from his bottle. I love talking about music. I could talk about it for hours. I don’t know if it’s what you want to hear.

Please, talk about whatever you want. My firm is helping organize the fourth annual Ocean Sands concert to benefit the Berlin Family Resource Center. We’re always looking for performers. Maybe your band would like to play. She was babbling, her nerves getting the better of her.

That might be fun for us. His grin seemed to hold a deeper secret. Do you want to walk on the beach under the stars?

Her heart beat a nervous staccato. I’d like to get closer to the water.

He stood, and as the light shone more on his face, her breath caught in her throat. In the moonlight, his midnight eyes flickered with provocation and the rough-cut angles of his face gave him an aristocratic, wolfish look. She drank in his wide shoulders and pumped biceps, lean hips and muscled legs.

Walking away from the party onto the shadowy beach with a dark and brooding stranger should have made her uneasy. As a lawyer, she judged people, tried to figure out their agenda. Deceptive. Lying. Scheming. Manipulative. This man didn’t fit any of those descriptions. She was safe with him.

They strolled along the sand on the outside of the gate that marked the private estates of Sunrise Seas from the public access beach.

He reached for her hand. Is this okay?

Her fingers tingled with delight at his touch and his question. She squeezed his hand in response. This is fine. This lightning-fast connection hadn’t happened to her before. Breathless and dizzy, she let the fantasy of falling hard and fast pull her in.

Because he didn’t know about her life, her recently finalized divorce, or her cheating ex, the conversation flowed around their interests. Places they’d been, books they’d read, movies and music and more. They enjoyed many of the same things—and she respected his spirited defense of the latest blockbuster which she’d seen and found dreadful. Where the fence ended, the lights of the hotels lining the beach in the distance glared brightly.

He drew to a stop and stepped in front of her. He brushed a strand of hair away from her face. This will sound like the cheesiest line, but I need to kiss you. I’ve been trying not to kiss you since about fifteen seconds after you stepped onto the sand, and I can’t wait.

She leaned into him, her heart thundering. Yes, a thousand times, yes.

He pulled her against him and slid his hand around the back of her neck. She’d never known true, all-encompassing desire until now. His eyes were filled with raw longing he didn’t try to hide from her. Lowering his head, he delivered the most soul-shaking, wonderful kiss. Heat crackled between them. It’d been a long time since she’d been on the receiving end of a man’s affection, and passion roared to life inside her.

His lips touched hers, hesitant at first, light, brushing against her, leaving her breathless. Lauren angled her head to grant him deeper access, and he plundered her mouth. A sense of connection, of rightness, locked into place. He pressed a hand to her lower back, arching her body against his, and she slipped her hands around his neck and moaned, letting him know how much she wanted him.

His arousal pressed to her belly, and lust fired in her veins. Meeting a stranger at a party on the heels of one of the most emotionally devastating events of her life should not evoke this response. She should make an excuse and return to the house, but fascination with this man had a hold on her. His hand cupped her breast, and she let her head fall back. She had no defense against the rush of pleasure. Her body tingled, and desire settled over her. His lips swooped in and kissed the sensitive area at her nape.

You taste like heaven, he murmured. He tugged her suit jacket over her shoulders and let it fall to the ground. Her sleeveless green shirt fluttered in the wind. Button by button, he unfastened her top and peeled it away, following the fabric with his mouth, kissing her clavicle and lower still to the top of her breast. She could scarcely draw a full breath. Her heart somersaulted, and she gripped his shirt, wanting him to continue, needing him to touch her.

This is moving fast, she said, more to help her head keep pace with her heart. A stranger was nearly stripping her naked on the beach, and she had no intention of slowing this down.

Do you want me to stop? he asked, sounding out of breath.

God help her, she didn’t. Her breath stuttered as she drew in air. Don’t stop. Please, don’t stop.

He scooped her into his arms and carried her to a gazebo tucked between the sand dunes. The wood smelled like salt and cedar. Waves crashed against the beach, and the wind blew the grasses on the dunes.

He sat on the bench and angled her legs to straddle him. Her skirt hiked up around her hips. Unlike her usual analytical, overthinking self, she simply reacted to him. Burying her head against his neck, she smelled sandalwood and spices, masculine and sexy. Her lust elevated to unmanageable proportions.

He rocked against her, and desire hit her low and hard, making her desperate to feel him inside her. As she ran her fingers through his hair, he closed his eyes, enjoying her touch. Power surged through her at his reaction. Strands of his soft hair slipped through her fingers like silk. She pulled his white T-shirt over his head and let it fall, then drank in the sight of him. He was ripped, every-morning-in-the-gym-lifting-weights ripped. Sinewy arms, rippled abdomen, tattoos, and sex walking. Running her hands over the muscles of his upper body, she bit back a moan of pleasure. She’d never made out with a man this hot. Lust consumed her, blotting out all other emotions.

With hands quaking more from excitement than nervousness, she reached for the button of his pants and unfastened them. She lowered the zipper and freed his impressive arousal.

She shook with need, her hands trembling. Do you have a condom?

Anchoring her to him, he shifted and reached into his back pocket. Withdrawing his wallet, he took out a condom and threw the wallet on the ground. Thank God I do.

She snatched the foil packet from his fingers and removed it from the wrapper. She rolled it over his sizeable erection. She needed him and only him, and she would go completely crazy if he wasn’t inside her soon. Holding his face in her hands, she kissed him. A warm shiver of anticipation piped over her. He lifted his hips, sliding his pants farther down his legs.

Was she going through with this? She could walk away, but if she did, she’d regret it.

Reaching between her legs, she slid her thong to the side, raised her body over his, and in one motion, impaled herself on him. A sudden tremor shook her, and she went off, an explosion rocking through her, her entire body vibrating, her toes curling. Her heart slammed against her rib cage, and her lungs struggled to keep up. Her fingers dug into his shoulders, and she relaxed them, sure she’d leave marks. Oh wow. That was intense.

His eyes connected with hers in a hot, devouring stare. We’re not done. He slid his arm underneath her, elevated her, and lowered her slowly as if she weighed nothing. His muscles bunched and released in her hands as he moved. Excitement wound inside her. He took her on another thrill ride.

With every thrust, he filled her, stretching her sensitive skin around him. She scrambled to get her feet underneath her for leverage. The sensations of him sliding inside her reignited her desire, and she chased another orgasm. Grasping his shoulders, she rode him hard, taking him deep, squeezing him tight. His body arched, and he whispered, You feel good. The harder, insistent pushes inside her and the expression on his face told her he’d finished.

The sound of his voice and his own release set her off again, and she clutched at him, feeling as if she’d explode into a thousand pieces. The encore performance had been as mind-blowing as the first, perhaps more striking because of his stamina.

They stilled, and he remained hard inside her. The quiet of the night pulsed around them. After a few minutes, he shifted, winding his arms around her.

A quickie with a stranger shouldn’t carry emotional ties, and yet vulnerability swept through her. She removed herself from his lap and adjusted her skirt. Her knees quaked, every inch of her skin tingled, and her thoughts tried to catch up with what had happened. She hadn’t had multiple-orgasm, hot-stranger, no-relationship sex before. Should she walk away and not look back? I think my shirt is in the sand.

I’ll get it, but first, I want to tell you something.

The dread-inducing words struck like a five-hundred-pound hammer. Anxiety burst inside her, and her defenses rose. She imagined the worst possible scenario and braced herself.

This man was married or engaged. He had a girlfriend. I’m listening, she said, hearing the ice in her voice and scrambling to shore up her emotional shields.

He stood and adjusted his pants. I’ll call that your lawyer tone. I think I have frostbite.

His joke didn’t lessen her apprehension. When someone says they need to tell me something, it’s not normally good news. Her ex-husband had used those words to tell her he’d gotten another woman pregnant.

I told you I was a musician. I’m Noah Devereux. That is my house and my party.

Though Lauren didn’t follow mainstream music closely, she recognized the name. Front man and lead guitarist for the band Depth Charge. Celebrity gossip magazine’s sexiest man in the world. Radio stations played his music every day.

And she’d just slept with him.

2

Lauren blinked at Noah Devereux. Mercifully, the near darkness hid her face and her reaction. She had no idea if she was controlling her emotions, or if they were spilling out in waves of confusion. I see. She stood and smoothed her skirt.

Please don’t leave.

The urge to cry beat at her eyes. She’d acted like a groupie. She might not have known who he was, but this was a unique experience for her. She’d known what they were doing and what it meant—nothing—but in this new, harsher perspective, she questioned if she’d let herself fall for him, just a little, and if that would come back to haunt her. How would she survive getting hurt again this soon?

I have to go. I need to find my shirt. Her voice broke, and she wished she’d exhibited more control. She should’ve left after delivering the papers to Ivy, begged off with an excuse.

Please, he said, standing from the bench, grabbing his shirt from the floor. I told you who I was to be honest. Will you tell me your name? He pulled his shirt on, and it mussed his hair. He looked more rock-and-roll cool. She should’ve realized who he was.

She’d slept with someone who didn’t know her name and she hadn’t known his. If they’d left it at that, it could’ve been just an incredible, passionate, isolated experience. Lauren.

Emotion choked her, but that was silly. She’d enjoyed herself, and