Sagging against him after a fraction of a second, she angled her chin up to press her mouth more snugly against his, her breasts crushed against his chest. A surge of triumph washed through him at her response.
Kissing her thoroughly, he felt her arms circle his neck and reveled in her complete surrender to his embrace. Here in front of everyone, she received him. A lot of women would have pushed their new husbands away if they’d dare kiss them so passionately in public—even women who’d gone into marriage proclaiming their love.
Ending the kiss, Jared brushed his hand along her smooth cheek, enjoying the dazed mist in her eyes as she smiled at him.
“Just something to remember me by,” he said, his voice low.
A husky laugh escaped her. “I’m…sure that will do the trick.”
“Good,” he said. “Now, I suppose, we have to greet our guests.”
Jared let her slip out of his arms then, enjoying the heated glance she threw over her shoulder. He couldn’t have found a better woman for him, one who matched him more evenly. A less gregarious woman would have succumbed to embarrassment at such a public display of affection.
He loved her enthusiasm, the energy she radiated when surrounded by people, he loved the way she responded to him even when he caught her by surprise.
Of course, he didn’t generally act out his passions in front of crowds. But this kiss was like the one in the church. It had several purposes.
First off, it had been too long since he’d gotten to kiss her. Secondly, Doug stood not three feet away.
The expression on the younger man’s face was a mixture of loss and sadness, resignation and acceptance. Jared only hoped his friend and employee would respond to this admittedly-brutal demise of his amorous hopes. He needed to go on with his life.
But Jared’s most powerful reason for drawing Kelsey into his arms and ravaging her mouth was exactly what he’d said. He wanted her to remember not only him, but the surge between them. To allay her unspoken anxieties about this marriage, he’d been as good as an altar boy these last few weeks, drawing her out to talk about her background, never pressing her for private passion.
Now she was his wife and he had every intention of seducing her as skillfully as his raging hunger for her would allow.
The rest of the evening passed swiftly. Jared danced with his female guests, including his Aunt Millie, tolerating her voluble chatter with affection. His entire extended family was present and that entailed much back-slapping and perfumed hugs. He loved his family. They were a fun bunch.
In fact, the crowd of guests seemed to mingle amazingly well. People from Kelsey’s agency ended up dancing with some of his employees from Barrett’s main offices. Even Uncle Matthew got in on the action, doing a hilarious tango with Amy.
Kelsey flitted around the room seeming tireless as the night progressed. Breathtakingly beautiful in her graceful white dress, her radiant face glowed as a bride’s should.
She’d be a helluva good hostess. A loving, responsive wife. All he had to do was change her perspective on marriage. Sell her on himself. She could believe in him. He’d never let her down the way her irresponsible mother and father had.
Every now and then, their eyes met and held, a jolt of electricity charging the air. God, how he wanted her.
At one point, she danced with Doug. Jared watched them covertly as he squired a second cousin around the floor. As she told him about her three growing children, he sent carefully lazy glances toward his bride.
Doug’s expression seemed resigned as he listened to whatever Kelsey was saying. He held her awkwardly, seeming not to know where to put his hands. Jared couldn’t help feeling sorry for the guy.
As the hour neared ten o’clock, the crowd began thinning some. Jared’s mother drew Kelsey out of a group of laughing friends and set up the bouquet toss. Poised on a stairway in the two-story ballroom, she seemed to aim for Amy.
Unfortunately, his energetic cousin, Sarah snagged the prize, sprinting back and tackling two other guests.
Jared laughed through the garter toss, deliberately not aiming for an unenthusiastic Doug. A thirteen year-old boy caught it, looking surprised by his accomplishment.
As the reception wound down, Jared felt his anticipation mount. Across the room, Kelsey stood chatting with a group of women. She’d taken off her veil earlier and he found his gaze drawn to the dark tendrils of hair that caressed her neck.
Jared felt the slow, heavy thud of his heart, the rising heat of awareness. He longed to press his mouth there at the slope of her shoulder.
Hunger roared through him with the force of a tidal wave, swamping everything. In that instant, his patience, the control he’d long imposed on himself, vanished.