Mystery Lover(12)

       

She knew he loved her and was there for her, just as he had known when  he had contacted her that she would do anything to help him, no matter  what it was. They had experienced a true union     of their innermost  spirits by the long familiar exchange of their thoughts and feelings.

How could she say she didn't know the man sitting out there waiting so  patiently for her? She knew him as well as she knew herself.

And she loved him with a depth of feeling that almost shook her with its intensity.

Jennifer opened the door and stepped out into the room. Chad had his  eyes closed and he opened them when he heard the door. She knew that the  dress she wore was the same color as her eyes. It was a simple cotton  sundress that she generally wore to the beach or to go shopping. Not  wanting to take much time with her hair, she had combed it back from her  face and let it wave to her shoulders.

Chad never took his eyes off her as he slowly came to his feet and  walked over to her. She could smell the light scent of his after shave,  and she realized how familiar the smell had become to her over the  years. Many times, before she looked up, she had known when he'd  returned to the office by that special scent.

Now she carefully explored his face with her intent gaze-his thick brows  that almost met across his nose; his deep-set, hooded eyes, that seemed  to glow with a secret fire of their own; his nose, that looked as  though it had been broken more than once; his high cheekbones and square  jaw. She saw the honesty and integrity stamped on his face, the  experiences life had tossed his way, how little joy he had found so far,  and how little he really expected to find.

Jennifer went up on tiptoe and slid her arms around his neck. "Oh, Chad,  I love you so much," she whispered with trembling lips as she placed  them on his firm, well-shaped mouth.*





Chapter Six


Contents - Prev / Next Chad put his arms around her as a drowning man  would grab a life preserver. They clung to each other, his mouth parting  hers and taking possession as though he had spent years of dreaming  about the opportunity. No one had ever kissed Jennifer that way before.  She had been used to gentle, friendly kisses.

There was nothing gentle nor particularly friendly about what he was  doing at the moment. Chad was making his claim to her clear. He lifted  her in his arms and carried her back to the large stuffed chair he had  recently vacated and sank down without ever losing contact with her  mouth. His tongue searched and explored her mouth-lightly tracing the  slightly uneven line of her teeth, coaxing her tongue to meet his in a  playful duel. It was as though he had waited forever for the opportunity  to get to know her as well physically as he knew her mentally and  emotionally.

His hand rested at her throat. When he began to explore the contour of  her face with his lips, placing tiny kisses in a careful row, his hand  slowly inched downward until it rested on her breast.

Jennifer had never experienced so many intense emotions at once. She was  shaking with reaction. Never in her wildest imaginings did she expect  to feel so on fire. Everywhere he touched a combustive flame seemed to  flare up between them. She shifted restlessly in his arms.

He clamped his arm around her waist. "Be still," he said sharply.

Her eyes snapped open. That was the least loverlike command she'd ever heard.

"I'm having all 1 can do to hang on to my self-control as it is, Sunshine," he advised her with a rueful grin.

Jennifer wanted to disappear in a puddle of embarrassment. Of course she  knew all the clinical details regarding sex, but at the moment she  hadn't been thinking about those facts.

Hastily getting to her feet, she straightened her dress and attempted to  smooth her hair where his hand had ruffled it only a few moments  before.

"I suppose we should go get something to eat," she managed to say while trying to steady her breathing.

He grinned. "I suppose we should," he mimicked softly. "Otherwise, we might not leave this room for the rest of the day."

She whirled away from him in an attempt to hide the expression on her  face. How could she tell him that she wouldn't mind at all spending the  rest of the day in bed with him?

"Why, Sunshine, I'm shocked to hear such lascivious thoughts coming from your pure and chaste mind."

Oh, no! She had forgotten how clearly he could read her mind. Turning to  face him, knowing that her face must be a lovely shade of fiery red,  she said, "Stop it, Chad. I can't seem to block you out of my mind the  way you do me. But don't you dare tease me about my thoughts, do you  understand?"

He stood up and faced her .from across the room, his smile gone, his  expression serious. "I'm sorry, Jennifer. I wasn't making fun of you,  please believe me. I was trying to lighten the volatile atmosphere, if  possible. You see, this is why I knew a relationship between us would  never work. Everyone needs their privacy, even from their closest loved  one. I don't want to destroy what we have in the hopes of having more."                       
       
           



       

Picking up her purse and pocketing the room key, Chad handed her the  purse and opened the door. "I want to make love to you very much, but  not at the expense of everything else we've always shared. I won't ever  sacrifice that, do you understand me?"

He closed the door and politely guided her down the hall, his hand resting lightly at her waist.

' Jennifer realized that she seldom heard him call her Jennifer. She had  always been Sunshine to him-or Ms. Chisholm. For a shocked moment she  felt a loss so intense she could scarcely comprehend it. What would it  be like never to be called Sunshine again? That had been a very special  name between them that no one else had ever known.

She understood what he was saying to her. Their physical response to  each other was astonishing, like wildfire racing before the wind. But  she wasn't willing to give up their unique relationship in order to  experience the full expression of their physical love for each other.

When they reached the lobby of the hotel, Jennifer recognized that they  were next door to Tony's casino. A blast of hot air hit them when they  stepped outside.

"Do you mind if we take your car? Mine hasn't been found yet," Chad  said, as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened between them.

Jennifer nodded, her thoughts still engrossed in all the discoveries  she'd been making-about herself, her beliefs, and about Chad.

They made idle conversation over brunch. Jennifer had never seen so much food at one time before.

"Haven't you ever been to Las Vegas before?" Chad asked later, sipping his coffee.

"No. It isn't the sort of place you'd visit alone."

"True. Maybe we should plan to stay another night and I'll show you around."

She glanced down at her dress. "I'm afraid I didn't bring anything dressy to wear."

"That's no problem. We can always find something here, if you'd like."

Jennifer grinned. What better way to see Las Vegas than with your best  friend? Add to that the fact that he was also your boss and was giving  you permission not to be at work the next day and she could find nothing  in his suggestion to complain about.

"I would love it." She stood up and held out her hand. "I can hardly wait to get started. Let's go."

He laughed at her enthusiasm, and for a moment Jennifer stared at him in  astonishment. She had never seen C. W. Cameron laugh. Never. She had  seen an occasional smile, but that was all. Now he looked happy and  relaxed. She was amazed at the transformation.

Hugging his arm as they went out the door, Jennifer decided to make that  day the most special day of her life. She knew without consciously  acknowledging it that they might not have many of them together.

Chad must have made a similar resolution. Never had Jennifer seen C. W.  Cameron so relaxed before. His smile came easily as she took him on a  tour of the stores, modeling the most outrageous and the most demure  outfits for him. She found that she enjoyed making him laugh or catching  him by surprise.

As a joke she tried on a flame-red dress that molded her curves, leaving  a long length of leg showing. Hastily digging in her purse she found  some hairpins and gathered her hair into a rather precarious topknot on  top of her head. Casual curls fell in front of her ears and along the  nape of her neck. Thankful that her heels were high enough to  effectively show off the dress, Jennifer sauntered out of the dressing  room to where Chad waited.

Later she wished she'd had a camera trained on his face when he saw her.  He did a perfect example of a double take. He was sitting in a chair  and she ambled over to him and leaned down, knowing the top of her dress  would fall open.

"You look a trifle bored, cowboy. Care for a little action?" she said in a low voice.

His gaze zeroed in on the front of her dress, then bounced up to meet  hers. Jennifer thoroughly enjoyed watching the color wash over his  cheeks, then recede.