Mystery Lover(19)

       
           



       

Her knees almost buckled when he explained to the clerk that they were there to get a marriage license.





Chapter Nine


Contents - Prev / Next The normal busy office sounds of the license  bureau made a soothing background for Jennifer's thoughts, which could  best be described as chaotic. She had assumed that the reason for their  trip had something to do with the agency. By the time she could find  some order to her thoughts, the clerk was asking rapid questions.

Jennifer answered them in a daze. Chad's composed answers further  rattled her. After the money was handed over, Chad took the license and  escorted her from the room. By the time they reached the hallway  Jennifer had managed to find her tongue.

"Chad, wait!"

He looked down at her with no discernible expression and waited.

"We need to talk about this. I mean, you never-I didn't expect-We haven't-"

He held up his hand like a traffic cop at a school crossing. "You don't  have to marry me if you don't want to, Jennifer. No one is forcing you.  If you'd like, we can catch the next plane back to L.A. and-"

"I do want to marry you, it's just that-"

He took her arm and began propelling her down the corridor. "Then we  shouldn't keep the judge waiting. He only has a few minutes between  court hearings."

When she came out of the courthouse some time later, Jennifer felt as  though she couldn't get enough air in her lungs. She felt as she had as a  child when she had ridden the carousel-no matter how tightly she hung  on, they were going around so fast she could scarcely catch her breath.

Once again they got into the car, only to drive a few short blocks. They  pulled up in front of the Golden Nugget casino and hotel. The marble  and gold trim glistened in the sun. She looked at Chad in total  bewilderment. He assisted her from the car and handed the keys to the  waiting attendant.

Once inside Jennifer stared around the lobby in awe. The place looked  like her idea of a palace. Chad had gone over to the reservation desk,  where he signed in and was handed a room key.

He took her arm and escorted her to the elevator.

When they reached their floor and started down the hallway Jennifer  began to fully realize what had just happened. She and Chad were now  married, and like any eager bridegroom he was rushing her to a hotel  room.

Chad, rushing to get her in bed?

She glanced up at him but as usual could read nothing from his expression.

Chad? Not by a flicker of an eyelash did he betray that he heard her.  Instead, he opened the door and motioned for her to precede him. The  room was large and exquisitely decorated. Jennifer walked over to the  window and peeked out. She heard the door close with a soft but definite  thud and turned around.

Chad shoved the bolt through the door, then turned around. He reached up  and began to loosen his tie as he slowly and deliberately paced toward  her.

"Now, then. You may have to help refresh my memory as to what it is you  want me to do to you." His coat came off and was tossed onto a chair.  His tie soon followed and he started on the buttons of his shirt. "I  believe the first thing was for us to be without any clothes, in the  daylight, with no covers.. . so we could enjoy the sight of each other."

Jennifer felt a sudden need to retreat. Unfortunately her position by  the windows precluded that, unless she wanted to be so undignified as to  try to crawl out the window. With her luck, it was probably sealed. She  put up her hands in a calming gesture. "W-wait a minute, Chad. I think  we should talk about this."

"Talk? Haven't we done enough of that over the past.. . how many weeks  has it been now? I can't remember when my sleep started to become  interrupted with graphic descriptions of what you and I should do in bed  together." He sat down on the side of the bed and quickly removed his  socks and shoes. Standing once again, he unfastened his belt, unzipped  his trousers and stepped out of them.

Jennifer could only stare at the man in front of her. Of course she had  seen men stripped down to the barest of essentials. She'd been raised in  Southern California, after all, and had spent much of her youth on the  beach. But she had never seen C. W. Cameron in that condition. He could  easily have caused quite a commotion on any beach.

Once stripped of the civilized clothing, Chad looked like a warrior.  There wasn't an ounce of unwanted flesh on him. His broad shoulders and  chest rippled with well-trained muscles. The navy-blue briefs he wore  couldn't disguise his masculinity nor the well-developed muscles in his  thighs.

Jennifer could only stare at him.

Barefoot, he padded over to her, reminiscent of some jungle cat silently  stalking its prey. She took a deep breath and tried to release her  tension along with the air. The exercise had worked in her aerobics  class. She was willing to try anything at this point.                       
       
           



       

He paused in front of her, then began to systematically remove her clothes. Her hands came up to stop him.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked blandly.

"I just think we need to-"

"So do I. But it's more fun not to have clothes in the way."

"I mean, I think-"

"Ah, but this isn't the time to think, Sunshine. This is the time to  feel, to enjoy, to experience." He tilted his head slightly, looking for  the fastener on her skirt. He smiled when he found it and watched with  enjoyment as her skirt fell to her ankles, leaving her standing in her  teddy, hose and heels.

"Not bad at all," he commented. "I should have remembered my camera." He shrugged, "Can't remember everything, I suppose."

He took her by the hand and led her to the bed. Gently pushing, he lowered her to the bed and began to remove her hose.

Jennifer pushed his hand away. "I'll do it!" She removed her shoes and  hose and she sat there, staring at Chad with something close to fear on  her face.

Reaching behind her, he pulled down the covers to the bottom of the bed.  Then he scooped her up and laid her on one of the pillows.

Chad stretched out beside her, turned on his side so that he faced her and propped himself up on his elbow.

"Now, then, it looks to me as if we still have on too many clothes, but I suppose they will take care of themselves."

Jennifer had always thought the teddy she wore to be feminine and  dainty. She had never noticed how little the lace bodice actually  concealed. There was more flesh than lace.

The same with the bottom half. Cut high on her thighs the silk and lace  did more revealing than concealing. She must have leaped several inches  when Chad rested his large hand on her abdomen.

"Why don't you just relax now? This is what you've been dreaming of and  talking about for weeks now. Like Cinderella, your dreams are now coming  true."

"Uh, Chad, before we go any further-"

He jackknifed up in bed. "You're absolutely right. It just isn't the  same, is it? You kept insisting we would do this without any clothes."  He reached over and slipped the tiny straps of her teddy off her  shoulders and quickly pulled it down over her waist and thighs, knees  and ankles.

Jennifer frantically felt around for the covers.

"No, no. None of that now," he said, smoothly sliding his briefs off his hips.

Jennifer quickly averted her eyes from his body. Her gaze met his and  she saw the heated look of desire shining from his eyes. She blinked. He  might be making a game of this, but there was no mistaking that his  intentions were serious.

Closing her eyes, Jennifer tried to think, but it was no use. He was too  close. She could feet his heated body brushing against her, smell that  tangy after-shave that he wore, and when he leaned over and lightly  touched his lips to her, she could still taste the flavor of his  favorite mints.

This, then, was exactly what she had fantasized all these weeks. With  her eyes still closed Jennifer tentatively reached out and touched his  face, her palm resting on his cheek. He quickly turned his head and  placed a kiss in her palm.

She slid her hand up through his hair. Jennifer loved the feel of his  hair-the clean crispness that still had a faint scent of the herbal  shampoo he used. Blindly she lifted her mouth to his. He accepted her  offering with a gentleness that eased the constriction that had been in  her chest since she had first awakened that morning.

This was Chad-Chad who had spent a lifetime teasing and provoking her,  Chad who knew her better than anyone else in the world, Chad who had  taught her so much-who was about to take the next step in her education.

Somehow his knee seemed to belong there between her thighs. It rested  very comfortably there, and Jennifer became used to its solid weight  pressing her gently into the soft mattress.

There was so much she wanted to learn about him. Jennifer began to trace  the line of his shoulders and arms with her fingertips, barely grazing  the surface. She felt a chill run over his skin where she had touched.  She smiled.