The Promise of Rainbows (36 page)

“I know it will,” she said, even though she was a little scared now that she’d admitted what she wanted. “I want to please you.”

This time he tilted his head to the side, a soft smile on his face. “You light up my life by simply being you. Don’t worry for a moment about pleasing me. We’ll take this slow. Do it together.”

Her mouth was so dry now. “I’m being silly, I know. It’s only because I’ve never made love with anyone before.”

He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed the palm. “How about this? You’ve never made love to me, and I’ve never made love to you. It’s a first for both of us.”

Those words washed away the rest of her fear. “I like thinking of it that way.”

His smile was soft and warm, and oh, how it made her belly churn like cream being transformed into custard.

“It’s the truth. I’m a little nervous too. I want to make it good for you.” Then he laughed. “I
will
make it good for you.”

“I know you will,” she whispered.

Somehow their hands touched. “It seems like every time we take another step together we always hold hands.”

“I’ll always hold your hand,” he said. “As often as you want, until you or I breathe our last.”

She didn’t like to think about that final moment, but it was true that their path together stretched out before them now. They were committed to each other for as long as they lived. As she looked at his face, she wondered how he’d age. Would he develop laugh lines around his eyes? Would his hair gray? Would he grow bald? She couldn’t help laughing softly.

“What are you thinking?” he asked, raising her hands to his mouth and kissing them.

“About whether you’re going to lose your hair.”

He shook his head. “I guess it’s a good thing we’re getting married now if that concerns you.”

“I didn’t mean it that way,” she said immediately, kissing him on the mouth to soften the words.

“I know you didn’t. Well…a thought just struck me.” He inclined his head to the adjoining room. “We have a fine dinner prepared and a crew that’s thankfully following my orders not to interrupt us. And we’re on a boat.”

Perhaps he was as giddy as she was if he’d forgotten that. “Yes, we’re on a boat.”

“It cast off as soon as we came aboard.” He gave her a look. “I don’t want to make love to you for the first time on a boat. Or in earshot of anyone.”

“Oh,” she said, looking over her shoulder.
“Oh.”

He chuckled. “So this is what I propose. I’ll go talk to the captain and ask him to head back to the marina. We can’t be too far out.”

Now she heard the quiet rumbling of the engine underneath them and felt the soft sway of the ship moving over the water. In all the excitement, she’d been oblivious. “How far had you told him to go?”

“I thought a couple hours on the Cumberland with the moon shining above us might be nice. I’d intended to wrap my arms around you as we drank champagne on deck.”

That plan certainly bore the mark of Shelby and Sadie. God bless her sisters. “We can still do that if you’d like. I don’t want to ruin the night you planned.”

His shoulders shook. “Honey, you can’t expect a healthy living and breathing man to want to keep going down a river when the woman he wants like crazy has just agreed to marry him and make love to him for the first time. Even I don’t have that much strength.”

No, and he’d waited so patiently for her. “We could swim to shore,” she said in a teasing voice.

“Imp,” he said, kissing her on the mouth. “I’ll go talk to the captain. Start on the appetizers so the crew feels appreciated.”

He
was the only thing she really wanted, but the meal they’d set out did look appetizing now that he’d drawn her attention to it. The rack of lamb and bacon-dressed fingerling potatoes were especially inviting.

When he returned, he told her they were only thirty minutes out. They made quick work of the meal, and by the time the crew had secured the boat to the dock, they were ready to disembark.

They raced away from the boat, and he pulled her to his truck. “We can get your car tomorrow.”

She didn’t argue, awash in a sea of excitement. They were rushing off to make love, and if she’d drunk more than one glass of champagne, she would have thought she was giddy from it.

“Just so you know,” he said as he pulled onto the highway. “I’m going to speed a bit more than my usual, if that’s all right.”

“Speed away,” she said, laughing.

When they reached his house, they both shot out of the car and raced to the side door in the garage. He paused to turn on lights to illuminate their way. When they reached the stairs, they raced down the hallway—both of them knowing their ultimate destination.

At the door, they skidded to a halt. She was breathless, and so was he. But both of them were smiling.

Slowly, his smile faded, and he cupped her face. “I love you, and I’m going to be the best husband you could hope for. That I promise you. And I’m going to be the best lover you’ve ever imagined.”

She shivered at those words. “And I promise to be a good wife to you. To always love you and support you. And I’ll be the lover you always wanted. Just tell me how.”

All of the stars of the heavens seemed to shine in his eyes as he gazed at her, and she felt the presence of something bigger than both of them.

“We’ll both tell each other how,” he said, leaning in to kiss her gently on the lips. “It’s like writing a song and then adding the lyrics. You have to take it slow and listen to what makes the best melody. Experiment with what makes the best music. For me, that part is as fun as playing the final melody.”

Her belly tightened with sheer lust. She almost had to fan herself. Experiment? She hadn’t thought of it that way. It sounded fun and forbidden all at the same time.

“Let’s experiment then,” she whispered and felt her cheeks flush.

“You’re adorable when you blush,” he said, tracing that heated flesh. “I’m going to enjoy making you blush even more.”

She did blush more. This was really going to happen. “Shall we go further into your bedroom? We seem to be hovering in the doorway.”

“Last chance. Is this really what you want?”

That he would ask her again humbled her and only confirmed her decision. “Yes.”

His laugh was husky. “I’ve been imagining you in that bed since we first picked it out together, but I imagined making love to you well before that.”

“Me too,” she admitted, and the daring of that admission made her feel a little breathless again.

He raised her left hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it and then pressed a kiss to her ring. “If we could get away with it, I would hire a plane and take us to Vegas tonight so we could get married.” He instantly blanched. “Not that I’m suggesting you don’t deserve a church wedding. Because you do. I only—”

“I know,” she interrupted.

He took a deep breath then, and she could feel the change in him.

“Let’s think for a moment about how we can make this as special as it deserves to be,” he said in a husky voice. “When a man and woman come together for the first time—especially when they just got engaged—it's a moment to commemorate. I would have been better prepared if I’d known your feelings on the subject were going to change.”

“Can we light some candles?” she asked.

If she was going to meet him as an equal partner in love, she had to voice what she wanted. Even if it made her blush. Not that the candle request was blush worthy. But there would be other requests, and darn it all, she was going to make them.

He leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. “I have candles. Lots of them since I’ve met you.”

Her mouth tipped up a little at that. “I know you’ve bought some things for the house just because I like them. Are you finally going to tell me which ones?”

His hand slid down her arm in the most arousing caress imaginable. He could turn her body into a long line of wildfire merely by touching her.

“I think I’ll draw it out a bit,” he said, stroking the inside of her wrist. “I’ll tell you a few, and you can guess the rest. When you’re right, you get to claim a prize.”

Those cobalt eyes of his were filled with mischief, and she could well imagine the kind of prizes he had in mind. “That sounds like a fun game.”

The smile he flashed made her own smile all the wider. Her nerves fluttered away, mixed with the potent love and friendship that had grown between them. Oh, and desire. She couldn’t forget about that.

“Why don’t we go light those candles?” he asked, raising her hand to his mouth and kissing the inside of her wrist.

Who knew that part of her body could be so sensitive? She wondered what parts of his body would surprise her like that.

“They’re downstairs,” she said, wishing they’d had the foresight to bring them up on their mad dash to the bedroom.

“I’ll grab some. Do you want some more champagne?”

She took their joined hands and held them against her heart. “Go find some candles. I don’t want any more to drink.”

He stood and pulled her slowly to him. She wrapped her arms around him, and they just stood there for a moment, holding each other. Reveling in their connection.

“I love you,” she whispered. “So much.”

Stroking her back, he kissed the top of her head. “I love you too. More than I could ever show you.”

“Then show me,” she said, caressing his jaw. “I’ll endeavor to show you too.”

“You do, darlin’. Every day. I’ll grab some candles. I’ll even make us a fire.”

She eyed the fireplace on the side wall, stocked with wood but to date unused. “It’s not cold enough for a fire tonight.”

His wink was downright endearing. “It is when you turn the air conditioner on. I’m going to get those candles.”

He returned with his arms so full of candles she wouldn’t be surprised if he’d left a trail of them up the stairs. She laughed as she helped him arrange them around the room.

“I’ll get the candles lit,” she said and walked over to the box of matches she’d laid on the mantle. The box was decorated with the American flag. My, how delighted she’d been to find patriotic matchbooks. They’d joked that it was a much subtler way to honor his military service than the old decorator’s choices.

Sulfur tickled her nose when the match fired, and she set about lighting the candles throughout the room. He quickly balled up newspaper and added it to the grate. As she laid the matches next to him, he tugged her to his side.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked in a husky tone, nuzzling her ear.

“You aren’t going to be able to light that fire if you’re kissing me.” Her voice was so husky, it was almost unrecognizable to her own ears.

“I can do more than one thing at a time,” he answered, running his nose down her nape. “I have skills.”

She shivered like bed sheets hanging on a clothesline in a gentle breeze.

“You might have noticed I can even play my guitar and sing at the same time,” he drawled.

“I might have noticed that,” she said. Deciding that she wanted to entice him too, she slid her hand down his back. He shivered beneath her touch, although the way a man shivered was different than a woman. His muscles were locked with tension and seemed to vibrate like the earth’s aftershocks from an earthquake.

“You’re right,” he said with a groan. “I won’t get the fire lit.”

She released him and gave him some room, looking around. The tree bed was freshly made, all the more inviting for the whimsical throw pillows she’d added. It touched her that he arranged them on the bed each morning after he woke. She’d noticed from the few times she’d peeked into his bedroom while she was over here.

“You agreed to the pillows because I wanted them,” she said.

“I sure did,” he responded, adding wood to the fire. “But I kinda like them now. The bed is more comfortable with them.”

“I wanted to take away all your memories of the barebones barracks,” she said softly. “You deserve comfort and beauty, Jake. I wanted to give that to you.”

“Why don’t you get comfortable on that deer skin rug you arranged in front of the hearth?”

She sat down with her knees drawn up and watched as he gathered more wood from the discreet wood box in the corner of the room and laid the logs in teepee fashion.

As she watched him light the paper so the fire caught, all she could think about was Jake stripping off her clothes and making love to her. Did he want her to take his clothes off too? She jumped when his hands settled on her shoulders. He was kneeling before her now, the fire cracking and popping behind him.

“Whoa there,” he said, giving her a sweet smile. “You’re thinking too much all of a sudden. People have been coming together since the dawn of time. We’re going to be fine.”

When he put it that way, her nerves seemed silly. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” he said, sliding his arms around her. “Now come here and let me make you mine. And I’ll become yours.”

His head lowered, and he took her mouth in a slow, drugging kiss. He kept kissing her until her grip on his suit jacket loosened and her shoulders relaxed. Then he continued until she gave a quiet moan. Running his tongue over her bottom lip, he took the kiss deeper. She pressed against him. Oh, how that man could kiss.