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“Th-thank you.”
“Don’t be afraid,” he murmured for her ears alone. “This is right.”
Trembling uncontrollably, throat clogged by unshed tears, she managed to walk to the altar with him. To dazedly stammer through her vows.
She’d always believed marriage was a lifetime commitment.
Zane was wrong. This waswrong.
And yet so necessary.
Solid and unshakable, Zane pledged himself to her in a clear even voice. Working the simple platinum band onto her quivering, sweaty finger gave him some trouble, but he patiently, gently settled it into place.
“Zane and Jillian,” the minister said. “By the power vested in me by the State of Nevada, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Those whom God has brought together, let no one tear asunder. Zane, you may kiss your beautiful bride.”
Her heart lurched, began to race as she raised her face to her groom.
Wide palms cupped her cheeks, callused thumbs tenderly brushing away the wet streaks she hadn’t felt trickling down her face. He bent his head, his masculine scent arousing every nerve ending.
His gaze heated, beckoning her to tumble into dark, smoky sin. “Hello, Mrs. Wolfe.” His deep timbre created tremors inside her as his warm breath feathered over her mouth.
When her lips parted in longing, he groaned, then his mouth captured hers. His silky tongue glided in, enticing, seducing. Jillian’s eyes drifted closed and she tasted her own salty tears, and the rich, heady essence that was his and his alone.
Zane’s fingers slid into her hair, urging her closer, pulling her against his rock-hard torso. His heartbeat thundered against her breasts, the welcome friction making her nipples tighten. Uttering a sigh of surrender, she wound her arms around his neck.
The deep, potent rhythm of their exquisite dance of lips and tongues and gentle teeth intoxicated her. Made her head swim, her limbs shake. She matched his drugging, erotic tempo, craving more, so much more.
His scorching kiss stole her breath. Incinerated all reason. Liquid desire flooded her veins and she clutched his broad shoulders, never wanting to let him go.
She couldn’t get enough of him.
He pulled back and she barely managed to gulp down her objection. Holding her gaze, he swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple jerking, while the same inferno that had incinerated her blazed in his compelling eyes.
Dizzied by the emotional firestorm, she stumbled back up the path clinging to Zane’s sure hand.
He continued to hold onto her as they walked through the rapidly descending twilight into the clearing in front of the large main lodge building. “You okay?” his smoky baritone asked in her ear.
A shiver traced down her backbone. “I’m fine,” she lied.
Dallas and Mia caught up with them. “How about dinner?” Mia suggested. “Our treat. Consider it a small wedding gift.”
Dallas laughed. “Am I mistaken, darlin’, or wasn’t that you scarfing a bucket-load of snacks in the limo?”
“I’m starved. And eating for two.”
Dallas grinned. “You always ate for two, even when there was only one of you.”
The couple’s easy, open affection made Jillian hyper-aware of the tense contrast between her and her new “husband.”
Forcing a smile, she nodded. “Dinner sounds nice. Zane?”
“I wouldn’t say no to food.”
By mutual agreement, the foursome skipped the dining room in favor of the candlelit flagstone terrace surrounded by opulent flower gardens. Only one other couple was seated across the patio, and the hostess situated their foursome at a cozy corner table. A gentle floral-scented breeze floated off the moon-glazed lake at their left, and frogs, crickets, and night birds chorused from the forest depths.
Zane requested a chilled bottle of Dom. As the hostess departed, he leaned back in his chair, scooped long fingers through thick raven hair. “Well, it’s a done deal. Mia, I want you to file for permanent custody, and immediately petition to cut off Richard’s visitation. I’d also like a confidentiality clause included about my paternity of Casey, so nobody can spill it to the kid without severe consequences.”
“All right, I’ll do all I can. There are a lot of details we need to cover though, especially about the adoption caseworker.”
