“You feel good,” he whispered. That had to be the understatement of the century.
Lesley had gone still and so had he. It was as though they’d both lost the need to breathe. He cupped her breasts and she sighed as if this was what she’d been waiting for, as if she wondered what had taken him so long.
Darned if he knew.
He smiled, not with amusement, but with male pride and satisfaction.
“You feel like silk,” he whispered, rubbing his hand down her smooth abdomen. She turned her head toward him, inviting his kiss.
Chase didn’t disappoint her. He bent forward and kissed her slowly, seducing her mouth with his own. Soon he didn’t know who was seducing whom. They were both breathless by the time he lifted his head.
They kissed again, the urgency of their need centered on their mouths as she buckled beneath him, gasping and moaning.
Chase broke off the kiss. In one swift motion he stood, taking her with him. Water sloshed over the sides of the tub, but Chase hardly noticed. He carried Lesley to the bed and placed her on it, not caring if they were soaking wet or that they’d left a watery trail.
When the loving was over, he rested his forehead against hers, his breath uneven. He could find no words to explain what had happened. No experience had ever been this intense. No woman had ever satisfied him so completely or brought him to the point of no return the way Lesley had.
Whatever was between them, be it commitment or love or something he couldn’t define, it was out of his control.
Everything with Lesley was beyond his experience. Everything with her was going to be brand-new.
Butchart Gardens was breathtakingly beautiful. Chase and Lesley spent their first morning as husband and wife walking hand in hand along the meandering paths, over the footbridges and through the secret corners of the gardens. Lesley couldn’t remember ever seeing any place as beautiful, with a profusion of so many varieties of flowers that she soon lost count.
By the time they stopped for lunch, Lesley was famished. Chase was, too, gauging by the amount of food he ordered.
“I’ve got to build my strength up,” he told her.
Lesley didn’t know she was still capable of blushing, not after the wondrous night they’d spent. She hadn’t known it was possible for any two people to make love so fervently or so frequently. Just when she was convinced she’d never survive another burst of pleasure, he’d convince her that she could. And she did.
“You’re blushing.” Chase sounded shocked.
“Thank you for calling attention to it,” she chided. “If one of us is blushing, it should be you.”
“Me?”
She leaned across the table, not wanting anyone to overhear. “After last night,” she whispered heatedly.
“What about last night?” His voice boomed like a cannon shot, or so it seemed to Lesley.
“You know,” she said, sorry now for having introduced the subject.
“No, I don’t. You’d better tell me.”
“You’re…a superman.”
He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
“Chase!”
“As soon as we finish lunch, let’s go back to the hotel.”
“We’ve only seen half of the gardens,” she protested, but not too strenuously.
“We’ll come back tomorrow.”
“It’s the middle of the afternoon.”
“So?”
“It’s…early.” The excuse was token at best. She couldn’t fool him, nor could she fool herself. She wanted him as badly as he wanted her. It was crazy, outrageous, wonderful.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Chase said with a groan.
She gave herself a mental shake. “Like what?”
“Like you can’t wait a minute longer.”
She lowered her eyes, embarrassed. “I don’t think I can.”
He swore under his breath, stood abruptly and slapped some bills down on the table. “Come on,” he said, “let’s get out of here.”
“We came on the tour bus, remember?”
“We’ll get a taxi back.”
“Chase—” she laughed “—that’ll cost a fortune.”
“I don’t care what it costs. If we don’t leave now we could be arrested. There are laws against people doing in public what I intend to do with you.”
Lesley was sure her face turned five shades of red as they hurried out of Butchart Gardens. They located a taxi, and the second after Chase gave the driver the name of their hotel, he pulled her into his arms. His kiss was wet and wild and thorough. Thorough enough to hold them until they got back to the hotel.
Chase paid the driver and they raced hand in hand into the hotel and through the lobby, not stopping until they reached their room.
Chase’s fingers shook when he inserted the key and Lesley’s heart was touched by his eagerness.
“This is the most insane thing I’ve ever done in my life,” she said, trying not to laugh.
The door swung open and Chase drew her inside, closing the door and backing her against it.
“I was going to go berserk if I couldn’t touch you the way I wanted,” he whispered, kissing her with a hunger that echoed her own.
“Chase…” She wasn’t sure what she wanted, only that she wanted.
Apparently he knew, because he scooped her into his arms and carried her to the bed.
An hour later, Lesley smiled to herself and buried her face in her husband’s neck. With Chase she’d never be alone again. With Chase she felt whole, complete. Was this an illusion? She wasn’t sure.
But right now she needed the feel of him, needed the reality of this man, this moment. She pressed her hands to his face and with tears she couldn’t explain blurring her vision, she looked up at him.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
He kissed her, his touch gentle.
“What’s happening to us?” she asked, thinking he could help her understand.
“What do you mean?”
“Is this just good sex or is it more?”
“More,” was his immediate response.
“Do I love you?” It obviously wasn’t the question he’d expected her to ask, which was fine since it astonished even her.
“I don’t know.”
“Are you in love with me?”
His brow creased as if that required serious consideration. “I know I’ve never felt like this about any woman. What’s happening between us, this physical thing, is as much of a surprise to me as it is you.” He leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose.
“I’m glad you decided to marry me,” Chase continued, “although if this goes on much longer, I may be dead within a year.”
Lesley laughed and, wrapping her arms around his neck, lifted her head just enough to kiss him.
“You’re pure magic,” he whispered against her lips.
“Me?”
He grinned.
She answered him with a grin of her own. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”
Chase nuzzled her nose with his. “Let’s not take any chances this time and order room service. It’s ridiculous to pay for meals I never have a chance to eat.”
After a leisurely lunch, they played tourist for the rest of the day, but didn’t wander far from the hotel. They’d learned their lesson. They had high tea at the Empress Hotel, toured the museum, explored the undersea gardens.
They crammed as much as they could into the afternoon and returned, exhausted, to their hotel early that evening.
“Where do you want to go for dinner?” Chase asked.
“Dinner?” Lesley repeated. “I’m still full from lunch. And tea.”
“Okay, then, what do you want to do?”
“Soak in a long, hot bath and take a nap. You kept me up half the night, remember?”
“A bath?” His eyes widened. “Really?”
Despite her exhaustion, Lesley smiled. “Later,” she said and kissed him sweetly. “Give me a
n hour or two to regroup, okay?”
His face fell in mock disappointment.
“Come on,” she said, holding her hand out to him. “You can nap with me, if you promise to sleep.” She yawned loudly and pulled back the covers. The bath would come later. Right now it would only bring temptation for them both.
“I hoped we’d be in bed by five o’clock,” Chase muttered, “but I never thought it would be to sleep. Some honeymoon this is turning out to be.”
“Some honeymoon,” Lesley agreed, smiling. She laid her head against the thick feather pillow and closed her eyes. Within seconds she could feel herself drift off.
The phone beside the bed rang, startling her badly. Before she could assimilate what was happening, Chase grabbed the receiver.
“Hello,” he answered gruffly. Whoever was calling made him laugh. He placed his hand over the mouthpiece as he handed Lesley the phone. “It’s Daisy.”
“Daisy?” Lesley said, surprised to hear from her neighbor. “Hi.”
“Trust me, I wouldn’t be calling you at the hotel if it wasn’t necessary.”
“Don’t worry. You weren’t interrupting anything.”
“Wanna bet?” Chase said loudly enough to be heard at the other end.
“Listen, Lesley, this isn’t my idea of a fun call, but I figured you’d better know. Tony’s been pestering me for information about you and Chase.”
Lesley sat up in bed. “You didn’t tell him anything, did you?”
“No, but the movers arrived while he was here and I saw him talking to the driver. He might’ve been able to get information out of him.”
“I doubt it,” she said, gnawing on her lower lip. “Those men are professionals. They know better than to give out information about their clients.”
“That segment about you and Chase on television tonight didn’t help. Tony phoned two seconds after the piece aired.”
Lesley groaned. She’d forgotten about that.
“What’s wrong?” Chase asked.
“Nothing,” she whispered.
“Daisy didn’t call for no reason,” he argued.
“I’ll explain later,” she said, although it wasn’t a task she relished.
“It’s Tony, isn’t it?”
“Chase, please.”
“All right, all right,” he grumbled, but he wasn’t happy and didn’t bother to disguise it. He climbed out of bed and reached for his clothes, dressing with an urgency she didn’t understand.
“Okay, I’m back,” she told Daisy.
“Tony’s looking to make trouble.”
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”
“I don’t know why I’m so worried,” Daisy muttered. “It isn’t like he could do anything. You’re already married.”
“Well, what do you think he’s going to do?”
She noticed Daisy’s hesitation. “I don’t know, but I wanted to warn you.”
“Thanks,” Lesley said, genuinely grateful. Tony seemed light-years away. Only a couple of days earlier she’d been convinced she loved him. That wasn’t true anymore. Any feeling she still had was a memory, a ghost of the love she’d once felt.
“So?” Daisy said, her voice dipping suggestively. “How’s the honeymoon?”
Lesley closed her eyes and sagged against the velvet headboard. “Wonderful.”
“Are you two having fun with each other?”
“Daisy!”
“I meant sightseeing and all.”
“I know exactly what you meant.”
“Then why are you trying to be coy?”
“All right, if you must know, we’re having a very good time. There—are you satisfied?”
“Hardly. I’ve got to tell you, Lesley, I could be jealous. It’s been so long since I’ve been with a man, I feel like a virgin all over again.”
Lesley laughed. “If Tony gives you any more trouble, let me know and I’ll get a restraining order.”
“You’d do that?” Daisy sounded relieved.
“In a heartbeat.”
Chase stood on the other side of the room, his back to her. Lesley watched him for a moment and said to her neighbor, “Listen, we’ll talk as soon as we get back.”
“Which is when?”
“Day after tomorrow, but we’ll be flying up to Alaska almost immediately. You have my cell number. Keep in touch, okay?”
“I will,” Daisy promised and ended the conversation.
Lesley replaced the receiver. Her hand still on the phone, she mentally composed what she was going to say to Chase. “So it was Tony,” he commented, turning back to her.
“Yes. He’s making a pest of himself.” Chase’s hands were in his pockets and he looked unsure. Of her and their marriage. It seemed a bit soon to be having doubts, and she said as much.
“He wants you.”
“I know, but I married you.” Her words didn’t seem to reassure him. He stood there apparently deep in thought.
Kneeling on the bed, Lesley murmured, “I feel like having those chocolates and a hot bath. How about you?”
That got his attention. His eyes locked with hers and she started laughing. “Come here,” she said, holding her arms out to Chase. “It’s time you understood that neither of us has anything to fear from Tony. I’ve made my decision and chosen to be your wife. A jealous ex-fiancé doesn’t stand a chance.”
Chase remained where he was, as if he didn’t quite believe her.
Lesley got up from the bed and was halfway across the room before she realized she was nearly naked. It didn’t bother her—she was proud of her body. Chase had made her feel that way. She was focused on the man in front of her, not on herself.
Rising onto her toes, she kissed him lightly.
“Lesley…”
“Shhh.”
He stood perfectly still, and with his eyes closed, allowed her to continue kissing him. When she was satisfied with his lips, she kissed the underside of his jaw, moving her mouth down his neck, then up to his ear. After what seemed like the longest moment of her life, he threaded his fingers through her hair and raised her face to his.
“I want you to be very sure.”
“I am,” she whispered. “I am sure.”
He looked into her eyes. “A hot bath and chocolate sounds like an excellent suggestion,” he said.
Lesley smiled contentedly. Marriage was far better than she’d ever imagined.
“Where are we going?” Lesley asked. They’d left Victoria that afternoon and had traveled down the Kitsap Peninsula, boarding the ferry from Bremerton to Seattle. Lesley had assumed they’d be heading directly back to her house. If so, Chase was taking an interesting route.
“There’s something I want you to see.”
She glanced at her watch and swallowed her impatience. They’d gotten a later start than they’d expected. Their morning had begun with a hot bath. At least the water had initially been hot, but by the time they finished, it had cooled considerably. Because their schedule was off, they’d been forced to wait for a later ferry.
Their flight to Alaska was leaving early the next morning, and Lesley had a hundred details she needed to take care of before then.
“There,” Chase said, pulling into an asphalt parking lot.
“Where?” She didn’t see anything.
“The billboard,” he said.
Looking up, she saw the original billboard Chase had used to advertise for a wife. The sign had been changed and now read, in huge black letters, THANK YOU, LESLEY, FOR SHARING MY LIFE.
“Well?” he asked, waiting for her to respond.
“I… Oh, Chase, that’s so sweet and so romantic. I think I’m going to cry.” She was struggling to hold back the tears.
“I want to make you happy, Lesley, for the rest of our lives.” He brought her into his arms and kissed her.
Happiness frightened her. Every time she was truly content, truly at peace, something would go wrong, her happiness ruined. The first time it happened, she was a
child. A six-year-old. She’d never been happier than the week before they were supposed to leave for Disneyland. Not only had the trip been canceled, but she’d lost her father.
She’d been excited about her wedding to Tony, planning the event, shopping for her wedding dress, choosing her clothes. But he’d broken their engagement, plunging her into depression and then numbness.
Lesley was happy now, and she couldn’t help wondering what it would cost her this time.
Ten
Lesley’s hand reached for Chase’s as the airplane circled Fairbanks, Alaska, before descending. She’d found the view of Alaska’s Mount McKinley, in Denali National Park, awe-inspiring. After living in Seattle, between the Cascade and Olympic mountain ranges, she thought being impressed by Denali was saying something. The tallest peak in North America rose from the land far below, crowned by a halo of clouds.
“Is it all so beautiful?” she asked as the plane made its final approach.
“There’s beauty in every part of Alaska,” Chase told her, “but some of it’s more difficult to see. More subtle.”
“I’m going to love Twin Creeks,” she said, knowing it would be impossible not to, if the area was anything like the landscape she’d seen from the plane.
Chase’s fingers tightened around hers. “I hope you do.”
They landed and were met by a tall, burly man with a beard so thick it hid most of his face. Beneath his wool cap, she caught a glimpse of twinkling blue eyes.
“Pete Stone,” Chase said casually, placing his arm around Lesley’s shoulders. “This is Lesley.”
“You done it? You actually done it?” Pete asked, briefly removing his wool cap and scratching his head. His hair was shoulder-length and as thick as his beard. “You got yourself a wife?”
“How do you do?” Lesley said formally, holding out her hand. “I’m Lesley Goodman.” Pete ignored her proffered hand and reached for her instead, hauling her against him and hugging her so tightly, he lifted her three feet off the ground. Lesley wasn’t offended so much as surprised. She cast a pleading glance at her husband, who didn’t look any too pleased with this unexpected turn of events.
“Pete,” Chase said stiffly. “Put her down. Lesley’s not accustomed to being manhandled.”