Dammit, under different circumstances he might even… That kind of thinking won’t do, ol’ boy, he cautioned himself. However, it didn’t hurt to look, did it? Isn’t that what bridegrooms were supposed to do? The woman walking toward him on Carson’s arm was exquisite. She was like, like… what?… whom? No one he’d ever seen.
He studied her as she moved closer, her gray eyes chastely downcast. Quite different from a few days ago, when she had slapped him. Then her eyes had been a dark blue-gray, like the most ominous of storm clouds that gathered over the plains. And they had been just as threatening, just as exciting, just as electric.
Lauren’s slim figure was accentuated by the perfectly fitted gown. Her full bust was noticeably defined above the narrow waist encircled by the high cummerbund. Jared imagined he saw faint shadows where the crowns of those high, proud breasts would be, but told himself it was a foolish fantasy and clenched his fingers, which longed to touch those shadows. Swallowing hard, he dragged his gaze away from her chest to her face.
She raised her eyes, and the fear in them was evident. Had he been the devil incarnate, she could not have looked more apprehensive. Why did he feel a sudden urge to reassure her?
Carson delivered Lauren to Jared, and she graced the older man with a timid smile before he left her and took a seat next to Olivia on the front row of chairs temporarily set up for the ceremony.
Jared extended his arm and Lauren slipped her hand through the crook of his elbow as they faced the judge. Jared hadn’t planned to, and Lauren certainly hadn’t expected it, but his opposite hand closed over hers. The warm strength of his flesh contrasted with the cold fragility of hers. Her fingers were firmly pressed against the fabric of his sleeve. She risked looking at him through her lashes, keeping her eyes lowered. Her heart turned over when she met glowing amber eyes filled with an emotion she had never seen in them before. Was it understanding? Approval? Even admiration? She could almost imagine that his lips softened into the semblance of a smile. She wanted to continue looking at this transformed Jared, but the judge was speaking. Reluctantly she freed her eyes from her bridegroom’s possession.
The ceremony was brief and to the point, not like any of the weddings Lauren had attended. She felt a twinge of disappointment. In the ceremonies he performed, Abel had talked about the sanctity of marriage and God’s blessing on the institution, about Jesus performing his first public miracle during the celebration of a wedding feast. Of course, this was the service for a civil ceremony. Yet when the judge said, “I now pronounce you man and wife,” the words rang hollow and held no meaning for her.
Judge Andrews beamed his congratulations on the attractive couple in front of him.
“You may kiss your bride, Jared.” He smiled.
Jared arranged his feature
s into a detached expression. He prepared to face Lauren perfunctorily, to place his hands on her shoulders, and to kiss her coolly on the cheek. His plan went awry. His composure slipped when his eyes riveted on her pink, trembling mouth.
He remembered that other kiss. The kiss that had shaken him to the core. The kiss that had been earthshattering in its violence and enlightenment. The kiss whose impact on him had not yet been diminished.
The recollection that came unbidden to his mind brought with it both intolerable pain and immense pleasure. A now-familiar heat radiated from the center of his body to its every extremity. He longed to taste those lips again and either quench the fire in his veins or increase it to a pitch where he could not be held accountable for seeking its source and extinguishing it. He called upon every particle of self-restraint when he drew her to him and woodenly placed his lips against those that promised such sweetness.
He was rescued from further torment when Olivia and Carson and their friends, who were eager to meet Lauren, surrounded him with hearty congratulations. He surprised himself by possessively tucking Lauren’s hand under his arm.
For the rest of the afternoon, the Locketts entertained their guests with an abundance of food and drink. Only a month ago, many of these guests had been here to pay their respects to Ben Lockett, who had lain in state in this very room. All gloom was now dispelled. A festive mood prevailed.
Carson made a flowery wedding toast, and glasses of champagne were lifted in salute. As Lauren raised her glass to her lips, her eyes met Jared’s over the crystal rim. The lights in his eyes shone with golden effervescence and were much more intoxicating than the wine. Her sip was more frugal and daintier than his, but when she would have lowered her glass, he reached out and tipped it again to her mouth. The champagne trickled down her throat and heightened the fluttering in her stomach. They say he is as big as a stallion! The exact meaning of Elena’s words escaped Lauren. All she knew was that as she looked at Jared, thoughts of his physique shocked and thrilled her.
Just as he was lowering his glass, someone jostled his elbow and champagne dribbled down his chin and onto his lapel.
“Oh!” Lauren exclaimed, then couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of her throat.
“You think it’s funny, do you? Having a soggy bridegroom?” He was smiling, too, as he set down his glass and shook off his wet hand.
Acting instinctively, Lauren whisked away the droplets on his lapel. Obeying a subconscious command, her fingers settled under his chin and her thumb gently removed the drops of wine from beneath his lips. “There, that’s better,” she said, smiling, and raised her eyes to his. She recoiled from the bitterness she read there.
Jared’s body had betrayed him. At the moment her fingers made contact with his face, he felt himself swell and harden with arousal. He had begun to think that her innocence was real. Hell. No woman could touch a man, look at a man the way she did and not know exactly what she was doing. Ben should have been smarter than to fall for her act. Jared was determined not to fall for it himself.
“Jared…?” she asked waveringly.
“We’d better mingle with our guests, Mrs. Lockett,” he said curtly as he gripped her elbow and guided her toward a group of well-wishers.
Lauren’s heart sank. Just when she thought she was making headway, Jared’s true feelings for her surfaced. How could they possibly survive the next two years? Inwardly she sighed. It was too late now to dwell on that. She would have to cope with the future later.
Today she could concentrate on nothing except the man beside her. His charisma made him almost impossible to ignore. Indeed, Jared looked exceptionally handsome in his black suit and white shirt. His eyes sparkled with amber lights and brilliant teeth flashed a dazzling smile on his tanned face. He won the confidence of everyone present. He charmed the women shamelessly as their approving husbands looked on. He drank only the two traditional glasses of champagne, and used affectionate terms and gestures when introducing Lauren to people whom he had known all his life, accepting with aplomb their jibes on his cunning in finding such a delightful bride.
There was a noticeable pause in his effusiveness when the Vandivers came over to express their congratulations. Lauren saw a tightening around Jared’s mouth and felt his body, ever near hers, grow tense. He was coolly polite, but his voice lacked conviction when he thanked them for attending the wedding.
“You sure pulled a fast one, Jared.” Parker patted him on the shoulder and Lauren detected the tension under the black broadcloth. “We had no idea that you and Lauren were planning to marry.”
Jared met Parker’s piercing stare without flinching. “I’m afraid you caught us in the midst of a tiff. She thought it was improper to have the wedding so soon after my father’s death. Fortunately, I was able to talk her out of her scruples.”
He put a possessive arm around Lauren’s shoulders and looked deeply into her eyes as he pulled her closer to him. He was playing his part well, she thought. This proximity to his body and that probing gaze made breathing difficult for her.
“Mrs. Lockett, may I wish you much happiness.” Kurt looked at Jared with a challenge on his smug face. “I do have your permission to kiss the bride, don’t I?”