Sweet Tempest

by Helen Bianchin

  Their vows were exchanged with quiet solemnity, and afterwards there was a buffet dinner prepared by Mrs Anderson at the house.

  Rebecca and Bart, Jake's sister Melinda, her husband Evan and their two children were present, and Stephanie was delighted to see Michael and Karen, together with a few close family friends.

  There were champagne toasts conveying good wishes, and it was after nine when Stephanie and Jake managed to slip away. Their honeymoon destination was Hawaii, but tonight they were driving to Melbourne and staying in a motel.

  Stephanie preceded Jake inside the luxurious apartment and moved towards the lounge.

  'I believe there's champagne on ice,' he murmured, turning towards her. 'Shall I open a bottle?'

  'If you like.' She tried to appear calm, but tranquillity wasn't uppermost in her thoughts right now. Nervousness had to be responsible for the way her tongue edged out over her lower lip, and her eyes felt incredibly large as she watched him move slowly towards her.

  When he was within touching distance he reached out and trailed his fingers gently down her cheek. 'On the other hand, we could dispense with the champagne and go straight to bed.' A slight smile deepened the sensual curve of his mouth as he glimpsed the faint blush tinging her cheeks. 'Come here,' he commanded softly, and reaching out he pulled her gently into his arms. 'I need you.' His lips began a slow exploration of her face, finally coming to rest at the edge of her mouth. 'Kiss me, Stephanie.'

  She began to tremble, and her voice came out as a strangled whisper. 'I love you.' Her whole body vibrated with the need to be close to him, have him lose himself inside her. It was like an inescapable hunger. Slowly she reached up and clasped her hands behind his neck, pulling his face close, then she hesitantly sought the edge of his mouth. 'I ache so much, it's almost indecent,' she said shakily.

  'Hmm,' Jake mused teasingly. 'That's a very provocative statement. Perhaps I should do something about it.'

  'Starting—when?'

  'Oh—I'd say round about now,' he drawled, his hands moulding her slim curves to the taut muscular lines of his body.

  'Mmm,' she murmured, giving him a singularly sweet smile. 'Are we through talking?'

  'Witch,' he declared huskily as he trailed his lips with a delicate erotic tracery over the planes of her face before slipping to seek a vulnerable hollow at the base of her throat.

  A tiny moan left her lips. 'Love me, Jake. Please!' Tears filled her eyes and spilled over to run slowly down her cheeks. To be with him like this, to know that they would always be together, filled her with such profound elation it was almost more than she could bear.

  His tongue tasted the saltiness of her tears, and he followed their path with such infinite gentleness it only served to increase the flow. 'Why are you crying?' His breath was warm against her cheeks, and she turned her head slightly, unconsciously seeking the possession of his mouth.

  Stephanie felt his lips curve into a smile beneath her own, and although his touch was deliberately evocative he didn't deepen the kiss, choosing instead to follow the fullness of her lower lip.

  He let his mouth trail slowly down to her chin, then travel lingeringly down her throat to hover teasingly at the soft hollows where before slipping to the curve of her breast Which had somehow become exposed to his touch.

  There was no part of her body she wouldn't allow him licence to, and her clothes, his, were a restricting barrier that were easily dispensed with. Her fingers moved shakily over the fastenings, exulting in the feel of her flesh against the hard muscle and sinew of his.

  With a deep husky chuckle Jake led her towards the bed, and she gasped as he pulled her down with him, laughing as his hands grasped her waist and eased her body forward. Then she groaned as his mouth closed over the tender peak of her breast, his tongue circling and teasing the burgeoning bud until waves of erotic sensation transcended to the very core of her being. Not content, he rendered a similar treatment to its twin, ignoring her pleas, the almost guttural moan her voice had become as she implored for his ultimate possession to release the agonising wealth of sensual fire he had succeeded in arousing.

  There wasn't an inch of her body he didn't explore, and she was totally mindless when at last he gave her the release she craved.

  Afterwards she lay curved protectively against his body, her head pillowed above his heart. His arms held her, and his breath fanned the hair at her temple. Words didn't seem necessary, and would have been a superfluous intrusion in the warm wondrous aftermath.

  At last, alerted by the shadows of oncoming dawn, Stephanie lifted a hand and idly traced her fingers through the mat of chest hairs, creating an unintentional evocative pattern. 'Are you hungry?'

  She could almost sense his smile. 'Should I be?'

  A playful tug of her fingers brought forth a husky growl. 'Food, you insatiable fiend,' she admonished with a grin, and heard his answering laugh.

  'Ravenous,' Jake told her softly, his eyes kindling with a slumbrous warmth as she turned her head up to his, and her heartbeat tripped and began to thud.

  Never would she get used to the tumult he could cause to her emotions, and she looked at him in silence, drinking in the look of him, the feel and smell that was essentially his alone.

  'I'll make an early breakfast,' she ventured. 'We have to be at the airport before nine.'

  'That gives me an hour,' Jake declared lazily, and as her eyes widened in silent query he slanted a slow teasing smile. 'To love you again,' he elaborated softly, and he proceeded to do so with such infinite gentleness she thought she might drown in an exquisite vortex of emotion.

  Afterwards they rose from the bed, then, showered and dressed, they rode a taxi to the airport to board the giant Boeing with minutes to spare.

  Stephanie leaned back in her seat and watched the ground disappear below.

  'Do you realise how long this flight is?'

  A light bubbly laugh rose to the surface, and she turned towards him with a teasing smile. 'Hawaii was your idea.'

  'So it was,' Jake declared a trifle wryly. 'I shall see that you bestow suitable compensation.'

  She wrinkled her nose at him. 'Behave,' she admonished, her eyes sparkling with humour. 'We're about to be served breakfast. A meal we both missed, if you remember?'

  'Remind me to beat you,' he drawled, and she gave an irrepressible grin.

  'Is that a threat, or a promise?'

  He slanted a look that left her in no doubt of his answer, then he readied out a hand and trailed his fingers down her cheek. 'Happy?'

  'Yes,' she answered simply, and almost died at the wealth of latent passion in his gaze.

  Ignoring any interested onlookers, he took hold of her hand and lifted it to his lips, then vowed gently, 'I intend making sure you stay that way for the rest of your life.'