The Secret Wedding Wish

by Cathy Gillen Thacker

  He stroked her lovely curves, moving from the tempting roundness of one breast to the other and back again, letting her know he was as wild for her as she was for him. “Guess I’ll have to show you differently, then,” he murmured, putting everything he had into their kiss. Shifting her onto her back, he draped a leg over her thighs and continued caressing her, with the flat of his palm, the tips of his fingers, making his way from her breasts to collarbone to navel to thigh. Studiously avoiding the part he most wanted to touch he kissed her all the while, until she moaned a soft little helpless sound that sent his senses swimming as she opened her lips to him even more, and eventually her thighs.

  Trembling with a need—and a depth of feeling—he could no longer deny, his gaze locked with hers as he grasped her by the waist and pulled her to the edge of the bed. Loving the no-holds-barred way she surrendered herself to him, he knelt on the floor in front of her and nudged her legs farther apart. She was as beautiful as he recalled and she whispered her delight as he breathed in the musky scent of her and stroked his fingers on the petal-pink softness. Allowing him full rein, she trembled with anticipation as he stroked her gently and then leaned forward to touch the damp silky-soft skin. Satisfaction unlike anything he had ever known roared through him and she gasped wildly as his tongue stroked the pearly bud hidden in the flesh, once, then again and again. Rubbing across it in straight lines, in tantalizing circles, then back and forth, again and again, until she was calling his name, arching, shaking, coming apart in his hands. His own body aching with the need to possess her, he held her until the shudders subsided, feeling the hot liquid of her desire flowing over her skin, readying her for him.

  Janey had known all along the desire she felt for Thad—desire stronger than anything she’d ever experienced in her life—was something she just couldn’t fight. So she had decided to stop struggling and just go with it, let them have a very physically satisfying fling. She’d thought that way she could keep her heart—and her emotions—out of it. But when he moved back up on the bed and took her in his arms once again, when he kissed her everywhere with the tenderness only a dream lover could possess, she knew much more was going on here, than she had ever wanted. The impossible was happening. She was falling head over heels in love with Thad. And those feelings only intensified as he lifted her against him and entered her with excruciating slowness, not stopping until he had filled her to capacity. Until his body stretched hers, filled hers, took command in a thoroughly male, thoroughly proprietary way like she had never been possessed before.

  She moaned softly, tangling her hands in his hair, moving them over his shoulders, down his back, wanting him never to stop. And he didn’t. Even as he slowed it down, to the point the pleasure was as hot and wanton as the emotions swirling around inside her, pausing, withdrawing and entering her again. And again. And again. Deeper every time. Kissing her all the while. Taking control, coaxing—then demanding—her surrender. Until she was kissing him back, more passionately than ever before, arching her back and rocking up against him, the fire of her desire fueling their pleasure. Until she thought she would die of the erotic feelings she had dreamed of but never experienced. Until she was shaking with sensation and came apart once again, knowing this time she was his—not just for now, but forever. And this time, he took them both into a sweet, hot oblivion that never seemed to end.

  BUT OF COURSE, it did end, Janey thought wistfully as Thad shifted away from her. He wrapped his arms around her and brought her back against him so she was lying with her head on his chest, her leg thrown over one of his. And all her romantic imaginings and wishes were not going to make this anything but what it really was—a hot, wild, thoroughly enjoyable fling between two consenting adults.

  “And here all I planned to give you tonight was dinner,” he murmured tenderly against her hair.

  Loving the sound of his heart beating so steady and strong in his chest, Janey forced her private worries aside and laughed softly. Luxuriating in the warmth of him, she kept her eyes shut and snuggled even closer.

  Until Thad had come into her world, she had been living half a life, that of a mother, business owner and feisty young widow. But the side of her that was all woman had gone unfulfilled. It was going to be hard for her to give it up if and when he walked away.

  Struggling against the uneasy feeling that she might have given away her heart far too easily again, Janey got out of bed.

  “Not to worry, Coach,” she teased him back in the same insouciant tone. “All your culinary efforts haven’t been for naught—I could still go for something to eat.”

  He chuckled appreciatively, “Nothing like a woman with a healthy appetite.”

  For sex, as well as food? Janey wondered. She wished she hadn’t left his robe downstairs, pooled on the kitchen floor. She needed some emotional distance from him. Some time to recoup that wall she had built around her heart to protect her from crushing disappointment once again.

  Her heart pounding with the effort it was taking to affect an outward composure she couldn’t begin to really feel, she sauntered to his closet. Peering in, she saw what she had been looking for. Two dozen dress shirts were lined up next to the suits. She slipped one off the hanger, put it on and came back out to face him. Pirouetting flirtatiously, she flashed him a smile. “Mind if I borrow this?”

  IT WAS AMAZING HOW sexy Janey could look clad in nothing but one of his starched shirts, Thad thought, as he rose reluctantly from the rumpled sheets on his bed. “Blue never looked that good on me.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure of that. I think you look mighty fine in whatever you wear.”

  Then why was she distancing herself from him? Thad wondered as he dressed. Moments before when they had been making love, he’d felt as if nothing could ever come between them. But now Janey looked as if she were standing behind the counter and he were a bakery customer there to be waited on.

  Maybe they did need to get something to eat, he thought as he wrapped his arm possessively around her shoulders and led her downstairs. It would give him time to figure out how to keep her in his life. And stop this from being just a fling on both their parts.

  “SO HOW WAS your weekend?” Joe Hart’s wife, Emma, asked Monday morning as she encountered Thad in the hallway outside the executive offices at the Raleigh sports arena where Storm games were played. The daughter of team owner Saul Donovan, and public-relations whiz Margaret, Emma was a frequent visitor to Storm headquarters, as well as a successful wedding planner.

  “Good,” Thad replied. “And bad.” He had been extremely disappointed when Janey had left right after dinner, claiming she had to get home before Christopher got back, because she didn’t want Chris to know she had been with Thad again, lest he start making too much of their…friendship.

  Friendship. Thad scowled. He and Janey had enjoyed the most mind-blowing sex he’d ever had in his life, and she called him her “friend.” What was it with women these days anyway? Why didn’t they want to commit anymore?

  “Why was it bad?” Emma asked curiously.

  Because Janey had made sure he had zero opportunity to speak to her since that night and he had no idea if Janey would even be able to work him into her busy schedule the rest of the week, while her son was conveniently away every night. Nights when the two of them could surreptitiously sleep together and awaken wrapped in each other’s arms every single morning.

  Thad wasn’t a selfish man. But he wanted his time with Janey. He wanted the opportunity to make her his so completely and thoroughly she would never want anyone else, and he wasn’t sure she was going to give it to him. And he didn’t know what in blue blazes to do about that.

  He looked up to find Emma still studying him with wise eyes. “If I didn’t know better, Coach Lantz,” she teased, “I’d say you were feeling just a tad…lovesick?”

  Thad gave her an exasperated look. Leave it to Emma to hit the nail on the head. If only Janey could see things his way. He was about to ask if Emma had seen
or talked to Janey when he caught a glimpse of a woman in a long hooded red rain cape, a big wicker basket slung over her arm. She paused just outside the door to the executive offices and pushed the hood away from her face. Thad saw a spill of rich chestnut hair and a very beautiful albeit familiar profile before the woman disappeared through the doors.

  “IF YOU DON’T HAVE an appointment, there is no way you’re getting in to see Saul Donovan,” the secretary told Janey firmly.

  Janey had been determined to achieve the business milestone completely by herself, without putting anyone on the spot or setting herself up to later be accused of only getting the gig because of social or familial ties. But as she stared failure in the face, she began to regret her decision not to presume on her friendships with Thad Lantz and/or her sister-in-law Emma, to get in to see Emma’s father.

  “What about the general manager, then?” Janey asked.

  The secretary’s smile tightened relentlessly. “He’s in with Mr. Donovan and he’s not coming out, either.”

  “Then when can I get an appointment?” Janey asked, beginning to feel thoroughly exasperated as well as downright wet from trudging here through the pouring rain. She had left half a dozen messages for the person responsible for making the appointments. Her calls had never been returned, or put through.

  “You can’t. Not if your name isn’t on the list. I thought I explained that to you on the phone.”

  Janey leaned forward urgently. “And I explained to you that I only need five minutes of Mr. Donovan’s time.”

  “Tough. I’m surprised the security guards let you in.”

  Janey wasn’t. She’d flashed her sexiest smile, fibbed about having a birthday surprise for Saul from the Delectable Cakes bakery, and bribed them with some cupcakes she just happened to have with her.

  “Now if you don’t leave nicely I will have security come back and escort you out,” the secretary told her with a look that brooked no disobedience as the door opened and shut behind Janey.

  “Problem?” a familiar voice said.

  Janey turned. Thad was standing there. He was wearing a knit red-and-gray shirt with Storm insignia, jeans and running shoes, appearing as fit as any member on the hockey team and equally determined to succeed. Blue eyes alight with curiosity, he looked from her to the basket in her arms, then back to her face. She was close enough to inhale the spicy scent of his cologne. Close enough to see the speculation on his face, as well as the disappointment he still obviously harbored for her refusal to sleep with him again the previous evening. “What’s going on?” he demanded brusquely.

  The secretary leveled an accusing finger Janey’s way. “She wants to see Mr. Donovan and she does not have an appointment.”

  Thad folded his arms across his chest and looked into Janey’s eyes, his attitude one of utter male supremacy. Neglecting to voice the questions he obviously had for Janey, he turned glibly back to the secretary. “That’s easy enough to fix.” He walked past her desk and on into Saul’s office. Seconds later, the door opened and Saul Donovan came out. He smiled at Janey and motioned her forward. “Come on in.”

  JANEY PRACTICALLY SAILED down the hall as she left the executive offices, the nearly empty basket still tucked over her arm. She hadn’t been this happy professionally in…well, she couldn’t recall when!

  She was halfway to the escalator when the familiar figure stepped out of one of the doors that led to the luxury boxes. “Hey, Red Riding Hood,” he drawled. Taking her by the arm, he tugged her toward him and into the luxury box. “You sure are looking sexy today.”

  Janey caught her breath as Thad shut the door behind them, leaving them quite alone. “Thad!”

  “Good,” he said in a cool deliberate tone. “You remember my name. That’s always nice.”

  Obviously, he was referring to the fact she had been too “busy,” to see him the previous day. Janey swallowed hard. Experience had taught her that any time alone with Thad usually led to a few hot kisses, if not more. She could not afford to indulge in a sexy clinch with him, particularly here and now. “I—thank you for getting me in to see Saul.”

  Thad folded his arms, the action serving only to more distinctly outline the hard, masculine contours of his shoulders and chest beneath the knit shirt. “I gather whatever you were doing here was successful.”

  Janey smiled and tried to look suitably at ease. “Very.” She paused and wet her lips. “I sold him on a business proposal. I’m going to be supplying custom-ordered birthday cakes and cupcakes to people buying birthday game packs for Storm games. And I owe it all to you for giving me the swift kick in the pants I needed to come up with the idea.”

  He quirked a dark brow. “I take it this means your financial problems will be subsiding, then.”

  Janey nodded in relief. “As soon as the legal details are worked out and I hire another pastry chef to help me at the bakery.”

  Thad smiled. “I’m glad to hear that.”

  “Well, if that’s all…” Janey began to step past.

  “Not so fast.” He moved to block her way. “I want to know why you’ve been avoiding me.”

  “I told you.” Janey drew in a steadying breath and eased back until her spine was flat against the wall. “I was working on a business proposal.”

  His smile flashed wickedly. “You could have made time to talk to me.” He gave her a sexy once-over, then lifted his hands in an amiable fashion. “Or do you think I’m the Big Bad Wolf, now that we’ve made love twice?” he dared with a complacent smile.

  Scowling, Janey folded her arms in front of her. She wasn’t sure whether she wanted to deck him for that, or kiss him. She only knew whenever she was around him she had an overwhelming desire to make contact with him. “I wasn’t aware we were counting,” she said stiffly.

  “Oh, we’re counting all right,” he drawled, still eyeing her appreciatively from head to toe, taking in the fluid lines of her gray silk jersey dress, snazzy red leather belt, and gold Carolina Storm brooch. “And I’d like to count a lot higher. The question is, Janey,” Thad asked huskily, “what do you want to do?”

  What did she want to do? Janey wondered. Did she want to continue jumping headlong into a romance with Thad, thereby risking another broken heart? Or step back a pace, and think this through? Which of course would be the logical thing to do. “Don’t you have to work or something?” She brushed past him so she was no longer trapped between him and the wall. “Especially with the kids’ camp going on this week?”

  To her dismay, instead of taking offense at the implied criticism in her tone, he merely leaned one shoulder against the wall, and looked even more relaxed. “That’s over at the practice facility, and I’ll be there this afternoon.” Taking one of her wrists in hand, he reeled her back into his side. “This morning, the kids are being assessed by ability and sorted into groups by the assistant coaches and the players participating, such as your brother Joe.”

  “Oh.” Janey regarded Thad uneasily, trying without much success to wrest her forearm from the strong tantalizingly warm grip of his hand.

  “I’m also free this evening when the daily scrimmages end at nine,” he said, lifting her wrist to his lips and kissing the back of it lightly. “The campers will be seeing a movie at a theater in Raleigh, before being returned to the private dorm on the State campus where they are bunking.”

  He was doing it again, looking as if he were already making love to her. Janey cleared her throat, knowing what she said next was going to sound like a line. “I have to work.”

  He held her eyes with his mesmerizing gaze, making her feel all hot and bothered. “After nine?” he asked, as if he couldn’t possibly have heard her right.

  “Yes.” She paused, then finished in her soft Carolina drawl. “Thank you for the invitation, though.” If she hadn’t been so determined to curtail the rapidly increasing vulnerability she felt whenever she was around him, she would have done whatever she needed to do and made the time to be with him.

/>   He studied her a long moment, then straightened, and moved away from her. If he was unhappy with her decision, he wasn’t showing it.

  “Okay, then.” Thad let go of her wrist and walked out.

  JANEY KNEW SHE HAD no one to blame but herself for the missed supper and late hours but she had wanted to make her pitch to Saul Donovan before anyone else beat her to the punch and had let the orders for the next day’s bridal shower and wedding anniversary cakes slide. Now, eight hours after saying goodbye to Thad at the arena, she was just putting the finishing touches on the last cake.

  She heard a rapping on the front window and looked up to see Thad standing next to the bakery door, the expression on his face all business. Hoping nothing bad had happened to Chris—injuries were rampant in hockey, and this was another reason she didn’t want her son playing—she hurried over to let Thad in. “Everything all right?” She was ridiculously glad to see him, given how up in the air they’d left things.

  Thad frowned. If he found fault with her disheveled appearance, he wasn’t showing it.

  “Not in your son’s view,” Thad said, coming over to regard her handiwork with an admiring glance before turning back to face her. “He’s upset you weren’t there to watch the scrimmages tonight with the other parents who live in the area.”

  Janey took exception to his blunt tone. “I sent word through my brother Joe.” She searched Thad’s face, unable to help admiring how ruggedly attractive he looked with the shadow of evening beard lining his face. Like her, Thad appeared to have had a very long and arduous day. “Didn’t he get my message?”

  “Yes, but he thinks your absence is a sign of your disapproval of his ambition where hockey is concerned.”

  “That’s ridiculous!” Janey shot back with a toss of her head.

  He caught her wrist with his free hand. “Is it?”