The Baker, the Bodyguard, and the Wedding Bell Blues Read online

  Andrew flipped their positions and sank to his knees between her legs. Yup. Jill smiled to herself. Being in charge of the play or letting him take over made no difference. Jill laid her head back and moaned as his hands and mouth began their course over her aching and needy body.

  Chapter Four

  After the mix up with the menu for the wedding, Jesse was relieved that the rehearsal dinner was being held at a restaurant off the resort. They’d decided to do a very casual buffet style meal at an Italian restaurant they’d all spent a great deal of time at down in town. As she tried to zip her dress, she glanced over at the clock. They’d actually done the rehearsal itself earlier in the day, running through where everything would be and who would stand where in the large banquet room where the ceremony would take place.

  When they’d been selecting venues, the large bank of windows that faced the mountains in this particular resort’s banquet hall had been the selling point. That, and the proximity to Jack and Kelly’s cabin since Zach and his best man, Logan, would be spending the night there. Jesse and Zach might have been living together for the last year and a half, but Jesse was superstitious. She didn’t believe the groom should spend the night before the wedding under the same roof as the bride. He’d be coming back to the resort tomorrow before the late afternoon ceremony.

  “Zach,” she called out to her soon-to-be-husband, “can you zip me up?”

  Zach came out of the bathroom with a devilish grin and that look in his eye that told her he was up to something. It was the same look that set her on fire many times before, and it had the same effect now.

  “Absolutely, baby,” he said, advancing on her. Jesse had the fleeting thought that she should run with the way he was eyeing her like prey. Except for the fact that she had no desire to avoid being caught.

  Zach’s hands went around her back and she felt her zipper going the wrong way. She was breathless when she tried to object with a very weak, “Up not down, Zach.”

  He smiled that slow smile that had melted her heart and her panties more than once and nodded. “Yes, baby,” but the zipper continued to travel down her back. His mouth grazed her neck before traveling down her shoulders as the fabric of her dress pooled around her feet.

  Before she could object any further—not that she had planned to object very strongly or anything—Zach scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bed. He laid her on her back and trailed his mouth down her body, stopping to cover the flesh of her breasts that rose above the lace cups with nibbles and licks.

  “We can’t be too long,” Jesse forced out, but the words were breathless, the objection weak at best.

  “Only long enough, Jesse,” Zach promised. Well, she knew from experience, that wouldn’t be long at all. Although the man had the control and the power to draw out their lovemaking as long as he wanted, he also had the ability to bring her to heights of arousal no one ever had before. And, he could do it in no time flat. She never would have thought a quickie could be satisfying before Zach Harris showed her what he could do with his mouth and his hands. Never mind his—

  Oh Lordy, there went his hands and his mouth right now. Zach teased the skin of her inner thighs with his tongue as he pushed her legs further apart, settling himself between her knees. His fingers teased her entrance, skating over the already slick flesh with the barest of touches as his tongue danced a circle around her clitoris. Jesse writhed up, pressing her hips toward him.

  “Please,” she gasped, needing him to kiss her there. Right there, where it would count, but the man seemed intent on drawing out her madness as long as their stolen few minutes would allow.

  His tongue continued the teasing swirls as his finger entered her, drawing her muscles around him in clenching desperation. It was always this way with him. Zero to holy-hotness-wet-and-ready in a matter of seconds.

  When she thought she would have to haul off and hit him if he didn’t give in soon, he opened his mouth and sucked her clitoris inside in a deep pull that sent her reeling just as he pushed a second finger into her. An orgasm ripped through her as he continued to feast on her as his fingers mimicked what she wished he was doing with his cock. Before she could fully recover, he was there, over her, pressing his hard, full length into her. Her legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him tightly to her.

  “Slow and easy, baby?” he asked with a roguish grin as he pulled out slowly, leaving only an inch of his taunting erection inside of her.

  “God, no.” Jesse let her nails rake the taut muscles of his backside, knowing that would drive him to do what she wanted. As always, it sent him lashing into her again and again with hard, powerful strokes. Sensation cascaded through Jesse, beginning in the muscles that clamped around Zach’s erection, but spilling over into every nerve ending of her body. The tingling sweetness washed over her and she bit down on the lobe of Zach’s ear knowing full well, if he wasn’t fighting it, that move would draw him to orgasm almost instantly.

  And, apparently, he wasn’t fighting it tonight. As his release took over and he groaned with the strength of it, Jesse felt a second orgasm tear through her. Every bit as powerful as the first, it left her feeling as though the man whose weight now lay comfortingly over her had melted every bone in her body. She wrapped her arms around his powerful shoulders, letting him catch his breath as she ran her hands over the muscles in his upper back. Tomorrow, she would marry this man. Tomorrow, she’d be the happiest woman on the planet.

  ***

  Kelly knew she was close to tears as she stood and began her toast to her sister at the rehearsal dinner. She’d had a hard time putting into words all she felt for Jesse. She blinked a few times and looked down at Jack with a laugh as he handed her a tissue. She’d need a big box of these this weekend.

  Kelly picked up her glass and met her sister’s gaze, a tight knot forming in her chest.

  “I’m going to have a hard time making it through this weekend,” she began, “and, it’s not because I’m not happy for you. I’m so incredibly happy to see my sister so happy; to see her with a man who I know truly loves her with all that he is. To have that kind of love is a blessing and to have her find it with someone I care about and respect as much as I do Zach is truly incredible. But, you’re still my sister, and I just get choked up looking at you on your wedding weekend.”

  Kelly smiled as she continued. “I can remember when we used to pour through magazines as kids and cut out pictures of brides and bouquets and every detail of our future weddings, down to the cummerbunds the groom and groomsmen would wear. Your vision was always a winter wonderland. You chose the dresses that looked like draping snow banks and the accents for the groomsmen made of deep red velvet.

  “Jesse,” Kelly said, raising her glass as the room joined her. “To see you find not only the man you were made to be with, the man who is your true match and love in every way, but to also see you have your dream wedding, the wedding you chose as a little girl, means the world to me. I love you, sis.”

  Their friends and family joined Kelly in a toast before turning their attention to Logan, Zach’s best man, as Kelly reclaimed her seat. Logan and Zach had been childhood friends and had stayed close throughout Logan’s time in the military. Up until a couple of months ago, Logan had been a member of the elite Navy SEALs, which meant he was out of the country most of the time. He’d been forced to retire after being shot and was now consulting for Zach’s security business.

  Logan stood and surveyed the room with a grin. “Believe me, I’d love nothing more than to tell you about Zach’s childhood filled with magazine clippings of tuxedos and boutonnieres, but he paid me to leave a few things out of this toast.”

  Kelly wasn’t surprised to hear laughter take over the room before Logan continued. “And, I wasn’t here when Jesse and Zach finally got together, but I’ve heard all about it. I’ve heard all about the way Zach panicked and ran. About how he almost lost the woman he loved because of his own stupidity and pride and some misguided notio
n that they couldn’t be together. I know Jack and Andrew had to come to the rescue and help him get her back.”

  Since most of the people in the room had also heard the story, they again joined Logan as he laughed and Zach shook his head with a wide grin on his face. Kelly looked at Jesse and saw her sister trying desperately not to laugh at her future husband, but it was a battle she was losing.

  “Hey, I got her back on my own, thank you very much. Those two had nothing to do with it.”

  Logan shook his head at Zach’s attempt to defend himself before continuing, undeterred. “But what I was here for, was the time long before Jesse and Zach took off to New York together and fell in love. I was here to witness Zach’s utter stupidity as he tried to figure out if Jesse even knew he was alive.”

  Now, Jesse buried her head in Zach’s shoulder as she began to blush.

  “I can remember when he first started working for Jack and Kelly on Kelly’s protection detail. Until that day, I’d never heard Zach lose focus on a job. He was like a machine. But, there I was, listening to him talk about how gorgeous Kelly’s sister was. How funny and sweet she was. How she’d bring him cookies, and pies and cakes almost every day. And then, he goes on to tell me he’s crushed that she isn’t interested in him. That she doesn’t talk to him or even stick around. That she just drops off the sweets and then heads on her way.”

  At this point, everyone in the room was grinning at Jesse as she continued to hide in the crook of Zach’s neck and a small squeak of embarrassment was all the sound she made. Zach put his arms around her and pulled her tight.

  “It was cute,” Zach said in defense of Jesse. “And also really bad for my waistline.”

  Logan laughed and then kept going. “So, there’s Zach practically blubbering over the fact that Jesse doesn’t know he’s alive, when it’s written all over her that she’s half in love with the man. She clammed up every time she saw him. She baked for the man almost every day. And he’s all ‘I don’t think she even knows I’m alive.’”

  Logan paused and waited for the laughter to die down before raising his glass. “I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I’m glad the two of you finally got it together and, well… got together. To Jesse and Zach.”

  Kelly felt Jack’s breath against her cheek as he leaned in and whispered to her, “Keep crying and everyone’s going to know our secret, Kelly. Your mom and your sister, at the very least. They know you can’t stop crying at the drop of a hat when you’re pregnant.”

  Kelly elbowed him. “Shush. It’s a wedding. I’m allowed to cry, pregnant or not.” She tried to sound harsh, but that wasn’t possible. In all honesty, she couldn’t wait to tell everyone about the baby. She just hadn’t wanted to take any of the excitement and attention away from Jesse this weekend. There would be plenty of time for their announcement later. In fact, it might be fun to tell everyone on Christmas Eve when they’d all get together for a holiday meal.

  She felt her husband lean in and nuzzle against her neck. “Yes, ma’am,” he said and a shudder she always felt at his touch raced through her. Checking her watch casually, she leaned back into his arms. Only about thirty more minutes and they could escape to the hotel, she thought with a smile.

  ***

  Logan watched the woman in the green dress slip the cocktail straw past those red lips again and wondered if she knew how sexy it was. With most women, he would guess they not only knew it was sexy, but were also doing it for that very effect. She wasn’t. He could tell that much, at least. She seemed oblivious to the way the straw disappearing between her lush lips as she twirled it around between her fingers, playing with the end of it, would come off to those around her.

  Logan felt someone’s presence at his elbow before he heard or saw Jack Sutton and turned his head slightly to acknowledge the other man’s presence.

  “She’s single and from what I’ve heard, you’re almost as good with computers as she is,” Jack said, by way of opening.

  Logan cut him a look but didn’t say anything. He liked Jack but didn’t know him all that well and had no intention of discussing the woman across the room with him. Although, he had to admit, he was intrigued that she was into computers. And, if Jack was telling the truth, she had to be damned good to be considered better than him. As much as he wanted to know more about her, including her name, he wasn’t in high school. If he wanted information, he’d go ask her.

  But, he wasn’t quite in his right mind yet. He’d only been back from his last overseas mission a month and that month had been filled with a lot of time in physical therapy rehabbing what was left of his shoulder. His head was nowhere near on straight after the clusterfuck that was his last mission, and he had no idea what he’d be doing in the future. The only future he was sure about was this weekend. After that, everything was all up in the air and sideways.

  “That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about,” Jack said. Well, hell. Logan could hold his own and keep a straight face in any conversation, but when Jack appeared to have flat out read his mind, he had to admit, it threw him a bit.

  “About your background in computers and technology,” Jack said when Logan did nothing more than stare at him. “Zach told me about some of the work you did in technology before entering the Navy and I’d be willing to bet you used a lot of that background in your work as a SEAL.”

  Logan still didn’t answer. He wasn’t trying to be rude. He just didn’t see where this was going, and he wasn’t really able to talk about his work on the SEALs’ teams.

  “I’m bringing in a new team at Sutton to focus more on sciences and technology. We’re looking specifically at financing several companies hoping to develop products for DOD. I could use someone who not only understands the tech side of things but also gets the way the military works, what you can sell and what you can’t to the politicians, and more importantly, what the guys really need on the ground. Zach said you could be that guy.”

  Logan nodded, but his eyes shot back to the woman across the room, who laughed and nodded to something Chad’s wife, Jennie, had said.

  “She works for Sutton.”

  Logan laughed now and took a drink of the soda he’d been nursing for the last hour. “Are you seriously plying me with a woman, Jack?”

  Jack’s wince was actually visible. “Wow, now I sound like a jackass. I didn’t mean it that way.”

  Logan turned his full attention to the man next to him. “I’m not sure what my plans are for the near future. I’m kind of…”

  “In transition?” Jack asked and Logan had a feeling the man really did get it.

  “Yeah. I guess you could say that.”

  “So, come talk to me next week. See if it seems like the projects we’re looking at would interest you. If they do, come on board temporarily to see if it’s a good fit. I don’t need to lock you down forever. I only need your loyalty while you’re with us, and your confidentiality during and after you leave. If you’re not happy, you tie up what you’re working on and head out. But, at least come by and we’ll talk and see if it seems like it could be a good fit.”

  Before Logan could answer, Jack grinned and continued. “And, you can swing by and say hi to Samantha while you’re there. Maybe take her to lunch,” he said with a nod to the woman who’d once again dragged Logan’s attention to her like a magnet across the room.

  Samantha.

  Before Logan could respond, Jack was gone.

  Chapter Five

  Jesse awoke slowly, reaching over to the left side of the bed, and finding it empty. It took a moment to dawn on her that it was empty because it was her wedding day. Zach and Logan had gone up to Jack and Kelly’s cabin on another mountain for the night. She’d be spending the morning in the hotel’s spa with her bridesmaids and mom getting manis and pedis. He and Logan would come down to the hotel just before the ceremony this afternoon.

  She stretched and yawned, glancing at the clock. Yikes! Only an hour until she needed to be at the spa. Her eyes fell
to the drawn curtains and she wondered if they had gotten the predicted two inches of snow the night before. She hoped so. It would be the perfect backdrop for her winter wonderland wedding. The hotel’s banquet hall had large French doors that opened onto balconies. No matter how cold it was, Jesse planned to go out on the balconies at least long enough to have the photographer take advantage of the fresh snow for a few shots of her and Zach.

  Jesse slid from the still-warm sheets and limped to the window to draw back the curtains. And froze.

  Drawing back the curtains hadn’t done a bit of good. The windows were still blocked.

  “Noooo, no, no, no, no,” she said, doing everything in her power to will away the sight before her eyes. Complete white out. The swirling snow made visibility impossible and Jesse knew in that instant that, even if this let up soon, the roads would still have to be cleared. Vermonters certainly knew how to deal with snow, but she doubted the snowplows would be out trying to get a jump on this with what looked like zero visibility. It wouldn’t be safe for them to start clearing roads until the snow stopped, or at least slowed dramatically.

  Tears beat at the back of her eyes as her cell phone rang. Jesse hobbled to the bed and picked her phone up from its spot on the bedside table, pulling the plug from its socket as she did.

  “Hello?” Oh, she might not be crying yet, but she sure didn’t sound good. She sounded like what she’d imagine she would sound like if someone were cutting off her air, which wasn’t surprising; she felt like there was a vice around her neck, and she couldn’t take a deep breath to save her life. This could not be happening.

  “Stay calm, Jess.” Zach’s voice was instantly soothing, as it had always been to her. Zach had a way of taking care of things. But, honestly, she’d never seen him manipulate the weather. She hated to doubt him, but how could he possibly have a plan for this?