“Get the very top one,” he said. “I’m wearing a tie. And I’ll need your help with that too if you know how to tie a tie.”
“No problem.” She shut her mouth and concentrated on closing his buttons without running her fingers against his skin. He had just the right amount of chest hair in her opinion. She was on button number four when her vision started wavering from arousal. The steamy heat of the bathroom and Rowan’s nearness made her whole body tighten with need. She wasn’t alone feeling it. As she hit the final bottom button, it was impossible to miss his erection jutting from his unbuttoned dress pants. She said nothing but stepped back when she finished.
“Thanks,” he said, and started to turn away to tuck his shirt in.
Something crazy inside her dared her to step forward and reach for his zipper. There was shocked silence from both of them. “I’ll tuck you in,” she murmured. Only the sound of them breathing could be heard as she carefully lowered his zipper and pushed the white dress shirt into his trousers. Her palm rubbed his body with each tuck. She started at her right, his left, and worked her away around until she came to the front.
“I’ll do that,” he said in a strangled voice.
She met his gaze for the first time. “Let me?”
He didn’t answer but dropped his arm and stood passively letting her caress his cock under the guise of tucking his shirt. His body swelled under her hand, and she wanted to squeeze him and reach behind the elastic of his underwear to feel his hot flesh.
“Jill.”
“Mm?”
“You have to stop.”
She froze with her hand in place. His arousal pulsed against her hand. “I’m sorry.” She yanked her hand free and tried to turn away, but he spun her back and pinned her against the sink counter with a fierce kiss. She welcomed his body, pushing back against him, undulating against his hips which sought hers. The kiss overwhelmed her and she strained to capture more of his mouth, more of his body. She forgot where she was and where they were going. Anything he asked for, she was ready to give.
And then he pulled back. Cold air slapped at her front where he’d warmed her. “Brother’s wedding,” he muttered. “Can’t miss it.”
He helped her off the sink, and in a daze she turned to the mirror to fix her hair and makeup.
“Got your lipstick on me,” Rowan said. She looked in the mirror at his reflection. “I like it.” A pink stain was smudged on one side of his lips. Lips she wanted to keep kissing. “Let’s get my tie, then we gotta go.”
Fighting her aroused daze, she struggled to keep her voice steady. “Are you in the wedding party?” she asked.
“Yeah. Adam’ll kill me if I’m late.”
“Then let’s hurry.” They stepped out of the bathroom to the bedroom, and she accepted the tie he handed her. With economical movements, she wrapped it around his neck and crafted the one knot she’d been taught by her father.
“Nice,” Rowan said.
“Thanks. My dad taught me when I was little.”
“Cool.” An unreadable look crossed his handsome face for a moment.
“What?” she asked.
“Huh?”
“The look on your face just now. What were you thinking?”
He kept silent and for a minute she didn’t think he’d tell her.
“Was thinking of last time I wore a tie. My mom’s funeral. Adam tied the tie for me. No dad to teach me and didn’t have lots of occasions to wear one.”
She didn’t know what to say. She took his hand and squeezed it. “Someday you’ll teach your son. Now let’s get to your brother’s wedding.”
He squeezed her hand back, then released it and helped her into her coat. They hurried out of the building and across the lawn to the gymnasium. Other Program members were hurrying into the building also. Despite her thin dress and heels, Jill barely felt the cold in her excitement to attend the wedding. The fact that Rowan had held her hand the whole walk to the ceremony only made her excitement sweeter.
She tossed her coat onto a pile of coats hidden in a corner at the entrance. “I’ll help you find a seat, then I’ll go find Adam, who’s probably shitting a brick by now that I’m MIA,” he said.
“Okay.” She followed him into the decorated gym, anticipating his reaction. She wasn’t disappointed.
“Whoa. They did a number in here.” Rowan froze in the entrance and craned his neck. “Looks amazing. Mrs. Bristack rocks.”
At that moment one of the women who’d been helping with setup brushed by. “Hey, Jill. Nice job in here. Loren’s gonna flip.”
She smiled. “Thanks.”
She felt rather than saw Rowan’s questioning gaze. “Emma and Thea dragged me into helping.” She shrugged. “I like decorating stuff, so I shared a few ideas.”
Thea and her husband Ryan had come up behind them. “Shared a few ideas?” Thea echoed. “Rowan, the room is this beautiful thanks to Jill. We would’ve been lost without her.”
“For real?” Rowan brushed a kiss on her cheek. “You got talent. Ever think about making a go of it for a career?”
Only every day, but it wasn’t the time to share that particular goal. She could tell him later when they were snuggled in bed. Darkness in Rowan’s embrace was where it was safe to share secret dreams. For now, Rowan had to get to his brother, and she had to find a seat.
Rowan tried to concentrate on his brother and Loren making their commitment to each other, but he kept getting distracted by the woman seated in a row of chairs behind him. He’d walked her to a seat near the front on the side he’d be standing on, then ran to find his brother so he could be part of the ceremony. He, Adam, and their dad had entered the gym from the side and taken their spots up front. Jill had grinned at him and he’d focused on her until the back doors opened to admit the bride.
Three–year–old Kylie had scored a lot of smiles and laughs as the flower girl. The little cutie had earned her rightful place as the daughter of an enhanced soldier, choosing not to delicately drop the flower petals, but to throw them several feet ahead of her as she walked.
He’d lost sight of Jill when everyone rose to welcome Loren. Jill was petite, which he liked. Her cheek fit perfectly against his chest when they hugged. And when they snuggled together in bed, her hips aligned perfectly with his, while her lips nestled against his collarbone. Shit, he couldn’t mentally go there now. He was at his brother’s wedding, in front of a huge crowd. The chairs rustled as everyone retook their seats.
He chanced another glance back at Jill, but she wasn’t looking at him this time. Her full attention was on Loren and Adam, who were oblivious to anyone else in the room. Tears ran down Jill’s cheeks, and he fought the urge to leave his spot to go offer her comfort. Then he realized all eyes were on him, and he grinned. “I didn’t forget it.” He fumbled in his chest pocket for the ring.
He handed the thin gold band over and winked back in Jill’s direction. She blew him a kiss. He tried not to read too much into her flirtatious behavior, but with every day she spent away from her marriage, she morphed into a butterfly meant to fly. He liked that metaphor. When she’d shown up on campus, she’d been cocooned, scared of her own shadow. Three weeks later, she wasn’t flying free yet, but he’d had a glimpse of her brightly colored wings, and he wanted to see more.
Her buttoning his shirt then tucking it into his pants had nearly brought him to his knees. Only his brother’s wedding had made him call an end to the sexual play. Anyone else’s wedding would’ve been skipped.
A cheer went up around him, and he forced his attention back to the moment. Steven, who was officiating at the wedding, had declared Loren and Adam officially married. Rowan let his voice join the chorus of cheers and well wishes and had a fleeting wish he had two hands so he could clap his joy at the moment. Sometimes his disability sucked.
He didn’t have more than a second to wallow, because the wedding ceremony was breaking up and the whole room sprang into movement. Everyone grabbed their chair to move it off to the side, and several of the soldiers ran to heft the tables at the side of the room. In less than five minutes, the room was transformed again, this time as a reception space, complete with dance floor.
Chase took his place at a DJ table, with four–year–old Luca, at his side. Chase held out a mike to the kid who grabbed it and yelled, “Let’s party!” The room erupted with cheers, and the small dance floor filled with gyrating bodies. Rowan stood on the sidelines outside of the mass of partiers.
It had been a rough week for everyone on campus, particularly for him, and he knew everyone was rejoicing at a few hours to dance off their problems. He glanced around for Jill, the woman at the root of all the problems. She had no idea of the shit storm she’d caused, and he wanted to keep her oblivious. He didn’t see her at first, but then two thin arms wrapped around his torso from the back. He spun to see her grinning up at him.
“Hey.”
“Hey yourself. No more tears?”
“What? Oh. No, I cry at weddings. Don’t all women?”
“Don’t know. Thought I was going to have to make a run for paper towels.”
She gently punched his chest. “Shut up. It was a beautiful wedding. Loren and Adam look so happy.”
“Yep.”
“Will they get to go on a honeymoon?” She circled to his side and he wrapped his arm around her waist.
“Not sure.” He shrugged, refusing to tell her any of the truth. She couldn’t know that Adam and Loren had planned on a two–week trip to an island in the Caribbean. And she definitely shouldn’t know that tonight’s wedding wasn’t supposed to be in this gymnasium, but at a fancy hotel in downtown Baltimore. All of the plans had changed thanks to Jill’s husband. Jackass had brought his outrage to the media.
The media had brought the story to the masses, and now it seemed the entire country believed The Program had kidnapped a married woman and was holding her against her will. Religious groups had gone nuts and threatened violence and any other repercussion they could think of until Jill was returned to her rightful husband.
There wasn’t a chance Loren and Adam could have held their wedding off–site. Security for their guests couldn’t be guaranteed. Far easier to sneak Loren’s mom onto campus than sneak everyone off. Loren and Adam had said they didn’t mind moving the wedding venue but keeping the date the same, when Rowan had repeatedly apologized for the trouble he’d caused. And he only blamed himself, not Jill. It’d been his choice to offer Jill shelter on campus. In retrospect, there’d been a ton of other options. Battered women’s shelters, Loren’s mother would’ve offered short–term shelter or calling in Program favors with the local police.
No, he’d opened his big mouth and offered up his own home, because something deep inside recognized Jill as his. It had been near impossible on that first day to feel any connection more than that first tingle on their handshake, but every day he spent with her, every night holding her and whispering secrets, he was more convinced this woman was his perfect match.
“I can’t believe I’m here,” Jill said quietly, leaning into him. “This was not my usual Saturday night.”
“What would you normally do?” he found himself asking. He’d been silent on bringing up anything about her past, worried it might set her emotional healing back. She’d brought it up, though, and maybe talking about the past would fight the demons.
She gave a small frown. “Saturday was my big day out. Jack would give me enough money to get the groceries at Walmart, and I’d come home and we’d watch a movie. Unless there was a game on he wanted to watch.” She frowned slightly. “There was
always
a game he wanted. Didn’t matter whether it was college football, basketball, or hockey.”
“I like movies,” he offered. “Any time you want to watch. Chase has a good collection.”
“He’s the guy DJing, right?” She had to shout to make herself heard over the music.
“Yeah,” he shouted back.
“And the little boy’s his son?”
“Yeah.” It was too loud to shout the whole story that Luca wasn’t technically Chase’s son by blood. He scanned the room for Samara. “There’s Chase’s wife.” He pointed to the heavily pregnant woman seated across the room.
Jill’s gaze followed his finger. “I haven’t met her yet.”
“I’ll introduce you later. Let’s dance.” He dragged her out on the floor, determined to have a good time at his brother’s wedding. It would be a travesty to let Jackass ruin this night for him. He had a gorgeous woman in a gorgeous dress, and he wanted to hold her close and dance.
But she resisted. “Oh no, I don’t dance.”
“Bullshit. Everyone dances. Let’s go, chicken.” He lightened his teasing words, by tickling her and fake dragging her onto the crowded floor.
“I’m not a good dancer,” she said, still protesting, but he called her bluff. Her foot had been tapping and her hips swinging.
“Fine, we’ll wait for a slow dance.” You had to look carefully, but disappointment flashed in Jill’s expression that he hadn’t forced her out onto the dance floor. He wasn’t worried. The night was young, and they had a lot of dances ahead. Plus, he had an ace up his sleeve. He knew Adam and Loren planned to enter the room as husband and wife after the third song. They’d start off with the traditional couple’s dance. As the brother of the groom, he’d take the bride for a whirl after his brother and dad.
Sure enough, Chase slowed the music down and spoke into the microphone. “Stop the press and give it up for the first time as a married couple, Adam and Loren Blacker.”
Huge applause and cheers welcomed the newlyweds as they sailed into the entrance, both with identical beaming expressions on their faces. Rowan and Jill instinctively moved to circle the floor along with everyone else who gathered to watch the couple dance their first dance.
Adam whirled Loren around with eyes for no one but his blonde, blissful bride. After a few minutes, he was forced to relinquish her to his dad, and he turned to partner Loren’s mother, Mrs. Stanton. Rowan had only met her a few times, but he liked the woman. He waited a suitable length of time then stepped onto the dance floor.
“Go dance with my brother.” He leaned down to whisper in Jill’s ear.
She pulled back, obviously shocked. “What? No.”
He dragged her closer to the dance floor. “I need you, babe. I’m taking Loren. We need another woman to round things out.”