Jezebel (35 page)

“
Wake
up Mrs. Brennan,” he rubbed Celeste’s cheek to wake her.

She’d fallen asleep as
soon as they merged onto the Triboro Bridge. It didn’t help
matters that the Paddy Wagon should’ve been christened the Tug
Boat, since it topped out at forty miles an hour. What should’ve
been a five hour trip had stretched into seven.

“
How long was I
asleep?” Celeste smiled sleepily at him. Unable to resist, he
bent down and kissed her. “About five hours.”

Sitting up, Celeste asked,
“Where are we?”

“
Big Otter Lake.”

“
Still clueless,”
she said.

“
We’re up near
the Adirondack Mountain Park.” Shane held out his hand. “Want
to see the sunset?”

She
allowed him to lead her from the bus and gasped the moment her feet
hit the ground. Shane smiled. He’d hoped she would be pleased
with the view. He’d fought up here for an exhibition a couple
of years ago and fell in love with the place. And a little of him
hoped she would love it too.

“
I’ve seen a
number of sunsets in my day, but this is breathtaking,” she
whispered.

“
Just
like you.” When he pulled her into his arms, she reached up
and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Ready to get settled
in, Mrs. Brennan?”

“
Love to! A hot bath
is calling my name.” When he picked her up, she squealed.

Setting her down just inside
the cabin door, he watched her absorb her surroundings. Their two
bags were neatly stacked in the far corner next to a large brass bed
covered with a pink and blue quilt. A kitchen table sat in the
middle of the room, separating the living room and sleeping area from
the kitchen.

Not too dissimilar from his
digs, the kitchen was sparse, consisting of only a makeshift armoire
serving as a pantry, a pot-bellied stove and an ice box. The rest of
the cabin space was taken up by a couple of chairs and a couch facing
a coquina fireplace.

“
The bathroom is out
back,” Shane offered, “and there’s a wash basin and
tub behind that screen over there, if you want to freshen up.”

While
she absorbed their temporary digs, Shane walked over to the kitchen
table and started unpacking the groceries.

CHAPTER
TWENTY SIX

After changing into a simple
house coat, Celeste sat down on the bed. Even though she’d
slept for what felt like half a day, the past few hours had been
draining. She felt lethargic and heavy like the gold band wrapped
around her left finger.

Celeste lifted her hand and
turned it to and fro.

“
Regrets?”

Celeste moved over, giving
Shane room to sit. “No. How about you?”

Shane shook his head. “I
pray for a long life so that I may spend more time loving you.”

Blushing, Celeste looked
down at the quilt. When she lifted her gaze, her pulse lurched. His
green eyes, so much like summer grass, bored into her.

“
Do you want to eat
first then play? Or play, then eat?”

“
Let’s play
first.”

Shane crushed his mouth
against hers. Immediately, his tongue sought hers, coaxing hers to
join with his. Celeste savored the taste of him, a knee-weakening
elixir of tobacco and coffee.

Only yesterday they’d
come together, but it seemed like an eternity. Impatient, she tugged
at his undershirt, pulling it from the waistband of his trousers up
and over his head.

Celeste ran her hands over
his torso. She marked the warm flesh with her fingertips, memorized
every sinew and muscle. Just yesterday, she’d explored every
inch of his body. And still, touching him felt as if it was the first
time.

He made quick work of the
fastenings lining the front of her house coat. With each inch of
flesh exposed, he kissed, nibbled and sucked.

“
Taste so sweet.”
He trailed his tongue along her collarbone and Celeste clutched at
his shoulders. “Better than anything I’ve ever tasted.”

And he kept on licking from
the valley between her breast to her belly and on down to her inner
thigh.

Celeste allowed him free
reign, neither objecting nor protesting when he gripped the back of
her knees and pulled her down on the bed.

Her breath caught when he
inched toward the crease where her thigh met her sex. “This
part of you is the sweetest.” His tongue snaked out and he
licked her folds, took each lip in his mouth and sucked greedily.

Celeste dug her heels into
the mattress, her fingers twisted the sheets.

“
So sweet and all
mine,” he said and then slipped a finger inside her. He stoked
the storm forming deep inside her with delicate strokes, while his
mouth drew on her clit.

He tasted her, drew on her
essence and pushed her to the edge with his fingers, tongue, and
mouth. Unable to hold on, Celeste rocked her head from side to side.
The orgasm ripped through her, breaking her down and then building
her back up at the same time.

While she rode out the
maelstrom, he crawled up her body. “Hold me,” he
whispered in her ear.

Barely cognizant and limbs
heavy, Celeste moved her body to accommodate him. She wrapped her
arms and legs around him and held on tight. She gasped when he pushed
inside her. Long and thick, he was on the verge of almost being too
much. She didn’t complain. She’d rather be filled to the
gills than nothing at all.

With deep, penetrating
thrusts, he kicked her desire into overdrive. He ground his hips
against her pelvis, circling his hips and over and over. Celeste bit
down on her lip. He was driving her toward that cliff again.

“
Come for me again.”

It wasn’t a question,
but she answered him anyway. “Yes,” she moaned, so close
it weighed her down made her lightheaded.

“
Let go.” He
slid his hands under her butt and lifted. “I’ll just keep
on going.”

Celeste cried out as she
came undone. True to his word, he continued to pump into her, each
delicious thrust better than the last.

Hands down he was the one in
control. She was just an innocent, yet highly appreciative,
bystander, a cypher for his animal passions.

“
Mine,” he
growled as he thrust over and over again.

It wasn’t a question,
but Celeste nodded.

“
Who do you belong
to?” Shane pushed deep, then withdrew, each stroke taking her
higher.

“
You,” she
moaned. And then again, “Only you.” Celeste’s back
arched from the bed. Her body pulsed with bottled up energy, her sex
gripped him in a tight vise and she groaned in disbelief. He’d
pushed her over the edge again.

This time she wasn’t
alone. He gripped her hips tighter, dug his heels in and began to
drive into her savagely. His body began to sweat, covering her and
him in a slick sheen. Their bodies slid against one another.
Although she was slightly dizzy, she reveled in the feel of him.

As he spilled his seed into
her, he cried out like a wild animal, pumping and grinding his hips.
With one final thrust, he collapsed on his side, spent, his arm
cradling his head.

Shane draped his leg across
her and pulled her in the circle of his arms.

“
I love you,” he
whispered, drifting off to sleep.

While
Shane slept, Celeste rolled out of bed. She afforded the one-room
cabin a cursory glance then decided to pull on her overcoat and
galoshes.

She’d always wanted to
see the Adirondack Mountains. Earlier, she’d been unable to
see past her own two feet. Now she could see for miles and miles.

Rustic and untarnished, the
air was so fresh she almost choked on it. A dozen or so mountain
peaks rose in the distance, their majestic summits reflecting on the
surface of Otter Lake.

Despite the rugged
territory, remnants of the Gilded Age dotted the opposite shoreline.
What appeared to be a hotel and several cottages stood out in stark
contrast to the surrounding forest with their white facades and red
roofs. Catering to rich railroad tycoons and oil barons, the hotel’s
interior probably contained every modern amenity.

While their cabin didn’t
have electric, running water, heat or indoor plumbing, she wouldn’t
trade it for the world, Celeste mused, as she took a trail that
paralleled the shore line. They were far from prying eyes, questions
and most importantly discrimination.

Celeste frowned. Shane
probably didn’t a clue what he’d gotten himself into. And
neither did she it seemed since she’d allowed stardust to get
in her eyes and her love for him cloud her judgment.

Even though Celeste loathed
ruining the paradise they’d found, they needed to discuss their
future—straight on and with no blinders. It was inescapable.

Dreading
the inevitable, Celeste kept walking. She didn’t stop until
she made a complete loop around the lake and the midday sun drove her
out of her overcoat. Since she didn’t want to be caught dead
walking around in nothing but rubber boots and a thin housecoat, she
decided to head back to the cabin.

When
she entered, Shane no longer occupied the bed. He was standing over
the stove. He’d dressed in a pair of gray wool slacks and a
white, short-sleeved t-shirt.

The wool draped well over
his narrow hips, and muscular thighs, while the tank emphasized his
powerful build. When he stirred the contents of a sauce pot, his
biceps and the muscles in his back rolled and bunched under the thin
cotton of his shirt as if fighting to be set free.

“
I’m
cooking breakfast,” he said, glancing over his shoulder. “You
hungry?”

Celeste
removed her coat and goulashes and left them by the door. As good as
he looked she was suddenly hungry for something more than food.

Tamping
down the urge to run into his arms, she walked over and stood next to
him. A pan of cooked bacon sat on the stove next to a pot of bubbling
grits.

“
You
had enough time to make biscuits?” she asked, leaning over and
sniffing the country gravy he was diligently stirring.

“
I woke up shortly
after you left. I decided to make breakfast instead of dragging you
back inside.” He lifted his eyebrows up and down and heat stole
up her neck to settle in her cheeks. “You deserved a break.”

“
You should’ve
called me back in, I could’ve helped.”

“
And allow us to
starve?”

Celeste
punched him, but she burst out laughing just the same. Her cooking
skills hadn’t improved, since their first dinner date. Now she
had the rest of her life to perfect them.

The thought should have
delighted her. Instead, Celeste grew somber.

Not
yet sensing her change in mood, Shane tried to pull her into his
arms. At the last moment, she sidestepped him.

“
We need to talk,”
she said, hiding on the other side of the kitchen table.

Shane groaned loudly. “A
woman’s famous last words.” With a protracted sigh, he
leaned against the table. “Okay, what gives?”

“
Us…this…our
marriage.”

Shane crossed his arms and
Celeste instantly realized this wasn’t going to go well. “If
you think you can get this marriage annulled, you can forget it,”
he gritted out. “I’ll contest it. Plus, you might
already be carrying my baby.”

His stubbornness left a sour
taste in her mouth. “This is paradise up here because it’s
just you and me. Are you sure you’re up for what’s
waiting for us back home? Are you ready to face a life where you’ll
run into the maître d from the Hotel Theresa every single day
of your life?”

In the subsequent silence,
Celeste wondered what he was thinking. For sure it was a hard
reality. She wanted him to be prepared and if he wasn’t ready
for it, then they should part ways once they reached the city.

The thought did a number to
her insides, and yes she would be devastated if he changed his mind
about an annulment. She just wanted to make sure he was walking into
this thinking it was going to be a cakewalk.

“
In all honesty, I
didn’t think about the outside world when I asked you to marry
me,” he finally said. “I was just thinking about how
much I love you and want to be with you the rest of my life. I’m
a fighter Celeste and I’ll brave whatever comes. I just ask
that you do the same. Will you stay by my side and face whatever
storm that comes our way?”

He reached out, took her
hand and she responded the only way her heart could, “Yes.”

***

Even several rows back
Celeste could hear the clank of the scale’s counterbalance. She
held her breath. Shane had increased his conditioning in the past
week to make his weight. He worked out four hours a day and even
increased his amount of protein. Still, he woke up this morning
nervous, believing he hadn’t done enough to shred the last five
pounds to meet his class.