Suddenly a Bride (6 page)

The van
moved with them, but he hardly noticed.  They were completing the bond, their bodies working in unison, neither one in control of anything.  All they could do was give themselves over to the physical act of the bonding.  The heat had reached its peak, and he knew the end was near.  Even as their bodies gained momentum, hurling them to the pleasure that they needed, he tried to hold back.  How he wished he could prolong this indefinitely.  He’d never felt anything this wonderful in his entire life.

She was there, right at the peak, and
his body tensed
, ready to ejaculate at her command.  And then she
threw back her head and groaned
her pleasure.  The link officially established,
he released his seed into her,
his orgasm
rushing through his entire body. 
Her body had accepted him
full
y now.  It would only allow him
inside
of
it, a
nd, likewise, he’d only
be aroused with her
.

She collapsed over him and gasped.  He held her close, almost too weak to do so but desiring the physical contact.  They stayed there for a good five minutes, the bonding complete, their futures entwined, their bodies linked together as one.  Their bodies gradually cooled as his hormone dissipated and he became aware that the air conditioner was blasting them.

Chapter Five

C
aitlyn’s head cleared and she suddenly realized what happened.  Gasping
,
she jerked back and scrambled off
of
Chris’ lap.  She picked her dress off the floor and hastily put it on.  Her face flamed in mortification.  How did this happen?  One mi
nute, she was eating a slice of
cake, and the next, she was having sex with a complete stranger?

“I…” She
cleared her throat and ran her fingers
through her
hair.  “I don’t understand how this happened.” And that statement sounded stupid.  If she recalled right, she insisted he come with her and order
ed him into the backseat.  She
e
ven undressed him, for goodness
sakes!

“It’s fine,” he assured her, reaching for her hand.

She wasn’t sure if she welcomed the physical contact, which was ironic since she
’d just gotten as close to him
as she possibly could.

He gently squeezed her hand.  “It was the bonding ceremony. 
I come from
Pandoran
, which
is another planet.
  I went to
Star
Systems Unlimited
and wished for a life mate.  T
he term on this planet is wife
.  The agency sent me to you.  Here.  I’ll show you.” He let go of her hand and pulled his pants up.

She glanced away, unable to look at his naked body.  Placing her face in her hands, she wondered how she could lose control like that.  That never happened to her before.

He took a piece of paper out of his wallet and handed it to her.  “We’re life mates now.  We completed the bonding ceremony.
”

“The what?”

“On my world, it links you and me together for the rest of our lives.  I believe the Earth equivalent is marriage.”

“Marriage?  I didn’t marry you. 
We didn’t elope or anything
!”

“This paper says you’re married to me.” He tapped the piece of paper in her hands.

She read the paper.  “Anyone could have made this up.  It doesn’t prove anything.” Even as she said it, in her gut, she had a
feeling he was telling her the truth.
  Why she felt that, she wasn’t sure.

“I
know it must sound crazy.”

She nodded.  Crazy.  Looney.  Nightmarish.  There were so many words to describe how this sounded!

“Don’t you feel it?” he softly asked, hi
s tone dragging her attention from
the paper and back to him.  “The connection.  We’re linked.  You don’t feel it?”

She felt unusually close to him, as if they belonged together, and that wasn’t normal.  A woman didn’t have sex with a stranger and feel as if no one else would ever take his place.  Guilt.  Regret.  Fear.  Those were things a woman might feel.  But she didn’t feel those things with him.  Even if she couldn’t believe it and thought it was a bad dream, there was the gut level of peace about it.  She shook her head, not wanting to admit any of this was really happening.

Her cell phone beeped.
Sighing, she leaned forward,
reached for her purse
,
and took it out.  It was her boss.  She answered it.  “What’s up, Jack?”

“
Why didn’t you tell
me
you got married?”

She almost dropped her phone
.  “What?”

“
When I logged into the computer just now, I saw that
you’re now Caitlyn West
. 
I sign your paycheck, and that paycheck won’t clear if it’s not in the right name.  So I need you to come back and get your new check.”

“Bu
t…” She glanced at Chris West—who according
to
the sheet of paper in her hand—
was
also known as Rilo An.
  She had sex with him and she was magically married to him?

“Caitlyn,” her boss interrupted her, “no arguments.  I need to balance my books tonigh
t, and I won’t have this mess
on my records.”

“Ok
ay,
I’ll be there.” She hung up t
he phone
and looked at the very contented
man
sitting
next to her.
  “You’re happy
about this.”

“Yes.  There are no females on my world
.  You are
my life mate.”

She rubbed her eyes.  “Please tell me you’re not a psychotic killer.”

He laughed.  “A what?”

“Never mind.  I better get my new paycheck.  I can’t pay the rent without
it.” She put on her panties and
opened the door so she could get out of the
mini
van.  “You might as well get back up front,” she told him when she noticed he just sat there with a goofy grin on his face.

He retrieved his shirt, shrugged into it, and did as she said.

The drive to the diner was one of the most awkward moments she ever experienced.  What, exactly, was a woman suppose
d to say to a man—an alien?—
she’d been intimate with?  She glanced at him and noted the interest he took in his surroundings.  Was he really from another world or did he escape from the mental ward of a hospital?

She parked the vehicle.  “Stay here.”

“You’ll be coming back?”

“Well, it is my car.” Even in this overwhelming situation, she couldn’t help but make the joke.

He nodded, seeming just as serious as when he’d been in the diner.

She grabbed her purse and keys—just in case he was a psycho
or a thief who went around having
sex with women so he could steal their cars—and went into the restaurant.
  Sandy and Sheil
a, the third waitress who had just reported for work, ran over to Caitlyn before she made it to the
kitchen
where Jack flipped burgers.

“Wh
o’s the cutie in the van
?” Sandy
asked, looking as if she was ready to receive a tasty morsel of gossip.

Caitlyn groaned.  “I hoped you didn’t notice.”

“How could I not notice?  You left with him and made out in the parking lot before you peeled out of here.”

Caitlyn’s cheeks warmed.  “Made out with him
?”

“That
sex must have been hot,” Sheila
noted, a knowing gleam in her eye.

Caitlyn’s eyes widened and she vehemently shook her head.  “No.  I didn’t have sex with him.”

Sheila
chuckled.  “Honey,” the older woman began, “I’m not a spring chicken anymore.  I know what the messed up hair, the frantically pulled down dress and no bra means.”

“What?” Caitlyn ran her fingers through her hair to get the waves back into place while she covered her breasts with her free arm.  This was a nightmare! 
How was it possible that she just
had sex
with a stranger and everyone knew?

Sandy patted her back.  “Don’t worry.  You’re with friends.  We’re no
t going to spread this around.”

Embarrassed, Caitlyn put her face in her hands, sure that her skin was as bright as a tomato.  “This isn’t happening.  It can’t be happening.”

The door from the kitchen flung open and Jack hollered out, “Mrs. West, get back here.” Then he shut the door.

Sandy’s jaw dropped.  “Mrs. West?  Was he talking to you?”

Caitlyn put her hands down and tried not to cry.  “I think so.”

“But how…?  When…?”

“I don’t have time to explain.  I have to talk to our boss and then get back to…” She didn’t want to say husband.  She didn’t want to say lover either.  So she opted to
wave in the direction of her vehicle
.  “Him.”

Sheila
pulled on Caitlyn’s
dress so that it didn’t look so disheveled.  “The
re.  Now it’s not so obvious
.”

“We’
re talking tomorrow,” Sandy told her
.

Yes, Caitlyn
knew.
  Sandy was her best friend, and they didn’t hide anything from each other.
 
Leaving the two waitresses who reluctantly returned to their customers, Caitlyn entered the kitchen and waited for Jack to speak.

Jack turned from the table in the back of the kitchen and handed her a check.  “Now I can’t be accused of not paying you.”

She gingerly walked forward and took it.  There it was: Caitlyn West.  She didn’t understand this at all.  She didn
’t ma
rry that…guy…in her minivan
.  She didn’t fill out any paperwork changing her name.  She woke up this morning as Caitlyn Davis.  Groaning, she fought the desire to pull her hair out.  What was going on?

“Apparently, you had a
busy morning before you came
to work,” he mused before he returned to the range and cleaned it off.

She decided not to tell him that she hadn’t been exchanging vows that morning.  “Is there anything else?”

“Nah.  You look beat.  Go on home to your husband and give him a reason to look forward to seeing you.” He gave her a wink that could only mean one thing.

She rolled her eyes.  She already gave her “husband” a reason to look forward to seeing her.  Too tired to do anything else, she left the restaurant with a slight wave to her friends. 
When she returned to her van
, the man was still sitting in the passenger seat.  Upon closer inspection, she noticed he was flipping
through her CD collection.

She stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out what it was that made her so crazy with desire that she ordered him into the backseat of her vehicle.  He wasn’t drop dead gorgeous.  He was good looking, or at least he would be as soon as he trimmed his
shaggy brown
hair.  His skin was pale.  She doubted he got much sun.  He had nice, broad shoulders.  For the most part, he was built like any other man.  She’d been around lots of men and hadn’t felt the burning need to
have sex with
them.  It was ridiculous.  For
a while
there, it really seemed as if she had no co
ntrol over any of her actions.

With a loud sigh, she approached the driver’s side and got in.  He looked up at her and smiled.  There was nothing sexy about the smile.  In fact, it struck her as a boyish grin from a man who’d discovered the perfect car.  What in the world compe
lled her to have sex with him?