The Rancher's Wedding - Diana Palmer Page 0,63

would be spending the weekend in New York City with prepaid credit cards, prepaid hotel bills—at the Plaza—and all the food and entertainment they could wish for, also prepaid. Cassie was delighted that he was so generous with their friends. But, then, that was the way JL was. Happiness was spilling out all over.

* * *

Cassie had thought they might spend the night in New York City, but JL had them driven to the airport after they said their good-byes.

“Not a thing to worry about,” he assured her. His eyes twinkled mysteriously. “I have a very special wedding surprise in store for you. We’re going to join an exclusive club.”

“We are? Which one?” she asked, wondering if it was a restricted area in the airport where members of certain groups got VIP treatment.

“Wait and see, sweetheart,” he said softly, and held her hand tightly.

“Oh, my gosh!” she exclaimed just as they reached the airport. “JL, I forgot my suitcase! It’s still at Dad’s apartment! I won’t have anything to wear!”

“Already taken care of,” he said easily. “Your dad packed it and I had it picked up. It’s already on the jet.”

“The jet?”

“My own jet,” he said. “Big, roomy, comfortable, with a pilot who’s the best in the business. We even have inflight meal service.” His eyes twinkled. “You’re going to love it.”

She did. She’d been on an executive jet just once, when she was needed urgently for a story conference and the CEO of the company that produced Warlocks and Warriors had sent his own jet to pick her up in Atlanta. But even that luxurious jet wasn’t a patch on JL’s.

“This is absolutely unreal,” she said as she looked around. There was TV, a bar, a comfortable sitting area with tables, and a male steward, who greeted them at the door.

“This is Dennis,” he introduced her to the pleasant man. “He’s been with me for eight years.”

“Nice to meet you,” she said, shaking hands and smiling.

“Nice to meet you also, Mrs. Denton. Will you be wanting to eat soon?”

JL looked at his watch. “In about two hours, I think. Until then, no phone calls, okay?” he added, and tossed his cell phone to Dennis.

He held out his hand. Cassie got the idea. She handed him her cell phone, which he also tossed to Dennis.

JL took Cassie’s hand and led her toward the back of the jet. The engines were just revving up for takeoff.

“Shouldn’t we be strapped in or something?” she asked worriedly.

“We’re about to be,” he assured her.

He opened a door and nudged her inside. He followed her. It was a bedroom, complete with television, stereo, a computer, a desk, and the biggest, cushiest bed she’d seen in a long time.

He picked her up and put her gently on the bed as the jet began to speed up and rise into the air.

“Have you ever heard,” he asked her amusedly, “of the ‘mile high club’?”

She flushed. “Everybody has,” she stammered, referring to those who’d had sex in flight, high above the earth.

“Well, darlin’,” he whispered as his hands went to the fastenings on her beautiful wedding gown, “we are about to join the club!”

Chapter Eleven

Cassie had no experience of intimacy. A few kisses and some groping, yes, but nothing really intimate. So what JL did to her came as a shock.

“It’s all right,” he whispered. He’d removed her gown between soft, tender kisses and put her under the covers while he removed his own clothes. She hadn’t watched. It was pretty intimidating already, this initiation into true adulthood. But he hadn’t made fun of her shyness. It had delighted him. Now he was touching her in ways and places that embarrassed her, and she caught his wrist worriedly.

“It’s really all right,” he said again, brushing her mouth with his. “Just relax. There’s no reason to be embarrassed. This is part of the process. You have to let me touch you. It’s how I can be sure that I won’t hurt you, when the time comes.”

“I don’t understand,” she whispered back, and she really didn’t. Her few girlfriends had been mostly like her, uninitiated, and what she heard from experienced people was general rather than specific.

He chuckled. “Okay.” He whispered it to her, so that she understood what he was doing, and why.

Her faint gasp indicated how new to it she really was. She swallowed, hard, and let go of his wrist.

“That’s it. Yes. Shhhhh.” His mouth opened on hers, tasting her, arousing her, while his hands were doing