Guardian Angel (23 page)

He drew back. "Damn right I won't!"

"Then I demand the right to hire your next bodyguard. Someone who resembles King Kong will do nicely." She folded her arms in front of her.

"I have a much better idea," Jared said mysteriously, and no amount of coaxing from Alex could get the infor
mation from him.

"Mr. Templeton!"

They looked up to see a frowning Sheri standing in the doorway. "What are you trying to do?" she demanded.

"Have a heart." He grinned. "The lady just agreed to make an honest man out of me. I'm not going to be an unwed father after all."

"Jared!" Alex couldn't help but laugh. She decided she liked this lighter side of him much better.

He turned back to her and pressed his hand against her cheek. "You'll never regret it, Alex," he vowed quietly.

She turned her head to press her lips into his palm. "I know."

A month later Alex stood in the master bedroom at Pradera Alta and looked out the window at the surround
ing darkness that didn't penetrate the fire lit room.

Her burgundy silk and lace nightgown fell to the carpet in graceful folds, but did nothing to hide the slight round
ing of her stomach. A scrolled gold band decorated her hand along with her emerald ring.

The wedding ceremony that afternoon was kept small and private. Jared had told her that the fewer the people the better. He also confessed that he was afraid a large wedding would scare her off!

Alex's mother had flown out from Washington, D.C., for the wedding along with her brothers and their families.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd accuse you of staging a shotgun wedding," Jared had teased Alex.

"Me? They're all too busy telling me what a great per
son you are," she teased back. "I think they'd disown me if I called it off now."

After a reception held in Jared's house in Brentwood, they flew up to the ranch for their honeymoon.

Alex turned when the door clicked open. Jared, dressed in a forest green velour thigh-length robe, walked in carrying a bottle of champagne and two glasses. He closed the door and leaned back.

"Hello, wife," he murmured, his voice heavy with sen
sual meaning.

"I'm nervous," she confessed, holding out a trembling hand. "Look at this, I can't stop shaking."

Jared chuckled. He set the bottle and glasses on a near
by table. "You? I'm the one who should be nervous. Mar
riage is new to me."

"Yes, I know, but I've never been married to you before," Alex said softly, gazing at him with love-filled eyes.

Jared uncorked the champagne, filled one glass, and partially filled the other. The latter was handed to Alex.

"That's all I get?"

He nodded. "And you're lucky to get that much. You're only getting it because it's a special occasion."

They touched glasses and sipped the bubbly wine. Alex set her glass down and reached for Jared's glass to place it next to hers. She molded herself to his body and threw her arms around his neck.

"Did you know that a woman's sex drive increases during pregnancy?" She presented him with a bewitching smile.

Jared's mouth grazed across her lips. "No, but I'd be willing to do an intense study on the theory." His hand covered her swollen breasts and angled his fingers under the lace. Alex's response was a throaty purr of pleasure.

"Then why are we standing here making inane conver
sation?" Her fingertips teased the crisp hairs of his chest and strayed downward past the ties to his robe. Her smile widened when she found proof that Jared wasn't immune to her. "This experiment is performed much better in a horizontal position," she informed him softly.

"I think you could be right." Jared slid the nightgown straps down Alex's arms and pushed it the rest of the way down while she was occupied in untying his robe and sliding it off his shoulders. He bent slightly to pick her up in his arms, grunting, "Hmm, putting on a little weight, aren't you?" Then he yelped when Alex's teeth nipped his earlobe.

She was laid on the bed with tender care and he fol
lowed her down. "It's been a long time, Alex." His mouth moved moistly over her throat and down to the rounded curve of her breast. "Too long."

Her hands found his hair and tugged impatiently, urg
ing him to find the darkened, taut nipple. "That wasn't my idea," she reminded him.

Jared looked up, a wry smile on his lips. "I wanted to wait until after the wedding." His wandering fingers cir
cled the softly rounded mound of her stomach. "Are you sure it's safe?" he questioned anxiously, his concern now overshadowing desire. "We don't have to, you know."

Alex chuckled softly. She pushed at his chest and rolled him back. "Maybe you don't have to, but I certainly do," she informed him huskily.

He grasped her forearms and pulled her over him until they were warmly merged. His hands cupped her hips and coaxed her into the sensuous rhythm their thrusting bod
ies demanded. His voice hoarsely urged Alex on until her cries were followed closely by his own.

They lay in a warm tangle of arms and legs. Jared's hand slowly rubbed Alex's back, stopping occasionally to find a sensitive area.

"Hmm, two weeks of peace and quiet," she sighed. "I love it already."

"How about we keep it up on a regular basis for the next fifty years?" Jared asked matter-of-factly.

Alex lifted her head. "What?"

He lightly kissed her lips. "Meaning, I'm thinking of handing Fernwood over to the board and working there only on a part-time or consulting basis. I have an option on the Arabian stud farm not too far from here. Think you could handle coming up here on a fairly regular basis? Oh, we'd have to live in L.A. most of the time, but we'd definitely have more time to spend up here. That I promise you."

"Yes," she said without hesitation, then hugged him tightly. "Oh, Jared." Her voice bubbled with laughter. "I didn't want to tell you this, but now I feel I can. I hate your house in Brentwood."

"Love me, love my house," he said glibly.

"No, just you."

Jared's hand absently caressed her abdomen. "Think he'll enjoy coming up here as much as we do?"

"She," Alex corrected gently.

Jared smiled wryly. "You'll probably have all girls just to spite me."

"If I remember my basic biology correctly, it's the male who chooses the child's sex," she reminded him.

"Knowing you, you'll find a way to outwit basic biolo
gy"

Alex's hands were busy stroking Jared's chest and mov
ing slowly downward to his heated desire. "Find a way how?" she asked seductively.

Jared's probing fingers returned the gesture. "I think you already did."