CHAPTER EIGHT

I stared at my reflection in the dressing table mirror. I looked like an angel. Then why did every inch of the glimmering satin seem to make my skin boil and crawl? It was more of a ghastly prettiness, how I looked in my wedding gown. Like a beautiful dead woman. Because that's how I felt. Beautiful and dead.

I tried to swallow down the lump in my throat that had grown to the size of a small grapefruit since yesterday afternoon's visit to the psychic. I think you can guess why.

"You look beautiful, querida," I heard an all-too-familiar voice say from behind me.

I reluctantly turned around, offering him a weak smile and unfortunately, divulging my tear-stained cheeks. It's not like I was wearing waterproof mascara. You usually don't plan on crying your heart out when trying on your wedding dress. But that's what happened.

"Susannah...you're crying," Jesse said in a voice so soft I could barely hear it.

"I'm fine," I lied, wiping my eyes with my palms, smearing black all over my hands from all the wet eye makeup.

"No. No, you're not fine. Tell me," Jesse said, taking a step towards me. He looked at me intensely. So intensely that I had to shift my gaze down to his swashbuckling boots

After a moment of sense-shattering silence, I finally said, my voice breaking, "It was real, wasn't it?"

He furrowed his brow questioningly. "You and me," I clarified, biting my lower lip to keep the tears from coming. "We really loved each other back then, didn't we?"

I looked up at him, and it was too late. The tears were coming, and boy were they ever.

"Yes...I believe we did." Jesse reached out and touched my wet cheek. His touch made my whole body weaker than my heart already felt.

And all at once, I was stricken with anger. I forcefully pushed his arm away. He looked down at the carpet, keeping his eyes from meeting mine.

"Why did you leave me?" I snapped at him. This got his attention. I was sobbing now. "Why did you leave me! It wasn't over for me, Jesse! It wasn't over for me!"

I saw something flash in his ebony eyes. "It wasn't over for me, Susannah, it still isn't over!"

And with a surprising amount of force, he grasped my slim, fragile arms and pulled me to him. And then he kissed me. The moment his lips touched mine, I wondered how I could have lived without it. Hiss kisses, I mean. every part of my body came shuddering back to life, and my skin was tingling as a reaction.

We stumbled around my old bedroom, kissing, touching, and feeling every inch each other. Jesse pushed my body up against the wall, and I grabbed the woodwork along the closet door to support myself.

His kisses traveled from my mouth to the crane of my neck, his eyes remaining intently locked on mine the entire time.

I moaned as he continued to bite and nibble on my neck and earlobe, and dug my fingers into the wood. His hold on my body was so tight, I could feel myself burning and throbbing for him.

I brought my trembling hands down and slipped them into his hair, bringing his head back up to mine. I kissed his eyes, nose, cheeks, then finally his restless lips. Jesse snaked his unimaginably strong arms around my small waist and began running his hands up and down my back, hesitating at the zipper.

He pulled away, breathless. Well, as breathless as a ghost could be, anyway.

"Susannah," he breathed, asking to go on.

"Jesse," I answered him.

And with that, he pulled me back into his arms and undid the zipper, not wasting any time. The lengths of shimmering fabric fell to my ankles. I stood there, naked (except for my bra and underwear of course) in front of him, my every flaw exposed. And yet it felt so...right. This wasn't the first time he'd seen me in my altogether, though. But it almost felt like the first time. Like we were rediscovering it. Jesse's eyes lingered at my form for a moment. He swallowed. Hard.

I kissed him again and began untying the laces to his shirt. You might be surprised to learn that I was 100 aware of the gravity of what I was doing. A man just took off the dress I would wear to my wedding to another man. I had basically just shattered what was left of the relationship Jack and I had, given that my feelings for him were already fading fast.

But I didn't care about any of that. I wantedno, I needed Jesse to touch me, to be inside of me, for me to be inside of him...I don't know what I wanted. All I knew was that I wanted him.

I slipped the shirt over Jesse's head. I gasped when I first saw his perfect naked chest and abdomen, shivering after being unveiled after so long. I put my hands on him.

"You're shaking," I said softly.

"I'll be alright," Jesse said, smiling bravely and nervously at the same time.

"Susannah...are you sure?"

I took Jesse's hand and put it on my waist.

"Jesse, I'm yours."

He laid me down on the bed and...

END OF CHAPTER EIGHT

Notes:

I hope I didn't rush into this chapter, but I sorta had to get it out of my system...grin R&R! Please?

love,

linds