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 A Promise Kept

Jessie’s curiosity was piqued. Cam had given her no idea where the honeymoon was going to be, just saying there were a couple of options to choose from. After the reception, they had climbed into the Mustang and set out. It took some time before Jessie began to recognize the area, but it was when Cam took the turn off from the main road that she knew for certain where they were. Snow was just beginning to fall as they pulled into the drive of the vacation home owned by Cam’s friend, the one where Jessie had spent the weekend with Cam several months before.

Even with her spotty amnesia, she remembered enough about that time for it to bring a smile to her face. "We get to stay here for our honeymoon?" Jessie asked, her voice reflecting her excitement.

"You’re not disappointed?" Cam watched her closely, gauging her reaction.

"Disappointed? No! It’s absolutely perfect." While she would have been happy anywhere with him, the fact they’d be completely alone together appealed to her most of all.

"Are you sure? All it would take is a phone call and there will be two tickets reserved for an island destination, along with a 5-star hotel."

"While that sounds wonderful as well, I'd much rather be here alone with you." Glancing at the front of the home as Cam stopped the car, she asked, "We will be alone, right?" The lights spilling forth from the windows broke through the dusk, giving the impression of the home already being occupied.

Cam smiled. "Yes, we will be very much alone. Paul and Belinda were heading back to California after the reception, but they made sure the house was fully stocked as well as having plenty of firewood. There's a cold front hitting tonight and another in the forecast right before Christmas, with the chance for a white Christmas being 100%." Cam opened the glove box and fished out the garage door opener. With a click of the button the steel-paneled door lifted smoothly on its tracks. He drove the car into the large bay before getting out and opening the passenger door for his wife. Tucking her hand in the crook of his arm, he led her out of the garage and towards the front of the house.

"Um, I kinda need to get my bag out of the car..." Her sentence ended with a little squeal when Cam unexpectedly swept her up in his arms, carrying her as he climbed the steps to the front porch.

"I'll get the luggage and packages in a few minutes, after I carry my wife across the threshold." He set her down momentarily while he unlocked the door, before picking her back up and stepping inside.

Jessie pushed aside the unexpected rush of nerves as she stood alone in the bedroom while Cam went after their belongings. Even though her memory still had gaps, she could recall enough of her time there with Cam to know the room hadn't looked like this before. The massive dark mahogany columns on the four-post bed were wrapped with swaths of ivory gossamer netting, secured with moss green ivy, pine boughs and pristine white roses. Candles in varying sizes and shades of heavy cream, ivory and white were placed throughout the room, nestled in trays of polished river rock accented with shimmering crystals. Shallow copper bowls held fresh shavings of sandalwood as well as dried flowers and decorative seed pods. The fireplace had a few split logs along with kindling arranged beneath, ready to be lit to chase away any chill in the room. A couple of bottles of wine and champagne were set in a small wine rack atop a small side table, the goblets and crystal flutes visible through the etched glass doors below. She was still taking in all the changes when Cam came into the room with their bags and set them next to the closet.

"This is...beautiful," she whispered as he wrapped his arms around her from behind, her back pressed against his chest as he embraced her.

"Paul and Belinda got into town a few days before the wedding. While she approved of the location of our honeymoon, she insisted on doing something special with the bedroom." Cam continued to hold her close, pressing his lips against her temple in a gentle kiss. After a few moments of silence, he turned her around until she faced him, then softly asked, "So, when were you going to tell me?".

Jessie's frowned slightly with her confusion. "Tell you what?"

"That the Herboren ritual did more than a mental reset."

It took a second before she realized what he was talking about. "You talked to Janet." It was a statement, not a question.

"I stopped by to ask her about birth control options. One thing led to another and when I mentioned we were waiting until after the wedding, she assumed I knew everything and assured me there shouldn’t be too much difficulty when we make love the first time." He paused, taking in her expression before he continued. "Which brings me back to my original question; when were you going to tell me, or were you?"

With no chance of putting any distance between them, nor of changing the subject, she squared her shoulders and said, "I hadn't decided when, or if, I was going to bring it up."

"You hadn't...decided?"

A slight edge had crept into his voice, and self-preservation caused her to offer more of an explanation. "I...I didn't want you treating me like, like...you're afraid to touch me." Saying it out loud made it sound ridiculous, and was made worse by his sudden chuckle. Her jaw tightening, Jessie resisted the urge to smack him. "I'm tired of being tiptoed around, like I'm made of porcelain that will break or something. It's been like that in one way or another since, since...well, since I came back. It was necessary then, but I don't want to be treated that way anymore...especially not tonight."

Cam seemed to be weighing his thoughts before he spoke. "Jessie, I can see your reasoning to a point, but it's a little faulty." He leaned down and oh so slowly brushed his lips over her ear, tugging slightly on the lobe before murmuring, "I have every intention of…touching…you, but I kinda need to know beforehand that the ritual made you a virgin physically, and not just mentally." Tightening his arms around her ever so slightly to ensure she stayed put, he asked the question that had been on his mind ever since his conversation with Dr. Fraiser. "Janet said there was a simple procedure she could have done to surgically remove the hymen, but you refused. Why?"

Jessie felt her cheeks begin to flush. This was not a conversation she had ever envisioned having with Cam, and at the moment she was having some unkind thoughts of torturing a certain chatty doctor. But considering there was no way of avoiding the subject, she answered him honestly. "Setting aside what we went through to get to this point, the simple fact remains in this day and age not many women are virgins when they marry. We were given a second chance, and it's something I want to experience completely...with you."

"Even the pain?"

Those blue eyes reflected so many of his emotions—concern, love, desire—that all the irritation drained away from her. Reaching up, she placed her palms on his chest, feeling the warmth emanating through the cotton fabric. "It's a rite of passage as old as time itself," she said softly. "So, to answer your question, yes...even the pain. While I appreciated Janet's offer, I didn't want anything to take away from it, just for the sake of making things more convenient." She shrugged her shoulders. "Faulty reasoning or not, that's how I feel. I didn't want to be talked into taking a shortcut, and I don't want to be treated like I'm fragile."

Cam turned that around in his mind for a few moments before his gaze settled on her mouth. "So, you don't want to be treated like you're breakable, huh?" His voice changed, dropping in timbre as he raised his eyes to hers. "No kid gloves?"

His right hand came to rest at the small of her back and he pressed her firmly against him; her heart started pounding against her ribs as the heat flared inside her. Unable to find her voice, she shook her head instead. The sound she heard was something between a purr and a growl. 

"All right, we'll do it your way. Why don't you go draw a bath and have a little time to relax? I'll take a quick shower down the hall before getting the fire going in the fireplace."

Jessie was mentally questioning her bravado as she grabbed her bag and took it into the master bath with her. Everything she had said to Cam was the truth—she was tired of being tiptoed around, and at the time keeping that one tiny piece of information to herself had seemed like a good idea. Pushing away the urge to second guess that decision as well as briefly wondering if she should have accepted Janet's offer, she turned on the faucets of the tub. Soon the steam rising from the water filled the bathroom, enhancing the subtle scents of sandalwood, musk, roses and pine coming from the bedroom.

Even though he had told her to take her time, she was a little too nervous to really relax. Wanting to reclaim herself and a measure of control warred with wanting to please him on this night of all nights, and the fear of falling short of that was bothering her. She went through the motions of bathing, shaving and drying off, but wasn't really aware of doing any of it. Only once she opened her bag and pulled out her choice of garments did her focus become razor-sharp.

The white lace of the panties was woven in a delicate design of roses, vines and leaves, with a thin strip of shimmering ribbon outlining the top edge of the material. It was actually modestly cut in a low rise bikini, but the sheerness of the fabric bearing the ornamental lace was an alluring contrast to the innocent design. She had opted for just the panties at the high-end lingerie store, foregoing the matching bra in favor of a white silk nightshirt. It was long-sleeved, buttoned down the front with the bottom edge coming to rest just below the curve of her hips. It, too, would have been considered modest save for the fabric itself. Only slightly heavier than gossamer silk, it draped fluidly over her curves, a faint sheerness giving hint to what lay beneath it. In the dim candlelight it might pass for opaque, unless she got too close to the light.

The silky fabric brushed across her skin in a whisper as she slid the mother-of-pearl buttons through the buttonholes. Taking a brush from her bag, she brushed her hair smooth, the ends curling softly past her shoulders. Standing quietly in front of the mirror, she could hear the sounds of movement from the bedroom—Cam had evidently finished his shower. Closing her eyes, she briefly reflected on all that had transpired and led to this moment, and realized how incredibly lucky she was to even be standing there, her husband waiting for her in the next room.

Her husband. Cam Mitchell.

When she opened her eyes, a small smile turned up the corners of her mouth. You're so damned lucky it's mind-boggling.

And with that thought, she opened the bathroom door.

A warm fire was beginning to grow in the fireplace, the flames from the kindling starting to crawl up and over the logs stacked on the grate. The candles Belinda had placed around the room were lit, their soft glow creating the exact romantic ambiance Belinda had wanted to create. It was breathtaking, but not as much as when Jessie's gaze came to rest on her husband, who at the moment was lighting the last candle in the tray next to the bed. Fresh from his shower, he had opted for a pair of faded blue jeans, and nothing else. It was the first time she had seen him without a shirt since, well, she couldn't actually remember when. Certainly not since their trip to Herboren. When they had decided to wait until their wedding night, the most they had done was kiss. Which in retrospect was probably a good thing. Just the sight of his bare back was causing her body to react in ways that would have been difficult to control. She stood there silently, her toes curling into the thick carpet as she watched him move, the candlelight playing over his skin as he picked up a small remote, and at the press of a button soft music began filtering throughout the room.

Cam had been just as distracted as Jessie when he went to take his shower. Thoughts crowded his mind of how to proceed that evening, the place, the setting. In fact, he had been preoccupied ever since he had spoken to Janet a few weeks prior. Normally he wouldn't have been as distracted, but he really, really wanted this night to be perfect. He even had plans in place for a trip to the Caribbean just in case Jessie wasn't happy with the idea of staying at the vacation home. There were a couple of times he almost went with that venue, but deep down inside his instincts told him this was the place they should stay. And those instincts had been right. While Belinda had had a hand in the decor of the room, all the other details of their stay Cam had personally seen to himself. He wanted this night to be a very special memory, the start of their life together, and he wasn't leaving anything to chance. After drying off and putting on a pair of comfortable jeans, he started a fire in the fireplace before lighting the candles. Mentally checking everything off his list, he grabbed the remote and started the music, making sure the volume was low enough not to be intrusive, and Darius Rucker's "History In The Making" began playing softly in the background. Setting the remote back on the table, he turned and froze. Jessie had come out of the bathroom and was standing there watching him. The fire had grown enough around the logs that it illuminated her from behind, and with that illumination the nightshirt she was wearing was nothing more substantive than tendrils of mist would be—he could clearly see the silhouette of her body. It was enough to cause an instantaneous response in him, so much so he had to remind himself not to react on impulse. Once he was sure he had his instincts under control he walked slowly towards her, intrigued by the fact that the closer he got, the more the light from the fire shifted and the more opaque her nightshirt became. As much as he wanted to strip that shirt from her, he was even more determined to take his time and make sure tonight was perfect.

Jessie was mesmerized as she watched Cam move in the candlelight. When he had turned and saw her, the look on his face became almost primal, but she managed to stay in one place as he came over to her. Clearing her throat slightly, she was surprised her voice came out sounding fairly normal. "Hey." The smile she got in return caused her to relax a little.

"Hey yourself."

Resisting the urge to reach out and touch him, she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, unconsciously conveying her skittishness. "Uh, before we get to doing anything here, did you...ummm...I know you said you talked to Janet...about birth control." When he reached out and took her hands in his, it took every bit of her concentration not to react to the near electric shock which coursed through her body with that simple touch. "I...I guess we should have discussed this sooner, since Janet took me off the Depo shots..."

"She and I talked about that. And she assured me the time frame of you ovulating this cycle has already passed. Although there's a small possibility the timing could be off, it was her opinion the chance of me getting you pregnant in the next few days is next to nil. I did bring condoms for later, but tonight, if it's okay with you, I'd rather not have anything between us."

The heat inside her seemed to flare even more with his words. "So you'd be willing to take the chance of me getting pregnant?" He surprised her even more with how quickly he answered.

"Yes." He reached out and brushed his fingertips against the softness of her cheek. "Ideally I'd like to wait about a year before starting a family, but if we were blessed sooner, I wouldn't be sorry." His fingers stilled. "Would you rather wait longer? Do you want me to use a condom tonight? If you do, I'm okay with that."

Jessie wondered briefly if it was normal to feel as turned on as she did given the fact he hadn't really touched her yet. "No," she whispered.

Cam gave her a half grin. "No to waiting longer, or no to using a condom?"

She couldn't help herself. She took a half step towards him, leaning in until her breasts just barely brushed against his chest, the silk a very flimsy barrier between them. Looking up at him she answered, "No, to both." Reaching out, she let her hands settle on either side of his waist, the warmth of his skin permeating her senses, the resultant rush of desire nearly taking her breath away.

His expression took on a decidedly devilish air. Placing his hands on the curve of her waist, he pulled her closer until their bodies were pressed against each other. "So, you wanna play?"

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