Home In Orlando

A frantic JC snatched up his cell phone when it chimed. Please let it be Gabby, he prayed. “JC.”

“Josh?” came a tentative female voice.

“Gabby! Baby, where are you?” A whoosh of relief washed over him, leaving him breathless. He hadn’t known where she had gone and he’d been trying to call her. He’d been half afraid her father’s thugs had kidnapped her.

“Lost,” she mumbled miserably.

“Lost? Where are you lost?”

“Somewhere at that Universal park thing. I have forgotten where the car is.” She had never had to keep track of such details before!

“It’s okay, baby. As long as you are all right.”

“J’ai faim,” she murmured. “I am hungry.”

“You got plastic, use it.”

She hadn’t thought of that. “There is this Hard Rock place with a car coming out...”

“I know where you are. Go in there and get something to eat. Just sit tight. I’ll be there.”

“You are coming?” Her father would send a secretary on such an errand.

“Of course, I am. You’re my wife.”

“That is so important?” Her heart did a little flutter.

“Hell yeah! I’m responsible for you.”

Responsible, she decided glumly, as in burden. She had been hoping he cared for her more than bedmate and companion. She wanted his love. “I shall wait.”

“I’ll get there as soon as I can.”

She was so adorable and little – was JC’s thought when he spotted his wife sitting alone in a big booth, nibbling French fries. Gabby looked like a young girl in her short pink overalls and white tee shirt. Her gorgeous hair was pulled back in braids. His daughters would look like this.

“Josh!” Gabby cried when she spotted him. She left the booth to launch herself in his direction.

“Hi ya, princess!” He laughed as he caught her up.

“Je regrette... Je ne sais pas...” the words tumbled out in French.

“Whoa! Slow down. Take a breath,” he urged. “Now, in English.”

“I am sorry. I did not know what to do...I am such a pest...”

“Gabs, slow down.”

She pressed her face in his shirtfront. “Je suis I’ idiot...”

“You are not an idiot.” Tipping her chin up with one forefinger, he gazed into soft gray eyes. “This is a big place and you’ve never been left alone to explore. Park security is looking for your car. Don’t worry about it.”

“You are not angry?”

“Not in the least,” he assured her.

Her smile would be the death of him, he decided. What a way to go! Unvarnished pleasure and sweetness glowed like sunshine in her smile.

“Merci beaucoup, mon cheri.”

Walking her back to the booth, he seated himself opposite of her and snatched a French fry.

Gabby gave little thought to the hulking bodyguard who shadowed her husband. That she as use to!

“Joshua, why do they have a pair of your pajamas in a display case?”

“Those aren’t pajamas. That was one of our early performance costumes.”

She shuddered delicately. “Hideous.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, but back then we thought we were pretty cool.”

“You look better in tee shirt and jeans.” Her eyes swept over him in an almost physical touch.

“Thanks, Gabs.”

With a sly glance, she stated. “Or nothing at all.”

“Keep that up and you’ll be bouncing on one of your favorite parts of my anatomy,” he warned.

She flashed him an impish grin as a waitress stopped at the booth.

“Can I get you something sir?”

“A cup of coffee for me.” He looked to Gabby. “Want a milkshake, Gabs?”

“Ooh, s’il tu plait!” She nodded.

“And a chocolate milkshake for my wife.”

The girl nodded and walked away.

“Merci,” Gabby said; he had ordered her favorite.

“You’re welcome, baby.” He reached for one of her hands, “Did you get a chance to shop?”

“No.”

“Did you want to?”

“Would that not be very tourist-like?”

“You are a tourist. This is your first trip.”

“I saw many tee shirts– “

Lonnie broke into the conversation. “JC, they found her car.”

JC nodded. “We’ll get you a coupla tee shirts if you want some,” he told Gabby.

“Truly?”

“Truly. Finish your lunch.”

The waitress brought JC’s order as he shared Gabby’s plate of fries and cheeseburger. After a few minutes, he said, “Baby, give me the keys to your car and Lonnie can drive it home.”

“You no longer trust me to drive?” she asked, frowning.

“It’s not that. He doesn’t need to watch us eat – and he can get back to the others.”

“C....” Lonnie was ready to protest.

“We won’t leave Hard Rock and my car’s parked out back. We’ll be fine,” JC told him.

“You’re sure?”

“I’m sure.”

Lonnie took the keys from Gabby and walked away.

“He is not happy.” Gabby murmured.

“He’ll live.”

“It must be wonderful to say, ‘please leave’ to your guards.”

“It is better for you with me, isn’t it?” JC questioned. “You have some freedom...”

“I have wonderful freedoms!” Gabby touched his hand. “I have someone who cares for me without smothering me.” She winked at him. “And it is a bonus that he is a fantastic lover, non?”

“Dammit, princess, you’re giving me a boner,” he growled for her ears only.

She frowned. “Forgive me, Josh.”

“You can’t help it. You turn me on like a switch.”

“I shall try not too...”

He shook his head. “Not possible. Since the first time we made love, the very fact that you breathe makes me hot.” How could he explain that merely thinking of her made him hungry? Before they had kissed, before she had come to his bed, he had been able to ignore the sizzling attraction, hiding it under the guise of the irritated father figure. Knowing her taste, her feel, he couldn’t deny the growing hunger he felt.

“I am to hold my breath?”

“No, baby. It’s not your fault. I’m crazy for you.”

She nodded in agreement. “There are times I believe I cannot survive one more moment without the taste of your mouth or the feel of your body,” she confessed.

Bless her! It was good to know she felt the same way!

“Joshua?”

“Yeah?”

“After you take me home, will you be returning to work?”

Like he’d get anything accomplished. “No, I’ll stay with you.”

“I am not a child who needs to be—”

JC put up his hand to halt her argument. “Let me put it this way, princess. I won’t want to get out of bed to go back to the studio.”

Her mouth rounded into a little “o”.

“Like I said, I’m crazy for you, Gabby."

“Ooh, they are so adorable!” Gabby gushed when she saw the puppies in the pet shop window.

JC hadn’t been paying particular attention, so he looked back to see what held her interest. He came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. “They sure are. Which one do you like?”

She studied the wiggling masses of multi-colored fur. The white and rust colored puppy with long ears seemed to be getting the worst of it. “That one.”

“The basset puppy?”

“The long-eared one? Oui. Look at those eyes...”

“Nothing like a puppy. Let’s go look.” When JC took her hand to lead her into the store, she shook her head. “Why not? Gabs.”

“Perhaps I am spoiled, but I find it difficult to look and touch when I am unable to have.”

“Who said you couldn’t have?”

She turned wide, surprised eyes on him. “You–you mean I might?”

“If you want a puppy, I’ll get you a puppy.”

“But I have never had a pet...”

“Never? Well, it’s about time then.”

“Josh?”

“If my princess wants a puppy, she can have a puppy,” he told her gently.

Big tears rolled down her cheeks.

“What, baby?” he asked, wiping at her tears with his fingers.

Gabby crumpled against his chest, sobbing softly.

The two security men shadowing them looked on, just as helpless as JC to understand the reason for her tears.

“Shh...people are gonna think I beat you or something,” JC teased.

“You never hurt me,” she protested.

“Why the tears, Gabs?”

Her soft eyes swam with tears when she met his gaze. “No one has ever treated me with such kindness before...like – like I am a real person.”

“You are a real person.”

“I used to be a dress up doll.”

“Not anymore.” He bussed her forehead. “You’re mine now.”

“I like being yours,” she announced huskily.

“I like you being mine.” He smiled and placed a soothing kiss on both hot eyelids. “Let’s go look at puppies.”

Unmindful of her clothes, she sat in the exercise enclosure with puppies clambering over her, pulling at her clothes, begging for attention. Gabby giggled and tried to pet them all at once. The basset hound puppy climbed up her chest and began plying her face with his pink tongue.

JC thought she was the most real woman he’d ever come across at that very moment. Princess Gabriella was far from his impulsive, charming wife. Everyday, the ties that bound him to her grew stronger. “Which one do you want?” he asked.

“All of them,” she giggled.

He chuckled. “Uh...no. This is your first puppy. Let’s not get carried away.”

“This one.” She held up the basset puppy. It squirmed and wiggled, obviously pleased to have her attention. Pushing the wrinkles on his forehead forward. “He reminds me of our old butler, Mister Bigglesworth.”

“Well...it wiggles...Wigglesworth?” JC suggested.

“Mon cheri, tres bien! Perfect!” She held the puppy up to look it in the eyes. “You shall be named Mister Wigglesworth. Wigglesworth Chasez.”

“Oh, might I?” Gabby asked as JC pulled out his wallet to pay for the puppy and all his paraphernalia.

“What?”

“I have never used mine yet.” At the Hard Rock, he had come before the check had and he’d taken care of the bill. “Unless I do not have the credit line...”

JC grinned. “Baby, you could buy a fairly good sized house with your card.”

“You – you trust me?”

“Hell yeah! We were together for months and you never asked for much.”

“I did not require much.”

“Go ahead and use your card, Gabby.” JC felt a certain sense of pride when she signed her name as Mrs. Joshua S. Chasez – he’d never known it could be this way. Her seeming contentment at being his wife caused all sorts of warm, fuzzy sensations in the region of his heart.

“Newlyweds. I can always spot them,” said the kind-faced, middle-aged sales clerk. “Getting a puppy to see how good of parents you’ll be?”

That idea wasn’t as terrifying as JC had thought it would be. In fact, it was a pretty good idea to his way of thinking. Gabby would most certainly stay with him if she bore his children!

“Mon mari, what is wrong?” Gabby asked at his silence.

Shaking off his reverie, he asked. “What’s that mean, baby?”

“Mon mari?”

“Yeah.”

“My husband.”

“I like it,” he told her softly.

“C, we gotta get goin’. You got a promo in an hour;” Lonnie reminded him.

JC knew he had to do the promo spot for Challenge for the Children, but he’d really wanted to stay home with Gabby and the puppy. Something new, soft and sweet had happened between them that afternoon and he wanted to revel in it. He had no name for it. It was more than gratitude for his rescuing her from palace life and Von Hatten.

He watched her blossom more every day as a real woman. She wasn’t his dress-up doll – she was fully his wife – in all ways. She studied cookbooks and never hesitated to call his mother for advice. She made decent meals, kept the house tidy, and managed to do laundry with only an occasional slip up. And in the bedroom, ahhh...God...she was his goddess and his vixen. She had made it perfectly clear she was game for anything he desired. He had asked her why and her honest answer had left him breathless. “You are a most wonderful lover, mon cheri. You have never left me wanting – and you never will.” She had gone from a convent-raised schoolgirl to the lonely, pampered princess he had first known to an openly loving woman, Gabby had come a long way in their short months together.

“JC.” Lonnie’s voice broke into his thoughts.

“Wha?...huh?”

Lonnie pointed behind the cameras.

JC’s eyes followed the direction. There was Gabby in jeans and her “Hard Rock Angel Orlando” baby-tee holding Wigglesworth. His large pleased smile was answered by her soft smile. He held out his arms. “C’mere, baby,” he mouthed.

Setting the puppy to his feet, Gabby walked towards JC with Wigglesworth following on his leash.

“What brings you here?” he asked as he put an arm around her waist.

“You.”

“That much I’d guessed.”

“Your parents called. They cannot make it this weekend. And....”

“And?” JC prompted.

“Your mother said you would not mind terribly since I am here.”

“Yeah...” He nuzzled her silky hair. “I’d love to see them, but your being here will make it special.”

“Me? Whatever for!”

“Because you’re my wife.”

That certainly was cryptic! Gabby had little time to wonder at his words. Wigglesworth demanded to be picked up.

JC scooped up the puppy, receiving enthusiastic licks. “Hey!” He laughed at the little guy’s lavish affection.

“He likes his new papa,” Gabby teased.

“JC! You ready?” The director of the spot called.

JC handed Wigglesworth back to Gabby. “As I’ll ever be,” he sighed.

The director noticed Gabby. “Your wife is with you?”

“Uh...yeah. Why?”

“It’d be a great family spot! You, your wife and your dog. It’d really sell as a family event.”

“Gabby?” JC looked to her. “Want to do this with me?”

“Will it help you?”

He let out a whoosh of relieved breath. He could always count on Gabby. “It sure would. I hate this stuff.”

She smiled up at him. “Certainly I shall help.”

It was comical as JC tried to discuss the event as Gabby did her best to control the wiggling puppy that obviously preferred JC’s attention at the moment. Finally, JC took the puppy as the show’s host asked Gabby if she would attend the Challenge for the Children.

“But of course!” she answered brightly. “I will be there to cheer and support my husband.”

“So...how are you liking living in the United States, Princess.”

“Please, do not call me that,” she said. “I am Gabby Chasez now – and I love this country very much. It is so much and so diverse. It is my country now.”

That made her some fans right there. She had rejected her title and had chosen America as her home. The host hadn’t even minded the set down when done so charmingly.

“Thank you for stopping by JC, Gabby and Wigglesworth.” The host laughed when the puppy flew from JC’s lap to his. “Friendly little guy” he was heard to chuckle as the camera moved off.

Gabby reclaimed the dog, scolding him lovingly in French.

“Does she really feel that way?” the man asked JC.

“What way?” JC questioned.

“That she isn’t’ a princess anymore?”

“She never has been with me – actually, she’s pretty humble.”

“Joshua...”

“Yeah, baby...” JC turned to see Gabby’s puppy relieve his bladder on the floor. She looked stricken with shame.

“Might someone have paper towels and perhaps some disinfectant so I might clean his mess?” She asked.

JC tossed a grin at the skeptical host. “Does that sound like a princess to you?” he asked laughingly.

JC thought Gabby might be one of those over-indulgent pet owners, but surprisingly she wasn’t. They had played with Wigglesworth on their wide bed. Finally, he fell asleep on JC’s lap. Tenderly, Gabby lifted the puppy and placed him in his own little bed.

“Mon petit, had an exhausting day, non?”

“Yes, he has.” JC opened his arms to her. “I thought you might want him in bed with us tonight.”

“No, he does not sleep in our bed until I am certain I will not wake up in a puddle.” Gabby knelt astride his thighs. “Thank you, mon cheri. Ever since I was a small child I have wanted something to call my own.”

“Are you talking about me or Wiggles?” he teased.

She moved her head closer, her lips a mere half an inch from his. “Perhaps both?”

“I am so yours, baby,” he purred.

“Are you?”

“Oh, yeah...”

“Perhaps I should demonstrate my gratitude.”

“I suppose that depends on what you have in mind.”

“Oh, perhaps, something like this...” she touched her lips to his lightly.

“That’s not a reward, that’s torture.”

Gabby lingered taking sips of his mouth until he groaned, lifting himself against her to let her feel how very aroused he was.

“Baby...”

“You are not horribly patient, mon cheri.”

“No, I’m not. Not when I know how good it feels when we make love.”

“How does it feel?”

“Fantastic. Wonderful. Like Heaven. Like we share the same soul for that brief space in time.”

“You are so wonderful with words, Josh. It is so unfair.”

“No, unfair would be you teasing me when I have a hard-on as big as the freaking Eiffel tower.”

“Boner.”

He still had to chuckle when she used the word Justin had inadvertently taught her. “Yeah, I have a boner all right.”

“Then I promise to tease you no longer.” she whispered against his lips as hers moved hungrily on his.

JC buried his hands in her luxurious hair as he took control of the kiss. Their tongues mated and tangled. They took turns exploring each other’s mouth. He let go of her hair to move his hands over her body, molding hers to his, cupping her firm breasts. He tasted her whimpers of pleasure on his tongue. Dragging his lips from hers, he moved them across her cheek to her ear. “Gabby, baby, no one makes me feel this hungry and this satisfied,” he whispered, then tugged at her tender lobe with his teeth. “I need your body against me, letting me become a part of you.”

“Oh, yes, Joshua! Please!”

“You don’t need to beg. It’s all yours.” Grasping the hem of her shirt, he pulled it over her head and let it drop to the carpet. He strummed her sensitive nipples with his thumbs until they were little pebbles, then he bent his head to lave them with his tongue. “This is my reward,” he muttered just before he suckled each bud, making her purr with delight. “Sweet little treats.” His mouth went back to hers, his fingers still playing with her breasts. “And before you say you are flat-chested, I remind you that each one is a perfect mouthful, more than enough.”

Twining her arms around his neck, Gabby brought him closer, licking and nibbling at his throat. When she sucked at the pulse above his medallion, he moaned softly. She continued downward until his tank top interfered She removed it with his cooperation. “Je t’aime, mon mari,” she whispered as she spread kisses over his chest and down to his stomach.

JC managed a drowsy smile as she continued to court his body. She was calling him ‘her husband’ again. That made him inexplicably happy.

“Sir, I require your cooperation,” she announced as her nimble fingers unfastened his jeans.

JC lifted his hips from the bed so she could sweep away his pants and shorts.

Sitting back on her heels, she admired his beautiful, lean body, his manhood tall and thick with arousal. “Lovely boner,” she pronounced.

“Glad you like it. You made it.”

Gabby ran a fingertip around the purple head. “Shall I lick it or ride it?”

“I have a choice?” At her nod, he said, “Ride it, Gabby. I want to be inside you, baby.”

She quickly discarded the remainder of her clothing, then straddled her thighs once more.

With one hand on her hip and the other on his shaft, JC guided himself into her hot, tight center. If he lived to be a hundred, he’d never forget the expression on her face when she first held him deep within her body – her head tilted back, her eyes closed, her lower lip between her teeth – the look of pure bliss.

“Mon cheri...”

“In know, baby. I feel it too.” JC rolled so they were lying on the bed and he was above her.

“I was going to make love to you,” she protested.

“We’ll make love to each other, princess. We always do.”