The Bridesmaid's Baby Bump by Kandy Shepherd Read Free Book Online Page B

tawny hair, green eyes—shut tight at the moment—the sculpted face, smooth tanned skin, slightly crooked nose. His beard had started to shadow his jaw, dark in contrast to the tawny blond of his hair.
    There were some things in life she would never, ever forget or regret. Making love with Jake was one of them. Heaven knew where they went from here, but even if this was all she ever had of him she would cherish the memory for the rest of her days. In her experience it was rare to want someone so intensely and then not be disappointed. Nothing about making love with Jake disappointed her.
    Eliza breathed in the spicy warm scent of him; her own classic French scent that was her personal indulgence mingled with it so that it became the scent of them. Unique, memorable, intensely personal.
    She tentatively stretched out a leg. It was starting to cramp under his much larger, heavier leg. Rolling cautiously away, so her back faced him, she wondered where the bathroom was, realised it was en suite and so not far.
    She started to edge cautiously away. Then felt a kiss on her shoulder. She went still, her head thrown back in pleasure as Jake planted a series of kisses along her shoulder to land a final one in her most sensitive spot at the top of her jaw, below her ear. She gasped. They had so quickly learned what pleased each other.
    Then a strong arm was around her, restraining her. ‘You’re not going anywhere,’ he said as he pulled her to him.
    She turned around to find Jake lying on his side. His body was so perfect she gasped her admiration. The sculptured pecs, the flat belly and defined six-pack, the muscular arms and legs... He was without a doubt the hottest billionaire on the planet.
    Eliza trailed her hand over the smooth skin of his chest. ‘Smokin’,’ she murmured.
    He propped himself up on his other elbow. Smiled that slow smile. ‘Okay?’ he asked.
    ‘Very okay,’ she said, returning his smile and stretching like one of her cats with remembered pleasure. ‘It was very sudden. Unexpected. So soon, I mean. But it was good we just let it happen. We didn’t get a chance to over-think things. Over-analyse how we felt, what it would mean.’
    ‘Something so spontaneous wasn’t in my dating after divorce guidebook,’ he said with that endearing grin.
    His face was handsome, but strong-jawed and tough. That smile lightened it, took away the edge of ruthlessness she sensed was not far from the surface. He couldn’t have got where he had by being Mr Nice Guy. That edge excited her.
    ‘Lucky you threw it out the window, then,’ she said. ‘I seriously wonder about the advice in that thing.’
    ‘Best thing I ever did was ignore it,’ he said.
    He kissed her lightly on the shoulder, the growth of his beard pleasantly rough. She felt a rush of intense triumph that she was here with him—finally. With her finger she traced around his face, exploring its contours, the feel of his skin, smooth in parts, rough with bristle in others. Yes, she could call this man beautiful.
    He picked up a strand of her hair and idly twisted it between his fingers. ‘What did you do to get over your divorce?’
    The question surprised her. It wasn’t something she really wanted to remember. ‘Became a hermit for a while. Like you, I felt an incredible sense of failure. I’m not used to failing at things. There was relief though, too. We got married when I was twenty-four. I’d only known him six months when he marched me down the aisle. Not actually an aisle. He’d been married before so we got hitched in the registry office.’
    ‘Why the hurry?’
    ‘He was seven years older than me. He wanted to start a family. I should have known better than to be rushed into it. Big mistake. Turned out I didn’t know him at all. He showed himself to be quite the bully.’
    She had ended up both fearing and hating him.
    ‘Sounds like you had a lucky escape.’
    ‘I did. But it wasn’t pleasant at the time. No break-up ever is, is