Whatever It Takes by JM Stewart Read Free Book Online

nook before starting the coffee. Being a good head taller, his shirt fell to midthigh, plus she was still wearing her panties. It wasn’t like she was naked.
    Now, however, she wished she’d kept it on, because his gaze flicked over her, taking
her
in.
    Desperate not to let him know he was unsettling her—because he’d take
that
little tidbit and run with it—she turned to her coffee mug, seated on the counter. “I slept fine, but I’d be better if you’d put a shirt on.”
    As soon as the words left her mouth, she wished she could suck them back. She swallowed a miserable groan, and closed her eyes as regret sank in her stomach and her cheeks caught fire.
Great. Now he knows you were ogling him.
    “Allie will be up soon.” She rushed to add the amendment, hoping to save face, and turned to set Fred on the floor. He let out a silent meow, rubbed against her leg, then slunk off toward the breakfast nook. “Thank you for putting me to bed.”
    She picked up her discarded cup and refilled it from the pot for something to do with her shaking hands. If he caught her slip he’d no doubt have something cocky to say in return. God, how he loved to rile her.
    When a chuckle rumbled out of him, her heart picked up pace, hammering like a runaway freight train. Becca’s mug trembled in her fingers as she lifted it to her lips and peered across the kitchen.
    Jackson’s blue eyes twinkled with mischief, as if he read her mind and knew the naughty thoughts running rampant, and her stomach did flip-flops. Yeah, he’d noticed all right.
    “I could put a shirt on, but you’d have to take it off first.” He winked and pushed away from the doorframe, moving toward her with a casual stroll. “And you’re welcome. I couldn’t very well leave you to sleep in that chair, now could I? It gives you a wicked crick in the neck.”
    As he moved in her direction, his gaze trailed the length of her. His slow perusal made every inch of her prickle with awareness. When they dated, his openness with his desire had swept her clean off her feet. Nobody had ever found her desirable. She was a tomboy and had grown up with three older brothers. She was more comfortable hanging with the boys than trying to kiss them. She’d never been feminine. She didn’t do dresses or high heels. But Jackson would look at her like she was a meal he wanted to devour, and everything inside of her would melt.
    When he stopped in front of her, she squared her shoulders, resisting the urge to go get his robe and put it back on. It wasn’t like she was naked, for crying out loud, but the heat of his gaze stripped her bare in two seconds flat. While her brain screamed, “Do something!” all she could manage was to stand there and try not to drop her coffee. Because those eyes had zeroed in on her, and her pulse reacted, launching into orbit.
    “You know . . .” He fingered one lapel of the nightshirt, the warmth of his hand radiating through the all-too-thin silk. “. . . I recall you wearing this on one of those weekends we spent at the cabin. Our second anniversary. Do you remember? You wore it then, too, when you made breakfast the next morning.”
    A twinge of melancholy shot through her chest. Jackson owned a private cabin out on Puget Sound. Up until Allie was born, they spent almost every weekend there. She didn’t miss the meaning behind his statement, either. Here she stood, wearing the top to his pajamas. The way she used to after they spent the night making love.
    She glanced at the navy-blue silk swamping her frame. The memory of going into his bedroom the night before hit her full force. The room used to be theirs but now held no trace of
her
. She should have expected it, but somehow, the realization had only shaken her. The same jolt of pain slammed into her again. She thought she’d put aside the heartache until she’d entered his bedroom. She didn’t want to think about all the years she’d believed her love would be enough. All